Translation Of Theonyms From Tamil Into English And Contextual Stance With Reference To Kalki’s சிவகாமியின்சபதம் Civakāmiyiṉ Capatam.

Abstract

Theonyms are the proper names of gods. They are difficult to translate from one language into another especially when the SL and TL are completely different from each other in every aspect. The theonyms which act as the token of religious culture are the mythic images of a culture, society and its beliefs. This paper aims at the translation of Hindu theonymsfrom Tamil into English. Especially the different approaches used in translation of theonyms from Tamil to English are analysed under the context they are used in the SL text. In the SL text, the theonyms create a special connection between the readers and the actual context. Hence, it becomes the responsibility of the translator to preserve the divinity of the Theonyms and its contextual meaning in his translation. Many theonyms are mythologemes and are affixed with the honorific appellatives. This paper is a comparative analysis of the SL theonyms mentioned in Kalki’s Tamil novel, சிவகாமியின்சபதம் Civakāmiyiṉ Capatam and its English translation by P. S. Sri Sivakami’s Vow. Further, the study analyses the explicit theonyms, polyonymous names of gods and the implicit theonyms.  It also analyses the impact of theonyms depending on the context.