TOWARDS EFFECTIVE JOURNALISTIC TRANSLATION

TOWARDS EFFECTIVE JOURNALISTIC TRANSLATION IN CAMEROON BY TIKUM MBAH AZONGA (PhD)6 & NGORAN CONSTANTINE TARDZENYUY (MA)7 ABSTRACT Since journalistic writing generally aims at easy and effective communication, then the conveying of messages in such writing from one language to another (translation) equally needs to aim at and result in easy and effective communication. Nonetheless, journalistic translation is in practice very often handled, either by translation students or journalists who are forced to translate texts from the one language in order to write their papers without the necessary expertise or experience to do the job. This has often led to numerous cases of mistranslation, over-translation or under-translation. This paper aims to bring out the specificities and peculiarities of journalistic translation and to propose steps that can be taken to carry out effective journalistic translation in Cameroon. It characterizes journalistic translation as simple, basically colloquial, limpid, vivid, often euphemistic, and fraught with conditional sentences and clichés. Besides these, journalistic writing and journalistic translation are bound to respect the editorial policies of the relevant newspapers or journals. The issue in point is examined through the qualitative research methodology, whereby a corpus is employed to exemplify, through commented translation, the steps proposed for effective journalistic translation. Books and articles constitute the main secondary sources used. The paper recommends the teaching of journalistic translation as an independent course in translation and journalism departments in Cameroonian universities. KEY TERMS: Journalism, journalistic writing, translation, journalistic translation, media, text, message, effectiveness of translation, Anglophone, Francophone. INTRODUCTION 6 Department of Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC) University of Buea 7Advenced School of Translators and Interpreters (ASTI) University of Buea The twin concept of journalism and translation are nothing new in Cameroon, as both have been exercised by individuals and institutions in the country for decades. Cameroon's medium landscape and has over time been very active. It took off with the print media prior to independence in the 1960s followed by the creation of the National Radio Station, and later in 1985, television follozed. The much awaited television was launched at the Congress of the then Cameroon National Union (CNU) congress held in Bamenda, headquarters of one of the two English speaking regions. This was the first Congress President Paul Biya was presiding over, considering that at the time the previous one took place in 1980 in Bafoussam, it was the former President, Ahmadou Ahidjo, who was at the helm of state affairs. Because of his voluntary resignation as President of the Republic of Cameroon in 1982 and his replacement by Paul Biya and the subsequent rapid deterioration of relations between the two men, it is possible that Biya decided to move fast by introducing television in the country, as a form of bait to secure the support of the populace in his bid to replace the CNU with his own Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) and by extension, enable Cameroonians to throw in their weight behind him in his effort to consolidate power as the new president of the Republic. The first images of the newly created TV channel were beamed during that congress (Azonga 1986). When the government finally liberalized the media in 2000 after having initiated the move a decade ago, the flood gates were opened and the number of media organs in the country skyrocketed. Tanjong et al (2002) acknowledge the changing media setting when they affirm: "Nineteen ninety witnessed the abolition of thirty years of one-party rule and the introduction of multiparty democracy. This change, though resisted by the one-party bosses, drastically changed the media landscape in Cameroon." Compared with the media, translation as a profession has evolved rather slowly. Even so, Cameroon had what it took right from independence to serve as a centre for translation practice and even a laboratory for translation training and education. It is true that from the moment the government enshrined bilingualism (the use of French and English as the official languages of the country) in its constitution, a special service was set up at the Presidency of the Republic to translate official documents. The practice was to be officially replicated in government services and parastatal companies. Translation was taught in schools and made part of the curriculum of end-of-course examinations. In the 1980s, the government went the extra mile and opened the Advanced School of Translators and Interpreters (ASTI) in Buea. Even so, when it has come to marrying journalistic practice with translation practice in Cameroon, the country has been found wanting. In places where journalistic translation is practiced, like in the newsroom at CRTV and Cameroon Tribune, this is done in an amateur fashion. So far, no sustained efforts have been made to give the professional or pedagogic activity the role it deserves in the country. Yet, if the activity were to be developed, it would greatly enrich the already enviable linguistic status of Cameroon. It is to be noted that in addition to both French and English as official languages, Cameroon has over 230 languages of its own. In fact, Cameroon's multilingualism in general and translation practice in particular, ought to be seen as a big advantage for the country. In such a case, journalistic translation would have benefited. Research has adequately supported this theory. Cook (1999) for instance, states that "learning another language makes people think more flexibly, increases language awareness and leads to better attitudes towards other cultures." Beardsmore (1986) posits that "the further one progresses in bilingual ability, the more important the bicultural element becomes, since higher proficiency increases the expectancy rate of sensitivity towards the cultural implications of language use," Spolsky (1969) affirms that "learning a second language is the key to possible membership of secondary society." According to McLaughlin (1980), "it seems that the child who has mastered two languages has two linguistic advantages over the monolingual child." Mac Nab (1979) puts it thus: "to learn a second language is a commitment to a second culture and people who learn to speak two languages are, therefore, very likely to be quite different from those who stay unilingual." What is more, journalistic translation is quite advanced in countries such as Hong Kong and Romania. Yet, these countries do not enjoy the unparalleled linguistic mix that characterizes Cameroon. It is within this background that we are undertaking this study on the subject. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM One of the ways of communicating is through journalistic writing, an area in which the need for clarity and effective delivery is paramount. It goes without saying that the translation of journalistic writing must convey the same ease and effectiveness as journalistic writing itself. Nonetheless, problems have arisen in the process of journalistic translation in the sense that many of those who undertake such translation are either student translators still finding their feet in the profession of translation or practicing journalists. Very often they find themselves working on source material in French or English in order to write their stories for the news. As a result, they are forced by circumstances to dabble in the art of journalistic translation, a situation which leads to poor quality translation which impedes effective communication and thus discredits both the profession of journalism and that of translation. This paper aims to propose steps to carry out effective journalistic translation. METHODOLOGY The issue in point is examined through the qualitative research methodology, whereby a corpus is employed to exemplify effective journalistic translation. Books and articles constitute the main secondary sources used. We used the qualitative research methodology with excepts from Le Monde, Cameroon Tribune and Jeune Afrique to exemplify effective journalistic translation Functional and communicative translation models are suggested as additional ingredients. WHAT IS JOURNALISTIC WRITING? The term “journalistic writing” has such ramifications that a single straightforward definition for it would not be appropriate. To begin with, there is no consensus on its exact appellation. Wikipedia (2009), for example, states that it can be any one of three possibilities: “journalistic writing”, “journalistic style” or “news prose writing”. Walter (2008) says this about the subject: "In journalistic writing a person puts the main points in the first sentence of the first paragraph -- what will grab a person’s attention. This is followed by the rest of the details and written so that the article can easily be edited from the bottom up, if the article needs shortening. Sources are mentioned within the text and sentences and paragraphs can be short." The same source views “journalistic translation” as "the prose style used for news reporting in media such as newspapers, radio and television". According to Meertens (2010)", a journalistic text is one that is "clair et attrayant" (clear and transparent). The above definitions obviously beg the following questions: What is 'journalism"? Who is a journalist? And what is news? The Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française defines journalism as a form of communication whose purpose is to "rendre commun, faire part de, transmettre, donner communication de quelque chose, faire connaître." ("To make common, to announce, to transmit, communicate something, to make known.") The Dictionnaire Encyclopédique defines journalism as a "profession, travail de journaliste" (profession, work of a journalist). (journalist), the source says it is a "person qui fait métier d'écrire dans un journal (a person who does the job of writing in a journal "). The related term, “news”, on the other hand; calls to mind the very appropriate French expression “actualité", which the Dictionnaire Encyclopédique defines as "nature de ce qui est actuel, de ce qui concerne les hommes d'aujourd'hui", (nature of what is current, of what concerns men today'. Regarding the specific term, “nouvelles'” (news), the same source describes it as "qui n'existe que depuis peu; qui est apparu très récemment" (that has come to existence recently, which appreared very recently). For the media researcher, Meertens (2010), news is "un fait récent, présenté dans un contexte et de nature à intéresser le lecteur" (a recent fact, presented in a context such that it interests the reader). Other researchers have used the uses the graphic expression "dog bites man and man bites dog" example to define news (Wikipedia, 2010). Although the term, “journalist” is broad enough to include those professionals who cover 'hard news' in the same group as those who cover “soft news”, the term can be used interchangeably with that of “reporter” which Boase (2010) perceives as "someone who is faithful to sources, attuned to the conventional wisdom, serving the political culture of media institutions and committed to a narrow range of public, literary expression". Dailey (2008), views the role of the journalist as being "to inform, to educate, to engage, to entertain, to frustrate, to sadden, and to scare". The News Media & the Law in an article entitled, “Who is a Journalist”, published in its edition states: "Defining a journalist and journalism is both elusive and problematic. As journalism undergoes a profound shift toward the electronic, it is difficult to figure out who is covered by the term and crafting the definition too narrowly excludes certain speakers from the benefits afforded to journalists. So why should we even try? Because defining journalist and journalism is often necessary to allow reporters to gather and publish news." Gatlung & Ruge (1973) on the one hand and Shoemarker (1987) on the other are cited by owl.english.purdue.edu as offering "a useful framework for understanding how gatekeepers evaluate potential news stories". This framework includes what Gatlung & Ruge (ibid) consider as `relevance, timeliness, simplification, predictability, unexpectedness, continuity, composition, elite people, elite countries and negativity'. For Shoemarker (1987), it is a question of timeliness, proximity, importance, interest, conflict or controversy, sensationalism, prominence and novelty, oddity or the unusual. Even so, it must be borne in mind that as far as the issue of approach is concerned, the three main media organs - radio, TV and print - although similar, also have divergent points: 'Radio is all about speaking and speaking well; TV is all about presenting and presenting well; and print is all about writing and writing well (Azonga, 2010). Summarily therefore, and in spite of the multiplicity of views, journalistic writing according to this paper, can be considered to be that type of writing that is succinct, vivid, attractive, objective, sometimes euphemistic and full of conditional sentences or statements, clichés and abbreviations. WHAT IS TRANSLATION? The term translation has been given a variety of definitions, some of which are as follows: ...the replacement of the signs encoding a message by signs of another code, preserving (so far as this is possible in the face of entropy). Invariant information with respect to a given system of reference (Alexander Ludskoy; cited in Kelly (1979:34) According to Catford (1965: 20), it is the replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent textual material in another. Tanslation has also been defined by Nida (1964) as the transference of a message from one language into another. For Qvale (2003:233), it is an attempt to represent in one language a text produced in another language (or in other languages). Translating consists of reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style (Nida and Taber, 1969 :11)). Of all the above definitions, we have decided to adopt this last one for the following reasons: First of all, it is the only definition that splits message into meaning and style, that is to say, what is said (meaning) and how it is said (style) (Song, 2003). This is quite relevant to our prime concern, which is the effective translation of journalistic writing. In fact, what distinguishes journalistic writing from non-journalistic writing is the style of the former, which is defined above. Secondly, the preferred definition appears to admit that translation is not an exact science, which is why it talks of the closest natural equivalent. This implies that there are many equivalents, and that only the closest and most natural should be selected. “Natural” here alludes to the need for fluency in the translation. In other words, a translation should read smoothly. Finally, the definition seems to tie in with the modern concept of translation as an act of communication, where focus is on the receptor language. Within the purview of descriptive translation studies and functional translation approaches, the acceptability and adequacy of a text can also be seen in the light of 'closest natural equivalent. As concerns specifically the Skopos Theory, if an equivalent is not consonant with the aim or purpose of the translation, then it cannot be described as 'closest natural and will automatically be rejected. Drawing thus from our working definition above, it may be asserted that translation, notably journalistic translation, concerns a certain constant, which is the message in the source language text, and then a certain variable, which is the style, or how this message is rendered. In mathematical terms, it may be expressed as: T= C + V where T stands for Translation, C for Constant (message) and V for Variable ((style). WHAT IS JOURNALISTIC TRANSLATION? Having defined translation and journalistic writing, we can now define journalistic translation as the translation of journalistic writing or better still, the translation of journalese, which is generally the style of writing that is typical of that used in the media. Such writing style is characterized notably by colloquialisms, simplicity, brevity, cautiousness, vividness, euphemisms, conditional sentences, abbreviations and clichés. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION Approaches to Journalistic Translation After having considered the subject of journalistic translation along with the available data on the subject, we propose the following steps that can make journalistic translation better: Look for the paratext or clues that could give a better insight to the text. If it is a book, the paratext may include the preface, foreword, introduction, etc. For a newspaper, helpful clues could include the name of the paper, the publisher and the writer or author of the article. It could also be important to have knowledge of the editorial policy of the paper. Read the source text through snappily to get a feel of it, that is to say the general message in the text, noting the register or area of discourse. The register could be politics, economy, business, education, health care, etc. Peruse or make a careful reading of the source text noting or underlining all problem areas. Problem areas could include difficult terms, phrases or expressions; complicated sentence structure or syntax, strange abbreviations, etc. Any term, phrase, clause or sentence whose rendering is difficult constitutes a problem area. Make a terminological study and an exegesis of the text using reference documents such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, specialized books. Subject experts or resource persons should be consulted for clarification of specialized concepts and terms. Provide solutions or translations to problem areas. Proceed to a sentence by sentence translation of the text in the first instance. Check for omissions, mistranslations or inappropriate renderings, by reading the original text (sentence by sentence) with the corresponding translation. Read and proofread the translation to make it sound fluent (in the target language). This final reading may involve structural or syntactic explication. Note that readjustments, reduction, expansion or journalistic translation, like journalistic writing, lay more emphasis on the communicative aspects of message. So, emphasis should be laid on fluency in discourse. THEORETICAL MODELS FOR EFFECTIVE JOURNALISTIC TRANSLATION Given that journalistic writing is within the realms of communication, it is proposed that functional and communicative translation theories be applied in carrying out journalistic translations. Functional Translation Theories These theories generally focus on the function of the text in the target language. Consequently, the function of the target text should be the same as the function of the source text. The Skopos Theory and Reiss's Text Typology are good examples of functional translation theories. Skopos is a Greek term which means “aim” or “purpose”. The Skopos Theory was introduced in translation theory in the 1970s by Hans J. Vermeer as a technical term referring to the purpose of a translation and of the action of translation. It asserts as follows: The nature of the target text is 'primarily determined by its skopos or commission' (Vermeer 1989/2000:230) and adequacy as the measure of translational action. In Reiss, and Vermeer (1984:139), adequacy describes the relations between the source text and the target text as a consequence of observing a skopos during the translation process. In other words, if the target text fulfils the skopos outlined by the commission, it is functionally and communicatively adequate (Munday 2001:80). The main tenets of the Skopos Theory are provided in a joint publication by Vermeer and Reiss (1984:119) entitled Grundlegung einer Allgemeine Translations Theorie (Groundwork for a General Theory of Translation). These are: A translation (or target text) is determined by its skopos. A target text is an offer of information in a target culture and target language concerning an offer of information in a source culture and source language. A target text does not initiate an offer of information in a clearly reversible way. A target text must be internally coherent. A target text must be coherent with the source text The five rules above stand in hierarchical order, with the skopos rule predominating Reiss's Text Typology According to Reiss (2000), there are three basic text types, namely content- focused (informative texts, which are otherwise described in terms of the language function, as representative and, as concerns the language dimension, as logical), form-focused (expressive texts, which, as concerns language function, are described as expressive and, as concerns language dimension, as aesthetic. These texts include basically literary texts, where the distinctive feature is figurative and connotative language-focus is on the special use of language) and appeal- focused texts (operative texts), which, as concerns language function, are described as persuasive, and, as concerns language dimension, are described as dialogic. Let us now examine in greater detail the three text types, beginning with the content-focused ones which are informative and deal mostly with facts and sometimes figures. The principal kinds of texts in the content-focused type would include press releases and comments, news reports, commercial correspondence, inventories of merchandise, operating instructions, directions for use, potent patent specifications, treatment of official documents, educational works, notification books of all sorts, essays, treaties, reports, theses, and specialized literature in the humanities, the natural sciences and other technical fields (Reiss 2000: 27). Appeal-focused texts, on the other hand, for the most part, have to do with persuasion as concerns the language function. They are dialogic and operative texts and include typically all texts in which the element of appeal is dominant, with advertising, publicity, preaching, propaganda, polemic, demagogy or satire being typical examples (Idem, 2000: p. 39). Form-focused texts for their part are typically expressive texts that are generally literary, with focus on the aesthetic, figurative and connotative use of language rather than on its informative or content aspect. What is important here is not the content or message as such, but in what medium it expressed and how it is delivered - the style of conveying the message, the content. In rendering such texts, focus is on the various literary features and devices in the source language, and these have to be aesthetically transferred to the target language. According to the text-type model processed by Suh (2009), literary features are invariants that must be transferred to the target language almost as they are in the source language. Form-focused texts (typically) include: prose (essays, biographies, belles-lettres-polite literature), imaginative prose, (anecdotes, short stories, novellas, romances) and poetry in all its forms, from the didactic to the balladry or the purely sentimental. Although drama may not be typical of this text-type, it can still be considered part of it, since it falls in the realm of literary texts which are all generally figurative, with focus on the expressive rather than the informative aspect of language use. However, Reiss gives them a special appellation, within form-focused texts. They are called "audio-medial texts. She posits that they are distinctive in their dependence on non-linguistic (technical media and on graphic, acoustic and visual) kinds of expression. It is only in combination with them that the whole literary form realizes its full potential (Reiss, 2000-43). It should be noted here that journalistic writing covers all the three text types identified by Reiss in the following ascending order of importance: content- focused, appeal-focused and form-focused. This, in other words, means that journalistic writing and translation give priority first to the content of the message or information to be communicated, before the persuasive and expressive aspects are considered. Communicative Translation Theories These theories are target-text-oriented and therefore consider the target text and its communicative aspect more important in any translation exercise. According to Newmark (1988:33) "communicative translation attempts to produce on its readers an effect as close as possible to that obtained on the readers of the original". This ties in with Nida's equivalent effects condition for good translation. Other proponents of this approach to translation are Seleskovitch and Ledere (1982) in their famous Interpréter pour traduire. Text corpus to illustrate Journalistic Translation or how it can be carried out Source Language Text (SLT) Target Language Text (TLT) Des hommes identifiés comme des bassidis, des miliciens volontiers, ont brisé la porte et pénétré dans l'immeuble après avoir lancé des cocktail Molotov. Le Monde, 4 Sept. 2010. Men identified (said to be Bassidis) as Bassidis, voluntary militia, broke open the door and entered the building after throwing petrol bombs (Identified as or said to be show cautiousness in giving information). ... leur chef, un ex-gardien de la révolution qui a pris ses distances avec le régime a été violemment battu. Transporté à l'hôpital il serait dans le coma (conditional clause) Le Monde, 4 Sept. 2010. ... their leader, a former revolutionary guard, who kept the regime at a distance, was severely beaten and is said to be (is reportedly) in a comma in hospital (conditional clause). Crainte des réformateurs (brevity, vividness and omission of article, simplicity) Le Monde, 4 Sept. 2010. Reformists in fear (brevity, vividness and omission of article, simplicity) Dans les milieux réformateurs (aesthetic language), beaucoup craignent que la situation ne dégenère (Le Monde, 4 Sept. 2010) A good many reformists (many a reformist) fear the situation may degenerate (Here the language is equally vivid and aesthetic). D'ici à son départ, le président continuera probablement à se montrer discret (conditional (conditional, sentence showing a likelihood) sentence) Jeune Afrique of 29 April - 5 May 2007. From now till he leaves office, the President will likely remain discrete (conditional limpid and simple sentence) Tous ces projets pourraient toutefois être perturbés par une justice intempestive (conditional sentence). Jeune Afrique of 29 April - 5 May 2007. All these projects could however be hindered by hasty legal proceedings (conditional sentence) Le PM prescrit la sécurisation des dossiers reçus (cliché - PM for Prime Minister) Cameroon Tribune 1 April 2011 PM Yang prescribes communication recruitment process (cliché - PM. Les forces pro-Ouattara aux portes d'Abidjan (cliché aux portes figurative) Cameroon Tribune 1 April 2011. Pro-Ouatarra forces at a stone's throw from Abidjan Some established clichés commonly used by Cameroonian journalists Palais de l'Unité Unity Palace Palais des Verres Glass Palace Maison Etoile Star Building Matignon Prime Minister's Office in France Dans les jours qui viennent In the days ahead Dans les plus brefs délais Within the shortest possible time (soon) A toutes fins utiles For what purpose it may serve A qui de droit To the right quarters Règlement des comptes Settling of scores Immeuble Etoile The Star Building Proposed Journalistic Translation data bank MINAS (Ministère des Affaire Sociales) MINAS (Ministry of Social Affairs) MINRESI (Ministère de la Recherche Scientifique et de l'Innovation. MINRESI (Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation) MINFOPRA (Ministère de la Fonction Publique et de la Réforme Administrative) MINEOPRA (Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reform) MINATD (Ministère de l'Administration Territoriale et de la Décentralisation) MINATD (Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization) MINESUP (Ministère de L'Enseignement Supérieur) MINESUP (Ministry of Higher Education) MINEP (Ministère de l'Environnement et de la Protection de la Nature) MINEF (Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection) MINTOUR (Ministère du Tourisme) MINTOUR (Ministry of Tourism) MINJEUN (Ministère de la Jeunesse) MINJES (Ministry of Youth Affairs) MINFOF (Ministère de la Forêt et de la Faune MINFOF (Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife) MINIMIDT (Ministère de l'industrie, des Mines et du Développement Technologique MINIMIDT (Ministry of Industry, Mines and Technological Development MINDEF (Ministère de la Défense) MINDEF (Ministry of Defence) MINEFOP (Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Formation Professionnelle MINEFOP (Ministry of Employment and Professional Training MINSEP (Ministère des Sports et de l'Education Physique MINSEP(Ministry of Sports and Physical Education MINTSS (Ministère du Travail et de la Sécurité Sociale MINTSS (Ministry of Labour and Social Security MINPMESSA (Ministère des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises, de l'Economie Sociale et de l'Artisanat MINPMESSA(Ministry of Small and Medium-size Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts MINEDUB (Ministère de l'Education de Base) MINEDUB (Ministry of Basic Education) MINPROFF (Ministère de la Promotion de la Femme et de la Famille) MINPROFF (Ministry of Women's Empowerment and the Family) MINJUSTICE (Ministère de la Justice) MINJUSTICE (Ministry of Justice) MINT (Ministère de Transport) MINT (Ministry of Transport) MINFI (Ministère de Finance) MINFI (Ministry of Finance) MINADER (Ministère de l'Agriculture et du Développement Rurale) MINADER (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) MINCOMMERCE (Ministère du Commerce) MINCOMMERCE (Ministry of Commerce) MINREX (Ministère de Relations Extérieures) MINREX (Ministry of External Relations) MINCOM (Ministère de la Communication) MINCOM (Ministry of Communication) MINPOSTEL (Ministère des Poste et Télécommunications) MINPOSTEL (Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication) MINEE (Ministère de l’Energie et de l'Eau) MINEE (Ministry of Energy and Water) MINESEC (Ministère des Enseignements Secondaires) MINESEC (Ministry of Secondary Education) MINEPIA (Ministère de l'Elevage, des Pêches et des Industries Animales MINEPIA (Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries) MINCULT (Ministère de la Culture) MINCULT (Ministry of Culture) DLB (Division linguistique et du Bilinguisme) DLB (Language Services and Bilingualism Division) MP (Député, Membre du Parlement,) MP (Member of Parliament) PM (Premier Ministre ou Services du Premier Ministre) PM (Prime Minster or Prime Minister's Office) MINTP (Ministère des Travaux Publics MINTP (Ministry of Public Works MINEPAT Ministère de 1; Economie, de la Planification et de l'Aménagement du Territoire MINEPAT Ministry of the Economy, Plan and Regional Development DAO (Dossier d'Appel d'Offre) DAO (Tender file) CT (Cameroon Tribune) CT (Cameroon Tribune) BIR (Bataillon d'Intervention Rapide) BIR (Rapid Intervention Battalion) ESIR (Equipes Spéciales d'Intervention Rapide) ESIR (Rapid Intervention Squads) INTERPOL (International Police) INTERPOL (International Police) GPS (Global Positioning System) GPS (Global Positioning System) SOCILADRA (Société Civile des Droits de la Littérature et des Arts Dramatiques) SOCILADRA (Copyright Corporation for Literature and Dramatic Arts) OMD (Objectifs du Millénaire pour le Développement) MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) UNICEF (Fond des Nations Unies pour l'Enfance) UNICEF (United Nations Children's Emergency Fund) LMD (Licence, Master, Doctorat) BMP (Bachelor, Masters, PhD) APE (Association des Parents d'Elèves) PTA (Parent Teacher Association) TPIR (Tribunal Pénal Internationale pour le Rwanda) ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) CHU (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire) CHU (University Teaching Hospital) SNH (Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures) NHC (National Hydrocarbons Corporation) CNPS (Casse Nationale de Prévoyance sociale) NSIF (National Social Insurance Fund) CES (Conseil Economique et Social) ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council CADDEL (Conférence Africaine de la Décentralisation et du Développement Local) AMCOD (All Africa Ministerial Conference on Decentralization and Local Development) CAC (Centimes Additionnels Communaux) ACT (Additional Council Taxes) ORL (Oto-rhino-laryngologiste) ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist) ARV (Antiretroviraux) ARV (Antiretrovirals) ESB (Encéphalopathie spongiforme bovine, maladie de la vache folle) BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, the Mad cow disease) FDR (Flight Data Recorder) FDR (Flight Data Recorder) CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder) CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder) VIH (Virus d'immunodéficience humain) HIV (Human Immune-deficiency virus) SIDA (Syndrome d'immunodéficience acquis) AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome FMSB (Faculté de la Médecine et des Sciences biomédicales) FMBS (Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences) QCM (Questions à choix multiples) MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) PME (Petites et moyennes entreprises) SME (Small and Medium-size Enterprises) CVUC (Communes et Villes unies du Cameroun UCCC (United Councils and Cities of Cameroon) TA (Tension artérielle) BP(Blood Pressure) GRIPPEAH1N1 AH1N1 FLU (INFLUENZA) Adapted from government and other sources CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS From the foregoing discussion, which characterized journalistic writing, defined translation and journalistic translation, it can be concluded that journalistic translation, like any other translation type, cannot be carried out haphazardly. Given that journalistic writing has its specificities; its translation is bound to consider such specificities, which are generally clarity, vividness, and the use of euphemisms, conditional sentences, clichés and colloquialisms. Concrete steps for carrying out journalistic translation are proposed for consideration by future translation researchers and practitioners. Some common and useful abbreviations, acronyms and clichés are also provided as a data bank with the hope they will serve practitioners of journalistic translation. The paper recommends the teaching of journalistic translation as an independent course in translation schools and departments in Cameroon universities and proposes that short courses be provided in these schools and departments to serve, notably the needs of Cameroonian journalists who often do on-the-job translations without any consideration of the specificities of journalistic writing. REFERENCES Azonga, T.M. 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