On the assumption that different registers of translated drama have different functions and that they therefore present information differently, the aim of the present study is to identify textual features that distinguish an Afrikaans stage translation from a page translation of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. The first issue addressed concerns the nature and extent of lexical cohesion in these two registers. The second issue concerns my contention that the dialogue of a stage translation is more "involved". (Biber 1988) than that of a page translation. The research was conducted within the overall Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS) paradigm but the analytical frameworks by means of which these aims were accomplished were derived from text linguistics and register variation studies, making this an interdisciplinary study. Aspects of Hoey's ( 1991) bonding model, in particular, the classification of repetition links, were adapted so as to quantify lexical cohesion in the translations. Similarly, aspects of Biber's (1988) multi-dimensional approach to register variation were used to quantify linguistic features that signal involvement. The main finding of the study is that drama translation register (page or stage translation) does have a constraining effect on lexical cohesion and involved production. For Act IV of the play an overall higher density of lexical cohesion strategies was generated by the stage translation. In the case of the involved production features analysed, the overall finding was that the stage translation displayed more involvement than the page translation, to a statistically highly significant extent. The features analysed here cluster together sufficiently to reveal that in comparison with an Afrikaans page translation of a Shakespeare play, a recent stage translation displays a definite tendency towards a more oral, more involved and more situated style, reflecting no doubt a general modern trend towards creating more appropriate and accessible texts / Linguistics / D. Litt. et Phil. (Translation Studies)

On the assumption that different registers of translated drama have different functions and that they therefore present information differently, the aim of the present study is to identify textual features that distinguish an Afrikaans stage translation from a page translation of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. The first issue addressed concerns the nature and extent of lexical cohesion in these two registers. The second issue concerns my contention that the dialogue of a stage translation is more "involved". (Biber 1988) than that of a page translation. The research was conducted within the overall Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS) paradigm but the analytical frameworks by means of which these aims were accomplished were derived from text linguistics and register variation studies, making this an interdisciplinary study. Aspects of Hoey's ( 1991) bonding model, in particular, the classification of repetition links, were adapted so as to quantify lexical cohesion in the translations. Similarly, aspects of Biber's (1988) multi-dimensional approach to register variation were used to quantify linguistic features that signal involvement. The main finding of the study is that drama translation register (page or stage translation) does have a constraining effect on lexical cohesion and involved production. For Act IV of the play an overall higher density of lexical cohesion strategies was generated by the stage translation. In the case of the involved production features analysed, the overall finding was that the stage translation displayed more involvement than the page translation, to a statistically highly significant extent. The features analysed here cluster together sufficiently to reveal that in comparison with an Afrikaans page translation of a Shakespeare play, a recent stage translation displays a definite tendency towards a more oral, more involved and more situated style, reflecting no doubt a general modern trend towards creating more appropriate and accessible texts / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (Translation Studies)

This thesis is focused on a study of translation strategies in Guillaume Oyono Mbia's plays. By using the sociological, formalistic and semiotic approaches to literary criticism to inform the analysis of the source texts and by applying descriptive models outlined within the framework of descriptive translation studies (DTS) to compare the source and target texts, the study establishes the fact that in his target texts Oyono Mbia, self-translating author, has produced a realistic and convincing portrait of his native Bulu culture and society depicted in his source texts by adopting the same default preservation and foreignizing strategy employed in his source texts. Oyono Mbia's works, his translation strategies and translational behaviour are situated in the context of the prevailing trend and attitude (from the sixties to date) of African writers writing in European languages and it is posited that this category of writers are in effect creative translators and that the strategies they use in their original compositions are the same as those outlined by translation scholars or effectively used by practitioners. These strategies enable the writer and the translator of this category of African literature to preserve the "Africanness" which is the essence and main distinguishing feature of that literature. Contrary to some scholars (cf. Bandia 1993:58) who regard the translation phenomenon evident in the creative writings of African writers writing in European languages as a process which is covert, semantic and secondary, the present study of Oyono Mbia's translation strategies clearly reveals the process as overt, communicative and primary. Taking Oyono Mbia's strategies as a case in point, this study postulates that since for the most part, the African writer writing in a European language has captured the African content and form in his original creative translation, what the translator simply needs to do is to carry over such content and form to the other European language. / Linguistics / D.Litt. et Phil. (Linguistics)

This thesis is focused on a study of translation strategies in Guillaume Oyono Mbia's plays. By using the sociological, formalistic and semiotic approaches to literary criticism to inform the analysis of the source texts and by applying descriptive models outlined within the framework of descriptive translation studies (DTS) to compare the source and target texts, the study establishes the fact that in his target texts Oyono Mbia, self-translating author, has produced a realistic and convincing portrait of his native Bulu culture and society depicted in his source texts by adopting the same default preservation and foreignizing strategy employed in his source texts. Oyono Mbia's works, his translation strategies and translational behaviour are situated in the context of the prevailing trend and attitude (from the sixties to date) of African writers writing in European languages and it is posited that this category of writers are in effect creative translators and that the strategies they use in their original compositions are the same as those outlined by translation scholars or effectively used by practitioners. These strategies enable the writer and the translator of this category of African literature to preserve the "Africanness" which is the essence and main distinguishing feature of that literature. Contrary to some scholars (cf. Bandia 1993:58) who regard the translation phenomenon evident in the creative writings of African writers writing in European languages as a process which is covert, semantic and secondary, the present study of Oyono Mbia's translation strategies clearly reveals the process as overt, communicative and primary. Taking Oyono Mbia's strategies as a case in point, this study postulates that since for the most part, the African writer writing in a European language has captured the African content and form in his original creative translation, what the translator simply needs to do is to carry over such content and form to the other European language. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D.Litt. et Phil. (Linguistics)