| |
Book Summary of Writing India, Writing English: Literature, Language, Location
This volume explores the complex interaction between English and other Indian languages in the Indian literary oeuvre. The essays in this book examine how the nation is negotiated and constructed in English (and English translation), a language that calls for constant transformation even as it transforms Indian realities. It looks closely at how translation plays a major role in the making of an alternate nation, especially discussing the various developments in Tamil to give a counter-perspective.
The different essays raise a variety of questions and embody the tense power dynamics that mark this relationship.The first section discusses the decisive influence of English in India and the ideas of connectedness as a nation. Starting with an assessment of Macaulay and his famous Minutes, it includes essays on translating from Tamil and on the mixed language that is evolving in the Tamil cultural world because of the presence of English (and Hindi); the politics of anthologisation; and how Karnad`s Tughlaq deals with the idea of the nation, looking at its historical location.The second part delves into how Indian English literature grapples with the representation of the Indian nation, sometimes obsessively, evinced both in poetry and in novels. The ultimate focus is on the struggle between the dominant regional language of a place and English, along with the author`s location at this interface - part of the creative tension that gives energy and uniqueness to Indian English writing.
About the Author
G.J.V. Prasad is Professor of English and Chairperson of the Centre for English Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Table of Contents isbn
9780415693790
|
| |
Pages : 196
|