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Translations

Brian Friel

Type

Play

Published

1980

Questions

3 with answers

Access

Free

A Level English LitAP LiteratureAQAEdexcelIB Language & LiteratureLeaving Cert

Curated set · answers marked

In Brian Friel's Translations (1980), what is the main task being undertaken by the British soldiers Yolland and Lancey in the Irish village of Baile Beag?

ABuilding a new military garrison
BAnglicising the Irish place names for a new Ordnance Survey map
CCollecting taxes from local landowners
DEstablishing a National School to replace the hedge school

Rationale

Yolland and Lancey are part of a Royal Engineers mapping expedition responsible for translating and anglicising Gaelic place names into English for the British Ordnance Survey map of Ireland. This act symbolizes the play's central theme of cultural and linguistic imperialism.

In Brian Friel's play Translations (1980), what primary task are the British soldiers Yolland and Lancey performing in the Irish town of Baile Beag?

ABuilding a new military barracks
BMapping and renaming the Irish landscape into English as part of the Ordnance Survey
CCollecting taxes from local landowners
DEstablishing a National School to replace the hedge school

Rationale

Yolland and Lancey are carrying out the British Ordnance Survey of Ireland, which includes translating and anglicizing Irish place names into English. This task acts as the play's central metaphor for cultural imperialism and the diminishing of Irish identity.

In Brian Friel's Translations (1980), what is the main task being performed by the British soldiers Yolland and Lancey in the Irish village of Baile Beag?

ABuilding a new military garrison
BTranslating the Bible into Irish Gaelic
CAnglicising Irish place names for a new Ordnance Survey map
DEstablishing an English-medium National School

Rationale

Yolland and Lancey are part of a Royal Engineers unit working on an Ordnance Survey of Ireland. Their job involves changing Gaelic place names to English versions, which acts as the play's key metaphor for cultural erasure and colonial dominance.

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