Cover not available
Article published In:
Babel
Vol. 67:5 (2021) ► pp.553–578

Interpreting in Tanzania from the perspective of Tanzanian interpreters

Intercultural communication in inter/national dimensions

| Charles University
The study overviews the role of interpreting services in Tanzania, presenting mainly the experience of practicing freelance interpreters. The two official languages of Tanzania – English and Swahili – have separate roles in the country. Although most Tanzanians accept English as a necessary medium of intercultural communication, Swahili is perceived as an important part of Tanzanian national identity. It is the country’s lingua franca. On the one hand, Tanzania aims to preserve communication in Swahili; on the other hand, there is an inevitable need for intercultural communication with the rest of the world that grows especially in the context of globalization. The paper focuses on the role, status, education, working languages, conditions of Tanzanian interpreters, and the requirements of local and international clients. The study also creates a broader context that mentions crucial historical moments that have influenced the country’s current character of intercultural communication.
Keywords: interpretation, Tanzania, colonialism, German East Africa, globalization
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Methodology
  • Tracing the importance of indirect communication in Tanzanian history
  • Language situation in today’s Tanzania
  • Current situation of interpreting in Tanzania from interpreters’ perspective
    • Interpreters in Tanzania – their path to the profession
    • Situations requiring interpreting services in Tanzania
    • Types of interpreting mostly performed in Tanzania
    • Working languages and strategies to bridge intercultural gaps
    • Challenges faced by interpreters and possibilities of self-improvement
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 29 September 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00241.get
References (54)
References
Interviews
Correia Nune, Jose (Head of Cooperation and Press at the Delegation of the European Union to Tanzania), interview by Elizaveta Getta, Delegation of the European Union to Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, 18 September 2019, Tanzania, transcript based in the note-taking made during the interview available upon request.Google Scholar
Iddi Massoud, Gossaji (interpreter in Tanzania), interview by Elizaveta Getta, Chelsea Hotel, Dar es Salaam, 25 September 2019, Tanzania, audio recording available upon request.Google Scholar
Karani, Michael (Director of the Centre for Communication Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam), interview by Elizaveta Getta, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, 23 September 2019, Tanzania, transcript based in the note-taking made during the interview available upon request.Google Scholar
Karugaba, Valentine (interpreter in Tanzania and lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam), interview by Elizaveta Getta, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, 27 September 2019, Tanzania, transcript based in the note-taking made during the interview available upon request.Google Scholar
Kibwe, Amani (interpreter in Tanzania and owner of translation and interpretation agency A G International Language Services), interview by Elizaveta Getta, Golden Jubilee Tower, Dar es Salaam, 19 September 2019, Tanzania, transcript based in the note-taking made during the interview available upon request.Google Scholar
Kristomus, Faraja (interpreter in Tanzania and lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam), interview by Elizaveta Getta, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, 26 September 2019, Tanzania, transcript based in the note-taking made during the interview available upon request.Google Scholar
Kubhota, Victor (interpreter in Tanzania), interview by Elizaveta Getta, Best Bite Restaurant, Dar es Salaam, 22 September 2019, Tanzania, audio recording available upon request.Google Scholar
Likwelile, Doris (Teaching Centre Manager at the British Council Tanzania), interview by Elizaveta Getta, British Council Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, 19 September 2019, Tanzania, transcript based in the note-taking made during the interview available upon request.Google Scholar
Makaa David, Loserian (interpreter in Tanzania), interview by Elizaveta Getta, Corporate Language Services & Development Communication, Dar es Salaam, 26 September 2019, Tanzania, transcript based in the note-taking made during the interview available upon request.Google Scholar
Matabaro, Livin (interpreter in Tanzania), interview by Elizaveta Getta, Serena Hotel, Dar es Salaam, 15 September 2019, Tanzania, audio recording available upon request.Google Scholar
Mbise, Susanne (Information Officer at the Delegation of the European Union to Tanzania), interview by Elizaveta Getta, Delegation of the European Union to Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, 18 September 2019, Tanzania, transcript based in the note-taking made during the interview available upon request.Google Scholar
Muro-Temu, Anna (Visibility Officer at the Delegation of the European Union to Tanzania), interview by Elizaveta Getta, Delegation of the European Union to Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, 18 September 2019, Tanzania, transcript based in the note-taking made during the interview available upon request.Google Scholar
Mwinuka, Liyenja (lecturer at the Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics, University of Dar es Salaam), interview by Elizaveta Getta, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, 17 September 2019, Tanzania, audio recording available upon request.Google Scholar
Nduku, Salome and Alfred Mtawali (establishers of EAITA), interview by Elizaveta Getta and Michael Rada, CJ Restaurant, Nairobi, 26 July 2019, Kenya, audio recording available upon request.Google Scholar
Ndunguste, Julius (owner of the interpreting agency JHN Services), interview by Elizaveta Getta, Double Tree Hotel, Dar es Salaam, 18 September 2019, Tanzania, audio recording available upon request.Google Scholar
Ngunangwa-Mwalongo, Rose (Project Officer at the UNESCO National Office to Tanzania), interview by Elizaveta Getta, UNESCO National Office to Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, 25 September 2019, Tanzania, transcript based in the note-taking made during the interview available upon request.Google Scholar
Parsalaw, Dorcas (Head of the Language Courses at the Goethe-Institut Tanzania), interview by Elizaveta Getta, Goethe-Institut Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, 24 September 2019, Tanzania, audio recording available upon request.Google Scholar
Ruppiah, Elise (owner of the language agency Fun Lungha), interview by Elizaveta Getta, Flames Restaurant, Dar es Salaam, 24 January 2020, Tanzania, transcript based in the note-taking made during the interview available on request.Google Scholar
Shoo, Innocent (interpreter in Tanzania), interview by Elizaveta Getta, Chelsea Hotel, Dar es Salaam, 15 September 2019, Tanzania, audio recording available upon request.Google Scholar
Warambo, Paul (Translating and Training Managaer of Translators Without Borders in Nairobi), interview by Elizaveta Getta and Michael Rada, Java Restaurant, Argwings Kodhek Road, Nairobi, 24 July 2019, Kenya audio recording available upon request.Google Scholar
Archival sources
Seminar für Orientalische Sprachen, 1887–1933, I. HA Rep. 208 A, Nr. 404.Google Scholar
, 1887–1933, I. HA Rep. 208 A, Nr. 213.Google Scholar
, 1887–1933, I. HA Rep. 208 A, Nr. 217.Google Scholar
, 1887–1933, I. HA Rep. 208 A, Nr. 460.Google Scholar
Literature
Andres, Dörte. 2012. History of Interpreting. PDF file. 19 March 2021. [URL] DOI logo
Apatewon Amidu, Assibi. 1995. “Kiswahili: People, Language, Literature and Lingua Franca.” Nordic Journal of African Studies 4 (1): 104–123.Google Scholar
Augart, Julia, and Meja Ikobwa. 2013. “(Ost-)Afrikanische Germanistik: Entstehung und Entwicklung von Deutsch in Kenia” [(East)African linguistics: The establishment and development of German language in Kenya]. eDUSA 8 (1): 9–31.Google Scholar
Baker, Mona. 2011. “Introduction to the First Edition.” In Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, edited by Mona Baker, xv–xix. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Bandia, Paul. 2001. “African Tradition.” In Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, edited by Mona Baker, 295–305. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Bennett, Norman. 2017. A History of the Arab State of Zanzibar. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Bwenge, Charles. 2012. “English in Tanzania: A Linguistic Cultural Perspective.” In International Journal of Language, Translation and Intercultural Communication 1 (1): 167–182. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Čeňková, Ivana. 2001. Teorie a didaktika tlumočení [Theory and didactics of interpreting]. Prague: Univerzita Karlova, Filozofická fakulta.Google Scholar
Degener, Janna. 2009. “Nusu kaputi – die deutsche Sprache in Tansania” [Nusu kaputi – German language in Tanzania]. Informationen Deutsch als Fremdsprache 36 (5): 429–434. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gaillet, Lynée Lewis. 2010. “Archival Survival: Navigating Historical Research.” In Working in the Archives: Practical Research Methods for Rhetoric and Composition, edited by Alexis Ramsey, Wendy Sharer, Barbara L’Plattenier, and Lisa Mastrangelo, 28–39. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.Google Scholar
Getta, Jelizaveta. 2019. Jak se tlumočilo a tlumočí v Namibii: Přehled od dob koloniálních až po současnost [Interpreting in Namibia: From the colonial past to the present times]. Prague: Univerzita Karlova, Filozofická fakulta.Google Scholar
Gran, Line Kjølstad. 2007. “Language of Instruction in Tanzanian Higher Education: A Particular Focus on the University of Dar es Salaam.” Masters diss., University of Oslo.
Gromov, Mikhail. 2015. “Bilingual Literature of Tanzania as a Specific Inter-Literary Community.” PDF file. 19 March, 2021. [URL]
Hale, Sandra, and Jemina Napier. 2013. Research Methods in Interpreting: A Practical Resource. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Hale, Sandra. 2014. “Interpreting Culture: Dealing with Cross-Cultural Issues in Court Interpreting.” Perspectives 22 (3): 321–331. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Herzog, Jürgen. 1986. Geschichte Tansanias [History of Tanzania]. Berlin: Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften.Google Scholar
Kadenge, Maxwell, and Dion Nkomo. 2012. “Language Policy, Translation and Language Development in Zimbabwe.” Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 29 (3): 259–274. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Klíma, Jan. 2012. Dějiny Afriky [African history]. Prague: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny.Google Scholar
Maral-Hanak, Irmi. 2009. Language, Discourse and Participation: Studies in Donor-Driven Development in Tanzania. Münster: LIT Verlag.Google Scholar
Masoud Machano, Vuai. 2017. “Investigating Challenges of Consecutive Interpreting: A Case of my Love Film.” Masters diss., University of Dodoma.
Muzale, Henry, and Josephat Rugemalira. 2008. “Researching and Documenting the Languages of Tanzania.” Language Documentation and Conservation 2 (1): 68–108.Google Scholar
Nagel, Jürgen. 2010. “Sprachschule oder kolonialwissenschaftliches Institut: Das Berliner Seminar für Orientalische Sprachen zwischen linguistischer Forschung und kolonialer Praxis, 1887–1914” [Language school or colonial science institute: The seminar for oriental languages in Berlin between linguistic research and colonial practice, 1887–1914]. In Sprachgrenzen – Sprachkontakte – kulturelle Vermittler, edited by Mark Häberlein and Alexander Keese, 261–281. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.Google Scholar
Ngonyani, Deo. 1997. “The Failure of Language Policy in Tanzanian Schools.” Socialstudies.org. 19 March, 2021. [URL]
Nyambura, Ndichu Rachael. 2013. “Figurative Language and Culture-Bound Terms in Interpreting: Challenges and Effects.” Masters diss., University of Nairobi.
Patzell, Malin. 2012. “The Linguistic Situation in Tanzania.” Moderna Spark 2012 (1): 136–144.Google Scholar
Sa, Eleuthera. 2007. Language Policy for Education and Development in Tanzania. PDF file. 19 March, 2021. [URL]
Schmied, Josef. 2013. Tanzanian English. PDF file. 19 March, 2021. [URL]
Sdobnikov, Vadim. 2017. “Types of Decompression in Simultaneous Interpreting.” Journal of Siberian Federal University: Humanities &Social Sciences 3 (10): 409–417. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Středová, Kateřina. 2019. “Critical Archival Research in Translation Studies: When a Translation Scholar Becomes an Archivist-Researcher.” Mutatis Mutandis 12 (2): 501–517. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Swilla, Imani. 2009. “Languages of Instruction in Tanzania: Contradictions between Ideology, Policy and Implementation.” African Study Monographs 30 (1): 1–14.Google Scholar
Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

Liu, Li, Duan Xue, Yijia Zhang, Xingying Huo & C. Venkatesan
2022. Implementation of Language Appropriateness in Intercultural Communication Based on Distributed Control System. Security and Communication Networks 2022 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 4 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.