Discuss Paraja as a translated novel.

  A novel set among the primitive PARAJA tribe has been translated into English by Bikram Das and has been published by Oxford University press & later by Faber & Faber.

Language: One of the most significant aspects for observation in Paraja is the use of various kinds of language. The language of the preliterate contrasts with the language of the literate, colloquial language rubs shoulders with refined literary language and prose lends towards poetry. By and large the role that language plays in structuring the novel is considerable.

The language of the preliterates is totally different from that of the literate characters, and Gopinath Mohanty makes use of a number of expressions from the tribal languages; he sometimes inserts into the text a couple of sentences, a phrase, a few words and expressions taken from the tribal language. At many points he has carefully explained some of these expressions and at certain other points he leaves it to the reader’s imagination, and in such situations the context provides the explanation. Imagine a sentence where half of it is in a tribal dialect and the other half in standard Odia; pitted against each other both the languages by emphasis on each other’s importance and identity go a long way in enhancing the meaningful possibilities of the situation in question. These snatches of tribal language occur naturally in the text but this kind of an effect cannot possibly be brought over to the translated version. 

Colloquialism: Colloquial language refers to words and expressions that belong to familiar speech and not to standardised or elevated speech. In dialogues between different characters in the novel you find innumerable colloquial expressions that are deeply rooted in the culture of the place, and the translator can at best make an effort towards approximation due to the lack of equivalents in the target language. If some of the colloquial words and expressions are given literal translation, then there might be misrepresentation, the import and its effect remaining in the original. To render colloquial expressions that have their roots deep in the tradition and culture of a people into other language is in fact, extremely difficult because another language means another people, another culture, and another tradition.  

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