Jane Hiddleston: 'Multilingualism and North African Postcolonial Literature'

Jane Hiddleston: 'Multilingualism and North African Postcolonial Literature'

In my paper, I will examine a few of the ways in which the critique of the monolingual paradigm has been theorised, and draw out some of the issues and difficulties in thinking about multilingualism and multilingual creativity in literary form. Reflecting briefly on critical works by theorists such as Doris Sommer, Yasemin Yildiz and Brian Lennon, I will identify the shortcomings of associating multilingual writing either with a celebratory form of hybridisation, or with exile and loss. I’ll also look at the implications of multilingual writing in the specific context of the postcolonial Maghreb, where the encounter between French and Arabic, as well as between spoken dialects and Berber languages, occurs as a result of a history of violence, and where the interpenetration between languages is, for francophone writers, explored and performed with considerable, and often multi-layered, ambivalence. My argument will be that multilingualism in literary writing does not have to be either enriching and productive, or painful and anxious, but in most cases reflects elements in public and private memory in a combination that engenders conflicting responses and effects. Most importantly, the postcolonial context of francophone North African writing means that multilingualism is a political issue, as well as a complex affective experience, and an ethical concept. Close examination of works by Abdelkébir Khatibi and Assia Djebar can help us to think about the ways in which these various dimensions impact upon or also exceed one another.