Ethical and stylistic issues of translating Bosman's English short stories into Afrikaans

Abstract

Herman Charles Bosman (1905–1951) remains a popular South African writer, despite the frequent occurrence of the offensive k-word for black people in his writings. Although the discipline of Translation Studies is presently dominated by ethical considerations, there are reasons to believe that ethical issues have been neglected in recent translations of Bosman’s English short stories into Afrikaans. His translators, Griebenow and De Lange, have conformed to a simplistic fidelity-driven perception of ethics, while more attention should have been paid to “sensitive” aspects of the original. The research problem is how this gap that exists in translation practice can be addressed, which in turn raises the question: How would one translate Bosman’s stories in an ethically responsible manner for the twenty-first century? This study not does deal with all of Bosman’s short stories but focuses on the Oom Schalk Lourens ones as these demonstrate the research problem best. Thus, the data consist of existing texts in printed form. The following stories have been selected for comparative analysis: “Makapan’s Caves”, “The Rooinek”, “The Gramophone”, “Mafeking Road”, “Splendours from Ramoutsa”, “Unto Dust”, and “Funeral Earth”. Since excerpts from the original and their corresponding translations are compared, translator style is inevitably included in the discussion. A committed approach, which considers translation as an activist and interventionist cultural activity (Brownlie 2011), forms the analytical framework of this study. The analyses indicate that Griebenow and De Lange have retained the offensive racial epithets of the source texts, rather than toning them down for modern target-text readers. Thus, the translators have been faithful to a dead author, instead of taking the socio-cultural and political context of reception into consideration. From a committed stance, I would strongly recommend that derogatory racial epithets, found in older texts, should be subdued in current translations. Otherwise, it may be better not to translate at all, as Pym (2012) suggests. Owing to translators’ responsibility for the effects of their translations on their readers, and South Africa’s political transformation to a democracy in which all people are deemed equal before the law, the use of racist language, is totally unwarranted.

Herman Charles Bosman (1905–1951) bly ʼn gewilde Suid-Afrikaanse skrywer, ten spyte van die gereelde voorkoms van die neerhalende k-woord vir swart mense in sy werk. Hoewel die dissipline, Vertaalkunde, tans deur etiese vraagstukke oorheers word, is daar rede om te vermoed dat etiese kwessies afgeskeep is in die onlangse vertalings van Bosman se Engelse kortverhale in Afrikaans. Die vertalers, Griebenow en De Lange, vereenselwig etiek met getrouheid aan die skrywer, in plaas daarvan om meer aandag te skenk aan “sensitiewe” aspekte van die oorspronklike. Die navorsingsprobleem is hoe om hierdie gaping in vertaalpraktyk aan te spreek: Hoe behoort Bosman se verhale op ʼn etiese, verantwoordelike wyse vertaal te word vir die een-en-twintigste eeu? Hierdie studie fokus op Bosman se oom Schalk Lourens-verhale wat die navorsingsprobleem die beste illustreer. Die data is derhalwe saamgestel uit bestaande tekste in gedrukte vorm. Die volgende verhale is vir vergelykende ontleding gekies: “Makapan’s Caves”, “The Rooinek”, “The Gramophone”, “Mafeking Road”, “Splendours from Ramoutsa”, “Unto Dust”, en “Funeral Earth”. Aangesien grepe uit die brontekste en die vertalings daarvan vergelyk word, is vertalerstyl noodwendig deel van die bespreking. ʼn Betrokke benadering waarvolgens vertaling as ʼn aktivistiese en intervensionistiese kulturele aktiwiteit beskou word (Brownlie 2011), vorm die ontledingsraamwerk van die studie. Die ontledings dui daarop dat Griebenow en De Lange die rassistiese skeldname van die oorspronklike behou het, in plaas daarvan om dit “sagter” uit te druk vir hedendaagse doeltaallesers. Die vertalers was getrou aan ʼn afgestorwe skrywer, eerder as om die sosiokulturele en -politiese konteks van resepsie in ag te neem. Vanuit ʼn betrokke standpunt sou ek sterk aanbeveel dat neerhalende, rassistiese benamings wat in ouer tekste voorkom, gedemp moet word in hedendaagse vertalings. Anders sou dit beter wees om hoegenaamd nie te vertaal nie, soos Pym (2012) voorstel. Vanweë vertalers se verantwoordelikheid vir die effek van hul vertalings op hul lesers, en Suid-Afrika se politiese transformasie in ʼn demokrasie waar alle mense gelyk geag word voor die wet, is die gebruik van rassistiese taal verregaande.

UHerman Charles Bosman (1905-1951) ngomnye wababhali abaphume izandla baseMzantsi Afrika, nangona iincwadi zakhe zizele ligama elingamkelekanga eliqala ngo-k elibhekiselele kubantu abantsundu. Nangona Izifundo Zoguqulo zikuthathela ingqalelo ukunanzwa kweenqobo ezisesikweni xa kuguqulelwa, kukho izizathu ezibangela ukuba kukholeleke ukuba imiba engeenqobo ezisesikweni iye yatyeshelwa xa bekuguqulelwa kwiAfrikaans amabali amafutshane kaBosman abhalwe ngesiNgesi. UGriebenow noDe Lange abangabaguquli bathande ukulandela uluvo olubonisa intembeko kumbhali, endaweni yokugxila kwimiba “enobuethe-ethe” ekwisicatshulwa sentsusa. Injongo yolu phando kukufumana indlela esinokuvalwa ngayo esi sikhewu kwimisebenzi yoguqulelo, nto leyo ebangela ukuba kubekho imibuzo ethi: Umntu angawaguqula njani amabali amafutshane kaBosman kwinkulungwane yamashumi amabini ananye apho umguquli azithathela ingqalelo iinqobo ezisesikweni. Olu phando aluwahlautyi onke amabali amafutshane kaBosman, koko lugxila kuphela kula ka-Oom Schalk Lourens kuba ingawo ayivelisa kakuhle le ngxaki/njongo yophando. Izicatshulwa ezihlalutywayo zezishicilelweyo kuphela. Amabali akhethelwe ukuthelekiswa nokuhlalutywa ngala: “Makapan’s Caves”, “The Rooinek”, “The Gramophone”, “Mafeking Road”, “Splendours from Ramoutsa”, “Unto Dust”, and “Funeral Earth”. Njengoko kuthelekiswa iziqendwana ezikula mabalana neenguqulelo zawo, isimbo sokubhala sabaguquli siyaqukwa kolu hlalutyo. Isakhelo sohlalutyo esisetyenzisiweyo kolu phando seso sisekelwe kwiingcamango zikaBrownlie (2011) ezihlela uguqulelo njengesenzo senkcubeko sokuphembelela nokungenelela. Uhlalutyo lubonisa ukuba uGriebenow noDe Lange bawagcinile amagama ocalucalulo ngokobuhlanga anyelisayo asetyenziswe kwizicatshulwa zentsusa, endaweni yokuwatshintsha ngelokulungiselela abafundi ekujoliswe kubo beli xesha. Abaguquli ke ngoko baye bathembeka kakhulu kumbhali owaswelekayo endaweni yokuthathela ingqalelo imeko yokwamkelekileyo ngokwezopolitiko nentlalo. Ndiphakamisa ukuba amagama anyelisayo ocalucalulo ngokobuhlanga asetyenziswe kwiimbalo zakudala athonyalaliswe okanye atshintshwe kwiinguqulelo zangoku. Kungenjalo, kungcono kungenziwa nguqulelo kwaphela njengoko ecebisa uPym (2012). Ngenxa yoxanduva olusemagxeni abaguquli ngeziphumo zeenguqulelo zabo kubafundi bazo, nokutshintsha kwemeko yezopolitiko yoMzantsi Afrika itshintshela kwidemokhrasi apho abantu balinganayo ngokomthetho, ukusetyenziswa kolwimi olucalulayo akwamkelekanga.