Abstract

ABSTRACT

In a hierarchized global community, literary activities intrinsic to minority societies differ to a certain extent from what obtains in the more developed nations. This thesis analyzes the translation practices of Raymond Queneau and Irène Assiba d’Almeida in collaboration with Olga Mahougbé Simpson, translators of two different books written by authors from minority societies in the global community. The translations are entitled L’Ivrogne dans la brousse, first published by Éditions Gallimard in 1953, and La Flèche de Dieu, published by Présence Africaine in 1978. The original books: The Palm-Wine Drinkard and his Dead Palm-Wine Tapster in the Deads’ Town by Amos Tutuola (1952) and Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe (1964) tell of the sociological and educational backgrounds of the authors and also reveal the societal influences that impact their novels and eventually the translations of these novels.
This thesis also surveys the familiarity of both translators with the customs and beliefs inherent in African texts through an analysis of their translations of culturally inflected statements and the peculiar language use of the authors. It concludes with the collation and analysis of previous research carried out on such thematic elements as hybridity and agency in Translation Studies as they relate to African postcolonial literature.