Translation styles in selected eThekwini municipal by-laws : a case study of English and isiZulu language combination

Abstract

Recent research in translation studies has emphasised the function of the text as the focus of translation analysis. The implication of this for legal translation is that the expected effects of the target text determine the strategies adopted in the translation process. Given that legal terminology presents various levels of challenges to translators, it would be advantageous for legal translation analysis to adopt a more specific approach, and for translator training to incorporate more specialised knowledge. It is within this context that this study sought to investigate the terminological challenges of legal translation and provide a platform to further investigate the implications for legal translation and social justice in general, particularly in a country such as South Africa where the field of legal translation is ‘under-researched’ and ‘has received little, if any, attention in translation theory and at tertiary institutions’ (Cornelius 2011: 123). The study draws from the Descriptive Translation Studies’ (DTS) sub-branches, namely, the process-oriented approach, product-oriented approach and function-oriented approach. This is because of the relations that exist between these approaches in translation. In this regard, Toury (1995) argues that there is no point in conducting a product-oriented study if questions relating to the determining force of its intended function, and to the choices made by the translator governed by the norms of establishing a product, are not considered. In advancing his argument, Toury contends that it is the function of the translation through its linguistic make-up and/or relationships that connect it to the original, which yield and govern the strategies which are adopted during the production of the translation that would result in a translation process as a whole. The study adopted a qualitative case study design approach to gain a deeper understanding of the translation decisions made by translators within a particular context, in light of the translation challenges that they encounter when translating legal texts. The study used a thematic analysis method to analyse translation styles employed by translators in the translation of eThekwini Municipality By-Laws. The translation styles were identified and exemplified in the framework of three broad categories: legal terms - technical terms, polysemous words and word strings/legal synonyms; linguistic terms - modal verbs, archaic adverbs, collocations, ambiguous/vague words, long sentences and passive voice, and culture-specific terms/expressions. Norms were also identified that are at play during the translation act. Data was accessed from the eThekwini Municipality website. It consisted of eight pieces of legislation in English and their translations. The findings of the study reveal that the main challenges encountered by the translators of the selected legal texts were both linguistic and socio-cultural in nature. As a result, the translators adopt various translation styles such as borrowing, adaptation, naturalisation, paraphrasing, and functional equivalents to render the source texts in the target language. These styles produced translations are generally acceptable in the isiZulu language and culture, even though a few of the translations led to meaning shifts in the target language. The norms that were operational during the translation process shaped translators’ decision-making with respect to the translation styles they adopted in the translation. This is consistent with Toury’s (1995) assertion that norms determine the translation strategies that a translator adopts. In other words, they serve as a guide in the translation process regarding strategies used.