Culture

Culture. The only way to sum up any entire peoples thoughts, feelings, actions, history, and customs in one word. The beauty and extravagance held by just one of these beacons of light is indescribable. And it can only really be described and understood through direct experience. But in order to be compassionate beings, we need to see and understand the cultures that may not be our own. This is done through things like documentaries and stories. Most importantly in the stories category are books. But are they accurate? Can one really take some much and put it between two covers? The answer, in short, is no. At least not completely. It is undisputedly valuable to learn and understand the customs and meanings behind other culture. What better way than to hear the tales of tragedy and awe that exist in the world? What better way than to see the politics and intrigue behind every story? But there are two major issues. First, everything is subject to the interpreter’s interpretation. As is evident from the issues raised by Feng Tang in 2014. He retranslated “Stray Birds” a collection of 300 poems by Tangore. He did not except this to be his most controversial work, as his previous works were known to be blunt to say the least. However, this work was called vulgar on multiple occasions by multiple people. All that done on the basis of three slightly, what is the word, sensual poems. He received multiple death threats and media heat from both hi native China and India as well. Though not necessarily a bad thing, it does remind us that the translator has the ultimate power overt the hidden meanings and inflections in the work. The second, and far more dangerous problem, is the loss meaning. It is often said that there are words that cannot be directly translated. For example, in German there is a word for the feeling of being lost in the woods. This word cannot be directly translated as it also implies all of the emotions that can occur in that situation. Another example is the use, in context, of Igbo words in Things Fall Apart. This is done as there was not suitable substitute in English. This furthers the previously made point. This is not to say it is not valuable to study other cultures and translated works. As was said in the earlier, there is much to be learned, but the reader must be aware of the possible loss or distortion of meaning before studying such works.