[INDOLOGY] A terminological question

Artur Karp karp at uw.edu.pl
Thu Aug 9 08:47:47 UTC 2018


> Artur's concern is ---

--- certain terminological substitutes selected by the translators as 'more
elegant' effectively remove the early Buddhist sangha from the original
socio-economic context of its aims and activities.

In the already classic example: the shift from 'smith' to 'goldsmith', from
'hog's mincemeat' to 'truffles', locates, effectively, the Buddha and his
disciples in the world unknown to them.

In their world Cunda is a village smith; he offers them shelter and a local
delicacy: minced pork.

As a village artisan Cunda seems to represent the main social group
addressed by the Buddha's message: the people actively involved in the
process of change, civilizational change.

As retold by some of the translators, the story drags the Buddha's name
into politics, in its local and, consequently, general manifestations.

Cunda, a rich goldsmith (rare truffles in dishes offered to his noble
guests) becomes a natural addressee of the Buddha's message. By accepting
his invitation, the Buddha confirms Cunda's high status and, symbolically,
separates himself from other, less successful members of the community.

There are many other - although not always so evident - examples of such
translatorial practices.

The need to recognize similar textual traps, with their interpretative
temptations, is what makes translating the Mahaparibbana-sutta (in my case
- into Polish) a difficult but exciting project.

Thanking for your comments, greetings & regards from over-hot Warsaw,

Artur Karp





2018-08-08 17:49 GMT+02:00 Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info>:

> Dear Birgit,
>
>
> Yes, perhaps I had in mind the way in which Pollock's usage has been
> extended in subsequent scholarship. E.g., Ashley Thompson, "Engendering the
> Buddhist State," pp. 32-36, "Hyperglossia and the DevarAja," where it is a
> question, within Khmer usage, of the replacement of indigenous Khmer names
> and terms with Sanskrit equivalents. And I think this sort of thing was
> Artur's concern.
>
>
> And I don't believe that Pollock's usage excluded this extension.
>
>
> Matthew
>
>
> Matthew Kapstein
> Directeur d'études,
> Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes
>
> Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies,
> The University of Chicago
> ------------------------------
> *From:* INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of
> Birgit Kellner via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, August 8, 2018 10:36:13 AM
> *To:* indology at list.indology.info
>
> *Subject:* Re: [INDOLOGY] A terminological question
>
>
> Pollock uses "hyperglossia" for a relationship between languages, though,
> as a special hierarchical case of diglossia, not for describing individual
> acts or habits of linguistic choice (which seems to be what the original
> question was after).
>
>
> Birgit Kellner
>
> Am 2018-08-08 um 11:01 schrieb Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY:
>
> I don't recall that Pollock limits it to translation. And it definitely
> refers to moving from a "lower" to a "higher" linguistic register, which is
> not quite what we mean by "euphemism".
>
>
> Matthew Kapstein
> Directeur d'études,
> Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes
>
> Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies,
> The University of Chicago
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Nagaraj Paturi <nagarajpaturi at gmail.com> <nagarajpaturi at gmail.com>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, August 8, 2018 3:51:25 AM
> *To:* Matthew Kapstein
> *Cc:* Artur Karp; INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
> *Subject:* Re: [INDOLOGY] A terminological question
>
> Does Prof. Pollock use it in the context of translation only?
>
> If it is general context of semantic change, 'euphemism' has similarity
> with this, except that the replaced word refers to an 'obscene',
> 'inauspicious', 'unparliamentary' meaning hence is considered to be crude
> or explicit usage.
>
> On Wed, Aug 8, 2018 at 2:07 PM, Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
> Dear Artur,
>
>
> The term "hyperglossia," as introduced by Pollock in his
>
> The Language of the Gods in the World of Men,
>
> refers to this phenomenon, though I am not sure how widespread this usage
> is. Pollock seems to have treated it as a neologism.
>
>
> If I understand just what you are talking about, James Strachey's
> translations of Freud -- e.g. his rendering of "das Ich" as "the ego" --
> may serve as a modern example. You may therefore find other terms for what
> you are looking for by digging into the critical literature on Strachey's
> translations.
>
>
> good luck,
>
> Matthew
>
>
> Matthew Kapstein
> Directeur d'études,
> Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes
>
> Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies,
> The University of Chicago
> ------------------------------
> *From:* INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of Artur
> Karp via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, August 7, 2018 2:48:50 PM
> *To:* indology
> *Subject:* [INDOLOGY] A terminological question
>
> Dear List,
>
> [From my main e-mail address]
>
> In my work with the Pali works - original texts and their translations - I
> come across traces of a peculiar practice.
>
> The translators tend, not infrequently, to supplant plain, ordinary,
> common terms with their more elegant, subtler lexical equivalents.
>
> There is a *Greek/Latin* *term* for this practice - but I cannot recall
> it.
>
> May I count on your help *re*?
>
> Artur Karp
> Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit and Pali (ret.)
> Chair of South Asian Studies
> University of Warsaw
> Poland
>
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>
>
> --
> Nagaraj Paturi
>
> Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
>
>
> BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra
>
> BoS, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Veliyanad, Kerala
>
> Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies
>
> FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,
>
> (Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA )
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
> --
> ----
> Prof. Dr. Birgit Kellner
> Director
> Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia
> Austrian Academy of Sciences
> Hollandstrasse 11-13/2
> A-1020 Vienna
> Austria
> Phone: +43-(0)1-51581-6420
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>
>
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