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Brian Friel's play Translations focuses on the important prominence of language. Specifically focuses on language to an existing culture and the re-creation of a previously existing culture. Friel sets language as the infrastructure of culture, expanding on the matters of history, changes, and political awareness. Language connects three major sub-themes within this play including, historical and social significance of the Irish vs English, how the language possess power, and language inequality.

Historical and Social Significance

The turn of the 17th century saw the complete conquest of Ireland by Britain, resulting in a mainland-colonial government, dispossession and oppression of the Irish people, and the ever-growing struggle between Catholics and Protestants (Brendan Kane, UCONN Today). Problems between the English and Irish started after the battle of the Boyne (1690), when the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy was firmly established as the ruling class of Ireland. The enactment of a set of Anti-Catholic Penal Laws, (1695) aimed at excluding Catholics from any office of state, from the Parliament, from the army, navy, voting and, of course, from the educational system. Therefore, Hedge Schools were the Irish answer-illegal, fee-paying educational institutions for the Irish peasants although, initially, tuition was through Gaelic, this language, even in the Hedge Schools, started to decline. Irish people, indeed, became increasingly aware of the importance and power of the English language, which, at that time, was undoubtedly the dominant one in the areas of commerce, politics and law (Mazzara, F., & Philippopoulou, D).

Translations take place in 1833. This marks the invasion of the British in Ireland. In the early decades of the ...

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...his is exactly what the British soldiers and Owen are doing. They are creating a new culture into an already existing culture-- revamping the old to create a new. By using language as the main focus of the play, Friel eludes to the hope that reinterpreting something, there will still be an essence left of the original. The action that takes place is the rise and awareness of the endangerment of the Irish culture. Language is the foundation for an individual establishment of cultural independence, cultural identity, and cultural dominance. Translations set language as the infrastructure of culture, expanding on the matters of history, changes, and political awareness. Friel utilizes language as the connecter of three major sub-themes within this play; historical and social significance of the Irish vs English, how the language possess power, and language inequality.