How to Translate Multilingual Novels Effectively

The world of multilingual literature offers readers a rich tapestry of languages, cultures, and histories. But how can this complexity be effectively translated without erasing its authenticity or diminishing its essence? Renowned scholar and translator Sheila Mahadevan tackled this question in a compelling discussion hosted by the British Center for Literary Translation. With a focus on her recent translation of Lakshmi’s Secret Diary by Ari Gautier, Mahadevan revealed the intricate dynamics of translating multilingual Indian literature written in French.

This article explores the key insights from the session, delving into the interplay between multilingualism, translation theory, and cultural preservation. It examines Mahadevan’s innovative strategies and expands on the broader implications for readers and translators navigating this complex landscape.

Translating Multilingual Novels: The Challenge of Complexity

When translating a multilingual novel, the task is not merely linguistic; it is cultural, historical, and deeply political. Mahadevan’s experience translating Lakshmi’s Secret Diary illustrates this complex interplay. The novel, written by Ari Gautier, is set in Pondicherry, a former French colony in India, and is a hybrid text interwoven with French, Tamil, English, and Pondicherry Creole.

Multilingual literature is more than just a blend of languages - it is often a reflection of history, colonialism, and identity. Gautier, for instance, uses French to highlight Pondicherry’s colonial history while weaving in Tamil and English to reflect the city’s modern linguistic reality. For Mahadevan, the challenge was preserving this multilingual essence while ensuring readability for English-speaking audiences.

"I wanted to retain the political and cultural agendas of the source text", Mahadevan explained, "without compromising its accessibility or the reader’s experience."

A Reverse Prism: The Concept of Transcreation

One of the key concepts Mahadevan introduced was "transcreation", a term rooted in Indian translation traditions. Unlike traditional notions of translation, which focus on faithfulness and accuracy, transcreation emphasizes creativity and transformation. Mahadevan likened this process to reincarnation, where elements are retained but radically transformed in their new context.

In Lakshmi’s Secret Diary, Gautier himself engages in a form of transcreation. The novel draws heavily from the Indian epic Mahabharata, reimagining its themes and characters in a modern Pondicherry setting. Mahadevan, in turn, adopted a transcreative approach to her translation. For example, she retained French words in the English version to highlight the novel’s French heritage and even added Tamil words to emphasize the cultural context of certain dialogues.

This strategy challenges traditional ideas of translation as a one-to-one transfer. Instead, it becomes an act of cultural preservation and creative interpretation.

The Historical and Political Context of Pondicherry

Understanding the historical backdrop of Pondicherry is key to appreciating the novel’s richness. As a former French territory, Pondicherry was once a hub of French language and culture. However, following India’s independence, French influence in the region diminished significantly. Tamil and English now dominate the linguistic landscape, and French is rarely spoken or read.

Mahadevan highlighted the tension between erasure and preservation in postcolonial Pondicherry. On one hand, road names and colonial landmarks have been replaced with Indian equivalents, reflecting an effort to assert postcolonial identity. On the other hand, efforts to preserve French heritage - such as bilingual road signs and the restoration of French architecture - indicate a desire to maintain Pondicherry’s unique cultural legacy.

Gautier’s novel, as Mahadevan noted, can be seen as a literary act of French heritage preservation, bringing to light the forgotten French past of Pondicherry. Similarly, Mahadevan’s translation honors this agenda by retaining French vocabulary and references, ensuring that the novel’s cultural nuances are not lost in the English version.

Multilingual Strategies in Translation

Mahadevan employed several innovative strategies to translate the multilingualism of Lakshmi’s Secret Diary:

1. Retaining French Vocabulary

To preserve the novel’s French heritage, Mahadevan chose to retain French words throughout her translation. This decision reflects the hybrid nature of Pondicherry’s history and disrupts the fluency of the English text, echoing the historical tensions between French and English colonial powers.

2. Adding Tamil Words

In several instances, Mahadevan added Tamil words to the English translation, even when they were not explicitly present in the French source text. For example, she translated "maman" (French for "mom") into "amma" (Tamil for "mom") to reflect the cultural reality of a scene set in a Tamil-speaking village.

3. Navigating Pondicherry Creole

One of the most challenging aspects of the translation was capturing Pondicherry Creole, a unique fusion of French and Tamil. Rather than creating a hybrid English equivalent, Mahadevan acknowledged the Creole’s distinctiveness by standardizing it in English but providing explanatory notes to highlight its cultural significance.

Writing Between Languages: Two Additional Case Studies

Beyond Gautier, Mahadevan’s research explores other Indian writers who engage in multilingualism:

1. Manohar Rai Sardesai (Goa)

Sardesai, a Goan writer, wrote in Konkani and French during the Portuguese colonial rule of Goa. Deeply influenced by French literature, he translated French works into Konkani to rejuvenate the region’s literary tradition. His writing blurred the boundaries between translation and creative writing, turning French literature into a tool for anti-colonial resistance.

2. M. Mukundan (Kerala)

Mukundan, a Malayalam writer from Mahé (another former French territory), wove French influences into his writing. His short story Radha Only Radha is a transcreation of French existentialist themes, drawing from writers like Camus and Sartre. Fascinatingly, Mukundan later self-translated this story into French, experimenting with how language transforms a work’s identity.

The Broader Implications of Multilingualism

Mahadevan’s work sheds light on the vast potential of multilingualism in literature and translation. Multilingual texts challenge the translator to move beyond linguistic equivalence and engage with cultural, historical, and political nuances. They also demand active participation from readers, who must navigate between languages and cultural references.

For translators, this means rethinking traditional methods and embracing creative strategies. As Mahadevan demonstrated, translation can be an act of preservation, innovation, and even resistance.

Key Takeaways

Transcreation as Reincarnation: Translating multilingual novels requires creativity and transformation, akin to reincarnation, where elements are both retained and reborn.
Cultural Preservation: Retaining French vocabulary and adding Tamil words in translation can preserve the cultural and historical essence of a text.
Multilingual Challenges: Translating hybrid languages like Pondicherry Creole requires balancing standardization with cultural acknowledgment.
Diverse Literary Influences: Writers like Sardesai and Mukundan show how French literature has shaped regional Indian traditions, creating hybrid literary canons.
Reader Participation: Multilingual texts invite readers to act as translators, navigating between languages and cultural references.
Translation as Activism: Translating minority literatures can challenge dominant narratives and bring overlooked traditions to global audiences.

Conclusion

The art of translating multilingual novels goes beyond linguistic accuracy. It is a transformative process that bridges cultures, preserves histories, and redefines literature. Sheila Mahadevan’s work on Lakshmi’s Secret Diary exemplifies the power of translation to honor the complexity of multilingualism while engaging a global readership.

In an increasingly interconnected world, multilingual literature reminds us that no language exists in isolation. As Octavio Paz once said, "No style has ever been national. Styles pass from one language to another." Through translation, we can celebrate this fluidity and embrace the rich tapestry of global literary traditions.

Source: "Writing Between Languages:Translation and Multilingualism in Indian Francophone Writing" - British Centre for Literary Translation, YouTube, Dec 2, 2025 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUrOCJcih2w