Beyond translation into chaos: exploring language movement in the French Caribbean

As Edwin Gentzler’s latest book (2001) reveals, translation studies (as opposed to translating) is an area that is becoming increasingly relevant to both cultural and literary studies. Developing this point further, Sherry Simon states that, “Increasingly, translation and writing have become a particularly strong form of writing at a time when national cultures have themselves become diverse, inhabited by plurality”(Simon 1999: 72). Or indeed how “Symbolically, translation comes to be the very representation of the play of equivalence and difference in cultural interchange: translation permits communication without eliminating the grounds of specificity” (Simon 1992: 159). Therefore, particularly in postcolonial contexts, where the balance of power hinges on questions of language possession and linguistic insecurities, translation allows this power to be repositioned: it can establish a form of plurality by refusing to allow one language to dominate another. In recent works exploring the complex relationship between postcolonial environments and translation,1 these issues are examined in a worldwide context – writings from Quebec, North Africa, India constitute but a few examples. Yet, Simon also draws our attention to processes of translation that allow each language to maintain its own specific identity. In the French Caribbean, this becomes highly problematic because of the tensions between French – the official language – and Creole – the native spoken language.2 This article will explore the difficulties involved in establishing and maintaining this language specificity and will look at how, and if, French and Creole can ‘translate ’French Caribbean culture.

Seroprevalence of chikungunya virus infection among HIV-infected adults in French Caribbean Islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe in 2015: A cross-sectional study

Background In 2014, a first outbreak of chikungunya hit the Caribbean area where chikungunya virus (CHIKV) had never circulated before. Methodology/Principal findings We conducted a cross-sectional study to measure the seroprevalence of CHIKV immediately after the end of the 2014 outbreak in HIV-infected people followed up in two clinical cohorts at the University hospitals of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Study patients were identified during the first months of 2015 and randomly selected to match the age and sex distribution of the general population in the two islands. They were invited to complete a survey that explored the symptoms consistent with chikungunya they could have developed during 2014 and to have a blood sample drawn for CHIKV serology. The study population consisted of 377 patients (198 in Martinique and 179 in Guadeloupe, 178 men and 199 women), 182 of whom reported they had developed symptoms consistent with chikungunya. CHIKV serology was positive in 230 patients, which accounted for an overall seroprevalence rate of 61% [95%CI 56–66], with only 153 patients who reported symptoms consistent with chikungunya. Most frequent symptoms included arthralgia (94.1%), fever (73.2%), myalgia (53.6%), headache (45.8%), and skin rash (26.1%). Conclusions/Significance This study showed that the seroprevalence of CHIKV infection was 61% after the 2014 outbreak, with one third of asymptomatic infections. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT 02553369.

Looking for Agency in Transnational Refugee Trajectories during the Second World War - Eric T. Jennings. Escape from Vichy: The Refugee Exodus to the French Caribbean. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2018. 308 pages. ISBN: 9780674983380, $36. - Megan Koreman. The Escape Line: How the Ordinary Heroes of Dutch-Paris Resisted the Nazi Occupation of Western Europe. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. 410 pages. 9780190662271, $29,95. - Joanna Newman. Nearly the New World: The British West Indies and the Flight from Nazism, 1933–1945. New York: Berghahn Books, 2019. 306 pages. 9781789206494, $29,95.

The authors of three recent monographs, The Escape Line, Escape from Vichy, and Nearly the New World, highlight in particular the relevance of transnational refugee and resistance networks. These books shed new light on the trajectories of refugees through war-torn Europe and their routes out of it. Megan Koreman displays in The Escape Line the relevance of researching one line of resistance functioning in several countries and thereby shifts from the common nationalistic approach in resistance research. In Escape from Vichy Eric Jennings researches the government-endorsed flight route between Marseille and Martinique and explores the lasting impact of encounters between refugees and Caribbean Negritude thinkers. Joanna Newman explores the mainly Jewish refugees who found shelter in the British West Indies, with a focus on the role of aid organisations in this flight.

Frequent high-risk HPV co-infections excluding types 16 or 18 in cervical neoplasia in Guadeloupe

Background Cervical cancer is the fourth cancer worldwide. The Human Papilloma Virus is responsible for 99% of the cases but the distribution of its genotypes varies among populations. We aimed to identify HPV genotypes distribution in women with grade 2/3 cervical intraepithelial dysplasia or invasive cervical cancer in Guadeloupe, a French Caribbean territory with a population mainly of African descent. Methods We used paraffin-embedded tumors for viral DNA extraction from women diagnosed between 2014 and 2016 and identified by the population-based cancer registry. The HPV Genotyping was performed with the InnoLIPA HPV Genotyping Extra kit®. Results Overall, 213 samples out of the 321 eligible records were analyzed. The HPV status was positive for 94% of the cases. The five most common oncogenic HPV genotypes were HPV31 (47%), HPV33 (38%), HPV16 (32%), HPV44 (31%) and HPV26 (28%). HPV18 was found in only in 5% of the cases. Among the studied cases, 94% had multiple infections. More than 60% of single infections were HPV16-related, accounting for 35% of HPV16 infections. Conclusions These results show a different distribution of oncogenic HPVs in Guadeloupe with “31 > 33 > 16” and a high frequency of multiple infections. Despite a lower coverage, the nine-valent vaccine is nevertheless adequate.