Formulating a Translation Model for Postcolonial African Literature Through the Study of Selected Works of Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Efua Sutherland and Ola Rotimi

Abstract:

Postcolonial theory focuses on addressing gaps that are encountered when dealing with literary works or contexts that are minor or peripheral. It explores ways in which dominated or colonized culture can adapt tools of the dominant discourse to fight against its political or cultural dominance. Postcolonial studies serve as a useful tool for translating texts from one language to another. One has to be conversant with the approaches used by postcolonial writers to be able to appreciate their texts and eventually translate them. This paper used the methodology of textual analysis to examine portions of the selected works of four postcolonial African writers; namely, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Efua Sutherland and Ola Rotimi, to bring out key strategies by which these writers decolonized the minds of their African audience. The main decolonizing strategies discussed include adaptation, vernacularization and pidginization. Based on the findings from the analyses, the paper proposes some translation principles for dealing with postcolonial texts. The paper contributes not only to translation studies in Africa but also contributes to the decolonization of Christianity in Africa.