The translation of non-lexicalised words/terms by isiZulu health-text translators

Abstract

The translators of isiZulu health texts very often have to deal with translation problems emanating from words or terms which are not yet lexicalised or which are problematic in isiZulu, such as the translation of terms relating to diseases, drugs/ointments and other medical concepts. This article focuses mainly on the use of vocabulary in solving these translation problems, with the aim of describing the decisions taken by translators. The health texts used in this article were collected between 2003 and 2006 from two South African provinces where isiZulu is spoken – Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal – as available at the distribution outlets of the national and provincial governments as well as from Soul City (a non-governmental organisation which entails a multimedia health-promotion and social-change project). The translation strategies as used by the isiZulu translators in solving the problem of non-lexicalised words/terms are examined by employing a combination of wordlist and concordance tools as well as by examining the titles of the texts. The results indicate that the translators’ decisions demonstrated an attempt to use acceptable expressions by conforming to the grammatical rules and patterns of the target language (isiZulu).

Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2013, 31(2): 161–171