6533b86cfe1ef96bd12c8211
RESEARCH PRODUCT
"Translation and Language Contact in Multicultural Settings. The Case of Asian Migrants in Sicily”
Alessandra Rizzosubject
RelexificationLinguistics and LanguageHybridityLiterature and Literary TheoryCultural identityFirst languageLanguage contactLanguage educationLocal languageSociologyVariety (linguistics)Language and LinguisticsLinguisticsdescription
This article addresses the role of translation in the construction of cultural identities in multicultural and host settings. Approaching migration as a form of translation in terms of relexification, cannibalism and hybridization, the essay discusses the example of a new English variety which was developed by Asian immigrants who moved to Sicily. It is suggested that this Indian-Anglo-Italian hybrid variety has been built upon a process of relexification during which Asian immigrants translate their local language into English by keeping the syntactic structure of their native language in the English sentence and by adding a mixture of Sicilian-Italian words. In this context, immigrants are viewed as translators of their own culture and language. This type of hybridity is also approached as a cannibalistic practice which devours the host culture and transforms the target language. The article argues that both relexification and cannibalism constitute resistive practices against a monolingual society, all...
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-04-01 |