C. Ngugi WA THIONG'o and TRANSLATION

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

C. Ngugi WA THIONG'o and TRANSLATION Middlesex University London Middlesex University Research Repository: an open access repository of Middlesex University research http://epri nts.mdx.ac. uk Goro, WangOi Wa, 2005. Hecterosexism in translation: a comparative study of NgOgi Wa Thiong'o's Caitani Mutharabaini (Devil on the cross) and Matigari Ma NjirOOngi (Matigari). Available from Middlesex University's Research Repository. • • Copyright: Middlesex University Research Repository makes the University's research available electronically. Copyright and moral rights to this thesis/research project are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. The work is supplied on the understanding that any use for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. A copy may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial, research or study without prior permission and without charge. Any use of the thesis/research project for private study or research must be properly acknowledged with reference to the work's full bibliographic details. This thesis/research project may not be reproduced in any format or medium, or extensive quotations taken from it, or its content changed in any way, without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). If you believe that any material held in the repository infringes copyright law, please contact the Repository Team at Middlesex University via the following email address: [email protected] The item will be removed from the repository while any claim is being investigated. HECTEROSEXISM IN TRANSLATION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF NGUGI WA THIONG'O'S CAITANI MUTHARABAINI (DEVIL ON THE CROSS) AND MATIGARI MA NJIRUUNGI (MATIGAR!) W ANGUI W A GORO AWARDED BY MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY THE THESIS IS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 'This candidate is known as Elizabeth Wangui Mbuguah Goro' July 2005 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is dedicated to the late Professor G .H. McWilliam who was my lecturer of Italian during my undergraduate years at Leicester University and translator of major works including Bocaccio's Decameron. He made me aware of the potential of translation as something dynamic and powerful. I am grateful to Ngilgi wa Thiong'o for his pioneering work in literature and in Gikilyil. In addition to this, he has been open to discussions on the development of the Gikilyillanguage, literature, culture and knowledge, and some of the challenges for translation over the period I have been involved in his work in general, and in conducting this research in particular. lowe my translation ofNgilgI's work to Henry Chakava who had faith in my translation competence and was the first to take the risk of publishing my translation. I am also grateful to Veronique Tadjo for allowing me further insights in translation through the translation of her book A Vol D 'oiseau through which I was able to clarify some of my ideas on translation theory and practice during this research period. In relation to this research, I am particularly indebted to Dr. Ranjana Ash who first invited me to discuss the translation ofNgilgI's work at the ACLAILS Silver Jubilee conference at the University of Kent in 1989. I am also indebted to the late Dr. Cook who invited me to speak on the importance of translation and tradition and the future at the Commonwealth ofLetters Conference in Yale in 1991. These two papers form the backbone to this thesis. I would like to acknowledge the support that I have received from the University, colleagues, friends and family. I was fortunate enough to obtain research and travel bursaries through the University, which have supported me and I am grateful that Translation Studies was accorded significant recognition to warrant this support. I am therefore indebted to the Dean, Professor Gabriel Parker and the staff at the Centre of translation studies and indeed the school for this accommodation. This includes Dr. Peter Bush, Dr. Steven Barbour, Dr. Alberto Mira and Dr. Emily Saline who supported me at the inception of the research. lowe my profound appreciation to my supervisors, Professor Malkmjrer and Dr. Alberto Mira who have supported and encouraged me through the bulk of the research and Professor Mulhern, the head of Research at the School. I found stimulus though the teaching colleagues, fellow researchers and students who kept the debates lively and from whom I learned so much. The public seminars in translation from leading theorist and practitioners have left a lasting impression on me and have given me enormous insights into a wide range of issues. The encounters with some of the contemporary thinkers who are shaping thought and practice brought not only inspiration but also opened invaluable terrain which would have been unavailable through research as some of the ideas have only publicly evolved through such fora and were unpublished until more recently. This is partly due to the stage that translation studies have been undergoing as a relatively new academic discipline. Their generosity with their ideas and time has been welcome and I have also been very fortunate to be a member of vibrant translation studies, literary, cultural and translation communities. I therefore owe my gratitude to other institutions which have received me or supported me and individuals within them who have made a difference. This includes: Professor II Malkmjaer, Professor Mona Baker, Professor Peter Bush, Dr. Carol O'Sullivan. Dr. Ato Quayson, Dr Cannen Milan, Dr. Mpalive Msiska, Dr. Nana Wilson Tagoe, Dr. Ros Foreman, Professor Theo Hermans, Professor Oty-Ogbajoh Laoye, Kassahun Checole, Professor Charles Canteloupo, Professor Janis Mayes, Professor Anne Adams, Professor Carol Boyce Davies, Professor Vincent Odammten, Professor Edwin Gentzler. Others include Professor Abdul Rasheed Na' Allah, Proffessor Ossenyou Traore, Tomi Adeaga, Professor Fanuel Egejuru, Professor Pam Smith, Dr.Luise Von Flotow, Professor Maria Tymockzo, and Professor Carol Maier. Additionally a number of institutions and colleagues at the Africa Centre, The Arts Council of Great BritainlEngland, the African Literature Association, the Zimbabwe International Bookfair, SABDET, The Frankfurt International Bookfair, The Federation of Translators and Interpreters, the Ariane Network and Heineman publishers have provided me with invaluable platforms and support for exploring the ideas for this research. I also received material support from the British Council and am thankful to Dr. Alistair Niven, Jonathan Barker and Catriona Ferguson. I am particularly indebted to the circle of family and friends who have held my hand through this period. This includes my parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews who have always encouragingly teased me into believing in my capacity to pursue my scholarly dreams. Additionally, I would like to thank, Dr.Ranjana and Bill Ash, Dr. Adotey Bing, John and Jenny Broadbent, Hilary Cartey, Dr. Dambala Danju, Becky Clarke, Susi and Ruth Drake, Morten Hagen, Pam Fraser-Solomon, Gerry German, Isha Mavinga, Kwabena Mensah, Nana Yaa Mensah, Ade Solanke, Horatio Morgan, Pat Murphy, Kwabena Owusu, Bunmi Popoola, Dr. Diagana Youssuf, Dr. Amrit Wilson, Tamsin and Giles, Magdaline, Martha and Bonnie Wanda, Kevin and Myriam Makinde, Lola and Frank Shote, Fulera Idriss and their families. I am indebted to the staff at the university who made my life at Middlesex smooth. My gratitude particularly to Anna Pavlakos the research Administrator who not only irons out the creases and untangles the knots, but also encourages the research students to finish their work. I also appreciate the support I received from Tracy Gardener and Geraldine Bailey and all the other members of staff. lowe the most gratitude to Mbuguah wa Goro my son, who has borne the full brunt of the pressure that research places on students and particularly single parent students. His encouragement throughout the years, his patience, his own discipline, determination and focus have made him the best exemplar, and for that and much more, I am grateful to him. 111 ABSTRACT This thesis proposes an investigation of ethical issues within what I have termed 'hectorosexist' frameworks, which it asserts to be a prevalent global discourse in contemporary theory and practice in translation particularly in the English-speaking world. The research aims to investigate the theoretical and practical implications of issues around the subject locations of writers and translators as readers and writers in historical contexts. The thesis asserts that the wider context of culture, economics, politics and societal development impact on the translation process in general. The study seeks to ascertain how much is lost or gained through the subject location of translators and that of culture through texts and readers (Bhabha, 1994). This is done through a comparative study, analysis and re-translations of selected sections of NgugI wa Thiong'o's, Matigari Ma Njirufmgi (1987) translated as Matigari (1989) and Caitani Mutharabaini (1980), translated as Devil on the cross (1980). The thesis will conclude with a synthesis of the comparative studies and the impact of any shifts on the culture and subjects. It will ascertain whether translation can enable the relocation or re(dis)covery of 'hidden', 'lost', 'forgotten' or 'new' 'cultures' in narratives including such shifts, and indeed the 'migration' of the 'subjects' of writers, readers, and translators (Boyce-Davies, 1994). 1 CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE THE CONTEXT AND BACKROUND OF THE STUDY OF THE TRANSLATIONS OF MATIGARl
Recommended publications
  • Imagining Kenya in Ngugi's Fiction
    AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Ram Prasansak for the degree of Master of Arts in English presented on July 29, 2004 Title: Imagining Kenya in Ngugi's Fiction Abstract approved: /-( Laura Rice The relationship between literature and nation-building has been one of the most crucial issues in postcolonial studies. The novel in particular is regarded as a means by which writers forge national consciousness among the colonized during the time of colonization. Many African writers themselves, for example, conceive of their work as an arena of resistance to European colonialism which disfigures the identities of Africans and denies their history. In this study, I investigate how Ngugi wa Thiong'o, the foremost Kenyan writer, attempts to construct what Benedict Anderson calls "imagined communities" in Kenya during the colonial era, decolonization, and the post-independence period as reflected in three of his novels: The River Between (1965), A Grain of Wheat (1967), and Petals of Blood (1977). Far from being an unchanging entity, nationalism is a social construct that is constantly redefined and historically contingent. In The River Between, Ngugi draws upon Gikuyu cultural practices, especially the contested and value-laden rite of female circumcision, as sources of collective identity on which Kenyans might build to construct a nation. As he moves toward A Grain of Wheat, he identifies Kenyan nationhood with the Mau Mau struggle against British rule. In this novel, Ngugi not only contests the British account of the national liberation movement as barbaric, criminal and tribal, but also critiques the government that urges the Kenyan to forget about the Mau Mau because of its violence.
    [Show full text]
  • Gender and the Erotics of Nationalism in Ngu˜Gı˜ Wa Thiong'o's Drama
    Gender and the Erotics of Nationalism in Ngu˜gı˜ wa Thiong’o’s Drama Evan Maina Mwangi Evan Maina Mwangi is Assistant Professor of English at Northwestern University, where he researches the intersection of nationalism, gender, and sexuality in African literatures and popular culture. He is coauthor (with Simon Gikandi) of The Columbia Guide to East African Literature since 1945 (Columbia University Press, 2007) and the author of Africa Writes Back to Self: Metafiction, Gender, Sexuality (forthcoming, State University of New York Press). His current book project, “(M)Other Tongue Matters: Translation and Gender in Indigenous African Literatures,” focuses on Ngu˜gı˜’s and other writers’ use of sex as a theme and a metaphor in creative works and polemical essays. TDR: The Drama Review 53:2 (T202) Summer 2009. ©2009 90 New York University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram.2009.53.2.90 by guest on 27 September 2021 Introduction Kenyan author Ngügï wa Thiong’o has been a leading voice in African indigenous-language community theatre for over 30 years. In 1977 his first literary work in Gïküyü, Ngaahika Ndeenda (published in 1980 and translated as I Will Marry When I Want in 1982), coauthored with Ngügï wa Mïriï in collaboration with peasants and workers from their hometown of Limuru, led to his detention without trial by the Kenyan government. This kind of politically engaged performance forms the centerpiece of Ngügï’s artistic production. The influence that
    [Show full text]
  • Ngugi Wa Thiong'o and the Search for a Populist Landscape Aesthetic." Environmental Values 3, No
    The White Horse Press Full citation: Binder, Renee and G.W. Burnett, "Ngugi Wa Thiong'o and the Search for a Populist Landscape Aesthetic." Environmental Values 3, no. 1, (1994): 47-59. http://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/5506 Rights: All rights reserved. © The White Horse Press 1994. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism or review, no part of this article may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, including photocopying or recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission from the publishers. For further information please see http://www.whpress.co.uk. Ngugi Wa Thiong’o and the Search for a Populist Landscape Aesthetic RENEE BINDER* AND G.W. BURNETT† *US Forest Service Sumter National Forest Mountain Rest, South Carolina 29664 USA †Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Clemson University Clemson, South Carolina 29631 USA Direct correspondence to: G. W. Burnett, Room 263 Lehotsky Hall, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29631. ABSTRACT: This essay examines how Ngugi wa Thiong’o, East Africa’s most prominent writer, treats the landscape as a fundamental social phenomenon in two of his most important novels, A Grain of Wheat and Petals of Blood. Basing his ideas in an ecological theory of landscape aesthetics resembling one recently developed in America, Ngugi understands that ability to control and manipulate a landscape defines a society. Nostalgia for the landscape lost to colonialism and to the corrupting and alienating influences of international capitalism needs to be replaced by its progressive evaluation as it is reshaped by collective action for a new future.
    [Show full text]
  • Character Names and Types in Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong'o's Devil on the Cross and Wizard of the Crow
    UCLA Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies Title Character Names and Types in Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s Devil on the Cross and Wizard of the Crow Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2qv2b257 Journal Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies, 38(3) ISSN 0041-5715 Author Ndĩgĩrĩgĩ, Gĩchingiri Publication Date 2015 DOI 10.5070/F7383027729 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Character Names and Types in Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s Devil on the Cross and Wizard of the Crow* Gĩchingiri Ndĩgĩrĩgĩ Character names and character types are recognizable devices that mediate themes in Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s fiction. These charac- ter names and character types encapsulate the social reality that the author writes about and comprise a fresh way of understand- ing his novels. From this encapsulation, authorial partisanship and worldview are decipherable. A cursory review of Ngũgĩ’s fiction reveals that these two aspects are sporadically found in his ear- lier fiction—The River Between, Weep Not, Child and A Grain of Wheat—but they become more evident features of Ngũgĩ’s style in Petals of Blood and are used to maximum effect in Devil on the Cross, Matigari, and more recently in Wizard of the Crow. For pur- poses of brevity, however, the discussion in this paper focuses on Devil on the Cross and Wizard of the Crow.1 The section on Devil on the Cross appeared originally in Ufahamu and only minor changes have been made in the analysis of the text in that section.2 The section on Wizard of the Crow is entirely new.
    [Show full text]
  • Wanjiru's Search for Self in Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's "Minutes of Glory"
    Afrika Focus, Vol.8, Nr.2, 1992, pp 93-103 WANJIRU'S SEARCH FOR SELF IN NGUGI WA THIONG'O'S "MINUTES OF GLORY" Owen G. MORDAUNT English Department University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, Nebraska 68182-0175, USA SUMMARY This paper deals with Ngugi wa Thiong'o 's portrayal of the protagonist in his short story "Minutes of Glory". Wanjirufinds herself trapped in an urban setting and is a victim of her situation and low self-esteem. The story is a poignant and touching study of this young woman who is battling with an identity problem and is seeking acceptance in a post-independence setting where women are exploited by men of the New Africa elite. She is regarded as "a wounded bird in flight: a forced landing now and then but nevertheless wobbling from place to place ... " The story affirms female self-realization rather than perpetual self-alienation, and that validates the persistence in attaining her desired goal. KEY WORDS: Kenya, literature, psychology, short story INTRODUCTION The male protagonist is the focus of a large body of African literature in English, the general theme being the conflict with the inroads of Westemization upon his world.(l) In the works of the contemporary Senegalese novelists Ousmane Sembene and Aboulaye Sadji, however, women are given a significant role.(2) Karen Smiley-Wallace's encapsulation of African women is worth noting: 93 Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 02:58:28PM via free access "Through their vast and colorful tableaux of women figures (market women, wives, mothers, daughters, political leaders, prostitutes, teachers, secretaries, etc.) Sadji and Sembene illustrate the tormenting world of the double self, anxiety and alienation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Schematic of God
    The Schematic of God For The First Time An Extraordinary Journey Into Humanity’s Nonphysical Roots Warning! Reading this material may change your reality. William Dayholos January/2007 © E –mail address: [email protected] ISBN: 978-1-4251-2303-1 Paperback copy can be ordered from Trafford Publishing – www.trafford.com Illustrations by Wm. Dayholos ©Copyright 2007 William Dayholos II Acknowledgments The value of ones existences can always be measured by the support they receive from others. Be it family or not it is still unselfish support for another human being who is asking for help. Thank you Rose Dayholos, Marjory Marciski, Irene Sulik, Grace Single, Janice Abstreiter, and Robert Regnier for your editing help. This book is dedicated to my partner in life. To me a partner is one whom you can share your ideas with, one who can be trusted not to patronize these ideas, one who can differentiate their own truth from yours. A person who has an equal spiritual level and understanding, and encourages only through support of your ideas and not to through expectation. A true partner is one who balances out any weaknesses you have in the same fashion as you do for them. One’s weakness is the other’s strength, together you create a whole, a relationship that is stronger than the individuals themselves. In true fashion my partner has both helped and supported this book’s creation. Without this partner’s help it might have run the risk of being too much “me”! This was never the reason for the book.
    [Show full text]
  • 20-African-Playwrights.Pdf
    1 Ama Ata Aidoo Professor Ama Ata Aidoo, née Christina Ama Aidoo (born 23 March 1940, Saltpond) is a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright and academic, who is also a former Minister of Education in the Ghana government. Life Born in Saltpond in Ghana's Central Region, she grew up in a Fante royal household, the daughter of Nana Yaw Fama, chief of Abeadzi Kyiakor, and Maame Abasema. Aidoo was sent by her father to Wesley Girls' High School in Cape Coast from 1961 to 1964. The headmistress of Wesley Girls' bought her her first typewriter. After leaving high school, she enrolled at the University of Ghana in Legon and received her Bachelor of Arts in English as well as writing her first play, The Dilemma of a Ghost, in 1964. The play was published by Longman the following year, making Aidoo the first published African woman dramatist. 2 She worked in the United States of America where she held a fellowship in creative writing at Stanford University. She also served as a research fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, and as a Lecturer in English at the University of Cape Coast, eventually rising there to the position of Professor. Aside from her literary career, Aidoo was appointed Minister of Education under the Provisional National Defence Council in 1982. She resigned after 18 months. She has also spent a great deal of time teaching and living abroad for months at a time. She has lived in America, Britain, Germany, and Zimbabwe. Aidoo taught various English courses at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY in the early to mid 1990s.
    [Show full text]
  • Bay Guardian | August 26 - September 1, 2009 ■
    I Newsom screwed the city to promote his campaign for governor^ How hackers outwitted SF’s smart parking meters Pi2 fHB _ _ \i, . EDITORIALS 5 NEWS + CULTURE 8 PICKS 14 MUSIC 22 STAGE 40 FOOD + DRINK 45 LETTERS 5 GREEN CITY 13 FALL ARTS PREVIEW 16 VISUAL ART 38 LIT 44 FILM 48 1 I ‘ VOflj On wireless INTRODUCING THE BLACKBERRY TOUR BLACKBERRY RUNS BETTER ON AMERICA'S LARGEST, MOST RELIABLE 3G NETWORK. More reliable 3G coverage at home and on the go More dependable downloads on hundreds of apps More access to email and full HTML Web around the globe New from Verizon Wireless BlackBerryTour • Brilliant hi-res screen $ " • Ultra fast processor 199 $299.99 2-yr. price - $100 mail-in rebate • Global voice and data capabilities debit card. Requires new 2-yr. activation on a voice plan with email feature, or email plan. • Best camera on a full keyboard BlackBerry—3.2 megapixels DOUBLE YOUR BLACKBERRY: BlackBerry Storm™ Now just BUY ANY, GET ONE FREE! $99.99 Free phone 2-yr. price must be of equal or lesser value. All 2-yr. prices: Storm: $199.99 - $100 mail-in rebate debit card. Curve: $149.99 - $100 mail-in rebate debit card. Pearl Flip: $179.99 - $100 mail-in rebate debit card. Add'l phone $100 - $100 mail-in rebate debit card. All smartphones require new 2-yr. activation on a voice plan with email feature, or email plan. While supplies last. SWITCH TO AMERICA S LARGEST, MOST RELIABLE 3G NETWORK. Call 1.800.2JOIN.IN Click verizonwireless.com Visit any Communications Store to shop or find a store near you Activation fee/line: $35 ($25 for secondary Family SharePlan’ lines w/ 2-yr.
    [Show full text]
  • Facets and Functions of Linguistic Displacement in Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong'o's Petals of Blood
    Revue du CAMES Littérature, langues et linguistique Numéro 3, 1er Semestre 2015 Facets and Functions of Linguistic Displacement in Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s Petals of Blood: A Functional Structuralist Perspective. Léonard A. KOUSSOUHON & Yémalo C. AMOUSSOU Université d’Abomey-Calavi Abstract – This paper analyses the various uses of linguistic displacement or time game in Petals of Blood (1977) in order to show how they have helped Ngũgĩ waThiong’oexpress his vision of time and history and to project a socialist revolution in Kenya towards 1978-9. It uses the functional structuralist approach, based on the identification and critical analysis of discourse- strings as related to the expression of time by the omniscient observer or narrator and characters in order to point out instances of the use of cultural, psychological and historical time and their inclination to un-date or mis-date and mix-date, andto show the gap between the writer’s discourse and story time. Key words: linguistic displacement, story time, discourse time, a-temporality, polychronic time. Résumé – Cet article analyse les différents usages du déplacement linguistique ou ‘jeu de temps’ dans le roman ‘Petals of Blood’ de l’écrivain kényan Ngũgĩ-wa-Thiong’o pour démontrer comment les manipulations du temps lui ont permis d‘exprimer sa vision du temps et de l’histoire et de projeter une révolution marxiste Il s’appuie sur la théorie structuraliste fonctionnelle, basée sur l’identification et l’analyse critique de séquences de discours se rapportant à l’expression du temps par le narrateur omniscient et les personnages afin de ressortir les différents aspects de temps (culturel, psychologique et historique) et la tendance de ceux-ci à ‘ne pas dater’, ou à ‘mal dater’ et ‘pluri dater’ les événements, et de révéler la différence entre le temps de l’histoire et le temps du récit.
    [Show full text]
  • Common Place: Rereading 'Nation' in the Quoting Age, 1776-1860 Anitta
    Common Place: Rereading ‘Nation’ in the Quoting Age, 1776-1860 Anitta C. Santiago Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2014 © 2014 Anitta C. Santiago All rights reserved ABSTRACT Common Place: Rereading ‘Nation’ in the Quoting Age, 1776-1860 Anitta C. Santiago This dissertation examines quotation specifically, and intertextuality more generally, in the development of American/literary culture from the birth of the republic through the Civil War. This period, already known for its preoccupation with national unification and the development of a self-reliant national literature, was also a period of quotation, reprinting and copying. Within the analogy of literature and nation characterizing the rhetoric of the period, I translate the transtextual figure of quotation as a protean form that sheds a critical light on the nationalist project. This project follows both how texts move (transnational migration) and how they settle into place (national naturalization). Combining a theoretical mapping of how texts move and transform intertextually and a book historical mapping of how texts move and transform materially, I trace nineteenth century examples of the culture of quotation and how its literary mutability both disrupts and participates in the period’s national and literary movements. In the first chapter, I engage scholarship on republican print culture and on republican emulation to interrogate the literary roots of American nationalism in its transatlantic context. Looking at commonplace books, autobiographies, morality tales, and histories, I examine how quotation as a practice of memory impression functions in national re-membering.
    [Show full text]
  • Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications
    Introducing Translation Studies Introducing Translation Studies remains the definitive guide to the theories and concepts that make up the field of translation studies. Providing an accessible and up-to-date overview, it has long been the essential textbook on courses worldwide. This fourth edition has been fully revised and continues to provide a balanced and detailed guide to the theoretical landscape. Each theory is applied to a wide range of languages, including Bengali, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Punjabi, Portuguese and Spanish. A broad spectrum of texts is analysed, including the Bible, Buddhist sutras, Beowulf, the fiction of García Márquez and Proust, European Union and UNESCO documents, a range of contemporary films, a travel brochure, a children’s cookery book and the translations of Harry Potter. Each chapter comprises an introduction outlining the translation theory or theories, illustrative texts with translations, case studies, a chapter summary and discussion points and exercises. New features in this fourth edition include: Q new material to keep up with developments in research and practice, including the sociology of translation, multilingual cities, translation in the digital age and specialized, audiovisual and machine translation Q revised discussion points and updated figures and tables Q new, in-chapter activities with links to online materials and articles to encourage independent research Q an extensive updated companion website with video introductions and journal articles to accompany each chapter, online exercises, an interactive timeline, weblinks, and PowerPoint slides for teacher support This is a practical, user-friendly textbook ideal for students and researchers on courses in Translation and Translation Studies.
    [Show full text]
  • A Critique of Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's the River Between
    ISSN 2394-9694 International Journal of Novel Research in Humanity and Social Sciences Vol. 4, Issue 5, pp: (35-50), Month: September-October 2017, Available at: www.noveltyjournals.com A CRITIQUE OF NGUGI WA THIONG'O'S THE RIVER BETWEEN AVOMAH OSCAR MAC AKAMPIRIGE Abstract: Most novels written by Africans a reflections of their various societies or communities. In The River Between, Ngugi, in a similar manner, brings out vividly the life and tradition of his rural a Kenyan society. The novel is set in Central Kenya in pre-independent days, dating as far back as the 1930’s when Kenya was under colonial rule. The themes of the novel – a struggle for leadership and the influence of European culture and religion on the African – are very realistically delineated. The novel, one may say, could be set in any other African country; for the incidents of power struggle, cultural and religious clashes are common characteristics of the coming of Europeans to Africa. The main reason for choosing to critique Ngugi’s work for study is to critically look at it, analyze and assess its values and contribution to the world of literature. Writers and critics of African writing hold different views as to what African Literature really is. It is for this reason that most African writers strive to find suitable definitions for the terms "African Literature". One renowned Nigerian novelist, Cyprian Ekwensi, for instance, holds the view that: "African Literature is literature based on African characters and psychology. This means that the main theme may be anthropological, traditional or modern, but the traits, temperaments, and reactions of the characters will be peculiarly African due to influence by tribe, culture and history".
    [Show full text]