Constance Borde

Sheila Malovany-Chevallier and Constance Borde both attended Douglass College (Rutgers University) in the 1960s and have been friends and working partners ever since. They have both lived in France for over 40 years, teaching literature and American civilization and writing English grammar and other books for French speakers. In the 70s, they both studied and got degrees in linguistics, one at the university of Vincennes, and the other at Nanterre, in Paris, hubs of new thinking in language and social science. They both had long and active teaching careers at Sciences Po. Notable among their publications have been a series of grammar books (ex: My English is French); a video series, Magic English, for Disney, to teach children English; Focus on American Democracy, explaining the American system of government, and several French cookbooks on American food. All along, they have been translating from French to English: social science, art, and feminist writings. Feminism and politics, as well as knowledge of France and its culture, led them to the translation into English of Le Deuxième Sexe, by Simone de Beauvoir. Photo by Alison Harris