‘TRANSLATION’ OR ‘MUTILATION’? HEM BARUA’S TRANSLATION OF AJIT BARUA’S "MONKUNWALI SAMAY": AN APPRAISAL

Translation is carried out by substitution of words between the Source Language
and the Target Language. However, literary translation may not be adequate if only
word equivalence guides such a translation. Cultural and aesthetic concerns of both
the language also needs to be carefully studied. Language proficiency and cultural
understanding of the translator may not always help, if the context of the literary
piece or the author’s conscious use of language and style(s) are overlooked or the
translator ignores them unintentionally. It may lead to a shift in the interpretation
of the new creation and even ruin the original intended meaning(s). Though
literature is considered open-ended as far as its multiplicity of interpretation is
concerned, the author has a definite meaning or layers of meanings that he aspires
to put forward to the reader. Translation of literature is a complex phenomenon.
Translating Poetry is more elusive and challenging than prose translation because
translation of poetry is engaged with more linguistic as well as extra-linguistic
complexities. The present paper aims to examine some of the consequences of
poetry translation in the light of Hem Barua’s translation of the Ajit Barua’s poem
“Monkunwali Samay”.