A Critical note on Avadhesh Kumar Singh’s views on “Translation: its Nature and Strategy”

Department of English (MKBU)

Topic : - A Critical note on Avadhesh Kumar Singh’s views on “Translation: its Nature and Strategy”

Name :- Milankumar Parmar

Course Name:- Literary Theories and Criticism: Background and Contexts

Enrollment no.: -  2069112220170002

Email_id: parmarmilan1994@gmail.com

Course : M.Phil

Guide:- Dr. M B Gaijan

HOD:- Pro. Dilip Barad

Department of English (MKBU)

Introduction

Translation is an act of sharing ideas, philosophy, culture, and art of one society/culture/and nation to another. When a work of an author is translated into other language/s it is more or less changed than what author has written. Sometimes an author faces shocking versions of his own work. Many times when translation took place the translators do change or have to make some changes because, language and cultural barrier.  

Translation is a rigorous process of adding and removing things from the original text, often translator adds his own ideas and thoughts, changes the cultural artifacts which are not available in the target language, changes the order of texts. In fact a translation is rewriting the text. Kashyap Deepak, a blog writer explain the translation using analogy of transferring perfume from one bottle to another, but however careful one may be he says ”some fragrance is lost but the challenge remains to capture the essence” all things in nature is subjected to change and thus cultural matters. And we also know that language is ever evolving since its very origin. For him translation is not a shift between two languages but between two types of cultural matter. (Kashyap) 

A K Singh is a scholar, critic and a professor of translation studies from India. His essay ‘Translation: its Nature and Strategy’ is often considered the foundational work in translation studies in India. In this essay he made an attempt to theorize the translation studies, with the help of structuralism and post-structuralism theories. 

A k Singh pointed out translation has often been condemned as an act of violence-parasitic and subservient to creative act. Creativity has been considered a sacred act and translation appears a second hand product, formed by already existing creative work. (Singh)

For any ideal translation/criticism/critical reading it become necessary to displace author from his place, giving freedom to translator/reader to read text as one want to read. 

In western philosophy creative art is overvalued than criticism. Metaphysics laid emphasis on individual and on poet or author, considered critic/translator as parasite and critical translation act as encroachment by other. (Singh) In this the author held central place and translators are at periphery. Thus the translation exercise undervalued since long time. But post-structuralist critic Roland Barthes dislodged the author from his high sacred pedestal of centrality.        

The new critics and post-structuralists gave less importance to author, even Roland Barthes announced in of his article “The Death of An Author’ and for the translation as an act of reading death of an author become necessary. As language refers to itself so it is disconnected from reality and linguistically the author is never more than the instance saying I: Language knows ‘subject’ and not the person.” The moment writing commences the author ‘enters in to his death’. It is the death of the empirical author who employs language to express himself. It “is the language which speaks not the author”, for the author fails in mastering the language he ‘surrenders’ himself to language and become servant. Barthes here announces the death of the historical and implied author as well. 

           

A K Singh calls language a system and thus the meaning in the text exists in the system of rules and conventions not in the text itself as believed for long. Thus the meaning of the text is diffused and dissipated not centralized. For Jacques Derrida language is disconnected from reality so reality inclusive of the author’s physical reality remains outside the verbal universe of the text. But the author enters in the Derrida’s deconstruction because the very idea of ‘decentering’ presumes the presence of center before it was decentering and thus recentering. And the moment we are in view of the center the author creeps in. thus Derrida succeed in pushing author to periphery and brought critic and translator to the illusive center.

In reply to Roland Barthes’ position that criticism as an act of violence, Singh argues that though translation/criticism is an act of violence but it is also creative. Further he points out that creativity is too an act of violence if criticism is an act of violence, if we carefully see what happens in the mind of one who creates. 

The process of creation has certain stages and they are at conflict with each other. 

Process of creation

i) Experiential/ Perceptional Intention 

ii) Systematic/Linguistic intentions 

iii) Authorial/writerly intentions

iv) Textual intentions

v) Readerly intentions 

“In the first stage Creator/writer fights with his experience and perception. When a situation, event, or experience, real or imaginative, factual or fictional disturbs the equilibrium(he borrowed the term by I A Richards) of his mind he will try to regain the previous state of mind, then to transport that state to his target readership through text. But before this textual formation, systematic and linguistic intention clash with each other. As the creative articulation is possible only through system which in case of literary creation is linguistic system, its limitations, artificiality and incompetence perpetuate violence. The experiential and perceptional intentions are conditioned violently by linguistic system and then by authorial intentions and further by textual intentions, which constrained authorial intentions, its’ possible interpretation, its form and medium. 

Thus authorial intentions try to grasp certain experience or experiential intentions with the help of linguistic system and authorial intentions wrangle with textual issue of this continuous yet invisible violence result in creative art. In the last stage text goes through violent process at the hands of reader-critic. 

Singh believes criticism is “it is inconceivable to indulge in the critical enterprise without some sort of violence to the work concerned.” Someone has rightly defined criticism as “a postmortem of text.”

    

Singh agrees with Roland Barthes’s views on criticism as an act of violence, but he further adds that if looked from different angle criticism is an extention of creative art. 

Violence is an integral part of critical exercise. As critic begin his work on creative work, ther begins a war between authorial intentions and readerly intentions.  

If we apply new criticism and reader response theory then the criticism is recreation. When a reader critic comes to the center, he will see the work as he want to and thus the work became what reader intend it to be. Text is a lifeless thing, it is reader who make it alive(through implying meaning). This creation of new meaning by reader differs from the creator/authors’, the new meaning is created only after the distortion, damage and reconstruction. 

Thus, the new meaning and new text are created through the violence of the text by competent reader. Sometimes a reader/critic rejects the textual intentions and makes his own text absolutely different from the text itself.    

The critical creation is the process of clash of intentions. 

Intentions

A). (Readerly) Experiential/perceptional

B). (Medium) Systematic/linguistic intentions

C). (communication) Authorial/Writerly

D). (Articulation) Textual intention

E). (Interpretation) Readerly/Critical intentions.

Systematic, authorial, textual, readerly intentions and their inherent limitations commit violence as the two living agents author and reader try to capture apparently non-living agents and make them yield to themselves with varying amount of success as they will try to infuse life into non-living agents. The first four stages denote violence in creative act and the fifth stage points to the violence in criticism.

Nature of clash

Writer to writer

Reader to reader

Work to work and 

Moment to moment

After these explanations we can say critical and creative act are the same as both involves violence and critical act is an extension of creative endeavor. The beauty of their endeavor lies in their straining urge to transcend their systemic limitations as they strive to embrace infinite reality through finite medium. 

Translator and Translation

        A.K.Singh reveals translator as “is a creative reader, critic and not failed author. He reads, interprets, criticizes and creates.”  And translation is “a way of reading, interpreting, criticizing, and in the same process creating a new text for those who have no access to literature in an alien language system.” 

Process of Translation

Source text

I) Readerly/reader-critical intentions

II) System/linguistic intention(SLI vs TLI)

III) Contextual /cultural intentions(SCI vs TCI)

IV) Writerly/authorly/translatorial intentions(FAI vs SA/TA)

V) Origin of the new text

SLA-Source Language Intentions

SCI-Source Cultural Intentions

FAI-First Authorial Intentions

TLT-Target Language intentions

TCI- Target Cultural Intentions

SA/TI- Second Authorial/ Translatorial intentions

The translator receives source text as it comes to him after going through series of violent acts. The source language system clashes with target language system. Then the translator ‘carries over’ source cultural/contextual intentions into target cultural intentions. Thus origin of the new text and the translator emerges as an originator of new text in a new linguistic system. Translation process involves   below stages

1. Understanding- Analysis

2. Decodification of codified message

3. Recodifying in target language 

The whole process codification - decodification - recodification results in the origin of the new text. 

Qualities of Translator

 A Translator has to be multidexterous, as he has to operate from multiple choices to choicelessness. 

 Translation is like serving two masters. It is demanding task as the translator is in continuous quest of proper words. 

 Translator’s dilemma is two manifold as he is kismeted to fight duel with words to two language. 

 Translator supposed to be in possession of big bag of pragmatics

Importance of Translation

 In limited life one cannot learn and even the major languages of the world and enjoys the literature. Thus translation is the only capable medium to get in touch with literature and knowledge in unknown language system. It can see of bridge between two language and cultures.

 Translation helps in preserving ancient literary and cultural heritage

 Translation gives national recognition to regional literature and to national literature to international.

 Translation enriches human sensibility as it adds varies experience and expressions from other cultures. 

 Translator does not translate languages but it translates cultures. Thus, translation becomes cross cultural event.

Translation Strategies

During the process of translation a translator faces numbers of problems. Most of them are cross cultural artifacts and expressions. 

 Recognizing the existence of lacunaes, gaps, blank spaces and voids, a translator has to make certain strategies they are as below.. 

 Pragmatic adjustment 

 To deal with cultural lacunaes and problems translator is supported to insert cultural filters. Cultural filters help him to enlisting things which cannot go as they are in target language because of cultural difference. 

 Translator can tackle them by finding literal substitute. 

 He has to be an extremely creative person. 

 He has to find out the company of translators and language expert- in source as well as target language.

 Other strategies are like substitution, addition or omission etc. helps him while cross cultural translation. 

Conclusion:- 

Thus, the translation has the same value as original work. Both the works are created by creative yet critical mind. Translators job is to make avail as Arnold says “what is best that is known and though in the world.” thus to make the current of new and fresh ideas.” 

Works Cited

Kashyap, Deepak. Translation and Its Role in Indian Literature. 15 7 2013. 20 1 2017 <http://www.literism.blogspot.in/2013/07/translation-and-its-role-in-indian.html>.

Singh, A K. "Translation: Its Nature and Strategy." Translation: Its theory and Practice. Ed. A K Singh. Creative boks, 1996. 1-16.

“Plagiarism, its forms and academic dishonesty”

Department of English (MKBU)

Topic :- “Plagiarism, its forms and academic dishonesty”
Name :- Milankumar Parmar
Course :- Research and Methodology
Email_id :- parmarmilan1994@gmail.com

Course : M.Phil
Guide:- Dr. M B Gaijan
HOD:- Pro. Dilip Barad
Department of English (MKBU)

Introduction

Any creative, critical and research work is created only after continuous burning of blood and mind. It is the result of one’s endless efforts. And thus the work whether creative or critical is his property achieved only after intellectual toil. MLA handbook of literary research considers it property of an individual who has created and thus has possession over it. Thus if any one likes to use this property for the creation or add to the stock of knowledge, then at least attribution should be made. “Responsible writers compose their work with great care. They specify when they refer to another author’s ideas, fats, and words, whether they want to agree with, reject to, or analyze the source.”   

University of Oxford defines plagiarism as an act of “presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent” by incorporating in one’s work without full acknowledgement. It includes all types of material, published and unpublished, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form is covered under this definition. (Oxford) 

MLA Handbook of Literary Research defines plagiarism as “intellectual theft”, the word plagiarism derived from the Latin word plagiaries which means ‘kidnapper.’ In computer language it can be termed as hackers who hacks the people’s ideas, thoughts and work.(MLA) 

Yale Center for Teaching and Learning defined plagiarism as a discrete offence, a specific failure to give credit to a particular source. Plagiarism is the use of another’s work, words, or ideas without attribution. It is a form of theft, a breach of honesty in academic community. (Yale)  

    Further Oxford mentions, acknowledgement to another’s works or ideas should not remain only to the texts, but also to other media such as computer codes, illustrations, graphs, published books and journals(print or online), from lectures, theses, student’s essay and text and data from websites. This list can be expanded with modern social media, including, Facebook, tweeter, email, YouTube, websites, music etc. (Oxford)   

  

Oxford categorizes plagiarism into two kinds intentional or reckless, or unintentional. MLA also divide plagiarism in the two categories as mentioned above (Oxford). 

Plagiarism involves two kinds of wrongs. When one uses another person’s ideas, information or expressions without acknowledging that person’s work creates intellectual theft. It also constitute fraud when another person’s ideas, information, or expression for personal gain. But plagiarism is sometimes moral, ethical and intellectual problems(MLA). 

Consequences of plagiarism

 Plagiarism creates moral, ethical and legal problems. Plagiarism undermines important public values.

 The charge of plagiarism is very serious for writers. In society plagiarists are seen as incompetent-incapable of developing and expressing their own thoughts, and willing to deceive others for personal gain

 When professional writers such as journalists are exposed as plagiarists they are out of job, and with that lose their social status and prestige.

 Students who are exposed as plagiarists may suffer severe penalty. Plagiarism harms more to those who commits, as it destroys their relationship with other academics. Plagiarist student lose an important opportunity to learn how to write research paper.

 The more serious question it raises is “where is my voice in this project?” the student miss an opportunity to learn the skill of collecting data and information , an d presenting it in one’s own way

 Plagiarism betrays the personal element in writing. It is all about how well you develop yourself as a writer. The writer is the owner of what he writes. 

Here are some examples of high profile personalities who found of plagiarism and lose their high position. Their degrees were suspended or revoked for plagiarism by universities in US. (Wecker)

1. “Gaming Olympics studies: In April 2012, Pál Schmitt resigned as president of Hungary a week after his doctorate was withdrawn by Semmelweis University in Budapest. According to a BBC report, Semmelweis accused Schmitt, a two-time Olympic fencing gold medalist, of plagiarizing entire passages of his doctoral thesis.”

2. Defenseless minister: Although Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the former German defense minister(.…)he resigned on March 1, 2011 after admitting to plagiarizing parts of his legal doctorate. Universität Bayreuth revoked his degree, citing "serious errors" in his paper.

3. Pharmaceutical power: In 2008, the College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University announced that it was revoking the E.M.B.A. it had awarded Heather Bresch, the daughter of Joe Manchin III, then West Virginia's governor. 

4. Evolution of a doctorate: Self-declared "scientist working in paleobiology, astronomy, and various other areas; designer for projects including rockets and nuclear devices ... [and] writer," Charles Pellegrino claimed on his website to hold a doctorate from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. New York Times reporter revealed "Pellegrino was never awarded a Ph.D. from Victoria and therefore could not have had it stripped from him or reinstated at a later date.”

5. Mechanical failure: The former head of acquisitions for the Armaments Corporation of South Africa, Shamim "Chippy" Shaik, was stripped of his Ph.D. from then-University of Natal—now University of KwaZulu-Natal—in 2008 following reports he'd plagiarized "more than two-thirds" of his mechanical engineering doctorate.

6. Athletics antics: Westark Community College, now a part of the University of Arkansas—Fort Smith, revoked former basketball player Jerome Lambert's associate degree when officials learned that an assistant coach at Baylor University gave Lambert a term paper for a Westark course while recruiting him to come to Baylor. As the Houston Chronicle reported in 1994, Lambert also accused the coach of offering him a discounted car and apartment, both "potential violations of NCAA rules."

7. Disservices to education: In July 2007, the University of Edinburgh revoked the honorary doctorate it had bestowed on Robert Mugabe, then prime minister and now president of Zimbabwe, in 1984. The degree recognized Mugabe's "services to education in Africa," according to the Guardian. "He has since been blamed for Zimbabwe's failing economy and accused of running an oppressive regime," the article added.

8. I spy a falsified degree: In July 2010, Harvard University stripped Russian spy Andrey Bezrukov—who had attended Harvard under the name Donald H. Heathfield—of his graduate degree in public administration. "The Kennedy School usually severs its relationship with a student when it is discovered that the individual's application contains inaccuracies," the Harvard Crimson reported.

9. Résumé racketeer: Serkan Anilir, a Turkish national, saw his doctorate from University of Tokyo revoked for plagiarism and lying on his résumé, the Daily Yomiuri reported in 2010. "This is the first time in the history of the University of Tokyo, this country's most prestigious university, that a doctorate has been rescinded," according to the report, which referred to Anilir as "a distinguished researcher ... extensively covered in the mass media."(Wecker)

Unintentional plagiarism

A researcher at initial level commits plagiarism unintentionally. Habit of students to use encyclopedia at initial level of research is later on constitute unintentional plagiarism.

 “plagiarism sometimes happens because of researchers do not keep precise records of their reading, and by the time they return to their notes they have forgotten whether their summaries and phrases contains quoted materials that is poorly marked or unmarked.

 “Presenting author’s exact wording without marking it quotation is considered plagiarism, even if you cite the source.” 

 Writing a research paper in second language, students often commits plagiarism, in efforts to avoid grammatical errors.

 When reflecting grammatical patterns they sometimes inadvertently plagiarize the author’s ideas, information, words and expression.”  

Forms of Plagiarism 

Any text, phrase, sentence, in formation etc. without proper documentation, is considered as plagiarism. The most obvious form of plagiarism is to present and submit your own paper written by someone else.

Writing a research paper a researcher has to be aware of different forms of plagiarism in order to avoid the plagiarism. There are many types of plagiarism, some of the most common identified by MLA are, repeating or paraphrasing wording, taking a particularly apt phrase, paraphrasing an argument or presenting a line of thinking,

CTL Yale categories plagiarism in three, major forms as, they are 

1. Using a source’s language without quoting

2. Using information from a source without attribution 

3. Paraphrasing a source in a form that stays too close to the original. 

Plagiarism spectrum, a study conducted by Turnit found ten types of plagiarism in their survey of secondary and higher secondary education institutions. Each type is given name of digital monikers. Ten types of plagiarism are (Turnitin)

1. Clone :- Submitting another’s work, word –for-word as one’s own. It is also considered by MLA as most blatant form of plagiarism. 

2. CLTR-C :- It contains significant portion of text from a single source without alterations. It is second mostly used by people.

3. Find –Replace :- changing key words and phrases but retaining the essential content of the source.

4. Remix :- In this type a researcher/student paraphrases from multiple sources, made to fit together. 

5. Recycle :- A student/researcher borrows generously from the writer’s previously work without citation. 

6. Hybrid :- combines perfectly cited sources with copied passages without citation.

7. Mashup :- Mixes copied material from multiple sources. 

8. 404Error :- includes citations to non-existent or inaccurate information about sources.

9. Aggregator :- it includes proper citation to sources but the proper contains almost no original work.

10. Re-tweet :- includes proper citation, but relies too closely on the text’s original wording and/or structure.   (Turnitin)

How to avoid Plagiarism 

Plagiarism is very serious issue of academia. It severely harms the academic integrity. Thus students and researcher are made aware about proper documentation. It can be only avoided by proper citation. Most of the universities use plagiarism detection software to uncover potential plagiarism and to deter students from plagiarizing. Academic integrity can be maintained by providing students with thorough orientations, required writing courses, and clearly articulated honor codes. By generating a uniform understanding among students and researchers that plagiarism is wrong.(Wikipedia)

Always Cite 

 When you quote two or more words verbatim or even one word if it is used in a way that is unique to the source. 

 When you introduce facts that you have found in source

 When you paraphrase or summaries ideas, interpretations or conclusions that you find in source. 

 When you introduce information that is common knowledge or that may be considered as common knowledge in your field, but the reader may not know it. 

 When you borrow plan or structures of larger section of a sources’ argument

 When you collaborate with others in producing knowledge. (Yale)

Academic issues 

Plagiarism is considered academic dishonesty or academic fraud, and offenders are subjected to academic censure, up to and including expulsion.(Wikipedia)

Issues related to plagiarism and academic integrity includes reusing research paper, collaborative work, research on human subject and copyright. 

Reusing a Research 

When it comes to earn grades, some researchers present a paper twice in two different courses, this practice is deceitful. As a result of this practice a researcher lose an opportunity to improve knowledge and skills. 

Collaborative work

Collaborative work is a group project/work joint participation in research and writing is common, and in fact encouraged in many course and in many profession. It does not constitute plagiarism provided that credit is given for all contributors. But many times it is not clearly mentioned that which part is written by whom. Thus everyone gets equal points.  

Research on Human subject

Many academic institutions have policies governing research on human subjects. Examples of research involving human subject includes clinical trials of drug or personal interviews for psychological study. Institutions usually require that researchers obtain the informed consent of human subjects for such projects. Although research for a paper in high school or college are rely involves human subjects.

Copyright infringement

Whereas summaries, paraphrases, and brief quotations in research papers are normally permissible with appropriate acknowledgement, reproducing and disturbing an entire copyrighted work or significant portion of it without obtaining the permission to do so from the copyright holder is an infringement of copyright law and a legal offense, even if the violator acknowledges the sources.(MLA)

Conclusion

Thus the plagiarism an academic dishonesty, an intellectual theft can be avoided by making students and researcher aware of the fact. Sometimes students do not know what they are doing. It is the duty of mentor, a teacher, of a instructor to make aware his student, a fellow researcher about the wrong they can commit by an error. The more people will be aware about the problem the less problematic plagiarism will become. 

Works Cited

Oxford. Plagiarism. University of Oxford. 26 1 201 <www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidence/skills/plagiarism>.

Turnitin. "The Plagiarism spectrum." Tunitin.com. 5 1 2015 <www.turnitin.com/assets/en_us/media/plagiarism_spectrum.php>.

Wecker, Menachem. 10 High People Whose degrees were Revoked. 2 May 2012. US News & World Report. 20 01 2017 <www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/artical/2012/05/02/10-high-people-whose-degrees-were-revoked>.

Yale. what is Plagiarism? 20 1 2017 <www.ctl.yale.edu/writing/using-sources/understandung-and-avoiding-plagiarism/what-plagiarism>.