Hemispheres Studies on Cultures and Societies Vol. 31, No. 3
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Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures Polish Academy of Sciences Hemispheres Studies on Cultures and Societies Vol. 31, No. 3 Warszawa 2016 Editor-in-Chief Board of Advisory Editors JERZY ZDANOWSKI GRZEGORZ J. KACZYŃSKI OLA EL KHAWAGA Subject Editor MARIUSZ KRAŚNIEWSKI ABIDA EIJAZ HARRY T. NORRIS English Text Consultant STANISŁAW PIŁASZEWICZ JO HARPER MILOŠ MENDEL Secretary MARIA SKŁADANKOWA PATRYCJA KOZIEŁ MICHAŁ TYMOWSKI © Copyright by Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw 2016 e-ISSN 2449-8645 ISBN 978-83-7452-087-4 HEMISPHERES is published quarterly and is indexed in ERIH PLUS, The Central European Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, ProQuest Database and Index Copernicus Contents Felix Aw u n g , Lolie M a k h u b u , A Bourdieusian Analysis of the Status of Indigenous Languages in the South African Translation Space ....................................................................... 5 Sabina B r a k o n i e c k a , Muhammad Yusuf ’s Jihad in the Light of the Mahdist Tradition of Northern Nigeria ............................ 14 Patrycja K o z i e ł , The Afropolitanism and Portrayal of Nigerian Women in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Short Story Collection <<The Thing Around Your Neck>> ........................................... 26 Mainasara Yakubu K u r f i , New Audiences, New Perspective: Audiences’ Views on the Adaptation of Some Stories in <<Magana Jari Ce>> from Book to Films ................................. 36 Nicolas L e v i , North Korean Intellectuals and Artists: from Antagonism to Forced Cooperation with the Workers’ Party of Korea ............................................................................................. 48 Michał L i p a , Internal Determinants of Authoritarianism in the Arab Middle East. Egypt before the Arab Spring ............ 57 Anna R u d a k o w s k a , Ewa T r o j n a r , Who is a Political Newcomer? The Taiwanese Voters’ Perspective: 2016 .............. 68 Jakub S ł a w e k , The Post Arab Spring Jihadism. A Phenomenon of Transition or Durability? ......................................................... 79 Editorial Principles ......................................................................... 90 Felix Awung* and Lolie Makhubu** e-ISSN 2449-8645 HEMISPHERES Vol. 31, No. 3, 2016 A Bourdieusian Analysis of the Status of Indigenous Languages in the South African Translation Space Abstract This paper seeks to analyse the role of indigenous languages in translation activities in South Africa. While translation activities are on the rise in South Africa, translation involving indigenous languages is very minimal when compared to English and Afrikaans. The paper thus seeks to analyse the problem and explore the role translation activities between indigenous languages can play in forging knowledge production and social cohesion. The paper adopts a documentary method, in which data is drawn from published information, and argues that language inequalities in South Africa are the result of asymmetrical power relations between the different languages. Introduction The place of African indigenous languages in translation is increasingly attracting the attention of research in translation studies on the continent. This interest has stemmed from the fact that despite the dense multilingual structure of Africa, the languages of the continent are still marginalised in the translation industry. According to Bangbose, Africa has more than 2000 languages out of the estimated 6,000 languages of the world.1 This implies that about one third of the world’s languages are found on the continent. This picture is an obvious indication of the fact that a lot of translation activities are taking place on the continent, which is indeed a reality. Most African communities are multilingual, and interactions between them have always been done with the help of language mediators. Bandia has shown that throughout history, the different African communities have interacted with each other, either for trade, war and peace or marriage.2 Given that these communities speak different languages, communication between them has always been facilitated by local mediators who are skilled in more than one language. This situation is still the same in many informal communities in Africa, as they still interact with other language communities with the help of language intermediaries. There is thus no question as to whether African indigenous languages are playing an important role in translation on the continent. However, this seeming importance of the role of indigenous languages is very limited to the informal economy, as indigenous languages remain on the margins of the formal translation industry in Africa. According to Kelly, DePalma and Hegde, with one third of the world’s languages, * Department of Media, Language and Communication, Durban University of Technology, email: [email protected]. ** Department of Media, Language and Communication, Durban University of Technology, email: [email protected]. 1 Ayo Bangbose, African Languages Today: Challenge of and Prospects for Empowerment under Globalization, in Selected Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, Eyamba G. Bokamba et al., Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project, 2011, p. 2. 2 Paul F. Bandia, ‘Esquisse d’une histoire de la traduction en Afrique,’ META, Vol. 50, No. 3, 2005, pp. 957– 971. 6 Felix Awung, Lolie Makhubu Africa only generates less than 1% of the global translation revenue of $33 billion.3 This shows the extent of the marginalisation of indigenous languages, which may have a corresponding negative impact on the economic development of the continent given the role indigenous languages are supposed to play in that aspect. It should also be mentioned that even the less than 1% share of the translation that comes to Africa is still dominated by foreign languages, as they still constitute the official languages of most of the countries on the continent. The only African languages which enjoy the status of official languages are Amharic, Swahili and the nine indigenous languages of South Africa, of which Sesotho, Setswana and Siswati are also official languages of Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland, respectively.4 While the status of these languages has seen them play a more significant role in translation, it should be mentioned that in most cases, the language combinations still always involve a foreign language, and there are rare cases of a language combination involving two indigenous languages. With 11 official languages, South Africa enjoys the lion’s share of the translation industry on the continent5 and offers an interesting context in which to explore the role and status of indigenous languages in translation. This is what has motivated this study, which seeks to understand the role, challenges and opportunities for translations of indigenous languages in the country. The paper uses a documentary method in which data is drawn from published information accessed online. It then adopts a Bourdieusian framework to critically reflect on the sociological factors underpinning the marginalisation of indigenous languages in the translation field. For the purpose of this paper, Afrikaans is considered an indigenous language based on the fact that although it belongs to the Germanic family of languages, its birthplace is in South Africa6, which is also the home of most of the speakers of the language. Translation and the status of indigenous languages in South Africa South Africa presents a very interesting linguistic scenario. With the coming of the democratic government, the country adopted a language policy that accorded 11 languages the status of official language.7 The aim of this policy was to ensure that all South Africans are included in the new rainbow nation, thereby righting the wrongs of the apartheid policy, which had marginalised African languages and given English and Afrikaans privileged status. As a result, indigenous languages have noticed a growing presence in administration and education, thereby 3 Nataly Kelly, Donald A. DePalma and Vijayalaxmi Hegde, The Need for Translation in Africa: Addressing Information Inequalities So that Africa May Prosper, Lowell: Common Sense Advisory, 2012, p. 1. 4 Bangbose, African Languages..., p. 10. 5 Kelly, DePalma, Hegde, The Need for Translation..., p. 5. 6 Anne-Marie Beukes, ‘Governmentality and the good offices of translation in 20th century South Africa,’ Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language, Vol. 25, No. 2, 2007, pp. 115–130. 7 Viv Edwards and Jacob Marriote Ngwaru, ‘African language publishing for children in South Africa: challenges for translators,’ International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, Vol. 14, No. 5, 2011, pp. 589–602. A Bourdieusian Analysis of the Status of Indigenous Languages 7 becoming instruments of development and social cohesion.8 This has also led to the flourishing of the translation industry in the country, as information has to be made available in all the languages so as to be more accessible to the citizens of the country. In this regard, translation is playing a vital role in the political and socio-cultural development of South Africa.9 It should however be observed that despite the apparently rosy picture of language equity, the practical reality of the language situation in the country is characterised by ongoing inequalities, as English and Afrikaans continue to dominate the administrative, educational and technological sectors of