Ahmadou Kourouma, Ken Bugul, Calixthe Beyala – french-speaking writers of Sub-Saharan Africa and their attitude towards the dominant language of the former colonizer

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the attitudes of three major writers of Sub-Saharan Africa towards the language of the former coloniser, which has become the main language of literary expression for many authors in this part of the world. The author bases her analysis on the work of three authors who come from the countries that were former colonies of France: Ahmadou Kourouma (Ivory Coast), Ken Bugul (Senegal), Calixthe Beyala (Cameroon). The first two writers were born in the times of European domination and belong to the „decolonisation and disillusionment generation” of writers, while Calixthe Beyala is a representative of the generation called „post-colonial children”. The work of all three represents a significant contribution to the development of literature from this part of the world. After a brief introduction in which the author explains the source of the dominance of the French language in Sub-Saharan Africa, specific examples from the works are analyzed showing the procedures the writers use to adapt the colonizer's language to African reality.