International Journal of Teaching & Learning

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TEACHING & LEARNING

(INJOTEL)

Published by:

TAI SOLARIN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION (TASUED), Hosted by the College of Humanities, Ijagun, Ijebu – Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Vol. 1, N°09 – December 2016, ISSN 2012 - 5527

Edited by:

Prof. KUKOYI, Adebola & Dr. OKUNOWO, Yomi

Theokos Publications Arewa Joint, Off Thaa Jeremiah Junction, N° 5, Awosika close, Torikoh, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria.

December 2016

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TEACHING & LEARNING (INJOTEL)

Published by: TAI SOLARIN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION (TASUED), Hosted by the College of Humanities, Ijagun, Ijebu – Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Vol. 1, N°09 – December 2016, ISSN 2012 - 5527

Edited by:

Prof. KUKOYI, Adebola & Dr. OKUNOWO, Yomi

Theokos Publications Arewa Joint, Off Thaa Jeremiah Junction, N° 5, Awosika close, Torikoh, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria.

December 2016

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TEACHING & LEARNING (INJOTEL)

 No part of this journal may be reproduced in any from, by print, photo-print, microfilm or any other, without written permission from the publisher.

 Tous droits de reproduction, de traduction et d’adaptation réservés pour tous les pays.

ISSN 2012 - 5527

Theokos Publications Arewa Joint, Off Thaa Jeremiah Junction, N° 5, Awosika close, Torikoh, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria.

December 2016

1. Board of Publication

N° Full name Addresses Functions 1 Prof. KUKOYI, French Department, Editor-in-Chief Adebola College of Humanities, Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) 2 Dr. Yomi English Department, Deputy Editor- OKUNOWO College of in-Chief Humanities, Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) 3 Dr. Olufadekemi Department of Editorial ADAGBADA Nigerian and Foreign Secretary Languages and Literatures, Faculty of Arts, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria 4 Dr. Tunde Department of Documentation AKUBODE Nigerian and Foreign Secretary Languages and Literatures, Faculty of Arts, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria 5 Dr. Adeniyi O. Yoruba Department, Public ADEFALA College of Relations Humanities, Tai Secretary Solarin University of Education (TASUED)

2. Editorial Consultants

N° Full name Addresses Functions 1 Prof. SERIKI, Dean, College of Chairman Alani Humanities, Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) 2 Prof. Former Dean, Member ADEBAJO, Sola College of Humanities, Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), 3 Prof. AGAGU, Ekiti State Member Alaba A. University, Ado - Ekiti, Niegria. 4 Prof. Department of Member FOLORUNSO, Languages and Kizito A. Linguistics, College of Humanities and Cultures, Osun State University, Ikere Campus, Nigeria. 5 Prof. Vice-Chancellor, Member ONABAJO, Lead City Femi University, Ibadan, Nigeria. 6 Prof. IHOM, Benue State Member Cletus I. University, Makurdi, Nigeria. 7 Dr. ILUKPEJU, University of Lagos, Member Akanbi M. Lagos, Nigeria.

MODÈLES D’ORGANISATIONS DES ASSOCIATIONS

3. Articles Contributors

Articles N° Full Name Adresses contributed Département 1 Dr. Translating d’Anglais, pidgins: a study MOUSTAPHA- Faculté des based on Yemi BABALOLA, Alade’s Jonnhy Lettres, Arts et Rissikatou Sciences Humaines (FLASH), Université d’Abomey- Calavi, Bénin. Faculté des 2 Dr. KOTTIN, Parents’ Lettres, Arts et Evariste responsibilities in Sciences Assogba TEFL in beninese Humaines secondary (FLASH), schools: the case Université study of Porto- d’Abomey- Novo. Calavi, Bénin

3 Dr. La déforestation Département de MAMADOU, dans la commune Sociologie Layessi A. B. de Djidja au Anthropologie Bénin : causes (DSA)

anthropiques et Faculté des approches de lettres Arts et solutions. Sciences Humaines (FLASH) Université d’Abomey- Calavi (UAC)

4 Dr. KODJO Technics of Département SONOU, d’Anglais, Institut school Théophile Universitaire Gbègninou administration Panafricain (IUP), and management Porto-Novo, Rép. du Bénin Le sémantisme 5 Pr. MOYE, des titres des Department of Austin romans d’Alain Foreign Stephen ROBBE- Languages GRILLET et de University of Michel BUTOR Benin, Benin City, Nigeria

6 Dr. FALL, Between Laboratoire Astou motherhood and d’Etudes et de professional Recherches career: an african Anglophones, Université Check reception of Anta Diop de Margaret Dakar, Sénégal. Oliphant’s

autobiography (1899)

Département des 7 Dr. L’expression de Sciences du la solitude à Langage et de la YEBOU, Elie travers les Communication, chansons Faculté des funéraires dans Lettres, Arts et l’aire culturel Sciences Adja Tado Humaines (FLASH), Université d’Abomey- Calavi, Bénin.

8 Mr. Federalism in Department of AFOLABI, India: an Political Science, Oladiran assessment of Houdegbe North critical issues and American innovative University, mechanisms Republic of Benin.

9 Mr. An assessment of Crawford OLANIYI, the national Univeristy, interest 8

Oladele of Nigeria. Igbesa, Ogun Sunday issues, problems State. & and prospect & Dr. University Of IDACHABA, Ibadan. Oyo State Enemaku U. Nigeria

10 Mr Le mariage Doctorants en ATINDEHOU, précoce au nord- Sociologie de Aimé est du Bénin à Développement, Ferdinand l’épreuve de la Ecole doctorale, & foi, la tradition et Faculté des la modernité Lettres, Arts et CODO, Sciences Carole Nelly Humaines (FLASH), Université d’Abomey- Calavi, Bénin

TRANSLATING PIDGINS: A STUDY BASED ON YEMI ALADE’S JONNHY

Dr. MOUSTAPHA-BABALOLA, Rissikatou Département d’Anglais, Faculté des Lettres, Arts et Sciences Humaines (FLASH), Université d’Abomey-Calavi, Bénin.

Abstract It is well known that when people live together, they cannot avoid communicating whether they have a language in common or not. When they do not share a language, they feel obliged to create a language that can be understood by all the members of the community. This new language called “pidgin”. Pidgin is commonly created by using the vocabulary of the European language and the local language. It is this language that Yemi Alade, a Nigerian singer has used in her song untitled “Jonnhy” existing in the French and English. This paper intends then to deal with some of the problems of translating pidgins in Yemi Alade’s Jonnhy. The paper concludes by highlighting the reasons for the translation difficulties that are not only linguistic but also historical and ideological. Keywords: Pidginisation, translation, culture, French language, English language.

Résumé La vie en communauté oblige les membres à communiquer, qu’ils aient une langue en commun ou non. Quand ils ne partagent pas de langue en commun, de nouvelles langues faites de combinaison des langues en présence se créent. Cette langue hybride créée à partir des langues occidentales et des vernaculaires africains est appelée « pidgin. » C’est cette langue que Yemi Alade, une artiste nigériane de renom a utilisé pour véhiculer le message dans sa chanson populaire « Jonnhy» existant en anglais et en français. Cet article à pour objectif principal d’étudier les deux versions de « Jonnhy» et de faire ressortir les liés à la traduction du pidgin. L’article conclut en mettant en évidence les raisons des difficultés de traduction qui sont non seulement linguistiques mais aussi historiques et idéologiques. Mots-clés: Pidginisation, traduction, culture, langue française, langue anglaise.

Introduction From the early days of African literature, the writers have been accustomed with different ways of using language to express their thought. The mixing of African culture and the European languages have pushed african novelists to find a 11 manner to paint African realities-that was typically oral- in European languages. This is the reason why most of them such as Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ousmane Sembene, Jean Pliya, Olympe Bhêly Quenum- just to quote some- have decided to mix african languages and European ones in writing their novels. This language mixing is used differently in a novel. The first way of language mixing is to use african words in sentences that are written in English or French because these words are difficult to contextualise in the European language. This feature is linguistically called code mixing. Sometimes, the author feels obliged to write a full passage in African language and then come back to the European one. It is code switching. Finally, a whole passage can be written in a language that seems to be European but in which we have some African words and the grammatical structure is the one of the used African language. This hybrid language is called pidginisation. These linguistic features (code switching, code mixing and pidginisation) are also used by African singers. This allows them to reach the majority of African society citizen that are uneducated or semi-literate. Pidginisation has been the one chosen by Yemi Alade, a Nigerian singer to convey her message in her popular song Johnny. This song, originally produced in an English-based pidgin, has also a French version sung by Yemi 12

Alade herself. My concern here is to discuss the problems that such a language poses to translation. But for the sake of the work, it is important to point out what pidginisation is and what are the different types of pidgin we have in Africa. 1. Theoretical framework and literature review

1.1. Definition of pidgin Pidgin can be defined as a reduced language used by groups with no language in common who need to communicate for trade or other purposes. It is a simplified form of speech formed out of existing languages in order to facilitate communication to persons who have problems to understand one another’s languages. As R. L. Trask and P. Stockwell (2007) said it, “a pidgin is nobody’s mother tongue because it is not a real language. In addition, it has no elaborate grammar, it is very limited in what it can convey and different people speak it differently.” As far as R. Wardhaugh (2010) is concerned, he thinks that a pidgin is “a language with no native speakers… It is a ‘reduced’ variety of a ‘normal’ language. Whatever be the case, it is undeniable that pidgin has become a kind of ‘lingua franca’ in many African communities. This leads to the existence of many types of pidgin including English-based

13 pidgin and French-based pidgin that are the main concern of this paper. 1.2. English-based pidgin

West African Pidgin English is the result of a combination of several African languages and some European languages (English, French, Portuguese, German, etc.) (Todd 1982, 1984; Schneider, 1966). The grammar, and particularly the syntax, of this "language" is influenced, to some extent, by the grammar of the African languages with which the European languages have come in contact. Aspects of African oral tradition can also be found in pidgin. Indeed, one might say that such pidgins are a classic case of what can happen when two or more mutually alien languages and cultures are in contact. The use of pidgin spread fairly rapidly among Africans, particularly because of the numerous peculiarities of the indigenous languages and cultures it had absorbed. For a long time pidgin has thrived as the contact language used by the uneducated or semi-literate urban dwellers from various ethnic backgrounds. Most of these urban dwellers were from the working-class and often characterized by their low level of formal education and low economic and social status (Obiechina, 1975).

However, today pidgin is used by Africans of all social and economic backgrounds. Well-educated West Africans use pidgin in their verbal interaction with uneducated West Africans from different ethnic groups, and also to talk among themselves in certain informal contexts. In fact, West Africans of all backgrounds use pidgin as a means to ensure group solidarity, and to reinforce a sense of integration, the use of language Malinowski refers to as “phatic communion” Ogden and Richards (1923:315). Furthermore, one might say that pidgin flourished not only because the traditional African initially found it difficult to communicate fluently in European languages, but also because given the nature of pidgin (a blend of African and European languages), most Africans found it to be a better medium than European languages for expressing certain ideas and concepts of African sociocultural reality. 1.3.French-based pidgin

Some French-speaking African writers have also sought to represent the various sociolinguistic groups that make up the fabric of West African society in their novels, by depicting the varieties of French used. Ferdinand Oyono, in Une vie de boy, for instance, has tried to reproduce the variety of French for his

15 illiterate or village characters would use in interacting verbally with their European bosses. However, the French-speaking writers have not always been as successful as their English-speaking counterparts in reproducing the “language” of semi-literate Africans in their works for several reasons. Although today some scholars point to some form of “pidgin French” in some West African countries, it can safely be said that a pidgin has not evolved from the French language in West Africa to the same degree as it has from English. Some of the reasons can be found in the differences between the British and French colonial policies in Africa, whereby, through the French policy of assimilation, French-speaking West Africans strove to speak like Frenchmen, whereas in English-speaking West Africa, the policy of indirect rule instituted by the British gave English speaking Africans the relative freedom to experiment with the English language. The consequence is that French-based pidgin does not have a clear status in French-speaking West African countries. Wald (1973:123) thinks that there is a kind “discontinuité interlinguistique” between the French language and any emerging form of “pidgin French” In his study of the sociolinguistic situation of the French language in West Africa, WaId proposes two possible scenarios: 16

(a) French as an official language exists side by side with the lingua franca of the community; (b) French is both the official language and the lingua franca of the community. Given scenario (a), there is “discontinuité interlinguistique,” that is, French is reserved for the educated elite and will thus remain standard with little or no chance of becoming pidginised. In the (b) scenario, on the contrary, French tends to get closer and closer to the African vernaculars and at some point, it is difficult to know exactly where the people draw a line between speaking a French-based pidgin and the French language proper. In these countries, there seems to be a situation whereby standard French exists side-by-side with the African vernaculars, but where there is a variety of French spoken by mostly the uneducated mass of the people. This variety of French does not fit the definition of a “pidgin” for several reasons. First, unlike pidgin English, the variety is spoken almost exclusively by the illiterate population, since educated francophones would rather speak standard French; secondly, the grammar and structure of the variety is highly idiolectal and idiosyncratic, since it is very likely that the village farmer will not use the same grammar and structure as his blacksmith 17 neighbour; and thirdly, it is used in very limited circumstances, such as verbal communication between illiterates from different ethnic groups, or between an educated francophone and a non- educated interlocutor and in this situation, the variety is used only by the non-educated speaker. Another significant difference between pidgin English and this variety of French is that speakers of the former are not often trying to speak standard English (called also grammar English), while speakers of the latter, for the most part, think they are speaking standard French. This variety of French has been derogatorily referred to as “français petit nègre” (Alexandre, 1972:59), or “broken French.” Furthermore, the use of pidgin English in a West African novel written in English does not automatically convey any sociolinguistic information about the speaker as it would for a speaker of “français petit nègre” in a West African creative works in French. 2. Yemi Alade and her Johnny

2.1. Who is Yemi Alade? Yemi Eberechi Alade, simply known as Yemi Alade, is a Nigerian afro pop singer. Born on 13 March, 1989 at Abia State in Nigeria, she began her musical career in an all-girl group called Noty Spices in 2005. She gained her prominence in 2009

18 after winning the Peak Talent and her best known hit is Johnny released in October 2013. Yemi Alade is a ‘yoruba-igbo’ woman from Ondo State since her father James Alade is of Yoruba origin, while her mother Helen Uzuoma is of Igbo origin. This biculturalism has greatly influenced Yemi and this is clearly perceptible through her songs. Yemi Alade has won many prizes including the “Female artist of the year 2012” in Nigeria, the “best african act” and the “female musician of the year” in 2014. In 2015, she has been nominated as the “best international act: Africa” by the BET Awards and the “best female artist” by MTV African Music Awards. Her more recent hit, Ferrari, has been released in March 2016. 2.2. Johnny

Johnny was released on October 14, 2013 after Uche face (2013) and before Tangerine (2014). All of these hits are part of the album King of Queens produced by Selebobo, a nigerian producer. Johnny is the story of a man who cheats and lies about his relationship with several women. The music video was uploaded on March 4, 2014 onto Yemi Alade’s official Vevo account. Johnny’s role has been played by a well-known Nigerian actor, Alex Ekubo. The song was an international smash hit in many countries including Benin. In

2014, “The Headies Awards” nominated Johnny as the ‘best pop single’ and ‘the music of the year.’ To satisfy her francophone fans, Yemi Alade recorded on March 2014 the French version of the song and becomes then the first Nigerian artiste to release a song entirely performed in French. 3. Translating pidgin

Before dealing with the translation of Johnny, it is important to discuss the language used by Yemi Alade in the original version of her song.

3.1 Language in Johnny When listening to the original version of Yemi Alade’s Johnny, one can notice an artistic work that is perfectly mixed with a beautiful language. This language tells a lot about the linguistic background of the singer. The main languages used in Johnny are English and Igbo but we can notice some Yoruba words. Even though the dominant linguistic feature in Johnny is pidgin, some other features such as code switching, figures of speech and figures sound has also been used by Yemi Alade. 3.1.1. Code switching in Johnny Code switching can be defined as the existence of more than one language, variety, or style by a speaker within an

20 utterance or discourse, or between different interlocutors or situations (Romaine, 1992:110). Some examples of code switching can be found in Johnny. Let’s consider the following passage: Johnny give Uche bele He say he wan marry Nene Nwokem ke di fe neme In this passage from the lyrics of the song, the two first lines are in pidgin but the last one is in Igbo. Yemi Alade begins singing this passage in an English-based pidgin and switches from pidgin to Igbo through the sentence “Nwokem ke di fe neme” that means “my guy, what’s happening.” A similar phenomenon can be found in the passage: “if I no see my Johnny, fefe geme” to mean, “if I don’t see my Johnny, something will happen.” Apart from code switching, I have noticed the usage of some figures of speech in Yemi Alade’s Johnny. 3.1.2. Figures of speech A figure of speech is an expression in which the words do not express their literal meaning. A figure of speech is designed to portray an idea more clearly or more interestingly. Yemi Alade has used some figures of speech mainly, allusion and some figures of repetition. 21

3.1.2.1. Allusion Allusion means to make indirect reference. It is a figure of speech that quickly stimulates different idea and associations only using a couple of words. This figure of speech clearly appears in the phrase “na lie na lie na Pinocchio.” Through this passage, Yemi Alade is comparing Johnny to Pinocchio, a fictional character and the protagonist in the The adventures of Pinocchio, a children’s book published in 1883 By Carlo Collodi, an Italian writer. In fact, Pinnocchio has been painted in this book as character who is an expert in telling lies and fabricating stories for various reasons. Then Yemi Alade is drawing her song’s listeners on Johnny’s lies by comparing him to Pinocchio, the lies teller. The following passage sheds light on a kind of person that Yemi Alade’s Johnny is: He go Canada He go Tokyo And today he say he dey Morrocco She continues by adding “he dance disco, he sing Awilo.” And she ends this passage by saying “see me see wahala eh” to mean “I am in trouble.”

3.1.2.2. Figures of repetition used in Johnny A figure of repetition is defined as a rhetorical strategy one uses to produce emphasis, clarity, amplification or emotional effect. Four different figures of repetition has been found in Johnny.  Anaphora

It is the deliberate repetition of a word or a phrase at the beginning of successive verses, clauses or paragraphs. The following passages are some examples of anaphora I have noticed in Johnny. 1. Johnny leave me follow Cynthia

And I don’t know what to do And he talk say I no do am Like the way Cynthia dey do 2. You telling me this

You telling me that I say this is not for me 3. He’s doing me this

He’s doing me that But I no go tell mummy 4. He go Canada 23

He go Tokyo And today he say he dey Morocco 5. He dance disco

He sing Awilo Na lie, na lie, na Pinocchio 6. He get dollar

He get hummer 7. He dey drink palmi with patience and Jonah

He dey Toronto He dey Sokoto  Epiphora

In opposition to anaphora, ephiphora or epistroph can be defined as the deliberate repetition of a word or a phrase at the end of successive verses, clauses or paragraphs as it is shown through the underlined words in the following passages of the song. 1. I’m looking for my Johnny

Where is my Johnny? Do you know Johnny If I no see my Johnny

2. This one na gobe

Original gobe  Epizeuxis Also called epilogia, this figure of speech is completed by repetiting the same word or phrase without any words between. Some examples of epizeuxis are shown in the following passages drawn from Johnny. 1. Selebobo on the beat

Selebobo on the beat 2. Johnny do me corny

Johnny do me corny 3. Johnny oh

Johnny oh 4. Na lie na lie na Pinocchio 5. The lie the lie he dey shokoto

 Assonance

This figure of speech is defined as a linguistic device through which one can notice the repetition of vowel sounds. The underlined letters in some words in the passages below are

25 pronounced similarly in Johnny even though they are not written the same way as in the third example. 1. Johnny give Uche bele

He talk say he wan marry Nene Nwokem ke fi neme 2. He go Tokyo

Yesterday he say he dey Morocco He dance disco He sing Awilo Na lie na lie na Pinocchio 3. He get dollar

He get hummer He dey drink palmi with Patience and Jonah 4. He dey Toronto

He dey Sokoto Na lie na lie he dey sokoto From all these analyses, I can conclude that Johnny is a well- rhymed song. What about the French version?

3.2. Johnny: the French version

From the first listening of the French version of Yemi Alade’ Johnny, one can easily notice that the music is the same as the English version. The problem relies on the fact that many words of the original version are repeated in the translated version even if they mean nothing neither in French nor in French-based pidgin. This leads to some linguistic lost in the translated version of Johnny. 3.2.1. Linguistic lost in the French version of Johnny

The expression “linguistic lost” should be understood here as the different mistakes or errors that have finally hindered the language quality of the French version of Johnny. These mistakes can cover many domains of the language such as grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. 3.2.1.1. Unchanged words and expressions Many of the words used in the original version of Johnny have not changed in the French version. The song starts by the interjection “oh ah!” which remains the same from English to French. This is not a problem for many interjections are shared by English and French languages. Then we have “abokoto bokoto eh” which is an igbo expression that is used to appreciate. Yemi Alade used this

27 expression to mean that the story she is going to tell is a very interesting one. We also have “selebobo on the beat.” This expression is repeated in the original version of Johnny. In the French version Yemi has tried a translation and then repeated the English version words. In the English version of the song, we have “Selebobo on the beat, Selebobo on the beat” whereas in the French she said “Selebobo sous le temps, selebobo on the beat.” This choice of Yemi Alade to not repeat the translation of this expression in the French version of the song draws the attention of the researcher on its meaning. In fact, “selebobo” is an igbo word that means “handsome guy” and it is this word that Yemi Alade’s sound engineer Udoka Chigozie Oku has chosen as artiste name. Through the French version of the song, I understand that the first “selebobo on the beat” is used to qualify Johnny that Yemi Alade is describing has a handsome person. This is surely one of the reasons why many women are after him. But the second is used to ask her sound engineer, Selebobo to let the music flow. The word “effizy” in the phrase “la bébé du effizy” which original version is “it’s effizy baby” also remained unchanged. “Effizy is the name of Yemi Alade’s musical group.

We also have the word “bele” in the clause “Johnny donne Uche bele.” “bele” is an igbo word that means “pregnant.” The igbo word “nwokem” meaning “my husband” has been preserved in the clause “nwokem ce qui se passé” There is also the Yoruba word “wahala” in “regarder moi voir wahala eh!” that has not changed from English to French version of the song. In fact, “wahala” is a Yoruba word that means “trouble.” The sentence “see me see wahala” can then be understood as “in a what a trouble am I?” Apart from these words, if we consider the proper nouns, only “Morocco” has been replaced by its French equivalent “Maroc.” The others i.e. Johnny, Cynthia, Uche, Nene, Tokyo, Awilo, Pinocchio, Patient, Jonah, Toronto, Sokoto, Canada have not changed. It is clearly noticeable that the non-adaptation of these words and expressions to French-based pidgin have prevented the listeners of the French version of Johnny from understanding thoroughly Yemi Alade’s message. The following aspect I want to deal with is the translation errors. 3.2.1.2. Translation errors in the French version of Johnny 1. La bébé du Effizy

In this first example drawn from the lyrics of the song, we have two errors. In French, the word “bébé” is masculine even if it is used for a female person; we say “le bébé” not “la bébé.” In this phrase, the group of words “du Effizy” should normally be “d’Effizy” because in French grammar, when a word begins with a vowel as in “Effizy”, the articles “le, la, de, du” are contracted and replaced by “l’ or d’” 2. Il dit qu’il veut marie Nene

In this sentence, my concern is about the word “marie” which should be “marier.” In French, when a verb follows another verb, the second verb is put in the infinitive form. 3. Savez-vous Johnny ?

This clause is the translation of “do you know Johnny?” In fact, this clause has been translated literally and has not taken into account the context in which the verb “know” is used. The verb “know” can be rendered by “savoir” or “connaître” in French according to the context. For example, “do you know where Johnny is?” can be translated as “Savez-vous où est Johnny?” whereas “do you know Johnny” should be translated as “Connaissez-vous Johnny?”

4. Si je ne vois mon Johnny

Here, we have a negative sentence without “pas.” In French, only sentences in subjunctive can use the negative without “pas” and “si je ne vois mon Johnny” is not in subjunctive but in conditional. 5. Je recherche mon miel

In the original version of the song, Yemi Alade said “I’m looking for my honey.” In English, the word “honey” is used to address somebody you love. For this representation in French language, we use words such as “amour”, “chéri” and so one but never “miel.” 6. Je dis ce n’est pas pour moi

This example is literally translated from “I say this is not for me.” In this passage, Yemi Alade is addressing persons who tell her about Johnny’s love affairs and she does not want to take into account their viewpoints. In other words, Yemi tells them that she does not care about all this, she only wants her Johnny to come back. The French translation can then be “je dis que je m’en fous de tout ça.”

7. Hier il dit qu’il est à Maroc

In French, to localise somebody in a country, we use “en” if the name of the country is feminine and “au” if it is masculine. For example, we say “je vais en France” or “je vis au Bénin” because we say “la France” and “le Bénin.” Then for this sentence we can say “hier il dit qu’il est au Maroc”, “Maroc” being a masculine word. 8. Le mensonge ment dans le son pantalon

In this clause, there are two errors. The first one is “le mensonge ment” in which the noun “mensonge” and the verb “ment” are words of the same family. Yemi should have said “le mensonge est” to avoid redundancy. The second error is the use of two articles (“le” and “son”) for only a noun (“pantalon”). The article “le” is superfluous here. 9. Il a dit que je ne fais comme le façon de faire Cynthia

The word “façon” is a feminine word; we then say “la façon.”

3.2.1.3. Mispronunciations in the French version of Johnny

Some mispronunciations have been observed through the listening of Johnny in French as it is shown through the following examples from the lyrics of the song. 1. La bébé dou Effizy 2. Il a dit que je ne fais comme le façon de faire Cynthia 3. Johnny me fait rangard

In the first example, Yemi Alade said “dou” instead of “du.” In the second example; the ‘ç’ of the word “façon” is normally pronounced [s] not [k] as Yemi Alade did. As far as the last example is concerned, we say “rancard”, not “rangard.” 3.2.2. Rhyme in the French version of Johnny

The original version of Yemi Alade’s Johnny is a well- rhymed song through the different figures of repetition used. The majority of this rhyme has been preserved in the French interpretation of the song and new rhymes occurred. For example, let’s take the following passages from the song. Examples English version French version Oh ah! Oh ah! 1. Abokoto bokoto eh! Abokoto bokoto eh! Selebobo on the beat Selebobo sous le 2. Selebobo on the beat temps 33

Selebobo on the beat Johnny leave follow Johnny laisse-moi Cynthia suive Cynthia And I don’t know what Et je ne sais pas quoi to do faire 3. And he talk say I no do Et il dit que je ne fais am comme Like the way Cynthia Le façon de faire dey do Cynthia Johnny give Uche bele Johnny donne Uche He talk say he wanna bele marry Nene Il dit qu’il veut marie 4. Nwokem ke di fe ne me Nene Nwokem ce qui se passer Johnny oh, Johnny oh Johnny oh, Johnny oh I’m looking for my Je recherche mon Johnny Johnny Where is my Johnny? Où est mon Johnny ? 5. Johnny oh oh Johnny oh oh Do you know Johnny? Savez-vous Johnny ? Question… Question… If I no see my Johnny Si je ne vois mon Johnny I’m looking for my Je recherche mon Johnny Johnny 6. I’m looking for my Je recherche mon miel honey You telling me this Vous me dit ceci 7. You telling me that Vous me dit cela Johnny do me corny Johnny me fait Johnny do me corny rangard 8. Johnny me fait rangard 34

He’s doing me this Il me fait ceci 9. He’s doing me that Il me fait cela He go Tokyo Il est à Tokyo Yesterday he say he dey Hier il dit qu’il est à Morocco Maroc He dance disco Il danse disco 10. He sing Awilo Il chante Awilo Na lie na lie na Na mensonge Pinocchio mensonge na Pinocchio He get dollar Il a les dollars He get hummer Il a les hummers 11. He drink palmi with Il boit palmi avec Patience and Jonah Patient et Jonah He dey Toronto Il est à Toronto He dey Sokoto Il est à Sokoto 12. Na lie na lie he dey Le mensonge ment sokoto dans le son pantalon

A look at the examples above draws our attention on the fact that only the first example has been repeated word after word by Yemi Alade in the French version of Johnny. As far as example 2 is concerned, in the second part of the example, Yemi Alade has repeated the words of the English version (selebobo on the beat) after a French translation of the first part. This has prevented from having the rhyme in this example. In the examples 4, 6, 10 and 12, Yemi Alade has preserved the rhyme on the same words as in English but due to the translation, she has lost a part of this rhyme. In example 4, the translation of 35

“Nwokem ke di fe neme” by “Nwokem ce qui se passer” leads to the lost of the sound [] we have in [bl], [Nn] and [nm] in the original version. For example 6, the translation of “honey” rhyming with Johnny by “miel” in French makes this part of song unrhymed. If Yemi Alade has chosen to render “honey” by “chéri” for instance, she could have preserved the rhyme. In the example 10, we have a final rhyme on [o] that has been alliterated by the translation of “Morocco.” As far as the last example of this section is concerned, i.e. example 12, we have a rhyme in [to] in “Toronto”, “Sokoto” and “sokoto.” The translation of the last word (sokoto) by “pantalon” in the French version of Johnny has a bit alterated the rhyme. The question here should be “why Yemi Alade has chosen to translate the second “sokoto” and not the first. In fact, the first is the name of a city in Nigeria while the second is a Yoruba word that means “trousers” in English. The two words seem to be the same but they are phonologically different. Only the intonation can help the listener to infer the differentiation between these words. The city is pronounced [sokoto] whereas “trousers” in Yoruba is pronounced [okoto]. Yemi Alade has surely been inspired by the Yoruba proverb “Nkan to n wa lɔ Sokoto n b ni akpo sokoto r.” A literal translation of this proverb can be “what you are looking for in Sokoto is in your trouser’s pocket”; to mean that 36

“we don’t need to look far away something because all we need is near.” The examples 3, 7, 8 et 9 are perfectly rhymed. In example 3, we have a figure of repetition that is different from the one of the original song whereas the examples 7, 8 and 9 follow the same rhyming rule of the original song. In the English version of song, the example 3 is an anaphora (repetition of the same words or phrases at the beginning of a phrase) whereas in the French version it is a combination of anaphora and ephiphora, leading to a symploce which is defined as a figure of repetition in which the first and last word (s) in a phrase, clause or sentence are repeated in one or more successive phrases, clauses or sentences. In this example that contains four clauses, the first and last clauses end with “Cynthia” whereas the second and the third one begins with the word “et.” The examples 7 and 9 are anaphora (repetition of the same words or phrases at the beginning of a phrase) and example 8 is an epizeuxis (repetition of the same phrase without any words between). One can clearly notice that Yemi Alade has tried her best to preserve the rhyme in the French version of Johnny.

Conclusion Pidgin languages, apart from filling gaps of European languages are used in African creative works to paint African sociolinguistic background and to impact European languages with the African oral tradition simplicity. This makes the translation of pidgin a very difficult exercise. This difficulty is due to the fact that unlike English-based pidgins which has using rules, the French-based pidgin is a kind of “broken language” with ill-defined characteristics. This difference in status between WAPE and "broken French," coupled with the difference in linguistic attitudes towards the two hybrid languages, accounts for a great deal of the difficulties encountered by translators. As far as Yemi Alade’s Johnny is concerned, I think that the main difficulty resides in the fact that she has done an automatic translation instead of asking for a professional assistance. The implication of a professional translator would have limited the translation errors. Yemi Alade has taken into account the criticism of her fans about the quality of the language in the French version of Johnny. This is surely why, she has tried a French interpretation of another song which title is “kissing” in featuring with Jeff Marvin, a well-known franco- ivorian singer. Here, the quality of the language is acceptable

38 even if Yemi Alade has to make a great effort to improve her French pronunciation.

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Holm, J. (1988). Pidgins and Creoles (vol. I): Theory and Structure. Cambridge University Press. Mufwene, S. (1988a). “English Pidgins: Form and Function,” World Englishes VII(3), pp. 255-267. (1988b). “Why study Pidgins and Creoles?” Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 111(2), pp. 265-276. Nida, E. (1976). “A Framework for the Analysis and Evaluation of Theories of Translation,” Translation: Applications and Research, R. W. Brislin ed. New York, Gardner, pp. 47-91. Obiechina, E. N. (1975). Culture, Tradition and Society in the West African Novel Cambridge, U.K., Cambridge University Press. Schneider, G. D. (1966). West African Pidgin English. Ph.D. Dissertation. Athens, Ohio. Todd, L. (1982). Varieties of English Around the World: Cameroon. Heidelberg, Julius Groos Verlag. (1984). Modern Englishes: Pidgins and Creoles. Oxford, Blackwell. Wald, P., J. Chesny, M.-A. HiIy and P. Poutignant, eds. (1973). Continuité et discontinuité sociolinguistiques: Hypothèses pour une recherche en Afrique noire. Nice, IDERIC, Université de Nice. 40

Yemi Alade (2013) Johnny, lyrics retrieved on Yemi Alade’s official Vevo account on October, 24th 2015