When the foreign isn’t so foreign: translating Caribbean literature

Christine Raguet (1)

1 PRISMES - PRISMES - Langues, Textes, Arts et Cultures du Monde Anglophone - EA 4398

Instead of considering the diglossic relation between French and Creole, which is not so operative when literature in translation is concerned as when dealing with spoken language, this article wants to dwell on the varieties of French which translators may use. So translators are faced with a double-edged question: how can readers feel close to something which may sound or look unfamiliar, or even sometimes be faced with familiarity but feel at a loss? If translation is a creative act, what part does the translator play when faced with the foreign? His/her action begins when the irrational prevails and liberates the senses, when his/her sensitivity is heightened through sounds and movements. When foreignness participates in the process, it stimulates the imagination in a very unusual way. This somehow corresponds to the kind of performing act occurring during the writing process.

Mots clés: translation; superposition of languages; iconicity; creativity; Caribbean literature; Derek Walcott; sphere of culture; ethics

Domaines: Littératures

Christine Raguet. When the foreign isn’t so foreign: translating Caribbean literature. Translating Creolization, Desrine Bogle, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, May 2015, Cave Hill, Barbados. ⟨halshs-01429497⟩