True Xhosa meanings get lost in translation (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

True Xhosa meanings get lost in translation

By Myolisi Gophe
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=6&art_id=vn20050312103908872C514652

Many of the official signs in Xhosa that are appearing around the
Western Cape are a fiasco.

The signs are so badly translated that they have been described as
"meaningless and offensive".

Like the one advising pregnant women to phone a clinic when they are in
labour, translated as "phone the clinic when your tummy is running".

Or the sign that should tell people they can book for a picnic, but
saying instead "you can bring book for picnics".

A Cape Town road sign proclaiming "no hawking" has been mistranslated
into Xhosa as "no walking", completely baffling pedestrians.

And the one telling people that drinking is prohibited on a beach
informs them instead "there is no alcohol here", in effect an
invitation to bring their own booze.

Instead of making Xhosa-speaking people feel welcome, the signage
baffles, misleads and annoys them.

This revelation follows Cape Town Mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo's statement
that black people do not feel welcome in the city. Ironically, some of
the absurd signs have been put up by her own municipality.

Language experts have blamed carelessness and negative attitudes for the
poor Xhosa translations on official signs on roads, at beaches,
hospitals and other public places. Translators appear to be unqualified
or have relied solely on dictionaries.

Xhosa is one of three official languages in the province, with English
and Afrikaans, but the translation into Xhosa at government, provincial
and municipal institutions, heritage sites and public spaces has been
found to be ridiculous.

Language experts say those who commission translations see this
indigenous language as valueless and treat it as less important than
Afrikaans or English.

"When people want translations into Afrikaans they will get qualified
translators, editors and proof-readers, but when it comes to Xhosa they
just drag in anybody," said Tessa Dowling, director of the African
Voices language institution in Muizenberg.

Sydney Zotwana, former head of translation services in parliament, said
another problem was the lack of standardisation of the language. Xhosa,
along with other African languages, was struggling to cope with the new
parliamentary, scientific and technological concepts.

Dowling and Wynberg Girls' High School Xhosa teacher Thandi
Mpambo-Sibukwana recently did a study which showed signage translation
was appalling. An example, which Mpambo-Sibukwana described as the
worst, was at the Afrikaanse Taal Monument in Paarl.

The sign "you can book for picnics" has been translated into Xhosa as
meaning "you can bring book for picnics".

This article was originally published on page 1 of The Independent on
Saturday on March 12, 2005