Interview with Sokhna Benga

Abstract

As a linguist, it is a rare privilege to speak directly to a writer whose works you have studied in an academic context for many years, and then to apply the views of that author to your own research and critical literary analysis. Georgina Collins was able to do this when she interviewed Sokhna Benga as part of her research into the translation of Francophone Senegalese women's literature. Collins travelled to Senegal to gain a greater understanding of local cultures and languages as well as writers’ expectations of the translation process. When there are so few critical books dedicated to Senegalese women writers, the interview featured here offers rare insight into Benga's literary works.

The encounter sees Collins broach subjects such as Benga's reasons for writing primarily in French, and the influence of the Wolof language upon her works. Benga also expresses her views on the presence of orality in her novels and her extensive use of notes and glossaries to explain culturally embedded words and phrases. Benga further indicates the future direction in which she wishes to take her work and provides an extract from her forthcoming novel, Désirée ou la mélodie brisé, followed at the end of this issue by Collins's English translation.

Keywords:

• Senegal
• Literature
• Translation
• Culture
• Gender
• Wolof