Cultural complexity when translating Sesotho sa Leboa idioms and proverbs into English

Abstract

This paper explores the cultural complexity in the translation of Sesotho sa Leboa idioms and proverbs into English and argues that the individual components of an expression, in addition to its historical and cultural background, are of critical importance not only for discovering how the idiomatic expressions come into existence, but also for effective translation. Sesotho sa Leboa idioms and proverbs are culture-based symbols of language used to express meaning particular to the Basotho culture, and translating Sesotho sa Leboa idioms and proverbs remains a challenging activity, especially if a translator is not highly familiar with Basotho culture, because these expressions are deeply rooted in that culture. The expressions were analysed by using Geertz’s (1973) interpretive theory of cultures as theoretical framework. The findings showed that effective translation of Sesotho sa Leboa idioms and proverbs into English is made complex by the historical and linguistic differences of the source language and target language cultures. The study found that tracing the historical and cultural background of an expression produces a functional translation and that each expression has some relationship with its constituent parts. Therefore, the individual components of the expression should be considered as effective tools of discovering its historical background, which contradicts previous arguments.