Translation Practices in a Developmental Context: An Exploration of Public Health Communication in Zambia

Abstract

Translation in Africa has been studied mostly through the prism of postcolonialism and literary studies. Some scholars have argued that this approach restricts translation studies scholarship on and about the continent. The gist of the postcolonial approach lies in the inherent power relations that exist in the inevitable cross-cultural contact arising from colonialism. Of late, some scholars have suggested that it is time to move beyond the post-colony. It is against such a backdrop that this dissertation broaches the study of translation phenomena in Africa from a developmental perspective. This thesis argues that the postcolonial era is not monolithic and that the African condition has evolved over the years. While it acknowledges the legacy of colonialism with all of its devastating consequences, the study understands the concept of the developmental context to offer the perspective of a continent in charge of its own destiny in contrast to the perspective that sees only a victim. Accordingly, this study seeks to explore translation practices within a developmental context and concentrates on one of the most important development issues: health. In line with global health priorities that now approach health from a preventive rather than a curative perspective, health promotion and communication have become central to the development agenda. This dissertation therefore discusses the historical, political, linguistic, socioeconomic, and cultural factors that inevitably affect translation in public health communication in Zambia and, to a lesser extent, the southern African region. While emphasizing the sociological context of the case study, this research takes translation as a cluster concept and a communicative act in order to investigate how translation is practiced. The research involves a contextual analytic exploration of a few selected health communication products. Drawing on Jakobson’s three types of translation, descriptive translation studies, and functionalist theories, this dissertation brings to light the importance of intersemiotic translation in societies that are anchored in oral culture.