The need for Translations

This is a beginning to emphasise the need to read and communicate in one’s own language. I believe that in today’s world, one needs to be multi-lingual. Multi language skill is not restricted to linguists or academicians. In the era of Global village, one needs to learn more than one language.

Lets keep the issue of learning foreign languages aside, and focus on our own Indian languages, to start with. In India, a country of infinite diversity, one has so many languages to learn and enjoy its flavour in order to grasp the cultural variety!

This need gives birth to translate one language into another. But since, quite a lot of emphasis is put in learning English for various reasons, let us examine its stand.

Please remember that English is hardly widespread in India, not nearly as much as people assume.

Only 3 to 5% of Indians speak English.

And please do not associate English fluency with being educated in India. There are many poor, uneducated English speakers and on the other hand many rich, well-educated Indians who speak little to no English.

Most schools in India teach in one of the other national languages– Hindi, Gujarati, Telugu among others– that is indigenous to India, with English sometimes as a second or third language.

So it makes perfect sense that a classic like Harry Potter is translated into Hindi and other Indian languages. Many children in India are educated in schools where English is not the medium of instruction. In such schools, English is only taught as a second language. For such kids, reading the Harry Potter books in English might not be as easy.

One doesn’t understand why “educated” children who learn English in school still can’t/shouldn’t be given the option to read the book in their own language as well. Norwegian children learn English in school from an early age too, but they still have the book translated into their own language.

Kids interested enough will still read it in English too, and having already read it first in their own language will make it much easier. Lets not forget that even adults would enjoy reading a classic in their own language.