An Evaluation of English-to-Yoruba Translations of Some Concepts by Selected Radio News Bulletins in South-Western Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines translations of selected official names/titles contained in news broadcasts in the Yoruba-speaking part of Nigeria, interrogating their adequacy and appropriateness. Sixty-five concepts/titles extracted from one hundred news bulletins presented by five radio stations across the Yoruba-speaking states of Nigeria are examined. The study is prompted by an intuitive feeling of inaccuracy and inappropriateness of important words in news broadcasts in Yoruba and predicated upon the fact that misinformation can be as pernicious as lack of information. The renderings of the concepts in Yoruba are compared with their original versions in English, revealing translation weaknesses such as semantic narrowing, expansion, wordiness, sometimes even unwitting distortions. It concludes by emphasising the adoption of appropriate translation strategies and a more rigorous engagement with the texts as a way of guarding against unintended distortions and misinformation.

Keywords: Yoruba, English, translation, news broadcasts, accuracy, distortion,

DOI: 10.7176/NMMC/88-05

Publication date: March 31^st 2020