In the aptly-titled Translations, Friel uses the translation process to expose the ideological barriers between speakers of English and Irish. Though the play is (mostly) written in English and the actors speak English onstage, it is implied that the English- and Irish-speaking characters speak in their respective native tongues. Onstage, the characters are unable to understand each other if one is Irish and the other English (with the notable exception of Hugh and Owen, who are multi-lingual). By failing (or refusing) to learn each other’s languages, the Irish and English widen the cultural barrier that exists between them.

As someone who has already lived through multiple decades of conflict, Hugh is acutely aware of this cultural divide between the Irish and British. For this reason, the theme of preserving one’s heritage in language reoccurs in Hugh’s Irish and Latin lessons, as with the phrase he assigns from the Agricola in Act I: “It’s easier to stamp out learning than to recall it” (15). Though capable of speaking English, he often refuses to translate his words for the benefit of the British soldiers, leaving this work for Owen (whom he appears to view, initially, as a traitor to his homeland).