Oldal 81 [81]
First LANGUAGE Roots: INTRA-SENTENTIAL LITERARY CODE-SWITCHING
of Amma and Appa is first defamiliarized by their linguistic ‘otherness’ and
then (re-)constructed by the reader with the aid of known stereotypes. In this
process of (re-)construction, language is “de-automatized” and the meaning
of the embedded term has to be freshly assessed. As a consequence, while
stereotypes may serve as tools for interpretation, their representation in an
embedded language can also lead to a questioning of what they represent.
Further, spelling variants, as previously discussed with A. Iqbal and Paul’s
texts, also allude to migration histories in this poem, yet by exhibiting various
modifications of one term: A dish first appears as “pubbuhjee”, and consecu¬
tively turns into Paav Bhaji, Pav Bhaji and Paav Bhajee.* “Pubbuhjee” is a
special case of language mixing as described by Dembeck: It simulates foreign¬
language direct speech through onomatopoeia.” In this very case, it mimics
a child’s pronunciation of a dish to create a so-called reality effect.** The
other variants evoke the dish in its original Indian setting, in an Indian setting
with a focus on the Portuguese explorers, and finally, in an American setting.
The first and last spelling variants are linked to a specific place and year (“Ben¬
galuru, 1994” and “Atlanta, 2017”), relating directly to the poet’s personal
migration from India to the U.S. The second and third spelling variants, in
contrast, thematize the dish’s journey on a larger scale, showcasing its tradi¬
tional recipe in India and its adoption by the Portuguese, alluding to the mi¬
gration of the dish itself. As a consequence, by giving various names and
spellings for the dish, its changing recipe and consumer community are il¬
lustrated on a linguistic level, foregrounding the close relationship of move¬
ments between languages, cultures and places. Globalization and migration
are poeticized through a food item and one individual human being’s relation¬
ship to it.
A similar strategy can be found in Gabriela Halas’ poem “When we first
arrived, 19837." In this poem, the spellings of America and Canada are trans¬
formed: Starting out with “America”, we read Ameri-ka and Kanada in the
middle, and “America” and “Canada” at the end of the text. The first instance
of “America” can be read as referring to the American dream that immigrants
hope to come true upon arrival, while the second instance, Ameri-ka imme¬
diately followed by Kanada,*! portrays the harsh reality of finding oneself in
a new country, of being perceived as the Other and of being the victim of
4
a
Monika Schmitz-Emans: Die Sprache der modernen Dichtung, Munich, Fink, 1997, 97; Theo¬
dor W. Adorno: Noten zur Literatur II, Berlin, Suhrkamp, 1970, 120.
Prasad: Curry Sandwich.
Dembeck: Sprachwechsel, 125.
Ibid., 151.
Gabriela Halas: When we first arrived, 1983, Tint Journal, Issue Spring ’21, 2021, https://
tintjournal.com/poetry/when-we-first-arrived-1983, accessed 17 October 2022.
50 Ibid.
51 "Amerika," Czech for "American"; "Kanada," Czech for "Canada".
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