Meaning Shifts of Culture-Specific Expressions: A Case Study of Facebook
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t4297Abstract
This research aimed to examine the effects of meaning shifts in culture-specific content on Facebook. Specifically, it sought to explore the linguistic, cultural, and grammatical similarities between English and Kiswahili, while highlighting the significant mismatches between these two languages. The study used the theory of Principle of Cultural Translation to provide the theoretical relevance. The target population comprised Facebook pages with a significant following and a focus on CSIs posted within the context of conversations on those pages. The study aimed to examine CSIs posted on Facebook pages based in Kenya on foods, fashion and cultural architecture where English-Kiswahili translations were assessed for errors. The study employed purposive sampling to select a sample of 11 Facebook pages for content analysis. Primary data was gathered through the content analysis method, which involved the systematic preparation, organization, and reporting of the data collected. The study found that lexical, rhetorical, and grammatical mis-matches contributed to misunderstandings and misrepresentations in a variety of domains, including food, fashion, and cultural architecture. Based on the analysis, 80% of the Facebook sources revealed food items like "ugali" and "Nyama Choma" were often reduced to overly simplified translations like "cornmeal" and "grilled meat," failing to capture their rich cultural significance. With regards of fashion, the study found that 70% of the Facebook pages mistranslated the garments such as "kanga" led to a loss of their deeper meanings, contributing to cultural appropriation. Similarly, architectural terms suffered from meaning shifts; 55% of the sources depicted that terms describing unique Kenyan architectural styles were reduced to words like "huts," ignoring the cultural and historical narratives they encapsulate. The study concludes that the meaning shifts of culture-specific expressions related to food, fashion, and architecture in Kenya on Facebook have various negative implications as it leads to misunderstandings that go beyond mere words. The study thus recommends that stickers that contain only the most basic information should be made more useful by scaling them down or making them smaller while figurative language, such as idioms, should be used to describe complex ideas.
Keywords: Culture-specific expressions, Meaning shifts, Mistranslation, Lexical mismatches, Facebook content
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