Authors’ writing styles and diction applied in advertisements give the language a specialised aspect in translation. The translation of advertisements from English into Xitsonga is still undervalued, based on the observation that Xitsonga newspapers prefer to advertise in English. This article explores a corpus of two print advertisements and employs a descriptive qualitative design by document analysis to provide an in-depth analysis of the translation of both metaphoric statements and subtle words from English into Xitsonga. The study is underpinned by the functionalist approach of translation theory to illustrate the dynamic nature of the selected advertisements. The article exposes the confusion, threats, prejudice and linguistic motives of domination by and hegemony of English as the often-hidden attempts to discredit Xitsonga. The question is: How can Xitsonga advertisements be appropriately couched in English semantic features and still make sense to the target reader? The article observes that the translation of advertisements from English into Xitsonga is at the cusp of being declared ‘adaptation’ or ‘transcreation’. However, it posits that since advertising is characterised by persuasive meaning, it requires the translator’s skilful manipulation of the functionalist approach in translation.

作者在广告中的写作风格和用词使该语言在翻译中具有专业性。根据 Xitsonga 报纸更喜欢用英文做广告的观察，将广告从英文翻译成 Xitsonga 的价值仍然被低估。本文探讨了两个印刷广告的语料库，并通过文档分析采用描述性定性设计，以深入分析将隐喻语句和微妙词从英语翻译成 Xitsonga。该研究以翻译理论的功能主义方法为基础，以说明所选广告的动态特性。文章揭露了英语统治和霸权的混乱、威胁、偏见和语言动机，作为抹黑西松加的经常隐藏的企图。问题是：Xitsonga 的广告如何能够恰当地表达英语语义特征并且仍然对目标读者有意义？文章观察到，将广告从英文翻译成西松加正处于被宣布为“改编”或“创译”的风口浪尖。然而，它假定由于广告的特点是具有说服力，它需要译者在翻译中巧妙地运用功能主义方法。