Tale
Contes comoriens
Not translated into English
Synopsis
Ten tales from the Comorian oral tradition, written down in the language of the storytellers and translated into French, the Comorian text and its translation facing each other page by page. They come from an archipelago of four islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan, Mohéli and Mayotte, whose language, Comorian, is divided into four varieties. Illustrations by Gérard Bois accompany the stories in this small volume, which the Bibliothèque nationale classes among books for young readers.
Context
The collection appeared in Paris in 1980 in the Fleuve et flamme series, a bilingual series of the Conseil international de la langue française, co-published with Edicef; it runs to about one hundred and forty pages. Its two authors, a linguist specialising in Mahorais and an Anjouanais linguist, give the tales in their language and in French translation, each page in Comorian facing its translation, in an illustrated small-format volume.
Who it is for
Short tales in a bilingual, illustrated edition, accessible to young readers and adults alike.
Prizes and reception
Out of print in bookshops, the printed volume has been made available again online by its publisher.
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The pages consulted to check this page.