Abstract

The study critically examines the ideological differences in the Punjabi poetry of Bulleh Shah and its two English translations. It also examines the role of translation in shaping ideologies. Critical discourse analysis model by Van Dijk (2004) is used for tracing these ideological changes in combination with the translation techniques addition, deletion, omission and transliteration. The study finds that the use of certain words, sentences and various styles by the translators are not merely the ways of communicating the meaning, but are techniques to manipulate the source text in a way to influence the target culture. The findings reveal that Punjabi poetry has distinct background that represent Punjabi culture, but when translated into English the original meanings are altered due to cultural, social and mainly ideological discrepancies between the source text culture and the culture of target audience. The study paves the way for future scholars interested in critically investigating how translation affects ideologies.