The role of Bible translation in enhancing Xitsonga cultural identity
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Date
2017-02
Authors
Maluleke, Mbhanyele Jameson
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
The Vatsonga are an ethnic group composed of a large number of clans found in South Africa,
Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Swaziland. Xitsonga (the language of the Vatsonga) is spoken in
all four of these countries. In South Africa alone, Xitsonga is a language spoken by over two
million first language speakers and is one of the official languages of the country. This study
investigates the ways in which Bible translation has enhanced Xitsonga cultural identity. The
focus is on the 1929 and the 1989 editions of the Xitsonga Bible. The research question is: In
what way(s) did the Xitsonga Bible translations recreate, rearrange and reshape Vatsonga
cultural identity?
The theoretical and methodological frameworks for the research are Nord’s functionalist
approach to translation studies, Descriptive Translation Studies and Baker’s Narrative Frame
Theory. The theoretical background of the concept of identity and the relationship of language
and translation to identity will lead to a detailed examination of the socio-cultural framework
of the Xitsonga Bible translations. The social, cultural and linguistic features of Vatsonga
cultural identity are described, especially their cultural identity prior to the arrival of the
missionaries. The historical framework of the Xitsonga Bible translations are described from
the earliest encounters with the Portuguese to the pivotal arrival of the Swiss missionaries in
the latter part of the 19th century and their early efforts to translate the Bible into Xitsonga.
Extensive archival materials are also examined for the insights that they can provide on the
historical, ideological and theological background of the Xitsonga Bible translations.
Both the 1929 and the 1989 Xitsonga Bible translations receive a thorough examination and
analysis using the analytical methods of Descriptive Translation Studies and Frame Theory.
Frames examined include the organisational frame which includes the translation process, the
translation teams, the prestige of the translation and social pressures accompanying the
translation. The linguistic and translation frames, which include translation strategies, the use
of loan words, the derivations of new words, and explicitation, will also be examined.
The major findings elucidate the ways in which the two Xitsonga Bible translations enhanced
cultural identity. The first Xitsonga Bible translation (1929) played a role in empowering and
legitimising colonialism and paved the way for submissive colonial faith within the Vatsonga
society. The translation made extensive use of loan words from neighbouring African
languages, especially Sesotho, as well as from the colonial languages spoken in South Africa
(English and Afrikaans), but not from French (the language of the Swiss missionaries). In this
way, the translation enhanced the vocabulary inventory of Xitsonga by expanding the range of
items which can be described in the language. Some indigenous words referring to traditional
religious practices and practitioners were avoided, thus promoting the colonial Christianity of
the missionaries. Most importantly, the 1929 version united the diverse sub-units of the
Vatsonga people around a single translation of the Bible. Thus, the 1929 translation assisted in
the creation of identity through the unification of its readers around a single translation.
In contrast to the 1929 Xitsonga Bible translation, the 1989 Xitsonga Bible translation
strengthened the cultural identity of Xitsonga by utilising not only indigenous cultural terms of
Xitsonga, but also by utilising and coining natural Xitsonga equivalents, and by utilising
Xitsonga first-language speakers as translators. The 1989 version also differs from the 1929
version in its Dynamic Equivalence approach through the direct influence of Eugene Nida. The
standardisation and simplification of the orthographic system for writing Xitsonga and the
harmonisation of dialectal variants served to strengthen and unify Xitsonga as a language, thus
further strengthening cultural identity.
Description
Keywords
Xitsonga, Vatsonga, Tsonga, Bible translation, Descriptive translation studies, Frame theory, Dynamic equivalence, Orthography, Dialect harmonisation, Swiss missionaries, Evangelisation, Indigenous languages, Colonialism, Postcolonialism, Africanisation, Translation agent, Bible -- Translating, Tsonga (African people), Thesis (Ph.D. (Bible Translation))--University of the Free State, 2017