TRANSLATION: A MEANS FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT - HAUSA LANGUAGE IN PERSPECTIVE

Ɗanlami Bala Gwammaja

Member: LAN, NITI, TransPerfect Inc., TransPack Inc.

INTRODUCTION

Objective

To shed light on:

• The concept of translation
• Translation and human development,
• Translation and role of Hausa language in social and economic empowerment.

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What is translation?

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• Translation is an act, or process as in rendering a material(s) from one language into another, a change to a different substance, form, or appearance: CONVERSION. It is a phenomenon that has a huge effect on everyday life.

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Concept of Translation

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• Intellectual activity

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• Result of the activity – the text created by the translator.

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• An activity performed by an interpreter who creatively chooses options depending on the resources of the language, the type of translation, the translation tasks, the text type and under the influence of his own individuality. Larysa (2006).

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Features

A translated text is identified, when viewed against the original text in three main aspects:

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• Functionally - translation should belong to the same functional style as the original text.

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• Structurally - The translation should belong to the same pattern and no change in the arrangement of the segments of the text.

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• Semantically - The translation has the same or closest possible equivalent to the original text.

Tasks of a Translator

Convey the information contained in the original text in three main forms:

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• Cognitive (factual) information;

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• Emotional (expressive) information;

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• Operational information.

Process of Translation

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• Analysis of the source text, situation and background information;

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• Fusion of the translation framework;

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• Verification of the model against the source and target context (semantic, grammatical, stylistic), situation, and background information resulting in the generation of the final target text.

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• Literary translation ;

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• Professional translation;

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• Technical Translation

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• Administrative translation

Others

• Machine translation
• Website Translation

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• Judicial Translation

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• Script Translation

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• Multimedia Localization strategy

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• Financial translation

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• Commercial Translation

Types of Translation

these are just means by which translation can be obtained

Qualities

• Passion;
• Translation Skills (Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Semantics and probably Pragmatics), in addition to being fluent in the languages involved;
• Curiosity;
• Rich Vocabulary;
• Clarity;
• Resources;
• Accuracy; though Localization may apply
• Honesty;

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Requirements of a Good Translator

Tools

• A very good dictionary in the languages involved;

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• Good computer/smartphone (some organizations will ask you to test and send them the scan of your internet/phone speed);

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• Good internet connectivity;

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• A rich vocabulary in the language pair he/ she works with.

• Language Structure

English and Hausa are SVO she eats mangoes.

Farsi is SOV. and

Arabic is VSO.

• Gender

In English, death is masculine while in Hausa in Hausa which is feminine. Compare KOWACCE rai za ta ɗanɗana mutuwa.

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• Translating Idioms/Proverbs and Expressions

Idiomatic expressions or proverbs explain something by way of unique examples or figures of speech. In fact, they are the most common challenge to machine translation. Database for Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba Proverbs which I and my colleagues have been working on for the past16 months;

Headings or Captions of Drama “Cross Road Generations” and Titles “Dead Fish Flow with the River”, etc.

Challenges

• Translating Compound Words

Airport, crosswalk, and seashore, in English & ɗan’uwa (brother) and Maigida (master/husband). Deadline, butterfly & kwanta-ɗan-banza (a type of bed)

• Missing Terms/Concepts & Conflict of Culture in Translation

Consider yourself translating a text from the source language whose culture encourages alcoholism into a target language whose culture does not.

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•   Taboos

Euphemism and localization are good ways to deal with this.

•  Translating Sarcasm

Ideally, publishers should remove/minimize remove sarcasm from the source text prior to translation. That way, translators will have a chance to avoid literal misunderstandings and suggest a local idiom that may work better in the target language

Challenges Cont.

The Roles of Translation in Human Development

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• Religion (both Christianity and Islam);

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• Education - Translation of academic and research works, including old, archaic, or advanced languages (Latin, Greek, Hebrew) to modern or developing languages (Arabic, English, Hausa, etc.). Here we can also cite organizations like INGAUSA here in Kano; TaRL Africa, etc;

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• Governance - Translation and decoding of written constitutions, rules, regulations, guidelines and procedures of developed societies were adopted and adapted by the upcoming ones after such works have been translated from their respective source languages;

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• Economy - Translation of materials, written and spoken for economic purposes, such as in marketing and promotional business strategies. Amazon is an example here;

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• Humanitarian Services - Governmental and non-governmental organizations. Africa Language on Instant Translation Services; High-Level Media Roundtable Discussion on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Organized by Neem Foundation & the Nigerian Army Resource Centre.

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The Increasing Demand for Translation

• Globalization: Obviously, increased integration and cooperation for international relations / effective resolution of linguistic issues among international organizations.

• Innate human demand for reaching out to one another globally: UNO, the EU, the AU, and ECOWAS have made interpretation and translation activities indispensable in their meetings to the extent that they have become professions practised by specialists in order to reach out to the wider and diverse communities.

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• The desire for information: Machine translation, though helpful to some degree, did not prove effective in this regard.

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• The dependence on technology: The speed with which information travels or is passed across the world triggers the need for translators as information is transmitted instantly to other parts of the world.

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The Significance of Hausa Language in the world

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• The large population of Hausa speakers; national and international media organizations broadcasting in Hausa / Hausa programmes: Arewa Radio 93.1 FM, most of the FM Radio Stations in Kano and other States; The BBC, Radio DW; VOA; Radio Beijing, among others;

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• The major religion of Hausa speakers across the world, in the sense that this would boost religious propagation from within and outside Hausa language communities worldwide;

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• The rich culture of Hausa people has become the norm not only for the natives but also for those who speak the language within the Hausa land and the diaspora.

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Economic/Employment Opportunities for Translation: Hausa as Target or Source Language

On this, the following are recommended:

• Nigerian authors, especially Hausa speakers should make concerted efforts to boost literary work in translation.
• There is a need for accelerated research to be performed on translation for the Hausa language.
• It is time to promote professionalism in translation through improved curriculum development and the introduction of professional education courses in tertiary institutions on translation.
• Establishment of business enterprises in translation locally, just like the ESSPRESSSOR Translations, TransPerfect, TransPack, and Splendid Translations, among others.
• Any translator who wishes to prosper and remain relevant in the profession should package and sell himself very well on platforms where he/she would be noticed by the key players. Platforms like Linkedin are good places for such.
• Information Technology (IT) is very essential.

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