Analyzing Manus 'Language In The Play'

Translations

Translation's is about how important power and language are in a community and how they are both linked. It also deciphers the idea of whether languages can be accurately translated. However this play also shows that to communicate it is not just spoken language but also body language that is used to communicate and form a relationship.
We're first introduced to the importance of language at the start of the play when Manus is teaching Sarah to speak properly. From this extract we see that it is hugely important to be able to speak the proper language and how it has disadvantaged Sarah by not doing so. One of the main focus points of her teaching is being able to say her name and this shows that it is important to know your identity and knowing your identity gives you pride and power. As Sarah comes closer to learning the language Manus and Sarah form a special relationship, one which ends up with them having feelings for each other and this shows that even though they can not speak the language fluently together they still have formed a relationship showing that it is not just the spoken word you need to form a relationship. When she is learning Manus says ‘Nothing will stop us now, nothing in the whole world!' This step Sarah has taken has meant she has gained power in her own right from leaning
the language.
One of the main points of the book is the link between language and power and this is seen when the English take over the Irish language. As they have taken the language it also means that they have taken away the lands culture and their natural way of life and it also means that their power has been snatched away from them in the process.
It is also shown when the English plan to rename places and people's names. Yolland is hugely disappointed and plans to stop this, in the play he exclaims, ‘Something is being eroded'. This quote explains exactly the process because changing a name means it loses its identity and the whole reason it was named in the first place, it erodes its history, identity and pride.
A true break through in the play is seen between the two characters in the seen involving the ditch. From this scene we can see how frustrating it is for both of them by trying to communicate with each other and they are both hugely desperate to understand each other. However they manage to communicate by using place names, by doing this they create a closer bond and the pace quickens and this shows that everything is much easier and they have now formed a relationship.
Even though I have been talking and revolving this essay around the closeness of power and language and how they are linked there are points in the play that show spoken language is not as powerful as first implied.
For instance when Sarah is being taught by Manus, Sarah begins to have feelings for Manus and she begins to think he does as well because of the way he hugs her and how he kissed her on the head and this shows that she read his body language and thought he fancied her however this was misread. Sarah communicated with Manus through body language and miming and this shows that the spoken word is of no importance to communicate with one
another.
We also see this through the romance of Yolland and Maire and that body language can be used to communicate. I think that Friel is trying to show us that even when times are bad happiness and harmony aren't impossible to achieve. Friel is making suggestions of the possibilities of a Utopian society. As I spoke of before, it is shown in the scene of when they leap over the ditch. Through gestures and body language they can manage a conversation. I think that the ditch is used as a somewhat more than a ditch, it signifies that how both of them have jumped over a barrier of communication and sorted out their difficulties and this ends up in romance between them.
For me I think this play shows that language has huge influence over power and interactions. It is shown between Sarah and Manus that body language can be used as communication however in the same sense it has to learnt and revised like a spoken language. This also shows that the relationship between Maire and Yolland may never work. In conclusion I think losing your language is the loss of life and identity as language is the fundamental way of life.