Abstract The aim of this article is to show how the Italian translation produced by F.Lamioni of The Bacchae of Euripides by the Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka, manipulates the source text thus projecting a different image of it. Starting with an overview of the rewritings of Greek classics by African authors and the ideological motivations of such rewritings, in particular the political agenda underlying Soyinka’s adaptation of Euripides’ tragedy, the article then focuses in particular on three terms – bastardy, alien and tyranny – taken from Dionysos’ initial speech. These terms are central to the message the Author intends to convey since they present the main themes of the work, yet, in the Italian version by Lamioni are inappropriately translated, thus conveying a message which is rather different from Soyinka’s original work, and censoring the ideological reasons implied in his adaptation of Euripides’ tragedy.

L'uso dell'inglese in India è paradigmatico dell'odierno contesto globale: lo stesso pluralismo linguistico e, pertanto, la stessa esigenza pragmatica di comunicare al di là dei confini nazionali che hanno contribuito alla diffusione dell'inglese in tutto il subcontinente indiano, caratterizzano l'attuale contesto globale, portando alla creazione di una struttura sociale mondiale basata sulla competenza nella lingua con la conseguente marginalizzazione di quanti non la parlano. le implicazioni socio-culturali comprendono la perdita di altre lingue e culture. Il mio contributo intende fornire un background storico al saggio di R. Nagar e D. Faust che segue e da me tradotto.

While education in English has been advocated as a unifying and modernising force, it is also seen as a marker of imperialism and class privilege and a terrain of struggle among elite groups. Ruptures in such class-divided educational system in turn shape specific debates over development, democracy and social change. Uneven empowerment that an education in English generates also has its fallout in an increasing polarisation, fracturing and violence against caste, gender and religious lines.

Abstract – The aim of this article is to show the need to adopt a cultural approach in the translation of literary works, especially when these are the product of postcolonial authors. These works, coming from cultures that sometimes are very different from our western culture, tend to show a certain resistance to translation. A cultural approach requires, before translating the single sentence or word, a knowledge of the culture that has produced the text, of the history and literary heritage of that culture so as to better grasp intertextual references, as well as a reading of the other writings by the author whose text one has to translate. This article focuses on the incipit of the novel Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, in particular on the phrase ‘once upon a time’ and its Italian translation suggesting a possibility that is slightly different from the one appearing in the Italian version of the book, yet, according to the author of this article, is more faithful to the Author’s intention. The alternative translation is motivated through an overview of Rushdie’s use of the English language and history, the assumed lack of historical sense in ancient India and the roots of such assumption, and historiography in India, as all these aspects are involved in the translation of this novel that is the product of a highly hybridized culture.