The Souls of Black Folk — Page 13

English → Fr Full Text Level 8/10

Men call the shadow prejudice, and learnedly explain it as the natural defence of culture against barbarism, learning against ignorance, purity against crime, the "higher" against the "lower" races.

Les hommes appellent cette ombre préjugé, et l'expliquent savamment comme la défense naturelle de la civilisation contre la barbarie, du savoir contre l'ignorance, de la pureté contre le crime, des races « supérieures » contre les races « inférieures ».

To which the Negro cries Amen! and swears that to so much of this strange prejudice as is founded on just homage to civilization, culture, righteousness, and progress, he humbly bows and meekly does obeisance.

À quoi le Noir crie Amen ! et jure que, pour autant que ce strange préjugé soit fondé sur un juste hommage à la civilisation, à la culture, à la droiture et au progrès, il s'incline humblement et se soumet docilement.

But before that nameless prejudice that leaps beyond all this he stands helpless, dismayed, and well-nigh speechless; before that personal disrespect and mockery, the ridicule and systematic humiliation, the distortion of fact and wanton license of fancy, the cynical ignoring of the better and the boisterous welcoming of the worse, the all-pervading desire to inculcate disdain for everything black, from Toussaint to the devil,—before this there rises a sickening despair that would disarm and discourage any nation save that black host to whom "discouragement" is an unwritten word.

Mais face à ce préjugé sans nom qui dépasse tout cela, il se trouve impuissant, consterné, et presque sans voix ; face à ce mépris personnel et à cette moquerie, au ridicule et à l'humiliation systématique, à la déformation des faits et à la licence effrénée de l'imagination, au cynique dédain pour ce qui est meilleur et à l'accueil tapageur de ce qui est pire, au désir omniprésent d'inculquer le mépris de tout ce qui est noir, de Toussaint jusqu'au diable — face à tout cela s'élève un désespoir écœurant qui désarmerait et découragerait toute nation, sauf cette armée noire pour qui le « découragement » est un mot qui n'existe pas.

But the facing of so vast a prejudice could not but bring the inevitable self-questioning, self-disparagement, and lowering of ideals which ever accompany repression and breed in an atmosphere of contempt and hate.

Mais affronter un préjugé aussi vaste ne pouvait manquer d'engendrer l'inévitable remise en question de soi, le dénigrement de soi et l'abaissement des idéaux qui accompagnent toujours la répression et se développent dans une atmosphère de mépris et de haine.

Whisperings and portents came home upon the four winds: Lo! we are diseased and dying, cried the dark hosts; we cannot write, our voting is vain; what need of education, since we must always cook and serve?

Des murmures et des présages arrivaient de tous les horizons : Voilà ! nous sommes malades et mourants, criaient les sombres multitudes ; nous ne savons pas écrire, notre vote est vain ; à quoi bon l'éducation, puisque nous devons toujours cuisiner et servir ?

And the Nation echoed and enforced this self-criticism, saying: Be content to be servants, and nothing more; what need of higher culture for half-men?

Et la Nation faisait écho à cette autocritique et la renforçait, disant : Contentez-vous d'être des serviteurs, et rien de plus ; à quoi bon une culture supérieure pour des demi-hommes ?

Vocabulary

Les: Definite article; the (plural).
hommes: Men; plural of homme.
appellent: Call; third person plural of appeler.
cette: This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective.
ombre: Shadow; darkness or obscurity.
préjugé: Prejudice; preconceived opinion or bias.
et: And; basic conjunction joining words or clauses.
expliquent: Explain; third person plural of expliquer.
comme: As; like; in the capacity of.
la: The; feminine singular definite article.
défense: Defense; protection against attack or harm.
naturelle: Natural; occurring in nature; not artificial.
de: Of; from; preposition indicating possession or origin.
civilisation: Civilization; advanced stage of human society.
contre: Against; opposed to; in opposition to.
du: Of the; contraction of de + le.
savoir: Knowledge; to know; learning or understanding.
ignorance: Ignorance; lack of knowledge or awareness.
pureté: Purity; state of being pure or clean.
le: The; masculine singular definite article.
crime: Crime; serious illegal act or offense.
des: Of the; some; plural of the.
races: Races; ethnic or biological populations of humans.
supérieures: Superior; higher in rank, quality, or status.
les: The; plural definite article (masculine or feminine).
inférieures: Inferior; lower in rank, quality, or status.
quoi: What; which thing; interrogative or relative pronoun.
Noir: Black; person of African descent.
crie: Cries; shouts; third person singular of crier.
jure: Swears; takes an oath; third person singular.
que: That; which; relative or subordinate conjunction.
pour: For; in favor of; preposition indicating purpose.
autant: As much; to the same extent or degree.
ce: This; that; demonstrative adjective or pronoun.
étrange: Strange; odd; unusual or surprising.
soit: Be; subjunctive of être; may be.
fondé: Founded; based; established on something.
sur: On; upon; preposition indicating position or basis.
un: A; an; masculine singular indefinite article.
juste: Just; fair; righteous or proper.
hommage: Homage; respect; tribute to someone's honor.
culture: Culture; customs, arts, and civilization of group.
au: To the; at the; contraction of à + le.
progrès: Progress; advancement or improvement forward.
il: He; it; third person masculine singular pronoun.
incline: Inclines; bends; leans toward something.
humblement: Humbly; in a humble or modest manner.
se: Himself; herself; reflexive pronoun.
soumet: Submits; yields; third person singular of soumettre.
Mais: But; however; basic adversative conjunction.
face: Face; surface of the head or aspect.
sans: Without; lacking; absence of something.
nom: Name; title; designation of a person or thing.
qui: Who; which; relative pronoun.
dépasse: Surpasses; exceeds; goes beyond limits.
tout: All; everything; complete or whole.
cela: That; this; demonstrative pronoun.
trouve: Finds; discovers; third person singular of trouver.
presque: Almost; nearly; very close to.
voix: Voice; sound of speaking; voting power.
mépris: Contempt; disdain; scorn or disrespect.
personnel: Personal; individual; relating to one person.
moquerie: Mockery; ridicule; act of making fun.
ridicule: Ridicule; derision; object of mockery.
humiliation: Humiliation; shame; loss of dignity or honor.
systématique: Systematic; methodical; organized according to system.
faits: Facts; deeds; actual events or occurrences.
licence: License; freedom; excessive or unrestrained liberty.
imagination: Imagination; creative mental faculty or ability.
cynique: Cynical; distrusting human motives and goodness.
dédain: Disdain; contempt; scorn toward someone or something.

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