So...Why Did We Read This? Oh, Now I See.

I am just going to throw this out there....Translations was NOT my favorite read. In fact, along the way, I kept thinking to myself how much I despised having to read such a seemingly pointless book. But by the third act, something about this book had grown on me. That something turned out to be the unique and crucial question of language.

Unlike so many books we have read over the course of our academic careers, Translations was not so much about a personal journey or an investigation of societal issues or any of the other common themes we so often encounter. I think for this reason, I found it so irritating to read because I was not seeing the picture and importance of why we were reading it.

But then things became a little more clear. For instance, the book suggests the question of whether or not this statement in particular is true: "The old language is a barrier to modern progress" (Friel 25). At first, this statement struck me as totally true. I mean, how can a culture of people be successful on a universal level if they are restricted by their means of communicating. Such disconnect permeates throughout all aspects of their lives. For example, issues of trade and travel would surely surface. Again, war seems to often be brought about by cultures that cannot find a common ground of communication. But then I began to understand that with this encouragement of modernization, something quite extraordinary is lost or devalued. Specifically, in Translations, the act of changing the names of things from Irish to English means that part of the essence of Ireland, but more so its people, is torn away. What I like about this book is that it argues this question but does not provide an answer. Because, the bottom line is there really is not an answer. Taking the comment, "The old language is a barrier to modern progress" as either true or false means a loss of something no matter how you slice it.