Lost in translation?

 Often it is argued that poetry is that what is lost in translation. Yes, it indeed is so if the translator is an inferior scribbler who does  not have a perfect understanding of the source and/or the target language. Yet another possibility is that the too literal translator insists on a word to word translation.

Well, these kind of problems exist not only  in poetry  but even when it comes to daily usage. In this case, i feel that as languages are context sensitive, a literal and/or a 'spread thin' kind of translation is just not right.

Let me give you a few examples to prove my point.  'Hodgepodge', for example, cannot be 'khichdi'.  The latter is a veg preparation made of rice and different types of grams/pulses, while 'hodgepodge' is a mutton stew.

Is it indeed necessary to translate on a one-on-one basis? And can we? In a huge and complex country like ours, we cannot even translate precisely from/ into our mother tongues, right? The Marathi 'ladu' becomes 'laddoo' as we travel northwards, right? And 'kheer' and 'payasam' differ both taste and recipe wise as we go down South, right?

 Then why worry about English or the other foreign languages? Anyways, how to literally  translate 'ladu' in to English and 'cake' in to Marathi? Explanations like 'a round ball of semolina and sugar and condiments' are indeed tasteless!

In a country like ours, moreover, with its famous unity/diversity tag, even the yum, however unhealthy, street food has so many avatars and nomenclatures, right? Just try and remember the very many names of the mouth watering 'panipuri', for example. Why then worry about a literal translation?

Translation should carry the taste  of the experience/the feel across the language. The core matters more than the shell even when it comes to translation!  Anyway, what is there in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, insisted the lovelorn Juliet. For the foodie who loves its tangy, zingy taste, 'Panipuri' is as lip smacking,  tastes as wondrous even when known as 'golgappa', right? Down, down,  hence, literal translation, murdabad, murdabad!

Pratima@ This concept of 'lost in translation'  is absolutely valid when it comes to phrases and proverbs. Let us try translating these later.