Colonial language and postcolonial linguistic hybridity - Utah

226 Pages·2012·0.95 MB·English

by  Watts, Jarica Linn

COLONIAL LANGUAGE AND POSTCOLONIAL LINGUISTIC HYBRIDITY

by

Jarica Linn Watts

A dissertation submitted to the faculty of
The University of Utah
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Department of English

The University of Utah

May 2011
Copyright © Jarica Linn Watts 2011

All Rights Reserved
The University of Utah Graduate School

STATEMENT OF DISSERTATION APPROVAL

The dissertation of Jarica Linn Watts ,
has been approved by the following supervisory committee members:

Vincent J. Cheng , Chair February 11, 2011
Date Approved

Craig Dworkin , Member February 11, 2011
Date Approved

Jay Jordan , Member February 11, 2011
Date Approved

Nadia Durbach , Member February 11, 2011
Date Approved

Scott Black , Member February 11, 2011
Date Approved

and by Vincent P. Pecora , Chair of
the Department of English ,

and by Charles A. Wight, Dean of The Graduate School.
ABSTRACT

This dissertation project applies community-specific linguistic studies to various
postcolonial texts, thereby offering readers an alternative way of analyzing the patterns of
language usage in postcolonial literature. I use linguistic studies to help treat these
communities not as they were—long-time colonies of the British Empire—but rather as
they are now: multilingual societies that serve as gateways into complex webs of identity
construction and language usage. In this vein, I approach postcolonial literature in
relation to: (1) how the texts use language to either include or exclude others; (2) how the
characters interpret and respond to the mix of original and new languages; (3) how
language usage either deters from or solidifies the sense of belonging together on the part
of colonial natives; and (4) how language functions as a force in each text considered.
The particular linguistic studies I use have not generally been applied to literature,
but I show that these theories can be mapped onto literary texts in very compelling ways.
Because language is constructed differently in different regions, it only makes sense that
linguistic identity has to be studied within specific societies; Africa’s multilingualism, for
example, has often been described as on par with European multilingualism, yet this is
theoretically misleading because whereas European multilingualism involves several
written languages, the African context involves only a few written languages (such as
Yoruba and Gikuyu) existing alongside oral languages founded on oral cultures and
transmitted orally. Given, then, that this dissertation examines literary texts through the
lens of local language, its findings are useful in that they reveal widely disparate modes
of colonial resistance that tend to challenge more traditional postcolonial readings and
interpretations.
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I think that theories of reception and of the rhetoric of fiction
are crying out for the solidity and precision of linguistic description.

Roger Fowler, Literature as Social Discourse, 34.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
111
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................. V111
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Theoretical Orientation.................................................................................................. 8
1.2 In Summary....................................................................................................................... 16
2. "HE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND OUR CULTURE":
LINGUISTIC PRIVACY IN CHINUA ACHEBE'S
THINGS FALL APART.......................................... ...................................................................... 17
2.1 Language and Identity.................................................................................................... 25
2.2 Narrative Strategy............................................................................................................. 28
3. LANGUAGE SHIFT IN FRIEL'S TRANSLATIONS:
THE "SELF IS PERCEIVED AS OTHERNESS'.'............................................................... 50
3.1 Shift as Loss ....................................................................................................................... 55
3.2 Freeplay of Language....................................................................................................... 59
3.3 Changing Times.................................................................................................................. 82
4. "IT IS BETTER TO EAT WITH BOTH HANDS FOR A WHILE"
KIPLING'S KIM AND THE LINGUABRIDITY OF A CHILD................................... 85
5. "RESEMBLING NEITHER COMFORT NOR HELL, BUT FALLING
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE TWO": CANNIBALISM AND CULTuRAL
HYBRIDITY IN CARYL PHILLIPS'S CAMBRIDGE. .................................................... 120
5.1 Narrative Strategy.............................................................................................................. 126
5.2 Discursive and Cultural Cannibalism.......................................................................... 129
6. "WE ARE A DIVIDED PEOPLE, AREN'T WE?"
THE POLITICS OF MULTICULTURAL LANGUAGE AND DIALECT
CROSSING IN ZADIE SMITH'S WHITE TEETH . ........................................................... 158
7. CODA ............................................................................................................................................... 197
WORKS CITED. ................................................................................................................................. 202
CURRICULUM VITA. .................................................................................................................... 212

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This dissertation would not have been possible without the encouragement of
faculty, friends, and family members. Several individuals deserve particular recognition
for their contributions to this project.
Vince Cheng has been an intellectually generous and patient advisor, who
willingly marshaled me through my first article and then my first book. When I doubted
my ability to complete this project, he took me to breakfast and bought me a root beer.
We talked of President Barack Obama’s victory, which had coincidentally taken place the
night before, and then Vince turned his attention to me: he evoked a mock-Latin
aphorism to encourage me forward (“illegitimi non carborundum”), he scrawled some
goals on a napkin, and then he quietly gave me the freedom to pursue my own
independent thoughts and concerns. Vince consistently demonstrated his faith in my
intellectual abilities, and I am grateful for the many hours he spent reading through my
drafts, commenting on my writing, marking misplaced modifiers, and, in the end,
respecting my voice.
As I sat staring out the window of Jeff McCarthy’s office at the age of eighteen, I
had no idea that I would continue to return there—for advice, for direction, for
perspective—for more than a decade. Jeff saw a literary spark in me and directed me
toward graduate school. He provided an alternate viewpoint when the demands of
graduate school seemed too much, and he gave me a much needed push during this final
year of study; his words propelled me through the rigors of the academic job hunt and
into my first professorship. Within the walls of his office, I grew up and came into my
own as a literary scholar, and I thank him for his unflagging encouragement and
invaluable instruction.
Kathi Whitman, though not a formal member of my dissertation committee,
helped prepare me to do the independent work required in a doctoral dissertation. She
took me on as an undergraduate student and provided me with countless writing
opportunities. Writing for Kathi was one of the great learning experiences and most
enjoyable work experiences of my academic career. Under her direction, I learned the
intricacies of English grammar and syntax. She gave me the opportunity to write for
local, national, and international publications, and each of those writing experiences
helped me in finding my own written voice.
I also acknowledge the University of Utah’s Department of English and the
institutional support I received from the Clarence Snow/Sherman Brown Neff
Fellowship, which I was awarded during my final year of study. On the subject of
“literary sociolinguistics,” I thank the great writers and researchers who introduced me to
the multimodal methodology that exists between literary studies and linguistics—Eric
Anchimbe and Roger Fowler, most prominently. I want to thank my dissertation
committee members—Craig Dworkin, Jay Jordan, and Nadja Durbach—for their support
throughout my graduate training and for the active interest they each took in my work
and education.
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