Literary Translation: The experience of translating China Achebe's Arrow of God into French

Abstract

Problems posed in translating C. Achebe's novel Arrow of God into French are addressed. The novel poses particular difficulties because it was written in English by someone whose first language is not Eng. Translation must consider this factor, in addition to linguistic & cultural differences between French & English expression. Further, the translator must make himself "invisible" so that the writer's expression of himself becomes apparent. Some sample solutions to specific problems are presented. B. Annesser Murray