N°021_Vol.1_02

Introduction: Maternal health issues are a great concern in developing countries. Among diseases which affect pregnant women, there is Obstetric Fistula, which is dangerous and one of the leading causes of maternal mortality, according to the Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research 2015 report. Numerous studies, including Breen (2019) and Mukwege (2021), have been carried out to raise awareness about the causes and consequences of Obstetric Fistula. The results, available in languages of wider diffusion such as English and French, have helped to understand the occurrence, evolution and prevention of the condition in developed countries. In emerging countries, on the contrary, Obstetric Fistula is a major concern, and a close look at the literature of African languages reveals little or nothing about Obstetric Fistula. Consequently, accessibility to the knowledge and treatment of the condition for speakers of languages of limited diffusion remains constrained. Along the same lines, Cameroon, an emerging country, is endowed with over 200 national languages; however, only French and English, the country’s two official languages, are used by the administration. This situation already sets a disadvantage in terms of working language tools in Cameroon. As the country engages with other countries, including international organisations such as the United Nations and the African Union, the volume of translation into the country’s two official languages is higher than into the national languages. Consequently, materials about Obstetric Fistula are available only in both official languages, depriving speakers of national languages, particularly the Bafut language, spoken in one of the two anglophone regions of Cameroon, of essential information, making them vulnerable to Obstetric Fistula.

Conclusion: The aim of our paper was an attempt to render English medical concepts into an African language, namely the Bafut language, spoken in the North-West region of Cameroon. Embarking on this study was a source of enrichment and an opportunity to go into the field, meet the Bafut people, and translate Obstetric Fistula concepts from English into the Bafut language in collaboration with Bafut linguists. The researcher sought the opinions and perceptions of Bafut people, carefully selected as participants, about the Bafut version of Obstetric Fistula concepts, and finally got the approval of the Bafut linguistic committee. To achieve this study, an objective and a hypothesis were formulated at the beginning. They guided the researcher throughout the research work, and he was able, despite constraints met, to render the meaning of Obstetric Fistula concepts into the Bafut language. The results obtained were tested against the hypothesis.