ABSTRACT
Certain misrepresentations of cultural ambiance are often found in translated African literary works into European languages and especially proverbs in the works of Chinua Achebe. They betray not only the intention of the author, but also the worldview of the entire language community they represent. Since no two languages are sufficiently the same to represent the same realities, equivalence as an approach can be generally linked to limitations. This is because translation, as the name implies, is not just an exchange of one linguistic code with another, but rather, it involves the passage of extra linguistic nuances of meaning across cultural lines. Therefore, a serious evaluation of the translation process goes beyond mere comprehension of the linguistic component. More than just translating for translation sake, literary appreciation as the core of literary translation constitutes the focus of this study. While equivalence is the norm in translation, literalness was relied upon as an approach to the translation of proverbs in the considered texts. The aim was to apply this technique as a dependable solution to the limitations of equivalence in literary translation. The specific objectives of this study were to: (i) ascertain the expectation of the target audience and its influence in the choice of equivalence in literary translation, (ii) determine the aspect of loss of local colour associated with equivalence in literary translation, (iii) determine through lexical, structural and cultural investigation, the impracticability of absolute synonyms by means of equivalence and (iv) determine the extent of reproduction of the local colour of the Igbo culture in literary translation.
The study adopted the historical-descriptive design. It applied a qualitative research method with data drawn from books and academic journals. The explanations of the conceptualization and practice of equivalence were obtained from secondary sources and they formed the conceptual framework for the study. They also constituted the tools of analysis of the primary texts. The primary texts, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God, were purposively selected above others because they represent the best of African oral tradition in literature, especially in their use of proverbs. They also expose the limitations inherent in the use of equivalence to translate proverbs. The views and positions analyzed of translation scholars and theorists were done in relation to their individual conceptualization and use of equivalence in translation practice.
The expectation of the target audience (in this case European) will generally tilt in favour of the use of existing equivalent contextual situations in their own cultures resulting to the use of equivalence. Loss of local colour would be recorded in both the metaphorical evocation as well as the rich cultural presence associated with the use of proverbs in Igbo. This loss makes the notional and emotive charge of proverbs in Igbo to be unequal in the different audiences addressed by the same message. The lexical, structural and cultural investigations carried out on the use of proverbs in Igbo worldview exposed the impracticability of absolute synonyms by means of equivalence showing that no two languages are sufficiently the same to represent the same realities. Literalness was applied as an alternative to equivalence to reproduce important aspects of the local colour of the Igbo culture which would have been lost through the process of translation by equivalence.
| Project details | Contents |
|---|---|
| Number of Pages | 226 pages |
| Chapter one | Introduction |
| Chapter two | Literature review |
| Chapter three | methodology |
| Chapter four | Data analysis |
| Chapter five | Summary,discussion & recommendations |
| Reference | Reference |
| Questionnaire | Questionnaire |
| Appendix | Appendix |
| Chapter summary | 1 to 5 chapters |
| Available document | PDF and MS-word format |
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