Translation of French Proverbs into English and Yoruba: An Investigation of Strategies and Challenges

Authors: Eunice Modupe FABIYI (Ph.D)

Affiliation: Department of French Adeyemi Federal University of Education, Ondo, Nigeria.

Corresponding Author: [email protected]

March 21, 2026

SIAR-Global Journal of Arts & Humanities

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19145611

Translation of French Proverbs into English and Yoruba: An Investigation of Strategies and Challenges

Research Article Arts & Humanities

Abstract

Proverbs represent an important aspect of language and culture, serving as concise expressions of collective wisdom, beliefs and social values. However, their translation often presents serious linguistic and cultural difficulties because their meanings are frequently metaphorical, symbolic, and deeply rooted in the world view of a particular community. Proverbs add beauty to any personal communication that employs them, and for this reason, they are not handled with levity. Their translation in foreign language teaching and learning causes difficulty for learners because they are not all transparent. This non-transparent nature makes it difficult for learners to easily translate during translation exercise in translation class. This paper investigates the strategies and challenges involved in translating French proverbs into English and Yoruba. It examines how translators manage cultural gaps, semantic ambiguities, and structural differences among the three languages. The paper is grounded in Conceptual Metaphor Theory since proverbs are metaphorically motivated and Dynamic Equivalence Theory to evaluate appropriate translation strategies that preserve meaning and communicative impact. Using ten (10) selected non contextualized French proverbs as data collected from fifty (50) degree 3 students, consisting of fifteen (15) males and thirty-five (35) females with average age of 23. The research analyses various translation techniques such as literal translation, equivalence, paraphrasing, adaptation and domestication. The study reveals that literal translation alone is often inadequate as it may distort meaning or produce unnatural expressions. Instead, functional and cultural prove more effective in preserving both sense and communicative impact. The findings also highlight problems related to loss of imagery, shifts in meaning, and the absence of direct equivalents in the target languages. The study concludes that successful proverb translation requires not only linguistic competence but also deep cultural knowledge and creativity. It therefore recommends a context-sensitive approach that prioritize meaning and cultural relevance over word-for-word rendering.

Keywords

Proverbs, Translation, Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Dynamic Equivalence Theory

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Eunice Modupe FABIYI (Ph.D) (2026). Translation of French Proverbs into English and Yoruba: An Investigation of Strategies and Challenges. SIAR-Global Journal of Arts & Humanities, Vol. 2, No. 1. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19145611

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Translation of French Proverbs into English and Yoruba: An Investigation of Strategies and Challenges

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