| dc.description.abstract | Proverbs play a crucial role in the cultural expression of a community’s wisdom,
beliefs and worldview through various forms of figurative language. Due to this
cultural significance, the translation of proverbs requires careful consideration to
preserve meaning across languages. This study examined the translation of proverbs
in Things Fall Apart into Ekegusii in Binto Mbisebererekani in terms of cultural
equivalence and non-equivalence. The study was guided by the following three
objectives, to: analyse aspects of cultural equivalence and non-equivalence in the
translation of proverbs in Things Fall Apart into Ekegusii; examine the cultural
functionality of translated proverbs from Things Fall Apart within the context of
Ekegusii language; and evaluate how Skopos theory accounts for translation of
proverbs in Things Fall Apart into Ekegusii. The study utilised a descriptive research
design and a qualitative approach. Primary data were gathered through five semi
structured interviews and four focus-group discussions involving 30 Ekegusii native
speakers. The participants were obtained through snowball sampling. Secondary data
was collected from Things Fall Apart as the source text and Binto Mbisebererekani as
the target text. A census approach was adopted whereby all the 28 proverbs were
studied. The data were then analysed qualitatively while looking at the translation
strategies for proverbs in both texts using Vinay and Darbelnet’s (1995) model for
translating cultural expressions. Vermeer’s (1978) Skopos theory was used to evaluate
the effectiveness of various translation strategies in preserving cultural functionality
and ensuring communicative equivalence. The theory posits that the purpose of the
translation (skopos) in the target language and culture dictates the translation strategy
applied. Consequently, this ensures that the target text functions effectively for its
readers in the target culture’s context. The findings revealed that oblique strategies
promoted cultural equivalence by preserving Igbo proverb meanings in Ekegusii,
while direct strategies led to cultural non-equivalence by retaining surface forms while
losing contextual meaning. This study foregrounds the role of African languages as
epistemic resources for the preservation and transmission of cultural heritage. | en_US |
