By
Obododimma Oha
I taught that I had become an expert in the English language and that I could translate just any expression in English to Igbo. I did not know that I was wrong and that some words of English would mess me up. That reality dawned on me today when I tried to translate some expressions in a friend’s WhatsApp share into Igbo.
The original expressions were:
A herd of cows
A flock of chickens
A school of fish
A gaggle of geese
A pride of lions
A murder of crows
An exaltation of doves
A congress of owls
A parliament of baboons
Now, do not quickly think about baboons, especially if you are a Nigerian. Just wait and see how I wrestled with the translation.
“A herd of cows”! That reminds one about “herdsmen.” Terror! That is scary. AK-47 and all that. Anyway, the translation. Cows would be “ehi,” but this “herd.” I rendered it as “izugbe ehi” but one can see that it is a bad translation. Not all cows are there. So, we cannot use “izugbe" or "all." It could even be seen as an exaggeration. Oh, I am sweating already in my translation. No wonder translation may be a kind of transgression in some quarters!
The closest Igbo people who are predominantly not cattle-rearing would think of is "igwe ehi" ("a multitude of cows" or "a gathering of several cows"). But "igwe" is not restricted or reserved for cows; it could also be used in referring to birds. Igbo speakers could say: "igwe nnụnụ" ("a gathering of birds") or "igwe atụrụ" ("a gathering of many sheep"). So, "igwe" presents a case of convergence, for many things have just one way of expressing them.
Igbo ancestors probably did not see cows congregating or think of the possibility of having cattle colonies and routes, and that idea of a “herd” hardly occurred to them. Anyway, in the interest of cattle colonies, let us find an emergency translation equivalent in an expression like “nnọkọta ehi.” Chineke!
Then, “a flock of chickens.” Nsogbu. You assume I have a poultry and should know. Okay, let us translate it as “ọkụkọ feta.” But every big fool knows that chickens do not fly high like other birds. So, “feta” that suggests “flying in to belong” does not sell as a good translation. It is an emergency bad and sad translation. We know that some dialects of Igbo would use “okpuru” to indicate that place chickens go to sleep. So, that is better for “roost.”
Then, "a school of fish." So, fish can and do go to school in Britain! No wonder Western education is considered evil. Wonderland! Alice must go there. That shock (or is it surprise?) is well-captured in my translation as "ụlọakwụkwọ azụ"! Strange. Where can one find a school just for only fish? Is it in the depths of the ocean? So, Alice and frogman have to collaborate to see this "school of fish"! Please, look for it, too, fishing folk of Bayelsa State, Nigeria.
Then, "a gaggle of geese." Gaggle? They have got blocked throats? Maybe in this time of COVID-19. OK, let geese also gaggle and wear face masks and show COVID-passes! How does one translate this nonsense? That was why I simply rendered it as: "igbụgbụcha ọnụ ọgazị." Nonsense, again. Real nonsense. How can one think of a land where geese gaggle? Strange and idiotic. We should not even present such as a translation. Untranslatable!
What of "a pride of lions"? So, lions can be proud? Is that after feeding on daniels in the den? These English people must be funny and unrealistic. "Pride of lions"? Can one render it as "ngala ọdụm" as I did? Nonsense, also. Who told them that lions can be proud? Have they interacted with them or have they been lions before? "Ngala ọdụm"? Makes no sense in our human world.
Now, "a murder of crows." So, these fellows sweeping through towns in the North and Middle Belt regions of Nigeria, killing citizens and changing names of places visited are "crows"? Crows? What do they call those in Igbo? Maybe "Nwanne ozu," if not "oso ozu ala ka o gbuchara ọchụ" ("that which goes home with the corpse after committing murder")." But that is strange to Ndiigbo. "Oso ozu ala ka o gbuchara ọchụ." Arụ. Must be a terrible bird. Maybe that is why it is not found in Alaigbo but in the land of the spirits. Didn't our ancestors say these oyibo people are spirits?
Then, "an exaltation of doves." Consoling, since we are now talking of "exaltation." Moreover, doves and not vultures. But where can one find doves that exalt and exhort to lift one's drooping spirit in a period of COVID mass death? What kind of translation can one even give this expression in Igbo? Is it "ụmụ nduru na-ebulite mmụọ" or "ụmụ nduru ọkụzi ihe"? Nonsense. Doves exalting. No wonder oyibo people look frail and weak. Instead of shooting and killing doves for peppersoup with catapult, they are talking of exaltation by doves. One settled for "nduru ọkụzi ihe" in one's translation and one's brain got really messed up.
I knew something terrible was coming. Imagine "a congress of owls." Political parties with the word "congress" in their official names should quickly change them. Do they want to share neighbourhood with owls? "A congress of owls"? One translated that as "nzukọ ikwighikwighi," but felt sorry for congresses. "Nzukọ ikwighikwighi" is not a very friendly translation. In fact, it drips with tears. Why a congress of the nocturnal owl that has many tragic myths associated with it?
Perhaps the expression that gave my translation the greatest problem was "a parliament of baboons." No wonder! And what of "jackals"? Can my translation, "adaka ọzọ na-eme iwu" or "ndi na-eme iwu bụ nnọọ adaka ọzọ" stand at all, or should I go back to school? By the way, so baboons are parliamentarians or rather parliamentarians are red-arse baboons?
When the COVID is over and I remove my face mask to go to the classroom, I will try and audit a course on translation. Or, would Rapid Results College be better for me?
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