Lès-Aventûres d’Alice ô Pèyis dès Mèrvèy
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in Borain Picard

By Lewis Carroll, translated into Borain Picard by André Capron

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“In that direction,” the Cat said, waving its right paw around, “lives a Hatter: and in that direction,” waving the other paw, “lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they’re both mad.”		« Dë ç’ costé-la, » a dit l’ Cat in f’zant tourner s’ pate dwate in rond, « d’meûre én F’zeû d’ Capiôs, ét dë ç’ costé-la, » qu’il a dit in skeûzant l’ôte pate, « d’meûre én Capuchégn dë Mars´. Al’z’in vî l’ ceûgn quë vous voléz : i sont sots tous lès deûs. »
“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.		« Mès dë n’ vè gné vîve ô mitan d’ djins sots » a fêt r’markier Alice.
“Oh, you ca’n’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”		« Ô vous n’ sarēz gné fē ôtrë­mint, » a dit l’ Cat, « Nous stons tèrtout´ sots douci. D’ sû sot ! Vous stez sote ! »
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.		« Comint ç’ quë vous savez quë d’ sû sote ? » a dit Alice.
“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn't have come here.”		« Vous d’vez l’ète, » a dit l’ Cat, « ôtrëmint vous n’arēz gné m’nu douci. »
Lewis Carroll is the pen-name for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who was a lecturer of mathematics at Christ Church, Oxford. Dodgson started the telling of this tale on July 4, 1862 during a rowing boat tour on the Thames River at Oxford. Pastor Robinson Duckworth and three girls were members of the party: Alice Liddell, the ten-year old daughter of the dean of Christ Church, and her sisters Lorina, aged thirteen, and Edith, eight years of age. The poem at the beginning of the story states that the threesome urged Dodgson to tell them a story. And so he set out to present the first version of the tale, admittedly with some initial reluctance. Now and then, within the broader tale, reference is made to all five of the boat party; the story first appeared in print in 1865.		Lewis Carroll, c’èst lë spot chwâzi pa Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, qui insègnot les mathematiques à Christ Church, Oxford. Dodgson a couminché à raconter ç’n-istwâre ci l’ quate dë julèt´ 1862, pindant qu’i f’zôt ’ne pourmënâde in barkète su la Tamîse à Oxford. L’ Pasteûr Robinson Duckworth èyét twâs p’titës fîyes ēt´ dë l’ partîe. Alice Liddell, ël fîye dë 10 ans dou Dwayégn dë Christ Church ét sès swèrs Lorina qu’awot 13 ans ét Édith qu’awot 8 ans. Ël powème ô couminch’mint d’ l’istwâre dit quë lès twâs swèrs ont poussé Dodgson à leû raconter ’ne fôke. Ét c’ès’t-insi qu’i s’a mis à prézinter l’ prumière vèrsion dë l’ fauke, à conte-cwêr pou coumincher, d’après li. Douci doulà, dins l’ vèrsion pus largue, il èst fêt référence ô cēk qu’ēt’ dins l’barkète ; l’istwâre a sté éprimée pou l’ prumier côp in 1865.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has been translated into many languages but never before in Picard dialect. The present translation in “Borain Picard” is intended to fill in the gap.		Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland a sté tradwit in branmint dë langues mès, dëqu’à mèt’nant, djamins dins én dialèkte picârd. Ç’ tradukcion-ci, in picârd borégn dëvrot réparer ça.
In its dialectal meaning, Picard is the name of an important linguistic family which covers a large territory in the north-west of France and the western part of the Belgian province of Hainaut. It is one of the Romance languages that make up the “langues d’oïl”, such as Lorrain, Champenois, Normand, Poitevin, Walloon etc. In Belgium, four of these families are represented: Lorrain and Champenois in two tiny parts of the province of Luxembourg, Walloon in the larger part of the Francophone area.		Su l’ plan dialèktal, l’ picârd, c’èst ’ne grande famîye lēgwistike qui s’ twêve dins ’ne partîe du nôrd-wèst dë la France ét dins tout l’wèst dë l’ « Province belge du Hainaut ». C’èst ëne dès langues romanes qui form’té inchâne çou qu’on loume « les langues d’oïl », come ël « lorrain », ël « champen­ois », ël « normand », ël « poitevin », ël « wallon » etc. In Belgique on twêve quate dë cès famîyes : in plus´ du picârd, on pale du « lorrain » ét du « champenois » dins deûs p’tites gnotes partîes dë l’ « Province du Luxembourg » ét dès dialèktes walons dins l’pus grande partîe francophone dë la Belgique.
Borain Picard is the dialect spoken in what is called “Le Borinage”, an area situated south-west of the capital of the province of Hainaut, not far from the French border. It used to be a coal-mining area, but the last mines closed down about half a century ago.		Ël picârd borégn, c’èst l’ dialèkte qu’on pale ô Borinâje, ëne réjion ô sud-wèst dë Mon, l’ capitale du « Hainaut », gné lon dë l’ frontière avé la France. Dins l’ tans c’ēt én pèyis d’ carbënâjes mès lès dèrnières fosses ont sté frumées il a à pô près cēkante ans.
The language used in this translation is the dialect spoken in the centre of the Borinage area: nine villages with about 100,000 inhabitants. Due to several economic and social changes—and certainly due to compulsory education in French—the Borain dialect, like many other dialects, is dying out in spite of the efforts of some courageous people who are trying to revive it. The number of people who can speak it fluently is not particularly high, but there are still many inhabitants who have a passive knowledge of the dialect. The orthography used here is the “Feller notation”.		Ël langue qu’on utilîse dins ç’ tradukcion-ci, c’èst l’ dialèkte qu’on pale ô mitan dou Borinâje : 9 vilâjes avé à pô près 100.000 abitants. À côse dë cèrtégn canjemints su l’ plan économike ét social—surtout l’éducacion obligatwâre in francès—ël borégn come branmint d’ôtes dialèktes, ès’t-in trégn dë morî, môgré lès courageûs èfôrts dë deûs-twâs djins qui cach’té à l’ ravikier. I n’a pus branmint d’ Borégn qui sèt´ tënî ’ne convèrsacion in borégn, mès i d’a co ’ne masse qui counwate leû dialèkte passîv’mint. Pou l’ortografe, on a chwâzi l’ « notation Feller ».
The translation of Lewis Carroll’s work was not particularly difficult from a linguistic point of view. The difficulties arose from the puns the author sometimes makes; it is not always possible to reflect this wordplay in another language. But it is not always impossible: e.g. Carroll’s wordplay on the words “lesson” and “lessen” (Chapter IX) can easily be reflected by using the words “cours” and “court”, whereas it was impossible for us to express the idea of madness and stupidity which is suggested by the names of two of the characters “Hatter” and “Hare” (“as mad as a…”), and we chose two names which have a humorous connotation “F’zeû d’ Capiôs” (‘maker of hats’) and “Capuchégn” (sometimes used in Borain, instead of “lièfe” because the fur of a hare is the same colour of the gown of a mendicant friar, i.e. a “capuchégn”.)		Tradwîre in borégn l’ouvrâje dë Lewis Carroll n’a gné sté fôt dificile dou pwét d’ vûe lēgwistike. Lès dificultés sont v’nûes dès djeûs d’ mots qu’l’ôteûr fêt tévozé. I n’èst gné toudis êzîle dë rinde cès djeûs d’ mots dins ’ne ôte langue. Mès c’èst gné toudis ēpossîbe ! Insi Carroll djûe su lès mots inglès « lesson » (c.à.d. : leçon, cours à l’èscole) èyét « lessen » (c.à.d. : diminwer, rinde pus court) ; on pouvot fē l’ minme djeû d’ mots avé « cours » èyét « court ». Mès on n’a gné pu rinde in borégn l’idèe dë folîe, d’bièstrîe qui s’ muche padié lès mots inglès « hatter » ét « hare » deûs dès pèrsonâjes dou lîve. « Hatter » vèt dîre « capëlier » ét « hare » vèt dîre « liève », èt in inglès on dit tévozé « as mad as a hatter » ét « as mad as a hare », c.à.d. « ossi biète, ossi fou quë… » Pou finî on a chwâzi dès mots qu’ont ’ne pëtite couleûr umoristike « Fëzeû d’ Capios » ét « Capuchégn » In borégn on loume tévozé én liève én capuchégne à côse dë l’ couleûr dë s’ piyô.
I hope that this translation will help to increase the number of Alice’s fans in the Borinage area.		Nous spérons bié que nou tradukcion va fē mwés counwate ô Borinâje Alice ét sès aventûres ô Pèyis dès Mèrvèy.
—André Capron Casteau-Soignies 2012		—André Capron Casteau-Soignies 2012