The club published more than 70 books and a monthly newsletter in the four years following its founding.
A major project in 1948 by the Burma Society to translate Sir John Hamilton’s 10-volume encyclopedia was abandoned the following year in favor of producing a shorter work concentrating on articles relating directly to Burma and its arts and sciences.
Burmese translators aren’t working exclusively in the English language, however. Historians point out that Burmese scholars have been translating Pali and Sanskrit texts for centuries. Veteran journalist and author Win Tin told The Irrawaddy: “Actually, we should translate not only foreign-language books but also Burmese ethnic languages. By reading different ethnic literatures, we can get to know about respective beliefs, attitudes, cultures and customs. We can deepen our understanding of each other.”
Publisher Shwe Kyaw also believes translations of foreign literatures are valuable for understanding other cultures. He said Burma had been “left behind by developed countries, but we can catch up with them by reading their books.”
The well-known Burmese writer Maung Wun Tha agreed, telling The Irrawaddy: “Translated literature can be a bridge between different countries, peoples, culture, philosophy and technology.”
Ohn Kyaing, a veteran journalist, said translations were needed not only of English-language works but also of books written in Chinese, French, Japanese and Hindi. The government should create a “good translation society,” he told The Irrawaddy.
The government has the necessary resources, said Phone Thet Paing, editor of the journal Myanmar Thit (New Myanmar). Universities, libraries and academics should also support efforts to revive Burma’s translation tradition, he told The Irrawaddy.
The lack of public libraries and slipping educational standards were named by several writers as factors responsible for the decline in translated works.
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