BrianFriel,sT1rw"MUJ伽"s:LogocentricFlux
人文科学研究科英文学専攻 博士後期課程3年下川理英
WecaneverseeordescribeanalTntive
tothehistoIyofnaming・
SeamusDeanel
Introduction
lnthisessay,IfbcusonlogocentricfluxinFrie1,s、J"Mmjms・InthepIaytheEnglishmilitarycomestoBaileBeagto makeamap;theaimisnotonlytospreadBritishauthoritypoliticaIIythloughoutlrelandbymilitalyfbrce,butalsoto changeplacenamesfiPomlrishtoEnglish・ChangingnamesindicateschangmgIrishpcopleandtheiridentities、Oneofthe significantcharactersinthisplaybHugbmakesadecisionwhenhefhcesthecrisisoflosmghislinguisticidentity、Ianalyse first,throughthecaseofplacenames,howweconsiderthemeaningofanameanditsnarmtive,whichisatooItorCmember theoriginoftheplacename・Next,IexaminethecrisisofthellPishlanguageisthefaceofEnglishlanguage,finallMI considerthepossibility/impossibilityoftranslation、Idesclibethesurvivingnarrativesinthepeculiarsituationinwhich originallanguageisincrisis.Tbanalysethelanguagecrisis,Iconcludethatlinguisticfluxisneededtosurvivetmditional nanrativesinBaileBeag.
MeaningofNames
mmMtJ"olzFwaswritteninl980,andfirstpresentedbyFieldDayTheatrCCompanyintheGuildhau,DerTyon23 Septemberl980TheactiontakesplaceinBaileBeag,CountyDonegaLInAugustl833,Owen,oneoftheimportant protagonists,comesbackhomDublinasatranslatorwiththeEnglishGeneralSurvey,whoseaimistomakeamapofBaile Bea9.Inthepmcess,theyputmplacenewnamesunderthesupervisionofGeneralLanceyandLieutenantYblland・Neithcr understandsanylrishand,theにfblCtriestoanglicizeaⅡIrishplacenames・TheviⅡagersareanxiousabouttheAngIicization notonlyofplacenamcsbutalsothatthelrisharebeingfbrcedtouseEnglish・SomeopposetheEnglishauthority;buta schoolmasteEHugh,makesthedccisiontoaccepttheAnglicizedworld
lnActI,OweniscaIledRollandbytheEnglishcoI1eagues・Hedoesnotseemtomindthis,buthisbmtherManusis sulprisedathisbrother,sattimdetowardhisname.
OWEN:…Owen-Roland--whatthehel1.1t,sonlyaname、1t,sthcsameme,is、,tit?Well,is、,tit?(7粒"SAJ"o"s,
408)
WhenOwenappearswiththeGeneralOrdnanceSurveytomakeamap,heiscal1ed``Rolland,,Hisbrothel;Manusaskshim whyheiscalled``Rolland,,.OwenrepIiesthathiscolIeagues,theEnglishcannotpronounce``Owen,,、Hethinksthathis nameisnotitsonlysignificancethmgthatidemifies、
ItistmethatanameisonlyanamethatbelongstosomeoneHoweverbthisisnotitsonlysignificancefbraperson、
Everybodyhasanameandeachcontainsameaning,suchasleligious,orbeingnamedaftersomeone・Thoughthereisno indicationwhyOwenisnamed``OwCn,,,hisnamealsohasacertainbackgroundandmeaning,Evenplacenames,likeBaile Beag,havemeaningsbasedontheirhistoricnarrativeormyth.
IDeane:1993.10凶I.
35
Andersondescribestheappearanceofanameasfbllow、
NoonecangivethedatefbrthebirthofanylanguageEachloomsupimperceptivelyoutofahorizonlesspast…
languagethusappearmotedbeyondanythingelseincontemporarysocietyも(Anderson:1983,132)
Heexplainsthataplacenamehasanancestralmeaningbccauseitcontainsacertaineventrdatedtothatplace、And wheneverwehearitsroot,theplacebecomeshistoncal,beyondthetemporaldimension・Silversteinalsocommentsthat
"Namesfimctionas"abbreviations"ofnaTratives…thenamebecomestherepositoIyofa(nalmtive)historythataI1owsthe objecttoappearonthestageof(tempoml)history."(Silverstein:1992,137)Ashesays,aplaccnamehasasimultaneous nalTativemeaningandeverytimewerefbrtothenameplace,wecanassociatewithitsnarrativeslntheplaybOwentellsthe
stoIyof"TbbiarViCe,,.
OWEN:…wecallthatclossroadTbbairVree・AndwhydowecaⅡitmobairVree?’,lltellyouwhy、Tbbairmeansa welLButwhatdoesV1℃emean?1t,sacorruptionofBnan---(caeノにplD"Ⅲ"ciq【わ")Brian-anerosionofTbbair Bhriain・Becauseahundred-and-finyyearsagothereusedtobeawelltheに,notatthecmssroads,mindyou‐-that wouldbetoosimple-butinafieldclosetothecrossroads[…]Iknowthestouybecausemygrandfklthertoldme[…].
(mmsbjjo"s,420).
OwenheardofthestoIyfiromhisgrandfhthenbutitisnotweⅡknownbythevillagers,anditseemsitisnolonger remembercdbymanypeople,Inotherwords,nanntivecannotlivewithoutbeingnalTatedbysomeone,andaplacenameis oneofthesimplestsigns、Silversteinusestheterm,“abbreviationofnarTatives"(Silvelnstein:1992,137);Jamesonlefbrsto narrativeanditscontainedhistoIy:“Histolyisnotatext,notanarTative,masterorotherwise,but…itisinaccessibletous exceptintextuaIfbrmand…ourapproachtoitandtotheRealitselfnecessarilypassesthrough…itnarrativization (Jameson:1981,35)HeutiIizestheword,"narTativization"inwhichheindicatesthathistoIyexistsinnarrative.
Furthennorc,Owensaysaftertheabovequotation.
Owen:…Sothequestionslputtoyou,Lieutenant,isthis:whatdowedowithanamelikethat?SowescrapTbbair Vfeealtogetherandcallit--what?-TheCross?Crossroads?OrdowekeeppietywithamanIongdead,longdead,
longfbrgotten,hisname‘eroded,beyondrecognitionWhosetrMallittIestolynobodyintheparishrcmembers?
(、7"Mmio"s,420)
Fromtheabovequotation,itseemsthatthenarTativewiIlsoonbefbrgottenafterAnglicizationEvelytimewetalkabout placename,itsnarrativeemelgesinh「ontofusvividlySilversteinexpIainshowthenalmtivesuwivesthroughouroral
tradition
Therecitationofnarrativeallowsthe‘`we,,of“wecallitTbbairVree,,totranscendthediscontinuitiesseparating Owen,sBaileBeagfiPomtheBaileBeagofonehundredandfiftyyearsago,and(1℃)crcateBaileBeagasaspaceof
temporalsimultaneity(Silverstein:1992,138).
ThoughOwenparticipatesinthemapmakingteam,heunderstandswellhowplaccnameslinktonamesnalTativeand thatanglicizinganamemeansIosingidentityJrishplacenameshavetheirnarmtivebutwhenthelrishnameistmnslated
intoanEnglishname,itisonlyanametoindicatetheplaceitselfKeameynotesthatthemeaningofnamingisdifferent betweenlrishandEnglishThefblmerembodiesitshistoricalrootsornarratives,whilethelatterjustindicatesthepIace
geographicaI1y21nshort,thelrishplacenamehasahistoricalmeaningandanAnglicizedplacenameisjustageographical
slgn.
2Andrews:1985,170.
36
ThePossibility/ImpossibiUtyofTranslation
WhydidtheEnglishfbrcethelrishtospeakoruseEnglish?NotonIylrishnamesbutalsoplacenamesarechanged intoEngIishnames・HolsteinpmposesthattransIatingfiPomlrishtoEnglishisaveryviolentdeed.
Butonecancertainlybparticularlyifonebelievesone,sownlanguagetobesuperiortoallothers・AndthisIinguistic chauvinismreverberatesthroughout刀口"McJljmJFaswellasthrougboutthehistoryofEnglishandAmericanencounters withotherlanguages.(Holstein:2004,4)
ForcingthepopulationtouseEngIishwascommonincolonizedcountries,suchaslreland,mdiaandsomeAfiPicancountnes、
InthisplaybtheEnglishmilitarytriestomakeamap,anglicizepIacenamesandestablishnationalschoolsalloverlreland、
Thismeansthat,stepbystep,Englishisbeingspにa。thmughoutthecountryProhibitingtheuseofthelrishnativelanguagc isawaytomintheculturalidentityofthelrish.M01℃oveLeducationinEnglishisaneasywaytoincreaseEnglishuseinthe lrishcommunity・InthecaseofTbbairVree,oncethelrishlanguagebecomesobsolete,TbbairVree,snarlnativemay disappearsoonandfbreve凪Silvcrsteinalsopointsouttheviolenceoffbrcingotherstouseanon-nativelanguage.“…[qhe processofnamingrefnsetonameisthepowerofviolencetoenfbmetheidentificationof(English)nameswiththecreative word"(SiIverstein:1992,134)
LanceyspeaksonlyEnglish,andheisverysurprisedwhenhefindsoutthevillagersinBaileBeagcannotspeak English.
HUGH:…一IencounteredCaptainLanceyoftheRoyalEngineerswhoisengagedintheOrdnancesurveyofthis area.…HethenexplainedthathedocsnotspeaklrishLatin?IaskedNone・Greek?Notasyllable・Hcspeaks--on hisownadmission--onlyEnglish;andtohiscreditheseemedsuitablyve"cund--.(T)YJ"Sm"0,,399)
ForLanceybEnglishisthesuperiorlanguageandotherlanguagesareinfbriorBItseemsthatLanceyisaveryegoisticperson,
aparticulartypeofacolonizeImnfhct,in1833,Englandgovemedmanycolonizedcountries,andfbrcmgthepopulationto useEnglishwasthemostconvenientwayofmasteringthemandrcducingtheirnativeidentity
lnthepIay,HughquotesOvid,slineironically:
HUGH:[…]BarbarushicegosumquianonintelIigorulli(IamabarbarianinthispIacebecauselamnotunderstood byanyone.)--James?"(mJmノmio応,442.Englishtranslationsa】℃fiPom7}mzFb"0129,443.)
Hecallshimselfabarbarianbutitisverycuriousthatatthesametime,Ovid,slinesimplythathe雁isasophisticatedplace butheisanalienandbarbariansohecannotbeundelBtoodbyanyone,HughquotestheselinesmBaileBeag;heisnotan aIienheleandthelrishlanguageisthemajorIanguagefbrvilIagers・AtfirstgIance,HughseemstobetaIkingabouthimself butinfactheiscriticizingtheEnglish、HowevenalthoughtheEngIishtrytofbrcethevillagerstouseEnglish,theirnative languagewiI1remainlrishaslongastheylive・
Asahighlightscene,HughtalkstoJimmyaboutthenewsituation.“Wemustleamwhe妃welive、Wemustleamto makethemourown・Wemustmakethemournewhome.”(7)z71msAJ"o"s,444)ThisisasumrisingcommentbyHugh BecauseheisnotonlyaschoolmasterinthehedgeschoolbutalsoagodparentinBaileBeagHeislBga「dedasverywise person・ManyexpectHughtofightagainsttheEnglishGenemlOrdnanceSurveyぅbuthejustsays"WemustIeamwherel live"(7”"smljo"3,444).AlthoughheisnotkeentouseEnglish,hechoosestospeakittoswimwiththetide.
HUGH;…ButrCmemberthatwordsa1℃signals,countelsTheya1℃notimmortal、Andit(Anglicization)canhappen
--touseanimageyou,lIunderstand-itcanhappenthatacivilizationcanbeimprisonedinalinguisticcontourwhich nolongermatchesthelandscapeof…fact、Gentlemen.(7)zmFノヒJ"o"3,419,SuppIementalexplanationismine.)
37
Heknowseventhoughwecantranslateonelanguagetoanotherlanguagewordbyword,wccannottlanslateitssignifier completely・Langmlageisasign(sigm/6,71)atocommunicatingwithpeopleinthesamecommunity・Anderson,sdefinition
ofthenationasanimagecommunitybpmposedthat"[b]ecausethemembersofeventhesmallestnationwiUneverknowmostoftheirfellow-membcrs,meetthem,orevenhearofthem,yetinthemindsofeach]ivestheimageoftheir communion."(Andermn:1983,15)Accolxlingtohim,languageasasjgll坑口"爪sinextricablylelatedwithimage=sjgll抗Br・
Inshort,weusclanguagetoexp配ssanimagethatwewanttosha妃.Thelanguagemustbeacommunicationtoolbetween
speakers,becausetheimageandthelanguagearefirmIytiedtoeachothenAndersoncauedthissimation“imagined
communion''4.
LanguageandimagearealwaysaltogetheLbutintheplay’OwenandYOllandtrytochangealllrishplaccnamesto
Englishstylenames・HughtelIsLanceythatEnglishcannotexpressthewholelrishmeaning・Irishhasitsownuniqueimage
andthisisnotsuitablefbrEnglishlnotherwolds,IrishcannotbetranslatedintoEnglish・Deanesays"Translationisinterpretation”(Deane:1993,107).Itiscertainthattranslationisthemeansofdelivering meaningffomonelanguagetoanothe凪Howevemnmanycases,eachnotionisslightlydiHblCntfiPomlanguagetolanguage orwordtowordThismeans,thateachsjgソ!/}α"hasasjgl7腕erandthisnotionworkspmperlyonlyinthesameimagined communionso,whenwetranslateourlanguagetoanotherlanguage,wehavetointelpretthesjg7?城〃deeplyandlookfbr themostsimilarwhatmostcloselyrepresentswhatwealctakingtocommunicateHowevenevenifwetaketheclosest meaningfbrtheimagethatwewanttoexpress,itisimpossibletoexplaintheimagecompletelylnmyopimon,wecannot representthewholemngeofimagesorcmotionsthatoccurinourmindevenwithournativelanguage、Languageisa mediumtoexpressnotonlysomeconcreteandpracticalthingsbutalsocognitiveandabstlactideas・DelTida(1996:
337-477)usestheword``transfbr"toexplain"translation,,.
Allsuchdiscussionoflanguage,posits``fbrthenotionofbFanslationoftranslationwewouldhavetosubstimteanotion of〃、3s/mmZ7D〃…Wewillneverhave,andinfilcthaveneverhad,any‘tmnsfbr,ofpuresi即ified--fromonc languagetoanothelborwithinonelanguage---whichwouldbeleftvilginandintactbythesignibinginstrumentor
`vehicle,,,、5
Derridapointsoutthattranslationisatlansferwithlanguageandweusethelanguagetodeliverthemeanmglikeavehicle・
MaIenichalsolcgardslanguageasatooltocommunicatewitheachotherkHecomments:
LamguageisthemeansthmughwhichweconⅢnunicateourexpenencesandunderstandingofrealitywiththosewho sha1℃thissystemofsymbolswithus.…AsymbolicrelationshipexistsbetweenculmralidentityandlangUage,sincea cultu1℃anditsexpenencesdistinctIyshapethelangUagethatitspeaks;butlanguagealsomaintainsthehistolyand
beritagethatisaculmmlidentity(Malenich:2001,68).
Languageisacommunaltoolfbrunde燗tanding,andMalenich,sproposalisverysimilartoAnders0,,s“imagined communion,,、Throughlanguagewecommunicatewitheachotherand1℃citenarrativesofourhistoricalbackground
Ontheotherhand,Pineinsiststhattranslationtoanotherlanguageisadistortionofideaorideologythatisconstmcted bytradition.
[t]mnslationisnotonlyareleaseorliberationofaword/ConceptfiPomonelanguagetoanotheliitisalsoanactof betrayaIacaITylngacmssfmmthecampofthetruetothatofthefaIse,けomdextertosinisteEadroittogauche・Sucha tradition,or`handingope「,(tmdere),isasubversionorperversionoftraditionconceivedascontinuityうor`handing
dbML,(Pine:1990,158)
s"qg7Tj/it3,7'andsigw版era1℃Saussure'sIermsimlinguistic・SceSaussure:I96q Amdermn:1983.15.
Demda:1996.337-447.
345
38
ltisclearthattranslation,especiauyinthesituationofm7応AJ/io"siscruciaItodestroyinglanguageandislinkedtotbe disappearinglrishlanguage・Infhct,viuagersinBaileBeagcannotresistthesituation,eventhoughsomeofthembecome terroriststolcsisttheEnglishmilitary・TheirrcsistancewiIlbeinvain
SurvivingofNarrativeS
LanguageisnotonIyanessentialpartofidentitybutamediumtoexpressaperson,sideas;inotberwords,itisa communicationtooLHughtellsLanceynottofbrcetheuseofEnglishinBaileBeag,buthefinallychangeshismindand says“Wemustleamwhercwelive,Wemustleamtomakethemourown・Wemustmakethemournewhome,,.
(77,2sノmio"3,444)ItseemsheisgivinguptheuseofIrish・Isheabandoningoneofthemostimportantfbaturesfbrhis identity?NC,infhct,hegivesuplrishlangUagetoprotecthisidentityasavillagerofBaileBeag、Hesays.
IⅡJGH:Itisnotthelitemlpast,the‘fact,ofhistorybthatshapesus,butimagesofthepastembodiedinlanguage…we mustneverceaserenewingthoseimages;becauseoncewedo,wefbssilize`(7)zmMmjo祁,445)
HeisafiraidthataremembranceofhistolyisembodiedinhisIanguage,andthiswillbefbrgottenfbrthesakeofnotbeing nalTatedanylongerThoughEnglishcannot1℃presentcompletelyimagesinlrishlanguage,atleastplacenamescankeep theirmeanings,andchangingthelanguagefiPomllPishtoEnglishmaybeaninevitablewayofkeepingupwitbthetimes・
Silversteinexploresnarrativeandhistory.‘`Hugh,spoint,howevezthatthevillagersmusttmnslatesuchafhctintothe imagesthmughwhoserenewalthenationwiucontinuetoexistasan"imaginedcommunity",asubjectofandin(hi)story.”
(Silverstein:1992,140)HisideaisrclatedtoBenjamin,s"TheTtlskofTlnnslator,,(Belljamin:1996,253-264).Inhisessayb Benjaminsuggests,thatliteramreshouIdbetranslatedintootherlanguages:itislikeacurrentthatisalwayschangingits shapesandneverstays,itistemporal,sowhenwepu店uethefhshionoflanguageitmever焔mainsinthesameplace・
Furthennore,firomplacetoplace,eachlanguageisdifYb1℃nt;therefbre,whentheliteramrehasbeen唾adbypeop1ealIover thewoTldfbrmanycenturies,theworkistranslatedintovanouscontemporalylanguages、61,short,にxtneedstobe adaptedtoanykindoflanguageForBenjamin,maintainingnarTativeortextismolcimportantthanlanguage,whichplays theroleofrenewingthetexttomakeitmorelCadablefbrp1℃sent唾aders、
Hughalsorealizesthatna【Tativeismoreimportantthanlanguage,Eventhoughthenewlanguage(English)cannot translatetbenarrativecompletely9itisbetterthanadisappearingnarmtive、ThisisthefluxofnanPative・Hugh,sgivingupthe lrishlanguageissometimescriticized,butAndrcwsexplainsusHugh,sdecisionas“Hugha垣uesfbrrenewingtheimagesof languagetoavoidfbssilizing.”(Andrews:1985,176)"Fossilizing,,meansthcnarTativebelongstothepastandisfbrgotten bypeopleNalTativeneverbecomesafhctinthepast・AdaptingtoanewlanguageisafIux.
Traditions,hesees,canonlysurvivethroughtranslation、Herepliesto‘inevitabilities,,notbyescapingintoromantic fantasy(likeJimmyJack),notbyintransigence(IikeManus)andnotbyrcvolt(liketheDinnellytwins,Doaltyand Owen),butbyseekingtoadapttochange,bylookingfbrwaystoreconcilethetraditionalandthemodememotionand reason,thcintimaterealityoftheparishandlargerperspectivestbatcutacrosstimeandplace.(Andrews:1985,176)
IagreewithAnd歴wscommentsandthus,namtivehasalifbinpeopIe,sspirits・NarTativelivesalongwiththepresent language.
6Benjaminstales:“ForanytTanslationofaworkmgoTiginatinginaspecificstageofIi⑪guistichistory肥prBsents,inregaTdloaspecificaspectofits contenLtmnsIaIionintoaⅡotherlanguages.、us,ironicaⅡMtmnsIaliontmnspIantstheoriginalimoamoredefinitivelinguisticrcaIm,sinceilcannoIonger bedispIacedbyasecondaryrcndering・mleoriginalcanonIyberaisedthereanewandatotherpoinlsoftime・癖(Benjamin:】”6,258)
39
Conclusion
lnthisessayblanalysedBrianFriel,smJ"s〃/ioJTsfiomthepointoflanguageflux・First,Imentionedthemeanmgof namingandexplaimedthesignificanceandthebackground、Next,IaddIcssedthecrisisoftheIrishlanguagefilcedwith English・Iconsideredtheroleoflanguageandthepossibility/impossibilityoftranslatingintoanotherlanguage・Thenl discussednanPativeandlanguage,whicbislclatednotonlytonarTativebutalsotopeople,sidentityThmughthese observations,Iconcludethatnarmtivehastobeadaptedtocontemporalylanguageandmustkeepbeing媚newedthe
naImtivetosurviveitscontextualOrigin,evenifitispartlylostthroughlinguisticchange.WOrksCited
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40