Travel-writing and the translation of Malaya / Malaysia

Abstract

The field of translation , which originally has as its focus the search for linguistic equivalence in translating from one language into another, has evolved to also include the examination and analysis of other issues. Among other things, the field of translation has begun to look into questions relating to communication across cultures, specifically how cultures are constructed in translation. According to Lefevere (1992) a translation is 'a rewriting of an original text', and if we start from this premise, travel-writing thus becomes an important resource in the field of Translation Studies as it is able to provide insights into how cultures and identities are translated I rewritten, constructed, presented and represented. An important issue which arises here is how language is used to construct those cultures and identities. By examining selected travel accounts relating to Malaysia from the early 20th century to the present,the paper will attempt to look at dominant images and representations of Malaya / Malaysia. It will investigate how language is used to construct those images, and how observations on Malaya / Malaysia are described and documented. Also important is the comparison between the representations of Malaya then and the representations of Malaysia today. In short then, the aim of this paper is to examine how Malaya / Malaysia is translated for the consumption of foreign readers. In doing so, the paper focuses on the fundamental role of language in constructing the Malayan / Malaysian identity.