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

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Date

2011

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Taylor & Francis (Routledge)

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.

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Keywords

Buchan, John, John, Prester, Cele, John Francis, Translation, Bantu education, Zulu literature, Resistance, Race

Citation

Wittenberg, Hermann. (2011). Race, resistance and translation: the case of John Buchan�s UPrester John. English Studies in Africa, 54(1): 1-10