Translation Strategies of Proverbs in Selected Yoruba Nollywood Epic Movies

HABIBAT FAYOKE YUSUF1

Abstract

Translation converts a text semantically, culturally and pragmatically into another language.
Each language has peculiar culture-bound expressions such as proverbs, idioms, incantations and
riddles. In Yoruba Nollywood epic movies, proverbs are often used to showcase the beauty,
values and norms of Yoruba language and culture to viewers, especially those who do not
understand the Yoruba language. In the effort to translate some of the proverbs in the movies into
English, they are often mistranslated and the ideas in the text are misrepresented due to cultural
differences. Consequently, the aim of translation is defeated. This study, therefore, investigates
the strategies employed in translating proverbs in selected Yoruba Nollywood epic movies, as
well as the appropriateness of such translations. The study adopts Vermeer’s Skopos theory as
the theoretical framework due to its focus on the purpose, adequacy and function of translation.
Twenty-three proverbs that are likely to give the most information about the study were
purposively sampled, from twelve randomly sampled Yoruba epic movies. The findings reveals
that the translators employed literal translation, modulation, transposition, paraphrasing, and
cultural substitution in translating the proverbs in the movies.

KEYWORDS: Translation strategies, Yoruba Nollywood movies, Proverbs, Skopos theory

and fidelity.

Introduction

Nigeria is a multilingual nation with several indigenous and foreign languages. There are several
claims about the number of indigenous languages in Nigeria, but scholars have not reached a
consensus about the number of such languages. English, French and Arabic languages are
international languages in Nigeria, but English is the most prominent of the three. The English
language is a colonial heritage which has become very useful as a language on inter-ethnic
communication or interaction in Nigeria. Apart from being an official language in Nigeria, it is

1
Habibat Fayoke Yusuf is of the Department of English, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
E-mail: fayour80@gmail.com
1
also being used by educated people in informal interaction, especially when they speak different
languages. Pidgin, now called Naija, is also a language being used in Nigeria; it is a homegrown
variety that is widely spoken by Nigerians, especially the not-so-educated.

In Nigeria, the linguistic and cultural pluralism has given three indigenous languages with the
largest number of speakers; (Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba), more political recognition than other
indigenous languages. They are the major languages. There are also languages with fewer
speakers. They are all at different stages of development.

The major focus of producers is to reach the widest possible audience with their movies. Given
the multiplicity of language in Nigeria, it does not make economic sense to produce movies in
the language that is not widely spoken/used by the prospective audience. Hence, producers often
make movies in the major languages and English. For movies that are produced in indigenous
languages such as Yoruba or Igbo, the producers go to extra mile to subtitle them in the English
language, the Nigerian official language. The major challenge here is how faithful the translator
can be in replicating the information/message in the source text in the target text.

In Yoruba Nollywood movies, for instance, the messages that characters pass through their
spoken dialogues, especially the culture-bound expressions like idioms, proverbs, incantations
and riddles, may be understandable only by viewers who understand the Yoruba language. In
order to cross this hurdle, producers translate the spoken dialogues into the English language
through subtitling in order to reach a larger audience.

Translation of culture-bound expressions is a challenging task for translators. Therefore,

translators are obliged to have a good knowledge of the language and culture of the source and
target texts in order to find solutions to any contingent problems, in the process of finding
equivalents for inter-lingual culture-bound expressions (proverbs in this case). Hence, this study
investigates the translation strategies used to put messages in proverbs across to viewers and how
effective these strategies are.

Proverbs are witty sayings that capture the logic, culture and observations of a people (Lamidi,
2008, p.61). As stated by Akporobaro (2006, p.69), proverbs remain “the most powerful and
effective instrument for transmission of culture, social morality, manners and ideas of a people
from one generation to another”. Since movies are artistic representations of human activities in
2
the real-life situation, the characters in the movies, especially the epic movies, tend to make use
of proverbs extensively. According to Omolola (2013, p.17) “epic film is a type of film which
involves stories in traditional locales, ethnic situations and expressing cultural experiences”. A
good number of epic movies produced deal with popular legends, myth and folklores. Therefore,
this study serves as an important tool for translators of Yoruba into English to know various
proverbs and strategies that can be adopted for their translations.

Statement of the Problem

Nigerian movie producers, in the attempt to reach wider viewing audience, often use the English
language, Nigeria’s official language. Studies have noted the inappropriateness in different forms
of translation especially in grammar usage and culture-bound expressions. The rendition of the
meanings of culture-bound expressions, especially proverbs has not enjoyed enough scholarly
attention. There are cases of meaning loss, mistranslation, stylistic and semantic shifts as a result
of problems encountered with translating proverbs. This is problematic as target audiences may
not understand the import of the movies. This study, therefore, investigates various strategies
employed by the translators to translate proverbs in the selected Yoruba Nollywood movies, and
the appropriateness of the strategies employed in transferring the source message to the target
language.

Literature Review

Several studies have been conducted on translation as a field of study. One of these is Sunday
(2012) who examines the effort of Yoruba news translators of the Broadcasting Corporation of
Oyo State (BCOS), Ibadan, in translating news from English to Yoruba, and how the translators
ensure the appropriateness of the information passed to the audience. The study reveals that the
translators of the news select translation strategies according to the type of equivalence they wish
to achieve. This study is related to the present study as they both adopt the same theoretical
approach, Skopos theory of translation

Another study is Nnaji (2015), who investigates the professional skills and translation strategies
that are employed by the translators of news items from English to Igbo in Radio Nigeria. The
author discovers that media translators make use of trial and error principles in their translations
because they lack the professional skills required for the task. The reviewed study is related to
3
the current study in that they both focus on electronic translation and translation strategies. Their
major point of contrast is that, while the reviewed study focuses on the translation of news items,
the present study focuses on translation of proverbial sayings in epic Yoruba movies.

In another view, Shaguy (2013) examines the linguistic and visual strategies employed by
translators in subtitling Nigerian home videos, focusing mainly on Yoruba Nollywood movie
titled Jenifa (I & II). The study adopts Systemic Functional Linguistics in analysing the linguistic
strategies used in subtitling the movie, while Piercean semiotic model is adopted for the analysis
of the visual strategies in the movie. The study discovers that the translator paid attention not
only to the messages of the actors but also to the intention and feelings accompanying such
messages. This study relates to the current one as it is also based on subtitling of Yoruba movies.
However, the present study differs as it does not look into the video aspect of the movies as
strategies for communication. Also, the two studies differ in their theoretical approaches.

In addition, Alade (2017) examines translation errors in the subtitling of the Yoruba Christian
film, Were Alaso. The study foregrounds the emerging issue and perspectives in cultural
translation, religious translation and errors in linguistic patterns in English. The study reveals
that semantic, grammatical as well as errors of cultural misrepresentations contribute greatly to
the loss of the Yoruba messages in the subtitles. The study under review mainly identifies
erroneous translation in the movies’ subtitles, with less focus on the strategic translation of
proverbial expressions which the current study focuses on.

Finally, Yusuf (2018) uses Nida’s (1964) theory of equivalence (formal and dynamic
equivalence) to investigate the translation strategies for culture-bound expressions in selected
Yoruba Nollywood movies. The study discovers that the dynamic equivalent strategies are
mainly used when the two texts are totally dissimilar while the formal equivalence strategies are
used when the source and the target texts are similar both in form and structure. Although the
present study is a further development of Yusuf (2018), they both differ in their theoretical
approaches.

Theoretical Framework

There are many approaches to the study of translation. Those that are often discussed in literature
are Catford (1965), House (1977), Vermeer (1978) Nida and Taber (1982) and Vinay and
4
Darbelnet (1995).While Catford’s approach to translation is purely linguistic, House’s view of
translation is both linguistic and semantic. House propounds the concepts of overt and covert
translation. Vermeer shares a functional approach to translation, which is popularly called
Skopos (purpose) theory. Nida and Taber share both linguistic and functional approach to
translation. Nida’s and Taber’s idea bifurcated into formal correspondence and dynamic
equivalent. Vinay and Darbelnet also approach translation from linguistic and functional
perspectives.

In Vermeer’s (1978) approach, translation should first fulfill its intended purpose, rather than
seek faithfulness to the source text. Skopos theory is preferred to other theories because of its
exclusive functional orientation. It does not share a linguistic approach to translation like every
other theory. Vermeer puts forward three rules of Skopos theory, namely, skopos rule, coherence
rule and fidelity rule. Within the framework of Skopos theory, (Nord, 2001, p.29) opines that
“the top-ranking rule for any translation is the skopos rule which holds that the translation
process is determined by the skopos of the overall translational action, or in other words, “the
end justifies the means”. Vermeer elaborates Skopos theory as follows:

Each text is produced for a given purpose and

should serve this purpose. The Skopos rule thus reads as follows:
translate/interpret/speak/write in a way that enables your text/
translation to function in the situation it is used and with the
people who want to use it and precisely in the way they want it to
function (Nord, 1991, p.29).

In addition, the translation process, in the framework of Skopos theory, should also conform to
coherence rule (or intra-textual coherence) and fidelity rule (or inter-textual coherence).
Coherence rule stipulates that a translation should be acceptable in a sense that it is coherent with
the receivers’ situation (Nord, 2001, p.32). On the other hand, fidelity rule requires the target text
to be minimally equivalent to the source text, unlike the concept of faithfulness which maintains
maximal equivalence to the ST. If the Skopos requires a functional constancy between source
and target texts, the standard will be inter-textual coherence with the ST. If the Skopos requires a
change of function, the standard will be adequacy or appropriateness with regard to the Skopos
(Nord, 2001, p.33).

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The crux of Skopos theory is obviously related to the objective of subtitling of movies. The
Yoruba movies producers have some information they want to pass across to their viewers who
may or may not speak the Yoruba language. As a result of this, whatever is said or expressed in
the language must be translated in such a way that the target audience can follow the story.

Conceptual Review

There are various concepts that are central to the discussion on translation. Some of them include
faithfulness, fidelity, equivalence and adequacy. Each of them is briefly discussed below:

Faithfulness and Fidelity in Translation

Faithfulness is ensuring that the content and the form of a source text are perfectly retained in
the target text (Kouded, 2006, p.17). Fidelity on the other hand is an attempt at making the target
text work in the target culture in the same way it works in the source culture. It is the exact
correspondence of the translation to the original text. The fidelity of a translation to its original
text means the quality of its accuracy or the degree of its closeness to the original text.

Equivalence and Adequacy

Equivalence and adequacy are two common but parallel concepts of translation. According to
Dan (2015, p.203):

When the TT and the ST share the same Formatted: Indent: Left: 2", Right: 1", Tab stops: 5.5",
Left
function, maximal equivalence to the ST or in other
words, successful representation of the features
derived from the ST will serve as the
yardstick against which
translations will be measured. By contrast,
when the TT requires a change of function,
adequacy to the intended function will take
the place of equivalence as the only valid
standard for evaluating the TT.

Skopos theory has queried the validity of equivalence-based linguistic approaches to translation
without completely abandoning its key concept which serves as a tie binding the ST and TT
together (Dan, 2015 p.203). According to Dan (2015, p.203) “the new measure of translation has
now changed into adequacy, thus enriching the singularity of translation standard”.
6
Methodology

Twenty-three proverbs were purposively sampled from twelve randomly selected Yoruba
Nollywood epic movies. The sampled proverbs were selected based on their suitability to give
the most information about translation strategies. Likewise, Yoruba epic movies were preferred
to other contemporary movies due to their cultural leaning and extensive use of proverbs by the
characters in them. The sampled movies were downloaded and watched from YouTube. The
movies are: Alukoro, Arugba, Igbá Ajé, Owu Funfun, Pẹ̀là Odídẹrẹ, Balogun Ajaka, Ayemiran,
Sango and Bata, Lalude, Alantakun, Adeweri Oosa and Ṣíjúwadé. The translation strategies were
first identified and explained extensively, the meaning of the proverbs were then explained based
on their contexts of occurrence, while the appropriateness of their translations were examined
and analysed.

Data Analysis

This section examines various translation strategies the translators employ for the selected
proverbs. The strategies are classified into two, indirect and direct translation strategies. Also,
Back Translation (BT) is provided to assess the accuracy of the translation provided for each
proverb.

Indirect translation strategies

The proverbs in this section are translated using indirect translation strategies. Indirect
translation strategies are those that are used by translators when the structural and conceptual
elements of the source text are dissimilar to the target text.

A. Paraphrasing using unrelated words

Translators may paraphrase proverbs by using words directly related to the proverb texts. This str
ategy is often used when it is difficult to translate the ST directly into the TT. The proverbs in the
excerpts below are translated using the paraphrasing strategy.

1. ST: Onikoyi: Ẹ wòó, ẹ gbọ́ tèmi ò, àṣẹṣẹ̀ jàde akàn baálẹ̀, ibi rere lọ máa jásí

7
 Aare Alasa: Onikoyi, tí mi ò bá ní tàn ọ́, kóo ro ọ̀rọ̀ yí dáadáa ò. Àbọ̀ ọ̀rọ̀ là ń sọ fọmọl
úàbí, tó bá dé nú ẹ̀ á d’odindi.

TT: Onikoyi: Despite all odds, the outcome will be good.

Aare Alasa: Onikoyi, if I won't deceive you, I want you to think about this matter very
well. I know I don’t have to spell out everything to you. (Arugbá)

BT: Mo mọ̀ pé kò yẹ kí n fí gbogbo ẹnu sọ̀rọ̀ jade fún ọ.

2. ST: Ọ̀rẹ́ mi, ṣ'èwà nìyí tí ìwọ àti baba rẹ ń hù nìlú yìí? Baba rẹ k'ẹ́rú wọnú ìlú
yìí inú rẹ sì ń dùn? Bàbá rẹ ń lo àwọn ọmọ ọlọ́mọ nílò kulò... Ìbí ò jùbì, bà
a ṣe bẹ́rú là bọ́mọ.

TT: My friend, is what you and your father doing in this village good? Your
father brought in slaves and you are happy. Your father is maltreating
other peoples' children... We were all born the same way. (Òwú funfun)

BT: Bákan náà ni wọn bí gbogbo wa.

3. ST: N ó lọ, n ó fìlú yìí sílè, ṣùgbọ́n mo mọ̀ pé tó bá ku ọwọ́ kan àdán, dandan
ni kó fi rọ igba igi lóko.

TT: I will leave this town. But I know, no matter how difficult, I will succeed.
(Igbá Ajé)

BT: Kò sí bó ṣe lè le tó, máa làlù yọ.

4. ST: Ká sọ̀rọ̀ sàn-ań? Sóo ri, àìtódò tọ̀sí ni ‘kọ̀ǹkọ̀ dijú, alákàn dijú’. Àkúkú joy
è sàn ju ẹnu mi ò ká'lú lọ. Ọwọ́ talo tí gbà’ṣe kẹ́ tó máa jó’jó Ṣàngò kiri?

TT: We should talk straight? Don't mistake us for cowards. The point is who
gave you the permission to go about with your Ṣàngó festival? (Balogun
Ajaka)
BT: Má ṣì wá mú fún ojo

The proverb in (1), Àbọ̀ ọ̀rọ̀ là ń sọ fọmọlúàbí, tó bá dé nú ẹ̀ á dodindi is a form of advice. It is

8
also a form of proposition which shows pithiness or terseness. Onikoyi, one of the chiefs of Ìlú-
ńlá is angry with the steps the king takes to stop various corrupt practices going on in the town.
Seeing how angry Onikoyi is, his friend and a chief advises him that an intelligent person like
him should know how to handle the misunderstanding he has with the king without getting into
trouble. Also in (2), Ìbí ò jùbì, bàa ṣe bẹ́rú là bọ́mọ is a form of advice. In the movie, it is used to
admonish the son of the warlord of Akomolafe Village who maltreats the slaves he brings to his
village as part of the war booties.

Conversely, the proverbs in (3) and (4), tó bá ku ọwọ́ kan àdán, dandan ni kó fi rọ igba igi lóko
and àìtódò tọ̀sí ni kọ̀ǹkọ̀ dijú, alákàn dijú are used to show optimism and courage during a
difficult situation. Proverb (3) is used by Adewumi who is given a divine revelation to leave his
town. He hopes that come what may, he would succeed. Literally, the proverb is exaggerative in
nature as it states that a bat can use its large wing to hang on two hundred trees in the farm.
Proverb (4) is used by one of the Chiefs of Akodu village to threaten Sangowale (the Sango
priest of Akodu village) that the Chiefs have all it takes to punish him due to his disrespectful act
of conducting Sango festival without the approval of the king.

All the proverbs above are translated using paraphrasing strategy with unrelated words. The
translations may be unrelated to the source text grammatically, but they convey the same
meaning. This could be seen from the back translation of the TT. Even with so many
grammatical shifts in the sentences of the ST, the general ideas of the Yoruba proverbs are not
distorted. Their literal translation might be impossible as there will be some kind of meaning loss
and omission. With the application of coherent Skopos rule, the translators are less concerned
with the denotative meaning of the translation which may likely distort the message in the ST,
but more with the meaning that is valid in the communicative context of the translation language.
The same thing applies to all other proverbs in this section. Therefore, the target audience may
still make meanings out of the target texts.

B. Paraphrasing using related words

Translators may also paraphrase texts by retaining some words and the structure of the ST in the
TT. In this sense, the translators maintain a balance between the source text and the target
culture. Below are some examples:
5. ST: Ìbidun: (rẹrin-in) Òbìrí, oò ṣe má yọ ara rẹ lẹ́nu; ọ̀rọ̀ Àwẹ̀ró ọmọ rẹ ti dàfìsẹ́yìn
9
 t'éégún ń fi'ṣọ.

Òbìrí: Ah! Ọ̀rọ̀ tó ń pa olóko lẹ́kún, òun l'àparò fi ń ṣẹ̀rín rín. Ẹdákun ẹdábọ̀ ẹfiyè
dé'nu.

TT: ìbídùn: (laughs) Òbìrí, don't even bother to persuade me. Your daughter’s Formatted: Left, Indent: First line: 0.5"

issue is a settled case.

Òbìrí: Agh! Leader, you rejoice over an issue that makes me weep. Please hear
me out and show mercy. (Balogun Ajaka)

BT: Ò ń dunún lórí oun tí ń pa mí lẹkun.

6. ST: Olobe: Lógun ọfẹ, ẹjẹ́ ká d'iyà jẹ wọn.

Àrọyè: Aà gbọdọ̀ bá wọn jà nítorí pé ọ̀rẹ́ mi dà mí, mo d'ọ̀rẹ́mi, ọ̀dàlẹ̀ yóò di méjì.

TT: Olobe: let us fight them.

Àroyè: we must not fight with them because I will also betray my friend
(Alantakun)

BT: Èmi náà á tún da ọ̀rẹ́ mi.

7. ST: Yin‘niyin’ni k'ẹ́ni le ṣè míì; b'ọ́mọdé bá dúpẹ́ oore àná, á rí ómíì gbà.

TT: When one appreciates a good deed, he gets more. So we need to appreciate every
single blessing you have bestowed upon us. (Ayemiran)

BT: Bí ẹni bá dúpẹ́ oore, á rí òmíìn gbà.

8. ST: Bí'lẹ̀ í ò bá gbè mí, ẹnu kí n gb'oko ìbòmíin lọ ní. Ọ̀rọ̀ sùnùnkùn ojú sùnùnkùn
náà la fi ń wò ó.

TT: If I am not wanted here then I will go somewhere else. Tricky matters should be
looked at very critically. (Sango ati Bata).

BT: Ọ̀rọ̀ to gbọgbọ̀n, ojú sùnùnkùn làá fi ń wòó.

10
The proverb in (5), Ọ̀ rọ̀ tó ń pa olóko lẹ́kún, òun l'àparò fi ń ṣẹ̀rín rín is an allegorical proverb,
used in cautioning a person who does not have the interest of others in mind. In the movie, Obiri,
whose daughter is about to be attacked spiritually by her coven leader, pleads for mercy for the
life of her only daughter to be spared.

Contrarily, the proverbs in (6) and (7) are about friendship and relationships. The proverb in 6,
ọ̀rẹ́ mi dà mí, mo d'ọ̀rẹ́mi, ọ̀dàlẹ̀ yóò di méjì, is used in the movie by Aroye, in a reply to his wife,
Olobe, who requests they fight the king’s guards who are after their lives. The proverb in (7),
b'ọ́mọdé bá dúpẹ́ oore àná, á rí ómíì gbà, is used by Omibiyi while appreciating the gifts and
honours bestowed on him for a certain help he renders for a town. Also proverb in (8), Ọ̀ rọ̀
sùnùnkùn ojú sùnùnkùn náà la fi ń wò ó, is used by Bata, an acquaintance of Sango, whose
separation from his friend, Sango, causes him several problems. He decides to leave the town for
another town in order to find solutions to his problems.

To show some relationships between the source texts and the target texts, the highlighted words
in the source texts are semantically related to their target texts. In proverb (5), Ọ̀ rọ̀ tó ń pa olóko
lẹ́kún, òun l'àparò fi ń ṣẹ̀rín rín (you rejoice over the issue that makes me weep) ‘lẹ́kún’ has
been paraphrased as ‘weep’, ‘ṣẹ̀rín rín’ as ‘rejoice’; in proverb (6), ọ̀rẹ́ mi dà mí, mo d'ọ̀rẹ́mi, (I
also betrayed my friend) has the expressions d'ọ̀rẹ́mi and betrayed my friend as similar
expressions. Proverb (7), b'ọ́mọdé bá dúpẹ́ oore àná, á rí ómíì gbà (when one appreciates a
good deed, he gets more). Dúpẹ́ and appreciates; oore and good deed as well as á rí ómíì gbà
and he gets more are related semantically. In proverb (8), Ọ̀ rọ̀ sùnùnkùn ojú sùnùnkùn náà la
fi ń wò ó (tricky matter should be looked at very critically) Ọ̀ rọ̀ sùnùnkùn and tricky matter;
wò ó and looked at as well as critically and sùnùnkùn are also related semantically. Also, the
relatedness of the lexical items in the source proverbs and their translated versions is obvious in
the back translations provided for each of the translated proverbs.

Using Skopos’ coherent rule, the translations provided for the source texts in this section are
interpretable in the target context, regardless of their relatedness to the ST.

C. Cultural Substitution or Adaptation

According to Baker (1992, p.31), “cultural substitution is used to replace a culture-specific item
or expression with a target language item which does not have the same propositional meaning
11
but is likely to have a similar impact on the target reader”. It is also called adaptation, according
to Vinay and Darbelnet (1995). Consider these examples:

9. ST: Ìgbà òjò n lọ, ìgbà ẹrùn ń lọ, ẹ pé ká ṣì máa d'ẹsà

Ìgbà wo la wá fẹ́ p'ékú?

TT: Time waits for no one. (Igbá Ajé )

BT: Àkókò ò dúró d'enì kan

10. ST: Speaker A: Tí aà bá gbé ìgbésẹ̀ táa gbé yìí, ó lè di lọ́la kó jẹ́ ẹ̀yin ni o kàn.

Speaker B: Hmmm! Ìyiùǹ ló jẹ́ wípé oró àkọ́dà kò dà bíi àdágbẹ̀yìn.

TT: Speaker A: You can be the next victim if we don't take the step we took.

Speaker B: Meaning the last to laugh, laughs best. (Òwú Funfun)

BT: Ẹni tó rẹ́rin-in gbẹ̀yìn, òun ló rẹ́rin-in gidi.

11. ST: Mo fẹ́ kí a di ara wa mú ṣinṣin gẹ́gẹ́ bí òṣùṣù ọwọ̀.

Àgbájọwọ́ la fi ń sọ̀yà, àjèjé ọwọ́ kan ò gbẹ́rù dórí.

TT: I want us to be firmly united like a bunch of broom

United we stand, divided we fall. (Arugba)

BT: Àpapọ̀ la dúró, ìpínyà là ṣubú.

12. ST: Gbogbo wa la ri pé apẹ́kótó jẹun kan kò ní jẹ̀' bàjẹ́... B'ó̀ rí bà sì pẹ́ nílẹ̀ a d’ire.

TT: We have all seen that the patient dog eats the fattest bone. (ṣijuwade)

BT: Ajá onísùúrù ni yóò jẹ eegun èyí tó sanra jù.

Contextually, proverb (9), Ì gbà òjò n lọ, ìgbà ẹrùn ń lọ, ẹ pé ká ṣì máa d'ẹsà, Ì gbà wo la wá fẹ́
p'ékú? is an admonition that one should act before it is too late. It is used by Adewumi to urge
Akanji, his son's friend, to help speak to Adegboyega, his son, about marriage. Also proverb (10),

12
oró àkọ́dà kò dà bíi àdágbẹ̀yìn, is used to praise an act of patience or perseverance. The proverb
is used by the son of the warlord of Faramade town. The speaker believes the perseverance of
Faramade results in their conquest of Akomolafe town which has been invading their town in the
past. Proverb (11), Àgbájọwọ́ la fi ń sọ̀yà, àjèjé ọwọ́ kan ò gbẹ́rù dórí, is used in encouraging
unity and cooperation among people. In the movie, Onikoyi encourages the citizens of Ìlú-ńlá to
live in peace and harmony as that is the only way their town can move forward. Also proverb
(12), apẹ́ kó tó jẹun kan kò ní jẹ̀' bàjẹ́, is used in praising an act of patience. In the movie, one of
the Chiefs, Asipa of Aboru-land, uses the proverb while commending Aremu, the long-lost heir
to the throne, for coming back to claim his father’s throne.

Literal translations of the above proverbs would have made no sense. There is a natural
correspondence between the source texts and the target texts of the four proverbs. In (9), for
instance, the equivalence, ‘time waits for no one’ is used because the idea in the ST is about time
management. In (10), the idea in the proverb is about patience and perseverance. The translator
selects the target equivalence, ‘the one to laugh last, laughs best’ which points to the same idea in
ST.

In the same vein, proverb in (11), which points to the quality of being united is translated using
its target equivalent, ‘united we stand, divided we fall’. Similarly, in order to avoid obscurity in
the translation of proverb (12), the translator opts for ‘the patient dog eats the fattest bone’,
which has the same idea as the source text. By the use of coherent rule, the translators of the
excerpts above provide the translated versions that can suit the situational contexts and
knowledge of the target audience, notwithstanding their structural differences. It is most likely
that the target audience assume the same communication level with the source audience. Since
proverbs 9-12 have equivalents in the target culture, their back translations cannot point to the
appropriateness of the TT.

Direct Translation Strategies

The proverbs in this section are translated using various direct translation strategies. Direct
translation strategies are those strategies adopted by translators, to achieve similarities in the
structural and conceptual features of the source text and the target text.

D. Literal Translation Strategy

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Literal translation strategy is used when SL grammatical constructions are converted to their
nearest TL equivalents, but the lexical words are translated singly out of context (Ordudari,
2007). The proverbs below are literally translated:

13. ST: Ẹmírín fẹ́ g'ẹṣin bẹ́ẹ̀ ni ò ní kẹṣẹ́, àmúkùrù fẹ́g'ẹṣin bẹ́ẹ̀ ni ò ní kùmọ̀. Ìrẹ̀ tó wá ní
kùmọ̀ gangan, kò mà r'ẹ́ṣin tí ó fi gùn. Àṣé lóòtọ ni pé bàa bá sọ̀kò sọ́jà, ará ilé ẹni
níí bà.

TT: Now I know of a truth that 'when one throws a stone in the market, it ends up
hitting one's family'. (Balogun Ajaka)

BT: Bí ẹni bá sọ̀kò l'ọ́jà, yóò ba ará ilé ẹni nígbẹ̀yìn.

14. ST: Olorì mi, àwọn baba mi mọnimọni, àwọn baba mi mọ̀yànmọ̀yàn, wọ́n ní kóo
bẹ̀'wẹ̀ kóo r' ọ́kọ̀ṣẹ́, ṣ'agbe kóo r' áhun.

TT: Like my forefathers do say: one only finds a reluctant messenger when one needs
to send an errand. You only find a miser when you go begging for alms. (Lalude)

BT: Èèyàn máa rí ọ̀kọ̀ṣẹ́ nígbà t’èèyàn bá fẹ́ rán’ni níṣẹ́. Wàá rí ahun' nígbà tí ó bá lọ
ṣ'agbe.

15. ST: Lọ́jọ́ t'éégún bá da'lẹ̀ laṣọ ká lójú eégún. Ọjọ́ ekòló sì da'lẹ̀, ó sún lókè eèpẹ̀.

TT: The masquerade lost its clothes the day it betrayed the land. And the day the
earthworm betrayed the land, it slept on its surface. (Sango ati Bata)

BT: Eégún pàdánù aṣọ rẹ̀ n'íjọ́tí ó da'lẹ̀. Àtipé ọjọ́ tí ekòló da'lẹ̀, ó sùn lókè rẹ̀.

16. ST: Ẹ wòó baba mi, ológìnì ti t’àjò dé ò, kí gbogbo eku ilé ó paramọ́.

TT: Look father, The cat is back from its tour; let every rat go on break. (ṣijuwade)

BT: Ológìní tí t'àjò rẹ̀ de, ejẹ́ ki gbogbo eku ó lo fun isimi.

17. ST: B' íná bá kú á feérú b'ojú, b’ọ́gẹ̀dẹ̀ bá kú á fọmọ rẹ̀ rọ́pò.

TT: Is it not said that when the fire burns out, it is survived by its ashes and the

14
 plantain tree is survived by its fruits? (Adeweri Oosa)

BT: B'íná bá kú á feérú rọ́pò, b'ọgẹ̀dẹ̀ bá kú a fèso rè rọ́pò.

Proverb (13), bàa bá sọ̀kò lọ́jà, ará ilé ẹni níí bà is used when an individual regrets certain
behaviour, or cautions someone who does bad things to others. In the movie, Ajayi regrets his act
of maltreating Sangowale whom he mistakes for an armed robber. Proverb (14), bẹ̀'wẹ̀ kóo r'
ọ́kọ̀ṣẹ́, ṣ'agbe kóo r'áhun, is a statement made by the king of Ala Village. It is used to commend
the efforts of Obarisa and Olukori (the two warriors of Ala-land) for achieving success in their
last war with a neighbouring village.

Also proverb (15), lọ́jọ́ t'éégún bá da'lẹ̀ laṣọ ká lójú eégún. Ọjọ́ ekòló sì da'lẹ̀, ó sún lókè eèpẹ̀, is
an incantatory proverb used in condemning the act of betrayal. It is used by Bata, an
acquaintance of Sango, when he feels Sango betrays the trust he has in him.

In addition, proverb (16), ológìnì ti t’àjò dé ò, kí gbogbo eku ilé ó paramọ́, is used in warning
and curbing the excesses of an impostor. Ayoka, who is forced by her greedy father to become
the regent of Aboru-land, uses the proverb to warn her father to leave the throne for the rightful
heir. Proverb (17), B’íná bá kú á feérú b'ojú, b’ọ́gẹ̀dẹ̀ bá kú á fọmọ rẹ̀ rọ́pò, is used to indicate an
act of inheritance. In the movie, it is used by Adeweri’s father, Akogun, while trying to empower
her supernaturally to continue his powerful legacy.

The above proverbs are literally translated. In proverb (13), all the lexical words are directly
translated into their target language equivalents. The only exception is ‘bàa’ ‘if’, a conditional
statement which is changed to an adverb in the target text, indicating a period one does
something. Others have their equivalents as follows: sọ̀kò lọ́jà- ‘throws a stone in the market’,
ará ilé ẹni níí bà- ‘it ends up hitting one’s family’. In the same vein, proverb (14) has all its
lexical items represented in the target text. For example, the source expressions, bẹ̀'wẹ̀ kóo r'
ọ́kọ̀ṣẹ́ and ṣ'agbe kóo r' áhun, have their equivalents as ‘one only finds a reluctant messenger
when one needs to send an errand’, and ‘you only find a miser when you go begging for alms’,
respectively. The meanings of the proverbs in excerpts (13) and (14) can be derived from the
surface level. Here, the translators adopt fidelity rule which requires that the translated texts bear
some relationships with the original. The literalness of proverbs (13) and (14) gives the
translators the opportunity to use literal translation strategy. The target texts are adapted to the
15
syntactic rules of the source language with minimal adjustments. To a reasonable extent, the
translations are appropriate. Their close relationship with the ST is seen in the similarity that
exists between the ST and the BT provided for the translated proverbs.

Similarly, proverb (15) has its words directly translated as follows: lọ́jọ́ t'éégún bá da'lẹ̀ laṣọ ka
lójú eégún-‘the masquerade loses its clothes the day it betrays the land’, Ọjọ́ ekòló sì da'lẹ̀, ó sún
lókè eèpẹ̀- ‘And the day the earthworm betrayed the land, it slept on its surface’ the concept of
betrayer presented in the translation is faulty, because only individuals or communities can be
destroyed, not a land! The second part of the proverb involving earthworm, is however, probably
from Yoruba mythology. Also, proverbs (16) and (17), ológìnì ti t’àjò dé ò, kí gbogbo eku ilé ó
paramọ́-‘the cat is back from its tour; let every rat go on break’; B'íná bá kú áfeérú b'ojú,
b’ọ́gẹ̀dẹ̀ bá kú á fọmọ rẹ̀ rọ́pò- ‘when the fire burns out, it is survived by its ashes and the
plantain tree is survived by its fruits’ might also be obscure to the target audience due to their
literal translation. The literariness of the proverbs does not give room for their proper literal
translation. The inaccuracies of the target texts are further revealed through the back translations
which show that the target texts do not conform to the communicative context of the audience.

The adoption of Skopos’ fidelity rule here does not work. Since there are discrepancies between
the ideas in the two cultures, the Skopos rule should have been applied to maintain the purpose
of translation. Hence, the target texts are not appropriately transferred.

E. Modulation Strategy

Modulation strategy refers to the change in the point of view, ideas or perspective of the source
text in the target text. The translators of the proverbs below employ modulation strategy:

18. ST: Ẹni ṣu leè gbàgbé, eni tó ko kò leè gbàgbé láéláé. Imí rẹ ọjọ́sí, èmi kinní yìí ni mo
kóo tóo sì mọ̀.

TT: When a child defecates and forgets, the person who cleans him up won’t. You
know I was responsible for cleaning up your past misdeed. (Pẹ̀là Odídẹrẹ́)

BT: Bí ọmọdé bá ṣu tó gbàgbé, ẹni tó wẹ̀ fún ò leè gbàgbé.

19. ST: Àwọn àgbà bọ̀ wọ́n ní alágẹmọ tí ń yọ́ọ́ rìn, ikú paá, ábélèǹtàsé ọ̀pọ̀lọ́ tí ń

16
 jan’ra rẹ̀ mọ́'lẹ.

TT: The elders said that humble chameleon dies not to talk of a swift frog. (Sijuwade)

BT: Alágẹmọ tó ń ṣe jẹ́jẹ́ ikú paá ábélèǹtàsé kọ̀nkò tí ò n yara rin.

20. ST: Oò gbọ́ ọ̀rọ̀ àwọn àgbà tóó ní pé béèyàn bá ń pẹ́ lórí ìmí, eeṣi kéeṣi á máa bá
ni níbẹ̀. Kí ló ṣẹlẹ̀ s’ọ́rọ̀ èmi àtì ẹ?

TT: You remember the saying that 'mysterious flies will greet the one who stays for
too long while defecating', what is happening to our relationship? (Balogun
Ajaka)

BT: Eeṣi kéeṣí á kì ẹni tó bá dúró pẹ́ lórí imí

21. ST: Ìyá Lànà! Àṣé ó múra wá ni? Èmi gan-an, nílé lo bá'mi. Lákọ ni mo wà bí
ìbọn. Àánu rẹ mà wá ṣe mí ò. Ajá rẹ ti wọlé t’ẹkùn lónì o, ó di dandan kóo fẹ̀jẹ̀
wẹ̀.

TT: Mama Lana! So you have come prepared. I am always prepared too. I pity you.
Your dog is in the lion's den, it must bathe with blood. (Lalude)

BT: Ajá rẹ ti wà nílé kìnnìún, ó di dandan kó fẹ̀jẹ̀ wẹ̀.

In proverb (18), Ẹni ṣu leè gbàgbé, eni tó ko kò leè gbàgbé láéláé, the difficulty that comes with
the packing of someone else's faeces is proverbially represented in the expression. In the movie,
Olowooporoku reminds Pela of how he embarrassed him in the time past. Due to this, he decides
to punish Pela. Also, excerpt (19), alágẹmọ tí ń yọ́ọ́rìn ikú paá ábélèǹtàsé ọ̀pọ̀lọ́ tí ń jan’ra rẹ̀
mọ́'lẹ, is a proverb that is used to caution a reckless individual. It is used by Asipa, a Chief in
Aboru-land, while condemning the ruthlessness of Aare-ona-kakanfo of Aboru-land. Proverb
(20) is used to urge someone to value time as a crucial factor in a man’s life. In the movie,
Omolewa uses this proverb to express her displeasure to Alade, her fiancé, over the delay in their
marriage. Proverb (21), Ajá rẹ ti wọlé tẹkùn lónì o, ó di dandan kóo fẹ̀jẹ̀ wẹ̀, is a proverb that is
used to challenge a person to a fight. It is used by Olukori’s wife while challenging Obarisa’s
wife to a fight that is caused due to the rivalry between their husbands on the Balogun
chieftaincy title.
17
The translators of proverbs 18, 19, 20 and 21 employ both modulation and literal translation
strategies. Excerpt (18), Ẹni ṣu leè gbàgbé, eni tó ko kò leè gbàgbé láéláé, for instance, has an
indefinite pronoun, Ẹni ‘someone’ as its subject which is changed to ‘a child’ in the target text,
‘When a child defecates and forgets’. Also, the idea of packing of faeces in the source text is
changed to cleaning up the owner of the faeces in the target text. In proverb (19), ọ̀pọ̀lọ́ has its
point of view changed to a frog (kọ̀ήkọ̀). Though, the two animals are amphibians, we cannot
doubt the fact that they are two different animals termed as one in the TT. Also in proverb (20),
béèyàn bá ń pẹ́ lórí ìmí, eeṣi kéeṣi á máa bá níbẹ̀, the verb, ‘meet’ (bá), is changed to ‘greet’ (kí)
in the target text. In proverb (21), the point of view is changed from ẹkùn (a tiger) into ‘lion’ in
the TT. The changes may not be a hindrance to their interpretations by the target audience as both
animals are wild animals that connote danger. In the same vein, the literalness of the proverbs
shows the adoption of Skopos’ fidelity rule by the translators. There is a structural relationship
between the source text and the target text. This is evident in the BT which is lexically similar to
the original versions of the proverbs.

F. Transposition Strategy

Transposition strategy requires replacing one word-class or sentence structure, i.e. changing from
active to passive or rearrangement of the clause constituents in the ST.

22. ST: Òbìrí pẹ̀lẹ́ áà ní rírú rẹ̀ mọ́o. Ayé sì b'ínú káún, wọn ju káún s'ómi, ayé b'ínú iyọ̀,
wọn da'yọ̀ séèpẹ̀.

TT: Òbìrí, sorry. Such will not befall you again. Out of contempt, the potash was
thrown into water, out of contempt, the salt was mixed up in sand. (Balogun
Ajaka)

BT: Látàrí ìkórìíra, wọ̀n ju káún s'ómi. Látàrí ìkórìíra, wọn pò iyọ̀ mọ èèpẹ.

23. ST: Ọ̀rẹ́ mí dàmí, mo dọ̀rẹ́mi, Ọ̀dàlẹ̀ ó di méjì.

TT: If you hurt your friend because he once hurts you, you are not so different from
each other. (Pela Odidere)

BT: Bí o bá ṣe ọ̀rẹ́ rẹ ni jàmbá nítorí pé ó ṣẹ̀ ọ́, ẹ ò yàtọ̀sí ara yín.

18
Proverb (22), Ayé sì b'ínú kánún, wọn ju kánún s'ómi, ayé b'ínú iyọ̀, wọn da'yọ̀ séèpẹ̀, is a proverb
that is used to show the wickedness of man. In the movie, Ayoka uses the proverb while
sympathising with Obiri for the loss of her daughter. Proverb (23) is a form of admonition. It
admonishes one not to pay evil with evil and to overlook certain misdeeds of another person. In
its context of use, Pela, a freed slave, uses the proverb to appeal to Chief Olowooporoku to
forgive his past misdemeanors.

In proverb 22, as shown in the BT, is in active voice with its subject, Ayé (world) and object,
kánún (Potash), is changed into a passive voice in its target equivalent, ‘out of contempt, the
potash was thrown into water, out of contempt, the salt was mixed up in sand’. ‘Potash’ occupies
the subject position while the object is veiled. Also, in proverb (23), there are three independent
clauses in the source text which are changed to one independent clause and two dependent
clauses in the target text. In addition, it is discovered that most of the lexical words of the
proverbs are translated literally from the ST into the TT. The adoption of fidelity rule is suitable
for the translation of proverb (23). This is because there is an obvious relationship between the
ST and its translated version. The strategy can be helpful to the target audience in understanding
the message. However, fidelity rule does not work in (22). The direct translation of the proverb
only distorts the intended message of the original text. This is also observed in the BT which
shows that the proverbs are translated singly out of context. The target audience may likely find
the proverb logically contradictory.

Conclusion

In this study, we have looked at the translation strategies of proverbs in selected Yoruba
Nollywood epic movies. The first thing to find out is that the translators employed direct and
indirect translations in their subtitling of proverbs. The direct translation strategies employed are
literal translation, modulation and transposition while the indirect translation strategies mainly
employed are paraphrasing with related and unrelated words and cultural substitution strategies. It
is also found out that the direct translation strategies are only effective when the ideas in the
source texts are literal. This usually gives the translators the opportunity to transfer the ST
structurally into the target text without much loss in meaning. The indirect translation strategies on
the other hand, are employed the most by the translators as they allow an effective transfer of the
ST into the TT, not minding the cultural distinction between the two texts. Due to this, out of the
19
three rules of Skopos theory; skopos rule, coherent rule and fidelity rule, the translators adopt
coherent rule the most, as it maintains the meaning of every text based on its context.

20
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Information on the Movies Used For the Study

Adeweri Oosa. Directed by Bashiru Salaudeen. Produced by Ayomide Afolabi. Rasdel digital
studio, Lagos 2018.
Alantakun. Directed by Rasaq Olayiwola. Produced by Kola Fashina, Small world digital studio,
Lagos 2016.
Alukoro. Directed by Adebayo Tijani. Produced by Adebanke A. Sowole. Golden Effect studio,
Oyo 2017.
Arugba. Directed by Tunde Kilani. Produced by Tunde Olowolafe. Mainframe film and
television productions, Lagos 2008.
Ayemiran. Directed by Funso Aliyu. Produced by Ariyo Moses and Olaitan Olinto. Olinto video
Studio, Lagos 2018.
Balogun Ajaka. Directed by Wale Razaq. Produced by Banke Ajani. A Banke film production
studio, Osogbo 2018.
Igba Aje. Directed by Abiodun Olanrewaju and Adebayo Tijani. Produced by Esan Sunday.
Genius film studio, Oyo 2018.
Lalude. Directed by Razak Oodua. Produced by Elder Adetunji Ojetola, 2017.
Owu Funfun. Directed by Odunlade Adekola. Produced by Owolabi Ajasa. Owolabi films studio,
Lagos 2014.
Pela Odidere. Directed by Adebayo Tijani. Produced by Adebanke A. Sowole. Golden Effect
studio, Oyo 2017.
Sango ati Bata. Directed by Lukman Olumale Tolabs. Produced by Sir Ayinde Lateef Goodluck.
Sir White media network Ltd, Osogbo 2012.

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Sijuwade. Directed by Abiodun Olanrewaju and Tope Adebayo. Produced by Fathia Balogun
Williams. Highlevel digital studio, Lagos 2017.

23