{"id":617,"date":"2010-05-14T20:41:22","date_gmt":"2010-05-14T20:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=617"},"modified":"2017-10-19T10:37:37","modified_gmt":"2017-10-19T08:37:37","slug":"revue-litteraire-no-2-bis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/revue-litteraire-no-2-bis\/","title":{"rendered":"Revue litt\u00e9raire no. 2 (bis)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bonjour! Apr\u00e8s avoir discut\u00e9<\/em> (after having discussed) Aim\u00e9 C\u00e9saire on Tuesday, allons explorer son livre<\/em> (let\u2019s explore his book) Discours sur le<\/em><\/strong> colonialisme<\/em><\/strong>. Though the discours<\/em> (speech) first appeared in 1950, the publication by\u00a0\u00c9ditions Pr\u00e9sence Africaine<\/a> dates from 1955. An English translation<\/a> by Joan Pinkham was published in 1972.<\/p>\n

D\u2019abord (first), two interesting notes from the title alone:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Le colonialisme<\/em>, despite ending in \u2018e\u2019, is masculine.<\/li>\n
  2. In French, only the first word of a book title is capitalized. So the English translation is called Discourse on Colonialism<\/span>, but the French is Discours sur le colonialisme<\/span><\/em>. Faites pas cet erreur de d\u00e9butant <\/em>(don\u2019t make this beginner\u2019s mistake)!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Aim\u00e9 C\u00e9saire lays it all out d\u00e8s<\/em> la pr\u00e9mi\u00e8re phrase<\/em> (from the first sentence): \u201cUne civilization qui s\u2019av\u00e8re incapable de r\u00e9soudre les probl\u00e8mes que suscite son fonctionnement est une civilization d\u00e9cadente<\/em>.\u201d A civilization that proves incapable of solving the problems it creates is a decadent civilization.[1]<\/a> \u201cD\u00e9cadente\u201d<\/em> recalls the Roman Empire before its fall, and thus the high stakes of \u201csolving the problems\u201d Europe has created for itself. C\u00e9saire also suggests that these problems are ingrained in European civilization (\u201cles probl\u00e8mes que suscite son fonctionnement\u201d<\/em>: the problems created by its functioning). Under this th\u00e8se <\/em>(thesis), the civilization needs to fundamentally change to avoid its downfall.<\/p>\n

    After criticizing \u201cune hypocrisie collective\u201d<\/em> for misrepresenting Europe\u2019s problems \u201cpour mieux l\u00e9gitimiser les odieuses solutions,\u201d (to better legitimize their odious solutions), C\u00e9saire unleashes one of the glittering, angry sentences that make Discours<\/em> so provocative.<\/p>\n

    \u201c\u2026 (L)\u2019essentiel est ici de voir clair, de penser clair, entendre dangereusement, de r\u00e9pondre clair \u00e0 l\u2019innocente question initiale: qu\u2019est-ce en son principe que la colonisation?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    My translation: The essential here is to see clearly, to think clearly, understand dangerously, to respond clearly to the innocent initial question: what, in principle, is colonization? For me, the published translation, by Joan Pinkham, plays down the most important part of this sentence: \u201centendre dangereusement\u201d<\/em>. \u00a0Mais quelle phrase<\/em>\u2014but what a line! This is C\u00e9saire\u2019s mandate for us, whether you agree with his analysis or not.<\/p>\n

    C\u00e9saire argues that the driving forces behind colonization come \u201cde l\u2019aventurier et du pirate\u201d<\/em>: from the adventurer and the pirate. By emphasizing these destructive elements of society, \u201cla colonisation travaille \u00e0 d\u00e9civiliser le colonisateur\u201d<\/em>:\u00a0 colonization works to decivilize the colonizer. C\u00e9saire describes the violence and oppression that accompanied French colonization as \u201cle poison instill\u00e9 dans les veines de l\u2019Europe\u201d<\/em>:\u00a0 the poison instilled in the veins of Europe. His disgust for the old continent seems to extend only as far it has been rotted by colonialism. Discours <\/em>is not a condemnation of Europe, but a wake-up call.<\/p>\n

    La prevue<\/em> (the proof) that colonization undermined advancement in the French colonies is, for C\u00e9saire, \u201cque c\u2019est le colonis\u00e9 qui veut aller de l\u2019avant, que c\u2019est le colonisateur qui reticent en arri\u00e8re.\u201d<\/em> It is the colonized who wants to advance, and the colonizer who is holding back. As in the beginning, C\u00e9saire recalls ancient Rome, comparing \u201cl\u2019entreprise colonial\u201d<\/em> to \u201cce que l\u2019imp\u00e9rialisme romain fut au monde antique: pr\u00e9parateur du <\/em>D\u00e9sastre\u201d (what Roman imperialism was in the ancient world: the prelude to Disaster).<\/p>\n

    Written in the aftermath of la Seconde Guerre Mondiale<\/em> (World War II), the world took note of C\u00e9saire\u2019s mise en garde<\/em> (warning). \u00a0Discours sur le colonialisme<\/em> is important in both the history of colonization and in the birth of a new movement, la n\u00e9gritude<\/em>, championing black contributions to arts and culture. Je voulais le pr\u00e9senter <\/em>(I wanted to present it) pour ces deux raisons<\/em> (for these two reasons). But mainly pour cette phrase brillante<\/em>: \u201centendre dangereusement.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

    Whatever you think of its politics, reading this book will strengthen your command of French, especially in argument. As Hichem reminded us in April, French speakers love their language. Aim\u00e9 C\u00e9saire may not have loved European politics, but his chef d\u2019oeuvre<\/em> is a master class in why French is so gorgeous. If you read it, I hope you\u2019ll appreciate this book as much as I do.<\/p>\n

    \u00c7a y est, c\u2019est la fin du cours!<\/em> That\u2019s it, class is over! Passez un super weekend!<\/em><\/p>\n

    \n

    [1]<\/a> Joan Pinkham, trans., Discourse on Colonialism<\/em> (New York and London: Monthly Review Press, 1972).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

    Bonjour! Apr\u00e8s avoir discut\u00e9 (after having discussed) Aim\u00e9 C\u00e9saire on Tuesday, allons explorer son livre (let\u2019s explore his book) Discours sur le colonialisme. Though the discours (speech) first appeared in 1950, the publication by\u00a0\u00c9ditions Pr\u00e9sence Africaine dates from 1955. An English translation by Joan Pinkham was published in 1972. D\u2019abord (first), two interesting notes from…<\/p>\n

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