Alice in Wonderland: translating to read across Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article comments on various translation strategies aiming at equivalence used by translators when reworking Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland into nine African languages. The back translations provided by the translators form the basis for the discussion [Lindseth, Jon, ed. 2015. Alice in a World of Wonderlands. Volume 1: Essays. Delaware: Oak Knoll Press]. This article provides examples and discussion of how African language translators deviated from the original text and it analyses the possible reasons for doing so, both linguistic and socio-cultural. The way in which translators created an African voice in the target languages is discussed by analysing their reflective essays and back translations. This is done against the backdrop of contemporary translation studies theory as espoused by Nokele [2015. “Translating Conceptual Metaphor in Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom: A Cross-cultural Comparison.” Unpublished PhD thesis, University of South Africa, Pretoria] as well as Colina [2015. Fundamentals of Translation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press]. There is a tension between remaining true to the source text and accommodating the socio-cultural context of the target text. In relation to Alice in Wonderland, it is argued that an integrated approach provides a more holistic and accurate re-working of the source text into the target African languages. The importance of creating a reading culture in Africa among the youth and the importance of translating reading material from one language to another in this endeavour is further highlighted.