Multi-pronged complexities associated with translating mathematics texts intended for use in the Foundation Phase of schooling in South Africa

Multi-pronged complexities associated with translating mathematics texts intended for use in the Foundation Phase of schooling in South Africa

Celimpilo Dladla & Choice Mpanza

Issue: Vol. 7 No.7 2026 Article 2 pp. 1776 – 1788
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2026772Published online 10th August 2026

8 Downloads

DOWNLOAD PDF

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on challenges and experiences learned from translating Foundation Phase Mathematics texts from English into isiZulu. The need to translate school texts from English into the various indigenous African languages has been fostered by revisions made to the Language in Education Policy (1997), which mandate using learners’ home languages for all teaching and learning in the Foundation Phase since 2013. Due to the lack of resources written in the indigenous African languages, currently most of the material is created by translating texts from English into these languages. Data for this desktop study was elicited from WhatsApp conversations among members of a group that was created to ensure constant communication and consultation during the project. Qualitative data was collected and was analysed using Venuti’s (1995) theory of translator’s invisibility and Reiss and Vermeer’s (2013) Skopos theory. The findings show that translators must have the disciplinary knowledge required to produce texts that take into account the needs and the realities of the contexts in which they will be used. For this reason, the importance of promoting discipline-focused translation training is suggested to equip translators with the skills and knowledge that will help improve translation processes and improve the quality of the texts that are produced. Developing translation-focused quality assurance prescripts is also recommended to help ensure that good quality texts are produced.

Keywords: Mathematics, Foundation Phase, Translation, Translators, Translator Training

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Akinmolayan, Emmanuel S, Claudine A Hingston, Udoh J Akpan, and Omolola A Arise. “Towards Decolonisation of Primary School Education in South Africa.” South African Journal of Childhood Education 14, no. 1 (2024): 1440.

Al-Smadi, Hadeel M. “Challenges in Translating Scientific Texts: Problems and Reasons.” Journal of Language Teaching and Research 13, no. 3 (2022): 550–60.

Bernacka, Anna. “The Importance of Translation Studies for Development Education.” Policy and Practice: A Development Education Review 14 (2012).

Beukes, Anne-Marie. “Translation in South Africa: The Politics of Transmission.” Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 24, no. 1 (2006): 1–6.

Bhatasara, Sandra. “Women, Land and Poverty in Zimbabwe: Deconstructing the Impacts of the Fast Track Land Reform Program.” Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa 13, no. 1 (2011): 316–30.

Department of Education. “Language in Education Policy.” Pretoria: Government Printers, 1997.

Diko, Mlamli. “The Retainment of South African Indigenous Languages: A Systemic Literature Review.” International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science 12, no. 5 (2023): 306–14.

Edwards, Viv, and Jacob Marriote Ngwaru. “Multilingual Education in South Africa: The Role of Publishers.” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 32, no. 5 (2011): 435–50.

Hlongwani, Given Jacqe. “An Analysis of the Challenges with Respect to Attaining Equivalence in Translation of Literature Pertaining to Sexually Transmitted Diseases from English into Xitsonga,” 2012.

Károly, Krisztina. “Translating Academic Texts.” The Cambridge Handbook of Translation, 2022, 340–62.

Leal, Alice, and Philip Wilson. “A Tale of Two Disciplines? Philosophy in/on Translation.” Perspectives 31, no. 1 (January 2, 2023): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2023.2148984.

Mabela, Matefu L, and Thabo Ditsele. “Exploring Intellectualisation of South African Indigenous Languages for Academic Purposes.” Literator-Journal of Literary Criticism, Comparative Linguistics and Literary Studies 45, no. 1 (2024): 1980.

Mandlenkosi, Maphumulo Abednigo. Ukuvamisa Imithetho Yokubhala Nobhalomagama LwesiZulu Lonyaka Wezi-2021. Pietermaritzburg: UKZN Press, 2021.

Manyike, T V, and E M Lemmer. “Research in Language Education in South Africa: Problems & Prospects.” Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 5, no.8(2014):251–58.

Mashige, Mashudu, Madoda Cekiso, and Thenjiwe Meyiwa. “Foundation Phase Teachers’ Experiences with Instruction in the Mother Tongue in the Eastern Cape.” South African Journal of Childhood Education 9, no. 1 (2019): 1–10.

Mbatha Mpumelelo O. Isichazamazwi SesiZulu. Pretoria: Heritage Publishers, 2014.

Motsaathebe, Gilbert. “Book Publishing in Indigenous Languages in South Africa: Challenges and Opportunities.” Indilinga African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems 10, no. 1 (2011): 115–27.

Mpanza, Choice D, and Celimpilo P Dladla. “Issues to Ponder on as We Navigate the Translation of Academic Texts from English into IsiZulu.” African Perspectives Of Research In Teaching And Learning Учредители: University of Limpopo, 2024, 84–97.

Munday, Jeremy, Sara Ramos Pinto, and Jacob Blakesley. Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications. Routledge, 2022.

Mwanda, Ziyanda. “Text, Voice-Notes, and Emojis: Exploring the Use of WhatsApp as a Responsive Research Method for Qualitative Studies.” Critical Studies in Teaching and Learning 10, no. 1 (2022): 78–92.

Newmark, Peter. Approaches to Translation. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1981.

Pym, Anthony. “Philosophy and Translation.” A Companion to Translation Studies, 2007, 24–44.

Reiss, Katharina, Christiane Nord, and Hans J Vermeer. Towards a General Theory of Translational Action: Skopos Theory Explained. Routledge, 2014.

Tyler, Robyn, and Carolyn McKinney. “Crossing the Text Frontier: Teachers Resisting African Language Texts for Learning.” Reading & Writing-Journal of the Literacy Association of South Africa 15, no. 1 (2024): 501.

Venuti, Lawrence. “The Translator’s Invisibility.” Londres/Nueva York: Routledge, 1995.

Waddington, Kathy. “Language Policy: Disadvantaging Learners.” Indicator South Africa 16, no. 3 (1999): 60–63.

Wet, Corene De, and Charl Wolhuter. “A Transitiological Study of Some South African Educational Issues.” South African Journal of Education 29, no. 3 (2009): 359–76.

ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Celimpilo Dladla is the Head of the Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is a practising researcher with years of experience as an interpreter and translator for the South African government (from English into isiZulu and vice versa) and has published scholarly articles and chapters in the discipline merging practice and academic research. Her undergraduate and postgraduate studies are in Language Practice; Management, Translation and Interpreting Studies; IsiZulu Studies; African Languages and Linguistics; and Teaching in Higher Education. Her postdoctoral research focuses on language policy, translation, and interpreting. She is also an author of two novels: The pastor with a criminal mind and Ngumhlaba-ke lowo!

Choice Mpanza is a Language Education lecturer in the Wits School of Education. Her research interests include the promotion and use of the indigenous African languages in teaching and learning. She holds qualifications in General Linguistics, Second Language Studies, Translation Studies, Education Studies and English. She is a qualified translator who translates from English into isiZulu and has worked on various projects involving the translation of academic texts from English into isiZulu. She is also a published author of a poetry collection titled Imizwa nemicabango.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Dladla, Celimpilo, and Choice Mpanza. “Multi-pronged complexities associated with translating mathematics texts intended for use in the Foundation Phase of schooling in South Africa.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 7, no.7 (2026): 1776 – 1788. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2026772