The Impact of Explicitation and Implicitation in English-Sesotho Translation Texts of Selected Financial Institutions in Lesotho

Translators normally sort to various strategies which among others include explicitation and implicitation when trying to solve translation challenges they encounter when translating texts. However, sometimes use of these strategies has impact on both the Source Language and Target Language groups. The central point of this paper is to examine the impact of the types of explicitation and implicitation present in the selected informative texts of Lesotho PostBank (LPB) brochures and Standard Lesotho Bank (SLB) Short Message/Messaging Service (SMSes), both on the source and target audience. The paper adopts Skopos theory and Pragmatic approach which both consider communication as a purposeful action, as its analytical tools. The study uses qualitative comparative research method. Source Text (ST) and Target Text (TT) comparison of the collected data was made and the appropriateness of the TT was judged against the textual content of the ST using mainly the function-oriented approach. The study revealed that these strategies have minimal and significant impact on both audiences. It also established that the strategies cause an imbalance between these audiences as one group was offered more information than the other. This may not only affect the audience, but the banks may also be affected since the deprived group may not behave as expected. The use of these strategies may sometimes tarnish the image of the banks. The study recommends that translators who deal with brochures for banks should ensure that both texts convey similar message, and that translators should have regular training workshops.