The role of pseudo-translations in early Afrikaans travel writing

Abstract

The Afrikaans travel novel, Di Koningin fan Skeba (The Queen of Sheba) (1898a) is analysed within the framework of corpus-based translation studies. The pseudo-translations are compared to the rest of the narrative text of the Di Koningin fan Skeba, as well as to SJ du Toit's Di Bybel in Afrikaans (The Bible in Afrikaans) (1889–1911). The aim of the article is to point out that Di Koningin fan Skeba creates an identity for Afrikaans as a cultural language. This narrative is spatially and chronologically remote from the South Africa of Du Toit. By utilising foreign and ancient cultures in Di Koningin fan Skeba, Du Toit proves that it is possible to write in Afrikaans about any topic, no matter how far removed from the common colloquial language. The biblical connection is momentous. This affords Du Toit the opportunity to involve the world of the Bible without infringing on the church-imposed ban on the use of the Afrikaans language for sermons and Bible translation and the refusal by the British and Foreign Bible Society to translate the Bible into Afrikaans.

Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2008, 26(1): 97–106