Mphahlele's Down Second Avenue in German : cultural transfer, norms and translation strategies in Kruger's Pretoria Zweite Avenue.

Abstract

The aim of my study is to identify, describe and critique Es'kia Mphahlele's Down Second Avenue and its German translation, Pretoria Zweite Avenue. More specifically, the aim is to engage with the norms and constraints operative in the various translational relationships; also, to consider the impact - resulting from the shifts involved in cultural transfer - for a new readership in the 1960s in east Germany. Lambert and van Gorp's research model, "Hypothetical Scheme for Describing Translations", provides a framework for such a study that starts with an analysis ofpreliminary data, followed by a macro-level analysis and, finally, an analysis ofmicro-level data. Toury's over-arching theory of Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS), and Even-Zohar's Polysystem Theory are used extensively, especially regarding the contextualisation of both source text (ST) and target text (TT). In considering - via a detailed analysis of shifts - how elements of South African culture have been transferred in translation, I also draw on Fairclough's theories regarding social power hierarchies, and the mutually constitutive nature of discourse. Given that norms and constraints are largely determined by cultural contexts, Fillmore's 'scenesand- frames semantics' is also invaluable to the ideological explanations necessary during the course ofthis project. Ideologically relevant extracts - representative of South African culture - from the ST, are compared with the corresponding German translations. This study makes extensive use of Baker's strategies for dealing with non-equivalence at various levels of the translation process. Based on all the above theoretical points of entry, ideological parallels between the imagined communities of east Germany and South Africa are drawn. My study proves the potential of translation projects, such as this one, of aiding in cultural dissemination between two countries that are culturally and geographically apart, but which share a profound understanding for the burdens of ideological over-determination.