Loss and Gain in Translating Igbo Proverbs into English
- Emeka J. Nwosu1(corresponding author)
- Halima Bello2
- Grace O. Adeyemi3
- 1Department of Foreign Languages, Sample University (SAMPLE)
- 2Department of Translation Studies, Sample University (SAMPLE)
- 3Centre for Language Studies, Sample University (SAMPLE)
- *Corresponding author
- Pages
- pp. 42–63
- DOI
- Assigned once JHTS joins Crossref
- Received
- 28 November 2026
- Accepted
- 16 February 2027
- Published
- 28 March 2027
- Licence
- OA CC BY 4.0
Abstract
Proverbs are among the hardest items to translate, because their force depends on shared cultural knowledge. Using a corpus of 120 Igbo proverbs and their published English translations, this study classifies the strategies translators use, from literal rendering to substitution with an English proverb. Literal translation preserves imagery but often loses the proverb’s pragmatic point, while substitution keeps the point and sacrifices the culture. The article proposes a combined strategy of literal rendering with a brief gloss, and tests it with student readers.
Cite this article
Nwosu, E. J., Bello, H., & Adeyemi, G. O. (2027). Loss and Gain in Translating Igbo Proverbs into English. Journal of Humanities and Transcultural Studies, 1(1), 42–63. http://localhost:3000/articles/translating-proverbs-loss-and-gain