TRANSLATING GREETINGS: THE IGBO-FRENCH EXAMPLE

Dr. Kate Ndukauba

Department of Foreign Language & Translation Studies

Abia State University, Uturu.Nigeria.

• INTRODUCTION• Different languages and cultures have their modes of

greeting. • The forms of greetings and the gestures that accompany

them also differ from culture to culture. • Greetings can be time-specific, activity-specific, weather-

specific or occasion-specific. • Sometimes, they take the form of questions and answers. • Very often, they are an expression of wishes and regards, of

feelings and beliefs.

• They can be verbal or non-verbal. • They may involve gestures and gesticulations. • Greetings have their role in culture and culture plays a role in

greetings. • Understanding the cultural undertone in greetings is

imperative to the correct translation of greetings from one language to another. • The intention of this write-up is to find equivalent greetings

in Igbo and French languages and identify the problems of translating greetings from Igbo to French.

•WHAT ARE GREETINGS?• Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines greeting as a

friendly expression or gesture used on meeting or welcoming someone; a good or fond wish, a friendly message. • To greet is to address or welcome someone especially in a

friendly way.•Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary says it is a salutation at

meeting, an expression of good wishes; regards. • To greet is to address with kind wishes, to hail, to meet or

react to in a specified manner.

• So greetings imply friendliness, thoughtfulness and are expressed in a specified manner depending on the place, time, circumstances and the individuals involved. • They vary from place to place. Igbo (African) culture and

French (European) culture are far apart in terms of space and time. • From the above two definitions, greeting is about welcoming

or wishing somebody well in a friendly way. But in the African setting, it is more than that.

• In addition to well wishes, it has to do with activities (different kinds of work or engagements), age (elders and youths), emotions (feelings – joy, sorrow, anxiety etc), place (market, palace, mourning house, wedding venues,village square etc), status (Chiefs, Ezes, Kings, titled men, subjects, the wealthy, bosses, educated etc) and the like. • Languages are a way of establishing and displaying group

identity. (Wikipedia) They also have varieties as is the case with Igbo language. • Different parts of Igboland (e.g. Ngwa, Ubakala, Owerri,

Ohafia, Anambra) speak different dialects.

• CONTEXT OF GREETINGS• Various situations have specific greetings that go with them.

Some situations can even modify the greetings. The situations include time, weather, activity, relationship, age, place, status, gender etc. Examples:• Time (morning): Ututu oma, I boola chi (good morning) :

Bonjour•Weather: Unu ahula miri? (Greeting on a rainy day): Quel temps

pluvieux!• Activity: Jisie ike (greeting to somebody at work): Bon travail• Relationship (between friends): Kedu ka eke si anya anwu? (How

are you?) : Ça va?

• Age (younger to older): Dee, mmamma oo: Bonjour monsieur.• Place (village square meeting): Umuibe Kwenu! (Brethren, I

greet you): Mesdames et messieurs, bonjour• Status: Eze, i ga-adi ooo (Your Royal Majesty, Long live the

King): Vive le roi!• Greetings can be expressed verbally or non-verbally. Verbal

greetings convey specific meanings in words and expressions.• e.g. Nnoo (welcome): Bienvenu• Ndeewo nu o (I greet you, Hello): Salut

• Non-verbal greetings are expressed through gesticulations (e.g. when titled men used their fans to touch each other’s fan twice on one side and once on the other side, • or when a king or a queen uses his or her cowtail to touch

somebody prostrating or kneeling before him or her, • or still when a king or titled man raises and waves his fan or

cowtail at the crowd.• Greeting by gesticulations include waving goodbye with the

hand, holding up the two hands or palms or fists in acknowledgement of cheers.

• Non-verbal greetings can be in the form of gestures like giving gifts (symbolic or plain), giving a helping hand, or even a handshake, a pat on the back, a bow etc.

CULTURAL CONTEXT OF GREETINGS• In the Igbo Culture, the younger greets the older first. The

untitled greets the titled first. • The wife greets the husband first. The subordinate greets the

boss or the leader first. A child greets the parents first. • The individual greets the group first and the one coming in

greets those already seated first.

• There is however, no law against the greeting going the opposite way. That could just be out of love or fondness or familiarity or friendliness. • A person who greets very often is considered well-brought

up and is liked by many.• Greetings are always accompanied by smiles or radiant joy

which infects the person being greeted thereby creating an atmosphere of happiness. • The Igbo say: E kwee ekele, ihu achaa (Greetings brightens

the face). So a social function of greetings is that it brightens people up and creates opportunity for further interactions.

• In fact, a young lady of marriageable age who does not greet people, may find it difficult to have a suitor. The habit of greeting adds to the good character that sells the lady.• Greeting as part of culture does not seek to achieve a specific

result but is part and parcel of the people, it is a way of life. • For example, a young girl does not go greeting people

because she wants a husband, rather she greets people because it is a habit she formed through her good upbringing in the culture of her people. • However, it is possible for unscrupulous persons to use

greeting as a tool to manipulate relationships.

• Greetings are peculiar to every people and race.• For the Igbo, greeting can means you are welcome or you

appreciate the effort being put into a particular work or activity. • It means respect for the other person, it means good wishes, it

means empathy, it means blessings. • That is why there are various greetings at various times and

occasions. They serve different purposes. They can be used to hail, to boost morale, to motivate into action, to affirm honorifics.• According to Adewole and Abraham (2012), greetings perform

the under-listed social functions:

• Used to open a sequence of communicative acts between two persons irrespective of their positions.• As a means of defining and affirming both identity and rank.• Because the standard forms of greeting contain an element

of deference which is status enhancing, greeting becomes a mode of entering upon or manipulating a relationship in order to achieve a specific result.• One indisputable fact is that greetings are an essential part

of a people’s way of life especially in Africa. • Some of them have direct equivalents in French, others do

not for cultural reasons.

FRENCH EQUIVALENTS OF IGBO GREETINGS

Igbo English FrenchTime-specific greetings

Morning I bọọla chi I saala chi

Good morning Bonjour

Evening Ka chi foo See you tomorrow

A demain

Activity-specific greetings

Work Jisie ike Kedu maka oru?I rụwala?A na-arụ kwa

How is work?How are you doing?

Bon travail/ Bon courage

Eating I riwala? Enjoy your meal

Bon appetit

Welcome Unu abialaI lola

You are welcome

Soyez les bienvenus

Parting

Ka ọ di.Nọdụ nu mma oo.Ka emesia

Good bye Au revoir

Weather-specific greetings

Unu ahụla anwụ? It’s a sunny day.

Quelle chaleur!

Blessings/Good wishes

Ya gazie ooIje ọma ooChukwu gọzie gi oo.

Good luckSafe journeyGod bless you.

Bon chanceBon voyageQue Dieu vous bénisse.

Context-specific greetings

Mourning

Achievements

Ndo o. Kasie obi. Kaanụ ọma.

I gbaliala,

I’m sorryWhat a pity!Accept my sympathy Congratulations

DésoléQuel dommage!Mes condoléances Félicitations!

Honorifics: At gatherings, in the palace

Igweeeeeeeeeee!!!Agụ na-eche mba!!!Ϙnwa na-etiri ọha!!!

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Group greetings:

(a) Amụzụ Kwenu …..Iyaa Rie nụ……….….…Iyaa Ñụọnụ…………….IyaaMụọ nụ…………....IyaaZụọ nụ………….…IyaaKwezuo nụ oo..…..Iyaa. (b)Ndeewo nu…Ndeewo (c)Daalụ nụoo…Daalụsọ (d)Unu anọdụla ee?...Ee(e)Mma mma nụ…Iyaa (nwa m)

Amụzụ people, I greet you

Les gens d’Amụzụ, je vous salue.ou bienBonjour

General greetings

Kedụ ka ọ di? Ulo kwanu?

How are you?How is the family?

Comment ça va?Et la famille?

• PROBLEMS OF TRANSLATING IGBO GREETINGS INTO FRENCH• According to Davanineshad (2009), there are often more

problems in cross-cultural communication which happens between people of different cultural backgrounds than in communication between people of the same cultural background.• Each participant may interpret the other's speech according

to his/her own cultural conventions and expectations. • If the cultural conventions of the speakers are widely

different, misinterpretations and misunderstandings can easily arise, and can even result in total breakdown of communication.

• Given that both languages and the cultures they express are worlds apart there are bound to be problems in translating greetings from one to the other. • French belongs to the Indo-European family of languages

while Igbo belongs to the Kwa family of the Niger-Congo phylum. • Hence there is little or no resemblance or relationship

between them. Some of the problems encountered include:

1. Dialectical differences• It has already been mentioned that Igbo language has many

dialects as see in the examples below.• Comb: nvuvo, nbubo, asara• Oil: manu, mara• Husband: di, ji• Money: ikpeghe, ojomma, okpogho, ego, nwa ohuu• These variations can constitute problems for a translator

who does not know or speak the dialects. He can get round it by asking questions and contacting native speakers.

2. Greetings in fixed expressions or clichés• Jennifer’s Language Page agrees that some greeting words

and phrases have standardized forms. • This is very true of Igbo language where some greetings are

in fixed expressions and vary from one part of Igboland to the other. • These greetings cannot be translated into French because a

literal translation would make them meaningless. • The only way to get closer to an acceptable translation would

be to look for an equivalent situation and what the French would say in that situation.

• For example, in Ngwa land, the younger person greets while the older responds thus:• Mazi………………………….….Nde (nne, nna, nwa m etc),• Nawu……………………………Na nwa afo, • Ka nka…………………….…….Nka mu na gi,• Dabiri……………………………Ekpewara Chi. • Olokoro people say: mma mma o…….…….iyaa (nwa m)• Ohafia people say: Kaa nu…………….….Ka nnule• Item people say: Juo kwa.

• These greetings call attention of the ones involved, wish them long and enjoyable life. The person responding wishes the one greeting the same. • No French translation can capture the whole picture with all

the nuances contained therein.3. Cultural undertones• In Igboland, people have salutation names, honorifics, which

do not exist in the French culture. These honorifics become greetings when the bearer is hailed. • How does one translate the following salutation names or

praise names when they serve as greetings?

• Igweeeeee• Onwaaaaa• Gaa ga a n’ogwu• Ideeee• Agu na-eche mba• O chiri o zuo• Oke osisi• As an example, Igwe literally means sky or heaven, onwa

(moon), agu na-eche mba (the tiger that watches over the people). The cultural perception of the Igbo is seen in these expressions with different symbols.

• One wonders whether the French can hail an individual by calling him heaven or moon. • The cultural context comes into play here and poses a

problem for an uninformed translator.• Greetings are culture-specific. Jennifer’s Language Page

explains that some cultures have very lengthy complex greetings while others do not. • Besides, what may be polite and appropriate in one culture

may not be in another. • These constitute problems in translating greetings.

• CONCLUSION • It is an established fact that different people greet in

different ways, though greeting in itself is universal. • Some greetings have equivalents in other languages while

some do not. This is because languages and cultures differ.• The cultural context and undertone in greetings give specific

meanings to the greetings in the language in which they are expressed. • Translating greetings is a difficult task because many of the

greetings have no direct equivalent in other languages.

• The best that can be done is to find equivalent situations where those greetings are used and apply them to the language of the other culture. • Hence language and culture play a very important role in

greeting. It is worthy of note that when people get to a foreign land, one of the first things they learn is how the people they are visiting. • This warms them up to their hosts and makes their stay more

welcome. It is, however, very necessary to understand the greetings in order to give the appropriate response in the appropriate way. The world would be a better place.

• REFERENCES • Adewole, Alagbe and Abraham,David. 2012. “The

Implications of Socio-cultural Meaning of Yoruba Greetings” in Issues in Language and Human Development, A Festschrift for Jerome Ikechukwu Okonkwo.Enugu: San Press Ltd. • Chambers 21st Century Dictionary. 2001. India: Allied

Publishers Private Limited. • Davaninezhad Forogh Karimipur. 2009. Cross-cultural

Communication and Translation. Translation Journal. vol.13 no.4. Oct. http://translationjournal.net/journal/50culture.htm

• Jennifer’s Language Page: About Translating Greetings. 28 Apr 2015. users.elite.net/runners/jennifers/abouttranslatinggreetings.htm•Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary. 1981. U.S.A.: G.&C.

Merridian Co. •Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. “Language families”

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/language.families •Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. “Languages in West Africa”

en.wikipedia.org.

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