Challenges and Prospects of Translating Scientific-Technical Concepts into Igbo: The Case of an English-Igbo Translation of selected texts from Nosiri and Nwaogwugwu’s Pharmacology

Abstract

This paper on translation studies, involving the practical translation of the aforementioned texts,
accompanied with a justificative analysis of the translation techniques adopted in the operation,
is envisioned to contribute to efforts to bridge the language barriers to the transfer of scientific
knowledge from English to Igbo, on one hand, and the spread of scientific information across
the different language and cultural communities of the world, on the other hand. it is also
targeted at arousing the interests of the students of Igbo, especially in Nigerian tertiary
institutions, with its potentials to be a tool in their hands both as stakeholders in the project of
promoting Igbo language and culture and prospective partners of electronic and other mass
media practitioners, for the orientation of the illiterate Igbo population on drugs and their
applications in healthcare. The practical aspect of the study is based on the interpretative and
skopos theories of translation. Methodologically, the study follows the traditional translation
process of the assimilation of the content of the source language text, the mental conversion of
the textual content into the target language, the practical drafting of the perceived equivalent
message of the source language text in the target language, and subjecting the translated text to
verification, to ensure as much its closeness to the original text as possible. The study further
reflects on the typology of the original text and advocates a recourse to the transemic approach
to the translation of texts of such type, highlighting lack or paucity of equivalent terms in Igbo
for the expression of scientific concepts and conclusively underscoring the imperative of
terminological researches in Igbo, in the various fields of science and technology.