Comrade Bongo Lubisi (and anyone else who posts articles), please authenticate your post by acknowledging your source AND also include the page address. You have attributed this to "*Thami Msomi of The Times" .* I have checked the *Times* newspaper and indeed on page 15 there is an article entitled "*Lost in translation" *by* S'thembiso (not Thami) Msomi. *Furthermore, in your post, you have left out the first sentence of the article - this may just be your error in copying and pasting, or you may have decided to edit the article - I do not really know. All I am saying is that please take care when posting to not only attribute the source but to also include the page web address. *'It is the right thing to do'*
On Wed, Jan 25, 2012 at 8:16 AM, bongo lusizi <[email protected]> wrote: > By Thami Msomi of The Times > The controversy that has arisen since this newspaper, and at least one > other publication, in KwaZulu-Natal, reported that the Zulu monarch had > spoken out against same-sex relationships has helped draw attention to an > issue that I think is of the utmost importance if our young democracy is to > have an intelligent dialogue with itself: how statements made in indigenous > South African languages, by politicians and other public figures, are > translated into English by journalists. > It would be a big understatement to say that King Goodwill, like many > other traditionalists, is no fan of homosexual relationships. > Still, when I read on Monday that Isilo had said that "traditionally" > there "were no people" who engaged in same-sex relationships and "that if > you do it you must know you are rotten", I was outraged. > How could he be so irresponsible, especially in the face of recent > barbaric attacks on lesbians on Gauteng's East Rand and elsewhere in the > country? > But my anger turned into doubt when I read a statement from the Zulu royal > household denouncing the stories as a "reckless translation" of what the > king had said in Zulu. > Too often, politicians and other public figures wrongly cry: "I was > misquoted" or "quoted out of context" when their utterances spark public > outrage. > The experience of the past few years, however, has taught me not to > dismiss these as obfuscations without first getting an independent account > of what the person actually said - especially if such a person had spoken > in a language other than English. > There have been too many occasions on which the message has been lost in > translation, often creating controversy where there was none. > The most recent example of this happened a few days before the ANC's 100th > birthday bash in Mangaung, Free State, when a newspaper reported that ANC > Youth League leader Julius Malema had called party leaders baboons. > As it later transpired, from Sotho speakers who were present when Malema > spoke, he was referring to a particular councillor who was at odds with the > community the league leader was addressing. > The journalist who wrote this story was failed by whoever translated > Malema's speech for her. > But it is not only journalists who don't speak any of the indigenous > languages who get their translations mixed up. > President Jacob Zuma will go down in history as having once called former > president Thabo Mbeki a "dead snake". > This was after The Times, of which this columnist was one of the editors > at the time, published a story saying as much in 2008. > But while it was true that Zuma did say the words "inyoka efile" (dead > snake), he was using a common Zulu idiom whose most accurate equivalent > would have been "flogging a dead horse". > Had he spoken in English, we would not be saying today that Zuma called > Mbeki a "dead horse", would we? > With all of this in mind, I decided to find out for myself what Isilo > actually said when he spoke at the Battle of Isandlwana celebrations in > Nquthu, Zululand, on Sunday. > Fortunately, Pietermaritzburg's The Witness newspaper has an audio clip of > the speech. > Here is my translation of what the king said: "If you are one of the > people I am talking about, a man who [sexually] abuses another man, a woman > who [sexually] abuses another woman, you are rotten. > "Warriors would go to many wars forsaking their women. Zulu men would be > gone for days . > "We never heard that there were warriors who [sexually] abused their > fellow warriors," King Goodwill said. > Suspicious as I am of the king's intentions in uttering these words, we > should be careful about the inferences we draw and translations we make. > As we move closer to the ANC's Mangaung conference later this year, as > well as the 2014 elections, newsrooms would do great justice to our > democracy by ensuring that those they send to cover the campaign speeches > not only understand the languages used but also give the English-reading > public an accurate translation of what is said. > > -- > You are subscribed. 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All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
