Language
As the title indicates, the overriding themes of Brian Friel’s Translations are all related to the power of language and the power that comes with controlling language. The play follows the British effort to completely reconstitute the native Irish language, giving anglicized names to places and things that already have Gaelic words attached to them. This campaign, to change the national language of Ireland to English, is presented as a violent and bullying project, one which strips the country of its history and pays no respect to the structures already in place and the systems of meaning to which the Irish citizen is already accustomed. We see people struggle to hold on to their history in language, and struggle to communicate across linguistic barriers.
The characters all have different relationships to language. The waifish Sarah can barely speak, so anxious is she about being able to produce sound. Maire can only speak Gaelic, but dreams of speaking English. Yolland speaks English, and so wants to be able to speak Gaelic. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Hugh are enamored of the dead languages of ancient times, often reciting Latin and Greek poetry.
Alienation
All of the characters respond to British colonialism with a certain amount of withdrawal and alienation. Hugh and Jimmy turn to drink to deal with the fact that the world as they know it is slipping away. Manus not only loses his language, but also his beloved, when she falls for a British soldier. Even Owen, who initially found himself unfazed by the English agenda, becomes overwhelmed when he learns of the British soldier's plans to pillage the town. The process of colonialism is an alienating one, in that it is literally built around alienating the native population from their customs and ways of being.
Love
One of the central conflicts of the play is a love triangle between Manus, Maire, and Yolland. Both Yolland and Manus love Maire, and she eventually falls for the English soldier over the dutiful schoolmaster, which causes Manus immense heartbreak. Indeed, none of the characters end up in happy love affairs, as Yolland disappears on the night that he and Maire profess their love for one another.
The love shared between Maire and Yolland is an exceedingly romantic but also complicated love, because neither of them can speak the other's language. Instead, they struggle to piece together what the other is saying, often leading to misunderstanding. Thus, their love is almost completely non-verbal, existing outside of the bounds of language.
Leaving the past behind
The process of changing the language of the region is an invasive one, but different characters have different attitudes towards the change. While Manus and Hugh see the shift as disturbing and disrespectful, Maire and Owen maintain that it is important to move forward and stay on top of progress. At one point, Maire says, "The old language is a barrier to modern progress," which sums up her attitude towards colonial influence. She sees it as a positive advancement rather than a nuisance.
Colonial Subjugation
The English act as though they are on a diplomatic mission in Ireland, but the truth is, they have very little interest in the customs of the Irish people who reside there. Yolland is the only soldier who seems to have any interest in Irish culture, but even he is unable to learn the language adequately. The British soldiers' project is a subjugative one, aimed at disempowering the Irish citizens and creating a society that is amenable to British control. The British attitude of colonial entitlement is perhaps best represented by the character of Lancey, who looks upon the Irish people with a belittling and indifferent air of condescension. Then, when Yolland disappears, Lancey proves just how antagonistic to Irish interest he truly is when he threatens to pillage their town and kill their livestock. In his threats, we see the brutality and disregard of a colonial agenda.
Nationalism
The characters who are resistant to the incursion of the British maintain a pride in their country and what it means to be Irish, which can be thought of as nationalistic. Manus and Hugh both have a sense that the language of Ireland and its identity has a great deal to do with the words that Irish citizens use. When he analyses the Gaelic language more closely, Hugh notes that there are clues to the Irish identity in the very syntax of the language. He says, "Yes, it is a rich language, Lieutenant, full of the mythologies of fantasy and hope and self-deception—a syntax opulent with tomorrows." In this line, Hugh encapsulates what it is about the Irish heritage, and the sense of identity, that sets it apart and makes it so unique. He alludes to the romance of the language, a language that has equal parts hope and delusion.
"Always"
In their lover's meeting, Yolland and Maire are completely unable to communicate with one another, and struggle to find ways to translate their feelings of love. Yolland tells Maire that he wants to stay with her in Baile Breag "always," but she cannot understand what the word "always" means. When she then tells him that she wants to live with him "always," he cannot understand what she means. At the end of the play, Maire asks Hugh what the English word "always" means, and he tells her it is a silly word. This theme, the concept of "always," applies both to a romantic wish as well as a broader national feeling, the fact that the past is slipping away, and that nothing lasts forever.
