SomeofthebookstranslatedintoWolofbyCéytuCOURTESYPHOTOSWhenBoubacarBorisDiopauthoredthenovelDoomiGolo(TheHiddenNotebooks)in2003,hisfirstbookwrittendirectlyinWolof-Senegal’smostwidespreadlanguage,hisSenegalesefriendskeptaskinghimtongueincheekwhethertheFrenchtranslationwouldbecomingoutsoon.
ThatevenhisownSenegalesecountrymeninsistedsomuch,althoughhalf-jokingly,onhavingtheirlanguagetranslatedintoFrenchdeeplyannoyedDiop,71thisyear,whohasbeenrecognizedasoneofthemajorAfricanwritersandwasrecipientofthe2000BlackAfricaGrandLiteraryPrize.“Theyspokeasiftheywantedtobringmebacktoreason,or,toputitmorebluntly,totheharshrealitiesofthemarket,”hesaid.
Itwasallthemoreironicthathisnovel,amonologueofanoldSenegalesemanatthetwilightofhislifeaddressedtohisyounggrandsonlivingabroad,toucheddirectlyonissuesofinheritanceandSenegaleseidentity,subjectsdeartothislong-timedefenderoftheWoloflanguage.
“[Mynovel]hashadtolearntoflyonitsown,andithasfacedthemany,almostinsurmountableandoftenfataldifficultiesoftherareAfrican-languagenovelsinahostileFrancophoneenvironment,”wroteDiop.
ThebookmarketinSenegal,aformerFrenchcolony,isoverwhelminglydominatedbytheFrenchlanguage.OnlyalimitednumberofbooksarepublishedintheWoloflanguage,inspiteofitbeingthemostcommonlanguageinSenegalwitharichoralculture.ButDiophasmadehismissiontochangethis.
ThuswasbornaprojecttoallowtheWoloflanguagetospreadandshinebothinSenegalandabroad.InMarch2016,thewriter,assistedbycolleaguesinFranceandCanada,establishedCéytu,thefirstinternationalimprintdedicatedentirelytoWolof.
Fromvernaculartowritten
Diopwasbornin1946inDakar,thecapitalofSenegal.Asawriter,inadditiontotakinganactivepartinSenegal’spoliticalandsocialdebates,hehasalwaysattachedmuchattentiontotheroleoflanguageincontemporaryAfricansocieties.
“Africaisthecontinentwherethegapbetweenauthorsandtheirreadersisthegreatest.Oneevencomestodoubtthatone’snationallanguagehasthecapacitytoproduceliterature,”wroteDiop,onthemotivesbehindtheimprint.“Ihavecometounderstandovertimethattheessentialisnotwherealiteraryworkgoes,butwhereitcomesfrom.”
Accordingtohim,CéytuaimsatclosingthisgapbybringingworldliteraturetoSenegalthroughtheWoloflanguage.TheprojectisthefruitofaninternationalcooperationwithDiopspearheadingtheprojectinSenegal,helpedbytwoofhisclosefriends:HaitianwriterRodneySaint-ÉloibasedinCanada,andpublisherLaureLeroyinFrance.
Theimprint’sfirstthreeWolofbookswerepublishedin2016,comprisingthetranslatedworksoftheSenegaleseMariamaBâ,theFrench-MauritianLeClézio,andtheFrenchAiméCésaire.Inthefuture,moreauthorswillhavetheirworkstranslatedintoWolofincludingtheGermanBertoltBrecht,theFrenchSaint-Exupéry,andtheSenegaleseAminataSowFall.BoubacarBorisDiopForLaureLeroy,oneofthethreeco-sponsorsoftheproject,thesignificanceofthesebooksgoesfarbeyondtheircommercialvalue.“Theprinciplethatultimatelypresidesoverthisprojectisthatalllanguagesareequal.Eachofthemisenrichedandnourishedbyworksoriginallywritteninotherlanguages.Céytuisaboveallastrongsymbolicgesture,”shetoldChinAfrica.
AlthoughWolofliteraturehasexistedforalongtime,itisimpairedbyerraticdiffusionandlowvisibility,problemsthathavebeenthestumblingblockofthebookindustryonthecontinent.Céytuhopestoalleviatethissituationandensurethatthe11millionWolofspeakersinAfricaandabroadcanfindbooksintheirmothertongue,whetheritbeinMontreal,Paris,DakarorontheInternet.
Bothuniversalandspecific
Upholdingthenationallanguagedoesnotmeanbuildingwallsaroundit.DiopandhiscolleagueshavebeenquicktopointoutthatthisneedtoreinvestthevernacularlanguageofSenegalthroughliteraturewasnotbornofadesiretoisolatethecountryfromtheoutsideworld.
“Opennesstotheotherisonlypossiblebyabetterknowledgeoftheotherinamutualway,becauseitisthroughsuchreciprocityofexchangeandequalitythatknowledgeisnourished,”LeroytoldChinAfrica.
AbasicprincipleofCéytuisthatonecanwriteandreadinWolof,whileremainingopentotheworld.Infact,Diop-whohaslongconsideredSouthAmericanwritershisliterarymasters-believesawriterhasavestedinterestinmasteringmorelanguagesinordertodeepenhiscreativeprocess.
Diop’sbeliefintheimportanceofusinganddevelopingvernacularAfricanlanguageshasbeenpercolatingforsometime.Alreadyin1997,inhisnovelTheKnightandHisShadow,hewrote:“TheAfricanwriterusuallywritesinaforeignlanguage.Notonlydoesheofferthekindofbookspeoplecannotaffordtobuy,butmostimportantly,hewritesonacontinentwhereeveryonespeaks.”
Assuch,Diopispartofthewidermovementofso-calledpostcolonialwriters,suchastheKenyansNgîgîwaThiong’oandBilkisuFuntuwa,whoinsistonwritingintheirvernacularlanguages,namelyKikuyuandHausarespectively.
Withoutcomplexity
Althoughdoubtshaveaccompaniedthepublicationofthefirstbooks,thesewerequicklyreplacedwithfascinationandenthusiasm.
“Thefirstreactionofpeoplewhentheylearnaboutourimprintistoask,’WhypublishbooksinWolof?’Mostpeoplearefarfromthinkingthatalllanguagesareequal.But,intheend,the’why’quicklybecomesa’whynot.’Andthisisagreatvictory,”explainedDioptotheFrenchmagazineLePointAfrique.
Leroyseesbehindtheimprintanessentialquestforequality:“Withtime,theidea[ofpublishinginWolof]graduallymadeitsway.Itisalsopartofourobjectivesthatsuchanundertakingisnottakenasanincongruitybutassomethingobvious,”shetoldChinAfrica.
ForIbrahimaWane,AfricanCivilizationsandLitera-tureProfessoratCheikhAntaDiopUniversityinDakar,Diop’sresolvetowriteandpublishinWolofmeans“theonlymodeofexpressionthatthewriterconsidersappropriateishismothertongue.”ThisnaturallyleadstotheaffirmationofAfricanlanguagesasawaytocreatealiterature,amorebroadlyaculture,thatisautonomous,saysWane.Itthereforehasimplicationsthatgoesbeyondtherealmofliterature.
AlhassaneDiop,PresidentoftheAssociationofSenegaleseStudentsinChinaandavidconnoisseurofAfricanliterature,welcomesthisinitiativeandbelievesthatWolofwilloccupyanincreasinglyimportantplaceincementingthecountry’sfuturedevelopment.
“TheWolofisthelinguafrancaofSenegal.Inaddition,theWolofethnicgroupisahistoricalblendofalltheethnicgroupsoftheancientkingdomsthatcoexistedontheSenegaleseplains,”hetoldChinAfrica.Inotherwords,thisimbricationhasmade[theWoloflanguage]ameansofcommunicationandnationalcohesion,andevenoferadicationofilliteracy.”
ItistothisvisionthatCéytuseeks,initsownmodestway,tocontribute.
Commentsto
Theprinciplethatultimatelypresidesoverthisprojectisthatalllanguagesareequal.Eachofthemisenrichedandnourishedbyworksoriginallywritteninotherlanguages.Céytuisaboveallastrongsymbolicgesture.
LaureLeroy,co-founderofCéytu