Orality, trauma theory, and interlingual translation: a study of repetition in Kourouma's Allah n'est pas obligé

Batchelor, Kathryn

Abstract

The use of stylistic devices based around repetition in Ahmadou Kourouma’s Allah n’est pas obligé is usually taken as one of the markers of the novel’s link to oral story-telling traditions. It is, however, equally feasible to read such devices as markers of trauma, linking them for example to therapeutic story-telling and to the development of inner schemata adequate to the traumatic experience. This article presents a reading of Allah n’est pas that seeks to combine the concepts of translation-of-orality and transation-of-trauma, thus contributing to ongoing discussions around the postcolonializing of trauma theory. It also explores the implications of such a reading for postcolonial translation theory, and particularly the theorization of the translation of orality-inflected literature.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Journal: Translation Studies
• Print ISSN: 1478-1700
• Electronic ISSN: 1751-2921
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 2
• APA6 Citation: Batchelor, K. (in press). Orality, trauma theory, and interlingual translation: a study of repetition in Kourouma's Allah n'est pas obligé. Translation Studies, 8(2), https://doi.org/10.1080/14781700.2014.1001777
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14781700.2014.1001777
• Keywords: Kourouma, repetition, orality, trauma, translation, postcolonial
• Publisher URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14781700.2014.1001777
• Copyright Statement: Copyright information regarding this work can be found at the following address: http://eprints.nottingh.../end_user_agreement.pdf
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Translation Studies on 20 January 2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline..../14781700.2014.1001777.