This study investigates the notion of “shifts” in Swahili literary translations within a wider context of communication and focuses on the translators’ role and goals, which shape and direct both the process and the product of translation. The study is intended to answer the broad question of why Swahili literary translations appear as refracted as they are hence, it is, an inquiry into the make-up of Swahili literary translations, as they exist in the target culture. Of key importance to this research is the broad view of translation as mediated inter-lingual communication. Based on such a view, this study proceeds on the general assumption that translation is a rewriting of an original text and as such it not only reflects a certain ideology and a poetics but also manipulates literature to function in society in a certain way (Lefevere, 2002, p. xi). The fundamental contention of this thesis is that since translation involves active intervention of translators through transformation rather than identity and similarity, research on the personal goals of translators is inevitable in order to explain ‘departure/shifts’ in the translations produced. Essentially, this research takes a target-oriented approach, which means that it answers questions about Swahili literary translations without reducing them to objects that are only explicable in terms of their source. Instead of viewing translations as bound to their source orientation and expect them to be as close as possible to the source texts, in both form and content, the present study explores the notion that translation is a process that involves decisions and choices of agents towards fulfillment of certain goals (Hermans, 1999, p. 39). On this basis, the study makes use of the descriptive target-oriented framework that contextualizes the activities of translation actors (agents) in functional terms, effectively countering the thinking that a translated text is or should be a mere reproduction of the source text. Consistent with these theoretical explorations, the empirical investigation corroborates the theoretical discussion by utilizing explanatory descriptive methods. The research findings of this investigation offer corroborative evidence that Swahili literary translations are complex artifacts at the intersection of process and skopos.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:72888 |
| Date | 27 November 2020 |
| Creators | Chimoni, Justus |
| Contributors | Universität Leipzig |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:doctoralThesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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