Do you know that Kaixana is spoken by only one person on this planet? Do you also know that approximately one language becomes extinct every two weeks?
As widely known, language is a tool for human beings to express themselves. The earthlings started to communicate with symbols, then gestures, and onomatopoeia, before actually, we were able to produce words and sentences. This whole process builds our current civilization, a modern civilization where the indigenous languages decline every year.
As indigenous speakers cease to exist, they are buried along with the traditions and cultural knowledge of their ancestors. The loss of the language means the loss of an identity which can lead to the extinction of the entire ethnic itself.
It diminishes the richness of human diversity and weakens the collective heritage that forms the foundation of our civilization. At this point, translation is the inception of our main concern for preserving dying cultures through the language.
The Role Of Translation in Language Preservation
The translation is like reincarnation where a creation is brought back to live in a different form. In a simple explanation, translation retells the stories in other languages so it can read be by other people who live in other parts of the world. It helps to cross the boundaries, transferring knowledge to a broader audience.
Some people in this world might not know the story of Ancient Egypt or Ancient Greece if it’s not because of the translation of the scripture. The scripture of Ancient Egypt can be well understood because of the Rosetta Stone, a bilingual degree inscribed in Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic script, and Ancient Greek. Since at that time, Greek had already known, the scholars deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs and Demotic script by translating them from the Ancient Greek language.
Another prominent revival of an ancient language through a translation is the Hittite language. The first inscription of the Hittite Empire was found in 1875. Due to the significant difference between similar Indo-European languages, archaeologists found it difficult to understand Hittite texts to decipher it.
In 1915, the archeologists made significant progress in translating the Hittite text based on the Assyrian language (Akkadian) because of their extensive communication through treaties and letters. These translations help to provide information on Hittite geopolitical, such as their confrontations with Egypt.
Language Preservation Efforts
After discussing the language revival through translation, then, how does a translation play a role in saving a language from extinction? Five years ago, the Alaskan Government collected the elders around Alaska for a project to revive the native language. The community fights together to save their dying indigenous language. Before they designed the curriculum, taught in schools, and passed it to the next generation, the first step they did was creating a dictionary.
As we know, a dictionary provides lists of words along with their meaning and pronunciation. The written definition can be presented in the same language or in how these morphemes appear in another language. It also gives us the context of the usage in phrases and sentences. This tool is a translation-based product that serves as a reliable reference for us to understand a language.
Developing a dictionary and reintroducing the language in the school ensures that the endangered language will be passed on to the next generation and will avoid its extinction.
In this era, things can be very well documented and they can be accessed everywhere and anywhere with the bits of help of technology. In Indonesia itself, even though some of these languages are not considered endangered, twelve indigenous scripts have been revitalized, namely, Javanese, Balinese, Ancient Sundanese, Bugis or Lontara, Rejang, Lampung, Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, Mandailing, dan Kerinci (Rencong or Incung).
Luckily, seven of them are registered in Unicode which makes them accessible on many platforms. This exemplifies how translation and technology can assist in preserving our cultural heritage.
Cultural Aspects In Translation
However, translating a language is beyond transferring its information and its story to other languages. It should ensure the nuances and values of the original resonate appropriately in the target language. I would say, translating means evoking spirits.
I, personally, when talking in my mother tongue, Malay-Bengkulu, feel more “being myself” than when I speak Indonesian. The utterances and the pragmatical expression are more relevant to my intentional thoughts.
This is due to the customs I grew up with and a prove that language is both science and art. It is systematic and empirical but it allows emotional reflection and can be presented in an aesthetic and creative approach.
Since the language is very dynamic, the translation should have remained relevant and accessible to the target audience. The invention of new words through slang expressions, colloquial language, and synonymous expressions that might cause a shift in meaning needs to be considered in the translation process, especially for historical translation.
One of the examples of this can be found in Kate Deimling’s essay, Digging Into The Past: Historical Research, the word gilet in French originally referred to a waistcoat, it would now be translated as “vest” to describe modern fashion. In other words, preserving a near-extinction language by keeping the translation relatable would be much more impactful.
Conclusion
Translation is more than converting the idea of one language to another language by keeping its tone, and emotion, and adapting the cultural content. It is a powerful medium to preserve knowledge, culture, and tradition. Through the translation, we can break the boundaries and appreciate the diversity of the civilization.
By documenting and translating an endangered language, we can give a voice to a voiceless language, promoting and passing this heritage to the next generation as a leap of faith to the broader language knowledge in the future.
