Oldal 32 [32]
OCR
LITERARY CODE-SWITCHING study object, and the failed love affair with Jeannette, Midhat loves France and French culture, including fashion. Back in Nablus, his Francophilia, marked by his code-switches to French, gestures and excessive fashion habits are frowned upon by many who start to call him mockingly fthe Parisian"." It is thus only quite late in the novel that the reader’s hunch that the title refers to Midhat is confirmed and explained: “[they] referred to him as “the Parisian” with an affection that slid into derision. “I’m going to the banque,” was something still said [...], with a flipping of the [...] hand.”*° It is remarkable that in a novel that is dispersed with transliterated Arabic words and relexifications, here “the Parisian” is used and not “al-Barisi”, while this transliterated Arabic word has already occurred in the title and is supposed to be easily understood even by the outsider reader who does not know Arabic. This choice somehow breaks with expectations because the nickname is used by Arabic speaking characters, a lot of them probably monolingual, in a Nabulsi setting. Why this is the case can be further explored, but we could argue that the use of English in this context draws even more attention to the nickname and the ways in which it “others” Midhat. Besides that, it also underscores the observation that the insertion of Arabic words and expressions aims at much more than the representation of actual speech. One of the leitmotifs of the novel is after all Midhat’s alterity. In France he is introduced, addressed or framed by other characters as “du Proche-Orient” (wittily combined with “he is feeling a little désorienté at the moment”),”' “le jeune Turc”,”” “Monsieur l’Arabe”,”? “Muslim”,?* Hammad: “The Parisian or Al-Barisi”, 303, 326, 505. However, for Fatima, when arguing to her father why she wants to marry Midhat, the nickname has a positive connotation because it evokes refinement and the fact that he has lived in France. Ibid., 303. 20 Ibid., 505. 21 Tbid., 13. Italics original. 22 Tbid., 27. This label is ironic because there was a lot of animosity between Arabs and Turks in this era. A large part of the Arab world still belonged formally to the Ottoman Empire, but in the 19" century a sense of Arab identity and nationalism was crystalizing, which competed with an Ottoman identity. At the same time Turkish nationalism was gaining pace in intellectual circles in Istanbul. Though having studied in Istanbul, at best Midhat would have considered himself, apart from Nabulsi, Palestinian and Arab, an Ottoman citizen, but definitely not Turkish. In the perception of most French people at the time there was no difference between Turks and Arabs. This is up to now still to a certain extent the case. It is interesting to note that Jeannette immediately corrects her friend by saying: “Actually, [...] Monsieur Midhat would call himself a Palestinian Arab.” This and other examples indicate that Jeannette’s attitude towards Midhat is more nuanced and emphatic than that of many of the other French characters. 23 Hammad: “The Parisian or Al-Barisi”, 27. 4 Tbid., 29. +30 +
