Translating Change in Postcolonial Poetry and Prose: The Rewriting of Francophone Senegalese Women’s Literature in Engli

1. Translating Change in Postcolonial Poetry and Prose: The Rewriting of Francophone Senegalese Women’s Literature in English Georgina Collins 20 November 2009

2. Societal change “...nous sommes dans une société sénégalaise en pleine mutation...par rapport à ses valeurs traditionnelles, par rapport à sa perception de l’avenir... (Benga, Personal 4-5)

3. Objectives • to investigate the genre’s development in the context of historical and societal revolution  • to analyse change and its relation to translation • to define tradition and modernity • to find out how female Senegalese writers are influenced by traditional and modern values • to demonstrate the importance of cultural research for the translator of Francophone Senegalese women’s works

4. Situating this paper in my thesis • Key themes • a culture of change • power and gender • hybridity, mediation and local languages • the influence of orature • Resources • source texts • theories and models • primary research

5. Manipulation of language “Chaque écrivain change le langage qu’il reçoit en naissant mais le conserve et le perpétue dans l’irréalité du monde et du temps, l’écrivain fait plus qu’inventer, il découvre” (Mbacké, Littérature 205).

6. Change in Senegal • conflict between Western and ‘traditional’ norms/values • new influences • European contact • internal development • new technologies • globalisation • traditional societies (Kwame Gyekye) • change in inherent beliefs/practices over time • independent of Western influence

7. Literary representations of change • Senegalese women writers represent a female social reality • vocabulary and grammar used to translate everyday Senegalese life • if change is happening in reality it is happening on the page • an understanding of cultural change can assist the translator in comprehending the true meaning of texts she is translating

8. Language and Culture • a writer is the product of a particular culture / moment in time (Bassnett, Taking 136) • texts are embedded in source text cultures • analysis of specific cultures and texts, and engagement with values of those texts • the writer’s culture or tradition acts as a metatext which is rewritten in the act of literary creation (Tymockzo, Post-colonial 21) • the translator must be aware of this metatext

9. Feminine identity “...feminine identity in francophone African women’s writing is initially expressed as a tension between the two apparently contradictory poles of ‘modernity’ and ‘tradition’, poles which often become translated as an opposition between the individual and the community” (Hitchcott, Women 153)

10. Tradition and modernity • blurred line between tradition and modernity • modernity: • Western ideology • a cultural phenomenon based on moral values which may not be attractive the world over • African societies were not isolated before Western contact • “Which modernity? Whose tradition?” (Gyekye) • to translate without changing the writer’s viewpoint / philosophy, the “rewriter” should remain unbiased in her values and beliefs

11. Translating humour • jokes travel badly • emotion is culture-bound • the translator must create “equivalent effect” • humour is constantly changing, always current • trial humour with Francophone / Anglophone audiences • translation as a search for perfection

12. Translating culture • Wolof societies in Senegal have adapted to survive • imitation of the behaviour of the colonisers • the “Super Coof” – a model man idealised by society • modified behaviour and values are reflected in language • people also call upon deeply rooted beliefs and traditions • the “Super Coof” – a hybrid symbol of changing cultures and language

13. The translator as rewriter • writers go to great lengths to accurately represent real life in their works • to these writers, understanding a culture’s essence or spirit is important if featured in a text • the translator as rewriter (Lefevere, Translation; Lotbinière-Harwood, Body; Helgason, Rewriting) • if the translator is ‘rewriter’ shouldn’t she put in as much ‘effort’ as the writer of the ‘source text’?

14. Language and culture • understanding present-day cultural realities assists in the translational intricacies of a text • many cultural elements are founded upon notions of change, modernity and tradition • translators must research multiple cultures or risk missing out on / mistranslating elements of a text • writers’ inspiration - from both ancestors and the education of the colonisers • their identities are expressed through a unique language identified in many Senegalese works

15. Conclusions • change is due to both Western and non-Western influences • we need to place the texts we study for translation in context • writers research extensively - the translator should do the same • writing is expressed through a tension between tradition and modernity • new forms of writing account for changing cultural realities, alternate expressions and beliefs • lack of research - miss crucial cultural component

16. Questions and Comments? Contact: georgina.collins@warwick.ac.uk Website: http://go.warwick.ac.uk/georginacollins