The alchemy of translation in Hausa: cosmopolitanism, gatekeeping, and infrastructure in English-Hausa translation

McCain, Carmen

Abstract

In February 2023, Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho tweeted a cover of Muddassir S. Abdullahi’s yet-to-be-published Hausa-language translation of Coelho’s bestselling novel The Alchemist to his 15.2 million followers. At the same time Ibrahim Sheme was putting the finishing touches on his Hausa translation of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Both cases show Hausa literary voices engaging in global conversations about world literature through translation. In this article, I draw on recent interviews with translators and publishers in Northern Nigeria to give a brief history of translation between English and Hausa, and then I make three linked interventions. First, I examine the ideal of translation as a cosmopolitan practice that enables stories and ideas to cross the boundaries of language. Second, I point out how this ideal is complicated by imbalances of power and by gatekeeping in both English- and Hausa-language literary spaces. Finally, I address the anxieties of publishers and editors about how readers of translations might respond to the crossing of language, cultural, and stylistic boundaries. I end with thoughts on the structures needed to successfully translate, publish, and market a translated literary text to audiences of Hausa and English.

Citation

McCain, C. (2025). The alchemy of translation in Hausa: cosmopolitanism, gatekeeping, and infrastructure in English-Hausa translation. Journal of the African Literature Association, 19(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/21674736.2025.2464416

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 6, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Feb 25, 2025
• Publication Date: Feb 25, 2025
• Deposit Date: Feb 28, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 28, 2025
• Journal: Journal of the African Literature Association
• Print ISSN: 2167-4736
• Electronic ISSN: 2167-4744
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1-22
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21674736.2025.2464416
• Keywords: Hausa, translation, cosmopolitanism, Nigerian literature, world literature
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21674736.2025.2464416