The process of translating texts from one language to another is something that gives headaches to all translators, whether amateurs of professionals. In Malawi, writers and broadcasters and all types of translators are mostly left with hard tasks of doing translations on their own and these tasks usually get even tougher in this age when technology is growing at an increasingly swift rate.
Searching for ‘very’ relevant translations usually becomes a hectic task and translators, especially those who do such a task impromptu, opt for whatever sort of translation even if it does not necessarily reflect the concept from the source language.
It is not only translators who face problems concerned with foreignism, but all native speakers of different languages. It beats any sound mind to think of how certain words that have been there from time immemorial continue bearing the foreign terminologies.
For instance, no Malawian language, not even the so-called national language, Chichewa, has native terminologies for English words like ‘degree’, ‘school’ and many more. It goes without saying that these words have been there for hundreds of years, yet we continue embracing them in their alien terminologies.
And one wonders why the superiority of our languages lies, if we continue embracing terminologies borrowed from foreign languages. Should we conclude that there is nothing that can be done about this “foreign language intrusion”?
It is however, understandable when it comes to certain scientific terms which continue being invented. But the fear is that if there are no terminologies for some of these words whose concepts have been and continue being applied in our local understanding, then there is nothing promising about the scientific terminologies.
When you listen to broadcasts in Chichewa and other local languages on the radio, you are assured of coming across words like ‘majisitiliti’ and suchlike. This substantiates the fact that English continues being a dominant language. And this becomes more unattractive when some terminologies which are being borrowed from English have their own respective translations in local languages.
On the other hand, this careless borrowing of words from other foreign languages into our native languages becomes a very big problem when the readers or those listening to broadcasts in the native languages do not know anything in the foreign language. They are left in suspense and subsequently fail to understand what is being said despite the fact that it is claimed to be in their (the audience’s) native language.
In countries like Tanzania, the department concerned with Language Research works tirelessly to come up with new terminologies for new inventions. Immediately a new word is effected, it is announced on the national radio and other media so that it can start being used. That is why in Kiswahili, Tanzania’s national language, you will find perfect translations for words like triangle, angle and suchlike.
This may show how serious the government of Tanzania and other governments that do the same thing are about their native languages. Of course, in Malawi there are too many languages, but Chichewa, being our national language needs to be looked into in terms of the use of foreign terminologies in it.
The centre for language research in Malawi can do something about the continuous use of foreign languages in our native languages, especially Chichewa. However, this will depend on whether or not it is adequately funded. It will also depend on the goodwill of those concerned. We need to be proud of our native languages.
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