Department of African Languages

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https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/39

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Browsing Department of African Languages by browse.metadata.advisor "Feinauer, A. E."

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    The reader-centredness of translated financial texts into isiXhosa
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2005-12) Mpolweni, Nosisi Lynette; Feinauer, A. E.; Jadezweni, M. W.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of African Languages.
    Financial institutions are among the key players in the economic growth of the country. The success of these institutions is, among other things, dependent on the support of the members of the public. This shows that it is important that the relationship between the two parties is sound. One of the ways of sustaining the communication between the financial institutions and the members of the public is to ensure that the information from the institutions reaches the clients/customers or prospective supporters. Since there is a wide range of the members of society in terms of language, culture and educational levels, it is crucial that the financial institutions take note of these factors. The implication is that the information that is communicated to the clients or customers should be available in the language that the clients/customers are familiar with. Previously, most of the information was communicated in English and Afrikaans. With the introduction of eleven official languages in South Africa, this indicated a need for material that is translated into different languages. The aim of this thesis is to investigate whether there is material available from the financial institutions that is translated into isiXhosa. If it is available, I would like to know whether it is reader-centred and whether it communicates with the target reader. The evaluation of the existing translated material is done by using samples of brochures which are drawn from three institutions. Using the views of some of the theoretical approaches to translation, I do a critical analysis of the translated material. In order to have a balanced evaluation of the translated material, the views of the members from the community are tested through interviews and by using questionnaires. In the conclusion, I highlight the results of my findings and observations which are based on the responses that the participants gave.
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    The reader-centredness of translated HIV/AIDS texts into isiXhosa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2005-04) Mabeqa, Thokozile Valencia; Feinauer, A. E.; Jadezweni, M. W.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of African Languages.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: HIV/AIDS is a disease that affects millions of people in South Africa. Various strategies have been implemented to try and curb this epidemic. One of the strategies 'used is the dissemination of information pertaining to the prevention of contracting HIV/AIDS. One of the measures of disseminating such information is through pamphlets and brochures in all eleven official languages of South Africa. This research endeavours to establish whether translated HIV/AIDS brochures are communicative towards its target readers or not. The aim of producing these brochures is to educate people about ways to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. On investigating translated Xhosa HIV/AIDS brochures, the researcher established that some brochures are poorly translated and fail to accomplish their purpose. Various factors contribute to the non-communicativeness of these brochures towards their intended target readers. The microstructure as well as the macrostructure of the texts tend to be problematic as far as understanding and reader-friendliness are concerned. In the end the people for whom these texts are intended do not understand the information they so desperately need. The skopos theory has been recommended by functionalist scholars as an appropriate translation approach, as it considers the culture of the target readers as well as the intention of the text. It is also concerned with whether target readers actually understand the target text. Therefore the skopos theory is promoted in this thesis for the translation of informative and instructive medical brochures and pamphlets, especially those translated into Xhosa.
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    The translation of Chinua Achebe's Things fall apart into isiXhosa Lwadilik'udonga : a critical analysis
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2005-12) Ntwana, Thenjiswa; Feinauer, A. E.; Jadezweni, M. W.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of African Languages.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Things Fall Apart is an unsentimental novel which appeared in 1958 as Chinua Achebe's first novel. It is regarded as a classic of world literature. It is deemed vital that such rich literature as the one of Achebe, be made accessible to readers in as many language communities as possible. It is through the vehicle of translation that a multitude of readers are endowed with the power to make some form of contact with much of the world's great writings. But translation of literature is a very complex process, which poses some difficult yet interesting problems that demand particular notice and specific attention. In translation of literature one is not just dealing with words written in a certain. time, space and sociopolitical situation, most importantly it is the cultural aspect of the text that should be taken into account. Therefore, translation of literature is not just the transfer of information between languages, but the transfer of one culture to another. Literary texts in isiXhosa and English, which are not only written in different languages but also represent different cultures, differ greatly in terms of linguistic, literary and cultural-social conventions. Challenges such as these make it difficult for a translator, in this case K.S. Bongela, to render the source language text flawlessly in the target language. This study thus investigates how Bongela coped with transmitting the cultural issues in Things Fall Apart into Lwadilik'udonga. It will highlight the various problems the translator encountered in search for equivalence and adequacy, and also analyse the strategies he has employed in this transference of cultural elements to the target text. As will be seen, it is possible to relate the translation of this text to the six general rules mentioned by Bassnett-MacGuire (1988: 116- 117) for the translator.