Hadjivayanis, Ida (2011) Norms of Swahili Translations in Tanzania: An Analysis of Selected Translated Prose. PhD Thesis, SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/13602 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Norms of Swahili Translations in Tanzania: An Analysis of Selected Translated Prose By Ida HADJIVAYANIS School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2011 i DECLARATION FOR PhD THESIS I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the School of Oriental and African Studies concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work which I present for examination. Signed: _____Ida Hadjivayanis__________ Date: ___21st March 2012__________ ii DEDICATION To my Life, my little Children, Aaliyah, My first Love, my Constant, my Baby; Aalim, the one whom the Heart remembers most for it had Loved best; Aamal Hannah, My little bundle of Hope, my Soul! iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is the result of a number of year’s worth of work whereby I have been supported by a number of people. I owe a great debt of gratitude to my parents, Mrs Salha Hadjivayanis Hamdani and Dr Georgios Hadjivayanis for their love, blessings, support, sacrifices and continued inspiration. I could never thank them enough. I am particularly indebted to my supervisor, Dr Chege Githiora who provided me with unlimited intellectual support. He has been patient and supportive, going over the various drafts of the thesis, even when on holiday, and supplying me with constructive criticisms. He also gave me the opportunity to lecture in Swahili translation which has been beneficial to the development of this thesis. He has left a deep impression on me. I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to Dr Farouk Topan who, prior to his retirement, was my initial supervisor. He kept an eye on me and was available whenever I needed him. I thank him for the thought provoking discussions that he engaged me in. I wish to also extend my gratitude to Dr Martin Orwin who was part of my supervisory committee, for reading my thesis and offering some extremely helpful comments. Similarly, I wish to thank Dr Phillip Jaggar and Dr Alena Rettova for their clear and concise comments on the thesis. They have all, in important ways, shaped the final version of my thesis. I also owe a great debt of gratitude to many people who facilitated my research. These include the translators, Mr Hassan Adam and Deogratius Simba; publishers including Walter Bgoya, Ms Demere Kitunga and Mr. Isiador Karugendo. Also from the Ministry of Education, Dr Hermans Mwansoko and the former Minister of Finance, Mrs Zakia Hamdani Meghji, all of whom made great input to this thesis. Many people also gave their precious time for me to interview and these include Mariam Hamdani, Rabia Hamdani, Prof Mulokozi, Prof Issa Shivji and Maalim Idris Saleh. In the same breath, I wish to thank my sister, Inessa Hadjivayanis who provided me with immense support and encouragement throughout this period. This thesis would never ‘be’ had it not been for the great support extended to me by my husband, Abshir Hersi Warsame, with whom I have lived one of the greatest experiences through this period: the birth of our babies, Aaliyah, Aalim and Aamal Hannah and the tragic experience of the loss of our son, Aalim, whose memory will remain forever engraved in our heart. We miss him so much! To them all I say, Asanteni. iv ABSTRACT This study is about the Norms of Swahili translations as analysed through a selection of translated prose. The selection comprises Alfu lela ulela (The thousand and one Nights) and Mabepari wa Venisi which is a translation of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. These two canonical Swahili translations have been done in conjunction with a more modern translation of Naguib Mahfouz’s The Search, translated as Msako in Swahili. For comparative purposes a number of translated prose and some narratives that are part of Swahili children literature have been included. I have set forth the argument that there are a number of Swahili translation norms operating within the polysystem. These norms have been influenced by a number of active agents including patronage and the interference of English which led to translation occupying a central position within the Swahili polysystem for a number of decades. This is why translation has been crucial in the formation of Swahili literature although this situation was reversed in the 1970s from whence translation has occupied a marginal position in Tanzania. A number of translation strategies have also become the norm and these include appropriation, omission and the use of an unmistakable form of ideological and cultural manipulation. Similarly, there has been extensive use of situational equivalence where what is Swahili substitutes the foreign contexts. Nevertheless one of my arguments is that this trend is being re-defined. Despite the ambiguous status of some of these strategies. and their perceived marginalized position in the West, to the Swahili, these have been regarded and accepted as part of the entire Swahili translation system. To a large extent, I have used a target oriented approach since the translations themselves have largely prioritized the target Swahili language and culture. The analysis has been undertaken through a comparative depiction of the processes and strategies that were undertaken by translators. This was done at a macro as well as micro level. At the macro level, I have examined the extra-textual materials in relation v to the socio-cultural and political context of Tanzania while at micro level I have investigated the textual sources which are the translations themselves. The thesis concludes with the presentation of translation norms that range from the ready acceptance of indirect translations being embraced as Swahili literature to the practise of translator’s self-commissioning. I have argued that factors that have led to the categorization of norms are often inter-dependent. I sought to categorise Swahili norms broadly into norms that domesticate and those that foreignize translation literature. The future of Swahili translations in Tanzania will emerge through the struggle between what is alien and what is familiar, which can also be portrayed as the global and the local. vi Table of Contents Declaration for PhD thesis............................................................................................ii Dedication....................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgement........................................................................................................iv Abstract.......................................................................................................................v Table of Contents.......................................................................................................vii INTRODUCTION Swahili Translations in Tanzania....................................................1 1. CHAPTER ONE Situating Swahili Literary Translation 1.1 Translation during the Pre-Colonial period....................................................15 1.2 Translation during the Colonial period..........................................................21 1.3 Translation during the Post-Colonial Period...................................................32 1.4 Language and Translation Policies in Tanzania..............................................45 1.5 Summary..........................................................................................................54 2. CHAPTER TWO Theoretical framework and Literature Review 2.1 Background Information………………………………………………….....56 2.2 Overview of Translation Theories…………………………………...............61 2.3 Polysystem Theory……………………………………………………….......67 2.3.1 Translation Norms………………................................................................74 vii 2.3.2 Types of Norms .........………………………………............……...............84 2.4 The Domesticating and Foreignizing Strategies………………………..........88 2.5 Literature Review ……………………………………………………............91 2.6 Summary ……..………………………………………………………...........99 3. CHAPTER THREE Research Methodology 3.1 Background Information: Brief overview of Methodology .........................100 3.2 Publishing in Tanzania …......………………….………………...................104 3.3 Instruments of Data Collection......................................................................108 3.3.1 Choice of the Study Area….....…………………….…………..................109 3.3.2 Written Sources …....……………………………........………….............110 3.3.3 Interviews…….....……………………………………..…….....…...........116 3.3.3.1 Respondents ...........................................................................................122 3.3.4 Questionnaire………………………………………..................................124 3.4 Plans for Data Analysis and Interpretation.....………………………....…..126 3.5 Analysis………………………………………………………………..........128 4. CHAPTER FOUR The Translation of the Thousand and One Nights during the Colonial and the Post-Colonial Periods 4.1 Background Information ....................................................……..………….130 4.2 Synopsis…………………………………………………………………….131 4.3 Historical Perspective of the Translation …………………………..............132 4.4 The Nights in Swahili ……………………………………………................140 viii 4.4.1 The Swahili Abunuwas…………………….……………………..........144 4.5 Alfu lela Ulela and its Swahili translators………………………..…............153 4.5.1 Edwin Brenn and Frederick Johnson .....................................................153 4.5.2 Hassan Adam .........................................................................................160 4.6 A Brief Analysis of the Translations .......…………………..……………...167 4.7 Towards a Target Oriented Study of Language and Culture……….….…...171 4.7.1 Language and Style Usage ……………………………....................…....172 4.7.1.1 Refractions………………………………………………......….......179 4.7.2 Portrayal of Culture…………………………………………………….....188 4.7.2.1 Religion…………………………………………………......……....190 4.7.2.2 Eroticism ...........................................................................................200 4.7.2.3 The Supernatural ...............................................................................208 4.7.2.4 Race and Identity ………………………………………......…........212 4.8 Analysis……………………………………………………………....…......223 5. CHAPTER FIVE The Translation of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice 5.1 Background Information ....………………………..............………………230 5.2 William Shakespeare…………………………………………………........231 5.3 The Play’s Synopsis……………………………………………….......…...232 5.4 Background Information to the Swahili Translation...……………........…..236 5.5 Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the Swahili Translator......……......……..........237 5.6 Criteria for Choice of Translation...…………………………………..….....242 5.7 Reflection of Titles in Translation…………………………..……........…...248 5.8 An Analysis of the Translation.…………………………………......……..251 5.9 Language Use in the Translation…….…………………………........……..255 ix