Literature and Amazigh language debates

The case of Moroccan Amazigh literature in 'other' languages

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3979395
AutoresErin Twohig (Georgetown University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2017
Volumen22
Número4
Páginas536-559
Fecha de publicación2017-08-08
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Journal of North African Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1362-9387 • E-ISSN: 1743-9345
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13629387.2017.1299008
OpenAlexW2595706206
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas19

This paper examines the intersection between fictional literature and language politics in Morocco, by looking at literature that depicts Amazigh communities. Specifically discussed is the contribution of literary texts in ‘other’ languages, whether via translation or original versions, to imagining the potential and limits of Amazigh language promotion on a national and global level. The novels Un youyou dans la mosquée (A youyou in the mosque), Jo també sóc catalana (I am Catalan too), and Il était une fois un vieux couple heureux (Once upon a time there was a happy old couple) each deals with phenomena that have propelled Amazigh language debates onto the international stage: language standardisation, new technologies that spread cultural production, immigration, and the growing Amazigh diaspora. These three novels describe the (often negative) effects of these phenomena on local communities, while at the same time suggesting that literature can provide a new way to approach these issues. These novels, both in their content and circulation, demonstrate how literature reconfigures readers’ assumptions about the lines between local and global in Amazigh language debates

Catalan · Diaspora · Geography · Immigration · Intersection (aeronautics · Language politics · Linguistics · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Caribbean and African Literature and Culture · Gender Studies · Law · Linguistic and Sociocultural Studies · North African History and Literature · Philosophy