Race, resistance and translation: the case of John Buchan�s UPrester John

Abstract

In postcolonial translation studies, increasing attention is being given to the asymmetrical relationships between dominant and indigenous languages. This paper argues that John Francis Cele�s UPrester John (1958), is not simply a subordinated and obeisant translation of John Buchan�s adventure thriller Prester John (1910), but a more complex form of textuality that is both oppositional and complicit with the workings of apartheid. Although Cele�s translation reproduces Buchan�s story of a daring young Scotsman who single-handedly quells a black nationalist uprising, it also ameliorates the novel�s racist language and assumption. Cele�s translation practice is examined in the context of apartheid publishing and Bantu education.