Original Research Article

Employing the Semiotic Theory in the Translation of Selected Idioms from Mokpe into English

Dr. Thomas Njie Losenje

Lecturer, Advanced School of Translators and Interpreters (ASTI), University of Buea, Cameroon.

E-mail: thonjilo@gmail.com

Received: 14 July 2022  I  Accepted: 21 August 2022  I  Published: 23 August 2022  I  Article ID: MRJER22018
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This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.

Abstract

This study sets out to look at the semiotic theory as an approach to the translation of idiomatic expressions from an indigenous language (Mokpe) to a non-indigenous language (English). Besides the inherent figurative and cultural constraints in the translation of Mokpe idioms into English, a survey of the selected idioms reveals that they refer to signs and significations like seeing the fox and its child, seeing the bride falling with the bridal salt, etc. in the Mokpe language. The idioms therefore require in-depth semiotic analysis to uncover their meaning. Aware of the constraints inherent in the translation of this discourse genre, the following research questions were posed: 1) what are the difficulties inherent in the translation of idiomatic expressions from Mokpe into English? 2) Why is the semiotic theory a relevant approach to the translation of idiomatic expressions from Mokpe into English? Twelve randomly selected idiomatic expressions in Mokpe were the focus of this study, which adopted descriptive and analytical research procedures. The Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS) Model served as a basis for the presentation, analysis and translation of the selected idioms. The findings of the study have been presented based on the research questions. On the whole, the study posits that to overcome the constraints in the translation of idiomatic expressions from Mokpe into English, substitution, deletion and omission could be used in varying degrees with the semiotic theory as a complementary approach or macrostrategy.

Keywords: Idiomatic Expressions, Semiotic Theory, Translation