Call a spade a spade, Mr. Translator
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21757219 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Theo Rodrigues (0000-0002-1280-5549, University of South Africa, corresponding author), Bulelwa Nokele (0000-0001-6141-968X, University of South Africa), Francinah Mokgobo Kanyane (0000-0003-0341-8325, University of South Africa) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 687-699 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1607-3614 • E-ISSN: 1727-9461 |
| Publisher | National Inquiry Services Center (NISC) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2989/16073614.2025.2487476 |
| OpenAlex | W4411072399 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 23 |
Translation has always been a noble profession, as it aims to advance humanism, nation-building and cross-cultural cooperation. These goals were frequently under-emphasised when considering translators’ work in South Africa. Although some translators tried to remain faithful to this noble duty, others who translated English books into African languages supported the dominant culture and narrative. The translations of the Long Walk to Freedom into isiXhosa and Sesotho sa Leboa show how different cultural aspects of the original text were hidden, excluding a particular group in each culture. This study employs a qualitative approach to investigate the various translators’ arbitrary choices to determine whether it was morally, professionally and democratically appropriate to prevent readers from obtaining the original content. The discussion of the results will follow House’s functional-pragmatic model for translation quality assessment in a descriptive translation studies (DTS) framework. In the context of autobiographies, the study highlights the disregard for the readership’s autonomy and information access, and it sensitises translators to the need to stay faithful to the author rather than euphemising cultural taboos
Computer Science · Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies · Psychology · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism · Translation Studies and Practices
Descriptive Translation Studies – and beyond
Forbidden Words
The Translation Studies Reader
The Translator's Invisibility
An Introduction to Functional Grammar
An encounter with some translators
A critical exploration of the usage of euphemism and hyperbole in the Sesotho sa Leboa translation of Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom
Negotiating the communication process a partnership approach to Translation
In Defence of Ubuntu
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |