The Politics of Translation Towards Centring African Languages

Abstract

Many scholars have argued that translation is more than just understanding words in one language and rendering them into another. While the process of translation may be perceived as a form of empowerment that brings to the greater public experiences that would otherwise remain in the private, it should also be acknowledged that the shift in voice through this process can be a form of silencing. This paper re-asserts the importance of taking the role played by language seriously in our meaning-making processes and understanding of the world. In particular, the paper engages the role of translation as violence in our research endeavours. The paper further points to the need to strive towards acknowledging how realities may be understood through multiple lenses, i.e., the pluriversal notion of knowing and being and the critical role that African languages can play towards re- defining the academic project.