Research Gateway

Translation has been a cultural and political project; it is inextricably linked to the ideology/ cultural identity of the power structures that dominate the society. Translation is part of the Orientalist agenda that conceptually assisted the colonization of the East. Translation forms part of the ethnographic project intended to show the world the "barbaric" literary islands or continents and to civilize the barbaric communities. The Orientalists thought that these literary islands, insulated from the West, were primitive and, therefore, they lacked sophistication. The Europeans, who believed in their innate sense of responsibility to civilize the world, found an excuse to intervene in the cultural life of the colonies. These interventions helped them to evolve the political strategies to expand and reinforce the colonial oppression of the East.