Abstracts
Abstract
The translation of Things Fall Apart (TFA) into German has elicited interest in language interaction and especially in German-African textual intercultural communication within broader Euro-African cultural and postcolonial relations. The publication of a third German translation of TFA, Alles Zerfällt, in 2012 by Uda Strätling promises an alternative reading and possibly a truer representation of African cultural knowledge and identity compared to the two previous translations. Drawing on I.A. Richards’ theory of meaning, skopos theory, and postcolonial theory, this study examines, through a critical intercultural analysis of purposively selected cultural text units, the transfer of African cultural knowledge from the source text to the target texts in order to elucidate how African cultural identity is represented to the target readership. The study shows that while Strätling’s version appears to more adequately represent source text cultural knowledge and identity, it nevertheless still manages to perpetuate the exoticization of African culture as archaic, primitive, and inferior.
Keywords:
- cultural knowledge,
- cultural representation,
- African cultural identity,
- critical intercultural communication,
- Chinua Achebe
Résumé
La traduction de Things Fall Apart (TFA) en allemand a suscité un intérêt pour l’interaction des langues et surtout pour la communicatiotn textuelle interculturelle germano-africaine dans le cadre plus large des relations culturelles et postcoloniales euro-africaines. La publication d’une troisième traduction allemande de TFA, Alles Zerfällt, en 2012 par Uda Strätling promet une lecture alternative et peut-être une représentation plus vraie des connaissances culturelles et de l’identité africaines par rapport aux deux traductions précédentes. S’appuyant sur la théorie de la signification d’I.A. Richards, la théorie du skopos et les théories postcoloniales, cette étude examine, par le biais d’une analyse interculturelle critique d’unités culturelles textuelles sélectionnées, le transfert de savoirs culturels africains du texte source dans les trois traductions, afin d’élucider la manière dont l’identité culturelle africaine est représentée au lectorat cible. Si la version de Strätling semble représenter plus adéquatement les connaissances culturelles et l’identité du texte source, notre étude montre qu’elle perpétue néanmoins l’exotisation de la culture africaine comme archaïque, primitive et inférieure.
Mots-clés :
- connaissance culturelle,
- représentation culturelle,
- identité culturelle africaine,
- communication interculturelle critique,
- Chinua Achebe
Appendices
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