A Study of Igbo Loan Translations from English in Modern Igbo Literature

This study analyses loan translation, also known as calque formation, from English into Igbo in modern Igbo literary texts published between 2018 and 2024. Loan translation is a word formation strategy in which the morphemic structure of a foreign term is replicated using native linguistic material, resulting in expressions that are formally Igbo but semantically patterned on English originals. As Igbo literature engages with modern themes including technology, governance, and global culture, authors and translators face recurring challenges of lexical modernisation for which loan translation offers one resolution strategy. The corpus consists of twelve novels, seven anthologies of short fiction, and four plays in Igbo drawn from publishers in Onitsha, Owerri, and Enugu. Identified calques are classified by semantic domain and structural formation type and evaluated for their degree of semantic transparency and acceptance within the broader Igbo literary reading community. Findings document one hundred and forty-three loan translations across the corpus, concentrated in the domains of technology, governance, and abstract philosophical discourse. Author interviews reveal differing ideological motivations, ranging from purist lexical autonomy orientations to pragmatic communicability-first approaches. The study recommends the establishment of an Igbo lexical innovation committee under the Society for Promoting Igbo Language and Culture. Keywords: loan translation, Igbo literature, calque, lexical modernisation, language planning.