This paper focuses on the translation of Nigerian literature into French from the perspective of cultural diplomacy and as a cultural product Córdoba Serrano, 2013). It reviews Nigerian cultural diplomacy initiatives to determine if translation is highlighted as part of cultural export and as a means through which the Nigerian image and culture are promoted. Even though translation exchanges are not promoted by the Nigerian government, there is a field of translation of Nigerian texts into French. Data from a list of Nigerian novels translated into French between 1953 and 2017 provide contextual and historical information on the circulation of translations as well as on the works that are selected for translation into French.
Like many postcolonial African novels written in English, Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) written by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie presents many instances of literary hybridity. This paper focuses on these occurrences of hybridity and examines their translation from English into French. The paper considers various manifestations of hybridity in the novel and compares them with the novel’s French translation to illuminate translation strategies while analyzing the implications of key translation choices. This paper emphasizes that the translator made a significant effort to employ ethnocentric strategies to preserve the resonances of the author’s culture, especially instances of vernacular language inherent in the original text. The paper also notes seemingly arbitrary choices that exoticize and homogenize the translated text. Despite these instances, this paper concludes that the translation managed to maintain a balance between the source text and the target language.
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