an Aboriginal perspective and deconstruct the same that have been created by the whites

The stolen generation, which was one of the atrocious consequences of colonialism, is the crucial theme of Aboriginal Literature given the fact that most Aboriginal writing is autobiographical and most Aboriginal writers were stolen children. They were stolen from their people and culture in the name of education and etiquette and trained to become good domestic servants in white households. Another major issue of Aboriginal Movement as well as Aboriginal Literature is the issue of half-castes, who were born out of the relationship between white men and Aboriginal women, sometimes vice-versa, but considered illegitimate for most of the them were born outside the wed-lock. They were neither accepted by the whites nor admitted by the blacks and were removed by the government saying that since they have white blood, Aboriginal mothers are not eligible to look after them and that they can be trained to become civilized beings. Thus, Aboriginal Literature, like our own Dalit Literature and like any literature of the marginalized, comes out vehemently with resistance and a plea for re-structuring of the system. Hence, every word is crucial and every expression is loaded and deeply rooted in Aboriginal consciousness and experience.

In this background, translation of an Aboriginal text is crucial as well as difficult. It is crucial because not just a text but a situation is being translated. It is difficult because every word is loaded and the text has multiple layers of interpretations that come directly from the depths of the writers' pathetic and horrendous experiences. The problems that the translator of Aboriginal Literature faces are not new or different from the problems that the translator of any other text faces. But, discuss and debate any number of times, issues and problems of translation spring up fresh. Every time the translator faces the task of translation or the problems of translation s/he does it as if it is the first time that s/he is doing it. Culture specificity, use of dialect, multiple interpretations, language intricacies and silences in the text are some of the problems that the translator of this literature faces. Problems may not be the right word here for these are the issues that bring revelation to the translator and provide clues to the interpretation of the text.

I would like to discuss some of the issues that I faced while translating two texts written by Aboriginal women, one autobiography, Wandering Girl by Glenyse Ward and one autobiographical novel Karobran by Monica Clare in connection with translation as a writer- translator negotiation and translation as research. Original text is a negotiation between the writer and the readers where as translation is a negotiation between the writer and the translator. What, how, how much, when and why the writer wants to say or not to say decides the text. This is where the writer negotiates with the readers. How much, how and why the translator understands or tries to understand and conveys to the readers decides the translation. This is exactly where the translator negotiates with the writer. Thus, the translator's location and context decide the translated text.