Linguistic and Aesthetic Constraints in Literary Translation: Phonic Considerations in Translating Śabda-śakti-mūla dhvani

Abstract

By outlining two features of language termed ‘lexical drift’ and ‘linguistic clogging’ and employing certain explanatory concepts of classical Indian aesthetics, this study addresses the question of how phonic elements of language constrain or smooth the ways of translation. Linguistic clogging, the study argues, constraints translation of expressions with śabda-śakti-mūla dhvani, SSMD (phonic-based suggestion) , in two ways. As a semantic constraint, the presence of SSMD in source expressions impedes translation if unsatisfied with target expressions. Secondly, as an aesthetic constraint, it curtails the aesthetic pleasure for readers even if the semantic constraint is satisfied by paraphrasing the source expressions. This study, analysing verses in English, Sanskrit, and Malayalam languages with SSMD, illustrates that if the constraints are not satisfied in the target expressions, they bring down the quality of translation. Nonetheless, satisfying both these constraints, by recovering the literal and suggested meanings where possible, can improve the quality of translation. Śabda-śakti-mūla dhvani (SSMD) is a sub-variety of dhvani where a figure of speech is suggested because of the inherent power of words. The meaning that is different from literal and metaphorical is termed “dhvani” (suggested meaning). Around the ninth century CE, Ānandavardhana articulated the philosophy of aesthetic suggestion and systematically theorised the concept of dhvani (suggestion) in his magnum opus Dhvanyāloka (Light on the Doctrine of Suggestion). He argues that the significative power of words is of two types, vācya (literal) and pratīyamāna (suggestive). SSMD is generally translated as “word-based suggestion”. In this paper, the author has translated SSMD as “phonic-based suggestion”, as sound elements distinguish SSMD from other varieties of dhvani.