African cultural and literary specificity in the broad translation quality debate

African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate [PP: 143-158] Wanchia T Neba, PhD ASTI, University of Buea Cameroon ABSTRACT Beyond revisiting the byzantine and seemingly inconclusive debate on translation quality assurance and assessment, this article investigates the extent of an across-the-board applicability of existing quality assessment frameworks to the broad translation quality debate, against a strong backdrop of culturespecificity It, first and foremost, exemplifies cultural and literary specificity through linguistically openended African creative writing, examines the variegated concept of translation, the volatile concept of translation quality assurance and assessment, outlines constraints to the assurance and assessment of this translation quality, and importantly portrays the preponderant place of metrics, rubrics and models in quality assurance and assessment Secondly and finally, using a blend of literary and translation theories and strategies, it then qualitatively demonstrates from existing evidence, that quality assurance with its acquiesced formulae will continue to be at the mercy of incontestable contextualised cultural specificity – being of necessity a ‘provincialised’ and ‘balkanised’ activity Keywords: Cultural specificity; translation as variegated concept; translation quality; rubrics and models; creative writing; translation quality, provincialisation/ balkanisation ARTICLE The paper received on: 30/07/2015 , Reviewed on: 30/08/2015, Accepted after revisions on: 19/10/2015 INFO Suggested citation: Wanchia, T N (2015) African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies 3(3), 143-158 Retrieved from http://www.eltsjournal.org International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 ISSN:2308-5460 July-September, 2015 Introduction Discussing quality in translation has happened as if quality assurance and assessment were a disease that could be eradicated by a simple universal therapy, whose main ingredients are the gamut of principles, theories, strategies, etc, floated in Translation Studies textbooks Yet, while the universal applicability of principles, theories, and strategies is possible with texts of typically technical and pragmatic nature, such becomes highly diminished as the text type becomes more and more ‘cultural’ In a qualitative manner, this write-up investigates the degree to which an all-embracing applicability of existing quality assessment frameworks continuous to be possible, especially against a strong backdrop of growing culture-specificity and consciousness A discussion of the intricate African literary and cultural text that now increasingly demands special attention during translation is preceded by a review and focus on the concepts relevant to the understanding of these issue under examination Literature Review African cultural and literary specificity, the variegated concept of translation, the translation process, the issue of translation quality, translation quality assurance and assessment, constraints to translation quality assurance and assessment, as well as translation quality assurance frameworks constitute the menu of this review 2.1 African cultural and literary specificity It is an inviolate fact in Translation Studies that cultural specificity influences how translation quality is constructed The issue of African cultural and literary specificity has been stated, discussed and affirmed by scholars both from within and out of African, as exemplified in the following background considerations: a) First and foremost, there is specificity on account of orality: Okara (1973, p.137-138) posits that African ideas, philosophy, folklore and imagery help to keep as close as possible to vernacular expressions, and thus more adequately express African ideas and thoughts (and not those of the other – European) Kourouma (as cited in Koné, 1992, p 83) declares that while thinking first in his native Malinke before writing in French, he exercises boundless liberty, cassant le franỗais pour trouver et restituer le rythme africain”, [breaking up the French language in order to recreate an African rhythm] With specific reference to Cameroon, Ndzana (1988, p 147-151), (just like Ndzié, 1985, p 344, as cited in Fofié, 2007, p 54) adds that «la culture camerounaise semble privilégier la langue parlée, vivante, orale au détriment de la langue écrite, classique, normativement bonne » [Cameroonian culture seems to prefer spoken, living, oral language to the detriment of written, classical and normatively good language], (my translation) Finally, Bandia (1993, p 55) avers that It is generally agreed that African creative writing in European languages has been greatly influenced by African oral tradition (Obiechina, 1975; Chinweizu et al, 1980; Gérard, 1986; Bandia, 1993) Okpewho (1992, p 70-104) then outlines the unique stylistic qualities of African literary works to include repetition, parallelism, piling and association, tonality, ideophones, digression, imagery, allusions, and symbolisms which are all akin to oral tradition b) Secondly, peculiarity of spontaneity: Spontaneity refers to behaviour that is natural and unconstrained and is the result of impulse and not planning (Microsoft Encarta, 2009) In Africa, spontaneity is a common literary Cite this article as: Wanchia, T N (2015) African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies 3(3), 143-158 Retrieved from http://www.eltsjournal.org Page | 144 African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate hallmark With respect to popular performances, Okpewho (1992, p 33) opines that “sometimes, composition and performance happen simultaneously” and the artist has the outstanding job of bestowing, totally unrehearsed, a traditional pattern of imagery and diction on a brandnew subject, showing rather impressively how in African … the acts of composition and performance can take place simultaneously (Okpewho, 1992, p 34) c) Thirdly, peculiarity of creativity: Creativity refers to the “use of skill and the imagination to produce something new or a work of art” (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Compass) or “showing use of the imagination to create new ideas or things” (Microsoft Encarta, 2009) Despite the fact that African art in general is a communal activity, creative ‘idiosyncratism’ is still very present Darah (1982, p 1, as cited in Okpewho, 1992, p 32) asserts that A gifted Ororile creates by deft of allusions and analogy As the song progresses, metaphors are introduced Once a metaphorical remark or proverbial allusion is made and explained logically later in the song, then that piece is acclaimed a successful one Okpewho buttresses Dara’s idea by stating that: The principal stylistic tools of this job are metaphor, allusion, analogy, and other kinds of oblique imagery designed to make it reasonably clear who the subjects are even when fake names are used (Okpewho, 1992, p 32) d) Fourthly, peculiarity of paralinguistic artistry: Paralinguistic artistry refers to the accompanying resources variously described as nonverbal, extraverbal, paraverbal, paratextual, or paralinguistic, in the sense that they occur side by side with the text or the words of the literature… One of these resources is the histrionics of the performance, that is, movements made with the face, hands, or any other part of the body as a way of dramatically demonstrating an action contained in the text (Okpewho, 1992, p 46) e) Fifthly, peculiarity of punning/wordplay (and tongue-twisters): Delabastita posits that: Wordplay is the general name for the various textual phenomena in which structural features of the language(s) used are exploited in order to bring about a communicatively significant confrontation of two (or more) linguistic structures with more or less similar forms and more or less different meanings (Delabastita, 1996, p 128) Though considered a global phenomenon, unique puns and wordplay abound in African literary art (Bjornson, as cited in Newell, 2002, p 74) and Fofié (2007) f) In sixth position, there is peculiarity of linguistic hybridization /assortment: Vakunta (2008, p 942) posits that African creative art consists of “texts couched in indigenized and hybridized linguistic forms, namely creoles, pidgins, camfranglais, and other forms of hybrid languages” For him, it is an all-African phenomenon in that Africans of all backgrounds use blended languages such as Camfranglais, Pidgin, Moussa and Nouchis as a means of ensuring group solidarity within a community of practice Creative writers use these mixed varieties to translate the socio-cultural contexts that inform and structure their narratives (Vaktuna (2008, p 946) Gyasi (1999, as cited in Vakunta, 2008, p 946), describes this as “a creative translation process that leads to the production … of an authentic African discourse” (a third hybrid code) that requires non-speakers to refer to International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 Wanchia, T N ISSN:2308-5460 July-September, 2015 Page | 145 International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 ISSN:2308-5460 July-September, 2015 the writer’s native language and culture for signification Evembe (1988) as well as Ndzana (1988, p 153) further signal an even more complex phenomenon of language assortment/medleying on the continent, which Suh (2005) qualifies as an ambivalent situation of the use of “double language” g) Finally, peculiarity of humour: Humour, as a meaning effect with incontestable exteriorised manifestation like laughter or smiling, is one of Africa’s major literary aesthetic tenets Humour abounds in the works of Afana, Kouokam (Fofié, 2007) and a host of other African artists (Bjornson, as cited in Newell, 2002) Vandaele (2002, p 150) particularly opines that from a practice perspective the appreciation of humour varies with individuals as what is humorous for one person, for instance, may just be a comic/‘bad joke’ and therefore not really funny enough for another This is extrapolatable to the wider cultural group, for after all culture is both individual and societal This is particularly problematic to translation (Attardo, 1994, p 173-193; Antonopoulou, 2002, p 195-220; and Vandaele, 2002) At a time when the concept of translation itself remains very brain-bugging, the translation of the above traits as well as the quality resulting therefrom calls for special attention, especially, with specific reference to African creative writing 2.2 Translation: a variegated difficult-todefine concept Conceptualizing translation has been long, ink-spilling, and ostensibly inconclusive But far beyond the platitude of reciting the entire array of scholarly definitions of translation responsible for the difficulty to have a common definition, this article rather attempts to appraise how far varied perspectives contribute to the translation quality assessment debate Vinay & Darbelnet (1959, p 20); Catford (1965, p 4); Tweney & Hoeman (1976, p 138); Brislin (1976); Ladmiral (1979, p I); Crystal (1987, p 344); Newmark (1981, p 7); Hewson & Martin (1991); Steiner (1992, p 253); and Snell-Hornby (1994, p 4-5) reveal that the different perceptions about what translation really is have largely been a function of whether scholars perceive it as an art, discipline, process, product or profession The complexity of the concept is better expressed by the following quotes: a) the purposes of translation are so diverse and the texts so different and the receptors are so varied that one can readily understand how and why many distinct formulations of principles of translation have been proposed (Nida, 1977, p 67); b) despite the numerous works on the subject, translation remains a complete obfuscation, something that requires the empirical rigour of the linguist, the perspicacity of the literary critic and voraciousness of the philosopher all in combination in a single proposed solution to the problem of translation (Frawley, 1984, p 11); and c) translation is a widely diverging and frustratingly empirical issue, given that “theoretical reflection…appears plethoric, repetitive, and generally unproductive” (Hewson & Martin, 1991, p 2) They further enquire if there are “any specific reasons for this confusion and for the breach between theory and practice?” Beyond and above all controversies, Ali Darwish (1999/2001, p 13) thinks the fundamental issue in conceptualising translation remains the quest for quality and the desire to “preserve original meaning” when it is conveyed or converted into the target language’s verbal expression” Yet, it is still common knowledge that preserving and keeping control of original meaning that ensures the integrity of information is Cite this article as: Wanchia, T N (2015) African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies 3(3), 143-158 Retrieved from http://www.eltsjournal.org Page | 146 African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate intrinsically difficult given that in the transformations of the translation process, there is inherent loss of information How then can quality be preserved when the tendency to lose control of original meaning is so real? 2.3 The issue of translation quality The immense difficulty in defining translation undoubtedly directly impinges on the task of assuring and assessing quality ISO 8402 (1994, 3.1), amongst many stakeholders, avers that quality is “the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs” Muzii (2006) also sees quality as “an integration of the features and characteristics that determine the extent to which output satisfies the customer’s needs” Quality therefore implies the existence of “defects”, defined by ISO (1994, 3.1) as the “non-fulfilment of intended usage requirements” Defects can be minimised if some attention is paid to the translation process itself 2.4 The translation process vi-à-vis translation quality Whereas Bell (1987) deplores the tendency to ignore the process involved in the act of translating, most translation scholars still erroneously treat the translator’s competence, the translation process and the resultant quality, as disconnected entities In the same light, Ali Darwish (1999) laments that no study so far has really tackled the issue of process in a more pragmatic fashion Owing to the perplexity and intertwining between aspects of the translation process, Bell again avers that if we treat texts merely as a self-contained and self-generating entity, instead of as a decision-making procedure, and an instance of communication between language users, our understanding of the nature of translating will be impaired (Bell, 1987, p 403-415) Notwithstanding the important work done on the translation process - which constitutes i) evidence of a transaction, ii) a means of retracing the pathways of the translator’s decision-making, and iii) an instance of communication between language users, the process has unfortunately remained in dire want of delineation (Ali Darwish, 2001, p 8) This, unquestionably, affects discussions on what quality assurance and assessment ought to be 2.5 Translation quality assurance and assessment After perceiving quality assurance (QA) as “the act of maintaining translation services to ensure conformance to customer requirements or other specifications”, Gerasimov (2005, p 1) posits that it is implemented by the translation service provider He continues that “QC (quality control) is implemented by your customer after the translation is completed and delivered” According to Muzii (2006), quality control (QC) is “an integration of the features and characteristics that determine the extent to which output satisfies the customer’s needs” Because translation quality today remains “marred by impressionistic and often paradoxical judgments based on elusive aesthetics” (Al-Qinai, 2000, p 497), Ali Darwish (2001, p 2) then clearly cautions that without well-defined assessment and evaluation standards and processes, quality assessment and assurance “will always be haphazard and subject to the personal preferences and whims of the individual assessor or the interpretive frameworks, bureaucratic perspectives and draconian measures of educators and evaluators alike” This is true, because translation is a highly constraint-ridden hermeneutic exercise! 2.6 Constraints to translation quality assurance and assessment International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 Wanchia, T N ISSN:2308-5460 July-September, 2015 Page | 147 International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 ISSN:2308-5460 July-September, 2015 Ali Darwish (1999) asserts that the ultimate goal of any translation strategy is to manage to remove possible general and specific constraints to translatability, and that appreciating not only how these constraints function but equally how they can be managed and ideally removed within a model or framework of constraint management is of benefit to translation quality stakeholders a) General theoretical translatability constraints: Bassnett opines that translation is very obstacle-ridden, irrespective of whether it is the professional or amateur translator concerned She further avers that all kinds of different criteria come into play during the translation process and all necessarily involve shifts of expression as the translator struggles to combine his own pragmatic reading with the dictates of the TL cultural system (Bassnett, 1991, p 104) From the perspective of pre-translation quality quest, Hatim & Mason (1994, p 3-20) outline general theoretical constraints reflected by the following inexhaustive categories that must be seriously metered by the translator (the vital communicative “problem-solver”), if s/he intends to attain acceptable quality They include the process vs product (Bell, 1987; Hatim & Mason, 1994, p 4); objectivity vs subjectivity (Reiss, 1971/77; House 1976; Wilss, 1982); ‘literal’ vs ‘free’ translation (Hatim & Mason, 1994, p 5; Newmark, 1988, p 68-69); formal vs dynamic equivalence (Nida, 1964, p 160); form and style vs content (Meschonnic; 1973, p 349; Hatim & Mason, 1994, p 8; Nida, 1964, p 169); redefining ‘style (Hatim & Mason, 1994, p 9); meaning potential (Halliday, 1978, p 109; Beaugrande, 1978); ‘empathy’ and intent; translator’s motivation; translating ‘centre’; and conditions of production ( all cited in Hatim & Mason, 1994) b) Specific translatability constraints: In addition to the above general theoretical considerations against which the translator’s purpose, priorities, and output are judged, other specific constraints have also been identified According to Boase-Beier & Holman (1988) they include conceptual (1988, p 2); external (1988, p 10 & 72); phonological (1988, p 5-6); literary (1988, p 5); political and ideological (1988, p 5); syntactic and stylistic (1988, p 6); and personal, that is, Upbringing, education, knowledge, sensibilities, predilections and beliefs also contribute to the formation of the individual personality of the translator, limiting, defining, and also facilitating the translation process, from the initial selection of the SL text right the way through to the final release into the world of its TL progeny” [1988, p 8-9]); Other scholars add the contextual and socio-cultural (Hatim & Mason, 1990, p 37); textual (Kress, 1985, p 12); Hatim & Mason, 1998); linguistic and formal (Hatim & Mason, 1990:192; Saussure 1916); and conventional (Bassnett, 1991, p 104) In the face of all these constraints, metrics, rubrics and models have been fashioned in guise of frameworks to enhance quality attainment 2.7 Translation quality assurance frameworks According to Muzii (2006), the best way to assess quality is to measure the number and magnitude of defects whose features and scope must be specified by metrics, rubrics and models a) Translation quality metrics: We agree with Sir William Thomson (1883, cited in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol 4, [MUP], 1972) that: Cite this article as: Wanchia, T N (2015) African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies 3(3), 143-158 Retrieved from http://www.eltsjournal.org Page | 148 African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely in your thoughts advanced to the state of science In this same vein, and with respect to translation, Muzii (2006, p 22) opines that The best way to assess quality remains that of measuring the number and magnitude of defects; and when defects cannot be physically removed, their features and scope must be specified.[ ] The first step, then, is to establish a model of definition of quality, and translate it into a set of metrics that measure each of the elements of quality in it Despite the above viewpoints, there has been lack of any serious definition of quality or provision of any real metrics, except for Baker (1992), Zlateva (1993), House (1997) and Schäffner (1998) who from the early 90s veritably started talking invariably of components, aspects and factors of quality such as accuracy, precision, correctness, faithfulness, etc But metrics were certainly judged inadequate, so came the turn of rubrics! b) Translation quality rubrics: Another attempt at resolving the problem of translation quality assurance and assessment has been from the perspective of rubrics which Riazi (2003, cited in Khanmohammad & Osanloo, 2009, p 131-153) describes as an attempt to delineate consistent assessment criteria He emphasizes that it enables teachers and students alike to assess criteria which are complex and subjective and also provide basis for self-evaluation, reflection, and peer review Today, four existing rubrics include those by Farahzad (1992), Waddington (2001), Sainz (1992), Beeby (2000), and Goff- kfouri (2005) From these, a detailed component-centred rubric that takes into account different aspects of translation (comprehension, conveyance of sense and style, inter alia) has seen the light of day, highlighting accuracy (30%); suitable word equivalence in target text (25%); target text’s genre, target language culture (20%); grammar and style (15%); shifts (8%); and addition, omission and inventing equivalents (7%) For Khanmohammad & Osanloo (2009, p 149) this is an empirical rubric for translation quality assessment based on objective parameters of textual typology, formal correspondence, thematic coherence, reference cohesion, pragmatic equivalence, and lexico-syntactic properties […and] can serve translation instructors in order to come up with a more objective assessment of students’ translation works Students majoring in translation can also benefit from the findings of this study too since they would certainly be able to improve their translations if they were aware of the comprehensive criteria used to evaluate their translations c) Translation quality models: Only those of House (1976-2001), Al-Qinai (2000), and Ali Darwish (2001) - amongst many are visited i) House, 1976 - 2001: House is credited with the first effort to examine translation quality in depth through a model, inspired by Nida (1964), Toury (1995), Venuti (1995), Catford (1965), Reiss (1971), Wills (1974), Baker (1992), Hatim & Mason (1997), and Hickey (1998) House’s model (1997) is, properly speaking, Hallidayan systemic-functional theory-based, drawing much from the Praque School, speech act theory, pragmatics, discourse analysis and corpus-based distinction between spoken International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 Wanchia, T N ISSN:2308-5460 July-September, 2015 Page | 149 International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 ISSN:2308-5460 July-September, 2015 and written language House (1997, p 251) posits that Translation criticism therefore “has two basic functions, an ideational function and an interpersonal function These two functions have their counterpart in two different methodological steps The first and in my estimation, the primary one, refers to linguistic-textual analysis, description explanation, and comparison, and it is based on empirical research and professional knowledge of linguistic structures and norms of language use The second step refers to value judgements, social, interpersonal and ethical questions of socio-political and sociopsychological relevance, ideological stance or individual persuasion Without the first, the second is useless… we have to make explicit the grounds for our judgement basing it on a theoretically sound and argued set of intersubjectively verifiable set of procedures However, despite the above intense intellectual exercise, House fails to pointedly name the “verifiable sets of procedures” And she is aware of this when she avers that “it seems unlikely that translation quality assessment can ever be objectified in the manner of natural science” This is why other models are necessary! ii) Ali Darwish, 1999-2001: Ali Darwish considers translation and translation quality as a rational objective-driven, result-focused process that yields a product meeting a set of specifications, implicit or explicit If translation is a haphazard activity, it falls outside the scope of quality assurance principles that are based on rationality of process and consciousness of decisionmaking (Ali Darwish, 2001, p 5) iii) Al-Qinai 2000: For his part, Al-Qinai (2000, p 499) embarked on the search for a model of quality assurance and assessment based on objective parameters of textual typology, formal correspondence, thematic coherence, reference cohesion, pragmatic equivalence and lexico-syntactic properties This eclectic practical model targets textual/functional or pragmatic compatibility” (i.e quality of linguistic conversion) rather than the logistics of management and presentation (i.e quality of service) After all, the ultimate end-users are interested in the quality of the product and not the means sought to serve its creation (Al-Qinai, 2000, p 499) If one agrees with Muzii (2006) that “a comprehensive set of metrics must measure quality from several points during the production process regardless of the model”, then the standpoints of House, Ali Darwish and Al-Qinai should be considered as being more complementary than antagonistic Yet, all said and done, the applicability of these metrics, rubrics and models to translation quality assurance and assessment, especially against the backdrop of culture specificity remains quite contentious The circuitous relationship between translation quality and African cultural and literary specificity which now requires special attention is demonstrated in the procedures below Methodology Four frameworks - the conceptual, contextual, theoretical, and procedural guide this demonstration a) This article conceptually relies on culture-specificity, the variegated concept of translation, translation quality, the translation process, and quality assurance and assessment as concepts that weave together the discussion b) Contextually, African cultural and literary specificity in the broad translation quality assessment debate continues to occupy centre stage especially following Cite this article as: Wanchia, T N (2015) African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies 3(3), 143-158 Retrieved from http://www.eltsjournal.org Page | 150 African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate the relevant viewpoint of the role of context in translation Bassnett (1993, p 160-61) posits that Writing does not happen in a vacuum, it happens in a context and the process of translating texts from one cultural system into another is not a neutral, innocent, transparent activity Translation is instead a highly charged, transgressive activity and the politics of translation and translating deserve much attention than has been paid in the past Bassnett (1998a, p 123) further avers that “The study of the practice of translation has moved from its formal phase and is beginning to consider broader issues of context, history and convention” called ‘the cultural turn’ in translation studies Klimenko (2004, p 215229) then affirms that paying attention to context and other extra-textual practices is crucial if one is to respect the demands of the new philosophy of culture-consciousness These considerations justify the discussion in time and space d) Theoretically, the following literary/text criticism approaches and translation theories have proven useful to this discussion i) The main tenets of literary/text criticism approaches such as the cultural (Robinson, 1988, p 11); intercultural (Kim, 1988, p 12); deconstruction (Varney, 2008, p 116); sociological (Scott, 1962, p 126); formalistic (Jakobson, 1989, p 26); and semiotic approaches (Pavis, (1976, p 5) are applicable in this study ii) In the same vein, translation theories such as the linguistic (Nida, 1982, p 69); philological (Nida, 1982, p 67-69); sociolinguistic (Nida, 1982, p 77); textlinguistic (Wilss, 1982, p 113); semiotic (Bassnett, 1980/1991, p 13, cited in Baker, 1998, p 218); and skopos (Vermeer, 1989/2000) have been considered c) Procedurally, data comes from Les soleils des indépendances (Kourouma, 1970) because: i) Firstly, the excerpts possess the traits of African cultural and literary peculiarity, ii) Secondly, they are representative of the literary, and ideological views of other authors (Achebe, 1958/1994); Oyono, 1956); and Ngugi (1965/1989) iii) Thirdly, the choice is equally guided by the fact that the translations of these works are generally accepted in their light (Adams (1981, in Table below), iv) Finally, that despite the general acceptability of their translations, many scholars have continued to clamour for a review of certain translated sections that misrepresent the author’s culture-specific vision (Adams (1981, in Table below) The data that is qualitatively analysed below makes use of an eleven-step grid considered to be largely in tune with Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS) criteria (Toury, 1995) Data Presentation and Analysis The various steps for this analysis include stating the source text, context of production, element(s) of interest, intended standard expression, peculiarity of item, target text, translator’s strategy and theory, value judgement, proposed translation, strategy of proposed translation and justification, theory used in proposed translation, in that order From these chronological steps, the excerpt in Table (Kourouma, 1970, p 15 for French, and p for English) is succinctly described, explained and analysed to show an accepted translation while Table (Kourouma, 1970, p.13 for French, and p for English) is judged unsuccessful, and thus in want of improvement (Akrobou, 2006; 2013; Ngeng, 2015) International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 Wanchia, T N ISSN:2308-5460 July-September, 2015 Page | 151 International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 ISSN:2308-5460 July-September, 2015 Table 1: Successfully translated Africanised excerpt Table 2: Unsuccessfully translated Africanised excerpt, with corrections Cite this article as: Wanchia, T N (2015) African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies 3(3), 143-158 Retrieved from http://www.eltsjournal.org Page | 152 African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate Findings The above excerpts which meet the seven traits of African cultural and literary peculiarity outlined earlier on in this article are a conspicuous example of Malinke indigenous thought pattern and expression For instance, the verb se casser in Table as used in the source text deviates from its dictionary meaning in French Though usually used to talk of inanimate objects, the author uses it for an animate object - a sort of direct translation of the way it is said in Malinke The language is simple but dignified and characters use an elevated diction meant to convey the sense of indigenised speech which leaves one with a sense of listening to another tongue, emanating from a rich and valuable tradition Normatively, the characters express their ideas in ‘distorted’ non-standard French/English imbedded in indigenous speech and thinking, likely to be unrecognisable to those who are strange to that background As Okara (1973, p.137-138) posits, these African ideas, philosophy, folklore and imagery (which abound in the works of Achebe, Oyono, and Ngugi) help to keep as close as possible to vernacular expressions, and thus adequately express African ideas and thoughts And this is the crux of the matter! Discussion of the Findings A major problem faced by translators is how to deal with cultural specificity, given that translation is generally viewed both as an act of interlingual communication and as a process of cultural transfer (Dayan Liu, 2012, p 39) Cultural and literary peculiarity is very typical of Africa as seen above In this light, Okpewho (1992, p 367) for instance states that “on the basis of fieldwork done in Liberia…literacy has made no appreciable difference in the modes of oral thinking in a traditional [African] society” The difficulties of translating cultural and literary specificity have thus induced scholars to propose two major approaches to translating them, namely foreignisation (source text-oriented) and domestication (target text-oriented) Whereas, it is known that the West, for instance employs both the domestication and foreignisation macrostrategies (Morávková, 1993; Ladouceur, 1995; Merino, 2000; Aaltonen, 1993 & 2000, p 4; Upton, 2000; Kruger, 2000; Espasa, 2000), justifying what Snell-Hornby (1988, p 112; 1995) calls situation of source text and function of the translation, the African translation ‘province’ has tenaciously opted for a clearly semantic, overt and "literal" foreignising macro-strategy in which formal equivalence takes priority over dynamic equivalence (domestication) 6.1 The findings in translation scholarship The following scholars uphold the foreignising perspective for African cultural and literary peculiarity  Okpewho (1992, p 182-294) opts for a transcription of African creative writing that strives “to reproduce with a degree of faithfulness….the peculiar circumstances…”, and wisely retain “the narrator’s exploitation of the geographical setting of the place” as well as the “idiom of the time”, for “the narrative text is the product of the genius of the artist or artists working within a particular context” (Okpewho, 1992, p 300), else it will become typically un-African and engender the questioning of “the authenticity of the translation”  For Bandia (1993, p 57), the translator of African works, ought to "preserve the original function of the source text in its culture”, as “the translator of African works is mainly concerned with preserving the "situation of the source text" He (1993, p 57) terms this “a carry-over of African sociolinguistic and sociocultural values into International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 Wanchia, T N ISSN:2308-5460 July-September, 2015 Page | 153 International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 July-September, 2015 the European Language”, and further insistently states that Translating African creative works is a source-text oriented translation process in which the target language, the European language, is modified to accommodate the African world-view This process goes far beyond merely substituting linguistic and cultural equivalents It is a negotiating process in the sense that two divergent sociocultural systems that are in contact attempt to arrive at a happy solution in expressing the African world-view in the European language This negotiating process is made possible through translation techniques such as calques, semantic and collocational shifts (Bandia, 1993, p 74)  ISSN:2308-5460 Still from the African ‘province’, Suh (2005, p 201) posits that African post-colonial writers make a conscious attempt to sustain an authentic African discourse, albeit in a foreign language It emanates from their own cultural and intellectual background, passed through the matrix of their own cultural background Suh (2008, p 116-117) then concludes that foreignisation is more suitable for the translation of African creative writing  Summer-Paulin (1995, p 519-719) joins African scholars like Ade Ojo (1986), and Kourouma (as cited in Koné, 1992) to posit that translators working with languages of remote cultures such as African traditions should preferably be source-text oriented (literal translation) since that constitutes a reflection of both a cultural system and social organization of a specific community that recreates a particular atmosphere and way of thinking  Finally, Berman (1985, p 59, in Bandia, 1993, p 57).) proposes "l'adhérence obstinée du sens sa lettre [obstinate adherence of meaning to the letter], (my translation), which allows translators of African literature, for the most part, to translate African thought literally into European languages, since they understand the significance of the rapport between "sens" and "forme." As noted by Berman (1985, p 36), "littéralité" is not necessarily "mot mot," neither is it "calque." Literal translation, as practised by translators of African creative writing, is an example of what Berman means when he asserts that meaning and form are inseparable In all, the relationship between translation quality and African cultural and literary specificity is therefore bound to be unusual, and calls for a sort of particularised African translation perspective that challenges a blind and generalised application of acquiesced frameworks That is why this article concludes with a pertinent question Conclusion From the above discussion, one is wont to ask the question “whose translation quality then? This is appropriate because both translation and translation quality are first and foremost very volatile concepts A few scholars can be summoned to back this opinion include House (1976, p 64) who opines that translation “quality assessment can never be completely objectified in the manner of the results of natural science subjects” In like manner, Pym (1998) asserts that the scenario will continue to be intriguing given that there is no “perfect” translation or intended purpose (skopos) Finally, Muzii (2006) states that even if “features and scope must be specified”, the attempt to strive for a single “allencompassing metric is not only troublesome”, but can “also be useless as a simple metric would not reveal all problems” Hence, the widespread concept of quality assessment will continue to be a relative one Cite this article as: Wanchia, T N (2015) African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies 3(3), 143-158 Retrieved from http://www.eltsjournal.org Page | 154 African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate (due to many conflicting contextual parameters, amongst which is culturespecificity) despite the laborious enterprise of crafting and using metrics, rubrics and models In other words, there is, and will continue to be incontestable translation quality assessment provincialisation /balkanisation, mindful of the strong and growing concept of culture-specificity That makes it germane to make an apologia for a cautious and contextualised application of metrics, rubrics and models to translation quality assessment, References: Aaltonen, S (1993) “Rewriting the Exotic: The Manipulation of Otherness in Translated Drama” In Catriona P (ed.), Proceedings of XIII FIT World Congress, 26-33 London, Institute of Translation and Interpreting Aaltonen, S (2000) Time-sharing on stage: Drama translation in theatre and society Cleveland, Buffalo, Toronto, Sydney: Multilingual Matters Ltd Achebe, C (1958/1994) Things Fall Apart New York Anchor Books Ade Ojo, S (1986) “The role of the translator of African written literature in intercultural consciousness and relationships” Facets of literary translation Meta, XXI, Canada: Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal Adams, A (trans), (1981) The suns of Independence By Ahmadou Kourouma New York: Holmes and Meier Akrobou, E.A (2006) La traduction de la culture et de l’oralité travers l’écriture romanesque de Kourouma, Francofonía 15, 2006, 201-214 Universidad de Salamanca Akrobou, A E (2013) “Traduire Kourouma Ahmadou: Entre ambigüité scripturale et ambigüité orale dans un processus de transfert culturel”, in Diandué Bi Kacou Parfait, Approches interculturelles de l’oeuvre d’Ahmadou Kourouma, pp 25–36, Le Graal, Montreuil Ali Darwish (1999) Translation Quality Evaluation for the New Millennium, at-turjuman online, 1999 Writescope Publishers Melbourne Ali Darwish (1999) Towards a theory of constsraints in translation Draft Version 0.2 Ali Darwish (2001) The Translator's Guide Ali Darwish Writescope: Melbourne 450 pp Al-Qinai, J (2000) “Translation quality assessment: strategies, parameters, and procedures”, Meta XLV:3, pp 497-519 Antonopoulou, E (2002) “A cognitive Approach to literary humour Devices: Translating Raymond Chandler” In Vandaele, J (ed.), Translating Humour The Translator, Vol 8, Number (2002), 149-172 United Kingdom:St Jerome Attardo, S (1994) Linguistic Theories of Humour Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol 4, [MUP], 1972) Baker, M (1992) In Other Words - A Coursebook on Translation London: Routlegde Baker (1998/2001), The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, 241-245 London: Routledge Bandia, P (1993) “On Translating Pidgins and Creoles in African Literature Traduction, Terminologie, Redaction 6-2, 94-114 Bandia, P (1993) “Translation as Culture Transfer: Evidence from African Creative Writing,” Traduction, Terminologie, Redaction 6-2, 55-78 Bassnett, S (1991) Translating for the theatre: The case against ‘performability’ In TTR, Vol 1, No 4, 99-111 Bassnett, S (1980) Translation Studies, 14 New York: Methuen & Co Bassnett, S (1991) Translation studies London: Routlegde Bassnett, S (1993) Comparative literature – A critical introduction Oxford: Blackwell Bassnett, S (1998a) “Still trapped in the labyrinth: Further reflections on translation and the theatre” In Bassnett S and Lefevere A (eds.), 1998: 90-108 Beaugrande, R de (1978) Factors in a theory of poetic translating Assen: van Gorcum Beeby, A (2000) Teaching translation from Spanish to English Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 Wanchia, T N ISSN:2308-5460 July-September, 2015 Page | 155 International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 ISSN:2308-5460 July-September, 2015 Bell, R (1987) Translation theory: where are we going? In Meta 32, 4:403-415 Berman A (1985b/2000) Translation and the trials of the foreign, L Venuti (trans.), ‘La traduction comme épreuve de l’etranger’, Texte (1985):67-81), in L Venuti (ed.) (2000) Bjornson, R (2002) “Writing and popular culture in Cameroon” In Newell, S (ed.), Readings in African popular fiction, 71-76 London: The International African Institute Boase-Beier, J & Holman, M (eds.) (1998) The practices of literary translation: Constraints and creativity United Kingdom: St Jerome Brislin, R (ed.) (1976) The Implication of Culture on Translation Theory and Practice Translation: Applications and research, 47-92 New York: Gardiner Press Catford, J (1965) A Linguistic Theory of Translation London, Oxford UP, Crystal, D (1987) The Cambridge encyclopedia of language Cambridge, England: CUP Darah, G G (1982) Battles of songs: A case study of satire in the Udje dance-songs of the Urhobo of Nigeria Ph.D thesis, Department of English, University of Ibadan Dayan, L (2012) Subtitling Cultural Specificity from English to Chinese American International Journal of Contemporary Research Vol No.10; October 2012 pg 39 Chongqing Jiaotong University Delabastita, D (ed.) (1996) “Introduction” Wordplay and translation The Translator Vol Number 2, 1996 United Kingdom: St Jerome Espasa, E (2000) “Performability in translation: Speakability? Playability? Or Saleability?” In Upton, C-A (ed.), Moving Target: translation and cultural relocation Manchester: St Jerome Evembe, F (1988) « L’importance de la sémantique dans la naissance d’une pièce de théâtre » In Butake, B & Doho, G (eds.), Théâtre Camerounais/ Cameroonian Theatre: Actes du colloque de Yaoundé Yaounde: Cameroon: BET & Co (Pub) Ltd Farahzad, F (1992) Testing achievement in translation classes In C Dollerup & A Loddergard (Eds.), Teaching translation and interpreting (pp 271-278) Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Fofié, J R (2007) La création linguistique dramatique au Cameroun Yaoundé Cameroun: Presses Universitaires de Yaoundé Frawley, W (ed.) (1984) “In Search of the Third Code: An Investigation of Norms in Literary Translation University of Delaware Press; Associated University Presses Gerasimov, A (2005) My golden rules for quality assurance Retrieved on March 20, 2015 from: http://fra.proz.com/doc/534 Goff-Kfouri, C A (2005) Testing and evaluation in the translation classroom Translation Journal, 9(2), 75-99 Gyasi, K (1999) “Writing as Translation: African Literature and the Challenges of Translation” Research in African Literatures 302, 75-87 Halliday, M A K (1978) Languages as social semiotics: The social interpretation of language and meaning London: Edward Arnold Hatim, B & Mason, I (1994) Discourse and the translator London and New York: Longman Hatim, B & Mason, I (1997) The translator as communicator USA and Canada: Oxon Hatim, B (2000) Teaching and Researching Translation, Pearson Education Limited, Edinburgh Gate, England Hatim, B (1998/2001) "Discourse analysis and translation" In: Baker M (ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies London/New York: Routledge Hewson, L & Martin, J (1991) Redefining Translation: the Variational Approach London:Routledge Hickey, L (ed.) (1998) The Pragmatics of Translation (ed) Clevedon: Philadelphia:Multilingual Matters, 242 pp House, J (1976/1997) Translation quality assessment: A model revisited Niemeyer, Tübingen House J (1977) A Model for Translation Quality Assessment Tubingen: Gunter Narr House J (2012) "Translation Quality Assessment: Linguistic Description versus Social Evaluation" META, XLVI, 2, 2001 ISO (1994) ISO 8402:1994 Quality management and quality assurance – Vocabulary International Organization for Standardization Cite this article as: Wanchia, T N (2015) African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies 3(3), 143-158 Retrieved from http://www.eltsjournal.org Page | 156 African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate Jakobson, R (1989) “‘The Dominant’, Twentieth Century literary theory, 26-29 Newton, K.M (ed.) London: Macmillan Education Ltd Kim, Y Y (1988) “On theorizing intercultural communication” In Kim Y Y & Gudykunst, W B (eds.), Theories in intercultural communication, 1-25 London and New Delhi: Sage publications Khanmohammad , H & Osanloo, M (2009) Moving toward Objective Scoring: A Rubric for Translation Assessment JELS, Vol 1, No 1, Fall 2009, 131-153 IAUCTB Koné, A (1992) « Le romancier africain devant la langue d’écriture » Francophonia, 22:75-86 Klimenko, S (2004) In Babel, No 50:30, 193214 Koné, A (1992) « Le romancier africain devant la langue d’écriture » Francophonia, 22:75-86 Kourouma, A (1970) Les soleils des indépendances Paris:Edition du Seuil, Paris, Laye, C (1953), L’Enfant noir, Plon Kress G (1985) Linguistic Processes in Sociocultural Practice Victoria, Deakin University Press Kruger, A (2000) Lexical Cohesion and Register Variation in Translation: “The Merchant of Venice in Afrikaans Ladmiral , J R (1979) Traduire: théorèmes pour la traduction, Paris: Payot Ladouceur, L (1995) “Normes, Fonctions et Traduction Théâtrale » Meta, XL, No I, 31-38 Merino, R (2000) “Drama translation Strategies: English-Spanish (1950-1990” Babel, Vol 46 No 4, 357-365 Meschonnic, H (1973) Pour la Poétique II, Paris, Gallimard Morávková A (1993) «Les problèmes spécifiques de la traduction des drames » Proceedings of XIII FIT World Congress Institute of Translation and Interpreting, London, 34-37 Muzii, L (2006) Quality assessment and economic sustainability of translation Gruppo L10N Roma Ndzana, M H (1988) « Le théâtre populaire camerounais d’aujourd’hui » In Butake, B and Doho G, (eds.), In Cameroonian Theatre/Théâtre Camerounais, Actes du colloque de Yaounde Yaounde: Cameroon: BET & Co (Pub) Ltd Ndzié, O P (1985) « Identité culturelle camerounaise et expression théatrale camerounaise », 339-359 Newmark, P (1981/1995) Approaches to Translation Oxford: Pergamon Press Newmark, P (1988) A Textbook of Translation London, Prentice-Hall Nida, E (1964/1977) Toward a Science of Tanslation with Special Reference to Principles and Procedures Involves in Bible Translating : Leiden : E J Brill Nida, E (1982) Translating Meaning, 74 San Dimas, California: English Language Institute Ngeng, M (2015) Appraising Adrian Adams’ translation of orality in Ahmadou Kourouma’s Les soleils des indépendances as The suns of independence Unpublished M.A Dissertation, University of Buea Ngugi, W T (1965/1989) The River Between Heinemann ISBN 0-435-90548-1 Okara, G (1973) The Voice Fontana Modern Novels Okpewho, I (ed.) (1992) “Towards a faithful record: On transcribing and translating the oral narrative performance” The oral performance in Africa Ibadan, Oweri, and Kaduna: Spectrum Books Limited Okpewho, I (1992) African oral Literature Bloomington/Indianapolis: Indiana University Press Oyono, F L (1956) Le vieux nègre et la médaille Editions Julliard Pavis, P (1976) Problèmes de sémiologie théâtrale Les Presses de l’Universitaire de Québec Pym, A (1998) Method in Translation History Manchester: St Jerome Reiss, K (1971/1977/1989) “Text types, translation types and translation assessment”, translated by Chesterman A In Venuti L (ed.) (2000), 160-171 Riazi, A M (2003) The invisible in translation: The role of text structure in translation Journal of Translation, 7, 1-8 Robinson, G (1988) Cross-cultural Understanding Prentice, Hemel Hermpstead, Hertfordshire International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 Wanchia, T N ISSN:2308-5460 July-September, 2015 Page | 157 International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Volume: 03 Issue: 03 ISSN:2308-5460 July-September, 2015 Sainz, J M (1992) Student-centered correction of translation Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Saussure, Ferdinand de (1916) "Cours de Linguistique Générale (Course in General Linguistics) Schäffner, C (ed.) (1998) Translation and Quality, Clevedon/Philadelphia/ Toronto/Sydney/Johannesburg, Multilingual Matters Scott, W S (1962) Five Approaches to Literary Criticism London: Collier Macmillan Publishers Snell-Hornby, M (1988/1995) Translation Studies: An Intergrated Approach Amsterdam and Philadelphia, P.A.: John Benjamins Snell-Hornby, M (1994) Translation studies, an Interdiscipline John Benjamins Publishing 438 pp Steiner, G (1992) After babel Oxford University Press Suh, J C (2008) “Drama Translation Principles and Strategies” Epasa Moto, Vol 3, No Cameroon: Agwecam Suh, J.C (2005) “The Appropriation of European Languages in Cameroonian Literary Works: Globalisation and the African Experience: Implications for language, Literature and Education” Limbe, ANUCAM Summer-Paulin, C (1995) « Traduction et Culture: Quelques Proverbes Africains Traduits », 519-719 Meta, Vol.40, No Montreal: Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal Toury, G (1978/2000) ‘The nature and role of norms in literary translation’, in L Venuti (ed.) (2000), 198-211 Toury, G (1995) Descriptive Translation Studies - And Beyond Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins Tweney, R & Hoeman, H (1976) Translation and sign language In R Brislin (Ed.), Translation: Applications and research (pp 138161) New York: Gardner Upton, C-A (ed.) (2000) Moving Target: Theatre Translation and Cultural Relocation UK:Manchester, St Jerome Vakunta P.W (2008) “On Translating Camfranglais and Other Camerounismes” Meta: Vol 53, No 4, 942-947 Varney (2008) “Deconstruction and Translation: Positions, Pertinence and the Empowerment of the Translator” Journal of Language & Translation 9-1 Bologna University Vandaele, J (ed.) (2002) “Introduction: (Re)constructing humour : meanings and means” Translating Humour Translating Humour The Translator, Vol 8, No (2002), 149-172 United Kingdom, St Jerome Vermeer, H (1989/2000) “Skopos and commission in translational action” In L Venuti (ed.), (2000), 221-232 Venuti, L (1995) “Translation Authorship, Copyright”, The Translator I (I):1-24 Venuti, L (1995a) The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation London and New York: Routledge Vinay, J-P & Darbelnet, J (1958) Stylistique comparée du franỗais et de langlais Mộthode de traduction Paris: Didier Vinay, J-P & Darbelnet, J (1959/1995) Stylistique comparộe du franỗais et de l’anglais Méthode de traduction In Vinay, J-P & Darbelnet, J (trans., 1958 version by Sager J C and Marie-Josée H.), Comparative stylistics of French and English: A methodology for translation Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Waddington, C (2001) Different methods of evaluating student translation: The question of validity Meta, 46(2), 311-325 Wanchia, T N (2013) Investigating the latent resistance of African creative popular art to translation African Journal of Social Sciences Vol No.2, Cameroon Wilss, W (1974/82) The Science of Translation: Problems and Methods, Turbingen: Narr Wilss, W (1982) The Science of Translation: Problems and Methods, Turbingen: Narr Zlateva, P (ed and Trans.) (1993) Translation as social action Russian and Bulgarian Perspectives Translation Studies Series London and New York 132 pp Cite this article as: Wanchia, T N (2015) African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies 3(3), 143-158 Retrieved from http://www.eltsjournal.org Page | 158 ... preserving and keeping control of original meaning that ensures the integrity of information is Cite this article as: Wanchia, T N (2015) African Cultural and Literary Specificity in the Broad Translation. .. quality, the translation process, and quality assurance and assessment as concepts that weave together the discussion b) Contextually, African cultural and literary specificity in the broad translation. .. Specificity in the Broad Translation Quality Debate intrinsically difficult given that in the transformations of the translation process, there is inherent loss of information How then can quality be