Dr. Bonaventure Balla
Associate Professor
277 Madison Hall
(757) 823-2998
bballa@nsu.edu
Expertise and Interests: I hold a Ph.D. in French, an MA in French, and another MA in English. I have been teaching for twenty- four years in West Africa (12 years), France (1 year), and the US (11 years). My specialization covers Symbolism (English, French & Belgian), Synesthesia, Semiotics, Francophone Literature, and Translation. I am the author of several articles and seven books. Two of these books were published in France, one Belgium, two in the US, one will be published in London, and the last in France. My third book titled Symbolism, Synesthesia, and Semiotics, Multidisciplinary Approach has been cited at least fifteen times by national and international scholars and is recommended as a reference text at Florida State University in the US. I speak/use seven languages: French, English, Spanish, Beti, Fang, Latin, and Japanese. Being a polyglot ignited my passion for translation. That is why I became a Professional Translator. As a matter of fact, I have been working as a Translator for twenty-eight years in Africa, France, and the US.
My language combination is predominantly English-French; however, I also translate from French into English, and from Spanish into French. Consequently, my research interests cover Translation; Symbolism; Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Francophone Literature; Brain-science and Language/Poetry. I like poetry and while publishing books of poetry I participated in very stringent international poetry contests in Rheims, and Gargenville, France. I won several awards of poetry for three consecutive years: 2013, 2014, and 2015 while vying with the best poets in France, Canada, US, Africa, Haiti, Morocco, and Switzerland.