Author:Dr. Ndubuisi O. Ahamefula, Ngozi S. Nwokocha & Chinwe N. Udechukwu
Date: 20/02/2026
The globe has people of diverse languages and cultural backgrounds; hence, translation is inevitable to enable transfer of information and cultures from source languages to target languages. There is a need for the translators to work with a high level of fidelity and faithfulness, to ensure that authors‟ original intended messages which could be captured in a universal understanding are not mutilated. This kind of challenge is observed in translation of religious texts from foreign languages to indigenous languages, especially Nigerian languages. The Igbo version of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) House Fellowship Manual is in focus, as it has triggered the interest of researchers in finding out to what extent errors are observable in the translation of texts from the English language version of the manual. The paper classifies them and seeks to find out the causes of these errors, and to what extent these errors in translation are cultural, linguistic or both. Data for analysis are errors collected from the 2018/2019 manual of the RCCG Igbo House Fellowship Manual, while the English version was used to aid the analysis. Findings reveal several errors noted in the translations, which buttress the point that cultural and linguistic competences are highly needed; both in the source and target languages. The reader(s) of the manual under study will either have difficulty in understanding the messages, or may carry the wrong message as the standard; thereby causing conflicts. This has formed the basis of this research. We shall present the noted examples of wrong translations as found in above quoted text, provide the reasons why they are professionally considered erroneous and as a matter of importance and for the growth of academics, suggest the correct forms. Relying on the principles and techniques of translation, the descriptive approach was adopted in this paper. The paper recommends that organizations especially religious bodies employ the services of professional and certified translators. Besides, it will not be out of place for them to have a well-established Bureau or Directorate of Translations to handle their translations for the indigenous Nigerian languages.
Keywords: Indigenous Language, Bible Translation, Igbo, Redeemed Church
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