Translations Analysis

Translations

Translation’s is about how important power and language are in a community and how they are both linked. It also deciphers the idea of whether languages can be accurately translated. However this play also shows that to communicate it is not just spoken language but also body language that is used to communicate and form a relationship.

We’re first introduced to the importance of language at the start of the play when Manus is teaching Sarah to speak properly. From this extract we see that it is hugely important to be able to speak the proper language and how it has disadvantaged Sarah by not doing so. One of the main focus points of her teaching is being able to say her name and this shows that it is important to know your identity and knowing your identity gives you pride and power. As Sarah comes closer to learning the language Manus and Sarah form a special relationship, one which ends up with them having feelings for each other and this shows that even though they can not speak the language fluently together they still have formed a relationship showing that it is not just the spoken word you need to form a relationship. When she is learning Manus says ‘Nothing will stop us now, nothing in the whole world!’ This step Sarah has taken has meant she has gained power in her own right from leaning the language.

One of the main points of the book is the link between language and power and this is seen when the English take over the Irish language. As they have taken the language it also means that they have taken away the lands culture and their natural way of life and it also means that their power has been snatched away from them in the process.

It is also shown when the English plan to rename places and people’s names. Yolland is hugely disappointed and plans to stop this, in the play he exclaims, ‘Something is being eroded’. This quote explains exactly the process because changing a name means it loses its identity and the whole reason it was named in the first place, it erodes its history, identity and pride.

A true break through in the play is seen between the two characters in the seen involving the ditch. From this scene we can see how frustrating it is for both of them by trying to communicate with each other and they are both hugely desperate to understand each other. However they manage to communicate by using place names, by doing this they create a closer bond and the pace quickens and this shows that everything is much easier and they have now formed a relationship.

Even though I have been talking and