Du mauricianisme littéraire aux enjeux de la traduction des écrits mauriciens dans un contexte plurilingue et pluriculturel
From Literary Mauritianism to the challenges of translating Mauritian writings in a multilingual and multicultural context

Summary/Abstract: This article examines literary translation in the Mauritian multilingual and multicultural context from the point of view of a comparativist and translator. Mauritian Literature or, more precisely, Literatures, are closely linked to the coexistence of diverse communities in the Mauritian society, Mauritius having been a French and a British colony and currently defined as a country of immigrants from several continents: Europe, Asia, Africa. Despite latent interethnic tension and conflicts, peace and harmony prevail in general, with cross-cultural and intercultural dialogues and influences. Five waves of Mauritian authors can be perceived, as far as Anglophone and Francophone writings are concerned, from their origins to modern times. Translation becomes tantamount to the opening of readership. In this context, the literary translator focuses on the painstaking but blissful task of translating a Mauritian poetry collection, that of a young Mauritian poet, Ameerah Arjanee from English into French: Morning with my Twin Sister and other poems / Matin avec ma soeur jumelle et autres poèmes (2014). Despite research conducted and a tentative critical analysis of her own work, the translator cannot really propose a methodology for translation of poetry which implies intuition, emotion and sensitivity. While translating poetry, the translator penetrates the poet’s consciousness without completely demystifying it.

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