An academic debate has begun on the necessity of quality translation to establish Nepali literature on the world stage. In the second installment of the monthly virtual series ‘Translation Discussion’ organized by the Translation Society Nepal (STN), speaker Dr. Nawaraj Neupane described translation as the ‘global passport’ of Nepali literature and urged for improving the quality of this field, the statement said.  At the

program, Dr. Neupane had unveiled an 11-step ‘IPP’ model based on his PhD research. According to him, translation is not just a linguistic transformation but a combination of theory and practice. “After translating, the work is only perfected when it is kept ‘in the dark’ for some time and re-examined,” he said. During the discussion, he said that the most difficult challenge is translating words that carry cultural contexts. Noting that words like ‘Agni Pariksha’, ‘Satu’, ‘Ghum’ and ‘Lahure’ carry the historical, religious and social background of Nepali society, he opined that one should go beyond the general meaning of the word and understand its cultural depth. ‘A translator should not just find synonyms, he should also include the civilization and sentiments carried by that word,’ he clarified.