Noted comrade. This article you posted raises an important point that the media in general must grapple with and a point we as consumers of news must be alive to. That is the issue of how translations from African languages to English are done by the journalists who cover events where one or all the speakers speak in isiXhosa for example. Is it true that certain journalists rely for their translations on whoever happens to be nearby and who claims to understand what is being said? That, in my view, would be both dangerous and highly irresponsible!
It is surely not asking too much for us to expect a newspaper to disclose that a particular story is in fact their interpretation of what was said by whoever they are writing about. To present it as what the speaker actually said (rather than their interpretation) is somewhat misleading. Imagine what would happen when somebody says something figuratively in an African language and that is given a literal interpretation in English - the meaning would completely get lost! *IsiXhosa asitolikwa or seSotho ha se tolokwe!* These expressions warn us about this danger very well. If I had time I could give a few examples of how things said by people in the news got lost in translation! I am sure comrades have their own examples. The point I am making is that we must be careful not to rely on journalists' translations and newspapers themselves must inform us when it is their own translation rather than present a story as something that was said by the person concerned. NB I just heard that Siki Mgabadeli of SAfm will be dealing with the issue of lost in translation at 9 this morning. On Wed, Jan 25, 2012 at 1:17 PM, bongo lusizi <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks Cde Mashiya > > All just honest mistakes. I am kind of busy today but just thought the > article would interest others as it interests me. Normally i would have > checked before sending > > Bongo Lusizi > > Tel: 021 468 3349 > Cell: 083 642 5370 > Fax: 0866659168 > E-mail:[email protected] > "Let them not spill me,let them not turn me into a stone,otherwise kill me" > *From:* Mthimkulu Mashiya <[email protected]> > *To:* [email protected] > *Sent:* Wednesday, January 25, 2012 10:06 AM > *Subject:* Re: [YCLSA Discussion] Did King Goodwill Zwelithini call gay > people "rotten"? > > 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. This footer can help you. > Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to > this message. > You can visit the group WEB SITE at > http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery > options, pages, files and membership. > To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected]. > You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to > put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail > to this address (repeat): [email protected] . > > > > > -- > Mthimkulu Mashiya > > -- > You are subscribed. This footer can help you. > Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to > this message. > You can visit the group WEB SITE at > http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery > options, pages, files and membership. > To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected]. > You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to > put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail > to this address (repeat): [email protected] . > > > -- > You are subscribed. This footer can help you. > Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to > this message. > You can visit the group WEB SITE at > http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery > options, pages, files and membership. > To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected]. > You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to > put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail > to this address (repeat): [email protected] . > -- Mthimkulu Mashiya -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
