A COMPARATIVE TRANSLATION TEXT ANALYSIS OF THE BOOK OF SONG OF SONGS IN THE MBALA AND MUSHINDO BEMBA BIBLES By Charles Mutale A dissertation submitted to the University of Zambia in fulfilment of the requirements of the Master's degree of Arts in Linguistic Science THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA LUSAKA 2019 COPYRIGHT No part of this dissertation may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopy, recovery or otherwise without prior written permission from the author or the University of Zambia. © Charles Mutale, 2019 i DECLARATION I, Charles Mutale, declare that the study: “A Comparative Translation Analysis of the Book of Song of Songs in the Mbala and Mushindo Bemba Bibles” is my own work, that it has not been submitted for any degree or examination in any other university, and that all the sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by complete references. Signed : ................................................................ Date: ................................................................ ii APPROVAL This dissertation of Charles Mutale has been approved as fulfilling the requirements for the award of Master of Arts in Linguistic Science by the University of Zambia. Examiner 1 Name: …………………………………….. Signature: …………………………………… Date:………………………… Examiner 2 Name:………………………………………... Signature: ……………………………………. Date……………………….. Examiner 3 Name: ……………………………………….. Signature: …………………………………… Date: …………………….. Chairperson, Board of Examiners Name:………………………………………. Signature:…………………………………... Date:…………………….. Supervisor Name: ………………………………………… Signature: …………………………………….. Date: ……………………. iii ABSTRACT Translation of the Bible has played a very critical role in the evangelization Programmes of the Christian Faith throughout the world and Zambia in particular. The translated Bibles have provided an avenue for communication between divergent foreign languages and cultures. In Zambia, however, some translated Bibles have been a bone of contention among Church denominations as their members have sought to know which version was more accurate than the other. For instance, The Bemba Christian speech community, belonging to different church denominations, has had to choose between the Mushindo (KJV) Bemba version and the Mbala (Douay-Rheims) Bemba version. In the same vein, the translated Bemba version of the Bible used by the Catholic Church in Zambia is different from the Bemba version preferred by the Protestant Church. This study sought to investigate the linguistic differences and variations between the translation of the book of Song of Songs in the Mbala and Mushindo Versions of the Bemba Bible. It is meant to provide an understanding into the root causes of dissentions among the Christian users of the two Bemba versions. An intra-lingual comparative analysis of the translated book of Song of Songs was carried out to establish the differences and variations. The research employed Gideon Toury’s (1995) Descriptive Translation Studies Theory (DTS) to critically examine the products of translation, the processes used during translating and the intended function of the end product. In addition, the study also looked at the challenges encountered during the translation exercise. Data was collected qualitatively through document analysis and supplemented by interviews with individual respondents. The respondents included 14 Christian adults purposefully selected. Four of the respondents were translators and 10 were ordinary congregants from both the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church respectively. The study area included Kasama and Mbala. Data was analysed qualitatively. The findings of the study show that the translators of the Mbala Bemba Bible used more of the target text norms than the Mushindo Bemba Bible translators who were more inclined towards the source text norms. The results obtained show that 38.5% of the strategies used to translate the Mbala Bemba Bible were direct procedures as compared to 46.3% for the Mushindo version. As regards the oblique translation strategies, the study discovered that the Mbala Bemba Bible scored 45.3% while the Mushindo Bemba Bible had 32.6%. From the results, it is evident that the function of the Mbala version was to domesticate the Bible so that the target text receivers could own the document while the function of the Mushindo Bible was to foreignise the Bible so that the target text recipients perceived the Bible as a foreign text written in their Language. Based on the above findings, it is important to carry out more linguistic investigations on Bible translation to avert possible dissentions among Church denominations in Zambia. Key words: Mushindo Bemba Bible, Mbala Bemba Bible, Domestication, Foreignisation and Intra-lingual. iv DEDICATION I dedicate this study to my late parents, Mr. Dominic Mutale and Mrs. Josephine Chileshe Mutale for their unwavering love during my upbringing. I would be failing in my duties if I do not include in this dedication my wife Venice, my children Kasonde, Mukuka, Fridah and Chileshe for enduring my long absence from them when this work was being produced. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Good work requires sacrifice. It is also said that there is strength in unity. We are in this world but a brother’s keeper. Let me first thank the Almighty God for the success of this work. His unending protection, guidance and intellect bestowed upon me during my studies have made this work possible. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the following people without whose unwavering support would not have seen this dissertation materialize. Firstly, Dr. Gerald Chishiba, my supervisor and mentor for his professional guidance, excellent advice and his availability even at awkward times. Without his presence this work would not have been done. Secondly, Professor V. M. Chanda for his advice on the importance of strict adherence to conventional ways of writing in African Languages. Thirdly Dr. Hambaba for his incessant encouragement. Fourthly, Mr. Bwalya Lombe Musonda for his insight into questioning religious texts and his long standing friendship spanning over 30 years and, finally, the Bible Society of Zambia and the respondents in Kasama and Mbala for the valuable information included in this study. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS COPYRIGHT ....................................................................................................................... i DECLARATION ................................................................................................................ ii APPROVAL ...................................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... xiv APPENDICES ………………………………………………………………………….xvi ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................... xvii DEFINITION OF TERMS……………………………………………………………xviii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY .............................................. 1 1.1 Overview ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.2.1 Motivation for the Study .................................................................................................... 4 1.2.2 Bemba ..................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.3 Contact of Bemba with the King James Version and the Douay-Rheims. ............................. 5 1.3 Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................. 6 1.4 Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................................... 7 1.5 Study Objectives ........................................................................................................... 7 1.6 Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 7 1.7 Significance of the Study .............................................................................................. 8 1.8 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................. 8 1.8.1 Background of the Descriptive Translation Studies Theory (DTS). ...................................... 8 vii 1.9. Structure of the Dissertation ...................................................................................... 11 1.10. Ethical Consideration ……………………………………………………………...11 1.11. Chapter Summary …………………………………………………………………11 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………12 2.1. Overview .............................................................................................................................