Opela bjalo ka noka

Translating ‘Sing Like A River’
into ‘Opela bjalo ka noka’

by Phomelelo Machika

Listen to a reading of this poem
by Phomelelo Machika

Direct transations would not make sense even if this was not a poem. Translating into Sepedi requires a lot of creativity, our language provides for strong visuals and imagery. The problem I encountered was with the borrowed words that we do not have in Sepedi. For example: ‘a bell behind my teeth’. In Sepedi we do not have ‘bell’, so we use pele, borrowed from the English ‘bell’. It does not make sense on it’s own, so we give a description: ‘a bell used for cows’ or ‘a church bell’. This is because we tie named bells on our livestock for easy identification. In English poetry, a brief sentence makes sense and provide for imagery. In Sepedi, we have to elaborate, while at the same time we have to be careful not to tell, but show. The line breaks differ because of this, which makes the appearance of a Sepedi poem different in presentation and the way it sounds. For example on the bell issue, I have had to say leleme laka, kera yona tshipi sellamogolong wa boketšwamaswi. I have had to expand the bell part and be creative by including the cows, so I would not have to use the borrowed word. In this way the poem flows, has meaning. I could not do the same with ‘ladder’. In Sepedi we use llere, a word borrowed from Afrikaans. I ended up using it as it is because unlike a bell, it makes sense standing on it’s own. Translation has always been a rewarding process for me because it is about accessibility. The translated poem, opela bjalo ka noka/sing like a river, was edited by a high school Sepedi teacher.

February, 2006

Biography

My name is Phomelelo Mamampi Machika. I come from the Northern province of South Africa: Limpopo, ‘Africa’s Eden’. I am a product of stalwarts; men and women who forge through life unperturbed in the under resourced village of Ga-Phaaahla Mmakadikwe. We speak Sepedi, also known as Northen Sotho. Sepedi is a language rich in idioms and proverbs, which shape our communities. My first writings were in English, a very broken English, first in my diary then later on in my poems. The English language is widely used in the new South Africa, we have eleven official languages but the medium of instruction remains English. English is also a mode of communicating with other ethnic and cultural groups. We borrow a lot of words from English and Afrikaans, I think this is mainly due to the fact that civilization was brought by white missionaries in the villages. When I was at university, I dealt with the frustration of having to study in Afrikaans by going back to my roots. I started writing in the language I sucked from my mother’s breast, Sepedi. I translated all my English works into Sepedi. In 2005 a collection of my Sepedi poems were published, titled “Peu tša tokologo” (“Seeds Of Our Freedom”).

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	Opela bjalo ka noka

Translating ‘Sing Like A River’ into ‘Opela bjalo ka noka’ by Phomelelo Machika		Listen to a reading of this poem by Phomelelo Machika
Direct transations would not make sense even if this was not a poem. Translating into Sepedi requires a lot of creativity, our language provides for strong visuals and imagery. The problem I encountered was with the borrowed words that we do not have in Sepedi. For example: ‘a bell behind my teeth’. In Sepedi we do not have ‘bell’, so we use pele, borrowed from the English ‘bell’. It does not make sense on it’s own, so we give a description: ‘a bell used for cows’ or ‘a church bell’. This is because we tie named bells on our livestock for easy identification. In English poetry, a brief sentence makes sense and provide for imagery. In Sepedi, we have to elaborate, while at the same time we have to be careful not to tell, but show. The line breaks differ because of this, which makes the appearance of a Sepedi poem different in presentation and the way it sounds. For example on the bell issue, I have had to say leleme laka, kera yona tshipi sellamogolong wa boketšwamaswi. I have had to expand the bell part and be creative by including the cows, so I would not have to use the borrowed word. In this way the poem flows, has meaning. I could not do the same with ‘ladder’. In Sepedi we use llere, a word borrowed from Afrikaans. I ended up using it as it is because unlike a bell, it makes sense standing on it’s own. Translation has always been a rewarding process for me because it is about accessibility. The translated poem, opela bjalo ka noka/sing like a river, was edited by a high school Sepedi teacher. February, 2006		Opela bjalo ka noka E fetile le boNgwatomosadi badimi bešo, Ga se ya be ya tšwa ntlong, Ga se ya be ya phunya sello sa mathomo, Tšhupetšo ya bophelo. Ke tšhegofatšo,ke sehlola Yona Mašiapelomankgeretla, Ka ithuta go hlabeletša sefela. Medumo e ntikelela boka seetša, E dupelelana bjalo ka bomankgakgane Ba phatša leswiswi leo le ilego tuu! Leleme la ka, kera yona tshipi Sellamogolong wa boKetšwamaswi, E be e nyoretšwe medumo ya go tsenelela, A goelela letšatši,lešata la rutlolla tlhaka Koša gwa opelwa ya manyami. Ke tšea malebiša mminong Wo o dumago monaganong waka, Ka phula sesego, Mantšu a thoma go šegofatša Le go hlapaola mogopolo wo o felago o širela. Ke llere yeo e nyologelang leswiswing, Legadima la ratha, Ke ra sona seetša gare ga leswiswi. Ke motlagasae wo o fago monagano bophelo, Ke okapi setšhollamadi, ke segafane segananalelegano. Ke lerotholodi la meetse mogolong waka wa go gopa. Ke ithutile go opela bjalo ka noka, Go ragaraga bjalo ka meetse, Malememašele a pšhatlagela tlhakeng ya hlogo ya ka. Dinonwane le meedi di laodiša moeno wa bagologolo, Di fologela ka dinokeng tšeo di sa tsebwego Tša kopanela lewatleng. Ke tšhegofatšo,ke sehlola Ke mpholo,ebile ke lengeloi la mafego a maso Ke leribiši le tswinya Setšhabišadinamana tša leleme la gago. Ke lenaba leo le ketekago ge moya o šitwa Mogwera,montšhanasainong. Ke senotlelo sa go itokolla, Senotlelo sa go go dira lekgoba Ke modumo wa lehu, Ke kgopelo, ke thapelo Ke mathomomayo, ke mafelelo. Ke molalatladi mpeng tša diphororo.
Biography My name is Phomelelo Mamampi Machika. I come from the Northern province of South Africa: Limpopo, ‘Africa’s Eden’. I am a product of stalwarts; men and women who forge through life unperturbed in the under resourced village of Ga-Phaaahla Mmakadikwe. We speak Sepedi, also known as Northen Sotho. Sepedi is a language rich in idioms and proverbs, which shape our communities. My first writings were in English, a very broken English, first in my diary then later on in my poems. The English language is widely used in the new South Africa, we have eleven official languages but the medium of instruction remains English. English is also a mode of communicating with other ethnic and cultural groups. We borrow a lot of words from English and Afrikaans, I think this is mainly due to the fact that civilization was brought by white missionaries in the villages. When I was at university, I dealt with the frustration of having to study in Afrikaans by going back to my roots. I started writing in the language I sucked from my mother’s breast, Sepedi. I translated all my English works into Sepedi. In 2005 a collection of my Sepedi poems were published, titled “Peu tša tokologo” (“Seeds Of Our Freedom”).