Gatekeeping Symbolic Violence

1
Gatekeeping Symbolic Violence

• Systemic Functional Grammar Perspective in
  Translating Legitimacythe case of the Bhagavad
  Gita
• Phrae Chittiphalangsri
• University College London

2
Language and Symbolic Power
3
Authority, Distinction, Symbolic power
4
Struggle for Distinction

• Edward Said Impersonal language
• impersonal vocabulary that can be passed on and
  taken up by next generations of Orientalists
• Profit of Distinction
• Symbolic power
• Symbolic violence
• mis/recognition (mé/connaissance)

5
Gatekeeping symbolic violence
6
Bhagavad Gita in translations 1785-1878

• Sir Charles Wilkins (1785) English
• J.P. Parraud (1787) French - translated from
  Wilkinss English translation
• John Cockburn Thomson (1855) - English
• Emile Burnouf (1861) - French
• John Davies (1878) - English

7
SFG Analysis

• Information Structure Theme/Rheme
• Transitivity Process type, Agent Noun, Passive
  voice
• Cohesion conjunction (punctuation), lexical
  cohesion, reference (lexical reference)

8
TEXT 1

• prakr?teh?1 kriyaman?ani2 gun?aih?3 karman?i4
  sarvasah?5
• 1 Nature, 2 works done, 3 by the gunas
  (qualities), 4 works, 5 all over,
• aham?kara vimud?hatma6 karta7ham8 iti9 manyate10
• 6 the foolish man bewildered by his false ego, 7
  am the doer, 8 I, 9 so (speech marker), 10 he
  thinks
• Remarks
• 1. First line actions affected by nature
• Second line man whose ego is bewildered thinks
  he does the actions
• 2. Karta agent noun doer

9

• Wilkins
• The man whose mind is led astray by the pride of
  self-sufficiency, thinketh that he himself is the
  executor of all those actions which are performed
  by the principles of his constitution.

10

• Parraud
• Celui donc lesprit est égaré par lorgueil de
  ses propres lumières, simagine que cest
  lui-même qui exécute toutes les actions qui
  résultent des principes de sa constitution.

11

• Thomson
• Actions are always effected solely and entirely
  by the qualities of nature. The man whose mind is
  befooled by ignorance thinks I am the doer of
  them.

12

• Burnouf
• Toutes les uvres possibles procèdent des
  attributs naturels (des êtres vivants)  celui
  que trouble lorgueil sen fait honneur à
  lui-même et dit   Jen suis lauteur  

13
Burnouf (cont)
14

• Davies
• Works are done entirely by the modes of Nature.
  He whose soul is bewildered by vanity thinks, I
  am the doer

15
TEXT 2

• loke1smin2 dvividha3 nis?t?ha4 pura5 prokta6
  maya7nagha8
• 1 world, 2 in this, 3 two kinds of, 4 paths, 5
  before, 6 have been taught, 7 by Me, 8 O sinless
  one (Arjuna),
• jñana-yogena9 samkhyanam10 karma-yogena11
  yoginam12
• 9 the path of knowledge, 10 for men of
  contemplation, 11 the path of works, 12 for men
  of action
• Remarks
• 1. lokesmin in this world
• 2. prokta pra- (prefixbefore,forth) vac
  (root verbspeak) prokta
• spoke, said, declared, told, announced, taught
  (past participle)
• 3. maya by me (by Kr?s?n?a)
• 4. Anagha sinless one (Arjunas epithet)

16

• Wilkins
• It hath been observed by me, that in this world
  there are two institutes That of those who
  follow the Sankhya, or speculative science, which
  is the exercise of reason in contemplation and
  the practical, or exercise of the moral and
  religious duties.

17

• Parraud
• Jai déjà observé que dans ce Monde il y a deux
  Doctrines  celle du Sankhya, ou Science
  spéculative, qui est lexercice de la raison en
  contemplation  celle de le pratique, ou
  exercice des devoirs moraux religieux.

18

• Thomson
• I have already declared to thee, sinless one!
  That there were two modes of life in this
  worldthat of the followers of the Sánkhya
  (rational) school in devotion through spiritual
  knowledge, and that of the followers of the Yoga
  (devotional) school in devotion through works.

19

• Burnouf
• En ce monde, il y a deux manières de vivre  je
  te lai déjà dit, prince sans péché  les
  rationalistes contemplateurs sappliquent à la
  connaissance  ceux qui pratiquent lUnion
  sappliquent aux uvres.

20

• Davies
• There is in this world a twofold rule of life,
  as I said before, O sinless one!that of the
  Sankyans, by devotion of knowledge, and that of
  the Yogins, by devotion of work.

21
Cohesion
22
Conjunction

• Wilkins and Parraud
• Conjunctions follow orthographical standard e.g.
  but, and cannot start a sentence
• Each sentence tends to be self-dependent less
  cohesion between sentences
• Thomson
• Fiction-narrative style of conjunction usage
• Conjunction is a major cohesive chain
• Explicitate relationship between clauses by
  assigning specific conjunction
• Burnouf and Davies
• More reliance on punctuation punctuation marks
  the similarity of structure with Sanskrit
• Relationship between clauses is connoted by the
  use of punctuation

23
Lexical Cohesion -1

• Terms of Kinship
• svajana (our men), sam?bandhi (kinsmen),
  svabandhava (our kinsmen), kula (family), and
  pitr? (father).
• Wilkins kindred, near relations, race, blood,
  family, relations, tribe, forefathers
• Parraud parents, race, famille, Ancêtres,
  tribu, sang
• Thomson relations, relatives, tribes, father,
  kin
• Burnouf parents, famille, pères, proches, race
• Davies kinsmen, kin, tribe, forefathers,
  family, kindred

24
Lexical Cohesion-2

• Terms of Institution and ideology

25
Reference/Lexical Reference

• Epithets of Kr?s?n?a

26
Distinction in Linguistic Capital (19th century)

• 1. Tendency towards syntactical simulation
• - literalism is associated with grammar
• To master a language is to master the
  grammar
• - decrease in grammatical approximation
• 2. Less need for explicitation and direct
  intervention
• - attempt to keep Sanskrit syntax despite the
  unnatural effect
• - more reliance on punctuation
• - correspond to increasing use of paratexts
  (footnotes)

27
Distinction in Linguistic Capital (19th century)
cont

• 3. Tendency towards anthropological description
  of India (scientific terms)
• - changing in perception of India from colonial
  to scientific approach as reflected in changing
  sets of lexical cohesion.
• 4. Tendency towards maintaining Sanskrit proper
  names/cultural specific terms
• - more use of footnotes
• - increasing knowledge of mythological background