Missionary interventions in Zulu religious practices: the term for the Supreme Being

The traditional Zulu people conducted their religious practices orally and in their appeals to a Supreme Being used the terms uNkulunkulu (the Great-Great-One) or uMvelinqangi (the First-to-Appear) interchangeably. However, with the translation of the Bible into isiZulu, the concept of the Supreme...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: M. R. Masubelele
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2009-12-01
Series:Acta Theologica
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2284
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1823858716250734592
author M. R. Masubelele
author_facet M. R. Masubelele
author_sort M. R. Masubelele
collection DOAJ
description The traditional Zulu people conducted their religious practices orally and in their appeals to a Supreme Being used the terms uNkulunkulu (the Great-Great-One) or uMvelinqangi (the First-to-Appear) interchangeably. However, with the translation of the Bible into isiZulu, the concept of the Supreme Being that was originally known by the Zulu people was changed and cast into a Christian mould. This paper explains these interventions in terms of Toury’s work. By using a corpus-based approach, the linguistic choices of the translators will be analysed to demonstrate that the earliest translators adopted the norms of the source text and culture, while in the latest translations the norms of the target culture were adhered to.
format Article
id doaj-art-ab25653b4c5f45be9172fdf3b9b30831
institution Kabale University
issn 1015-8758
2309-9089
language English
publishDate 2009-12-01
publisher University of the Free State
record_format Article
series Acta Theologica
spelling doaj-art-ab25653b4c5f45be9172fdf3b9b308312025-02-11T10:06:04ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892009-12-011210.38140/at.v0i12.2284Missionary interventions in Zulu religious practices: the term for the Supreme BeingM. R. Masubelele0University of South Africa The traditional Zulu people conducted their religious practices orally and in their appeals to a Supreme Being used the terms uNkulunkulu (the Great-Great-One) or uMvelinqangi (the First-to-Appear) interchangeably. However, with the translation of the Bible into isiZulu, the concept of the Supreme Being that was originally known by the Zulu people was changed and cast into a Christian mould. This paper explains these interventions in terms of Toury’s work. By using a corpus-based approach, the linguistic choices of the translators will be analysed to demonstrate that the earliest translators adopted the norms of the source text and culture, while in the latest translations the norms of the target culture were adhered to. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2284
spellingShingle M. R. Masubelele
Missionary interventions in Zulu religious practices: the term for the Supreme Being
Acta Theologica
title Missionary interventions in Zulu religious practices: the term for the Supreme Being
title_full Missionary interventions in Zulu religious practices: the term for the Supreme Being
title_fullStr Missionary interventions in Zulu religious practices: the term for the Supreme Being
title_full_unstemmed Missionary interventions in Zulu religious practices: the term for the Supreme Being
title_short Missionary interventions in Zulu religious practices: the term for the Supreme Being
title_sort missionary interventions in zulu religious practices the term for the supreme being
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2284
work_keys_str_mv AT mrmasubelele missionaryinterventionsinzulureligiouspracticesthetermforthesupremebeing