Souâd Hamerlain

From francophone Algerian “travel literature” to translagration

In a brilliant comparison between translation and migration, Salman Rushdie (1992) takes us back to the etymology of the word “translation,” which links to the notion of “bearing across.” He notes that the fact of having been borne across the world means that we are all “translated men.” Hence, the “translated man” precept forces us to venture into the much-appraised phenomenon of geographical and linguistic border-crossing, as it invites us to consider any translated text as a linguistic activity of “migrants” trying to cope with displacement. The present paper underlines what we may call translagration as a fertile ground that contributes to the visibility of francophone Algerian “travel literature” (Susan Bassnett, 2007). It also aims at bringing out the significant role played by its translations in disseminating novel values and magnifying literary borders despite the fluctuating “pace” of its practitioners.

Keywords: francophone Algerian literature, hybridity, translagration

Biography

Souâd Hamerlain is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Mostaganem (Algeria) where she has been teaching for more than a decade. Her research interests include linguistics, discourse analysis, and translation. She is the director of a research project entitled “Translation and the Didactics of Languages,” and, in 2010, she chaired an international conference Rethinking Drama and Poetry Translation: Theory and Practice. Her recent publications include: “The Cognitive Marketplace at the Crossroads of the Labyrinthine Text and the Reader/Detective Translator” (2013) and “Jumping off the Edge: Taking Chances in Literary Translation” (2013).