Le direct et le indirect speech
Introduction
Le discours direct et le discours indirect sont deux manières de rapporter les paroles d’une personne. Le discours direct cite les paroles telles qu’elles ont été prononcées, tandis que le discours indirect les reformule en respectant certaines modifications grammaticales et syntaxiques. Dans la culture africaine, les contes, proverbes et récits oraux sont souvent transmis en utilisant le discours indirect. Comprendre ces deux formes est essentiel pour rapporter fidèlement les propos d'autrui en anglais.
I- Changements généraux du discours direct au discours indirect
1- Suppression des guillemets et des deux-points
En discours direct, les paroles sont mises entre guillemets et précédées d’un deux-points.
Exemple (discours direct) :
The griot said: "The ancestors guide our steps."
En discours indirect, on supprime les guillemets et les deux-points, et on introduit la proposition subordonnée avec that (facultatif en anglais parlé).
Exemple (discours indirect) :
The griot said (that) the ancestors guided our steps.
2- Changements relatifs aux pronoms personnels et possessifs
Les pronoms changent en fonction du rapport entre le narrateur et l’énonciateur initial.
Exemple 1 (discours direct) :
The chief said, "I will protect my people."
Exemple 1 (discours indirect) :
The chief said that he would protect his people.
Exemple 2 (discours direct) :
The elder told me, "You must respect your ancestors."
Exemple 2 (discours indirect) :
The elder told me that I must respect my ancestors.
Les pronoms personnels de la première personne (I, we) et de la deuxième personne (you) sont généralement remplacés par des pronoms de la troisième personne (he, she, they) ou adaptés en fonction du sujet de la proposition introductive. Par exemple, He said, "I am tired." devient He said that he was tired. De même, les pronoms possessifs changent : She said, "This is my book." devient She said that it was her book. Enfin, les démonstratifs tels que this et these deviennent that et those.
3- Changements des repères spatio-temporels
Lorsque le discours est rapporté, les indications de lieu et de temps doivent être adaptées.
Exemple (discours direct) :
The woman said : "Come here now!"
Exemple (discours indirect) :
The woman said to come there then.
Exemple (discours direct) :
The teacher said, "We will have an exam tomorrow."
Exemple (discours indirect) :
The teacher said that we would have an exam the next day.
Today devient that day, yesterday devient the previous day ou the day before, now devient then, here devient there, tomorrow devient the next day ou the following day, last week devient the previous week.
II- Changements des temps verbaux
L’un des aspects les plus importants du passage au discours indirect est la transformation des temps verbaux, surtout lorsque le verbe introducteur est au past tense.
1- Passage du présent au passé
Le Present Simple devient le Past Simple
Direct: The elder says: "Wisdom comes with age."
Indirect: The elder said that wisdom came with age.
Le Present Continuous devient le Past Continuous
Direct: The chief says, "The warriors are preparing for battle."
Indirect: The chief said that the warriors were preparing for battle.
Le Present Perfect devient le Past Perfect
Direct: The woman says, "I have seen the healer."
Indirect: The woman said that she had seen the healer.
2- Passage du passé au plus-que-parfait
Le Past Simple devient le Past Perfect
Direct: The farmer said, "I sold all my yams."
Indirect: The farmer said that he had sold all his yams.
Le Past Continuous devient le Past Perfect Continuous
Direct: The hunter said, "I was tracking the lion."
Indirect: The hunter said that he had been tracking the lion.
3. Passage du futur au conditionnel
Le Future Simple (will) devient le Conditional (would)
Direct: The chief said, "I will help my people."
Indirect: The chief said that he would help his people.
Le Future Continuous (will be) devient le Conditional Continuous (would be)
Direct: The priest said, "I will be praying at noon."
Indirect: The priest said that he would be praying at noon.
Globalement, le simple present devient le simple past, le simple past tense devient le Past perfect, le présent perfect devient le Past perfect, le future devient le conditionnal, le past continous devient le Past perfect continous.
III- Les questions au discours indirect
Les questions subissent des modifications spécifiques.
1. Questions ouvertes (WH- questions)
On garde l’adverbe interrogatif (who, what, where, why, how, etc.) mais on change la structure.
Direct: The child asked, "Where is the storyteller?"
Indirect: The child asked where the storyteller was.
Direct: The chief asked, "Why are the villagers afraid?"
Indirect: The chief asked why the villagers were afraid.
2- Questions fermées (Yes/No questions)
On introduit la question avec if ou whether.
Direct: The elder asked, "Did you listen to the story?"
Indirect: The elder asked if I had listened to the story.
Direct: The hunter asked, "Will they come tomorrow?"
Indirect: The hunter asked if they would come the next day.
IV- Autres changements importants
1- Les impératifs deviennent des formes infinitives
Direct: The king said, "Respect the traditions!"
Indirect: The king ordered to respect the traditions.
Direct: The grandmother told me, "Don't forget the proverb."
Indirect: The grandmother told me not to forget the proverb.
2- Les exclamations perdent leur intensité
Les exclamations sont souvent reformulées avec that et un verbe exprimant l’émotion.
Direct: The woman said, "What a beautiful necklace!"
Indirect: The woman said that it was a beautiful necklace.
Direct: The child said, "How wonderful the festival is!"
Indirect: The child said that the festival was wonderful.
Conclusion
Le passage du discours direct au discours indirect implique plusieurs modifications, notamment la suppression des guillemets, l’adaptation des pronoms, des repères spatio-temporels et des temps verbaux. Il est crucial de maîtriser ces transformations pour bien rapporter un discours dans un contexte africain ou international.
La transmission orale en Afrique, qu'il s'agisse des contes de village, des maximes des anciens ou des discours des chefs traditionnels, repose souvent sur ces structures linguistiques.
Avez-vous bien lu ce cours ? Transformez les phrases suivantes du discours direct au discours indirect.
1- The chief said, "Our ancestors watch over us here."
2- The old woman told me, "You must respect your elders."
3- The teacher said, "I am teaching the history of our kingdom today."
4- The hunter said, "I caught a big antelope yesterday."
5- The farmer told his son, "I will take you to the market tomorrow."
6- The elder said, "Wisdom comes with age."
7- The mother told her daughter, "I am preparing fufu for dinner."
8- The griot said, "I have told this story many times."
9- The merchant said, "I sold all my yams last week."
10- The fisherman said, "I was repairing my net when the storm started."
11- The child asked, "Where is the storyteller?"
12- The chief asked, "Why are the villagers afraid?"
13- The grandmother asked me, "How do you prepare palm wine?"
14- The teacher asked, "Who discovered the Nile?"
15- The warrior asked, "When will the festival start?"
16- The elder asked, "Did you listen to the proverb?"
17- The hunter asked, "Will they come for the ceremony?"
18- The king asked, "Can we trust the messenger?"
19- The trader asked, "Have you ever been to the big market in Lagos?"
20- The boy asked, "Is grandmother feeling better now?"
Réponses
1- The chief said that their ancestors watched over them there.
2- The old woman told me that I had to respect my elders.
3- The teacher said that he/she was teaching the history of their kingdom that day.
4- The hunter said that he had caught a big antelope the day before.
5- The farmer told his son that he would take him to the market the next day.
6- The elder said that wisdom came with age.
7- The mother told her daughter that she was preparing fufu for dinner.
8- The griot said that he had told that story many times.
9- The merchant said that he had sold all his yams the previous week.
10- The fisherman said that he had been repairing his net when the storm started.
11- The child asked where the storyteller was.
12- The chief asked why the villagers were afraid.
13- The grandmother asked me how I prepared palm wine.
14- The teacher asked who had discovered the Nile.
15- The warrior asked when the festival would start.
16- The elder asked if I had listened to the proverb.
17- The hunter asked if they would come for the ceremony.
18- The king asked if they could trust the messenger.
19- The trader asked if I had ever been to the big market in Lagos.
20- The boy asked if grandmother was feeling better then.
