THE ROLE OF CULTURE
IN ENGLISH – HAUSA TRANSLATION BY HAFIZU MIKO
YAKASAI AND YAKUBU MAGAJI AZARE BAYERO
UNIVERSITY KANO
1. Introduction
The concept of culture has been
becoming an important aspect in linguistic and pragmatic studies. Culture plays an important
in shaping our linguistic meaning and our understanding of language and
linguistics in general. Culture is defined as a system of knowledge, beliefs,
values, customs, behaviors and artifacts that are acquired, shared and used by
members during daily living (Gamble and Gamble 2002: 35). While Newmark (1988: 94) sees it as “the way
of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a community that uses a
particular as its means of expression”. He identifies cultural categories as
follows: ecology, material culture, social culture, social organization and
gesture and habits. It is clear that language is part and parcel of culture,
and one of the capabilities acquired by man as a member of the society. Culture determines the words to be used and
usages vary from culture to culture. As exemplified in (Gamble and Gamble 2002:
118), “If a concept is important to a particular culture, there will be a large
number of terms to describe it. For example in our culture, the word money is very important and we have many
different words to describe it: wealth, capital, assets, backing, resources and
finance are just a few. Similarly, the Eskimos have a number of different words
for snow, because they need to be able to make a fine distinctions when
speaking of it. Thus, for the Eskimos, gana
refers to falling snow, and akilukab
to fluffy fallen snow. In contrast to the Eskimos, Arabs have only one word for
snow – talg – and it refers to either ice
or snow. The Arabs are simply not very interested in snow, since it rarely
affects them”………..
Cultural
differences can lead to confused, misled translations. Translating
ideas from one culture into another sometimes leads to problems. Nords (1992:
46) maintains that “cultural translation problems are a result of the differences
in culture – specific habits, expectations, norms and convention concerning
verbal and other behavior, such as text – type conventions, general norms of
style, norms of measuring, formal conventions of marking certain elements in a
text”. Newmark (1991: 74) exemplifies
that, “ ‘red’ is ceremonial and
happy in Chinese but ‘cruel’ or ‘frightening’ in English; ‘mourning’ is black in English but white in Chinese; the sun is as
oppressive in Arabic countries as it is lovely in England; thus demonstrating
the impossibility of translation”.
It
has been pointed out that culture plays a significant role in
every translation activity, and a translator ought to be constantly aware of
the contrast in the entire range of culture represented by the languages
concerned and they may have to be dealt differently. The focal point of this paper is on the role
of culture in English – Hausa translation. And of course, we know that western
cultures differ from African cultures (Hausa belongs to Africa and English to
the West). This indicates that there
must be cultural differences between the two languages. Thus, there is need to
present the role of culture in the direction of English – Hausa translation. In
view of this, the paper is divided into three main sections. Section one is an
introduction, section two focuses on cultural issues in translation and the
final section deals with the role of culture in English Hausa translation.
2.
Cultural Issues in Translation
The
arising question is the method of dealing with such features whose self
explanatory nature in one culture is not
necessarily reflected in another. The role of culture in translation is
adequately captured in Piotrowska (1997: 91) that, “Translation does involve
cultural transfer. It is not only a linguistic process; it is transformation of
a world into a world, not just a word into a word”. Therefore, it is clear that
various aspects of both source and target texts reflect respective cultures. A
translator must bear in mind and acknowledge the importance of cultural
components which are most prominently culture-specific. Newmark (1988) observes
that most cultural words are easy to detect, since they are associated with a
particular language and cannot be literally translated, but many cultural
customs are described in ordinary language, where literal translation would
distort the meaning and a translation may include an appropriate descriptive
functional equivalent.
On
translating culture-specific components, Piotrowska (1997: 91) states that “the
translator chooses between preserving this element in his/her target text
(henceforth TT), omitting it, or reducing its value by bracketing it, for
example if the concept is an alien one in the target culture”. Here, translator
is given an open choice on doing the right things depending on the nature of
his/her audience. Thus, choosing between preserving the cultural component in
the TT and or reducing it, is determined by the audience. Whatever choice a
translator may choose or adopt must convey the information correctly and no
confusion. Newmark (1988) has mentioned
that cultural equivalent, functional equivalent, descriptive equivalent,
adaptation, naturalization as translation procedures for culture-specific
texts.
Newmark
1988 indicates that culture – specific text could be translated using the
following methods:
a. Cultural equivalent:
this is an approximate translation where a source language (SL) cultural word
is translated by a target language (TL) cultural word; thus baccalaureat is translated as ‘(the French )’ “A” level’, or Abitar (Matura) as (the German / Austrian)
“A” level’. These are examples of approximate cultural equivalent (see Newmark
1988: 82 – 83 for more examples).
b. Functional equivalent:
this is a method or procedure applied to cultural words, requires the use of a
culture free word, sometimes with a new specific term. It therefore,
neutralizes or generalizes the SL word. This is seen as an accurate way of deculturalising
a cultural word.
c. Descriptive equivalent:
description has to be weighed against function. Here a translator is required
to translate SL cultural word descriptively into TL text and conveying the
accurate information to the readership.
In
doing cultural translation, a number of contextual factors need to be
considered (Newmark 1988:103):
a. Purpose
of text
b. Motivation
and control, technical and linguistic level of readership
c. Importance
of referent in SL text
d. Setting
(does recognize translation exist)
e. Recency
of word/referent
f. Future
of referent
Bearing
in mind the above contextual factors the problem of cultural translation may be
reduced and translator may find it very easy to handle any culture-specific
text.
Newmark
(1991: 74) has pointed that “if the translator’s task is to contribute to
understanding (and peace) between individual groups and nations, and the second
is to transmit knowledge (technology transfer), then the third is to mediate
cultural features…… “. This has further
shows the importance of culture in translation. The next section presents the
role of culture in English – Hausa translation.
3. Role of Culture in English –
Hausa Translation
As mentioned by Piotrowska (1997:
91) that, “Translation does involve cultural transfer. It is not only a
linguistic process; it is transformation of a world into a world, not just a
word into a word”. Thus, any translation
that involves two languages, does involve cultural transfer. Since no two
cultures are absolutely equal. Then, culture plays a vital role in the
reproduction of the closest natural equivalent of the SL message into the TL
text. English and Hausa are natural languages of different language family and
having different cultures. Thus, what is culturally said in English may not be
exactly translated into Hausa, and the vice – versa. Below are some examples showing
the role of culture in the English – Hausa translation:
1a. English:
“Professor Gana stated that the
programme would seek to inculcate n the public
service the ethics of hardwork, discipline, productivity, dedication, humility,
patriotism and selfless service to the nation”.
b. Hausa:
“Sheehùn Maalàmii1 Gana
ya kuma bayyana cewa shirin zai nemi cusa xabi’ar
yin aiki tuquru
a zukatan ma’aikata da xa’a da samun nagartar
aiki da kishi da nuna rashin son zuciya wajen yi wa qasa aiki”.
(Commercial
Television Kano 19/2/90 in Yakasai 1994: 15)
As
far as English culture is concerned the Professor refers to a university
teacher of the highest rank and its
equivalent in Hausa culture is “Sheehùn
Maalàmii” which refers to an Islamic
Scholar (the highest rank in the Islamic teaching). The word Sheehùu
is derived from the Arabic word Shiek. Due to cultural differences
the example given in (1) is misleading, the Hausa readers or receptors will be
thinking of an ‘Islamic scholar’ not a western scholar or a university
professor. Therefore, based on Hausa culture the words ‘Islamic scholar’ is
translated as ‘Sheehùn Maalàmii’ and
the word ‘professor is being adapted to avoid misleading the audience. Thus, the
correct translation is given as follows:
1c. Hausa:
…. Fàrfeesàa Gana ya kuma bayyana
cewa shirin zai nemi cusa xabi’ar yin
aiki ….”.
More
similar examples could be seen in relation to lexical items like ‘doctor’ and
theatre. Some people used to translate a holder of doctor of philiosophy as ‘likitàa’.
The confusion here is that the audience will be thinking of a medical doctor. As
far as the Hausa culture is concerned ‘likitàa’ refers to a medical doctor
not a doctor of philosophy. So also the translation of the word ‘theatre’ (an
outdoor area where plays are performed or lectur ) as ‘tìyaatàa’ is wrong and
misleading. The Hausa culture recognizes ‘theatre’ as a place in hospital where
a medical operation is performed. However, in a situation where a translator is
translating for group of students within the academic environment could
translate ‘theatre’ as ‘tìyaatà’
(as an adaptation) to refer to lecture venue or an outdoor
theatre since the audience could easily understand.
A
translator should also note that the concept of eating and drinking differs
from one culture to another. For instance, what is referred to as eating in the
Western culture means drinking in the Hausa culture. Consider the following
example:
2a.
English: John is eating a mango
b. Hausa:
John yana shân mangwaro
In
western culture somebody could not drink a mango(and similar fruits) but eating it (as in 2a), while in Hausa
culture, somebody is supposed to drink a mango (and or an orange) but not
eating it (as in 2b). However, guava is eating in both cultures.
Honorific
as an aspect of grammatical category is seen as a form used to express respect
in addressing certain kinds of people. Hausa culture (like other cultures) accepts
giving respect to senior people in the society, particularly the emirs, people
holding political offices and traditional title holders.. English culture
recognizes the following honorific titles (Yakasai 1990: 37):
3a Majesty: for the queen
b. Highness:
for the royal family, the Duke
c. My lord: for judge
d. Honourable:
for members of parliament
e. Excellency:
for ambassadors
f. Mayor:
for district head in Europe
On
translating English honorifics into Hausa a translator should note that Hausa
has recognized three kinds of honorifics, namely: mài girmaa, and mài
martabàa. mài martabàa ‘highness’ is used to address the first class emirs
and mài
girmaa ‘excellency’ / honourable’ for governors and other people holding an
important position in the society. Therefore, for translating English honorific
titles into Hausa a translator should use
mài martabàa (for royal
family) and mài girmaa for all
others. Creating an honorific not recognized in the Hausa culture could lead to
confusion.
Another
point of cultural difference between Hausa and English is euphemism. Hausa
culture is full of euphemism or polite expressions. A translator should note
that a simple expression of English when exactly translated into Hausa could
become an abuse. Thus, euphemism is one aspect that brings cultural difference
between Hausa and English. Consider the following example:
4a.
English: Your father is calling you
b. Hausa:
Ùbankà yana kiran ka
The use of ‘Ùbankà’ as translation of ‘Your father’ is an abuse and unpleasant in
Hausa. Thus, there is need for a polite expression, which is ‘mahàifinkàa’.
Translator
ought to be constantly aware of the contrast in the entire range of culture
represented by the languages concerned. Bearing in mind the aforementioned
points could help a translator and an interpreter working on English – Hausa
translation. It is therefore, mandatory for a translator and an interpreter to
have at least the basic knowledge of cultural peculiarities of the languages
concerned.
4. Conclusion
Culture
influences communication. It is through cultural peculiarities that a society
is fully identified and understood. Translation is just a reflection of culture
and culture as complete way of life. This shows that culture and translation
are inseparable. This paper upholds the argument in Piotrowska
(1997), Abioye (1999), Newmark (1991), among others have indicated that translation
does involve cultural transfer. It is not only a linguistic process; it is
transformation of a world into a world, not just a word into a word”. Culture
specific text could be translated by using one of these techniques: cultural
equivalent, functional equivalent and descriptive equivalent. Translator must
handle cultural text with care. In any translation activity audience has
priority over the form s of a language. Translator must comply with the general
norms when translating for a general audience, like in the electronic or print
media. Indeed, some culture specific texts are pragmatically motivated. A
translator should bear in mind the contextual factors behind the cultural
words. The examples given have shown the role of culture in translation and
also in shaping our understanding of language.
Note
For all Hausa examples (
that are given in bold) tones are assigned on first vowel. Low tone is
indicated by a grave accent, falling tone by a circumflex and high tone is
left unmarked. Long vowels are indicated by doubling the affected vowel,
hence –aa ‘long’ versus –a ‘short’.
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