Translating Anglophobia: Tensions and Paradoxes in Biliterate Performances in Singapore

Abstract

This article examines problems arising from biliterate performances in English and Chinese in the context of the sociolinguistics of Singapore. The questions asked include: What are the ramifications of translating Chinese literature carrying anglophobic themes into English? How might translation displace anglophobic readings from Chinese literary works? What kind of identity discourse does self-translation practices engender? The article examines three cases of cross-linguistic practice as biliterate modalities in Singapore, with an eye on the identity discourse emanating from the translational space between English and Chinese in each case. In the first case, it is argued that the English translation of a Chinese poem with an anglophobic stance triggers an ironic self-reflexivity on the part of the target text reader and has the potential of exacerbating the cultural anxiety faced by the Chinese-speaking Self in the source text. The second case presents an example where the anglophobic interpretation of a Chinese play can potentially be ‘unread’ through the homogenization of code-switching through translation. In the final case of a self-translating playwright, it is found that English-Chinese and Chinese-English translation establish an asymmetric symbiosis whereby translation creates an interliminal space in which a hybrid identity discourse is negotiated. The three cases illustrate the tensions and paradoxes residing in the translational space between English and Chinese in Singapore, pointing to the problematic of inter- and cross-cultural communication in the multilingual state.