The Souls of Black Folk — Page 6
After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world,—a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world.
Après l'Égyptien et l'Indien, le Grec et le Romain, le Teuton et le Mongol, le Noir est une sorte de septième fils, né avec un voile, et doué de double vue dans ce monde américain, — un monde qui ne lui offre aucune véritable conscience de soi, mais qui ne lui permet de se voir qu'à travers la révélation de l'autre monde.
It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.
C'est une sensation singulière, cette double conscience, ce sentiment de toujours se regarder à travers les yeux des autres, de mesurer son âme à l'aune d'un monde qui observe avec un mépris amusé et de la pitié.
One ever feels his twoness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.
On ressent toujours cette dualité, — être américain, être Noir ; deux âmes, deux pensées, deux aspirations irréconciliées ; deux idéaux en guerre dans un seul corps sombre, dont la ténacité opiniâtre seule l'empêche d'être déchiré.
The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife,—this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self.
L'histoire du Noir américain est l'histoire de cette lutte, — ce désir ardent d'atteindre une virilité consciente d'elle-même, de fondre son double moi en un moi meilleur et plus authentique.
In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost.
Dans cette fusion, il ne souhaite perdre aucun des deux anciens moi.
He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa.
Il ne voudrait pas africaniser l'Amérique, car l'Amérique a trop à apprendre au monde et à l'Afrique.
He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world.
Il ne voudrait pas blanchir son âme noire dans un flot d'américanisme blanc, car il sait que le sang noir a un message à délivrer au monde.
He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face.
Il souhaite simplement rendre possible pour un homme d'être à la fois Noir et Américain, sans être maudit et craché dessus par ses semblables, sans que les portes de l'Opportunité ne lui soient brutalement claquées au visage.
Vocabulary
- Après
- After; following in time or sequence.
- Égyptien
- Egyptian; relating to Egypt or its people.
- et
- And; conjunction linking words or clauses.
- Indien
- Indian; relating to India or Native American.
- le
- The; masculine singular definite article.
- Grec
- Greek; relating to Greece or its language.
- Romain
- Roman; relating to Rome or ancient Rome.
- Noir
- Black; dark color; also refers to Black person.
- est
- Is; third person singular of être verb.
- une
- A, an; feminine singular indefinite article.
- sorte
- Sort, kind, type; a category or classification.
- de
- Of, from; preposition indicating origin or possession.
- septième
- Seventh; ordinal number following sixth in sequence.
- fils
- Son; male child or descendant of parents.
- né
- Born; past participle of naître verb.
- avec
- With; in company or association with someone.
- un
- A, an; masculine singular indefinite article.
- voile
- Veil; cloth concealing face or body.
- doué
- Gifted, talented; possessing natural ability or skill.
- double
- Double; twice as much or consisting of two.
- vue
- Sight, view; the ability to see.
- dans
- In, inside; preposition indicating location or position.
- ce
- This, that; demonstrative adjective or pronoun.
- monde
- World; the earth or a particular realm.
- américain
- American; relating to America or United States.
- qui
- Who, which; relative pronoun linking clauses.
- ne
- Not; negative adverb used in negation.
- lui
- Him, her; indirect object pronoun third person.
- offre
- Offers; third person singular of offrir verb.
- aucune
- No, none; negative adjective or pronoun feminine.
- véritable
- True, genuine, real; authentic and sincere.
- conscience
- Consciousness, awareness; state of being mentally aware.
- soi
- Self, oneself; reflexive pronoun referring to subject.
- mais
- But, yet; conjunction contrasting ideas or clauses.
- permet
- Allows, permits; third person singular of permettre.
- se
- Oneself, himself, herself; reflexive pronoun third person.
- voir
- See, to see; verb meaning to perceive visually.
- qu
- That; shortened form of que before vowel.
- travers
- Through, across; preposition indicating movement or direction.
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article.
- révélation
- Revelation, disclosure; act of revealing something unknown.
- autre
- Other, another; different from the first one.
- sensation
- Sensation, feeling; physical perception or emotional response.
- singulière
- Singular, unique, strange; unusual or particularly distinctive.
- sentiment
- Feeling, emotion; emotional state or personal opinion.
- toujours
- Always, still; constantly or at all times.
- regarder
- Look at, watch; to direct eyes toward something.
- les
- The; plural definite article for masculine or feminine.
- yeux
- Eyes; organs of sight on the face.
- des
- Of the, some; contraction of de and les.
- autres
- Others, other people; plural of autre.
- mesurer
- Measure, assess; to determine size or evaluate.
- son
- His, her, its; possessive adjective third person singular.
- âme
- Soul, spirit; immaterial essence of a person.
- observe
- Observes; third person singular of observer verb.
- mépris
- Contempt, scorn; feeling of disdain or disrespect.
- amusé
- Amused, entertained; pleased or finding something funny.
- pitié
- Pity, compassion; sympathetic concern for others' suffering.
- On
- One, we, they; indefinite pronoun meaning people.
- ressent
- Feels, experiences; third person singular of ressentir.
- dualité
- Duality; state of being twofold or double.
- être
- Being, to be; fundamental verb meaning exist.
- deux
- Two; number following one in counting sequence.
- âmes
- Souls, spirits; plural of âme.
- pensées
- Thoughts, ideas; plural of pensée mental activity.
- aspirations
- Aspirations, desires; plural of aspiration or hopes.
- idéaux
- Ideals; plural of idéal or principles.
- guerre
- War, conflict; armed struggle between opposing forces.
- seul
- Alone, only, sole; by oneself or singular.
- corps
- Body; physical form of a living organism.
- sombre
- Dark, gloomy, somber; lacking light or brightness.
- dont
- Of which, whose; relative pronoun indicating possession.
- ténacité
- Tenacity, persistence; quality of holding firmly or stubbornly.
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