Abstract
In this article, certain translative communication problems associated with the linguistic and stylistic differences between English and Sesotho are identified and discussed. With a view to help improve translation between the two languages where inaccurate and stilted communication frequently occurs, issues of equivalence, fidelity/faithfulness and the purpose of translation are delved into. It is furthermore argued that in South African multilingual contexts, like legal courts, criminal cases/hearings and hospitals clinics and similar health establishments, inaccurate translation and/or misinterpreting can lead to serious miscarriages of justice and poor service delivery. The reasons for such unfortunate eventualities sometimes relate to the translator-interpreter’s poor understanding of the cultural factors behind the English or Sesotho message. As such, emphasis is lain on the need for a translator-interpreter’s cultural understanding of the source language/text (SL/T) and target language/text (TL/T) to deliver an accurate version (in the target language or text – TL/T) of the original message. It is furthermore shown that one cause of social and legal injustice is closely related to the translator- interpreter’s insufficient knowledge of both the English and Sesotho culture as it exists in grammatical forms, idiomatic structures, collocation patterns and stylistic patterns of the SL/T and the TL/T.
Highlights
Prior to 1994, the bilingual policy and the legal system in the Republic of South Africa tended to privilege only the White speakers of English and Afrikaans, the official languages of civil life
Observations deriving from the discussion in the article are, among others, the following: o That translation is not a mere linguistic transference of lexical items from one language to another or metaphrastically; o That the target text cannot be functional, if the translation processes are not rooted in thorough understanding and knowledge of the socio-cultural or ethnolinguistic implications of both the source language and the recipient language of the target group(s)
It is clear that translation that focuses exclusively on the translator’s language ability rather than on the cultural nuances of both the source language/text (SL/T) and the target language/text (TL/T), can lead to the kind of effective communication required in the public and social spaces of South Africa
Summary
Prior to 1994, the bilingual policy and the legal system in the Republic of South Africa tended to privilege only the White speakers of English and Afrikaans, the official languages of civil life. Even though the nine indigenous African languages were granted official status in 1996, the advantages accruing from the dominant use of English and Afrikaans in official circles, continue to disadvantage non-native speakers in the new democratic state. The value attached to using an African language like Sesotho in most social situations is quite low in comparison to resorting to English and Afrikaans. The actual or de facto circumstances require interventions such as interpreting and translation for African language speakers to gain the ‘sociolinguistic power’ (Fairclough, 1995) that will allow them to fully access the legal, health and educational facilities of their country
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