Translations

Act II opens on another warm day, a few days later, after most of the territory has been mapped. Yolland and Owen sit together in the schoolroom with a map spread out before them, pointing to landmarks and deciding how to translate their names into an area Name Book. This involves anglicizing the names to make them easier to spell, pronounce, or understand in English. For example, Cnon Ban, which means “Fair Hill” (38) in Gaelic, becomes Knockban in English.

Yolland has fallen in love with Ireland and seems eager to engage with the villagers. He tries to speak with Manus, who is standoffish toward him (42). When Manus leaves the room, Yolland asks Owen if his brother has always been lame. Owen explains that Manus’s leg was permanently injured when he was a baby and Hugh drunkenly fell on his crib (43). Owen also explains that Manus remains unmarried because he is not paid for his employment with the school.

The conversation returns to the British soldiers and their mutual participation in the Ordinance Survey. Yolland remarks that people here resent them, including a young girl, who spat on him.