Preserving the Poetic Soul: A Comparative Study of Native and Non-Native Translations of Faiz Ahmed Faiz

Abstract

This comparative study analyzes the translated works of Faiz Ahmed Faiz's poetry to manifest how natives and non-natives as well as poets and non-poets differ in their approach towards translation of Faiz's poetry.  Faiz Ahmed Faiz's poetry is highly regarded and has been translated into many languages due to its themes. Both native and non-native translators have tried their hand at translating the verses of Faiz, and both have advantages and disadvantages concerning the use of language and social and cultural milieu. Translating works from one language to another is always challenging, and it becomes doubly difficult when it comes to poetry. For this purpose, out of a large variety of works, seven translations have been chosen to analyze the differences between various translated works. The translators include Naomi Lazard and Victor Kiernan from the natives, whereas the non-natives include Daud Kamal, Shoaib Hashmi and Shahid Ali Agha.  Close textual qualitative analysis has been done. Analysis of Faiz’s translations shows that, despite great effort, translators only partially capture the original spirit. Poet-translators outperform non-poets. Additionally, non-native translators like Kamal, Hashmi, and Ali—sharing Faiz’s socio-cultural background—better grasp cultural nuances, giving them an advantage over native translators. Conversely, natives excel in language proficiency and lexical choices but sometimes struggle with cultural gaps in their renditions.