Lost in translation

Two authors — from India and from the Philippines — discuss the complicated issue of English as a literary language...

MANILA, Philippines — The issue of language is an oft-debated one in the country's literary circles.

There are those who advocate the use of the mother tongue, saying that it is the only one capable of expressing the nuances of the Filipinos' everyday life.

On the other hand are those who extol the virtues of the English language, saying that it opens up the country's writers to a wider readership.

But as the recent forum entitled “Writing the Asian Experience” reveals, the problem of language and literature is not unique to the Philippines – former colonies of English-speaking countries
grapple with these issues as well.

Speaking at the forum were Vikas Swarup, bestselling author of “Slumdog Millionaire”, and Palanca-winning author Alfredo “Krip” Yuson.

The two discussed how the writers of their respective countries, being former colonies of English-speaking countries, dealt with the issue of which literary language to use.

A matter of language
With India having more than 23 official languages, and with each one of its 28 states possessing a dialect of its own, there is certainly no shortage of medium with which aspiring Indian writers
can express the concerns of the average person. Each state's language is a matter of pride for its inhabitants.

“The government has always felt that if Hindi was adopted as the language in India, other states would feel dominated by Hindi. Some states have even threatened to secede from the country
if Hindi was forced upon them,” explains Swarup.

As such, the English language left behind by India's British colonizers ended up as the country's “link” language, serving as a common tongue for a people already spoiled for choice. English,
Swarup adds, also began to be viewed as a language for self-improvement.

“English has always been deemed in India as an aspirational language. People will try to speak in their local language and try to speak in English, even if it is broken English,” he says.

The success of writers like Swarup, Arundathi Roy, and Vikram Seth have only reinforced this view – and has stirred writers in the local language to decry the English language's inability to present a
nuanced view of Indian life.

“The main complaint that other writers have of Indian writing in English is that there are certain things that can only be captured using the local language. Are writers writing in English writing about
a fake India, or are they writing about an Indian reality which cannot really be expressed in the English language?” explains Swarup.

While Swarup admits that something is lost in translation, he maintains that much of one's work remains intact.

“I do agree that there are certain places and troubles that can only make sense in the local language. And yet, if something is lost in translation, I would say it is only five percent. Ninety-five
percent is still there, very much intact,” he says. “This is a complicated issue for me because all of us have only known of world literature only through translation. If you accept the argument for using the local language, then you accept that all translation is useless, that it cannot capture the reality that is present in the original language.”

Swarup also notes that the changing face of Indian society has also made an impact on the “authenticity” of an Indian writer's work.

“Now, those who write in the vernacular in India are in danger because the vernacular now has so many English words. When they write in the vernacular and they miss out on those English words,
they can now be labeled as inauthentic, that they are not capturing the nuances of everyday speech,” he says.

Manufacturing a global project
Yuson, for his part, said that the Philippine diaspora has made a case for the viability of English as the country's literary language. He cites, for instance, the case of Man Asia Prize winner Miguel
Syjuco.

“In 2008, the Man Asia Prize was won by a Filipino writer writing in English, Miguel Syjuco, who has not been based here in almost a decade, but in places like Canada, the USA, Australia. His novel is a struggle that can best be appreciated by Filipino readers, given its many betrayals of our picaresque psyche,” he says.

But more than just being able to adequately express the local experience to local readers, Yuson says that writing in English not only lets Asian readers reflect on themselves, but allows non-Asians to take a peek at an experience they would usually not be privy to.

“Regional readers will no doubt have a window in which they may view a neighbor's otherwise private experience, including the process of colonization and whatever else binds us as a nation,” he says. “I expect that Singaporeans, Filipinos, and Malaysians do get a precarious thrill when an Amy Tan bursts upon the Western publishing scene, and depicts, thus in a way explains, Asia to
non-Asians.”

“English is a global language, and that immediately your work becomes a global product. Your work is picked up by agents in America and England,” Swarup agrees.

Swarup says that if writers write to be read, then the truth has to be accepted that English is the preferred language.

“The writers in the vernacular may write the next Man Booker winning book, but they will remain in the sidelines because no one is translating them. No can understand them and appreciate them,” he ends.

source: manila bulletin