Written by: Khauhelo Banyane
Edited by: Kwanele Sicelo Kilani
I find it bizarre that translation is not praised in Africa. Nor is it the most profitable career. Simply because African countries, among other things, are known for having multiple official languages. The amount of spoken languages being even higher. South Africa has 12 official languages, and over 20 spoken languages in the country. However, we do not hold the title of the African country with the most official languages. Zimbabwe holds the title. They have 16 official languages in the country. We come second with 12. On 19 July 2023 President Ramaphosa recognised sign language as an official South African language. Shooting us up from 11 to 12.
So, what exactly is translation? My quick uneducated guess used to sound like this: Translation is changing one language into another. My understanding of the word basically came from church. I had always known interpretation and translation as interchangeable words. With no difference at all. I would hear the interpreter take the pastor’s words and change them into another language. I figured the people that could not understand the pastor needed help with hearing the sermon. Even though it turned out a bit chaotic at the pulpit. Therefore, translation was just about language. However, I now understand translation to be more than that. In fact, translation and interpreting, though similar, are different practices. Translation is the art of relaying a message from one language into another all while preserving the original meaning.
Jeremy Munday describes translation as a phenomenon. A phenomenon is an occurrence in nature that cannot be explained. To me, it sounds like he was trying to imply that translation may be as old as human existence. Dare I even say it existed before speech, or spoken words. Translation is more than just words. Behind each translated text there lies creed, tradition, sociology, societies, as well as different groups of people. All belonging to the same culture and language. As we go deeper into the series, I will explain why in Europe people used to be executed for mistranslation and misrepresentation in texts. The intricacies of translation lie deep within us. Simply because language usage is not the same for each person. That is because a person’s speech pattern is influenced by factors such as, jargon, jokes, sarcasm, foreign media, environment, society, etc. These mark our unique speech patterns, even if we belong to the same culture and language. For example, the interpreter in church made a mistake. Perhaps they pronounced a word wrong, or they could not think of a word and used a funny action. The congregants pick this up, and eventually it becomes an inside joke. Kutloano, a congregant, visits Sibo her cousin in another province. One is Xhosa the other one is Sotho. Kutloano explains the joke to Sibo. Then Sibo decides to start using the word or action in her community. Soon enough, the people in her section adopt it as a colloquial term. Turning it into a quirk that defines them. Setting them apart from the rest. That is how easy it is to mark individuality in speech. Message is deeply rooted in language. If you look at language and message, speech is a factor and not a determiner. “It is not what you have said, but rather how you said it.” Defines this. The words were not the communicated message.
I would like to close by saying that language is highly versatile and multifaceted. Studying language could never be boring. For example, while I talk about translation someone else chose sociology. Another chooses cultural studies. Not to mention the good old classics like, novels, poems, songs, praises, illustrative writing, grammar, etc.
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