TRANSLATOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SELECTED SERMONS IN NIGERIAN CHURCHES

Abstract

Based on the researchers’ observation, most Nigerians do not regard interpreting as a profession; rather, they see it as a common task. In most cases, the generally held view is that any individual who understands more than one language can serve as an interpreter. Therefore, this work examines the reality of interpreting as a profession and the possible roles of interpreters in Nigeria. The study also examines the constraints interpreters encounter and the strategies they employ to overcome them. The study focuses on some selected sermons preached within the Diocese of Nsukka, Anglican Communion and the Assemblies of God Mission, Ede-Oballa, between 2018 and 2019 following the mixed method of data analysis. This study adopts Qiang’s interpretive theory and As-Safi’s interpreting constraints and strategies because of their significance in the assessment of sermon interpreting. From the analysis and research findings, it was discovered that the majority of the constraints identified bother on syntactic and semantic issues. This means that the interpreters found reproducing the messages in the target language difficult. Also, decoding the meanings of many source language words is very problematic, affecting their interpretations and leading to misinterpretations. Therefore, this study recommends that interpreters or individuals, who take interpreting tasks, especially in church settings, should be encouraged to acquire the necessary training in the profession of interpreting and also be proficient in the languages with which they are to work, especially the source language. These skills will help them not distort the original message but produce a natural version of the source language (SL) message in the target language (TL).