LANGUAGE AND RESISTANCE IN BRIAN FRIEL ' S TRANSLATIONS

Abstract

This study aims at revealing the close relationship between language and resistance by presenting the Irish language as an example. Taking Brian Friel's Translations (1980) as the point of focus, the study investigates the influence of English occupation represented by the English language, (the language of the occupation forces), on the Irish language which represents the voice of the occupied. The study tries to trace the relation between language as a marker of identity on the one hand; and language as a way of resistance on the other hand. The study concludes that Irish language doesn't have power even inside its home land, in addition to the fact that the Irish people show indifference to the use of their language in their daily life. This fact is represented through the symbolic process of translating the geographic Irish places into English language. The co-operation between the Irish citizens with the forces of occupation reveals a political unconsciousness, and a hidden approval of replacing the Irish language by the language of the "enemy"! The study concludes that the translation process is of a symbolic significance since it reveals how much authority and power the colonizer has on the colonized. It also indirectly hints at the failure of any relations with the colonizer. This is concluded from the failure of the love affair between the English soldier and the Irish girl. To sum up, the study asserts the importance of language as a main element in the quest of the occupied countries for resistance and independence