Translation is a cultural phenomenon and it undergoes constant change. A translator is a separate entity in himself, he is not to be nailed in the writer’s shadow, said Balachandran Vadekkedath, vice-president of Kerala Sahitya Academi after inaugurating the ongoing UGC-sponsored national seminar on Translation Studies: Texts in Context’, organised by the Department of English, UC College on Friday.
Balachandran, a writer, critic and translator, emphasised the need to be careful to retain its original flavour while translating any work. It is a critical pedagogy and language is at times handicapped. The Bible is the most translated work and in Malayalam the most translated genre is detective novel.
Kishore Ram, assistant professor, NSS College, Changanassery spoke on sub-titling in films. He gave an insight into the benifits of subtitling along with stressing the aesthetic barrier that sub-title creates in the viewing of films.
Davees C J, assistant professor, St Thomas College, Thrissur, spoke on ‘Portuguese translations’ and Venkat Bala, director, English Institute, Vijayawada spoke about French and German translations.
Students from various colleges across India attended the seminar.
The seminar will conclude on Monday with sessions by Jose George, of MA College, Kothamangalam, Dr Hariharan, HOD, Institute of English, Kerala University, Latha Nair, St Teresa’s College among others.