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Establishment—Nationalist Incentive

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Power and Ideology in South African Translation

Part of the book series: Translation History ((TRHI))

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Abstract

Early twentieth-century translation practices can be linked to various forms of nationalism. Afrikaner nationalism was manifested through a surge of translation into Afrikaans, meant to elevate the language and display cultural status. Translations conducted under Gandhi at the newspaper Indian Opinion were among the first to display resistance to racial oppression by importing subversive ideologies which supported Indian nationalism. Sol Plaatje’s literary translations were similarly nationalistic, though more subtly resistant, and were relegated to the literary periphery along with the translated works of other black authors, such as Thomas Mofolo. Translation practices began to display a degree of systematisation in response to society’s increasing functional differentiation and the emergence of a translation system is seen.

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Botha, M. (2020). Establishment—Nationalist Incentive. In: Power and Ideology in South African Translation. Translation History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61063-0_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61063-0_5

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-61062-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-61063-0

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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