36.2479, Books: Writing Between Languages: Mahadevan (2025)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-36-2479. Sat Aug 23 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.2479, Books: Writing Between Languages: Mahadevan (2025)

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Date: 20-Aug-2025
From: Lucy Trotter [lucy.trotter at bloomsbury.com]
Subject: Writing Between Languages: Mahadevan (2025)


Title: Writing Between Languages
Subtitle: Translation and Multilingualism in Indian Francophone
Writing
Publication Year: 2025

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
           http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/
Book URL:
https://www.bloomsbury.com/writing-between-languages-9781350469440/

Author(s): Sheela Mahadevan

Hardback, 9781350469440, £95.00

Abstract:

This open-access book casts light on an understudied corpus of Indian
Francophone literatures by writers originally from former French
territories of India and from other regions of India, who also engage
in processes of translation: Ari Gautier (Pondicherry), M. Mukundan
(Mahé), Manohar Rai Sardessai (Goa), Toru Dutt (Calcutta) and Shumona
Sinha (Calcutta).
By examining the range of ways in which these writers write between
languages, Sheela Mahadevan advances theories of translation and
literary multilingualism. Moreover, the book demonstrates how the
self-reflective process of translating Indian Francophone writing into
English can be employed as a theoretical tool that unlocks fresh ways
of conceptualizing literary multilingualism and translation. Applying
this methodology, the author explores the ways in which the linguistic
framework and region of the readership of a text can determine the
visibility and effects of literary multilingualism, and demonstrates
how a text may consequently be interpreted as simultaneously
monolingual and multilingual. The book thereby also intervenes in
debates about translation as research in Translation Studies.
Ultimately, the book offers a more nuanced and alternative vision and
understanding of the Indian literary landscape by exploring not only
how and why Indian Francophone writers adopt French in their writing,
but also by demonstrating how certain regional literary traditions of
India have been significantly shaped by French literatures owing to
processes of translation undertaken by these writers. The author also
advances existing research on Indian translation traditions, including
the concept of 'transcreation' and the meaning of 'originality' in the
Indian context. Through the lens of Indian Francophone writing, the
book explores the various factors which trigger the fluidity of
boundaries between translation and creative writing that is
commonplace in the Indian context.
The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC
BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was
funded by UKRI.

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics
                     Translation




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