Many people believe that translation is simply a matter of changing words. Easy, right? But the truth is that it’s a disaster. This is especially true when you have to translate from English to Odia. Two languages, two worlds. One has become worldwide, thanks to science, technology, and modern society. The other, Odia, has hundreds of years of poetry, folk melodies, temple rites, and a script that came from palm leaves.

So yeah, putting them side by side isn’t like plugging values into a formula. It’s more like walking a tightrope. Let me show you why.

When Words Don’t Match

English has a huge vocabulary, constantly absorbing new words. Odia doesn’t always have ready-made matches. How do you say “digital marketing strategy” in Odia? You’ll likely end up borrowing English or crafting a lengthy explanation that feels awkward.

Now flip it. Odia has gems like pakhala, fermented rice water eaten in summer. Try putting that into neat English. “Soaked rice”? “Watered rice”? None of it carries the cultural weight. Sometimes words just refuse to travel.

Sentences Play by Different Rules

Here’s a fun exercise. English says: She reads a book. Odia says: Se pustaka paduchi. Notice the verb moves to the end. That’s a simple sentence. Now, imagine doing this with a long English sentence full of commas and clauses. If you translate word by word, the Odia reader will look at you like, “What is this jumble?” Translators don’t just translate, they rebuild the whole sentence so it sounds like Odia, not English in disguise.

Idioms and Culture: Lost in Transit

Say you’re translating “break the ice.” If you literally turn that into Odia, people might think you’re talking about cracking frozen water. The meaning, starting a conversation gets lost.

Same the other way around. Odia has its own proverbs and culture-driven phrases. If someone says “danda re pinda” (meaning: last rites in Hindu tradition), you can’t simply carry that into English without footnotes. Language is tangled with culture, and that’s where translators sweat the most.

Tone Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

English is pretty straightforward with “you.” But Odia? Different story. You address elders with respect, friends casually, and strangers somewhere in between. If you mistranslate tone, you can come off as rude or overly formal. Imagine a government notice written like a WhatsApp text, yeah, it doesn’t work.

Even the Script Creates Trouble

Odia script is gorgeous, but not always easy to use digitally. The letters are round, full of loops. Some software and fonts still mess it up. That’s partly because, historically, the script was written on palm leaves; straight strokes would cut the leaf, so scribes curved everything. Beautiful? Yes. Practical for modern keyboards? Not always.

Tech Terms: A Headache of Their Own

Let’s be honest, translating tech or medical stuff is brutal. Words like “cybersecurity protocol” or “artificial intelligence model” don’t have native Odia equivalents. You either keep them in English or explain them in long Odia sentences. Both options have trade-offs.

As technology continues to evolve, Odia translators must continually adapt. What was new yesterday already feels old today.

Emotions, Poetry, and That “Untranslatable” Magic

If you’ve ever read Odia poetry, you know how lyrical it is. Translating that into English, or vice versa, is a challenge no dictionary can solve. Do you keep the rhyme? The rhythm? The exact meaning? Usually, you have to sacrifice something.

For example, devotional songs to Lord Jagannath carry deep cultural emotion. If you translate them into English word-for-word, they could sound flat. Translators sometimes become artists and endeavor to get both the words and the feeling across.

In the end

So, the truth is that English to Odia translation is not that easy, as just about changing the words. It entails finding ways to deal with language gaps, changing the way you compose sentences, understand idioms, adjust the tone of your writing, deal with technical jargon, and, most importantly, express your feelings across cultures.

It’s not simple. It’s not the best. But it’s also worth it. When someone makes an English idea flow easily in Odia or lets Odia literature speak to the world in English, they construct a modest bridge. And we need more of those bridges in the world we live in today.

But translation isn’t just about writing down words. It’s about people, identity, and keeping stories alive in a lot of languages.

SOURCE: https://devnagriiai.wordpress.com/2025/08/25/top-challenges-faced-in-english-to-odia-translation/