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OCR
LITERARY CODE-SWITCHING Hammad profusely exploits multiple linguistic technigues, such as the insertion of Arabic and French words, phrases and expressions (either translated or left untranslated) in the main text in English, as well as relexifications (most often left unexplained, with or without cushioning or contextualization). As defined by Hartman, relexification is the literal translation of Arabic expressions into unidiomatic, antiguated, or awkward-sounding French [here: English]. In relexification, as opposed to translation, the connection to the original language is left as transparent as possible, and the way that the resulting word or phrase sounds in the target language is almost always “awkward.” The relexified expression thus sounds unidiomatic and may not even make sense within the new language, but this is the point of the technique; it does not strive for an “accurate” translation, but rather emphasizes its difference with the main language of the text.® As Hartman further argues, this difference interrupts the main text and forces the readers to pause in order to draw their attention to additional political, social, cultural and poetical meanings that are layered into the text. However, the interruptions will be understood differently depending on the linguistic and cultural knowledge of the reader. The “outsider reader” who does not know Arabic (and/or French) will have to deduce the meaning of the codeswitch or relexified item from the context and cushioning and is invited to reflect on the importance of language. The “insider reader” who knows Arabic and has sufficient cultural background knowledge will understand the transliterated or relexified item immediately but will still be given pause by the foreignness or awkwardness of the expression. As a result, both types of readers are incited to reflect on its additional meanings that go beyond the ones that are taken for granted and how they relate to the plot and the (implicit) political and social messages of the text: Poetically, the effect of using nonidiomatic expressions that clearly are meant to refer to another language has an immediate effect on the flow of the text. The insider and the outsider reader will also be affected by these textual breaks differently, in that the reader who knows Arabic will immediately supply the relexified expression in its many meanings and be able to continue reading smoothly with this in mind. The outsider reader who does not know Arabic, however, will be stalled for a moment at the relexification and forced to understand the meaning from the context and appropriate cushioning, further reflecting on the importance of language in conveying ideas.’ 8 Hartman: Native Tongue, 54. ° Tbid., 55. +26 +
