Preamble of Constitution finds new readers after translation to local languages of Karnataka
Those familiar with the languages of Karnataka on a surface level might immediately think of Kannada, Konkani or Tulu, to name some, but these are just the beginning of the list. Dozens of languages are spoken by communities from district to district. The Alternative Law Forum, a collective of lawyers working on the accessibility of law, has produced translations of the Preamble to the Constitution in several of these languages.
These translations have so far been brought out in the languages Malame, Sanketi, Byari, Iruliga, Aruvu and Lambani. Iruliga is spoken by the Iruliga or Irula community, Lambani by the Banjara community, while Sanketi and Aruvu are Dravidian languages native to the state. Malame and Byari are spoken more in the region around Dakshina Kannada, with the latter being the language of the Byari/Beary Muslims. The ALF also plans to translate the Preamble into more languages as translators become available.
Ashwini Bodh, an ALF researcher working on the project, said, 'We have translated the Preamble into these six languages so far.' She noted that the project has received a positive response from community members so far.
She added, 'We conduct workshops about the Constitution across the districts to spread awareness. While travelling there, I saw people from these communities who were speaking these various languages and thought that nobody had done the translations into these languages.' Bodh noted that on the principle that something had to be done, whether it was a small or big language, she started the project with the help of translators.
Bodh added, 'People do not know that much about the Preamble or the Constitution. At least if the Preamble is in their language, they feel that 'this is ours'. We have planned several steps. One is the translation and poster design. The second is audio and video recordings via social media.'
One difficulty was the aspect of translation itself; subtleties of the language of the Constitution may not easily be communicated in different languages. Ashwini Bodh said, 'Many people don't have context for certain single values – such as liberty or fraternity. Many people may understand liberty as freedom – but it is not only freedom, it is a separate thing. Some words like that are a bit tricky and required proficiency, with three to four people working on translating and editing.'
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