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JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LITERATURE AND AESTHETICS

(Vol. 43, No. 4, Fall 2020)

Untranslatability: Theory, Practice and Politics

CONCEPT NOTE: Translation is an activity that marks the differences which

surface in cross-cultural encounters. It seeks to negotiate these inevitable
differences to help us understand language-cultures that are (not) ours, or
comprehend an ‘other’ who is (not) us. The non-negotiable differences then draw us
to the titular question, “How does the pursuit of finding an equivalence fare in this
process?”. It is in these gaps of translation that we encounter the untranslatable,
that which cannot be comprehended or translated. Amidst the ongoing discussions
around World Literature, that thrives on translation, untranslatability disrupts the
presumed coherence in the very process and makes us aware of the irreducible
differences latent within alternate ways of expression.

This Special Issue aims to initiate a discussion on the various tenets of

Untranslatability: epistemological, semiotic and aesthetic concerns that shall enable
us to understand translation; the process and it’s philosophy in a nuanced and
novel manner.

Untranslatability, which has long been studied as an obstacle or a hurdle in the act
of translation; needs to be approached from alternate trajectories that see it as a
leeway enabling the indigenous and vernacular discourses to retain the exclusive
differences that mark the identity of their language-cultures. Can we study this
“right to untranslatability” as a way of resisting the Anglocentric, monolingual way
of perceiving World Literature, by asking questions pertaining to what constitutes
the world and the region, the global and the local? This raises further questions on
how we understand and see the world, which is inescapably tied to the language-
culture(s) we are a part of. The problems locating the ‘world’ in “World Literature”
and the importance for ‘regions’ and vernacular discourses to mark their presence
within the ‘world’ along with discussions around the trajectory and reception of
regional and vernacular texts and genres as they travel across the world are
welcome. What happens to the untranslated texts and the untranslatable ideas in
the niche of World Literature is an aspect this issue seeks to engage with. The
problem of a myopic view of World Literature, and the epistemic violence induced
in the process of translation which is baked by a social and political power shall be
addressed. It shall also focus on the formation of ‘untranslatable’ and initiate a
semiotic study of language, its use, the process of meaning making within a
language and the signs and symbols particular to a language-culture. The
importance of studying the notion of referentiality in language and its immense
contribution in understanding the roots of untranslatability shall be another crucial
line of inquiry.

The special issue on Untranslatability invites research papers, articles and book
reviews which focus on, but are not limited to the following sub themes to justify
the relevance and scope of the issue:

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1. Translation as a Cross-Cultural Transaction

2. Negotiating Differences across Language-cultures
3. Self/Other in Translation
4. Problems in Translation
5. Formation of Untranslatable
6. Politics of Untranslatability
7. Language and Meaning Making
8. World Literature and Regional Literatures
9. Indigenous Narratives
10. Traveling Genres Across Frontiers
11. Epistemological Concerns of World Literature
12. Vernacularization of World Literature
13. ‘World’ in World Literature
14. ‘Region’ within the ‘World’
15. Dialectics of Global and Local
16. Signs, Symbols and Referentiality
17. Aesthetic concerns of Untranslatability
18. Interminability of Translation

Guest Editor: Deepshikha Behera, Department of English Literature (School of

Literary Studies), The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU),
Hyderabad, INDIA

Guidelines: All the papers must be sent to jclaindia@gmail.com,

beheradeepshikha@gmail.com. Last date of submission: 30 October 2020. Final
date of intimation: 10 November 2020. Format/ Font: MS Word in Times New
Roman (MLA 8th Edition). Endnotes are preferred over footnotes as they are easier
to process. All the papers must be original, unpublished and written within
3600-5000 words. An abstract in 150-250 words and 4-5 keywords should be
embedded within the paper. Each paper should include a cover letter suggesting the
name of the author, along with a brief bio, not exceeding 50 words. The name of the
author and co-author (if any) must not be written or suggested anywhere except the
cover letter. The paper should be original and must have a proper bibliography and
work cited section. An acknowledgment shall be sent upon receipt. Any suggested
revisions by the editor and peer reviewers must be returned in two weeks without
delay. Simultaneous submissions are not allowed.

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

https://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/Journal_of_Comparative_Literature_and_Aesthetics

The Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics (ISSN: 0252-8169) is a

quarterly, peer-reviewed journal published by the Vishvanatha Kaviraja Institute of
Comparative Literature and Aesthetics, India since 1977. The Institute was founded
on August 22, 1977 coinciding with the birth centenary of legendary philosopher,
aesthetician, and historian of Indian art, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877-1947).
The Journal — published quarterly as Spring (February), Summer (May), Autumn
(August), and Winter (November) issues — is committed to interdisciplinary and
cross-cultural issues in literary understanding and interpretation, aesthetic
theories, conceptual analysis of art, literature, philosophy, religion, mythology,
history of ideas, literary theory, history, and criticism.
The Journal has already published legends like Rene Wellek, Harold Osborne, John

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Hospers, John Fisher, Murray Krieger, Martin Bocco, Remo Ceserani, J.B. Vickery,
Menachem Brinker, Milton Snoeyenbos, Mary Wiseman, Ronald Roblin, T.R.
Martland, S.C. Sengupta, K.R.S. Iyengar, V.K. Chari, Charles Altieri, Martin Jay,
Jonathan Culler, Richard Shusterman, Robert Kraut, T.J. Diffey, T.R. Quigley, R.B.
Palmer, Keith Keating, and many renowned scholars.
JCLA is indexed and abstracted in the MLA International Bibliography, Master List
of Periodicals (USA), Ulrich’s Directory of Periodicals, ERIH PLUS, ISI,
Philosopher’s Index, EBSCO, UGC-Inflibnet, ProQuest, and Gale (Cengage).
Celebrated scholars of the time like Rene Wellek, Harold Osborne, Mircea Eliade,
Monroe Beardsley, John Hospers, John Fisher, Meyer Abrams, John Boulton, and
many renowned foreign and Indian scholars were Members of its Editorial Board.

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