An investigation of strategies used by Ndebele translators in Zimbabwe in translating HIV/AIDS texts: a corpus-based approach

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dc.contributor.advisorBotha, C Ren
dc.contributor.advisorKruger, Aen
dc.contributor.authorNdhlovu, Ketiween
dc.date.accessioned2026-08-20T14:31:58Z
dc.date.available2026-08-20T14:31:58Z
dc.date.issued2012en
dc.description.abstractIn Zimbabwe, translation studies is yet to be recognized as a discipline worthy of study in its own right, hence, not much research has been carried out into the theory and practice of translation. Furthermore, there is no tertiary institution that offers professional translation courses. In light of this information most translations are carried out by untrained/partially trained translators with only a few translators who have gained experience over time. The aim of this study was to investigate strategies used by Ndebele translators in the translation of specialized terms and cultural taboos in selected HIV/AIDS texts, as well as factors that can be used to improve the translation situation of Zimbabwe. Three main theoretical approaches were used in a complementary fashion, namely Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS), Cultural Studies and Corpus-based Translation Studies (CTS). DTS provided the researcher with a theory to understand the Ndebele translations in their wider environment; Cultural Studies provided the researcher with the means by which to understand Ndebele culture and taboos; Corpus-based Translation Studies (CTS) provided the researcher with the methodological tools and analytical techniques to analyse the corpus of texts. An English-Ndebele Parallel Corpus (ENPC) was created using fourteen English source texts and their corresponding Ndebele translations. The ENPC was interrogated by means of ParaConc, a parallel concordancing program. The study found that when translating specialised terms, Ndebele translators used strategies such as a general or neutral word, cultural substitution, paraphrasing and omission. The strategy of omission was misused in most cases because Ndebele translators omitted valuable information which did not reach the target readers. With regards to translation strategies that contributed to term creation, it was found that Ndebele translators relied on external as well as internal resources. The translators used strategies such as pure loan words; pure loan words preceeded by an explanation and indigenised loan words. From the Ndebele language itself, the translators resorted to semantic shift, compounding, coinage and paraphrasing, among others. From the ENPC it is clear that Ndebele translators did manage to transfer the message from English to Ndebele to an extent. However, the ENPC has to be used with caution by other researchers since the translations included in the corpus are full of errors such as misinterpretations of the source texts, mistranslations, incorrect terms and incorrect orthography. This factor points to a dire need to establish translation as an academic discipline and profession in Zimbabwe so as to elevate the quality of translations and offer better translation services to all users.en
dc.formatxvii, 309 leaves; 30 cmen
dc.formatpdfen
dc.identifier.citationNdhlovu, Ketiwe. 2012en
dc.identifier.othervital:11149en
dc.identifier.otherhttp://hdl.handle.net/10353/524en
dc.identifier.otherTranslating and interpreting -- Zimbabween
dc.identifier.otherCorpora (Linguistics)en
dc.identifier.otherCulture -- Study and teaching -- Zimbabween
dc.identifier.otherTranslators -- Zimbabween
dc.identifier.otherHIV infections -- Zimbabween
dc.identifier.otherAIDS (Disease) -- Zimbabween
dc.identifier.otherTaboo, Linguisticen
dc.identifier.otherNdebele (African people) -- Social life and customsen
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/5010
dc.language.isoEnglishen
dc.publisherUniversity of Fort Hareen
dc.publisherFaculty of Social Sciences & Humanitiesen
dc.rightsUniversity of Fort Hareen
dc.subjectTranslating and interpreting -- Zimbabween
dc.subjectCorpora (Linguistics)en
dc.subjectCulture -- Study and teaching -- Zimbabween
dc.subjectTranslators -- Zimbabween
dc.subjectHIV infections -- Zimbabween
dc.subjectAIDS (Disease) -- Zimbabween
dc.subjectTaboo, Linguisticen
dc.subjectNdebele (African people) -- Social life and customsen
dc.titleAn investigation of strategies used by Ndebele translators in Zimbabwe in translating HIV/AIDS texts: a corpus-based approachen
dc.typeThesisen
dc.typeDoctoralen
dc.typePhD (African Languages)en

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