Papers by Maxime Yves Julien Manifi Abouh
Revue Traduction et Langues, 22(1), 179-198, 2023
Metaphor, in its various forms, poses substantial constraints when one undertakes to translate it... more Metaphor, in its various forms, poses substantial constraints when one undertakes to translate it, given that it is a model of expression of a culture, a mode of thought, singularised through each language and in permanent construction. After clarifying some conceptual and theoretical points about the process of metaphorisation and the typology of metaphor, this study qualitatively analyses the way in which 29 students from a translation institute in Cameroon translated some forty metaphors from Spanish into Cameroonian languages. Given the difficulty of collecting metaphors in their diverse and unclear typology, the study is limited to the category of fixed metaphors, particularly idioms. It is found that because of the cultural connotations they carry and the acrolectal style they are supposed to convey; metaphors are difficult to translate by translator-learners who have not been introduced to a specific method for doing so. Most students make numerous errors (nontranslations, lack of meaning, and loss of meaning) that betray the precariousness of their translation process. Following this observation, this study, which is both descriptive and prescriptive, recommends some specific methodological points that should be taught to translator-learners to enable them to translate metaphors from Spanish into Cameroonian languages effectively. The said methodological points are built on the basis of the work of Barnwell (1990), Misri (1990), Hagström (2002), Jamet (2003), and more around the seven strategies advocated by Newmark (1981) for metaphor transfer, namely reproduction of the same image (literal translation), replacement with a standard image, replacement with a simile that retains the image, replacement with a simile with explanation, conversion of the metaphor into an explanation of its meaning, omission, and reproduction of the original metaphor combined with an explanation. However, the study recommends that such a draft method, in order to be effective and beneficial, should be accompanied by didactic reforms in the teaching of Spanish translation in relation to Cameroonian languages. In this perspective, it would be appropriate for translator-learners to be more exposed to metaphors in Spanish, and that bridges and didactic "pretexts" be created to enable them to rub shoulders with experts in Cameroonian languages and cultures.
C. C. Bah, E. Dagaut, et M. Adjeran (dir.), Actes du colloque international organisé dans le cadre du projet PEBS, Université d’Abomey-Calavi du 07 au 09 juillet 2022. Revue Sociolinguistique et Didactique (ReSciLaC), No 8, pp. 40 – 51, 2023
Eu égard au propositions théoriques en termes d’aménagement linguistique pour l’éducation plurili... more Eu égard au propositions théoriques en termes d’aménagement linguistique pour l’éducation plurilingue au Cameroun, cet article interroge les enjeux de l’utilisation du français comme médium d’enseignement des langues nationales dans la perspective de l’enracinement culturel des apprenants dans le système éducatif camerounais. Il en ressort que, en explorant l’expérience actuelle en matière d’utilisation des langues nationales dans le système éducatif camerounais, le français occupe des fonctions qui permettent de combler des vides dus à des contraintes de ressources humaines, de métalangage pour les langues camerounaises, et de gestion de la diversité linguistique. Cet état de choses serait cependant loin de dénaturer ou de constituer une entrave à l’idéal de l’enracinement culturel si, à l’aune des acquis de l’expérience actuelle, l’on envisage une reconceptualisation de l’enracinement culturel par les langues nationales dans une perspective non essentialiste qui articulerait le français (en tant qu’héritage culturel du Cameroun acquis ou imposé par la force de l’histoire) comme co-médium d’enseignement des langues nationales dans une didactique interlinguistique.
M. P. Ango Medjo (dir.), Jacques Fame Ndongo : orfèvre du verbe, virtuose de la parole, Paris : L’Harmattan., 2023
This study, which focuses on the parallelism and correlation between language and music in the Ba... more This study, which focuses on the parallelism and correlation between language and music in the Bantu context, looks in particular at the place occupied by language in musical expression (instrumental or vocal) in the light of a number of Bantu musical practices and works from Cameroon. Following an analysis of a few aspects of the functioning of two heritage musical instruments (the mvet and the wooden drum) and a few extracts from musical works in the Bantu languages of Cameroon, it follows that beyond the fact that Bantu music, like most of the world's music, can be considered as a language by metaphor, through the images it suggests or the impressions and emotions it creates in listeners, it can also, to a certain extent, be identified concretely with the spoken word, in reference to the materialisation of a given language.
R. Kouesso et G. Mba (éds), Développement des orthographes des langues africaines : leçons et défis à la lumière des expériences du Burkina Faso et du Cameroun. Muenchen : LINCOM academic publishers., 2022
Cet article examine les paramètres d’insertion des polygrammes dans les alphabets des langues à c... more Cet article examine les paramètres d’insertion des polygrammes dans les alphabets des langues à consonnes complexes, afin de remédier aux principales insuffisances dont ces alphabets sont parfois maculés, à savoir l’intrusion des graphèmes de sons non attestés dans la langue et la redondance de lettres dans l’alphabet. La question centrale qui fait l’objet de cette réflexion est celle de savoir quelles sont les conditions idéales d’insertion des consonnes complexes dans les alphabets des langues africaines. Pour y répondre, et sur la base d’une enquête documentaire, l’étude procède par une évaluation de différentes options d’exclusion/inclusion de polygrammes consonantiques à l’aune des alphabets de quelques langues camerounaises de diverses familles linguistiques, par une présentation des enjeux qui en découlent, et par des propositions de critères qui devraient présider à l’intégration de ces polygrammes dans les alphabets des langues africaines. En s’appuyant sur les principes du design alphabétique optimal, inspiré du postulat du design optimal du programme minimaliste du générativisme chomskyen, il apparaît que l’inscription de polygrammes représentant des consonnes complexes dans un alphabet est nécessaire si et seulement si les différentes lettres les composant ne sont pas des monogrammes déjà sélectionnés dans la liste des graphèmes de la langue en question. Dans le cas contraire, ces phonèmes complexes consonantiques seront simplement représentés par des combinaisons de graphèmes et enseignés comme telles. Une telle perspective participe tant à une économie graphémique qu’à une commodité didactique et une inclusion de tout type d’apprenant dans les classes d’initiation à la lecture et à l’écriture.
Revue Traduction et Langues, 21 (1), pp. 137-156, 2022
Focusing on recent work in two terminology committees in Cameroon (the ELAN-Afrique committee and... more Focusing on recent work in two terminology committees in Cameroon (the ELAN-Afrique committee and the one set up by the IFADEM-RETHE team in Cameroon in 2016), this article outlines some of the salient linguistic problems encountered in translation-terminology activities related to the elaboration of lexicons in national languages, in the perspective of bi-lingual education. These include problems relating to the order of priority in the choice of naming procedures, compliance with the rules of adaptation of borrowings, the length of lexicalised expressions, and the rate of translation of terms. With regard to the choice of naming procedures, certain notions were difficult to agree on and were sometimes the source of lengthy debates within the translation-terminology groups. For example, in view of the high level of abstraction of certain concepts, some members of the terminology committees proposed borrowing as a first recourse, while others, with a purist tendency, considered that procedures employing the internal resources of the target language should be preferred to borrowing, without taking into account the length of the lexemes that would be derived from them. As far as compliance with the rules of adaptation of borrowings is concerned, several terms are not morpho-phonologically adapted, contrary to what is recommended by the cultural approaches. Moreover, several graphemes and consonantal sequences not attested in the alphabet or in the morphophonology of certain languages have been disgracefully taken into account in lexicons. Furthermore, as regards the length of lexicalised expressions, several terms have been translated into excessively long syntagms, or even sentences, whereas several procedures could have allowed their lexicalisation in compliance with the principle of brevity dear to terminology. Finally, some terms, due to their high level of abstraction or technicality, remained untranslated. In addition, the study proposes some theoretical-practical issues in the perspective of a model of translation-terminology of school contents from the official languages into the national languages of Cameroon, by laying the groundwork for an extensive socio-cultural terminological approach that would not only preserve the identity needs of each local community (hence the socio-cultural component of the model), but would also take into account the linguistic and cultural diversity of Cameroon characterised by the other idioms that evolve in this territory with the cultures they convey (hence the extensive character of the model). It is a non-essentialist model in its socio-cultural dimension, which promotes the multidialectal and multilingual character of the territory in translation-terminology activities by encouraging and highlighting the lexical variations that could arise from the different linguistic variants within a single language, as well as the calques and borrowings between Cameroonian languages; this with a view to increasing the possibilities of terminological development.
Charles Soh (dir.), Traduction et multiculturalisme en contexte africain, Paris : St Honoré, pp. 87-121., 2020
In the perspective of consolidating national unity by promoting cultural diversity, the Camerooni... more In the perspective of consolidating national unity by promoting cultural diversity, the Cameroonian State has opted for multiculturalism. Cameroon's cultural diversity, by translation, is consubstantial of its multilingualism characterized by national languages and official languages inherited from colonization, especially French and English. This contribution highlights the important role of translation in cohabitation relationships between these languages. It goes beyond the framework of translation in the classic sense of the term, that of a simple act between languages, to look at its social dimension and its intercultural vocation; while underlining the need to develop the translation enterprise into national languages, which has so far not been given special attention, although conditional on the development of these languages and their ability to assume new functions that the texts assign them in the perspective of the promotion of multiculturalism in Cameroon.
African Journal of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 07, 2013
The exclusive use of European languages in education has long been justified by a number of subte... more The exclusive use of European languages in education has long been justified by a number of subterfuges, including the weakness of African languages in the field of scientific terminology. Far from debating the suitability or otherwise of African languages for expressing scientific concepts, this study shows how educational terminology can be produced in an African language such as Yambeta. For its lexical expansion, Yambeta naturally uses terminological processes such as semantic innovation, lexical innovation and borrowing. However, if the language is to be truly elevated to the status of a medium of instruction, texts conveying modernity or, better still, scientific and technical concepts need to be translated. Achieving such a task is no utopian dream. It is possible thanks to translation strategies, the most important of which are transposition, modulation and fleshing out, among others.
Linguistique du développement
La linguistique contribue au développement de l’agriculture chez les Yambeta dans la mesure où el... more La linguistique contribue au développement de l’agriculture chez les Yambeta dans la mesure où elle permet d’élever la langue yambeta au niveau de la maîtrise de l’expression des réalités techniques et modernes du domaine agricole. Grace au développement d’une terminologie et à la traduction de quelques fiches techniques agricoles du français au yambeta, avec le concours des locuteurs de cette langue cible, les agriculteurs en zone yambeta peuvent se sentir épanouis parce qu’ils ont désormais accès aux savoirs innovants qui leur permettront d’améliorer leurs pratiques culturales. Cependant, l’appropriation effective de ces savoirs, entre autres par l’alphabétisation et le renforcement de la formation des agriculteurs aux techniques modernes en langue yambeta, est un autre cap à franchir pour un véritable essor de l’activité agricole chez les Yambeta.
Résumé. Cet article présente la méthode et les procédés ter minologiques qui ont présidé à l’élab... more Résumé. Cet article présente la méthode et les procédés ter minologiques qui ont présidé à l’élaboration d’un lexique thématique bilingue français-yambetta de l’ agriculture ; le yambetta étant une langue peu doté e du Cameroun. L’approche culturelle de la terminologie préconisée par Marcel Diki-Kidiri et les autres (20 08) aura permis d’analyser le contenu conceptuel des termes agricoles en français, afin de bien circonscrire l’ unité de connaissance qu’ils dénotent, et d’analyser la perc eption à la base de leur dénomination. Fort de ces informations, la perception du contenu de ces termes a été reconc ptualisée, ce qui a permis de leur trouver des dén ominations conformes à la culture yambetta. Il s’ensuit ainsi que par rapport au français, le yambetta connaît de s particularités lexico-grammaticales que l’on peut déceler à traver s l lexique élaboré.
Revue Tafsiri, Vol 1, No 1, 2021
Abstract :
This paper, after a presentation of the issues of translation from
and into national l... more Abstract :
This paper, after a presentation of the issues of translation from
and into national languages in Cameroon, paves the way for a didactic
of this discipline by inviting the systematization of a certain number of
parameters linked to teaching content and approaches. It appears that,
although the demand for translation training remains mainly focused on
international languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, etc.)
in Cameroon, the national and international socio-economic, political and
economic context suggests a promising horizon for translators trained
from and into national languages. Hence the interest in consolidating the
current practices of teaching translation from and into national languages
capitalized by national translation training programs, in order to respond
effectively to requests in this area. The challenges of teaching this
discipline, inherent in the multiplicity of national languages that are
mostly poorly endowed, can be met through hybrid pedagogy.
Keywords : didactic, hybrid pedagogy, national language, training
program, translation
Syllabus Review Vol. 8 (1), 2019
Parmi les réformes majeures du système éducatif
camerounais, développées et expérimentées cette d... more Parmi les réformes majeures du système éducatif
camerounais, développées et expérimentées cette dernière décennie au
cycle secondaire, apparaissent la généralisation de l’enseignement des
langues et cultures nationales et l’adoption de l’Approche par les
Compétences (APC) ; une approche estimée plus appropriée que les
approches précédentes pour répondre aux exigences et défis sociétaux
modernes. En revanche, force est de constater que dans la pratique,
l’enseignement des langues et cultures nationales n’est pas toujours en
cohérence avec l’APC, eu égard à des contraintes d’aménagement
linguistique et/ou à des carences d’ordres structurel et didactique. Cet
article, tout en corroborant la pertinence de l’APC et sa contribution à
la qualité de l’enseignement/apprentissage, s’inscrit dans le cadre d’une étude qui explore les défis liés à l’opérationnalisation de cette
nouvelle approche pédagogique et esquisse des propositions en vue de
consolider sa mise en œuvre dans le champ actuel de la formation en
langues et cultures camerounaises au cycle secondaire.
Mots clés : langues et cultures nationales - approche par compétences
– enseignement - cycle secondaire.
Proceedings of the 7th World Congress of African Linguistics, Buea, 17-21 August 2012: Volume One., 2016
The demands of contemporary life require that Africans
should embrace modern mentality in the fac... more The demands of contemporary life require that Africans
should embrace modern mentality in the face of unbridled
development in science and technology. To elevate and expand
the level of knowledge of Africans, it becomes imperative to
promote the intellectualization of African languages.
Nevertheless, this process is not without a number of
challenges. The description of the yambetta experience shows
that these challenges which are inherent in the
intellectualization of African languages sum up in an effective
local integration or appropriation of modern knowledge. To
overcome these challenges, we recommend an approach in the
domain of translation and terminological development, which
integrates the different linguistic communities concerned. Yet,
beyond such an approach, this initiative would unlikely be in a
multilingual context like the case of Cameroon, if the prevailing
language planning does not permit national languages to fulfil
the vitalizing functions of languages that are used in teaching.
Bitjaa Kody, Z. et Ngue Um, Emmanuel (éds), Enseignement des langues et cultures nationales: approches théoriques, pragmatiques et didactiques., 2017
Many efforts have already been made to describe the metalanguage of Cameroonian languages, and th... more Many efforts have already been made to describe the metalanguage of Cameroonian languages, and these efforts are more praiseworthy because they bring out specific linguistic realities of these languages. However, this article raises the problem of the availability of the metalanguage in Cameroonian languages, so that they can e!ectively
serve as mediums of instruction, especially of their specific orthographies and grammars. By focusing on the experience of teaching national
languages at the Higher Teacher Training College of Yaoundé, this study
has highlighted some heuristic aspects of terminology for the outbreak of the metalanguage in Cameroonian languages, while she invites to a
systematization of the e!orts of intellectualization of these languages, in
order to remedy deficiencies that could contribute to the disintegration
of some vitalizing functions that latter tear out to official languages in
the Cameroonian educational system.
Keywords: metalanguage, terminology, teaching, Cameroonian languages.
Langues et Communication No 8, 2021
This article emphasizes that in the education of young Cameroonians, there is need to conceive cu... more This article emphasizes that in the education of young Cameroonians, there is need to conceive cultural rootedness through language from a non-essentialist perspective.A clear decision on the choice of national languages to be taught should be made in order to enable every Cameroonian citizen to learn at least one national language in an optimal way. The national language in question could be an ethnic language which should be taught in an interlinguistic and intercultural perspective.
This would contribute to rootedness not only in an ethnic culture but in a national culture which is characterised by diversity.
Keywords : national language, national culture, non-essentialist, plurality.
Manifi, Maxime, L'importance de la traduction en langues nationales pour l'essor de l'éducation multilingue au Cameroun, 2021
Les dispositions légales et les propositions d'aménagement linguistique préconisées pour un ensei... more Les dispositions légales et les propositions d'aménagement linguistique préconisées pour un enseignement multilingue (langues officielles et langues nationales) ne sont pas suffisamment reflétées dans les programmes actuels de l'éducation formelle au Cameroun. Dans la répartition des fonctions des langues, les langues officielles ne cessent de se tailler la part du lion à cause, entre autres, d'une faible production de supports didactiques en langues nationales ainsi que des difficultés terminologiques auxquelles ces langues font face dans l'expression des réalités scientifiques et modernes. Il se trouve cependant que la traduction favorise l'intellectualisation des langues nationales ; mieux, elle contribue à la production écrite en ces langues, tout en leur permettant de s'enrichir sur le plan terminologique au contact des langues étrangères. Mais au Cameroun, cette activité n'est exercée que dans les langues officielles ou, s'agissant des langues nationales, réduite à quelques initiatives individuelles et privées. Une attention particulière doit être accordée à l'activité traduisante en langues nationales sans laquelle l'éducation multilingue aurait du mal à éclore au Cameroun.
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Papers by Maxime Yves Julien Manifi Abouh
This paper, after a presentation of the issues of translation from
and into national languages in Cameroon, paves the way for a didactic
of this discipline by inviting the systematization of a certain number of
parameters linked to teaching content and approaches. It appears that,
although the demand for translation training remains mainly focused on
international languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, etc.)
in Cameroon, the national and international socio-economic, political and
economic context suggests a promising horizon for translators trained
from and into national languages. Hence the interest in consolidating the
current practices of teaching translation from and into national languages
capitalized by national translation training programs, in order to respond
effectively to requests in this area. The challenges of teaching this
discipline, inherent in the multiplicity of national languages that are
mostly poorly endowed, can be met through hybrid pedagogy.
Keywords : didactic, hybrid pedagogy, national language, training
program, translation
camerounais, développées et expérimentées cette dernière décennie au
cycle secondaire, apparaissent la généralisation de l’enseignement des
langues et cultures nationales et l’adoption de l’Approche par les
Compétences (APC) ; une approche estimée plus appropriée que les
approches précédentes pour répondre aux exigences et défis sociétaux
modernes. En revanche, force est de constater que dans la pratique,
l’enseignement des langues et cultures nationales n’est pas toujours en
cohérence avec l’APC, eu égard à des contraintes d’aménagement
linguistique et/ou à des carences d’ordres structurel et didactique. Cet
article, tout en corroborant la pertinence de l’APC et sa contribution à
la qualité de l’enseignement/apprentissage, s’inscrit dans le cadre d’une étude qui explore les défis liés à l’opérationnalisation de cette
nouvelle approche pédagogique et esquisse des propositions en vue de
consolider sa mise en œuvre dans le champ actuel de la formation en
langues et cultures camerounaises au cycle secondaire.
Mots clés : langues et cultures nationales - approche par compétences
– enseignement - cycle secondaire.
should embrace modern mentality in the face of unbridled
development in science and technology. To elevate and expand
the level of knowledge of Africans, it becomes imperative to
promote the intellectualization of African languages.
Nevertheless, this process is not without a number of
challenges. The description of the yambetta experience shows
that these challenges which are inherent in the
intellectualization of African languages sum up in an effective
local integration or appropriation of modern knowledge. To
overcome these challenges, we recommend an approach in the
domain of translation and terminological development, which
integrates the different linguistic communities concerned. Yet,
beyond such an approach, this initiative would unlikely be in a
multilingual context like the case of Cameroon, if the prevailing
language planning does not permit national languages to fulfil
the vitalizing functions of languages that are used in teaching.
serve as mediums of instruction, especially of their specific orthographies and grammars. By focusing on the experience of teaching national
languages at the Higher Teacher Training College of Yaoundé, this study
has highlighted some heuristic aspects of terminology for the outbreak of the metalanguage in Cameroonian languages, while she invites to a
systematization of the e!orts of intellectualization of these languages, in
order to remedy deficiencies that could contribute to the disintegration
of some vitalizing functions that latter tear out to official languages in
the Cameroonian educational system.
Keywords: metalanguage, terminology, teaching, Cameroonian languages.
This would contribute to rootedness not only in an ethnic culture but in a national culture which is characterised by diversity.
Keywords : national language, national culture, non-essentialist, plurality.
This paper, after a presentation of the issues of translation from
and into national languages in Cameroon, paves the way for a didactic
of this discipline by inviting the systematization of a certain number of
parameters linked to teaching content and approaches. It appears that,
although the demand for translation training remains mainly focused on
international languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, etc.)
in Cameroon, the national and international socio-economic, political and
economic context suggests a promising horizon for translators trained
from and into national languages. Hence the interest in consolidating the
current practices of teaching translation from and into national languages
capitalized by national translation training programs, in order to respond
effectively to requests in this area. The challenges of teaching this
discipline, inherent in the multiplicity of national languages that are
mostly poorly endowed, can be met through hybrid pedagogy.
Keywords : didactic, hybrid pedagogy, national language, training
program, translation
camerounais, développées et expérimentées cette dernière décennie au
cycle secondaire, apparaissent la généralisation de l’enseignement des
langues et cultures nationales et l’adoption de l’Approche par les
Compétences (APC) ; une approche estimée plus appropriée que les
approches précédentes pour répondre aux exigences et défis sociétaux
modernes. En revanche, force est de constater que dans la pratique,
l’enseignement des langues et cultures nationales n’est pas toujours en
cohérence avec l’APC, eu égard à des contraintes d’aménagement
linguistique et/ou à des carences d’ordres structurel et didactique. Cet
article, tout en corroborant la pertinence de l’APC et sa contribution à
la qualité de l’enseignement/apprentissage, s’inscrit dans le cadre d’une étude qui explore les défis liés à l’opérationnalisation de cette
nouvelle approche pédagogique et esquisse des propositions en vue de
consolider sa mise en œuvre dans le champ actuel de la formation en
langues et cultures camerounaises au cycle secondaire.
Mots clés : langues et cultures nationales - approche par compétences
– enseignement - cycle secondaire.
should embrace modern mentality in the face of unbridled
development in science and technology. To elevate and expand
the level of knowledge of Africans, it becomes imperative to
promote the intellectualization of African languages.
Nevertheless, this process is not without a number of
challenges. The description of the yambetta experience shows
that these challenges which are inherent in the
intellectualization of African languages sum up in an effective
local integration or appropriation of modern knowledge. To
overcome these challenges, we recommend an approach in the
domain of translation and terminological development, which
integrates the different linguistic communities concerned. Yet,
beyond such an approach, this initiative would unlikely be in a
multilingual context like the case of Cameroon, if the prevailing
language planning does not permit national languages to fulfil
the vitalizing functions of languages that are used in teaching.
serve as mediums of instruction, especially of their specific orthographies and grammars. By focusing on the experience of teaching national
languages at the Higher Teacher Training College of Yaoundé, this study
has highlighted some heuristic aspects of terminology for the outbreak of the metalanguage in Cameroonian languages, while she invites to a
systematization of the e!orts of intellectualization of these languages, in
order to remedy deficiencies that could contribute to the disintegration
of some vitalizing functions that latter tear out to official languages in
the Cameroonian educational system.
Keywords: metalanguage, terminology, teaching, Cameroonian languages.
This would contribute to rootedness not only in an ethnic culture but in a national culture which is characterised by diversity.
Keywords : national language, national culture, non-essentialist, plurality.