A Paradigmatic Shift from Language to Culture: A Study of Selected Translations of Godan

Abstract

The paper is an attempt to analyze the change from linguistic approaches to cultural approaches in the field of translation studies by taking a comparative study of selected English translations of the Hindi novel Godan (1936) by Munshi Premchand. Embedded in a particular cultural, social and religious context, the novel is a poignant depiction of peasant life in pre-independent India and is a formidable task for the translator. This study illustrates the shift in the translation practices from more linguistic fidelity to culturally informed interpretation by examining the two most important English translations, Jai Ratan and P. Lal’s Godan: A Novel of Peasant India (1957) and Gordon C. Roadarmel’s The Gift of a Cow (1968). Based on the theoretical assumptions of the “cultural turn” in translation studies as developed by scholars like Mary Snell-Hornby, Susan Bassnett and André Lefevere the present paper argues that Roadarmel’s translation, although flawed, is a paradigm shift in the understanding of translation as an act of cultural mediation, instead of purely linguistic transfer. The analysis concentrates on the translation of culture-specific concepts, idioms, proverbs and the depiction of social hierarchy, showing how each translator handles the tension between the source and target text. The study concludes that the transition from language to culture as a translation of Godan is part of the wider linguistic and cultural changes that took place in the theory and practice of translation, in which the translator becomes not a transparent conduit, but an active cultural interpreter.