One more thing to consider:
If a non-Assamese speaker is interested enough to buy or read the
magazine, then the reader could be expected to be interested in
understanding what that strange 'x' letter means for example. Or what
'Jatra' means in Assamese.
Therefore there is no need for being defensive about how Assamese
words are spelt or pronounced. Nor is there any conceivable need to
translate Assamese words to Sanskrit or Hindi, before transliterating
them in English letters. And if someone finds t necessary it means
only one thing: that these people have little or no self-respect for
their own language!
At 4:36 PM -0600 2/14/06, Rajen Barua wrote:
>The audience seems to be the Non-Assamese speakers in other states.
My point is if somebody has taken the trouble of translating Assamese literature into English, then why limit the audience to non Assamese English speaking Indians only. Why not try to make the International English speakers the audience. If not now may be later or expand gradually. After all it is the mailing cost to Mumbai or to London or New York. So the name should be selected carefully. If it is an English magazine, my first suggestion will be to name an straight English name. Pick some catchy word from Shakespeare (say) so that an international English reader anywhere will understand and be interested. Once we have good name, and good content, then it can be marketed and mailed to anywhere in the world. An English name will be better accpeted even in the other NE states who will have hard time undertsanding either Jatra or yatraa. Why we are torturing the non Sanskrit and non Assamese reader? Frankly speaking with a name like 'Jatra' or 'Yatraa' it will be difficult for any of us to push in the English world. And frankly speaking what that Assamese or Sanskrit name will serve? Why not pick up a Latin name may be, the parent of English language. May be the Latin word for Journey will do better. Why we cannot get out of Sanskrit world even when we have the chance and freedom? This is what I call being chained which is like being influenced with an invisible glue.
RB
----- Original Message -----From: Ram SarangapaniTo: Rajen BaruaCc: utpal borpujari ; [email protected]Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2006 3:15 PMSubject: Re: [Assam] Yaatra, Garioshi etcBarua,>If your audience is English speakers in the broad world, why not give an English name like A >LITERARY JOURNEYApparently they are not. The audience seems to be the Non-Assamese speakers in other states. They of course would understand 'Yatraa' as opposed to 'Jatra'.But being a guy who wants to please all quarters, I suggest (taking a cue from you), the name ought to something like this:Jatra(An Assamese Journey)That should explain all to the casual observer, don't you think.But I do join you in congratulating the author for taking the pains to translate the literary works into English.> I see how our Assamese mind is influenced and rather chained by pan Indian pan Sanskrit cultureInfluenced, yes. But chained? I am not sure. Assamese literature has been thriving with and without the help of other languages. But languages do influence each other.--Ram
On 2/14/06, Rajen Barua <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>But if the language is English, the audience is non-Assamese, then Jatra may not sell as much - from a marketing stand point. The word 'Jatra' may not carry the >meaning journey in some other languages, but Yatraa might.Now if the magazine is really meant for English speaking audience, what an American or British will reader understand by the word Yatraa or Jatra?.Nothing. Both are equally meaningless to him. If your audience is English speakers in the broad world, why not give an English name like A LITERARY JOURNEY or something else in English? Why you are bringing a Sanskrit word in between the Assamese literature and English audience?From that angle actually the name Yatraa is even more meaningless, because looking at the name a non Indian English reader will never buy that magazine unless there is a quick 5 second explanation in every front cover of the magazine first how to pronounce Yatraa (That Y as in Yes, a as in UP, aa as in father etc) then what is the meaning (Journey), a completely non profitable proposition I would say. By that time probably the customer will loose his attention to something more catchy.Now while being critical of the name I really laud the idea and the effort and adventure in trying to publish such an magazine, Assamese literature in English translation, which we need very badly. I simply hope the producers would not take my criticism for the magazine but just for the name of the magazine, I think they are not deeply thinking about how the name will be received by an American or British or Japanese reader looking at the magazine suddenly in their libraries (say).Please don't mind, in all these, I see how our Assamese mind is influenced and rather chained by pan Indian pan Sanskrit culture. We need to come out free as an Assamese soul.RB
----- Original Message -----From: Ram SarangapaniTo: Rajen BaruaCc: utpal borpujari ; [email protected]Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2006 2:25 PMSubject: Re: [Assam] Yaatra, Garioshi etc
Barua,In Assamese we pronounce it as 'Jatra' and thats as it should be. I have no problems with your arguements there, and agree that the magazine be named as such.But let us look at it from a different angle. The magazine 'Yatraa' is an English language magazine (so I guess the audience is the rest of India). If they were targetting an Assamese audience, then Jatra would be the right way."An English language journal named Yaatra is all set to bring Assamese literature to readers, writes Utpal Borpujari"But if the language is English, the audience is non-Assamese, then Jatra may not sell as much - from a marketing stand point. The word 'Jatra' may not carry the meaning journey in some other languages, but Yatraa might.Now if your argument is that proper name can have any spelling (which is right in a way) , then why we are trying to change the name of Assam to Asom at all?. Why we changed the name of Gauhati to Guwahati, Calcutta to Kolkata, Bombay to Mumbai etc . Why? These are all just proper names after all.I agree with your assessment as you had indicated in a previous post regarding the historical significance to the English names and so they be kept the same way.I brought it up because the example you gave that "Gauhati University" remains the same (even though the city has changed its name). I think it should be so.Not being a linguist of any means, I was thinking only from a marketing point of view.What if we were to translate these Assamese language stories for German readers? What title would you suggest so as to marketl the magazine in Germany?--Ram
On 2/14/06, Rajen Barua <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote:
You are right in a way. We can right proper name any whichever way we want to write. I can write Barua in so many different ways.But please think again what you are talking about.Gariyoshi is an Assamese magazine. I am not asking that Gariyashi should change the name because I am saying so. People will pronounce it GARIOSHI, a pronunciation which does not have any meaning in Assamese language, and that may be perfectly all right to Gariyoshi people. Let them rest in haven.But if you are saying if it has the proper Assamnese Roman transliteration like GORIOXI instead of Sanskrit as it is now, Assamese people will not buy it outside Assam? (If you are right, then I would say that is the problem of the Assamese people. They want their big brother's approval. That actually more than proves my point. Assamese people are suffering from a bigger inferiority complex then I would like to think.)Like Gorioxi, Yatraa is a magazine with an Assamese name with a meaning. People will pronounce it YATRAA the way it is written, a pronunciation which does not have any meaning in Assamese. Now I would imagine, when the producer named it YATRAA he had some idea probably have the Assamese meaning in mind. Although these are proper names, these have Assamese meaning. (Conversely, imagine writing the word JARNI = Journey in Assamese as JARONI for a name of a magazine, and calling it OK because it is just a name of a magazine? It is exactly like it. People will pronounce it as JARONI which pronunciation does not have any meaning in English. But one may always argue to deaths with backward logic and win. I have seen many. And life goes perfectly all right.)But I thought it my sacred duty to point out to the Assamese people what is right and what is wrong. So far proper Assamese Roman spelling is concerned, XADIN, PROTIDIN, JONOMBHUMI, XONGKORDEV, XOTRIA, OXOM, XIBOXAGOR etc are the proper phonetic spellings which represent proper Assamese pronunciation. (The letter A as used by Hindi and Sanskrit for Hosro A, for vowel sound like U as in UP, does not represent the Assamese O sound of OXOM etc) So if we name ASOM, people will read USOM and definitely not OXOM. Now that may be perfectly all right to the Assamese (or shall we say Asomese) people. And life will go on.Now if your argument is that proper name can have any spelling (which is right in a way) , then why we are trying to change the name of Assam to Asom at all?. Why we changed the name of Gauhati to Guwahati, Calcutta to Kolkata, Bombay to Mumbai etc . Why? These are all just proper names after all.Please think your logic again.What I am saying, you are right just for the sake of argument, but not right for the context we are discussing.Assamese peole are doing it wrong since Yandabu Xondhi. That does not mean we need to conitnue with our errors. We need to do a beginning for correction.RB
----- Original Message -----From: Ram SarangapaniTo: utpal borpujariCc: Rajen Barua ; [email protected]Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2006 8:35 AMSubject: Re: [Assam] Yaatra
Please forgive me for butting in.Barua, as this a 'proper' name of a magazine, why should any attempt be made to change it.A word like 'Gorioxi' in a magazine that is interested in marketing itself outside the NE might have the same problems of Asom/Axom we were discussing yesterday.I think there is a contradiction somewhere.On 2/14/06, utpal borpujari <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote:
Dear Shreejut Barua,Thanks for your mail. You definitely have a point about how we should write Assamese words in English. This is the name given to the journal by its publishers, the North-East Foundation. I am sure if you also send this mail to Dr Dhruba Jyoti Borah, who is the man behind this positive endeavour (since this is probably the first time ever that an independent effort has been made to take contemporary Assamese literature to the outside world), they will look positively into your suggestions.With regards,Utpal Borpujari / New Delhi
Rajen Barua <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Yatraa ????This Roman spelling is another creation of Ignorant Assamese scholars!!Assamese language has only one a-kar pronounciation (unlike Hindi and Sanskrit).Therefore the 'yatraa' in Assamese Roman Script should be written by a single vowel a as written for the first vowel. In Hindi and Sanskrit, they have two a sounds. Don't follow them.Second, in Assamese Y is pronounced as YO not JO. So the correct Roman translation of the word Yatraa should be Jatra.Similarly the name of the megazine GARIYOSHI should be GORIOXI.Ignorant Assamese scholars should try to learn and stand for original Assamese creation and not follow big brother Indian brothers.Rajen Barua
----- Original Message -----From: utpal borpujariTo: [email protected]Sent: Monday, February 13, 2006 4:56 AMSubject: [Assam] Yaatra
Hi all. I had recently written an article on Yaatra in my paper. The journal, I feel is a nice and first-time effort. - Utpal Borpujari / New Delhihttp://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jan222006/artic151472006120.aspA Yatraa into light An English language journal named Yaatra is all set to bring Assamese literature to readers, writes Utpal Borpujari.
While Indian writing in English in recent years has gone to gain international name and fame, writers who have chosen to express themselves in their mother tongues in different corners of India have not been fortunate enough despite giving their readers a huge number of masterpieces.
The culprit has always been the lack of proper translation of the incredibly rich regional literature. And even when translated works are published, like those from organisations like Bharatiya Jnanpith and Sahitya Akademi, often they fail to reach the masses adequately because of non-aggressive marketing. Private publishers, of course, also do come up with the odd translated work, but they are merely a sampler of the great treasure trove of literature that we have.
Compared to Bengali, Tamil or Malayalam literature, the writings from the North-East, and particularly Assam, are a major victim of this lack of translation, and the great tradition of Assamese literature is virtually unknown to those outside the region. In the backdrop of this scenario, a non-governmental organisation called the North-East Foundation, has launched Yaatra, an English language journal that will solely concentrate on bringing before the readers translations of both contemporary and classic Assamese literary work.
Based in Guwahati, the foundation is quite aware that it has a daunting task in its hands, specially as it will not be easy to market the journal all over India from Assam. But the enthusiasm of the people associated with the project are quite high, as was visible when the first issue of the journal was launched recently at the Sahitya Akademi in Delhi by Akademi Secretary K Satchidanandan in the presence of Jnanpith Award winning Assamese author Dr Indira (Mamoni Raisom) Goswami, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and noted intellectual from the state, Amalendu Guha.
Says Foundation chairman and Yaatra editor Dhruba Jyoti Borah, "It has been a long-standing resentment of the people of Assam that very little is known in the outside world about the rich literary and cultural heritage and the present cultural scene of the state. At the same time, avid curiosity is noticed about these in the rest of India and also abroad.
Yaatra is a project that seeks to popularise Assamese literature and culture outside the state and each issue of the journal will contain a wide selection of the best in contemporary Assamese literature and culture." Launched as a non-profit venture, Yaatra will not be available in newsstands like other magazines but will be distributed in the literary and academic circles both within and outside the country.
The journal, says Borah, will have several sections that will focus on different areas. Assamese novels, poetry, short stories, drama, classics, criticism, book reviews, folklore and culture will be the focus areas of the project which will also seek to include literature and culture from the other North-Eastern states in it.
"Assamese literature has developed considerably over the years. It has drawn its sustenance from the great Bhakti movement of Srimanta Sankardev, the 'buranjis' and the folk traditions of myriad groups of people that inhabit the region," he says.
For more info contact; [EMAIL PROTECTED]Yahoo! Photos - NEW, now offering a quality print service from just 8p a photo._______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
Too much spam in your inbox? Yahoo! Mail gives you the best spam protection for FREE! Get Yahoo! Mail
_______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
_______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
_______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
