Brian Friel Translations Analysis

Staying Strong or Giving In?

Language is an integral part of every distinctive culture. It represents a way of life and a way of communication among those that share similar traditions, values, and heritage. The Irish people have consistently been faced with foreign cultures encroaching on their land and threatening not only their culture but also the Gaelic language itself. In Brian Friel’s Translations, the language barrier between the Irish and the English people is explored. The characters are faced with the difficult decision to either give in to the new, foreign language or remain true to the language of the land and resist these changes. Through his characterization of Sarah and Hugh, Friel depicts the feeling of powerlessness that occurs

Because Hugh is a teacher at the hedge school, it is his life’s work and passion to educate Irishmen about the Gaelic language. Therefore, when the English cartographers come into the town and pressure the townspeople to speak English, Hugh’s resistance is evident. He is reluctant to learn English and disdains the Englishmen for encroaching on his lifestyle. When prodded by Captain Lancey about speaking the supposedly superior language, he bluntly states that “English, I suggested, couldn’t really express us” (Friel 269). English is not the language of their land, so it cannot express the true history and traditions of Ireland. It is discordant with the culture of Ireland and Hugh is frustrated with the implication that the Gaelic language is inadequate and needs to be replaced. As put by Amal Riyadh Kitishat, professor at Ajloun University, “language is a major marker of one 's identity; it reveals how far the people are aware of their history and culture” (Kitishat). Language is an integral part of one’s culture, so it strips Hugh of a large part of his identity to impose a foreign language upon