Annotated Bibliography
Baker, Charles. “ ‘It’s the Same Me, Isn’t It?’ The Language Question and Brian Friels’
Translations.” Midwest Quarterly 41.3 (Spring 2000): 264. Rpt. In Contemporary Literary
Criticism. Vol. 253. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web.
Baker discusses the desire of the Irish to return to their pre-colonial state via the resurgence of
their native Gaelic rather than the English which had been “imposed upon them by their colonial
oppressors” (264). He goes on to examine how the use of language further advances the colonization
efforts of the English, specifically with the naming of places. Baker also contends that “language depends
on culture” and proposes that oppressed nationals are able to change the new language in such a manner
so that it becomes a part of their own identity by infusing it into its own culture, thus creating a new
identity for themselves.
Kearney, Richard. “Language Play: Brian Friel and Ireland’s Verbal Theater.” Studies: An Irish
Quarterly Review 72.285 (Spring 1983): 20-56. Rpt. in Drama Criticism. Ed. Lawrence J.
Not only does Kearney discuss the idea of language as an identifier, he also looks at the divisive
nature of language and how either a willful or negligent mistake in translation results in severe
consequences. Kearney implies that the use of the Greek and Latin in the Irish hedge school identifies the
Gaelic also as a “past civilization” and that only by engaging in English will the inhabitants of Baille
Beag be able to advance in society.
Hawkins, Maureen S. G. “We Must Learn Where We Live: Language, Identity, and the Colonial
Condition in Brian Friel’s Translations.” Eire-Ireland 38.1-2 (Spring-Summer 2003):
23-37. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 253. Detroit: Gale, 2008.
Literature Resource Center. Web.
Hawkins introduces her essay quoting Edmund Spenser’s view that by encouraging the use of the
colonizing country’s language is more effective in controlling a colony than actual military actions. She
contends that Brian Friel rejects this assertion in his play, Translations. The author also makes the
assumption that by bastardizing the new language into their own creates a new identity that is neither that
of the pre-colonization land nor that of the invading country. She finally declares that Friel demonstrates
in his play that by learning and engaging in English, the Irish was able to assume a position in modern
Europe, which may not have been possible had the country remained Gaelic speaking.
Lojek, Helen. “Brian Friel’s plays and George Steiner’s linguistics: translating the Irish”
Contemporary Literature. 35.1 (1994): 83+. Literature Resource Center. Web.
Lojek applies George Steiner’s approach to not only linguistics but also to cultural and historical
aspects of several plays, most notably, Friel’s Translations. She discusses the process of translating in a
variety of circumstances and how interpreting language as well as events causes the reader or viewer to
construct the meaning of the play from a variety of perspectives, including the spiritual. Lojek also
discusses how the use of language enables those in a society an opportunity to actually deceive both
insiders and outsiders. Lojek is influenced by both Heidegger and Derrida’s theories on language,
particularly in regard to how the differences relate to a variety of differing identities.
McGrath, F.C. “Language, Myth, and History in the Later Plays of Brian Friel.” Contemporary
Literature 30.4 (Winter 1989): 534-545. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit:
Gale, 2013. Literature Resource Center. Web.
McGrath agrees with Richard Kearney’s position that “Freil embraces a Heideggerian notion of
the primacy of language in the constitution of our experience.”(534). In this article he discusses several of
Freil’s plays including Translations especially in regard to Freil’s uses of language as the identifier for
the Irish without the preconceived attitudes of the English colonizers altering the imbued Irish identity.
He goes on to argue in favor of George Steiner’s theory that “all human communication equals
translation” (536). McGrath also delve into the assumption that fiction is in a fluid relationship with
history. He points out the fictitious events
In the play surrounding the historical references to the Anglicizing of Ireland creates a unique perspective
in obtaining and understanding these specific historical events.
Porter, Laurin. “Friel’s questions, O’Neill’s answers: language, place and cultural identity in
Translations and Moon for the Misbegotten.” Eugene O’Neill Review 31 (2009).
Literature Resource Center. Web.
In her essay, Porter asks, “Can people remain the same if their language is taken from them?” (1).
She explores how language affects the identity of individuals once they have emigrated from their
homelands. Porter examines an interesting dichotomy between the “civilized natives” from Baile Beag
and the uneducated British officials as well as the inherent benefits of using the language of the colonizers
for economic and personal gain. The article leaves the reader questioning the results as either selling out
or turning the language once it had evolved into a new form against the former imperialists. Porter
discusses Translations with the assumption that maintaining the Gaelic will stymie the efforts of the Irish
to compete in a modern world. She goes on to question “the relationship between the signifier and the
signified; between language and identity” by pointing out that the characters in the play identify
themselves not only by name, but by their hometowns as well. The apparently overlapping of identity by
name and place becomes important to the Irish especially when language and locations change, thus
offering particular insight into Owen’s and Maire’s personas.
Kearney, Richard. “Friel and the Politics of Language Play.” The Massachusetts Review 28.3
(Autumn 1987): 510-515. Rpt in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter
and Deborah A. Schmitt. Vol. 115. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource
Center. Web.
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Tillinghast, Richard. “Brian Friel: Transcending the Irish National Pastime.” The New Criterion
10: 35-41. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter and
Deborah A. Schmitt. Vol. 115. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center.
Web.