constructing pathways to translation - Higher Education Commission

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themselves are not well acquainted with the art and technique of translation. Another
important point is that, most of the Urdu translations are ‘free translations’.
All the conventions have been graded as ‘false’ and ‘deviant’, by translation experts. The
standards and technical principles to gauge the standards of translation, as have been
prescribed by the West, need to be considered, so that translation skills in Urdu may have
strong theoretical basis, and will enable to suggest some paradigms and parameters for
the development of translation skills (Durrani,1994:17).
For the development of Urdu translation pedagogy, Dr Atash Durrani holds that
translation is an art as well as technique. It is a matter of taste, skill and expertise, and all
these aspects should be considered in the process of translation. For translation criticism,
both functional and analytical research methods should be considered. Only then is one
able to translate and analyse translations appropriately.
A large number of reasons are responsible for the problems of translation in Pakistan,
which needs to be resolved immediately, if the discipline of Translation Studies is to be
established. Some major recommendations have been made in Chapter 10, which will
surely help in improving the existing state of affairs. According to research and
observation, there are two main reasons for all the fossilization and non-existence of the
discipline. They are:
� Linguistic Problem :Urdu language, and ways to improve it.
� English- Urdu controversy.
It has been considered by all Linguists and experts that once these two issues are
somehow settled, the solution to all other problems related to Translation Studies
(especially Urdu Translation Pedagogy) will be managed.
Some recommendations for this complex linguistic problem have been suggested:
In multi and bilingual situations, diglot publications have been used frequently in
America and elsewhere. In Pakistan this can be done successfully, if the uniform policy
is introduced, that all books in English and Urdu should be in both languages, either on
facing pages or in two parts within the same cover, as a means of fostering linguistic and
educational integration. While it is true that diglot publications are somewhat larger and
more expensive, they are only needed at the earlier stage of education. They do have a