Translating Differences, Translating Aboriginality: A study of Taiwanese Aboriginal Literature by Shammon Ranpoan
Translating Differences, Translating Aboriginality: A study of Taiwanese Aboriginal Literature by Shammon Ranpoan

Summary/Abstract: This study examines the translation of aboriginality in contemporary Taiwanese aboriginal literature. It explores the strategies Taiwanese aboriginal writer of the Tao tribe Shammon Ranpoan (1947-) employed in his books Cold Sea, Deep Love and Memories of Waves. Ranpoan is one of the pioneer aboriginal writers who write in Chinese to the wider readership of Taiwan. Since the 1980s, the Taiwanese aboriginal people have been finding their voice in aboriginal movements and in pen. For Taiwanese aboriginal writers, to write is to translate, whether the narrative is a journalistic report or literary creation, such as poetry or stories. In other words, when aboriginal people pick up their pen, they inevitably perform ―translation‖, which in this study I will discuss mainly in terms of language and ideology. To demonstrate how Ranpoan translated and imported cultural difference, I will elaborate two categories of translation styles he used in his writing: reconciled translation, and assertive translation, which mainly describe linguistic and cultural translation techniques. These two categories of translation styles are useful for understanding how Taiwanese Aboriginal authors such as Ranpoan translate aboriginal concepts into Aboriginal literature. This paper is informed by translation studies and post-colonial literature studies (or post-colonial translation) proposed by Maria Tymoczko, in line with concepts advocated by Susan Bassenett and Harish Trivedi. Through literature examined, I hope to illustrate the strategies of translating differences in Taiwanese Aboriginal Literature in the light of cultural contact and language contact.

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