Can academic/scientific discourse really be translated across English and African languages?

This paper reports on a study exploring the translatability of academic discourse from English into an African language, viz. isiZulu. The focus is on how translations impact on the core meaning of a source text. Extracts from both languages were selected from expository academic discourse contained in two curriculum documents for the mathematics and science learning areas. Data was obtained from back-translations of the primary translations into the African language, and from reflective feedback during interviews with the translators on their use of translation strategies. The translators were selected according to their experience as professional translators and their level of English proficiency at an academic level. The translations were analysed within a framework of contrastive text analysis with a focus on both function and form. The framework was based on models drawn from translation theory and functional grammars. Findings indicate problems of word-coinage versus borrowing, shifts in word class, paraphrasing and inadequate knowledge of full collocational range. It is concluded that the translation of academic content needs to be a consultative and participatory process with closer collaboration among curriculum specialists, translators and teachers.