Moradewun Adejunmobi | African Vernaculars and the Universal in Translation

This presentation takes the circulation of texts in, and translation of texts into, diverse languages as a point of departure for reflections on the perceived attractiveness of texts, cultural forms and practices described as universal. Of special interest here are both literary and religious texts translated into African vernaculars. In order to map out intersections between notions of the universal, foreign and local, the chapter responds to the following questions. How do we counter the growing aversion to principles identified with universality or its now often maligned double, globalism, in African and many other contexts around the world? When are for­eign-authored texts likely to be received as local, foreign or universal? What role does translation into the vernacular play in transforming texts and practices that would otherwise be considered as foreign into contributions to local culture?

This presentation addresses these questions by considering the circulation trajectories of some literary and religious texts, translated into African vernaculars since the late nineteenth century, that are now perceived as local rather than as examples of world or universal writing. The argument made here is that translation into vernac­ular languages represents one of several possible mechanisms for domesticating texts and cultural forms described as universal. Principles characterized as univer­sal are often aspirational in nature and do not necessarily have an intrinsic appeal, especially for communities that feel marginalized in some way. Such principles are not likely to move from the plane of aspiration to one of acceptance and actuali­zation until they are subjected to diverse strategies of domestication that may or may not include translation into a vernacular.

About the Speaker

Professor Adejunmobi is a scholar of African literature and African popular culture. Her current research interests are threefold: intercultural communication, particularly its multilingualisms and translations; circulation trajectories and regimes of value for African popular film, particularly Nollywood; and African fantasy and science fiction, particularly attending to the intersection between magic, spirituality, and science. Monographs include JJ Rabearivelo, Literature and Lingua Franca in Colonial Madagascar and Vernacular Palaver: Imaginations of the Local and Non-Native Languages in West Africa. Most recently, and with Carli Coetzee, she edited the Routledge Handbook of African Literature. 

Co-sponsored by the Department of African and African-American Studies