The Praises of Dingana LCC

TheTT physical environment contains mostly Zulu elements (R'_ZULU=62%, R'_SA=18%, K=20%) as most landmarks are transferred (with rudimentary explanation, e.g. kwelikaBheji -»“in Bheji’s country”), and dress and artefacts are markedly Zulu (e.g. ucoco -»“headring”, igudi -»“smoking horn”). However, fauna are familiar to South African (but not foreign) readers, and the translator occasionally substitutes English equivalents, e.g. ktvaGwa -»“the Vaal river” or generalises (e.g. ngoMnthan' oten-gayo -»“the small swaying tree”). Occasional adaptations also occur, e.g. umuthi (traditional herbal medication) -»“medicine”.

The TT social environment is foreignised (R'_ZULU=77%, R'_SA=8%, K=8%). Units of currency, customs and rituals, and historical references couched in metaphors (e.g. “spotted cow who broke the seat” referring to Dingaan’s overthrow of Shaka) are translated directly, their allusions not always explained (R_ZULU-*R'_ZULU)- However, vocations and institutions are sometimes generalised, e.g. ktvamaqhikiza (regiment of fully-developed girls) -»“girls in love”, whereas descriptions of Dingaan’s family parallel the British royal family (R_UK =7%): Dingaan (inkosi=chief) becomes “king”, his wives (aniakhosikazi=wives of chief) “queens”, and their children (abantiuana] “princes”, with “wizard” (umthakathi) lending fairytale connotations to the Western mind.

TheTT communicative environment is mostly foreignised (R'_ZULU=70%, K=27%, R'_sa=3%). Names are transferred, losing their inherent meanings (e.g. Gijima means “to run”) (R_ZULU^R'_ZULU)- However, most praise names and nicknames are translated directly (R_ZU1U-»K), e.g. uGundane-kumitha -»“Pregnancy of a rat”, allowing the reader to access their imagery and humour despite their unfamiliarity (see Appiah’s 1993 ‘thicktranslation’). Connotative meanings of metaphors and similes are shared (K), e.g. “butterfly” (uvenwane) conveys the image of Dingaan’s beauty and vulnerability, and “hawk” (uklebe) the suddenness of his attacks. Because the translators strove for linguistic accuracy, they retained the ST line structure, but not literary devices such as alliteration, assonance and wordplay, nor the chiastic/parallel couplet structures, so that the TT reads more like prose. Distinctions between Xhosa and Zulu words and Zulu dialectal forms are lost (R_SA—>K), but the San exclamation is transferred verbatim, the English audience sharing the connotation of strangeness with the Zulu audience (R_SA-»R'_SA). Translated forms of address acquire Biblical connotations: bantu -»“you people”, mfazi waseNsuzi —»“O woman of Nsuze”, whereas the single gesture “He-whom-they-point-to-with-the-elbow” retains its foreignness.

Finally, most Zulu values and beliefs are transferred (R'_ZULU=64%, K=36%), leaving the English reader often confused, e.g. as to how Dingaan could be praised for obvious cruelty. An English reader of Stuart’s day would have been horrified by the sexual allusions, whereas the modern reader would find Dingaan’s absolute power unsettling. Many allusions to values are simply lost in translation, e.g. that wearing a gallbladder is a mark of high status, or that eating honey alone signifies miserliness. Although regicide, genocide, fratricide, femicide, violence, theft, treachery, polygamy, cunning and claims to divinity are not values shared by the average English reader, kindness, generosity, respect for medical knowledge, protection of one’s females, courage in battle and willingness to kill for one’s country are. Likewise, though dissimilar to contemporary Western values, nineteenth-century British and Zulu gender attitudes were similar, and both nations were ruled at the time by powerful queens.

Hence the TLCC is predominantly Zulu (R'_zullI=68%), exoticised in all four environments. The praises of Dingana is thus a documentary translation (Nord 1997) in which the translator strove to convey ST elements as accurately as possible even at the expense of readability, i.e. the initial norm (Toury 2012) is ST oriented. However, 6% of cultural references are lost in translation, and the translator’s generalising strategies increases the set of shared elements (K=23%). Moreover, occasional South African (R_c =7%) and British influences (R.... =2%) intrude.

Dae LCC

The physical environment (N=364) of Meyer’s novel reflects detailed insider knowledge of South Africa (R_SA=57%), but it is a South Africa that belongs to the global village of the twenty-first century (K=30%), and characters travel to Europe, the USA and around Africa. Most landmarks (189, e.g. Tafelberg =Table Mountain), flora and fauna (11, e.g. rooi-kransboom =acacia cyclops; jakkals =jackal) confirm the South African setting, whereas many artefacts (71, e.g. IPhone, Audi), cyber products

(29, e.g. Tweetdeck), items of clothing (20, e.g. chinos) and foodstuffs (11, e.g. Earl Grey tea, fish and chips) reflect the shared global experience—especially South Africa’s British heritage—with only occasional unshared items (e.g. assegaai). Artistic products (27) equally include local and international items, e.g. Wild en Jag, Chill with Mozart. Contact with the Anglophone world is emphasised in that references to specialised weaponry (10), artistic products and cyber products are in English (K). Incongruously, the murder weapon is a foreign artefact—an ancient Chinese sword (R.. ,„).

The social environment (N=250) similarly depicts a South Africa (R_SA=61%) that is part of the global village (K=25%). R_SA is not mono-cultural: Afrikaans, Cape Coloured, Xhosa and Zulu cultures are represented. South African sociocultural elements include currency (Rands), units of measurement (kilometres), institutions (80, e.g. the Afrikaans school system), organisations (14, e.g. ANC), historical references (24, e.g. the 2010 World Cup, the anti-apartheid Struggle), local businesses (28), local legislation (Black Economic Empowerment), local customs and festivals (26, e.g. lobola, Comrades marathon), vocations (34, e.g. security guards, diamond smugglers, house maids and bergies - hobos), local heroes (10, e.g. the singer Sonja Herold), and demographic references (34). That many institution names are in English reflects South Africa’s changing language policy. Characters also belong to the global village (K): they travel abroad, access euros, occupy international vocations (e.g. accountants, police officers, prostitutes), participate in internationally shared customs, festivals and rituals (26, e.g. playing rugby, celebrating Christmas) and adulate international (especially American) heroes (10, e.g. Elvis). A third social grouping comprises Meyer’s “Russians” (R_rus =4%), who represent the shadowy international cyberspace-savvy Russian Mafia, manifesting as flat-character villains engaging in drinking, brawling, espionage, prostitution and organised crime, reflecting apartheid-era perceptions of the Soviet Union.

The ST communicative environment (N=725) depicts a multilingual, multicultural but predominantly Afrikaans LCC (R_SA=70%, K=23%, R_eu =3%). Afrikaans culture (R_afrik) is emphasised by the use of Afrikaans as primary medium of communication, Afrikaans figurative expressions (231, e.g. die kat aan die gat beet =grabbing the cat by its backside), vulgarity (77, e.g. fokken), personal names (125, e.g. Griessel), nicknames (23, e.g. Ore = Ears) and forms of address (41, e.g. Oom = uncle, to address an older male). Xhosa, Zulu and Cape Coloured dialect are represented in dialogues and interjections (50). The shared global village (K) is represented by English expressions, swear words and dialogues (123), international gestures (2), sms codes (2) and intertextual movie references (10, e.g. “O captain my captain” from the film Dead Poets’ Society), with occasional Irish and American expressions, e.g. al die shenanigans (R_0E). Smatterings of French, Latin, German, Arabic and Italian, references to

Spanish, French and Russian conversations, “Russian” names and a gesture (shoulder shrugging) represent foreign cultures (R_EU=3%, R_rus=2%).

The ST value environment (N=108) is predominantly Afrikaans (R.,._B1.,=70%, K=27%, T=3%). Afrikaans culture values individual attri-butes such as resourcefulness {‘n boer maak ‘n plan = a farmer/Afrikaner makes a plan), caution (moenie ‘n tvilde perd opsaal nie = don’t saddle up a wild horse), hard work (finger trek = pull finger), clear thinking (kop bymekaar bou = keep one’s head together), hospitality, neatness and achievement. Tribal values include high clan (Afrikaner) identity and loyalty, patriotism and public face. Through Griessel, the book addresses the existential dilemma of the white Afrikaner male in the New South Africa. Collectively and individually, the Afrikaner experiences high uncertainty regarding the future. Patriarchal societal and family values are reflected, e.g. in views of what is proper behaviour for Afrikaans women (Meyer 2011:213) and Mbali’s struggle to gain respect from her male colleagues. Frequent biblical references, religious exclamations (e.g. Lietve Vader = dear Father) and idioms (e.g. moenie vir my preek nie = don’t preach to me) reflect a strong Christian culture. However, the motif of hypocrisy (skynheiligheid) throughout the text indicates that Afrikaner morality and its Calvinistic foundation are crumbling. The new Afrikaner is postmodernist: flawed and lacking clear direction. The ST therefore depicts the Afrikaans culture in transition from a strongly collectivist, Calvinistic, patriarchal and patriotic value environment to the shared postmodernist values of the Western world (K).

7 Days LCC

Owing to the translator preferring direct translation or transfer techniques, the TT physical environment (N=361) is similar to that of the ST in that it contains mainly South African (R'_SA=56%) and shared elements (K=29%), but there is skewing in favour of American, British and Australian concepts (R_OE=7%). The South African setting (familiar to South African but not to other English readers) is depicted especially through landmarks (188) and foodstuffs (11), and solidarity with the global village through artefacts (69), dress (19) and cyber products (29), with artistic products including local and international names. Titles of Afrikaans songs, music groups, digital artefacts and magazines are generally transferred, occasionally with an English translation, e.g. “Soetwater, Sweet Water”. However, fauna (6) are translated by general words or British cultural equivalents (e.g. jakkals (jackal) -»“fox”), and invasive flora are exoticised by their Australian names (e.g. bloekomboom (eucalyptus) -»“blue gum tree”) (R_SA-»R_OE). There are also omissions and adaptions to accommodate international audiences (R_sa-»K), e.g. skakelhuis (lit. link-house, i.e. semi-detached house) -»“terraced house”.

Similar to the ST, the TT social environment (N=238) contains South African (R'_SA=54%), shared (K=28%) and “Russian” (R'_rus=5%) cultural elements. Transfer (usually with explanation) is used selectively to retain local flavour for vocations (e.g. “a bergie, a hobo”), customs (“lobola”) and institutions (e.g. “Boeremag”). However, local cultural elements are occasionally translated by shared concepts or more general words (K), omitted (e.g. racially constructed references) or replaced with British or American cultural equivalents (R_SA-»R_0E), e.g. the local currency is retained, but figures are written in the American way (“3,850,000 rand”), and adjudant-offisier is adapted to the British “warrant officer”.

However, the TT communicative environment is mainly domesticated (K=54%), reinforced by the use of English as the language of communication. Code-switched dialogues are translated into standard English, Cape dialect into informal register (e.g. ‘wa’kom hulle vanna’1” -»“Where do they get off on that?”), and sms language by equivalent English abbreviations. Swear words (75) are mostly translated into standard English (e.g. krater -»“idiot”) or cultural equivalents (e.g. fokken -»“fucking”). However, Scottish, Irish and American expressions are occasionally introduced (e.g. rompslomp (mess) —»“one helluva administrative headache”), and nicknames Americanised, e.g. Pruis die Muis (mouse) -»“Pruis the Ace”. However, most names (120) and some nicknames (20), Cape Coloured dialect (15, e.g. “she wouldn’t let you njaps her again”) and Xhosa and Afrikaans expressions and exclamations (25) are transferred to impart local flavour (R'_SA=35%). The few foreign-language expressions are transferred (R'_EU=3%).

Likewise, the TT value system is domesticated (K=68%, R'_SA=29%, T=3%). ST values (Afrikaner tribalism, future uncertainty, patriotism, patriarchy, morality and power differentials) conveyed through direct speech, internal monologues, narrative perspective or characters’ actions are generally retained through direct translation, with occasional omissions. However, idioms are generally neutralised (e.g. ‘n boer maak ‘n plan -»“a man makes a plan”) or domesticated, and religious expressions omitted or vulgarised.

Hence Seegers foreignises the TT physical and social environments by transferring South African and EU cultural elements, but domesticates the communicative and value environments. However, she occasionally introduces specific Scottish, Irish, Australian and American elements, resulting in an inconsistent domestic remainder (Venuti 2004/2012).