Re-animating orality: the design for a new translation of the Bible into Sesotho

Abstract

English: The Sesotho community has proved an avid religious (Christian) audience for more than a century. Two Sesotho translations of the Bible, the Old Translation of 1909 and the New Translation of 1989, are used by Sesotho-speaking people. The former seems to be complex and difficult to its users (both those who can and those who cannot read the written text) due to the following reasons: (i) its adherence to a word-for-word philosophy of translation (reflecting the Biblical Hebrew structure in Sesotho in terms of lexical items for the Lord, such as Jehova (1909) which is Hebrew instead of Morena (1989), and (ii) features of colonial interference during the translation of the Bible (e.g. the use of the Afrikaans loanword teronkong instead of the indigenous Sesotho word tjhankaneng for 'prison'). The primary concern of the later version is meaning and readability, but it was not well accepted by much of its prospective readership. Others would say the translation was much easier to read, and therefore had lost its authenticity. Both translations lean heavily on the reader's ability to understand a written text. They constitute a very serious problem in a religious community made up of members not able to read the written text. This was proven by a preliminary study of illiteracy which was undertaken by the researcher in Bloemfontein's Sesotho-speaking congregations in 2007. The study indicated that 11% of the church members cannot read or write; this figure would presumably be higher in the rural communities. One must also take notice of the fact that in the remaining 89% of religious communities there are Bible readers who still find it difficult to master the content of the Bible due to the complexity of the vocabulary and language structure of the text when read aloud. This means a Bible translation adapted to the needs of the specific target audience is needed. The problem that was investigated for this thesis was: How can the Bible be translated to fulfill the demands of the Sesotho audience who are unable to read the written text? Since Africans implicitly understand the principles underpinning the oral literature so clearly, and also because orality is the core element of African traditional religion, it is therefore also important to have it incorporated in the Scripture through translation of the Bible and in preaching. As a result, a translation project based on the principles of orality (showing the participatory mode of communication) was designed (cf. Chapter 5) to fulfill the needs of the Sesotho community within the oral culture. The type of translation was a culture-specific adaptation of Ong's (1982:37-56) features of orality (cf. Chapter 4). These features are additive rather than subordinative, aggregative rather than analytic, redundant or copious, conservative or traditionalist, close to the human life-world, agonistically toned, and homeostatic or situational rather than abstract. The framework within which the proposed oral translation was based is Nord's functionalist approach to translation (cf. Chapter 3). The notion that is highly accentuated in the model, is that it is not the source text that is given first preference, but the target text for the prospective audience. Concomitant to the translation, are the main vehicles namely, translation strategies at both the macro level (i.e. the overall translation strategy - for the sake of the study, adaptation was the overall translation strategy) and micro level (word, phrase, and sentences). The preliminary portions that were translated were also compared with both the 1909 and 1989, and it was found that it has a place in the hearts of the Sesotho readers. The aim of the oral translation to be produced is not to replace the already existing translations of both 1909 and 1989, but it is to complement them.(617 words).

Afrikaans: Die Sesotho gemeenskap het hulself as 'n ware Christen religieuse gehoor oor 'n tydperk van honderdjaar bewys. Die Sesothogemeenskap gebruik twee Sesotho Bybelvertalings naamlik die Ou Sesotho Vertaling van 1909 en die Nuwe Sesotho Vertaling van 1989. Die eerste vertaling (1909) blyk of dit moeilik verstaanbaar is vir sy gebruikers (beide die wat die geskrewe teks kan lees en die wat dit nie kan lees nie) vanweë die volgende redes: (i) Dit steun op 'n word-vir-woord vertaalfilosofie (die reflektering van die Bybelhebreeuse stuktuur in Sesotho in terme van die leksikale terme vir Here soos byvoorbeeld Jehova (1909) - in Hebreeus in plaas van Morena (1989), en (ii) elemente van koloniale intervensie gedurende die vertaling van die Bybel (bv. die gebruik van die Afrikaanse leenwoord teronkong in plaas van die inheemse Sesothowoord tjhankaneng vir gevangenis/tronk). Die primêre probleem met die latere uitgawe is betekenis asook leesbaarheid. Hierdie vertaling is nie goed ontvang deur sy voornemende lesers nie. Ander meen dat hierdie vertaling heel makliker lees en daarvoor sy outensiteit verloor het. Beide vertalings leen sterk op die leser se vermoë om die geskrewe teks te verstaan. Dit konstitueer 'n baie ernstige probleem in 'n religieuse gemeenskap bestaande uit lede wat nie die geskrewe teks kan lees nie. Dit word bewys deur 'n prelimenêre studie van geletterdheid in gemeentes van Bloemfontein in 2007. Hierdie studie, opgestel deur die navorser, toon dat 11% van die lidmate van die kerk nie kan lees of skryf nie. Daar word verder gemeen dat die situasie veel groter is in die plattelandse gemeenskappe. Daar moet verder gelet word op die feit dat die oorblywende 89% van die lidmate van die kerk Bybellesers is wat dit steeds moeilik vind om die inhoud van die Bybel te bemeester vanweë die kompleksiteit van die terminologie en taalstruktuur van die teks wanneer dit hardop gelees word. Dit beteken dat 'n Bybelvertaling gerig op die behoeftes van 'n spesifieke teiken gehoor nodig is. Daarom was die navorsingsprobleem: Hoe kan die Bybel vertaal word om die Sesotho gehoor, wat nie 'n geskrewe teks kan lees nie, se behoefte te vervul? Omrede Afrikane die onderliggende beginsels van orale/mondelinge literatuur duidelik verstaan en ook dat oraliteit die kernelement van die Afrika tradisionele religie is, is dit ook noodsaaklik om dit te inkorporeer in die vertaling van die Bybel. Dit beteken dat 'n vertaling gebaseer op oraliteit (reflektering van die deelnemende modus van kommunikasie) ontwerp is (vgl. hoofstuk 5) om die behoeftes van die Sesothogemeenskap te vervul binne die orale kultuur. Hierdie vertalingstipe is 'n kultuurspesifieke aanvaarding van Ong (1982:37-56) se elemente van oraliteit (vgl. hoofstuk 4). Hierdie elemente is additief eerder as subordinatief, aggregatief eerder as analities, konserwatief of tradisioneel, nader aan die menslike leef-wêreld, agonisties en homeostaties of situasioneel eerder as abstrak. Die raamwerk waarin die orale vertaling geproduseer is, is gebaseer op Nord se funksionalistiese benadering tot vertaling (vgl. hoofstuk 3). Die essensie in hierdie model is dat dit nie die bronteks is wat voorrang het vir die voornemende gehoor nie, maar die doelteks. Insake hierdie vertaling, is die hoofkenmerke naamlik vertaalstrategieë vir beide die makro- (adaptasie) en die mikrovlakke (woord, frase, en sinne). Die vertaling word ook vergelyk met beide die vertalings van 1909 en 1989 en daar is gevind dat dit 'n plek het in die harte van die Sesotho-lesers. Die doel met die orale vertaling wat geproduseer is, is nie om die reeds bestaande vertalings van1909 en 1989 te vervang nie, maar om dit te komplementeer of aan te vul. (579 woorde).

Sesotho: Setjhaba sa Basotho se netefaditse Bokreste ba bona ka dilemo tse fetang lekgolo. Ba sebedisa diphetolelo tse pedi e leng ya 1909 mmoho le ya 1989. Phetolelo ya pele (1909) e bonahala e le thata ho utlwisiseheng ho babadi ba yona ka tlasa mabaka a na a latelang: (i) Ho itshetleheng ha yona mokgweng wa phetolelo ya lentswe ka lentswe ho tswa puong tsa .motheo. Mohlala wa sena 0 bonahala ha phetolelo ya 1909 e ntse e bontsha popeho ya puo ya motheo ho mantswe a tshwanang le Jehova e leng Seheberu bakeng sa hore e sebedise Morena, (ii) Tshebediso ya puo tse ding nakong ya phetolelo, jwaloka ho sebedisa lentswe teronkong (Seafrikanse) bakeng sa tjhankaneng, jwalojwalo. Sepheo sa phetolelo ya bobedi (1989) ke moelelo le ho bala. Phetolelo ena ha ya ka ya amohelwa ke babadi ba Beibele ya Sesotho. Ba bang ba ne ba re e bonoio haholo, mme e lahlehetswe ke matla a Lentswe la Modimo, jwalojwalo. Diphetolelo ka bobedi di ngotswe bakeng sa hore di balwe. Sena ke tsietsi ho setjhaba sa badumedi se nang le palo e hodimo ya batho ba sa tsebeng ho bala le ngola. Diphuputsong tse entsweng pejana diphuthehong tse fapaneng Bloemfontein ho ile ha fumaneha hore ke diperesente tse Il tsa badumedi ba sa tsebeng ho bala le ngola. Mme palo ena e ka nna ya eba hodimo le ho feta ha dipatlisiso tsena di ka etswa dibakeng tsa mahae. Ho diperesente tse 89 tse seetseng, ho ntse ho na le badumedi ba bangata ba ntse ba thatafallwa ke ho utlwisisa tsae ngotsweng Beibeleng ka baka la puo le tlotlontswe e thata haholo jwang ha ba e ballwa. Hona ho bolela hore ho tshwanetse hore ho be le phetolelo enngwe e tlang ho phethahatsa ditlhoko tsa batho ba sa tsebeng ho bala le ho ngola. Empa bothata ke hore: Ho ka fetolelwa Beibele jwang hore ekgone ho phethahatsa ditlhoko tse? Ka ha ma-Afrika ke batho ba utlwisisang ditaba ha di phethwa, ho bohlokwa hore mokgwa wa ho phetha 0 kenyeletswe Lentsweng la Modimo ka phetololo ya Beibele le ka dithero hobane ho phetha ke bohare ba tumelo ya ma-Afrika. Ho na ho bolela hore ho hlokahala phetolelo e nang le matshwao a phetho ya ditaba ho ya W.J Ong (1982:37-56). Ona a kenyeletsa ana a latelang: kenyeletso ya tse siyo phetolelong ya sethato, phethapheto, mokgwa wa tlwaelo 0 ikgethileng wa ho phetha ditaba, mokgwa 0 bontshang hore phetho e haufinyana le lefatshe leo batho ba phelang ho Iona, mokgwa wa tshebediso ya puo ka lentswe la boikgantsho, mmoho le mokgwa 0 phethang ditaba tsa kgale ho ja e ka di etsahala kajeno. Mokgwa 00 phetolelo ena e phethelwang bamamedi ba yona e entsweng ka teng, ke mokgwa wa katamelo ya phetolelo wa Nord. Se bohlokwa mokgweng ona ha se se fetolelwang, empa ke se fetoletsweng bakeng sa bamamedi kapa babadi ba sona. Mokgwa ona 0 tsamisana le maano a nepahetseng a ho fetolela. Maano a na a kenyeletsa maano a akaretsang a fumanehang boholong (leano le akaretsang bakeng sa phetolelo ena, ke la ho nolofatsa matshwao a W.J. Ong hore a tlise phetolelo ena ka mokgwa 0 tlang ho utlwisiseha babading) le maano a fumanehang bonyaneng (maano bakeng sa phetholelo ya mantswe, dipolelo, jwalojwalo). Phetholelo ena e phethelwang bamamedi ba yona e ile ya bapiswa le diphetolelotse teng tsa Beibele ya Sesotho. Se ileng sa fumaneha ke hore phetholelo ena, e, ena le sebaka dipelong tsa bamamedi mmoho le babadi ba Beibele. Sepheo sa phetolelo ena ha se ho tlosa diphetolelo tse leng teng, empa ke ho di tlatseletsa. (Mantswe a 599).