From Acadian to Africadian, Translation and Analysis of Georgette LeBlanc’s Amédé: A Case Study in Translating Sociolect

Abstract

This thesis will serve as a case study on the translation of sociolectal literature, using my translation into English of Acadian author Georgette LeBlanc’s second collection of poetry, Amédé, as a paradigm. Written in the Baie Sainte-Marie Acadian French sociolect, this work represents an interesting example of the difficulties that can arise while translating minority language literature, from both a linguistic and discursive perspective. Broadly speaking, the objective of my analysis will be to explore the relationship between the literary representation of sociolect and the creation of underlying networks of meaning, focusing on both the linguistic and discursive aspects of LeBlanc’s choices in portraying Baie Sainte-Marie Acadian French in order to justify my translation of her work into African Nova Scotian English, also referred to as Africadian English.