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Translating and Publishing Nigerian Literature in France (1953-2017) a Study of Selected Writers Translating and Publishing Nigerian Literature in France (1953-2017) A Study of Selected Writers by Sylvia Ijeoma C. Madueke A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in FRENCH LANGUAGES, LITERATURES AND LINGUISTICS Modern Languages and Cultural Studies University of Alberta © Sylvia Ijeoma C. Madueke, 2018 ii Abstract This project focuses on the history and process of translating and publishing selected Anglophone Nigerian novels into French, with a special focus on elements of hybridity. The corpus consists of novels written by canonical and non-canonical, male and female Nigerian authors in the years after the country’s independence in 1960. The thesis draws on multiple yet complementary translation methodologies. The polysystem theory (PST) is used to characterize the source literary system and how certain home factors may reflect on the selection of works for translation. The polysystem is also useful to position Nigerian literature within the French literary system. André Lefevere’s methodology is used to identify the agents involved in the translation of the novels and examine power relationships at play. Antoine Berman’s approaches allow for a study of the French translators’ roles and a microanalysis of hybridity. Interviews, questionnaires, email and oral exchanges provide first-hand information and complement previous approaches. A qualitative analysis of data gathered in this study was performed in order to illustrate the various trends within the corpus of Nigerian literary works translated in French. This corpus forms an online database, NILIFT, which will be useful for future research. While the field of Nigerian literature in French translation shows visible growth and progress, this study illustrates that internal ethnic divides within the source cultures, resulting in the predilection of certain types of literature, influence the visibility of certain works or authors in Nigeria and in French translation. The absence of agents, policies and subsidies for the promotion of translation in Nigeria reinforces the target-oriented nature of the process. French publishers decide which works are translated based on the author’s international literary reputation. Even though some publishers have introduced more Nigerian literary works in the target culture through special collections devoted to African Anglophone literature, this research shows that Nigerian literature as part of the general Anglophone literature, continues to occupy a peripheral position in the French literary polysystem. The textual and paratextual analyses of the selected translated texts show that French translators strive to respect the hybrid elements in the original texts. iii Preface This thesis is an original work by Sylvia Madueke. The research project, of which this thesis is a part, received research ethics approval from the University of Alberta Research Ethics Board, Project Name “NIGERIAN LITERATURE IN FRENCH TRANSLATION”, No. 68967, 26TH Oct. 2017. iv Dedication For my parents Gilbert and Fidelia Madueke, my husband Yves and my daughter, Chizitel. “Being deeply loved gives you strength, while loving deeply gives you courage” - Lao Tzu Your love in my life gave me all the strength that I ever needed. v Acknowledgements This thesis is possible thanks to the invaluable contributions of many people. I am sincerely grateful to my supervisor Dr. Sathya Rao. His kindness, patience, instruction and encouragement are unmeasurable. For those times when I doubted, you were there to give me a steady hand. I will miss our numerous unscheduled meetings. I also wish to thank the external reader, Dr. Natasa Raschi and the committee members, Dr. Onokome Okome and Dr. Chris Reyns Chikuma for their insights. I am forever indebted to my parents, the uncrowned royalties. You gave me love, nurtured me, inspired me to dream and helped me to create myself. You taught me to work hard and believe in myself. Thank you to all my siblings and especially to Ogee, for always trusting me to be my best. My heartfelt gratitude goes to my husband, Yves Mugisha. I can never express well enough what you have done for me. You received all my frustrations and like Jim Morrison said, you gave me total freedom to be myself. For these past years that you have literally re-envisioned your life so that I could live mine, I am humbled. To my daughter Chizitel Cherylle, your smile was a light to my path. I thank you for your your little and loving words of courage. You told me “Mummy you can do it”. You are right, I have done it. I am grateful to Cindy Chopoidalo for her meticulous reading and correction of this thesis. Thank you to everyone whose formal and informal contributions made this thesis a reality: Mona de Pracontal, Bernard Magnier, Pierre Girard, Anne Damour, Chigozie Obioma, Adoabi Tricia Nwaubani, Professor Akachi Adimorah Ezeigbo, Professor Hagher Iyorwuese and Stella Omonigho. I am also grateful to Dr. Heather Young Leslie, Uche Peter Umez, Shahnaz Shatoosi, Florence Elomba, Claret Ogbuehi, Dr. Marika-Marta Urbanik and Daria Polianski for their encouragements. My gratitude goes to Social Sciences and Humanities Council (SSHRC) and to the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta for their respective funding. Finally, I am grateful to God for His unending grace and love. vi Table of Contents ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................................. II PREFACE ................................................................................................................................................. III DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................................... IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................................... V LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ....................................................................................................... XI CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 1. Context: Nigerian Literature .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2. France and French in Nigeria .......................................................................................................................... 2 1.3. Nigerian Literature in French Translation as a Cultural Product: History, Process and Reception ................ 5 1.4. Translating Hybridity in Nigerian Literature .................................................................................................. 7 1.5. Scope of Study ................................................................................................................................................ 8 1.5.1. Macro Study ................................................................................................................................................ 8 1.5.2. Micro Study.................................................................................................................................................. 9 1.6. General Research Questions ......................................................................................................................... 11 1.7. Objectives of Study ....................................................................................................................................... 12 1.8. General Theoretical and Methodological Considerations ............................................................................ 13 1.8.1. Polysystem Theory ..................................................................................................................................... 13 1.8.2. Postcolonial Translation Approaches: Power Relationship and Search for a Translator .......................... 16 1.8.3. Textual and Paratextual Analysis: Berman’s Translation Criticism and Negative Analytic ...................... 17 1.8.4. Empirical Research .................................................................................................................................... 17 1.9. Organization of Research ............................................................................................................................. 19 1.10. Challenges, Adjustments, and Delimitations .............................................................................................. 20 PART 1: MACRO STUDY ....................................................................................................................... 24 vii CHAPTER 2: NIGERIAN LITERARY POLYSYSTEM ..................................................................... 25 2.1. Methodological Considerations .................................................................................................................... 25 2.2. Nigerian Literature: A Brief Historical Background ...................................................................................... 32 2.3. Modern Nigerian Literature ......................................................................................................................... 37 2.4. Themes and Generational Classification in Modern Nigerian Literature ....................................................
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