Comparative Literature and Translation Studies: Approaching an Understanding Between the Two

Abstract

Comparative literature cannot be thought of as ignoring translation. Instead, translation studies are more critical for comparative literature, as every word has several connotations for various cultures. Through translation, works of literature can influence each other, and people come closer to other cultures and understand others better. Most Indian readers, through the intermediary of translation, get access to the works of Goethe, Tolstoy, Balzac, Shakespeare, Gorky and many more. Translation studies as a subject have greater scope across the globe. Different Indian universities have started running degree or diploma courses in translation studies, and the new generation is attracted to it. Several public or private organisations need translators as public relations officers in their offices. This paper needs to consider the vital role translation plays in the broader literary phenomenon to demonstrate the impossibility of the general theory of literature. The circulation of texts and readings of world literature is only possible through translation, not as canonical literary texts. The paper explores translational studies' role in defining literature as a space between the source and receiving cultures and examines the comparative relationship literature has with translation studies.