Traduction Du Roman „„The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives’’ De Lola Shoneyin Et Analyse De Ses Expressions Locales, Dictons Et Proverbes
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Date
2017-01-25
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Abstract
This thesis sets out to translate The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin and
analyse the occurrence and use of local expressions, wise sayings and proverbs, and to determine
the most appropriate techniques required to translate them into French.
The study finds that, “Yoruba English” has developed as a variety of “Nigerian English”, in
which the novel is written and that, local expressions, wise-sayings and proverbs of this brand of
English which abound in the novel, are used mostly by the characters that have little or no formal
education. Indeed, their thoughts and actions in the story are originally expressed in Yoruba and
only translated into English by the “invisible narrator”. The narrator used primarily “borrowing”,
“word-for-word” and “literal translation” techniques to translate them into English mainly to
maintain the local flavour.
A study of about a hundred of these local expressions, wise sayings and proverbs shows that
most of them are coined as a result of close observation of the physical or natural environment of
the Yoruba people. The majority of these expressions are also the comparison of elements of the
natural environment to real situations. To translate them into French and maintain the ideas
carried over from Yoruba through to English and the desired rhetorical effects such as humour
and sarcasm, only the linguistic code is switched from English to French as all the socio-cultural
elements in the affected linguistic continuum are similar, with French and English alternating as
second languages. Thus, “borrowing”, “word-for-word” and “literal translation” techniques
remain the most appropriate.
Description
A Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies,
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology, Kumasi in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in French
(Translation), 2016