Jean-Louis Joubert's 'Les voleurs de langues' Examines Francophone Literature's Theft of Language
In 1959, Jacques Rabemananjara, a Malagasy poet recently freed from a French prison for his role in the 1947 Malagasy uprising, introduced the phrase 'voleurs de langue' during the second Congress of Black Writers and Artists held in Rome. This expression refers to writers from colonized backgrounds who have embraced the language of their colonizers. In his 2006 publication, 'Les voleurs de langues,' released by Éditions Philippe Rey, Jean-Louis Joubert delves into this idea, asserting that French has been shaped by all the languages it once suppressed. He examines figures such as Rabearivelo and Malcom de Chazal, alongside authors like Césaire and Dadié, while critiquing the notion of 'francophonie.' The work concludes with Vassilis Alexakis, who learned Sango to convey a sentiment he could not articulate in French or Greek.
Key facts
- Jacques Rabemananjara coined the phrase 'voleurs de langue' in 1959 at the second Congress of Black Writers and Artists in Rome.
- Rabemananjara had been convicted for allegedly instigating the 1947 Malagasy revolt and sentenced to forced labor for life.
- François Mauriac denounced the inequity of Rabemananjara's trial.
- Jean-Louis Joubert's book 'Les voleurs de langues' was published in 2006 by Éditions Philippe Rey.
- The book's subtitle is 'traversée' (crossing).
- Joubert is a specialist of the Indian Ocean region.
- The book discusses writers such as Rabearivelo, Malcom de Chazal, Césaire, Glissant, Kateb, Kourouma, Ramuz, Bernard Dadié, and Nguyen Huu Chau.
- Malcom de Chazal was described as a 'météore poétique inouï' who astonished Jean Paulhan and André Breton.
- Joubert references the Serments de Strasbourg, Marco Polo, and Brunetto Latini to argue that French has always been shared across countries.
- The book ends with the example of Vassilis Alexakis, a Greek writer in French who learned Sango to say 'my father is dead.'
- Alexakis's novel 'Les Mots étrangers' (2002) recounts his learning of Sango.
- Sango is spoken by about one million people in the Central African Republic.
Entities
Artists
- Jacques Rabemananjara
- François Mauriac
- Jean-Louis Joubert
- Rabearivelo
- Malcom de Chazal
- Jean Paulhan
- André Breton
- Aimé Césaire
- Édouard Glissant
- Kateb Yacine
- Ahmadou Kourouma
- Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz
- Bernard Dadié
- Nguyen Huu Chau
- Marco Polo
- Brunetto Latini
- Dante Alighieri
- Vassilis Alexakis
Institutions
- Éditions Philippe Rey
- Congress of Black Writers and Artists
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- Madagascar
- France
- Indian Ocean
- Central African Republic
Sources
- artpress —