The Challenges of Translating Scientific and Technical Terms from English into Fulfulde

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to examine the unique challenges posed by translating scientific and technical terms from English into Fulfulde, including the lack of appropriate terminology, the difficulty of finding suitable synonyms, and the problems posed by the globalised technology. Oral Interview and Questionnaires were used to elicit data for this study, and the population of the study was drawn from different organisations. The data presentation and analysis were done descriptively. Ultimately, the chapter analysed the challenges of translating scientific and technical terms into Fulfulde and the strategies that can be employed to ensure culturally appropriate and technically accurate translations. The strategies for overcoming these challenges include the use of bilingual research teams, the development of specialised dictionaries, and/or the upgrading of the bilingual dictionaries to integrate the new terminology needed for the translation programmes. For accurate and successful translation to be achieved, interested individuals, national and international organisations as well as non-governmental organisations need to be involved in undertaking the aforementioned strategies, so that there would be a harmonised form of Fulfulde dialects to use universally in all formal situations such as education and communication. However, such a project seems to be capital intensive and so cannot be handled by an individual.

1. Introduction

Translation is not only important but also necessary in the multilingual globe. Because translation bridges the gaps between different languages and cultures, so that speakers of different languages and cultural affiliations can communicate and share information, knowledge, concepts, ideas, customs, traditions, and values that originate from languages and cultures other than their own. Translation activity from one language to the other implies an examination of their mutual translatability; widespread practice of interlingual communication and particularly translating activities must be kept under constant scrutiny by linguistic science [1].

This research identified and analysed the various challenges faced in translating scientific and technical terms from English into Fulfulde. This includes the difficulties in understanding and using the language correctly, as well as the cultural and linguistic complexities of the language. In addition, it also explores the methods, strategies, and tactics for effectively translating scientific and technical terms from English into Fulfulde.

Fulfulde is the language of the Fulɓe. It is a member of the West Atlantic languages in the Niger-Congo family and it is spoken mostly in West Africa. The language has long served as an important medium in education, mass communication, and the social media, as well as a course of study in many institutions of higher learning.

According to Simsons and Charles [2], it is spoken by more than 27 million people. It is one of the African languages and one of the most widely spoken languages in West Africa sub-region [3, 4, 5]. Greenberg [6] genetically classified it as a member of West Atlantic family of Niger-Congo phylum, and it falls under North of West Atlantic.

The language has diverse and remarkable dialects but relatively mutually intelligible across West Africa sub-region. It is called Pulaar in Senegal and Pular in Guinea, but Fulfulde in other countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, irrespective of variety (see Refs. [3, 7]). Similarly, Usman et al. [8] observe that: “etymologically derived from the word Pullo, or Fulɓe, many different terms are used by different ethnic groups to address the Pullo. The Wolof called them Pel, the Hausa call them Fulani and their language Fulatanci. Kanuri of Borno call them Fulata.” Many other terms are used by many other ethnic groups to refer to the people and their language. However, the native terms, Fulɓe and Fulfulde which means the people and their language respectively, are mostly adopted and used in the contemporary literature of the language.

From Senegal in West Africa down to Central Africa Republic, there are different varieties of the language that are spoken with some remarkable features that are peculiar to certain geographical areas [9]. So, Arnott [3] identifies six major dialects of Fulfulde across the sub-Saharan Africa. However, Ka [10] identifies three Fulfulde dialects in the Atlantic region of western Africa and groups them into three dialect blocs. The first bloc of Fuutankoore includes Mauritania to Senegal-North, Fuuta, Gambia, and Casamance to some extent. The second bloc speaks jeerinkoore which embraces Senegalese Plateau, from Caatli in the west, Cape Verde, and buundu in the East, cutting across central parts of Senegal-North and Senegal-South. The third Bloc of South Fulfulde consists of fuladu-Gaaɓu zone extending to the South and the South-East up to Guinea Bissau and Guinea Conakry.

While Apel [11] distinguishes 10 main Fulfulde dialects across the Fulophone countries, Girei [12] earlier identifies more than 14 remarkable dialects in Nigeria alone but observes that there is no clear-cut demarcation for the dialects.

However, as the language continues to evolve and adapt to survive the global changes, coupled with the language diversity in terms of dialectal variation, it is becoming increasingly difficult to translate scientific and technical terms from English into the language in ways that are both accurate and culturally appropriate. Hence, the motivation for this study is to look into the problem and find possible means of solution.

2. Translation problems

Translation experts identified many problems that hinder successful translation. Ghazali ([13], p. 1) observed that ‘problems of translation are caused by grammar, words, style and sounds of the Source Language…’ Ibrahim [14] classifies translation problems into four: pragmatic, cultural, linguistic, and text specific translation problem, respectively. However, in the course of his presentation, he unbundles the four classes as follows: discourse problems, idioms, collocations, transliteration, culture-related problems, technical-related problems, phonological problems, lexical problems, and stylistic problems. Sasi [15] summarises the implications of translation problems into three: loss of meaning, addition of meaning and skewing of meaning. However, this paper reviews translation problems under three major sub-headings. They are: grammatical, cultural, and translation proposal problem, respectively, as well as the solution to the translation problems.

2.1 Grammatical problems

Though the concept of grammar could be one, the term grammar is defined differently by different authors based on their perception. Matthews ([16], p. 163) defines the term grammar as ‘any systematic account of the structure of a language; the patterns that it describes; the branch of linguistics concerns with such patterns’. Similarly, Syal and Jindal ([17], p. 69) see grammar as ‘an attempt to discover certain patterns in language structure, an attempt to classify words and sentences, and then to deduce some rules’. In the same vein, Denham and Lobeck ([18], p. 9) describe it as ‘the set of rules a speaker knows that allow him or her to produce and understand sentences in the language’.

Therefore, in translation, more often than not, the grammatical difference between the SL (source language) and the TL (target language) affects the semantic implication of the translated material. Jakobson ([1], p. 158) opines that ‘if some grammatical category is absent in a given language, its meaning may be translated into this language by lexical means’. Grammatical problems may include lexical problems such as literal meaning, synonyms, polysemy, collocations, idioms, proverbs, metaphors, technical terms, and proper names [19]. According to Sasi ([15], p. 19) translation ‘is more than a triple matching of words, grammatical structures, and cultural contexts – a complex process’. She sees translation as a creative writing that involves reading and writing, which varies according to translators. In every translation, there are different challenges, and grammatical problems are some of them. Catford [20] observes that there are two areas of untranslatability in translation, and linguistic is one of them. So, Sasi ([15], p. 20) observes that the linguistic untranslatability is due to the absence of lexical or syntactical substitutes in the TL, and she outlines three negative aspects of the problem as follows:

1. Literal correspondences—dangerously misleading.

2. Manufactured expressions—not correct correspondences.

3. Borrowing—deceptive correspondences

Though the use of any of the above has been identified as a serious problem in the general use, their application to particular selective texts may produce a good and acceptable translation. So, the difficulty is that some words and some grammatical categories may not have equivalence in the TL, and thus the linguistic untranslatability.

2.2 Cultural problems

Translation of any kind involves some cultural implications, because languages of people are not only parts of their cultures but also the embodiments of their cultures. So, there is no way we can talk of translation without relating it to culture. Since cultures are as diverse as the nations, so many problems are encountered during any translation. Ginter ([21], p. 43) sees translation ‘as an act of culture-specific communication’. There are so many cultural translation problems but common ones include differences in specific habits, expectations, norms, and other behaviour [14]. He also observes that the main problem for the translator is how to comply with cultural issues of the two languages, especially the issues of priority of the two cultural aspects. That is the culture of the SL and the culture of the TL. The priority of the SL culture is regarded as foreignization and that of the TL as domestication, but when the translation is compromised as a combination of the two cultures, it results into a hybrid.

That is why Sasi ([15], p. 20) states that ‘translation involves far more than replacement of lexical and grammatical items between languages and as can be seen in the translation of idioms and metaphors’. She maintains that there are words with cultural roots that cannot be translated from one language into another with a different culture. However, the translator has to bridge the cultural gap between the two languages by reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalents of the source language message, in terms of meaning and style. But this relatively simple statement requires careful evaluation of several seemingly contradictory elements [22]. Culture is very wide and is more than intellectual development as reflected in the arts, but also has to do with common factual knowledge, political institutions, education, history and current affairs as well as religion and customs [see Ref. [21]].

So, it is already observed by many scholars that the process of translation may involve cultural elements that cannot be translated directly, due to the fact that some cultural concepts and practices of the SL may not exist in the TL context. Therefore, it is duty bound on the translator to be conversant with the cultures of both SL and TL. Ignorance of either culture can affect the information and render the translation unsuccessful, a case referred to as cultural untranslatability. The cultural untranslatability is due to the fact that there are some cultural concepts and practices of the SL that may not exist in the TL text. However, if the linguistic and cultural differences between the SL and the TL are least, one should expect to encounter the least number of serious problems [23]. She further argues that it is obvious at certain points that the conflict between content and form (or meaning and manner) will be acute, and that one or the other must give way.

According to Sasi ([15], p. 22), ‘cultural untranslatability is due to the absence of a relevant situational feature in the TL culture for the SL Text’. Though translation materials are divided into translatable and untranslatable, knowledge of the literature and culture of the involved languages as well as the application of relevant methods to different relevant text can reduce the comprehension gap of the translated text.

2.3 Problems of the translation proposals

Though there are many attempts by different organisations or agencies to translate scientific and/or technical terms of particular fields, such attempts were either dialectally constrained or restricted to the confinement of particular national borders. One of such proposals is that of National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) in Nigeria. Around 1999-2000, the commission prepared and published some Fulfulde text books for primary 1–3 in accordance with the national policy on education based on the proposal. The proposal consists of mathematical and scientific terms for the basic primary curriculum from which relevant junior primary textbooks were developed for the Nomadic primary schools of northern Nigeria.

The proposal is divided into twelve parts, and five of them are mathematics or arithmetic related sub-fields which consist of three hundred and twenty-nine (329) words. While the ‘scientific terms’ is the sixth part and consists of ninety-six (96) words. The seventh and eight parts deal with animals. The former that deals with groups of animals consists of seven (7) words, while the latter deals with mammals and consists of twenty-five (25) words. The ninth and tenth parts deal with parts of the human body and consist of twenty-two (22) and forty-eight (48) words, respectively. The eleventh part deals with birds and consists of fourteen (14) words, while the twelfth part deals with insects and consists of twenty-four (24) words.

However, apart from the first six parts that deal with mathematical and scientific terms, all the remaining six parts deal with common words that are available in the TL. About 50% of the words in the first six parts are technical. Though one method of translation (word-for-word) was used to translate them all, different processes were applied: borrowing, coinage, and calquing were used. Even the borrowed words have different shapes in the TL, because some were adapted in accordance with the grammar of the TL, while some were simply adopted. More often than not, more than one words are presented as equivalence of a term of the SL. Moreover, the translation was restricted to Nigerian varieties of the TL and therefore may not be applicable to other varieties of the language in other Fulophone countries.

A similar work was done in the USA by the Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education and Office of Higher Education, Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages, the State Education Department and the University of the State of New York. The work was on science-based school subjects that include: Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Science, and Social Studies. each with glossary in Fulfulde (but in the western dialects). These and any other similar works are translated into particular dialects, which restrict them to particular group of Fulfulde speakers of particular geographical areas.

2.4 Proposed solutions to the translation problems

Different solutions are suggested to different translation problems. Ghazali [13] suggests that solution to translation problems should be based on the types of text, context, readership, and grammatical differences. While Sasi [15] identifies five principles that translators should adhere to. They are: a great understanding of the TL, an excellent control of the SL, awareness of the subject matter, a deep knowledge of the etymological and idiomatic correlation of the two languages, and delicate common sense of when to metaphrase and when to paraphrase. She also suggests that a researcher should explore new areas that are related to the literature in order to make the translated text more natural and meaningful.

However, different methods can be applied to different SL texts based on their nature to get better translated TL text. There are different commonly used methods of translation, which include: word-for-word translation, literal translation, faithful translation, semantic translation, adaptation, free translation, idiomatic translation, communicative translation, textual translation, creative translation, dynamic equivalence, etc., and appropriate application of the methods can cater for the unnecessary problems (see Refs. [13, 14, 24]).

So, to this regard, Ghazali [13] identifies seven pairs of the translation methods. It was observed that each of the methods can yield better results if it is applied to a particular appropriate text. Therefore, by implication, familiarity and appropriate application of the above methods to the right translation text by the translator can solve some of the problems and enhance the quality of the information in the translated text. This is so, because there are four basic requirements in translation: (1) making sense, (2) conveying the spirit and manner of the original, (3) having a natural and easy form of expression, and (4) producing a similar response [23]. To this effect, Jakobson ([1], p. 158) suggests that ‘whenever there is deficiency, terminology may be qualified and amplified by loan-words or loan-translations, neologisms or semantic shifts, and finally, by circumlocutions’. That is to say you can reproduce a message of a given language into the other, by making some grammatical and lexical adjustments [22].

Though equivalence problem can be approached qualitatively, that is to say, every SL item may have its equivalence in the TL, a case referred to as ‘general textual equivalence’, a quantitative approach (probability scale) can be an alternative (see Ref. [20]).

According to Catford [20] who illustrated this approach in French to English translation, the quantification can be expressed in the actual figures, or percentage in the following formula: (SL X = TL x, 100%). This formula is regarded as a probability scale where the % is interpreted as numbers ‘1’ and ‘0’. The numbers are the key detective elements of the probability scale where 1 means ‘absolute certainty’ and 0 means ‘absolute impossibility’. This formula is used statistically to detect occurrences of particular words in the SL text and their equivalence in the TL. For any occurrence of a particular word in the SL text, there may be an equivalent word in the TL, then the formula reads ‘SL X = TL x, 1’ as the probability indicator of absolute certainty. That is to say, the SL word has its textual equivalent in the TL text. Or the occurrence of a particular word in the SL text may not have an equivalent word in the TL text, then the formula reads ‘SL X = TL x, 0’ as the probability indicator of absolute impossibility. That is to say, the SL word has no textual equivalent in the TL text.

So, through this approach, large materials of translated text such as narratives, discourse, and any other large cultural, scientific or technical translated text can be authenticated by quantifying the occurrences of some special or specific words of the SL as translated in the TL text, using the above formula.

Moreover, computer-based storage and retrieval system can also assist translators to some extent, more especially for word to word and literal translation, by using ‘bitext word alignment’ or ‘a translation memory’ of computer assisted translation tools, managements, and systems (see Ref. [25]).

3. Research method

The research work was designed to obtain as much information as possible about the real problem of translating scientific and technical terms from English into Fulfulde by way of combining two research instruments, that is questionnaire and interview. Therefore, the main methods of data collection that are used for this research in the course of elicitation of the data include the followings:

1. Structured Questionnaires;

2. Unstructured Interviews.

So, we have two categories of data from primary sources. In our data analysis, we used both descriptive and numerical approaches. The questionnaires were administered to get samples of translated scientific and technical terms either as already accepted and used terms in the respective domains or as proposals. The oral interviews were conducted by the researchers in collecting and validating some of the data. The interviews focused mainly on the challenges faced by translators in the course of translation. Schools, colleges, universities, and mass media organisations were targeted as pools of data sources. The informants were asked questions generally about the difficulties of translating scientific and technical terms into Fulfulde and how to overcome them, as well as particular questions about some common terms of particular domains. Many translation experts and Fulfulde specialists were involved in the course of the research.

Ten (10) questionnaires were administered in seven (7) different national and international organisations (see Table 1), while five (5) translation experts and Fulfulde specialists were interviewed. The informants include school teachers, college and university lecturers, as well as journalists from different mass media organisations.

Organisation	Distributed	Retrieved	Retrieved %
ABU Zaria	1	1	5%
BRTV Maiduguri	1	1	5%
Min. of Lower Educ., Cameroon	1	0	0%
DW	1	1	5%
FCE Yola	5	3	15%
GDSS Gurin	1	1	5%
RFI	2	0	0%
TSBS Jalingo	2	0	0%
University of Dakar	1	0	0%
University of Maiduguri	2	2	10%
Voice of Nigeria	3	1	5%
Total	20	10	50%

Table 1.

Administered questionnaires.

In the data analysis, Kumar [26] was adapted and applied to both questionnaires and interviews for accurate and effective interpretation of the data, a simple statistical procedure of calculating the percentages as presented in the tables below, as well as the verbatim quotations of the informants’ responses.

4. Data analysis

The data analysis was based on quantification of the main information from the questionnaires in tabular forms by providing the prevalence and significance of the problems as calculated percentages, as well as on the identified themes that emerged from the responses derived from the in-depth interviews in accordance with the interview guide, and by quoting some of the responses in verbatim format in the analysis of the interview.

4.1 The equivalence problem

Questionnaire is one of the instruments used to elicit data for the study. Twenty copies of the questionnaires were distributed in 11 different organisations. However, due to the time constraint, only 10 copies were retrieved from the informants as you can see in Table 1 below.

Each copy of the questionnaires contained 180 words to be translated into Fulfulde by a respondent. So, the words were grouped into 12. Apart from the last group that was miscellaneous, all the other 11 groups were categorised according to domains. The domains were: disciplines, agriculture, education, health, law, ICT, mass communication, politics, science, technical, and transport.

As we can see in Table 1, 20 questionnaires were distributed to 11 different organisations. However, only 10 of them were retrieved. The 10 retrieved questionnaires constitute 50% of the total distributed copies. Now, the analysis was based on the 10 copies, but the percentage of the equivalence was calculated over 180 words in the questionnaire.

Since there were 180 words in each questionnaire, the equivalent words were expected to be provided by the respondents in two categories, one for the accepted or already available equivalent terms, and the other for the respondent’s proposed equivalent terms where there are no existing equivalent terms in Fulfulde readily available. A column was provided for each on the questionnaire. The tables are hereby used to indicate the quantified information for easy understanding of the prevalence of the problem and the significance of the gap. So, Table 2 presents calculated percentages of the individual respondents rather than the calculation itself. Each number against a respondent was divided by the total number of words in the questionnaire, that is 180 and multiplied by 100 to indicate the percentage of the so-called equivalence provided by a respondent.

Respondents	Existing equivalent terms	Proposed equivalent terms
A	63 = 35%	91 = 50.6%
B	19 = 11%	00 = 00%
C	25 = 14%	48 = 27%
D	27 = 15%	37 = 21%
E	77 = 43%	78 = 43.3%
F	33 = 18.3%	122 = 68%
G	00 = 00%	47 = 26.1%
H	40 = 22.2%	77 = 43%
I	70 = 39%	05 = 03%%
J	66 = 37%	17 = 9.4%

Table 2.

Percentages of the equivalent terms by respondents.

If we study Table 2 carefully, we can see that the table has three columns. The first column contains the 10 respondents who are labelled with letters A–J for anonymity. The second column contains the number of existing or accepted equivalent terms available to the respondent on that particular raw, while the third column consists of the number of proposed equivalent terms by the respondent on that particular raw. Each raw contains information from the respondent on that raw, and against each number of the equivalent terms by a particular respondent, is the percentage of the equivalence available to the respondent.

The highest number of existing or accepted equivalent terms by individual respondents is 77, which is 43% by respondent E, and the highest number of proposed equivalent terms by individual respondents is 91, which is 50.6% by respondent A. While the lowest number of existing or accepted equivalent terms by individual respondents is 19, which is 11% by respondent B, the lowest number of proposed equivalent terms by individual respondents is 17, which is 9.4% by respondent J.

Apart from the total number of individual figures and percentages, the total number of existing or accepted equivalent terms and the total number of proposed equivalent terms are also summed up and calculated in percentages. So, the total number of existing equivalent terms by the 8 respondents is 420 words, which is 29.2%, and that of the proposed equivalent terms by the 8 respondents is 522 words, which is 36.25%. Then, when the 36.25% of the proposed equivalent terms is added to the 29.2% of the existing equivalent terms, the total is 65.5%.

So, by implication, the study shows that availability of the equivalence of scientific and technical terms in Fulfulde is 65.5%. Therefore, the problem is the remaining gap, which is 34.5%. However, the problem is bigger and more serious than we could imagine. Two problems were identified in the analysis of the individual questionnaires. One, many Fulfulde translators and Fulfulde specialists do not know some of the existing Fulfulde equivalent terms. This is very serious for the fact that even people of the same organisation have different vocabulary of the Fulfulde equivalence of the scientific and technical terms. Two, both existing and proposed Fulfulde equivalent terms exhibit some features of the dialects of the respondents.

Though the general gap that represents the significance of the challenge is less than 40%, this can be the reality if and only if the dialectal and the idiosyncratic disparities are eliminated or harmonised. So, the challenges of translating scientific and technical terms are many as well as unique in their own ways. Some of the terms that were provided by some respondents have better substitutes by others. Therefore, there is need to overcome all these problems in order to have a universally accepted terminologies for that purpose.

4.1.1 Validation of the Fulfulde equivalent scientific and technical terms

The individually translated terms were tested in order to determine their functionality and validity as universal Fulfulde terms among the translation practitioners. Three undergraduate Fulfulde students of University of Maiduguri who had not participated earlier in the research work were given some samples of the Fulfulde equivalent scientific and technical terms that were translated earlier by the respondents to translate them back to the original language, that is English. The results were really surprising or amazing.

The presentation and analysis of the validation is the same as that of the questionnaires. Three questionnaires were selected randomly from the 10 analysed copies. However, the analysis was still done individually; that is, the percentage of the equivalence was calculated over the number of terms of each questionnaire. Since there were different numbers of Fulfulde equivalent terms in each questionnaire, the number of recovered English terms was multiplied by a hundred and divided by the total number of the Fulfulde terms in the second column. So, percentages of each respondent were calculated independent of the other two respondents. Table 3 presents the quantified information for easy understanding of the prevalence of the equivalence and the significance of the gap.

Respondents	Fulfulde equivalence	Original English concept	Recovered equivalence %	The remaining gap %
A	102	57	55.9	44.1
B	112	48	42.8	57.2
C	134	70	52.3	47.7
Total	348	175	50.3	49.7

Table 3.

Validation of the proposed Fulfulde terms.

Let us consider the table carefully. It has five columns, and the first column contains the three respondents who are labelled with letters A–C for anonymity. The second column contains the number of Fulfulde equivalent terms that were proposed by the respondents. The third column contains the number of validated original English equivalent terms by the three respondents, while the fourth and fifth columns contain the percentages of the second and third columns, respectively. Each raw contains information from the respondent on that raw. And the fourth column entitled ‘recovered equivalence %’ indicates the percentages of the authentic proposed terms with the same concepts or ideas as expressed in the original language, that is English. While the fifth column entitled ‘the remaining gap %’ indicates the percentage of the gap of the proposed terms which needs to be filled for the same concepts or ideas to be communicated effectively from the SL to the TL. The table indicates that respondent A has 57 out of 102 terms, which is 55.9% with a gap of 45 terms which is 44.1%, and respondent B has 48 out of 112 terms which is 42.8%, with a gap of 64 terms which is 57.2%, while respondent C has 70 out of 134 terms, which is 52.3% with a gap of 64 terms which is 47.7%.

Apart from the total number of individual figures and percentages, the total number of the Fulfulde equivalent terms and the total number of English recovered equivalent terms were also summed up and the percentage was calculated. So, the total number of Fulfulde equivalent terms by the three respondents is 348 terms, and that of the English recovered equivalent terms by the three respondents is 175 terms, which is 50.3% with a gap of 173 terms which is 49.7%. So, by implication, the analysis shows that authenticity of the proposed Fulfulde equivalence of the scientific and technical terms is 50.3%. Therefore, the problem is the remaining gap, which is 49.7%.

The results of the validation are really amazing. Practically speaking, validation of the proposed terms proved that there are two challenges with the proposed terms as we have stated earlier, that is dialectal and idiosyncratic features of the translators which serve as serious barriers to effective communication of these scientific and technical concepts and ideas to the average Fulfulde speakers. Then, collective proposal and agreement of the terms as well as universal enforcement of their use by the international Fulɓe elites is highly recommendable and necessary. By doing so, the dialects can be harmonised at least in the fields of science and technology and the idiosyncratic gaps can be reduced drastically when such a proposal is disseminated properly by official interventions and through the internet and social media platforms.

4.2 General issues about translating the scientific and technical terms

Issues bothering on the translation of the scientific and technical terms are discussed in this section under the following themes as derived from the responses of the informants based on the interview guide.

4.2.1 Problems of translating scientific and technical terms into Fulfulde

Everyone admits that there are serious challenges faced by all translators of scientific and technical terms from English into Fulfulde. Translators find it difficult to translate these terms because they are either new to them or they are symbols of particular concepts that do not exist in the culture, philosophy, and history of the Fulɓe. One of the respondents admits by saying this:

The challenge is; getting the exact words to translate the scientific words, or a description, because first, the scientific terms must be understood in their true content and then a replica, if it exists. And normally these scientific terms are quite new because they are 21^st century innovations.

Another respondent ascertained that there are challenges, and he explained what they are in the following statement: ‘I am facing a lot of challenges because Fulfulde either don’t have most of the Scientific and technical words or I don’t know them’. In the same vein, another informant stated that: ‘…those scientific and technical terms are hard to translate. Because to find a word that can substitute them in Fulfulde is always difficult’.

4.2.2 How scientific and technical terms are translated by individuals

Despite the difficulties of translating the scientific and technical terms, translators devise different means of translating them. One of the common ways by which these types of words are translated is by description. Since the terms have no accepted or known equivalence, the translators use descriptive means to create the idea or concept of the term in the mind of the average Fulfulde speaker. During the in-depth interviews a respondent said that:

Normally, if you dig into the culture of the Fulɓe and you could get something that describes the scientific term, then you use it. Where it does not exist, of course you are left with no choice than to understand the concept and then try to use descriptive terms of Fulfulde.

The descriptive method is used by most translators except in few cases where coinage or borrowing is resorted to, as stated by an informant: ‘I only create relevant words and add the scientific name to explain what I mean’. Sometimes translators coin or borrow a term but nativise it by applying relevant nominal features of Fulfulde grammar in accordance with the linguistic complexities of the language to it. To this regard, a respondent expressed that: ‘I find means of communicating them well. Sometimes I consider the nominal class of the terms’. Another respondent also said:

I always find the substitute of the word. … if there is a registered or agreed word, I would look for it first, if there is none, then I will look for the one that I can suggest and go with it.

4.2.3 How to develop Fulfulde equivalent to the scientific and technical terms

The in-depth interviews also resulted into advantageous suggestions on how to develop Fulfulde equivalence of the scientific and technical terms. One of the respondents attributed lack of the terms to failure of the concern stakeholders to organise meetings and conferences as and whenever the need arises. This is contained in the following words:

You see in some disciplines there is what they call standardisation, the 21^st century has brought with it means of uniting people whether online or other platforms, unfortunately, for quite sometimes, we have not had maybe like a conference in which the scientific terms will now be standardised.

He suggested further as follows:

So, the terms and scientific things that do come because they have just started, we don’t know where it is going to stop and it is virtually not going to stop. So, we must embrace it and then come together and use the technological platforms to get these terms standardised. It is easier these days I think than ever before, because we don’t need to travel to conduct a meeting. We can have online meetings… Then we collectively agree.

All the informants have similar views about how to develop the equivalent Fulfulde terms. One of them categorically stated that: ‘Our Fulfulde experts should look into the registered words and if there are ones that are suitable, they agree, then we can use them’.

4.2.4 Acknowledgement of the translation proposals

One of the serious challenges facing translators in various organisations is lack of availably recognised translation proposal to that regard. Only one respondent acknowledged the availability of a translation proposal which he described as inadequate. When he was asked about the proposals, he said: ‘Yes, I have come across proposals by individuals’. However, he admitted that, he cannot determine their acceptance by himself, because it needs a collective approach where scholars can debate and agree upon what to accept and use worldwide.

4.2.5 The responsibility of developing the Fulfulde equivalent terms

Another important issue and solution to the translation problems under study is the development of Fulfulde equivalent terms that can be accepted universally. One of the informants opined that, first, it is the responsibility of the International Fulɓe Union, that is Tabital Pulaaku International. They supposed to organise a conference and invite Fulfulde specialists to propose these terms.

However, all the informants have almost the same suggestion pertaining to the responsibility of developing the Fulfulde equivalent terms. An informant suggested that: ‘Many have to contribute in achieving this aim, first of all the Academia, media houses, and all Fulfulde Speakers’. Another informant charged all the concerned individuals and groups as follows:

All stakeholders, those in the academia, those in the informal sector - we have our Ulama in the informal sector - they know a lot, and then some of us are in the academia and some into other fields. …. So, it is not a one-man job or a specific target group work, all of us must come together.

4.2.6 Enforcement of the use of the translated terms

Proposal of the Fulfulde equivalent terms is one thing, and then, the encouragement or enforcement of the use of the terms in all relevant contexts by different individuals in different organisations is another. For such a proposal to be successful, the use of the proposed equivalent terms by translators, journalists, educationists, and authors has to be universally enforced in all the Fulophone countries. The document should then be circulated in all the relevant institutions and in all the internet sources across the globe, in both hard and soft copies. During the in-depth interview, one informant expressed that:

We have several platforms where people of like minds meet.…. Social media platforms and avenue of meeting people are quite many, avenues of advertising things are quite many. All critical stakeholders must take charge of this exercise. And the more we share, the more we spread, the more people get to know the existence of the scientific terms, and perhaps after a while the issue of standardisation will come up.

Another informant suggested that the use of the terms should be enforced:

Through congresses like International Fulfulde congress in which all the relevant stakeholders will be invited where the recommendations which will also contain the encouragement of the use of the new words should be considered.

So, the means of enforcing the use of the terms are many, but it is important we first promote the words as observed by a respondent during the interview: ‘The words can be enforced by promoting them among the translators and journalists or educationists’.

4.2.7 Considering the dialectal variant equivalent terms as synonyms

There are different equivalent scientific and technical terms in Fulfulde from different dialects or proposals. So, the variants can either be considered as synonyms or only one of them to be adopted as a standard form of an equivalent term in question. One of the informants said during the in-depth interview that: ‘Only when we come together and propose collectively on the issue’. However, most of the other informants suggested that the variants be considered as synonyms. An informant who holds this view said that: ‘We need to consider them as Synonyms for better understanding of all the speakers’. Another informant also expressed a similar view as follows:

At the moment, I think we can consider them as synonymous, because initially I mentioned the issue of dialectal differences, but then later on as time goes on, we could have standard forms.

4.2.8 Harmonisation of the Fulfulde dialects

Fulfulde has so many major dialects spoken in different geographical locations across Africa. So, how we can get harmony and universal acceptance of translation proposals across the Fulophone countries is a major concern.

Though all the informants, either directly or indirectly, suggested that there is need for the dialect harmony and the universal acceptance of the terms, some of them call for employment of caution in doing so. Because Fulɓe attach much importance to their linguistic affiliations. During the in-depth interview, one of the informants expressed his view about the harmonisation as follows:

That is going to be possible only if we now have a good number of the translated technical and scientific terms … all of us will continue to translate in our various dialects, but then the harmonisation and standardisation will have to take sometimes.

Another informant suggested that the harmonisation or standardisation of the dialects should be the same as the standardisation of the Fulfulde orthography that was done in Bamako 1966, in the following expression: ‘Through a meeting like the one held at Bamako in Mali, where the world Fulɓe met and agreed on how to write Fulfulde’.

4.2.9 The role of stakeholders and translation practitioners

It was observed that translation of the scientific and technical terms into Fulfulde on one hand, and standardisation of the Fulfulde dialects through the translated terms on the other, constitute a huge project that needs all hands of the concerned individuals and organisations on deck. However, since the project needs expertise, experience, interest, sacrifice, and funds, the labour of such a translation project has to be divided appropriately among the individuals and organisations for a successful exercise. One informant appealed for a collective approach by the stakeholders and the translation practitioners in the following expression:

There are experts and there are those who are new into the field, such a work should not be left to some individuals, it has to be approached collectively to agree on the appropriate terms for everybody to use.

Some informants observed that such a project is capital intensive; therefore, the monetary aspect of the project must be managed judiciously so that the translation practitioners should be kept encouraged in the discharge of their duty and the stakeholders should be satisfied in the achievement of their sponsorship target. One informant suggested that:

Well, everybody should be paid based on his contribution. You find, for example, somebody who is in the academia, maybe a professor, a doctor, stuff like that, yet you find somebody, maybe a B.Sc. holder or B.A holder who is a journalist. You find that the one that is with a lesser qualification does a lot of work perhaps more than the one with a higher qualification, depending on the exigencies of his duties and responsibilities. So, I think basically, people should be paid based on their expertise, based on their contribution, you know, not based on their qualification.

4.2.10 General solutions to the translation problems

The informants suggested various but relevant solutions to the problems of translating scientific and technical terms from English into Fulfulde. Generally, the solution is to get the Fulfulde-translated equivalent terms, but basically, the solutions are as diverse as the problems. Therefore, there is need for different approaches to the various challenges. So, to this regard, one informant opined that:

Our stakeholders have to sit down and help us sensitise (people) well about these technical and scientific words. Because there are so many people who can give their contribution but they don’t know where to take their contribution to. But if there is an open avenue for them to suggest and forward their contribution, that one can help.

Another informant observed that the approaches to the solution also face some challenges. As he expressed in the following:

Well, I think basically, I am also disturbed by the influx of more technical and scientific terms coming daily, or by hour or by second. And then because perhaps of the exigencies of one’s responsibility, with too many things to do, the time to sit down and then think so deeply to translate the terms and the encouragement perhaps from bigger organisations like UNICEF, UNDP, German language translators’ association, stuff like that are not forth-coming as often as possible. Then you find out that one is not motivated to give one’s optimal contribution in that regard.

Yet another informant observed that ‘interest’ is a key factor and should be considered in assigning any translation task to individuals and groups in the following expression:

What I will say here is that INTEREST is very Important, we need to Identify people or Fulɓe that have interest in the language to assign them with the responsibility of fixing the language in its proper position through using all means such us media houses, school, etc.

5. Conclusions

This study examines the challenges and potentials of translating scientific and technical terms from English into Fulfulde. The analysis drew on a corpus of scientific and technical terms identified from different sources including the ones that are commonly used in schools and media as well as on some suggestions of translation experts and language specialists through interview.

The study has found that Fulfulde suffers from a dearth of terms for scientific and technical concepts. As a result, the most common strategy for translating the common scientific and technical terms is to adapt or adopt English terms, creating a hybrid form of technical variety of Fulfulde that contains English loanwords. It was observed that there are so many technical and common Fulfulde words that are originally loanwords from other languages in contact with it. The most common languages from which Fulfulde borrowed include but not limited to Arabic, English, French, Hausa, Kanuri, Bambara, and Mande. Some of these loanwords that are adapted or adopted into Fulfulde can hardly be recognised by the average Fulfulde speakers who do not understand the SLs of such words as originally foreign words in the language, because Fulfulde has some peculiarities in its grammar by which it nativises most loanwords into its grammar to look or sound linguistically as natural as Fulfulde words.

The peculiar grammatical aspects of Fulfulde that are used as catalyst for mainstreaming the loanwords include: initial consonant alternation, noun class system, and the morphophonological complexity of the language. This is so, for the fact that, some loan terms may be adapted using a literal translation approach, but this can be complicated by the morphophonological complexity of the language. Moreover, coinage is identified as a good approach to the issue.

The findings from this study can have significant implications for the future of Fulfulde. By understanding the challenges and developing better methods for successful translation, this research could contribute to a greater appreciation of science and technology among Fulfulde speakers and could help to bridge the gap between scientific and technical terms and Fulfulde as well as the culture of the speakers.

The study concludes that there is an urgent need for better resources and more creative and systematic approaches to term creation. This includes the use of bilingual research teams, the development of specialised dictionaries, and/or the upgrading of the bilingual dictionaries to integrate the new terminology needed for the translation programmes. It may also include creating online or social media platforms to facilitate the collection, evaluation, and dissemination of scientific and technical terms in Fulfulde. Such platforms would provide valuable resources that can help the language to continue to evolve, adapt, and survive the global changes in ways that are both technically accurate and culturally appropriate in the linguistic market, so as to serve as a relevant medium in education, mass communication, and the information and communication technology (ICT), as well as a course of study with fully developed scientific and technical terminologies to be used universally in the institutions of higher learning.

The challenges of translating technical and scientific terms from English into Fulfulde are more serious than we used to imagine them. Therefore, it needs an urgent and serious attention from translation experts, Fulfulde specialists, relevant government agencies, non-governmental organisations, and more importantly, UN intervention. Since UN succeeded in standardisation of Fulfulde orthography through UNESCO held at Bamako in Mali, (1966), it can also help to solve this translation problem by harmonising the Fulfulde dialects through developing an international document or book of the technical and scientific terms that can be accepted by all the dialect speakers and be used universally in schools, colleges, universities, mass media, ICT, and above all in the social media.

Acknowledgments

We sincerely acknowledge the contribution and assistance of Mal. Bindowo Mohammed, Mal. Isa Usman Jalo, Mal. Usman Yaya, and Alhaji Dahiru Abubakar Gurin for their efforts towards this work. We appreciate their moral, intellectual, and financial support in the elicitation of the data for the research.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Thanks

We would like to thank Dr. Abubakar Abba Kaka for his support by giving us access to constant power supply, space, and time to do our work conveniently in his office.