{"id":994,"date":"2023-01-17T09:42:59","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T09:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.feelnubia.com\/?p=994"},"modified":"2025-01-04T15:10:02","modified_gmt":"2025-01-04T15:10:02","slug":"lost-in-approximation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/index.php\/2023\/blog-misc-and-opinions\/lost-in-approximation\/","title":{"rendered":"Lost in Translation: The Cost of Cultural Approximation"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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Photo by Etienne Girardet<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n

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Lost in Translation: Why African Culture Can’t Be Explained in English<\/h1>\r\n

Have you ever tried explaining a traditional African expression in English, only to find that the words don\u2019t quite fit? I have. Many times. And each time, I\u2019m left frustrated.<\/p>\r\n

I find myself grasping for \u201cequivalents.\u201d But these so-called equivalents (Western words) strip the original expression of its meaning, its soul. What\u2019s left is a hollow shell of the idea I wanted to share. This happens to African people every single day, especially when we\u2019re trying to make ourselves legible to the Western world.<\/p>\r\n

We bend and twist our cultural expressions into Western shapes. In doing so, we dilute them. And over time, we lose them entirely.<\/p>\r\n

Take, for instance, the traditional African value of upliftment<\/em>. In many cultures, when one person succeeds, they\u2019re expected to take others with them. It\u2019s a joyful duty that is almost sacred.<\/p>\r\n

One child graduates from university? The whole village celebrates, because it means another child will likely follow. It means hope for all.<\/p>\r\n

But when translated into Western terms, this communal obligation is often labeled as nepotism, a dirty word that paints a generous act as corruption. And so, some Africans, trying to appear \u201cmodern,\u201d have abandoned the practice. Now, many rise the social ladder alone, leaving their kin behind.<\/p>\r\n

It\u2019s a tragic shift from community to individualism. And it didn\u2019t happen by chance.<\/p>\r\n

Culture or Corruption?<\/h2>\r\n

Let\u2019s go deeper. In many African cultures, bringing a gift when you visit someone of higher status is normal: a sign of honor<\/em>. There\u2019s even a saying in some languages that means \u201cpour water ahead so your feet touch cool ground.\u201d Beautiful, right?<\/p>\r\n

But the Western word for this act is often \u201cbribery.\u201d It sounds criminal. Shameful. So, again, Africans shy away from something deeply cultural because they\u2019ve been told it\u2019s wrong based on a completely different moral framework.<\/p>\r\n

Even the Bible, which many Africans hold dear, says: \u201cA man’s gift makes room for him\u201d<\/em> (Proverbs 18:16). So\u2026 is that bribery too? Or is it simply a different way of honoring relationships?<\/p>\r\n

We need to stop forcing our values into foreign molds.<\/p>\r\n

Losing Words, Losing Worlds<\/h2>\r\n

Language is more than communication. It holds the keys to worldview, memory, and spirit. When children stop speaking their mother tongues, the culture behind those languages begins to die.<\/p>\r\n

In 2010, Boa Senior (the last speaker of the ancient Bo language in the Andaman Islands) died. With her, one of the world\u2019s oldest languages vanished. That same loss is happening in parts of Africa right now. Some African parents even take pride in their kids speaking English, French, or Portuguese\u2014but not their native tongues. As if fluency in the colonizer’s language equals success.<\/p>\r\n

If our children no longer think in African languages, how can they fully live African lives?<\/p>\r\n

There\u2019s a simple truth we must face: not everything African can be translated. And it doesn\u2019t have to be. The Chinese didn\u2019t translate \u201cchi\u201d or \u201cfeng shui\u201d into English. They made the world learn those words. Today, those ideas are respected globally.<\/p>\r\n

Africans must do the same. We need to stop apologizing<\/em> for our ways. Stop renaming our customs with words that twist their meaning. And when the \u201csmart text\u201d of the West doesn’t offer a word that fits us?<\/p>\r\n

We exit that function and write our own story. Let\u2019s keep speaking our truth in our own words.<\/p>\r\n

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