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January 11, 2011: first book devoted to the Igbo country in Nigeria to be published in French, by scholar and writer Françoise Ugochukwu.
The Igbo country, better known as Biafra, is located in southeast Nigeria. Ever since the war that ravaged it between 1967 and 1970, no work on this region had been produced in French. This is now done with Françoise Ugochukwu’s study, published by L’Harmattan.
A French national married to a Nigerian, Françoise Ugochukwu knows the Igbo country well for having lived long in it. Back in Europe in 1995 after 24 years in Nigeria, she is currently professor of comparative literature at the Open University in Great Britain, and associate researcher at CNRS-LLACAN in Villejuif, France.
Her name might be familiar to Sorosoro visitors since our website hosts her description sheet of Igbo (in French).
This language (in Igbo: Asụsụ Igbo) belongs to the Niger-Congo family, and one of its characteristic traits is the use of tones, like its Yoruba neighbor. Spoken by 20 to 35 million people, it is one of Nigeria’s major languages together with Hausa and Yoruba, although the official language is English. It is the vector of a rich culture of traditions, stories and community values, described by Françoise Ugochukwu in her work.
The author also discusses the Igbo country’s new activities, including film making, since this region is now considered as the birthplace of “Nollywood”, the emerging heart of Africa’s film industry.