• Lt Dr.S. Nithya

  Author

The role of the translation method in the preservation and transformation of the local oral histories in the face of cultural diversity will be discussed in the paper. The controversial question is whether the oral traditions were original and whether or not ought to be employed to make the translation more popular. Indigenous stories can be translated into a variety of languages, becoming diluted or modified in their existing local language, symbolic language, and place, which is community-specific. The answer to this topic is presented by a qualitative and theoretical approach, which is founded on the interpretive theories of the sphere of postcolonial discourse, cultural studies and translation studies. The focus of these works lies in the manner in which the decision-making of language, culture mediations and the power relations in the presentation of the indigenous knowledge systems. These outcomes lead to the fact that translation is not a neutral place, but a dynamic negotiating place of cultures and that meanings are renegotiable and in certain cases, may result in transformation and preservation. The translation might help the oral histories of the natives, but it might be done to perpetuate the existing cultural beliefs and alter the identity of the natives. The research assumes that the translation systems based on morals and understanding of culture are needed to introduce an equilibrium between accessibility and integrity. It emphasises the value of the translation practice in cooperation with the indigenous voices to enable cultural integrity and make such stories closer.

• PDF