Azouz Begag's Le gone du Chaâba: the translation of a "Beur" novel

Abstract

This thesis comprises two parts; the first being a commentary on the translation into English of Azouz Begag's novel Le gone du Chaâba, the second being the translation itself. The commentary begins with an introduction to Begag's writing and to Beur writing in general, which is shown to have many characteristics typical of postcolonial writing. The issue of the reader of these texts is then addressed, with particular emphasis on the expected reader of a translation into English of a Beur novel. The polyphonic nature of Le gone du Chaâba is examined in detail; an analysis of the narrative function of the various voices and discourses is followed by a discussion of translation strategies. The issue of translating cultural images is raised and illustrated with several examples from the text. This is followed with a discussion of some of the stylistic features of Begag's language and strategies for translating them. The main focus of the commentary is the attempt to make the text accessible to an English-speaking audience while retaining the stylistic features and cultural specifity of the original text. The commentary is followed by "The Kid from the Chaâba", a translation into English of Le gone du Chaâba.