An exploration of the shifting value of modern Hindi literature in translation

Majumdar, Olivia (2020). An exploration of the shifting value of modern Hindi literature in translation. University of Birmingham. M.A.

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Abstract

World literary and translation studies scholarship has often operated what Emily Apter terms a ‘translatability assumption’, in which literature can be converted from one language into another without any significant change. This thesis fosters an alternative engagement; one that accepts the inevitability of ‘untranslatability’ occurring when a text moves between two languages. Challenging the ‘translatability assumption’ through a close study of three award-winning Hindi texts, published between 1980 and 2010, and their accompanying English translations, this thesis examines how the skill, position, and commitments of a translator affects the translation itself, and how a variety of gatekeepers in the Hindi literary sphere, including publishers, awards bodies, the academy and media, help shape how readers encounter and respond to Hindi literature in translation. I demonstrate this through close interpretations of existing translations of the three case study texts I have chosen as well as providing alternate translations of my own where appropriate. This thesis attests to the ongoing importance of “subalternity” in marketing translated Hindi literature nationally and internationally. It also suggests that the translator has been a crucial figure in contributing to the success of world literature as a genre including Hindi literature in translation.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Masters by Research > M.A.)

Award Type:

Masters by Research > M.A.

Supervisor(s):