The transfer and ‘rehabilitation’ of culture in the Zulu translation of H. Rider Haggard's “Nada the Lily”
2000; Routledge; Volume: 31; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/10228190008566161
ISSN1753-5395
Autores Tópico(s)Language, Metaphor, and Cognition
ResumoAbstract This article examines the transfer of culture in the translation of H. Rider Haggard's Nada the Lily (1892) into Zulu by F.L. Ntuli as Umbuso KaShaka ‘The Reign of Shaka’ (1930). Nada the Lily is an intriguing work from the Zulu translator's point of view, as it is written as if it constitutes a direct translation from Zulu into English of a tale of Zulu history as told by a fictional narrator who attempts to make the cultural elements in this tale accessible to 19th century English readers. In the Zulu translation, Umbuso KaShaka, these cultural elements are ‘rehabilitated’, i.e. they are restored to their original (authentic) form, function and significance, so that they truly reflect Zulu culture. The various strategies utilised by Haggard and Ntuli to achieve these disparate ends are investigated. The source and target texts are examined and compared at both macro- and microtextual level, and an attempt is made to determine the norms and constraints operating on these texts in the specific cultural and historical contexts in which they are found. The tertium comparationis constitutes aspects of culture such as proper names and terms of address, as well as the description of cultural artefacts, cultural institutions and cultural practices such as traditional religious practices, traditional healers and healing, witchcraft, etc.
Referência(s)