Towards establishing linguistic paternity and genetic relationship in disputed translation equivalence cases

Abstract

The translation problem to be addressed in the article is the meaning to be assigned to the phrase ‘kumYolelo wakhe wokugqibela nomNqophiso’ (in his last Will and Testament) as it appears in Clause 6 (b) of the Constitution of the Bantu Church of Christ. The conflict over the meaning of the phrase led to a Supreme Court case which was, according to the affidavits, characterized by a divergency of views and interpretations among the litigants and among leading Xhosa linguists who were called in on both sides as experts. Fortunately, the case was settled out of court although the question of interpretation was left unresolved. This is an independent and private attempt to resolve what appears to be an area of serious conflict in the church and among academics.