Translation and interpretation of cultural concepts from Xitsonga into English

Abstract

The study focused on the translation and interpretation of cultural concepts from Xitsonga into English. The main aim of the study was to formulate strategies and methods as well as techniques of translating cultural concepts from Xitsonga into English with the view towards bridging the gap between the two cultures. The study used a mixed method approach combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches. It examined the research problem by selecting respondents who deal with translation issues on a day-to-day basis and also observed how cultural concepts are presented in the bilingual dictionaries. This was done by comparing three languages i.e. Xitsonga, Northern-Sotho and Tshivenda. The researcher had to identify the afore-mentioned cultural concepts and to find if they were properly described or translated into English. The observation focused on the translation of both Xitsonga, Northern-Sotho and Tshivenda cultural fixed expressions which were given to translation studies students to translate into English. The aim was to find if they are able to give proper explanations or translation to the given expressions. Quantitatively, 24 out of the 30 questionnaires that were sent out to respondents, were returned to the researcher for presentation, analysis and interpretation.

The study found that translating cultural concepts is very challenging. These challenges are presented by lack of equivalence and not recognising the cultural concepts in the source text. The study however found that employing the right strategies, methods and techniques can assist in bridging the gap between the languages and cultures. The translator also needs to have an in-depth knowledge of the two cultures: Xitsonga and English.