The Souls of Black Folk — Page 1
The Souls of Black Folk
Les Âmes du peuple noir
by W. E. B. Du Bois
par W. E. B. Du Bois
Herein is Written
Voici ce qui est écrit
The Forethought
L'Avant-propos
I. Of Our Spiritual Strivings
I. De nos aspirations spirituelles
II. Of the Dawn of Freedom
II. De l'aube de la liberté
III. Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others
III. De M. Booker T. Washington et des autres
IV. Of the Meaning of Progress
IV. De la signification du progrès
V. Of the Wings of Atalanta
V. Des ailes d'Atalante
VI. Of the Training of Black Men
VI. De l'éducation des hommes noirs
VII. Of the Black Belt
VII. De la ceinture noire
VIII. Of the Quest of the Golden Fleece
VIII. De la quête de la Toison d'or
IX. Of the Sons of Master and Man
IX. Des fils du maître et de l'homme
X. Of the Faith of the Fathers
X. De la foi des pères
XI. Of the Passing of the First-Born
XI. De la mort du premier-né
XII. Of Alexander Crummell
XII. D'Alexander Crummell
XIII. Of the Coming of John
XIII. De l'arrivée de John
XIV. Of the Sorrow Songs
XIV. Des chants de douleur
The Afterthought
La Postface
To Burghardt and Yolande The Lost and the Found
À Burghardt et Yolande, les perdus et les retrouvés
The Forethought
L'Avant-propos
Herein lie buried many things which if read with patience may show the strange meaning of being black here at the dawning of the Twentieth Century.
Sont ici enfouis bien des sujets qui, lus avec patience, pourraient révéler l'étrange signification d'être noir en ce début du vingtième siècle.
This meaning is not without interest to you, Gentle Reader; for the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line.
Cette signification n'est pas sans intérêt pour vous, cher lecteur ; car le problème du vingtième siècle est le problème de la ligne de couleur.
I pray you, then, receive my little book in all charity, studying my words with me, forgiving mistake and foible for sake of the faith and passion that is in me, and seeking the grain of truth hidden there.
Je vous prie donc de recevoir mon petit livre avec toute la bienveillance possible, en étudiant mes mots avec moi, en pardonnant les erreurs et les faiblesses pour l'amour de la foi et de la passion qui sont en moi, et en cherchant le grain de vérité qui s'y dissimule.
I have sought here to sketch, in vague, uncertain outline, the spiritual world in which ten thousand thousand Americans live and strive.
J'ai cherché ici à esquisser, en traits vagues et incertains, le monde spirituel dans lequel dix millions d'Américains vivent et luttent.
First, in two chapters I have tried to show what Emancipation meant to them, and what was its aftermath.
En premier lieu, en deux chapitres, j'ai tenté de montrer ce que l'Émancipation a signifié pour eux, et quelles en ont été les conséquences.
Vocabulary
- Âmes
- ahm — Souls or spirits of living beings
- peuple
- puh-pluh — A group of people sharing common identity
- noir
- nwahr — Black; dark in color or complexion
- Bois
- bwah — Woods or forest; also part of proper name
- Voici
- vwah-see — Here is; used to introduce something
- écrit
- ay-kree — Written; past participle of 'écrire'
- Avant-propos
- ah-vahn-proh-poh — Foreword or preface of a book
- aspirations
- as-pee-rah-syohn — Deep desires or ambitions toward a goal
- spirituelles
- spee-ree-twel — Spiritual; relating to the soul or spirit
- aube
- ohb — Dawn; the first light of day
- liberté
- lee-behr-tay — Freedom; the state of being free
- autres
- oh-truh — Others; other people or things
- signification
- see-nyee-fee-kah-syohn — Meaning or significance of something
- progrès
- proh-greh — Progress; forward movement or advancement
- ailes
- el — Wings; limbs used for flying
- éducation
- ay-dü-kah-syohn — Education; the process of learning and teaching
- hommes
- ohm — Men; adult male human beings
- noirs
- nwahr — Black; plural adjective describing dark complexion
- ceinture
- san-tür — Belt or waistband; also a zone or region
- noire
- nwahr — Black; feminine form of the adjective 'noir'
- quête
- ket — Quest or search for something important
- Toison
- twah-zohn — Fleece; as in the Golden Fleece of mythology
- or
- ohr — Gold; precious yellow metal or golden color
- fils
- fees — Son; male child in relation to parents
- maître
- meh-truh — Master; one who has authority or ownership
- homme
- ohm — Man; an adult male human being
- foi
- fwah — Faith; belief or trust, often religious
- pères
- pehr — Fathers; male parents or founding figures
- mort
- mohr — Death; the end of life
- premier
- pruh-myay — First; coming before all others in order
- né
- nay — Born; past participle of 'naître'
- arrivée
- ah-ree-vay — Arrival; the act of reaching a destination
- chants
- shahn — Songs or chants; melodic vocal expressions
- douleur
- doo-luhr — Pain or sorrow; physical or emotional suffering
- Postface
- pohst-fahs — Afterword; closing remarks at end of book
- perdus
- pehr-dü — Lost; no longer found or gone astray
- retrouvés
- ruh-troo-vay — Found again; recovered after being lost
- ici
- ee-see — Here; in this place or location
- enfouis
- ahn-fwee — Buried or hidden deep within something
- bien
- byahn — Well; adverb meaning properly or very
- sujets
- sü-zhay — Subjects or topics under discussion
- lus
- lü — Read; past participle of 'lire'
- patience
- pah-syahns — Patience; calm endurance of difficulty or delay
- pourraient
- poo-reh — Could; conditional form of 'pouvoir'
- révéler
- ray-vay-lay — To reveal or disclose something hidden
- étrange
- ay-trahnzh — Strange or unusual; out of the ordinary
- début
- day-bü — Beginning or start of a period or event
- vingtième
- van-tyem — Twentieth; ordinal number for twenty
- siècle
- syeh-kluh — Century; a period of one hundred years
- sans
- sahn — Without; preposition indicating absence of something
- intérêt
- an-tay-reh — Interest; curiosity or financial benefit
- cher
- shehr — Dear; beloved or expensive depending on context
- lecteur
- lek-tuhr — Reader; one who reads a text
- car
- kahr — Because or for; causal conjunction
- problème
- proh-blem — Problem; a difficult situation requiring solution
- ligne
- lee-nyuh — Line; a row, boundary, or limit
- couleur
- koo-luhr — Color; the visual property of an object
- prie
- pree — Pray or request; first-person singular of 'prier'
- donc
- dohnk — Therefore or so; logical consequence conjunction
- recevoir
- ruh-suh-vwahr — To receive; to accept something given
- petit
- puh-tee — Small or little; adjective describing small size
- livre
- lee-vruh — Book; a written or printed publication
- toute
- toot — All or every; feminine singular of 'tout'
- bienveillance
- byahn-vay-yahns — Kindness or goodwill toward others
- possible
- poh-see-bluh — Possible; able to happen or be done
- étudiant
- ay-tü-dyahn — Studying; present participle of 'étudier'
- mots
- moh — Words; units of language in speech or writing
- pardonnant
- pahr-doh-nahn — Forgiving; present participle of 'pardonner'
- erreurs
- eh-ruhr — Errors or mistakes; things done incorrectly
- faiblesses
- feh-bles — Weaknesses; lack of strength or ability
- amour
- ah-moor — Love; deep affection for someone or something
- passion
- pah-syohn — Passion; intense emotion or enthusiasm
- cherchant
- shehr-shahn — Searching; present participle of 'chercher'
- grain
- gran — Grain or seed; a small particle of truth
- vérité
- vay-ree-tay — Truth; that which is true or accurate
- y
- ee — There; pronoun replacing a place or idea
- dissimule
- dee-see-mül — Hides or conceals; third-person singular of 'dissimuler'
- cherché
- shehr-shay — Sought or looked for; past participle of 'chercher'
- esquisser
- es-kee-say — To sketch or outline something briefly
- traits
- treh — Traits or features; distinguishing characteristics
- vagues
- vahg — Vague or blurry; lacking clarity or definition
- incertains
- an-sehr-tan — Uncertain; not definite or clearly known
- monde
- mohnd — World; the earth or a social sphere
- spirituel
- spee-ree-twel — Spiritual; relating to the soul or inner life
- lequel
- luh-kel — Which; masculine relative or interrogative pronoun
- dix
- dees — Ten; the cardinal number between nine and eleven
- millions
- mee-lyohn — Millions; the number one thousand thousands
- Américains
- ah-may-ree-kan — Americans; citizens or natives of America
- vivent
- veev — Live; third-person plural of 'vivre'
- luttent
- lüt — Struggle or fight; third-person plural of 'lutter'
- lieu
- lyuh — Place or stead; as in 'au lieu de'
- deux
- duh — Two; the cardinal number between one and three
- chapitres
- shah-pee-truh — Chapters; main divisions of a book
- tenté
- tahn-tay — Attempted or tried; past participle of 'tenter'
- montrer
- mohn-tray — To show or demonstrate something to someone
- Émancipation
- ay-mahn-see-pah-syohn — Emancipation; liberation from bondage or oppression
- signifié
- see-nyee-fyay — Meant or signified; past participle of 'signifier'
- eux
- uh — Them; stressed third-person masculine plural pronoun
- quelles
- kel — Which; feminine plural interrogative or relative adjective
- conséquences
- kohn-say-kahns — Consequences; results or effects of an action
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