ABSTRACT
In the case of literature, the translators of canonical texts are presumed to be highly literate and deeply knowledgeable about the author and text in question, and thoroughly conversant with both source and target languages. Well-known translators like Gregory Rabassa, Richard Howard, and Haroldo de Campos, meanwhile, rather like Bollywood playback singers, who are as well known as the performers they dub, are famous in their own right. In the case of indigenous or minor-language media, film offers an advantage simply not available to literature. First, in practical filmmaking terms, non-literate ethnic groups can pass easily from an oral culture to an audio-visual culture, without necessarily passing through literacy. Second, the use of subtitles also offers a “gain” by providing a solution to the challenge posed by Ngugi wa Thiongo’s call for linguistic decolonization.
