The impact of pragmatic competence in translation: the case of BBC english–kiswahili world news translations

Emmanuel, Enea Onuya

The impact of pragmatic competence in translation: the case of BBC english–kiswahili world news translations

Date

2011

Authors

Emmanuel, Enea Onuya

Publisher

University of Dar es Salaam

Abstract

Translation is a field of knowledge whose function is mainly interpretive. The transmitting of utterance from a source language (SL) into a target language (TL) is expected to be carried out with the target language text (TLT) resembling (sense-wise) the source language text (SLT) to the closest possible degree. If pragmatics is language as use, and translation is the transfer of sense from a SL into a TL, with view to maintain Equivalent Effect (Eq. Eff), then adequate competence in the pragmatics of both SL and TL will have a profound impact on the quality of the translation between SL and TL.So, using the theories of Eq. Eff and Relevant Theory of Communication (RevTOC), this study examined how BBC English World News has been translated into Kiswahili as a case study. The data used for analysis were pair samples of SLT and TLT from the BBC Website. The SLT samples were analyzed using a tool of analysis developed by the researcher called INATOA - (Interrogative Notes As Tool of Analysis).The counterpart of the SLT, that is the TLT were analyzed using backward translation (BKT) to see how much it mirrored the SLT, which invariably is a measure of the quality of the translation. The findings and thence conclusion is that translation desiring Eq. Eff is hermetically pragmatic-dependent for a high quality translation product. It was recommended that a similar study should be carried out using Registered Texts such as Bank or Computer Texts especially as it relates to terminology transfer from English to Kiswahili.

Description

Available in print form

Keywords

Translations, English language, Translations into swahili

Citation

Emmanuel, E. O. (2011) The impact of pragmatic competence in translation: the case of BBC english–kiswahili world news translations, Master dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam. (Available at http://41.86.178.3/internetserver3.1.2/detail.aspx)