Translation Challenges in the Translation of Ananse the Stomach Journalist

Abstract

This article examines how translation can be done effectively and proposes some strategies drawing mainly on translation of written texts between English and French. Ananse the stomach journalist is the short story on which we focus to point out problems faced by translators while translating a text from one language into another. In addition to the translation interests that the short story bears, it reveals some realities of African countries such as corruption, illegality etc. It points out the behaviors of some African leaders who legislate good laws which are supposed to rule everybody as equal creature but which they classify to be executed by governed or poor people only. In a nutshell, it shows the hidden injustice which hinders African countries evolvement. This short story we translate from English into French helps to find out the different problems translators meet; Translating cultural elements can be a demanding task due to the fact that such elements have specific meanings in the culture and language in which they arise. Taking this fact into account, this study has investigated the strategies used in translating culture-bound elements in the English subtitles of Ananse the stomach journalist. The concluding part examines the issues emerging from the study, analyzes written texts between English and French.