Multilingualism and multiculturalism have become so characteristic of our times that it is hard to come by a literary work that is strictly monolingual. Languages in contact influence each other in various ways. One l...Multilingualism and multiculturalism have become so characteristic of our times that it is hard to come by a literary work that is strictly monolingual. Languages in contact influence each other in various ways. One language could be more influential than the other as a result of linguistic and non-linguistic factors. A language that is documented and enjoys a more privileged political, economic, cultural, or religious position is likely to be more influential than another language that lacks these qualities. Languages in contact often borrow words from each other though a language that is considered to be more prestigious than another is more likely to be the donor language less prestigious one. Loanwords are therefore common among languages in contact. Intercultural literary communication is mostly effected through translation. Due to Africa＇s colonial experience, literary translation practice in Africa often involves European languages, Arabic, and indigenous African languages. In Nigeria, the languages that have played significant roles in literary translation include English, French, German, Arabic, and indigenous Nigerian languages. Franz Kafka＇s Brief an den Vater which was written in German has been translated into English as Letter to His Father by Ernest Kaiser and Eithne Wilkins and into Igbo as Soro Okwu m maobu Leta （Ndi） Nna by Felicia Ibemesi. This paper sets out to study loanwords in the English and Igbo translations from a target reader＇s perspective展开更多
文摘Multilingualism and multiculturalism have become so characteristic of our times that it is hard to come by a literary work that is strictly monolingual. Languages in contact influence each other in various ways. One language could be more influential than the other as a result of linguistic and non-linguistic factors. A language that is documented and enjoys a more privileged political, economic, cultural, or religious position is likely to be more influential than another language that lacks these qualities. Languages in contact often borrow words from each other though a language that is considered to be more prestigious than another is more likely to be the donor language less prestigious one. Loanwords are therefore common among languages in contact. Intercultural literary communication is mostly effected through translation. Due to Africa＇s colonial experience, literary translation practice in Africa often involves European languages, Arabic, and indigenous African languages. In Nigeria, the languages that have played significant roles in literary translation include English, French, German, Arabic, and indigenous Nigerian languages. Franz Kafka＇s Brief an den Vater which was written in German has been translated into English as Letter to His Father by Ernest Kaiser and Eithne Wilkins and into Igbo as Soro Okwu m maobu Leta （Ndi） Nna by Felicia Ibemesi. This paper sets out to study loanwords in the English and Igbo translations from a target reader＇s perspective
