Translation and communication for development: the case of a health campaign in Zambia

Translation is traditionally defined as linguistic equivalence between two languages, but this is a reductive conceptualization that ignores how a cultural context can shape the translation process. Drawing from both translation studies and development studies, this paper discusses translation beyond interlingual transfer and considers how the concept changes in the developmental context in Africa in particular. Using as an example the First 1000 Most Critical Days Programme, a Zambian health campaign aimed at disseminating information on health and nutrition for mothers and children, this paper explores the use of other types of translation and how non-traditional translators act as mediators to convey messages intralingually and intersemiotically.