Abstract: This paper has explained the challenges of equivalence in language structure in the interpretation of discourses of actors in court cases in Kericho law courts, Kenya. The purpose of this paper is to compare the structure of English (SL) and Kiswahili (TL) languages and the challenges that the interpreter encounters while interpreting the discourses of the actors in the court cases. The observation method was employed where the researcher attended case proceedings to collect data for this purpose. Simple random and purposeful sampling was used to sample data of six discourses of case proceedings among many that were observed during the period of research. The interpreters, who were also court assistants, explained in the questionnaire that they did not have any pre-trainning in interpretation nor translation when they got employed, but some have received in-service courses pertaining to interpretation and have gained some experience in the everyday quest to interpret discourses of litigants in court proceedings. The equivalence theory of translation was used in analyzing the collected data qualitatively. It was discovered that the interpreters encountered challenges of equivalence due to the linguistic, grammatical and sociocultural rules of the structure of the source language and the target language. The interpreters had to make adaptations in their interpretation to communicate the message that was intended in the original text without having to follow the structure of the original text all the time.
Keywords: Discource, Equivalence, Interpretation and Language structure.
Title: The Challenges of Equivalence in Language Structure in the Interpretation of Discourses of Actors in Court Proceedings in Kericho Law Courts, Kenya
Author: Jane Machani, Pro. Mwamzandi Issa, Dr. Simiyu Kisurulia
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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