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Elhadj Mahmoudou Bâ, berger et illettré jusqu'à l'âge de seize ans, rompt avec le métier de pâtre au profit de l'école Coranique où, en quatre ans d'étude, il mémorisa le Coran entier. Assoiffé de savoir, il se rendit chez un marabout Maure avec qui, en quatre ans d'études, il obtint sa maitrise en Coran, et s'expatria en Arabie Saoudite pour poursuivre ses études qu'il parachèvera six ans plus tard, par un diplôme le plus élevé en science islamique. Érudit, imprégné des idées progressistes, il décida en 1940 de rentrer en Afrique afin de retirer son peuple de l'ignorance. Sur le terrain, il se heurta à des obstacles majeurs, du fait du colon et du marabout magicien, qui se sentant menacés par sa réforme, s'allièrent pour lui barrer le chemin, en vain. Convaincu que seul le savoir libère, Mahmoudou Bâ créa son école moderne à Djeol, son village natal, en 1941, et en fit de même dans toute l'Afrique Occidentale Française(AOF). En 1962, devenu responsable de l'enseignement arabe en Mauritanie, il put contrôler ses écoles nationales et internationales qui ont, empiriquement, contribué au rayonnement de la civilisation universelle, au recul de l'ignorance et au désenclavement culturel de l'Afrique de l'Ouest et centrale. / Elhadj Mamadou Bâ, illiterate shepherd too the age of sixteen, breaks with the shepherd trade in favor of Koranic school where after four years of study, he memorized the entire Quran. Thirsty of knowledge, he went with a Moorish marabout with whom in four years of study, he obtained his master's degree in Quran and expatriated in Saudi Arabia for further studies that will complete six years later by a diploma, the highest in Islamic science. Scholar imbued with progressive ideas, he decided in 1940 to return to Africa to withdraw his people of ignorance. On the field, he met with major obstacles, since the colon and the magician marabout, feeling threatened by his reform, allied to bar his way, in vain. Convinced that only knowledge liberates, Mahmoudou Bâ created his modern school in Djeol, his hometown in 1941 and did the same in all French West Africa (AOF). In 1962, he became responsible for teaching Arabic in Mauritania; he could control his national and international schools that have contributed to the influence of universal civilization, the decline of ignorance and cultural opening up of West and Central, Africa.

L’objectif de la thèse est d’analyser le rapport entre Peter Brook et le continent africain. La thèse retrace les origines de son attrait pour l’Afrique, les principes qui motivent cette affinité et les étapes saillantes : les voyages, les mises en scène et la longue collaboration avec de nombreux acteurs africains. L’étude explore l’époque de la création du Centre International de Recherche Théâtrale [CIRT] à Paris ; l’arrivé au CIRT du premier acteur africain Malick Bowens ; l’aventure du voyage en Afrique de 1972 ; la rencontre avec l’ethnologue et écrivain malien Amadou Hampâté Bâ ; l’arrivé aux Bouffes du Nord de l’acteur-conteur Sotigui Kouyaté qui deviendra le protagoniste de nombreux spectacle ; le rapport avec les dramaturges sud-africains Athol Fugard et Barney Simon. La dissertation consacre un chapitre à chaque spectacle « africain » : Les Iks [1975], L’Os [] Woza Albert ! [1989], Le Costume [1999], Tierno Bokar [2004], Sizwe Banzi est mort [2006], et Eleven and Twelve [2009] portrait de l’Afrique du début du siècle. La voie africaine aide à éclaircir et à interpréter l’oeuvre entière du metteur en scène, car elle concrétise sur scène les théories esquissées dans l’Espace Vide. / The purpose of this study is to analyze the dynamics of the relationship between Peter Brook and the African continent. The thesis traces the origins of this attraction, his evolution and the striking stages: the journeys, the plays and the long collaboration with many Africans actors. The study investigates the creation of the Centre International de Recherche Théâtrale [CIRT] in Paris; the arrival at the CIRT of the first African actor Malick Bowens; the adventure of the journey in Africa in 1972; the meeting with the Malian ethnologist and writer Amadou Hampâté Bâ; the arrival at the Bouffes du Nord of the actor-storyteller Sotigui Kouyaté that will become the main actor of many plays; the relationships with the South Africans playwrights Athol Fugard and Barney Simon. The dissertation dedicates a chapter to every "African" play: Les Iks [1975], L’Os [1979] Woza Albert ! [1989], Le Costume [1999], Tierno Bokar [2004], Sizwe Banzi est mort [2006], et Eleven and Twelve [2009], portrait of Africa of the beginning of the century. The “African way” helps to elucidate and to interpret the whole work of the director : it concretize on stage the premonitory theories written in The Empty Space.

Many critics consider Mariama Bâ as a feminist writer, but the reader of her two novels might wonder what characterizes her work as such. Therefore, the aim of each chapter, in order of appearance, is to analyze first the genres, then the elements of African tradition and Western modernity, the characters of both works and the themes of the novels, with the intention of defining the author's feminism, which takes its source in dichotomies, paradoxes and contradictions. In order to expose the author's point of view on the condition of women, it appears important to situate the diegesis in its context. Also, the study is supported by references on the Senegalese culture, by genres, narrative and feminist theories and by critiques on the work itself.

Au travers de ses écrits littéraires, Hampâté Bâ cherche à mettre en valeur la culture africaine. À l'instar d'autres écrivains de sa génération, son œuvre révèle la volonté de contribuer à la construction d'un discours qui permette de réinsérer l'Afrique dans un cadre universel. Dans cet objectif, il choisit de réactualiser la tradition orale. Chercheur infatigable, il recueille tout au long de sa vie des histoires et des croyances qu'il écrit en français pour un public de culture occidentale. L'écrivain se heurte ainsi à une difficulté première : il n'y a pas une vision du monde et un répertoire communs aux personnages, à l'instance narrative et au lecteur. Ce décalage de références pose des problèmes d'ordre esthétique à l'écrivain, qui cherche des stratégies pour représenter la réalité sociale à laquelle il se réfère, mais aussi pour la recréer de manière à interagir avec la réalité de son lecteur. Le rôle assumé par l'écrivain est ambigu. Fidèle transmetteur d'une part, Hampâté Bâ cherche d'autre part à séduire le lecteur en construisant un univers fabuleux. Il met en place différents niveaux de dialogue, à partir de la relecture de souvenirs, de traces du passé, de regards portés sur le monde, et déjoue le sens de ces derniers à la faveur des significations contextuelles recherchées. Le texte devient alors un lieu privilégié pour une réflexion sur la mémoire, l'histoire et le mythe ; plus largement, pour une réflexion sur le réel et la manière de le raconter. / Through his literary writing, Hampâté Bâ aims at highlighting african culture. Similarly to other authors of his generation, his work shows the desire to contribute to the construction of a discourse that would allow Africa to be reinserted in an universal frame. For that purpose, he chooses to reactualize oral tradition. An indefatigable researcher, he collects, throughout his life, stories and beliefs later to be rewritten in french for an occidental audience. By so doing, the author is confronted to a major difficulty, namely the fact that there is not one worldview or a repertory common to both the characters, the narrative authority and the reader. This reference gap raises thus concerns of an aesthetic nature to the writer, who looks for strategies in order, not only to portray the social reality that he refers to, but, at the same time, to recreate the latter in a way such as to enable it to interact with the reality of the reader. The role taken by the writer is ambiguous. A faithful transmitter on the one hand, Hampâté Bâ attempts, on the other hand, to seduce the reader by constructing a fabulous universe. He implements different levels of dialogue out of the rereading of memories, as well as from traces of the past and worldviews, which meaning is eluded in favour of elaborate contextual significations. As a result, the text becomes a privileged place for a reflection on memory, history and the myth ; in a broader sense, it opens for a reflection on the Real and on the mode of storytelling.

This study consists of a comparative analysis of two novels (Une si longue lettre and Un chant écarlate) written by the famous female African writer Mariama Bâ and their English translations (So long a letter and Scarlet song) by Modupe Bodé-Thomas and Dorothy Blair. Mariama Bâ’s texts shed light on the different ways in which African women are oppressed by tradition and religion deeply rooted in a patriarchal and post-colonial society. The story of her own life serves as a basis for an effective analysis of both novels in order to determine the extent of her Feminist orientation in her texts, as well as to evaluate the possibilities of female emancipation based on the choices made by her female characters. This study further examines the translation strategies present in the English rendition of Bâ’s novels. Translation involves conveying a message from a source to a target text in a manner that expresses the same message as the original. It also bridges the language and cultural barrier by facilitating understanding between different worlds. In translating Bâ’s novels, the aim is to respect and convey her message of Feminism to an international non-Francophone audience. In order to evaluate whether the translations have achieved the objective of conveying her message, this study will attempt to analyse the translational choices made by each translator as well as to ascertain the success of those choices. This analysis is guided by existing Feminist translation theory. Emphasis is placed on Feminism in general and African Feminism in particular to ascertain Bâ’s own Feminist orientation and how this impacted her writing. This is done firstly by giving a brief synopsis of the two novels. Subsequently, traces of Feminism are identified in both novels, followed by an analysis of the source texts. This is done by applying descriptive models outlined within the framework of descriptive translation studies to compare the source and target texts. This study reveals that despite the many translation strategies that are available, literal/word for word and semantic translations are predominant in the English renditions of Bâ’s novels. The use of these strategies differed in the two translations in question. While Bodé-Thomas preferred a more traditional, literal/word for word translation in her rendition of Une si longue lettre in order to maintain the simplicity of the text and preserve the African aesthetic which is the essence and distinguishing feature of Bâ’s work, Blair opted for a semantic translation which turned out to be an important strategy in her English rendition of Un chant écarlate. Taking the different translational strategies used by Modupe Bodé-Thomas and Dorothy Blair as a case in point, this study proposes that since for the most part, Mariama Bâ’s writing in a European language (French) captures the African content and form and portrays her Feminist beliefs in both her novels, the job of both translators is simply to carry over the same African content and form from the source language to the target language in a similar manner that expresses Bâ’s Feminist beliefs. Key words: Mariama Bâ, Feminism, African Feminism, Feminist translation, descriptive translation studies, post-colonialism, translation studies, autobiography, Dorothy Blair, Modupe Bodé-Thomas, source text, target text, Une si longue lettre, Un chant écarlate, Scarlet song, So long a letter / Mini Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / Modern European Languages / MA / Unrestricted

This study is based on the main female African characters in Une si longue lettre written in 1979 by Mariama Bâ and Assèze l’Africaine written in 1994 by Calixthe Beyala. Both novels describe the African society and the obstacles that exist for women in this society where men dominate. This study presents the transformation of Ramatoulaye that is a traditional and passive woman but she becomes modern. In addition, it presents the transformation of young Aïssatou that becomes an independent and strong woman, in these two novels. These two women are facing similar forms of discriminations and oppression in the African society and they are struggling against injustice in various ways. The aim of this analysis is to investigate how the image of the African women and the feminism in Africa show and develop through the main characters, Ramatoulaye and Aïssatou. The conclusion reveal that the image of the African women has considerably changed over the years in a positive way and that Femininity is a cultural construction and not a natural construction. The conclusion further reveal that even today a woman is not independent, but is still considered "the Other" in relation to the man.

Lengo la makala hii ni kujaribu kufafanua jinsi wafasiri walivyotafsiri kwa Kiswahili baadhi ya riwaya zilizoandikwa kwa lugha za kigeni, enzi za baada ya nchi za Afrika kujipatia uhuru. Kwa ajili ya mada yenyewe nimechagua mkusanyo wa riwaya nne zilizotafsiriwa na Watanzania, yaani Shamba la wanyama (kilichoandikwa na Fortunatus Kawegere, 1967), Shujaa Okonkwo (Clement Ndulute, 1973), Mzee na bahari (Cyprian Tirumanywa, 1980) na Barua ndefu kama hii (Clement Maganga, 1994). Wafasiri hao walikabiliana vipi na vipengele vya kitamaduni vya lugha chanzi (za jamii zenye maisha, dini, misemo, methali tofauti na yao n.k.)? Kwa kuzingatia swali hilo, makala inaeleza baadhi ya mbinu zilizotumiwa na watafsiri wa Kiswahili wakishughulika na maandishi kutoka kwa fasihi ya kigeni.

The title of this paper is "Two generations of African writers: Women who conform to norms, and women who make noise. Mariama Bâ and Calixthe Beyala”. In this study we analyze two novels, Une si longue lettre by Mariama Bâ (1979) and Assèze l’Africaine by Calixthe Beyala (1994). We examine the similarities and differences in expression, style and themes. Our objective is to determine whether Bâ and Beyala are representing two different groups of African female writers. We have combined a postcolonial approach with a comparative method. Our hypothesis is that the two novels stand in contrast to each other through differences in themes and styles. In order to test this hypothesis we use previous research. Our analysis shows that the work of Bâ has a sober and refined style of writing. Bâ is raising awareness of the situation of women, without deviating from social norms, choosing themes such as polygamy, sisterhood and the value of education. In the work of Beyala we see a more pronounced political criticism, in a bolder and more agitating style of writing. Our conclusion is that the two novels are strongly differentiated through themes and styles. Bâ and Beyala belong to two different generations of female French-speaking African authors.

This study explores the notion of female cultural difference in the context of dominant patriarchal and other oppressive patriarchal structures. Essentially, its focus is on deconstructing stereotypical images of women, who are often perceived as homogenous. Throughout the study I argue that as much as their sensibilities are varied, African and African American women respond differently to the oppressive conditions they find themselves in. The following selected texts provided the opportunities for exploring and evaluating the genealogy of female cultural difference that is central to my research: Anthills of the Savannah (Chinua Achebe); Scarlet Song (Mariama Ba); The Joys of Motherhood and Kehinde (BuchiEmecheta); Their Eyes Were Watching God (Nora Zeale Hurston); Bitches Brew and Seven Steps to Heaven (Fred Khumalo). In the process of analyzing these texts, I demonstrated that the notion of cultural difference is often narrowly and erroneously construed. I discovered that the protagonists in these texts are not only conscious of their oppressed condition but often adopt strategic agency to contest male privileges that silence them. In pursuit of this critical perspective, I have proceeded to apply relevant theoretical frameworks constructed by Cornel West, Hudson-Weems, Bakhtin and a conflation of others whose philosophical tenets support the major theoretical frameworks. The aforementioned literary critics have enabled me to come up with a more comprehensive and richer analysis of the set texts. In my analysis I have advanced the argument that female visibility manifests itself variously and temporally through individual and sometimes sisterly attempts at empowerment, self- definition and esoteric discursive features. I noted that all this is evidence of the nascent creative potential in African women who refuse to be silenced. In my analysis of the Seven texts I have incorporated, modified and developed some of the insights from critical thinkers who engage in the ongoing debate about female cultural difference. This approach has enabled me to come up with new insights that ferret out veneers of African women’s rich cultural diversity, in light of the ever changing nature of women’s operational spaces. It is this transcendental vision that basically informs and resonates with my study. / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)