Cultural Translations

14Newmark thought, ‘translation is the most economical method of explaining one culture’s wayto another’ and ‘translation mediates cultures.’ 10 It seems that translation is an intrinsic part ofhuman activities, without which communication is impossible, and cultures cannot be formed.In other words, culture will not exist if there is no ‘translation.’ If culture is mediated by ‘translation,’then it is inevitably accompanied by adjustment of cultural values, as Lawrence Venutiwrote, ‘Translation, like every cultural practice, involves the creation of values, linguistic andliterary, religious and political, commercial and educational, as the particular case may be. Whatmakes translation unique is that the value-creating process takes the form of an inscribed interpretationof a foreign-language text, whose own values inevitably undergo diminution and revisionto accommodate those that appeal to domestic cultural constituencies.’ 11It short, all translations are cultural, being linguistic translation or ‘translation’ in the broadsense. Therefore, the term ‘cultural translation’ may sound strange, because it can imply a kindof translation that is not cultural. But this shall not surprise us, because ‘translation’ has beenoften mistaken as a simple transmission of words and sentences, regardless of cultural context.However, many translators, according to David Katan, are not aware of the relation betweentranslation and culture. “First, how languages convey meaning is related to the culture. Secondly,though languages can convey concepts from other cultures, people (including translators and interpreters)tend not to realize that their perception (through language) is, in fact, bound by theirown culture.’ 12 Therefore, Hatim and Mason proposed that a translator be placed to identify andresolve the disparity between signs and values across culture. 13Even though all translations are cultural, the term ‘cultural translation’ is still useful becauseit can highlight cultural aspects of a language text. Now we shall see how the so-called ‘culturaltranslation’ takes place at several different levels in a New Zealand novella The Whale Rider.Translating TraditionsThe Whale Rider was published in 1987. It was written by Witi Ihimaera (b. 1944), a prominentNew Zealand writer with Maori and European backgrounds. The story is about how a younggirl proved to be the leader of the Maori tribe. Her great-grandfather, the elder Moari tribe chiefKoro Apirana, thinks that only the male line of the oldest son can inherit the leadership. Whenhis oldest grandson’s first child was born a girl, Koro was deeply disappointed. Because of hisfirm belief in male’s leadership, he has ignored all the signs that indicate the girl’s potential. Heconstantly discourages her, and discriminates against her. But the girl loves him, and wants tohelp him to find the next leader, until she herself becomes the one.The novella is a mixture of Maori founding myth, fantasy and daily life. The myth relates that thepp.47-49.10 Newmark, Peter, 1995, ‘Translation Theory or Spoof’, Lecture delivered at the Trieste University, May.Quoted from David Katan, Translating Cultures: An Introduction for Translators, Interpreters and Mediators,Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing, 1999.11 Venuti, Lawrence ‘Retranslations: The UCreation of Value’ in Fuall, Katherine M., 2004, Translation andCulture, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: Bucknell University Press, p.25.12 Katan, David, 1999, Translating Cultures: An Introduction for Translators, Interpreters and Mediators,Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing, p.86.13 Hatim, Basil and Ian Mason, 1990, Discourse and the Translator, Harlow, Essex: Longman.Nanyan Guo