Translation choices can erase a religion’s core self-definition
Evidence
Since the Bantu belong to the sub-Saharan Africans along the equator, and they include various clans and tribes having a common tradition, Tempels may not have been able to successfully generalise his vision for extending the Bantu philosophy to African Philosophy tout court. First of all, the work, which first appeared in Dutch, was translated into French with the title of La Philosophie Bantoue and published by A. Robbens in Congo in 1945. At this early stage the problem of language already occurs, and philosophical Bantu terms may not have transmitted the same content or meaning when expressed in other languages. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 210 (
#exemplifies, via linked claim)
Translation, as Derrida puts it, is quite unlike buying, selling, swapping—however much it has been conventionally pictured in those terms. It is not a matter of shipping over juicy chunks of meaning from one side of the language barrier to the other—as with fast-food packs at an over-the-counter take away outfit. Meaning is not a readymade, portable thing that can be “carried over” the divide. The translator is obliged to construct meaning in the source language and then to figure and fashion it a second time round in the materials of the language into which he or she is rendering it. The translator’s loyalties are thus divided and split. He or she has to be faithful to the syntax, feel and structure of the source language and faithful to those of the language of translation.… We face a double writing, what might be described as a “perfidious fidelity.” … We are drawn into Derrida’s “Babel effect.” — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 855 (
#expands, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Translation constructs meaning anew rather than transferring finished meaning across languages. — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2: Identity…, 855; Judaism permitted scripture translation while other scriptural religions resisted it; Translation into other languages distorted Bantu philosophical terms. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 210
Related
- Translation into other languages distorted Bantu philosophical terms. (similarity 0.85)
- Translation constructs meaning anew rather than transferring finished meaning across languages. (similarity 0.82)
- Classical translations routinely distort meaning through culturally specific terms (similarity 0.80)
Broader Connections
- Translation into other languages distorted Bantu philosophical terms.
#exemplifies(0.90) — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 210 - Translation constructs meaning anew rather than transferring finished meaning across languages.
#expands(0.85) — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 855 - Judaism permitted scripture translation while other scriptural religions resisted it
#qualifies(0.70)