Translation of Local Colour in Patrice Nganang's Temps de Chien

There is a general notion that African literature, loaded with local colour, is fraught with translation difficulties, due to cultural distance between the author and the non African translator. The study of Amy Reid’s translation of Patrice Nganang’s Temps de chien is principally an attempt to erase this misconception. This book attempts a comparative analysis of the source and target texts, at the macro and micro-textual levels, in order to identify, describe, and explain the strategies employed in translating the local colour. A critical review of various theories that underpin the translation of local colour informs the justification of the strategies. The translation techniques applied include transcription, transposition, substitution with equivalents, borrowing, and, on very rare occasions, omission. From the analysis, it is concluded that transcription, transposition, and borrowing are the common techniques Reid used, and which could be considered as the most effective in the translation of local colour.