The Impact of Religious Beliefs on Quality Translation of Medical Culture-Specific Terms: A Xitsonga Terminology Development Approach

Abstract

Translators draw from their mental lexicons to make conscious efforts to arrive at quality translation products. However, it is easy to reproduce and reinforce the translator’s cultural and religious beliefs in their translation products. The chapter conceptualises the stigma of the so-called ‘deviant’ terms and critiques the influence of a Xitsonga translator’s religious beliefs stance that may exert on medical terminology development processes. Mistranslation or untranslatability has been a topic of much research, usually with a focus on linguistic and external cultural features in isolation. A descriptive translation studies approach is applied to investigate the complex relationship between the translator’s religious beliefs and the quality of a translation product by examining the semantics of the corpus of culture-bound words purposely selected for this study. The study is anchored on a functionalist theory of translation to promote empirical comparison and analysis of a source term and a target term. It is hoped that the study will increase the Xitsonga translators’ awareness of the impact that issues such as religious beliefs may have on their translation products, and consequently overcome potential translation problems. The results indicate that dealing with cultural items in translation requires a sociolinguistic vision for a better understanding of the nature of words in African languages and improving the target readers’ academic proficiency.

1. Introduction

The core of a language translator’s job is to convert a text from one language to one or more others, ensuring that the translated content conveys original meaning, sense and tone. The translator should also ensure that accuracy remains one of the valuable features of translation. Scholars such as Obenaus [1] posit that translators are increasingly seen as expert intercultural communicators. The question is, do all translators have the guts to eliminate linguistic and non-linguistic forces, barriers and obstacles in intercultural communication? Significant research studies have been conducted towards identifying individual stylistic traits in the work of translators. However, arguably, there is still more to be done on exploring a translator’s psychology that positively and negatively affects their target texts. Therefore, the chapter qualitatively investigates the complex relationship between the translator’s religious beliefs and the quality of a translation product by examining the semantics of the corpus of culture-bound words purposely selected for this study. Translation students and novice translators need to be more aware of the influence their psychology may have on the quality of their target texts.

The author is a translation lecturer but the curriculum he is teaching does not cater for a module that deals with effective methods and strategies or appropriate training on how to deal with ‘obscene’ language. Therefore, his classroom is not designed to serve as a better place, a more responsible and mature environment for translation students to learn terminology and develop a better attitude and understanding of what constitutes ‘obscene’ language, and why they are sometimes obligated to use it. The role of non-linguistic aspects is still an often-ignored part of the translation curriculum. Thus, this chapter is intended to build a positive attitude towards ‘obscene’ language that may help translation students realise its value in terminology development.

Texts are meant for different purposes, but it is very important that they are readable and, in some instances, easy-to-read and understand. Words, when well-chosen and when used appropriately in a text, do not only facilitate its readability but also give more lively ideas and introduce a reader to a new world of thought and life. Pschenitsyn [2], Katan [3], Katan [4] and Nord [5] posit that the purpose of translation should be to get readers to perceive the target text emotionally and artistically, in a manner that parallels and corresponds to the aesthetic experience of it, its source text readers or to re-create as far as possible, within the alien system of a second language, all the characteristics, vagaries, quirks and stylistic peculiarities of the work being translated. However, this purpose can be defeated once a translator is caught up between the two languages, the religious and the secular. Mistranslation or untranslatability is commonly justified based on linguistic and literary grounds and neglecting the influence of thoughts or theories of specific religions and profound cultural differences in religious beliefs and practices. In this study, untranslatability refers to an extent to which it is impossible to translate a word from one language into another. Cultural differences in religious beliefs and practices are far more complex phenomena than they may seem to the translator. However, this study cannot claim that there has never been a time when a community of translators was unaware of cultural differences and their significance for translation because translation theorists and training programmes have been cognisant of the problems attendant upon cultural knowledge and cultural differences since time immemorial. The main concern of this study is grounded in those words and phrases that are so heavily and exclusively attached to what Hall [6] classifies as ‘silent language’.

This chapter adopts descriptive translation studies to critique the influence of a Xitsonga translator’s religious beliefs stance that may exert on the quality of translations. This qualitative study is underpinned by the Iceberg theory as introduced by Edward T. Hall in his seminal book titled Silent Language in the 1990s, [3]. Hall ([6], p. 29) posits that ‘the most important culture is completely hidden and what can be seen is, as the cliché has it, just the tip of the iceberg’. This study employs Nord’s [5] functionalist theory of translation to present the empirical comparison and analysis of a source term and a target term.

When culture-bound words are considered cross-linguistically, they are invariably a challenging area of translation. Generally, the corpus is considered controversial from the religious point of view by some of the Xitsonga translators. Therefore, the study focuses on the sampled five Xitsonga culture-specific terms, namely, abortion, contraception, euthanasia, masturbation and nymphomania, that are generally considered controversial from the religious point of view by some of the Xitsonga translators. These terms have been purposely chosen as the corpus for the study and analysed by exploring the translation strategies and procedures as formulated by different translation scholars. The corpus of examples provided in this chapter serves to explore the socio-cultural underpinnings of ‘untranslatability’ and its limits in Xitsonga. These cultural-bound words which some have declared as ‘untranslatable’ continue to spark serious debates over when to paraphrase, when to use the nearest local equivalent, when to coin a new word by translating literally, when to amplify by loan words, when to adopt the foreign word without any explanation, when to adopt the foreign word with extensive explanations and when to transcribe without losing or distorting its original meaning.

2. Theories of beliefs and practice and cultural differences on translations

According to Verzella ([7], p. 54), ‘translators have the responsibility to act as brokers in the exchange of information. Their goal is to ensure that the relationship between the target audience and the message is substantially the same as that which existed between the original target audiences and the message. Jakobson ([8], p. 234) claims that translators can explore all means to get any language translated into another, as he puts it, ‘all cognitive experience and its classification is conveyable in any existing language’. Whenever there is deficiency, terminology may be qualified and amplified by loan words, neologisms or semantic shifts, and finally, by circumlocutions. Generally, translators are seen as both users and producers of meaning, and translation is considered an act of mediation enacted through the negotiation of meaning making, [7]. Pshenitsyn ([2], p. 364) observes that,

When translating a text, the translator makes decisions relying on her or his individual interpretation of the ST, which is influenced by cultural models of the TC and the norms of translation. The cultural and linguistic gaps are eliminated and the resulting text conforms to norms of the target language and culture.

Guided by the Iceberg theory, the hidden challenges could be the interaction of two languages and cultures in one mind. For a translator to deal with the hidden challenges in a source text, it demands a keen sense of style in both languages, the need for critical awareness of the impact of culture-bound words, the social aura that surrounds them, the setting and mood that inform them and the atmosphere they create [4]. The concept of culture has been a subject of research in many translation books and articles. Likewise, the concept of intercultural translation still plays a key role in contemporary translation studies since language and culture are inextricably tied together. Robinston ([9], pp. 7–13) introduces and explores the two levels of culture, namely, the external culture level and internal culture level, and defines the internal level as that ‘which consists of ideas, that is, beliefs, values and institutions. According to Robinston ([9], pp. 7–13), the external level ‘consists of behaviours, that is, language, gestures, customs and habits and products, that is, literature, folklore, art, music and artefacts. This chapter focuses on the influence of the internal culture level, which Hall ([6], p. 34) refers to as ‘value orientations, that is, preferences for certain outcomes over others’.

Erten ([10], p. 345) observes that ‘intercultural translation problems arise from a recognition that culture-bound concepts can be more problematic for the translator than the semantic or syntactic difficulties of a text. Moreover, cultural items that are peculiar to a certain community are hard to translate and sometimes lead to untranslatability’.

Drawn from the argument shared above, one may deduce that translation is an exercise of culture-specific terms appropriation or catalysis of an invention of another culture.

2.1 Functionalist theory of translation

This study is anchored on Nord’s [5] functionalist theory of translation to promote empirical comparison and analysis of a source term and a target term. This theory was developed in opposition to Nida’s [11] linguistic-based approach. Translation scholars such as Vermeer [12, 13], Reiss and Vermeer [14] and Nord [5, 15] developed functionalism as an approach to Translation Studies.

Nord ([16], p. 28) posits that “translation is the production of a functional target text maintaining a relationship with a given source text that is specified according to the intended or demanded function of the target text”. Nord [5] considers the functionalist theory of translation as a lens appropriate to explore the nature and characteristics of pragmatic texts translation. According to Nord [5] a purposeful activity or purpose-oriented approach to translation is one of the central ideas of the functionalist theory of translation and functional matters take precedence over Nida and Tiber’s ([17], p. 12) “normal standard of equivalence”. Therefore, Nord ([18], p. 1) defines functionalism as “a broad term for various theories that approach translation in this way or theories that study the perspective of function or functions of texts”. Vermeer’s ([13], p. 20) Skopos theory draws inspiration from functionalism; and “Skopos is a Greek word for purpose, intent, goal, aim and function”. Vermeer ([13], p. 20) posits that “any form of translational action has an aim, a purpose, and Skopos usually refers to the purpose of the target text guided by the three rules: Skopos rule, coherence rule and fidelity rule”.

The three rules stated above are ordered according to their importance. The coherence rule specifies that a translation should be acceptable in the sense that it is coherent with the receiver’s situation. The target text (TT) should conform to the standard of the intratextual coherence dictating translators to produce a text that is likely to be meaningful to the receiver of the target culture. The fidelity rule (or ‘intertextual coherence’, as Vermeer [13] puts it), refers to “the faithfulness of the target text at least in one of the aspects of content, form or effect” ([14], p. 113). According to Reiss and Vermeer ([14], p. 139), “intertextual coherence is considered subordinate to intratextual coherence, and both are subordinate to Skopos rule”. This means that the first concern of the translator is the purpose of specific translation theories which always advocate “faithfulness” and “equivalence”. Reiss and Vermeer ([14], p. 101) maintain that the Skopos rule tops all the three rules because “it is not the source text that determines the translation process, but the prospective function or Skopos of the target text”, and message or information is more important than the format. Besides the three rules, Nord ([18], p. 125) proposes another principle, ‘Function plus Loyalty’, in which loyalty commits the translator bilaterally to the source and the target sides and warns that “this must not be mixed up with fidelity or faithfulness, concepts that usually refer to a relationship between the source text and the target text”. Loyalty is “an interpersonal category referring to a social relationship between people, while function refers to the factors that make a target text work in the intended way in the target situation. Loyalty refers to the interpersonal relationship between the translator, the source text sender, the target text addresses and the initiator ([18], p. 126). Nord [18] posits that “the principle of ‘Function plus Loyalty’ perfects the Skopos theory and grants the translator some liberty in the process to achieve the intended function of the target text”.

Reiss and Vermeer [14], Nord [16, 18] and Vermeer [13] posist that in informative texts such as advertisements, instructions, leaflets, manuals, tourist brochures, business correspondence and sales slips, translation is generally a representation of content of the source text.

3. Literature review

Scholars such as Jay and Jay [19] and Vingerhoets et al. [20] conducted research study on Polish students; and Dewaele [21] and Gawinkowska et al. [22] conducted a similar research study on Asian and Arab students. The students were tested by translating an English text into Polish, Asian and Arab, the second language (L2), which contained taboo words. Finn ([23], p. 21) records that the Polish students translated from their first language (L1) to their L2, the respondents used stronger language and even added taboo words to the text. However, when they translated from their L2 to L1, it was found that taboo words were softened, and, in some instances, omitted. It was also found that Asian and Arab students were more likely to swear in English than any other non-native speakers because of the possible social, cultural and political constraints in their cultures [21]; Gawinkowska et al. [22]. The research studies also revealed that most of the respondents preferred to swear in their L2 while interacting with native speakers of their L1. This practice is similar to most of the Xitsonga translators. Similarly observed, the researcher’s findings reveal that the practice could be illustrating that most of the non-native speakers do not understand the levels of offensiveness or fail to fully comprehend the seriousness, as well as the consequences of certain taboo words that seem applicable to Xitsonga translators. The Xitsonga-English/English-Xitsonga Dictionary translates ‘sex’ as ‘ku ya emasangwini’ (to go to beds); ‘masturbate’ as ‘ku nyanyula swirho swa rimbewu’ (to excite genital organs); and menstruate as ‘ku va emasikwini’(to be in the days) or ‘ku va en’hwetini’ (to be in the month’) or ‘ku hlamba’(to bath). Ironically, the English words are lexicalized as is but translated into Xitsonga through circumlocution.

3.1 Dealing with non-linguistic forces in translation

The study has identified culture and stigma attached to what is termed ‘deviant utterances’ in the linguistic and religious circles of the Vatsonga as part of the non-linguistic forces that Xitsonga translators are obliged to deal with. Culture and religion seem to interfere easily in the translation activities. Complexities and contradictions attached to some Xitsonga terms impact negatively on the translators’ diction. Jay ([24], p. 3) observes that concepts such as profanity and blasphemy are emphasised within religious circles and are likely to influence the translators’ diction for fear of ‘denigrating God, religious icons and religious institutions’. Finn ([23], p. 18) advises that translators should ‘comprehend that there are possible benefits one can garner by being knowledgeable about this often-offensive part of the lexicon’. Vingerhoets et al. [20], Jay [24] and Jay and Jay [19] observed that people who express themselves through this often-offensive part of the lexicon are frequently seen as low class, unintelligent and emotionally or mentally unsuitable. Mercury ([25], p. 29) notes that ‘much is lost in the translation, and most of what is lost is largely related to the connotative meanings in the taboo words speakers choose to use’. Selnow [26] and Finn [23] concur that the connotations of obscene words are, like those of most words, products of sociolinguistic rules that help to shape a speech event and that influence verbal behaviour, resulting in impoverished vocabulary.

4. Research method

This study applies a descriptive translation studies approach to investigate the complex relationship between the translator’s religious beliefs and the quality of a translation product by examining the semantics of the corpus of culture-bound words purposely selected for this study.

Descriptive translation studies (DTS) emerged in the 1970s and is considered a reaction to centuries-long speculative and prescriptive writing on translation. Naude’ ([27], p. 45) notes that James Holmes [28] was the first to provide a framework for Translation Studies as the discipline science of translation, as well as translation criticism and policy. Gideon Toury’s [29] book, Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond, became a flag of convenience for a loose flotilla of innovative scholars [30]. Toury [29] defines DTS as descriptive-explanatory and interdisciplinary, the definition of the subject matters and assumed translations as a result of a target-oriented approach. Toury ([29], p. 29) posits that “DTS aims at building an empirical descriptive disciplines to fill one section of the Holmes map, namely, the idea that scientific methodology can be applicable to cultural products”.

Baker and Saldanha ([31], p. 77) point out that DTS “was conceived of translation studies as a discipline which espouses the structure, goals and methods of the natural sciences”, and James Holmes as one of its pioneers. The objectives of DTS as the analysis approach to translation texts are to describe, explain and predict translational phenomena. Influenced by Even-Zohar’s [32] polysystem theory, Toury [33] developed Holmes’s vision and made important theoretical and methodological additions to Holmes’s model. According to Baker and Saldanh ([31], p. 77), this development was based on the argument that “translational phenomena could ultimately be explained by their systemic position and role in the target culture”. Toury [29] also backed his argument by proposing the concept of norms, “translators are influenced by the norms that govern translation practice in the target culture at a certain place and time” ([31], p. 77). Toury ([29], pp. 56–58) introduced three types of norms, ‘initial norms’, the general choices made by translators, ‘preliminary norms’, that is, ‘translation policy’ and ‘directness of translation’ and ‘operational norms’, meaning those norms that govern decisions about the textual make-up of the translated text.

House ([34], p. 27) describes DTS as “a comparative literature-oriented and target text-oriented approach to translation focusing on the position and function of translations in the totality of the target-language literature”. This description is supported by Baker and Saldanha ([31], p. 77) who posit that the DTS approach “is firmly target-oriented because translations are facts of the target culture forces”. Holmes [28] and other pioneers of the DTS, such as Toury [29, 33], Hermans [35], Lambert and Van Gorp [36], and Lambert [37], agree that DTS is a target text-oriented approach to translation analysis. House ([34], p. 27) maintains that “the strength of descriptive translation studies lies in an emphasis on solid empirical work, often in the form of detailed diachronic case studies and an insistence on fully contextualising the texts, both at the level of reception situation and the receiving culture at large”.

Drawn from the argument presented above, it becomes evident that culture serves as the lens of the translator’s stance. On the same note, House ([34], p. 33) remarks that “culture serves as a site of ideological struggle, a view of translators as stimulators of ‘resistance’ of hegemonic influence, and a focus on how ‘meanings’ in texts serve to set up and maintain relations of power and domination”. Hermans ([35], p. 5) maintains that DTS still inspires research projects which seek to “delve into the translation as cultural and historical phenomena, to explore its context and its conditioning factors, to search for grounds that can explain why there is what there is”.

5. Translating culture-specific terms within two languages, the religious and the secular

The corpus sampled for this study is neither classified as swear nor vulgar words in Xitsonga but somehow considered as ‘deviant’ utterances based on moral philosophy. From some quarters of the Xitsonga linguistic community, the sampled words are viewed as a threat to moral integrity and/or social indiscretion that should be avoided. The goal of this chapter is to shed light on how these emotive or connotative words whose responses or effects are valued more than their literal meanings can impact on the quality of translation. The chapter does not focus on determining the merit of the main arguments for and/or against the sampled words but explores their stigma on the quality of Xitsonga translations.

5.1 Circumlocution, is it a facilitation or a hindrance to a Xitsonga translator?

Scholars such as Thompson, et al. [38], Yule and Tarone [39], Brooks [40] and Hadley and Reiken [41] consider circumlocution as one of the communication strategies of learning a language and define it as a compensation for gaps in a language learner’s knowledge whose linguistic competence and cognitive flexibility allow them to use more words than necessary to express an idea based on their lexical and grammatical competencies.

Circumlocution in Xitsonga can be described as euphemistic language or idiomatic fields often used to avoid saying words that are considered taboo or offensive. Ironically, the same circumlocutions convey the spirit and the manner of the original to achieve the same effect or similar response and call for the same action. The sampled words have been catalogued as ‘deviant’ utterances based on a stigma that reduced them to tainted descriptions to cater for some ‘moral philosophy’.

The Vatsonga consider death and sex the most enigmatic and taboo subjects. These concepts have been stigmatised within some quarters of the Xitsonga linguistic and religious community. From the sampled words, contraception, abortion and euthanasia imply death, and masturbation and nymphomania are associated with sex or sexual intercourse. The Vatsonga usually express concepts such as death and sex through their unique Xitsonga idiomatic fields or circumlocutions. For example, the Vatsonga speak of sex as ‘timhaka ta swa masangu’ (‘matters of sleeping mats’) or ‘ku kha miroho’ (‘to pluck leafy vegetables harvested for human consumption’). Some refer to the act as ‘ku tsakisana’ (‘to excite each other’), or ‘ku tivana’ (‘to know each other’), to mention a few. Death is expressed as ku hundza emisaveni (to pass the world), ‘ku timeka’ (to get extinguished), ‘ku etlela vurhongo lebyikulu’ (to take a deep sleep), ‘ku landza swikwembu’ (to follow the gods/ancestors) or put as ‘swi tsandzile’ (things have failed), meaning that all attempts to cure diseases have failed helplessly, to mention a few. Death and the act of sexual intercourse have since gained a few euphemistic phrases among the Vatsonga.

The study raises the notion of stigma as a social aspect or a moral experience that threatens the loss or diminution of original Xitsonga terminology to tainted descriptions expressed as circumlocutions. Goffman [42], in his classic formulation, describes stigma as ‘a special kind of relationship between an attribute and a stereotype’ and avers that stigma ‘is embedded in a language of relationships’. The study explores how a translator’s religious character and their actual social identity can result in a deviant translator’s professionalism that might result in flawed translation products. This aspect of the translator’s identity is based on Major’s [43] psychological formulations that define stigma as ‘occurring when an individual is believed to possess what they describe as an “often objective’ attribute or feature that conveys a devalued social identity within a social context. According to the same psychological formulations, the very identity ‘is then socially constructed by defining who belongs to a particular social group and whether a characteristic will lead to a devalued social identity in a given context. Major ([43], p. 505) also observes that stigma ‘is not located entirely within the stigmatised person but occurs with a social context that defines an attribute as devaluing’. Corrigan and Watson [44] identify social elements such as ‘collective representations (cultural stereotypes, perceived social hierarchies and socio-political ideology) activated by cognitive primes (information from the situation) that influence whether the stigma encountered is appraised as legitimate or illegitimate’.

6. Data presentation and analysis

The following sections present the English-Xitsonga translated extracts from a health leaflet commissioned by Soul City, Institute Health and Development Communication on HIV & AIDS and Treatment. The sampled data are used to investigate the phraseological units and terminological ontology as compared to the source meaning. The argument will be supported by providing brief definitions and descriptions of the sampled words based on the impact they make in a translation context. This approach will help determine the direction of term specificity and axiological values as related to the Vatsonga societal structures and the terminological ontology itself.

6.1 Abortion

English (ST)	Xitsonga (TT)	Back translation/gloss	Xitsonga term	Suggested Xitsonga term
Abortion is not the best option for a pregnant woman who is HIV positive.	Ku xixa ndzhwalo wa vuyimana a hi leswinene eka hinkwaswo eka leswi wansati wa muyimana loyi a nga na xitsongwatsongwana xa HIV a nga hlawulaka eka swona.	To allow dropping off of the luggage of pregnancy of a pregnant woman who has the virus of HIV is not the best option she can choose from.	Abortion > Ku xixa ndzhwalo wa vuyimana (‘dropping off of a luggage of pregnancy’).	Abortion > nxixo (‘procured abortion’)

Reproduction among the Vatsonga is used as one of the tools to gauge the functioning of their marriage. The word ‘abortion’ is frowned upon and the Vatsonga have adopted some paraphrases to refer to it, such as ‘ku xixa ndzhwalo wa vuyimana’ (‘to allow dropping off of a luggage of pregnancy’), meaning to abort deliberately or ‘ku kulula ndzhwalo wa vuyimana’ (‘to cause removal of pregnancy with a sliding movement, as wiping off perspiration with the side of the hand’), meaning to abort an unwanted baby without any hesitation. The equivalent Xitsonga noun for ‘abortion’ is nxixo (‘procured abortion’) but even most of the Xitsonga translators prefer to paraphrase as presented above. Indirect reference to ‘abortion’ may be a sign of disproval or resistance to the act among the Vatsonga or the stigma attached to the term.

Norris et al. [45] argue that abortion stigma and resulting barriers to safe abortion (such as state-level restrictions) reflect moral resistance to abortion, not just legal stances on the matter. Research conducted by scholars such as Gresh and Maharaj [46], Harries et al. [47], Mwaba and Naidoo [48], Patel and Johns [49], Patel and Kooverjee [50] and Wheeler et al. [51] suggest that moral acceptability of abortion is low and does not vary by gender, although many South Africans, particularly women, support the legal right to abortion.

The enactment of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (CTOP) Act 92 of 1996 [52], with its amendments, was embraced by some as a major step towards achieving sexual and reproductive health freedom but also frowned upon by other South Africans who viewed it as moral disaster or ‘murder’. As those who are for the enactment of the law appreciated that it was meant to repeal the restrictive and inaccessible provisions of the Abortion and Sterilisation Act, 1975 (Act No. 2 of 1975) [53], most of the South African religious groups were unhappy about its implementation. As the new law became one of the most contentious subjects in the country, it also saw some health practitioners distancing themselves from its implementation. The Act expresses that women should have absolute control over their reproductive capacities. No one, including their husbands, their doctors or any other law should be able to make this choice on their behalf. While Section 15(1) of Chapter 2 (The Bill of Human Rights) of South Africa’s Constitution [54], as amended, points out that ‘everyone has the right to freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief and opinion’, organisations such as the Christian Lawyers Association of South Africa argues that ‘the rights of medical practitioners are denied because they cannot refuse to abort a foetus even when their beliefs are against the termination of pregnancy’. Judging from most of the translation products of the Xitsonga translators, one may conclude that they align with the Christian Lawyers Association of South Africa’s argument which probably traps them in a cage of dysfunctional diction.

6.2 Euthanasia

English (ST)	Xitsonga (TT)	Back translation/gloss	Xitsonga term	Suggested term
People living with HIV do not go for treatment because they are afraid that health workers will tell other people that they are HIV positive. They probably are too sick for family members to help until they get tempted to request for euthanasia from their doctors.	Vanhu lava hanyaka na xitsongwatsongwana xa HIV a va yi ku ya kuma mpfuno wa vutshunguri hikwalaho ko chava leswaku vatirhi va swa rihanyo va nga byela vanhu van’wana leswaku va na xitsongwatsongwana xa HIV. Va nga ha kumeka va ri karhi va vabya swinene leswi nga ringaka vandyangu ku kombela madokodela ya vona ku tima moya wa vona nkarhi wu nga se fika.	People who live with the virus of HIV do not go and seek medical help because they are afraid that health workers will tell other people that they have the virus of HIV. They may be found very sick until the family members are tempted to request their doctors to extinguish their spirit before its time arrives.	Euthanasia > ku tima moya nkarhi wu nga se fika (to extinguish the spirit before its time arrives).	Euthanasia > hetisovutomi’ (‘finish off the life’).

Like the word ‘abortion’, ‘euthanasia’ which some refer to as ‘mercy killing’ or ‘good death’, is one of the contentious ethical dilemmas, in general, and in the medical practice world. One of the major concerns raised by scholars and researchers is that suicide is not a crime in South Africa, but euthanasia is. Garrard and Wilkinson ([55], p. 64) note that,

There has been a widely accepted euthanasia taxonomy comprising two key distinctions. Firstly, there is Rachels’ distinction between euthanasia performed by killing the patient (active euthanasia) and euthanasia performed by omitting to prolong the patient’s life (passive euthanasia). And secondly, cutting across this active-passive distinction is a distinction between voluntary, non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia, depending on whether the patients autonomously request their death, are unable competently to give consent, or are competent but have their views on the matter disregarded (or overruled).

The distinction between active and passive euthanasia is thought to be crucial for medical ethics. The idea is that it is permissible, at least in some cases, to withhold treatment and allow a patient to die, but it is never permissible to take any direct action designed to kill the patient. The debate about euthanasia made headlines as reported in various South African newspapers during 2019 when Prof Sean Davison was charged with three counts of murder. He received a suspended sentence of 8 years with house arrest and community service after a court-approved plea was reached in the Western Cape High Court. The same debate was fuelled by the assisted voluntary euthanasia that was brought to the attention of the South African judgement in Stransham-Ford vs. the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and Others (2015), Case No. 27401/15 [56]. Judge Fabricius of the North Gauteng High Court found that terminally ill Robin Stransham-applicant had a constitutionally protected right to die with dignity. The case was opposed by the Minister of Health and the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). The late South African emeritus Archbishop, Desmond Tutu, in whose honour Davison wants to fight to change the laws of assisted death argued that dying people should have the right to decide how and when they wanted to leave this life, [57]. The subject became controversial as arguments for it also came from religious figures such as Tutu.

In Xitsonga, euthanasia is ‘hetisovutomi’ (‘finish off the life’). This word is only applicable to animals. For example, when an ox is terminally ill, the Vatsonga instruct to finish it off by slaughtering it (‘ku hetisa’) out of pity to rescue it from the painful death. It is inapplicable and unspeakable for human beings. One of Vatsonga’s religious beliefs is that only God or gods or ancestors has/have the authority to dispose of life and death. Weighing these ethical principles with the relevant legislation leaves some Xitsonga translators in a dilemma.

6.3 Nymphomania

English (ST)	Xitsonga (TT)	Back translation/gloss	Xitsonga term	Suggested term
Nymphomania is not the source of HIV but having multiple sexual partners without using condoms increases your risk of getting HIV and other STIs.	Ku tshamela ro nyanyulekela swa timhaka ta masangu a hi xihlovo xa xitsongwatsongwana xa HIV kambe ku va na vanghana vo talatala hi tlhelo ra swa masangu handle ko tirhisa jasi ra mukon’wana swi engetela nxungeto wa ku kuma xitsongwatsongwana xa HIV na mavabyi man’wana ya tingana.	To be habitually excited for matters of sleeping mats is not the source of the virus of HIV but to have multiple friends for matters of sleeping mats without using the jacket of the in-law can increase the risk of getting the virus of HIV and other diseases of shyness.	Nymphomania > nyanyukelo wa swa timhaka ta masangu (excitement of matters of sleeping mats).	Nymphomania > mpfukelomaxelo (sexual addiction or hypersexual disorder).

Nymphomania in Xitsonga is ‘mpfukelomaxelo’ (sexual addiction or hypersexual disorder) and is considered uncontrollable engagement in sexual activity, usually referring to women who experience disruptive increases in sexual desire. The Vatsonga old ladies used to restrict all young Vatsonga ladies from taking chicken, eggs and fish and restricted them from drinking coffee with milk because they were considered aphrodisiacs. Cheese and butter were foreign to most of the Vatsonga families. Sexual addiction was highly frowned upon by the Vatsonga community, and nymphomania was regarded as a curse, hence assumed many names such as ‘vufevi’(prostitution), ‘vudabadaba’ (simpleton), ‘vudlakuta’ (dull wit), ‘vukheverexi’ (promiscuity), ‘vuhuza’ (fornication), to mention a few. Most of the Vatsonga Christians employ circumlocution, ‘nyama ya nkosi’ (meat for the funeral service), meaning meat prepared for mourners. The Vatsonga feed all mourners even when you are uninvited. A person with nymphomania is likened to the meat prepared for mourners. This demonstrates the challenge of defining the term, ‘nymphomania’ clearly. Swaleha et al. ([58], p. 187) note that the term, ‘nymphomania’ is marred with dissent or criticism among researchers, scholars and clinicians. When defining the term, ‘nymphomania’, Swaleha et al. ([58], p. 187) remark that, ‘It is characterised by an unquenchable urge to engage in repeated sexual contact with many partners without a deep emotional involvement. The sexual drive is unvarying, voracious, impetuous and unrestrained. Levine and Stern ([59], p. 316) define nymphomania in three distinct elements, namely, ‘marked increase in sexual drive; extremely frequent partner sexual behaviour; promiscuity’. All these definitions, including that of the Vatsonga, imply a disruptive increase in sexual desire. If the Vatsonga translators opt for ‘nyama ya nkosi’ (meat for the funeral service), as explained above, the term, ‘nymphomania’ loses its essence.

6.4 Contraception

English (ST)	Xitsonga (TT)	Back translation/gloss	Xitsonga term	Suggested term
Contraception is highly recommended for sexual partners who are HIV positive. Remember to use condoms every time you have sex.	Ku sivela mbeleko swi bumabumeriwa swinene ngopfu eka vanghana va swa timhaka ta masangu lava nga na xitsongwatsongwana xa HIV. Tsundzuka ku tirhisa majasi ya mukon’wana mikarhi hinkwayo loko u tinghenisa eka swa timhaka ta swa masangu.	To prevent pregnancy is very highly recommended to friends who are related for matters of sleeping mats with the virus of HIV. Remember to use jackets of the in-law every time you engage in matters of sleeping mats.	Contraception > nsivelambeleko (pregnancy prevention).

Contraception (‘nsivelambeleko’ or ‘ku sivela mbeleko’ > to prevent pregnancy intentionally in Xitsonga) is one of the sensitive topics among the Vatsonga. Those who have the guts to talk about the intentional prevention of pregnancy only advocate for abstinence or virginity. The religious beliefs of the Vatsonga prescribe that sexual intercourse is only intended for recreating children and for re-creational nature, and nothing less or more. Engaging in sexual intercourse for pleasure and fun is both taboo and immoral among the Vatsonga, and therefore, the concept of contraception is foreign. The Vatsonga consider contraception as a ticket to destroy future generations and tantamount to abortion. The Vatsonga Christians’ message is that sex is a wonderful gift from God that should be enjoyed within the bond of marriage to continue with God’s creation and should not be abused through contraception and abortion. Traditionally and culturally, the Vatsonga believe that it is only after the rituals to unite have been performed, would a couple be allowed to have sex with the intention to produce children.

6.5 Masturbation

English (ST)	Xitsonga (TT)	Back translation/gloss	Xitsonga term	Suggested term
Having many sexual partners increases your risk of getting HIV and other STIs. Yes, you can masturbate and have an orgasm.	Ku va na vanghana vo tala hi tlhelo ra swa masangu swi engetela nxungeto wa ku kuma xitsongwatsongwana xa HIV na vuvabyi bya tingana byo hambanahambana.	To have multiple friends	Masturbation > vutinyanyuri bya swirho swa le xihundleni (self-excitement of private parts)	masturbation > nchokocho (masturbation).

Religiously, most of the Vatsonga associate masturbation (‘nchokocho’ or ku chokocha’ > to masturbate in Xitsonga) with a mad person or one possessed by evil spirits. Some do not even want to talk about it because they think is a way of attracting demons or evil spirits and/or bad luck.

In his seminal book, Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation, Laqueur [60] demonstrates how the concept of masturbation is loaded with contrasted meanings and the readers’ attitudes. As the title says it all, masturbation is the act of arousing oneself sexually by manual stimulation of the genitals, and some readers consider it a ‘deviant’ sexual practice, private sex pronounced as a form of ‘self-pollution’ ([60], p. 13), a threat to moral integrity, fictitious whose pleasure is ‘a sham version of real pleasure’, ‘virtual reality orgasm’ ([60], p. 220). According to Laqueur ([60], p. 210), other readers consider masturbation as “a seductively and addictively easy transgression, an excessive, self-suffering practice of which anyone could have as much as one wanted and which could neither be sated nor moderated”. Generally, many consider masturbation as “a mercantilist’s dream and a moralist’s nightmare” Laqueur ([60], p. 224). Contrary, some readers consider masturbation as “a healthy and liberating practice, medically benign” and argue that, beyond masturbation, becomes a means of “reclaiming the self from the regulatory mechanisms of civil society and the patriarchal sexual order” Laqueur ([60], p. 277). It is considered “a sign of self-control” Laqueur ([60], p. 420).

7. Conclusions

This chapter did not focus on the argument for or against the contested ethical concepts in the world conceptualised their stigma within the translation world. The main bone of contention centred on the stigma of the ‘deviant concepts’. The study explored the contested ethical concepts as some of the cultural constraints that can have deficient effects on Xitsonga translator’s choice of linguistic systems.

Generally, the sampled English fixed constructs are rendered in Xitsonga as phrases. The Xitsonga translators shy away from fixed constructs and opt for circumlocution in the form of phrases. The generic-discursive nature adopted by Xitsonga translators will not contribute towards a clearly defined terminology approach. The Xitsonga translators should note that dealing with cultural items in translation requires a sociolinguistic vision for a better understanding of the nature of words and improving the target reader’s academic proficiency. Translation is an exercise of culture-specific terms appropriation or a catalyst of an invention of another culture.

It is a fact that South Africa is a constitutional democracy in which target readers hold different opinions and that some do not share religious beliefs or values and therefore should not dictate such to them. The factor of stigmatisation and the ethical dilemma of the so-called ‘deviant’ concepts have the potential to limit Xitsonga translators’ dimension of diction profoundly. Translators should operate outside of the religious cage and not endorse specific religions in their noble service. Xitsonga translators’ should be inspired by the primary duty of translators which is to promote the ‘readership good’, meaning that the target text should be intended to benefit the target readership. Xitsonga translators should not succumb to a people’s predominant beliefs, attitudes, values, ideals and sentiments but share the same message and essence with the target readership as enjoyed by the source readership. The study recommends that translation training programmes should also cater for modules that create the environment for translation students to learn terminology and develop a better attitude and understanding of what constitutes ‘obscene’ language and why they will sometimes be obliged to use it.