The Role of Translation in Improving the Effectiveness of Communication in Government Institutions in Rwanda: The Case study of The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM)

Abstract

The study was conducted on the role of translation in improving the effectiveness of communication in government institutions in Rwanda using MINICOM as a case study. The objectives were to identify the translation activities in MINICOM, the importance of translation activities in communication in MINICOM, the issues affecting translation and the relationship between translation and communication. The researcher used a correlation design because the interest was to determine the relationship between translation and communication. The sample size was 229 people who were selected using stratified simple random sampling. However, only 204 were able to participate in the study. Data collection methods included the use of secondary research and questionnaire which were administered to 171 MINICOM Stakeholders and 33 MINICOM staff. Data analysis was done by use of Microsoft excel and SPSS. Seventy-six per cent (76%) perceived translation as an important process as an important process in linguistics and communication as it bridges the gap between cultures. Eighty-four percent (84%) agreed that translation planning was an important activity in the translation process as it generates strategies for the translation process. Eighty-three percent (83%) agreed that translating was important in the translation process of MINICOM documents. Translating is the actual practice of converting the SL into the TL. Eighty-five percent (85%) and seventy-five percent (75%) agreed that revision and editing respectively were important activities because they helped to eliminate translation errors. Seventy-six percent (76%) and seventy-eight percent (78%) agreed that proofreading and reviewing respectively were critical translation activities since they helped to identify and correct errors by a third party expert. Translation helps government to consult citizens (89%), raiding awareness about government programs (90%), closing the gap between cultures (92%) and for public relations (86%). As a profession, translation is affected by various issues which tend to affect the way translation materials in MINICOM are delivered and received in the public. The study finds that there is inadequacy of multilingual experts (91%), complexity of translating idioms (95%), poor reading culture (93%), use of multiple official languages (94%) and limited parental commitment (84%) to educate children on other languages besides English. Based on the Pearson correlation value of 0.752 there was a strong relationship between translation and effectiveness of communication in MINICOM. However, there is need to employ multilingual experts in MINICOM, improve reading culture among Rwandans and encourage parents to start training their children on many languages in their young ages especially on languages considered official by the Rwandan constitution and other laws and policies.