An introduction to Translation

(By Ranjan Lal Gammeddage)

1:1: Translation : definition

The Sinhala word for translation, ‘Pariwarthanaya,’ derives from the
Sanskrit root ‘Wruth,’ and when it is connected to the suffix ‘Pari’ the suffix
caries the meaning ‘in every respect’ or ‘around’ the pali Pali stanza
‘parisamanthatho thayathi rakkathithi pariththan’ will further clarify the
aforementioned definition to the suffix ‘pari’ the root ‘Wruth’ means
‘happen’, ‘existence’ or ‘turn’. Then translating a book should be defined as
'changing the language of certain th e book to another language without
distorting spoiling its original contextual meaning. But the Sinhala word for
adaptation, ‘Anuwarthanaya’ ro or ‘Anuwadaya’ connotes a different
meaning. If we consider the lexicon meaning of the word it is a combination
of the root ‘Wruth’ and the suffix ‘anu.’ . The suffix carried carries the
meaning ‘acording to something’, while the root connotes the meaning
‘changing’ as in the case of ‘Pariwaththanaya.’. The Sinhala word
‘Anuwada’ has the same meaning and it derived from the suffix ‘Anu’ and
the ‘Wath’.

The aforementioned above-mentioned three ideas were not unfamiliar to the

sinhala Sinhala readers. In medieval sinhala the word ‘Pariwaththa’ has been
used to connote ‘changing’:

‘….Adhi Gahanin Langana Pariwaththanadi Gannei.’1

“Magada basin watemin ã Budukeli Atuwa Heladiwa Ajuro Helu
Basin Thubuha” 2

Here the word ‘Pariwarthanaya’ has been replaced by the word

‘thubuha’. ‘The author of Mahawansa’, the The main traditional literary
source of writing history, Rev.Mahanama who resided in Mahavihara, also
compiled another source book, ‘Sihalatta katha mahawansa’ 3

It is easy to conclude here that in classical Sinhala literary arena,

translation has been used to connote various different meanings. From this
we can understand that in classical Sinhala literature the word
'pariwarthanaya’ does not necessarily contain the meaning of the English
word ‘translation.’

According to the Sinhala Dictionary, ‘Pariwarthanaya’ means, ‘a text that

has been translated from one language to another’ 4 In Sri Sumangala
dictionary ‘translation’ is defined as ‘peralima’. The dictionary that has been
prepared by Rev. Polwaththe Bubbhaththa deeply scrutinizes to the word:
change into another language5

In the Pali Dictionary of Gunapala Weerasekara, two concepts,

‘Anuwadaya’ and ‘Pariwaththanaya’ have been defined as carrying the same
meaning:

Anuwada (Adaptation) : 1. Translation

2. Repetition6
This shows that even in some lexicons the words
‘Pariwaththanaya’(translation) and ‘Anuwaththanaya’ (adaptation) have
been used without any difference. The fact that the first volum of the Sinhala
Encyclopedia does not refer to the Pali word ‘Anuwaththanaya’ further
attests to the fact that in some lexicons Pariwaththanaya and
‘Anuwaththanaya’ had no difference. The Sinhala Translation Conference
Report(1965), however, gives descriptive definitions to these two words.
According to that report, repeating the same things that happen to be in a
literary or academic text in another language, for the benefit of the readers
who do not know the language of the original text, has been designated as
‘translation’, while the word 'adaptation' has been defined as modifying the
original text in another language. 7
The text ‘Sinhala Pariwarthana Sahithya’ has more descriptively
analysed the word ‘Pariwarthanaya’

1. ‘Anukrutiya’ : A text produced after imitating another text that was

written in another language. The new text would change the
original background, personal names and place names.
2. ‘Chayanuwadaya’ : Take only the summary of the original text and
represent it in completely different from.
3. ‘Sankshiptha Anuwadaya’ (Summarized adaptation) summarized
the original text in another language.8

Susan Bassnett, in her Translation Studies has defined five prerequisites

for translation:

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 1. The translator must fully understand the sense and the meaning
of the original author although he is at liberty clarify obscurities
2. The translator should have a perfect knowledge of both SL and
TL languages.
3. The translator should avoid word-for-word rending.
4. The translator should use forms of speech in common use.
5. The translator should chose and order word appropriately
produce the correct tone.9

1.2 Classical Sinhala Translations:

Usually the Classical Sinhala literary period is defined as time between

Anuradhapura period and Kotte period. Anuradhapura period marked the
beginning of Sinhala translations. ‘Helatuwa’ or ‘Sihalattakatha’ of
Anuradhapura period are Sinhala interpretations for the Pali Buddhist texts.
They were translated into Pali language to protect them. For the benefit of
future generations. At the same time Pali Buddhist texts had been translated
into Sinhala language for the benefit of ‘the island dwellers’

‘Dmpiya Atuwa Gatapadaya’ mentions that Pali texts had been

translated to Sinhala during the Anuradhapura period. A Pali text called
‘Papaggasudani’ also mentions it.
‘Aththappakasanaththan attakatha aditho vasi sathehi
Panchabiya sangitha anupangeethacha pachchapi
Sihala deepan pana abhathatha vaseena maha mahindena
Tapitha sihala bhasaya deepavaseena maththaya’10

The meaning of this stanza is ‘Thripitakaya’ that was in Magadha

language had been translated into the language of the island for the benefit
of its dwellers. The classical Sinhala literature started with that kind of
translations. In later time ‘Sihalatta Katha’ which were in Sinhala were once
again translated to Pali for the benefit of the monks in other countries.
‘Sanwannana seehala deepakena
Wanyena esa panasan khamatha
Ni kinchi aththan abisambuthathi
Depanthare bhikku janassa yasma’11

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 “These illustrations are in Sinhalese and, therefore, will not be useful
to the monks in other countries; the illustrations in Pali language, therefore,
will be started by me”. This vividly shows that at the beginning of the

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 classical period, Pali texts had been translated into Sinhalese and vice
versa. It also indicates that while Sinhala language was in wide usage among
local people, Pali language was used as an international language.

‘Siyabaslakara’, compiled by the King Sena 1, which was constantly

considered as an acceptable literary theory book and, therefore, widely used
as a guide book by the poets as critics is also a translation. It is a translation
of a Sanskrit work ‘Kavyadarshaya’ by Dandin. This book no doubt, was
considered in the contemporary literary arena as a leading critical
composition.

Derasvas kiyami-peragath sakevinudu wu

Nodatha nodatha dewbas- siyakawlakuninek des12

This aptly shows the importance of translation at that era. Almost all
classical texts were prepared with the help of either Pali or Sanskrit texts.
Sometimes one Pali text was completely translated into Sinhala. Sinhala
texts were also prepared after selecting facts from ‘Tripitaka’ and compiled
then as a different text.

‘Pansiya Panas Jathaka Potha’ is a adaptation of ‘Jathakattakatha’.

‘Saddharma Rathnawaliya’ is a creative adaptation of ‘Dammapadattakatha’.
‘Saddharmalankaraya’ is an adaptation of Pali text ‘Rasawahini’. ‘Sinhala
Bodhiwanshaya’ is an adaptation of Pali ‘Bodhiwansaya’ . ‘Sinhala
Thupawansaya’ is an adaptation of Pali ‘Thupawansaya’.
‘Eluaththanagaluwansaya’ is an adaptation of ‘Haththawanagalla Vihara
Wansaya’. ‘Saddharmarathnakaraya’ is an adaptation of ‘Sarasangraha’.

An important fact regarding the above mentioned texts is that they

cannot at all be considered as mere translations. Sinhala text are
considerably different from their originals, because each of them are altered
according to the personal tastes of the Sinhala audience; or the whole
context was changed suitable for the contemporary social environment.
Some Sinhala texts, therefore, are in such an excellent quality that
sometimes they surpass their originals.

‘Amawathura’ by Gurulugomi is the most creative work belongs to

the Polonnaruwa era. While some people consider this as a direct translation,

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others refuse that idea. Gurulugomi did not rely on single source book. He
used many Pali texts. Using a creative language innate to himself,
Gurulugomi presented one of the immortal texts that ever existed in Sinhala
literature.

“Gurulugomi taking facts from Sutta and Atuwa presents a selective

version showing a good taste. He had been well-versed with Sutta and
Attakatha styles. He often lopped off unnecessary repetition in Sutta and
took only the core of the story. After taking the core incidents, he presented
a concise yet poignant version of the stories”13

These simple, plain translations were replaced by more descriptive

and creative adaptations during the next era. ‘Saddarma Rathnawaliya’ and
‘Pansiya PanasJathakaya’ took a prominent place among other adaptations.
According to Rev. Dharmasena who claims the authorship of Saddarma
Rathnawaliya, “The text we did excluding the Pali system, taking only the
core facts; there may be some problematic instances, yet without giving any
consideration to them as the swan that separate milk from water ….” 14 Gose
without saying Rev. Dharmasena’s effort to present a new creative version
without damaging the original story is a praiseworthy Endeavour. Compared
to the original texts they should better be called adaptation of Pali text
Rasawahini. It had been done by Rev. Dammakirthi. Since Magadhi or Pali
language is for away from the understanding of common audience, it had
been claimed to be translated into Sinhalese.

“………. The doctrine that was expressed by the Buddha for the
benefit of the people, is in Magadhi, and therefore, cannot be understood by
the dwellers of Sinhaladvipa; therefore I wish to complete a text in Hela to
exist for long , receiving the reverence of virtuous people”. 15

‘Kavya Shekaraya’ which was done by Rev. Rahula was also

supported by Saththubaththa Jathakaya in Jathakattakatha. In the same
manner Sasadawatha, Muwadevdawatha, Guththilaya also used stories from
‘Pansiyapanas Jathakaya’. Except few poetry books, a large number of
poems composed in Kotte era, had been supported by Pali texts.

During the Mahanuwara period which comes after Kotte period, we

encounter literary works galore; a large number of them are either
translations or adaptations. Prof. Snnasgala’s following statement will
further clarify this idea:

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 “ Among translations that were done during the Mahanuwara period,
Harischandra Katha kavya had been translated into Sinhala from Tamil in
1726. Pali Wimanawattu was translated into Sinhala as Sinhala Prakaranaya
in1770. ‘Ummadanthi Jathakaya’ which does not appear in the Sinhala
Jathaka Boook , translated to Sinhala during 1770-1778. A text called ‘Sri
Saddharmadana’ which was a translation by Rev,Hinatikumbure Sumangala
was famous among Sinhalese as Sinhala Milinda Prasnaya’”16

When we consider about the translations in classical Sinhala literature,

we should pay our attention to translation regulations. In this regard we can
observe that there are no such widely accepted rules or regulations. Almost
all the translators have been driven by their personal interests; for an
example when Amawathura was prepared the writer did not restrict to a
single text. At the beginning of the ‘Samantha Pasadika’ it is mentioned that
it will replaces pali language to Sinhala in Atuwa and, furthermore, detailed
description will be summarized, while inserting important facts.

This aptly indicates that these writers paid attentions to both source
language and the targeted language. The key factors as far as classical
Sinhala translations are concerned as follows;
1. Source language was replaced by Sinhala.
2. Descriptive parts were summarized.
3. All the important facts included.
4. Grammatical rules of the targeted language were safeguarded.17

It is clear this that although the original text and the translated text differ
from languages, the translated text should contain all the important facts
in the original text.
“ I will include only the facts; not the ward. I will tell it in Magadha
language.”18 This clearly shows that classical Sinhala translations
concentrated on facts rather than translating each and every wards in the
original. Since some original texts no longer available, we cannot say to
what extent the facts in the original texts were included by the translators.

When we compare ‘Amáwathura’ and ‘Buthsarana’, we can

understand the methodological differences in translating. We meet the
same incidence described in different ways in these two texts.
Gurulugòmi preferred a word to word translation while the author of
Buthsarana, enjoying a great a great freedom, included his own

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instructions. The translation pattern in Buthsarana, influenced almost all
the literary works in latter times like ‘Sadhdharma Rathnawaliya’,
‘Jathakapotha’, ‘Saddharmalankaraya’.

‘Mahawansa’ reveals the importance placed on translation when Pali

Jathakattakatha was translated into Sinhalese. According to it highly
qualified monks from chóla, who were well-versed in various languages,
were given prime position in this procedure. The text was prepared after
being consulted with a panel of experts of the subject.

‘Atha só chóla desiyan nà nà basha wisaradan

Thathkagamadharan ekan suthwa suthwa nirantharan
Thani sabbani pagna sadhike panchasathe subhe
Jathake palibhasatho seehalaya niruththiya
Kamatho pariwaththethwa pitakaththaya dharinan’19

According to this it is clear that when a text translated it was minutely

scrutinized by the expert of the subject. Hence Sinhala Jathaka Book
became a successful translation.

1:3 Translation issues:

There are a numbers of problems when we translate an academic text
or literary text. Most times these problems concerned with language
matters. It is not enough to be an export of both source language and
target language to become a successful translator. If the translator is not
good at both languages, goes without saying, his effort end up in failure
when translating a text, the translator must well-equipped with the
cultural background of the relevant text. On the otherhand he should be
well-versed with the written and verbal usages of the target language. If
not outcome will not be a proper translation.

“Two languages do not simply mean two expensive modes; deeply

blow each language there is a different viewpoint, different opinion
derived from different cultural background; due to this, two different
grammatical systems resulted in.”20

From this quotation it is clear that for translating, knowledge about

languages is not adequate. Translators will face many problems without
understanding the proper function of the relevant culture of the source
language. Languages are symbolic expressive systems according to

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which one language differs widely from another. It is extremely difficult
to translate one set of symbolic expressive system to another language for
the Sinhalese, for an example, Dhàgaba, Vihara, Dharmasàla are not
mere buildings; Bò tree is not one of trees, Sinhala expressive systems
are considerably reasoned by Budhism and its long existed cultural
patterns. Hence a foreigner will face many difficulties when translating a
Sinhala text to another language. Though the Bible has been translated to
1064 languages, in many countries a number of issues arose due to
cultural differences.

In any languages, words may load with many connotations, beyond

their simple dictionary definitions. Western critics explain this as
‘denotation’ and ‘connotation’ of a word. This fact also may cause many
problems in translations. When the target language is not powerful
enough to express loaded terms of source language, translators face a
number of problems. In such instances lack of vocabulary may lead to a
poor translation Target Language, therefore, in a stage to create new
word suitable for the terms in the source language.

Another problem that a translator faces is lack of glossaries. New

worldly trends like industrialization, modernization, westernization and
globalization have widened the vocabulary of many languages. Due to
new inventions and discoveries it is necessary to coin new words match
with the original words. This issue mainly occurs in translating academic
texts.

“when translating an academic text it has often become problematic to

find new terms go with a specified glossary. It is necessary to coin new
terms suitable for new subject. At the beginning of the 19th century that
kind of glossaries were prepared for new subjects. As a result of the
government language policy, a number of subjects should have been
presented in Sinhala language and that purpose with the help of many
institutions a considerable number of glossaries have been prepared.”21

Though some people think that it is an easy task to translate academic

texts, in actuality it is the most difficult task.

A translator may face many problems when he selects to translate a

literary text; poem, short story, novel- in such cases the translator should
be a creative writer, because many aspects like the style of the writer,

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 illustrations and characters in the text should be carefully presented in
another language. Has the true mentality of the writer been reproduced in
the translated text? To what extend has the social and cultural backdrop
of the original text been reproduce in the translated text? These problems,
no doubt, can happen, when one tries to translate a literary text. In some
languages, certain words are loaded with many implications that may not
appear in lexicon interpretations. In such cases, translator may not be
able to reproduce the true meaning of the original text.

“translating a literary text is much more difficult than translating an

academic text, because the definite lexicon meanings of the words appear
in academic texts do not happen in literary texts. It is easy to put Sinhala
words to a certain glossary of an academic text than searching various
words for a literary work.”22

We can summarize some main issues that translator may face when
translating a literary text as follows;

 Difficulty in understanding the exact meaning of the original text

as a result of the vague language the writer has used.
 The necessity to coin new words for the text.
 The translator has to protect the originality of the illustrations.
 Hidden meanings of the original text should be included in the
translated text.23

The problems that translator face, however, differ from one literary
text to another. If a text which is an outcome of completely different cultural
background is selected to translate, his task is not an easy one.

However a clever translator can overcome all these problems and he

will be able to produce a new text, possibly far better than the original one.

1. 4 New Sinhala Translation

At the end of the classical Sinhala period, we meet the new Sinhala
literary era. The specialty in the era is that, it was heavily influenced by
western literature. The fact that our country was under the British rule for a
considerable time, and as a result of it the spread of Missionary education,

10
heavily influenced Sinhala literature. Under such circumstances translations
played a big role.

We can divide new Sinhala translations into a number of categories.

 Fictional translations
 Science and technology
 Legal documents
 Media document
 iudc mßj¾;k
 ix{d mßj¾;k

All these translations are being done to meet the social necessities. A large
number of fictional translations have been translated from English language
and for that category both novels and short stories include. These fictional
translations are mainly aim at the countries like Russia, Japan, the USA,
African countries, china, England and India.

During the decade of 1950, a large number of texts written in English

were translated to Sinhala. The establishment of state language department?
Is one of the reasons that helped that tendency? Cultural department which
was established in 1956, ushered some kind of cultural enlightenment in
country. During that time the government built libraries in almost all
districts in the country and fostered reading abilities. Under these
circumstances, a large of translations came out of the press.

There has been a great tendency to translate Russian and English

fiction to Sinhala. Among the famous novels and short story collections, the
following are noteworthy: Anna Karanina, Brothers Karamazov, the war and
Pease, The diamond Necklace, Mother. Siril. C. Perera, Padhmaharsha,
K.G. Karunathilaka, Munidasa Senarath Yapa, Chintha Lakshmi
Sinharachchi are prominent translators. All the important literary works like
the old man and the sea, Kohoro, The Good Earth have been translated to
Sinhala. When literary texts were translated to Sinhala. When literary texts
were translated to Sinhala many aspects were taken into consideration:

 As was mentioned by the translators themselves they

translated these texts, because they are considered as classics
by the critics.
 The popularity or greatness of the writer.

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  Some people translate fiction with an eye to money.
 To show off one’s language skills.
 Personal contacts with foreign writers sometimes lead to
translate their works.
 To popularize the religious beliefs, people translate novels
with religious themes.
 When the cultural background of the original text is very
much similar to that of Sri Lanka, translators tend to
translate them with the hope that they would be much closer
too the local reader.24

Other than these facts, we can see that some people tend to translate
text merely to earn money. Such fictions, unfortunately, has wide
circulation and they have already caused many problems. Some
translators have come to the field without any knowledge about the
subject and that has caused many issues. Translation is a serious
discipline which requires thorough study before becoming a
translator.

Foot Notes

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1
‘Dampiya Atuwa Gatapadaya’,edited by D.E. Hettiarachchi, university of Ceylon, 1974, p 268.
2
‘Dampiya Atuwa Gatapadaya’ p.269.
3
‘Mahawansaya’, edited by Buddhadaththa himi Polwaththe, Colombo, 1959.
4
‘Sri Sumangala Sabdhakoshaya’ ( second edition), Walivitiye Soratha himi, Galkissa, 1970,p 563.
5
‘Pali Sinhala Akaradiya’, Polwaththe Buddhadaththa himi,Colombo, 1988,p323.
6
‘Pali Sabdhakoshaya’, Gunapala Weerasekara, Colombo, 1968,p28.
7
‘Sinhala Pariwarthana Sahithya’, Deparment of Cultural Affairs, Colombo,1965,p3.
8
Sinhala Pariwarthana Sahithya, p3.
9
Susan Bussnett, Translation studies, Revised edition, London and New York, 1980-1991,p54.
10
‘Papancha Sudani’ Sri Dhammananda Darmakirthi himi,Wichchasara Mudranalaya, Colombo,p1.
11
‘Samanthapasadika Sawisthara wyakyawa’, (first section), Siri Pagnaseeha himi, Colombo, 1933,p8-9.
12
‘Siyabaskakara’, Henpitagedara gnanaseeha himi,Colombo,1964,p3.
13
‘Amawathura, edited by Kodagoda Gnanaloka,Colombo,1967.
14
‘Sarathi’, Ministry of Cultural Affairs in Central Province,p96.
15
‘Saddharma Rathnawaliya’, Kiriyalle Gnanawimala thero, M.D. Gunasena saha Samagama, Colombo,2007,p02.
16
‘Saddharma Rathnawaliya’, Kiriyalle Gnanawimala thero, M.D. Gunasena saha Samagama, Colombo,2007,p30.
17
‘Pariwarthana Nawakathawa ha Lanka Samajaya’, Nimal Wijesiri, Ariya Prakasakayo, Warakapola,2007,p33.
18
‘Pahanin Pahana’, Siril Sri Perera Upahara Granthaya, Godage saha Sahodarayo, Colombo 10,p11.
19
‘Dampiya Atuwa Gatapadaya’ p08.
20
‘Mahawansaya’, Buddhadaththa himi,81,82,83 verses.
21
‘Sambhasha’, Ministry of Education and Higher Education,Colombo,1999.p21.
22
‘Sathasanwathsara samuru Sasthriya kalapaya,’ Sri Lanka Prachina Bhasopakara Samagama,Colombo, p167.
23
‘Kawya Vichara Gaweshana’, P.D. Wijayawardana, Colombo,1969,p171.
24
‘Pariwarthana Nawakathawa ha Lanka samajaya’, 2007,p171.