Challenges in Translating a Novel from English into Kinyarwanda: Focus on Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter

Abstract

This paper pinpoints challenges encountered in the translation a literary work from a source language into a target language and how these challenges can be addressed. The researchers want to equip Rwandan teachers and students with the material to be used in literature lessons as most literature in that context are written in foreign languages. The researchers throw light on the translation Mariama Ba‘s So Long a Letter from English – originally known as a West Germanic language; into Kinyarwanda, a Bantu language. The paper is geared by the belief that some prose writings which should benefit a wider African audience are greatly affected by a number factors including language barrier as many Africans do not have any knowledge these foreign languages. As a rich and complex language, Kinyarwanda is often times affected by foreign languages English included. Translating a novel into Kinyarwanda from English is thus challenging as the two languages are too distant. It was found that Challenges encountered throughout the translation the novel “So long a letter” from English into Kinyarwanda were mainly related to the translation unknown ideas, genitive constructions known as of phases, figures speech such as metaphors, similes, gender markers , proper names , active and passive constructions , proverbs and proverbial phrases.