A Bourdieusian Analysis of the Status of Indigenous Languages in the South African Translation Space

This paper seeks to analyse the role of indigenous languages in translation activities in South Africa. While translation activities are on the rise in South Africa, translation involving indigenous languages is very minimal when compared to English and Afrikaans. The paper thus seeks to analyse the problem and explore the role translation activities between indigenous languages can play in forging knowledge production and social cohesion. The paper adopts a documentary method, in which data is drawn from published information, and argues that language inequalities in South Africa are the result of asymmetrical power relations between the different languages.