A Critical Analysis of Gender Representation in the English Translation of the Urdu Novel Pinjar by Pritam

Abstract

Aim of the Study: Gender research is an interdisciplinary field of education dedicated to the analysis of gender identity and gender representation. The present research deals with the processes of gender representation in the English translation of the Urdu novel Pinjar by Pritam. Pinjar is translated by Khushwant Singh and titled "The Skeleton". The study analyzes how gender is represented in English translation and how the translator’s gender ideology influences the act of translation. The source text is written by a woman and translated by a man.

Methodology: As a result, gender identities are reconstructed in translation. For this purpose, critical discourse analysis is adapted with the inclusion of Sherry Simon’s perspective “Gender in Translation”, and is used as a research framework. Extracts from both the source and target texts have been studied comparatively and then used for data analysis.

Findings: The findings of the current study show that the translator maintains a man's position whereas he represents women as low, weak, and powerless throughout the process of translation. In patriarchal societies, such bias leads to gender discrimination.

Conclusion: The current study concludes that language reflects the translator's position in constructing women's identities while also maintaining the male position in translation as well as in a patriarchal society.