Oldal 81 [81]
OCR
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 consecutively turns into Paav Bhaji, Pav Bhaji and Paav Bhajee.* “Pubbuhjee” is a special case of language mixing as described by Dembeck: It simulates foreignlanguage 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 (“Bengaluru, 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 traditional recipe in India and its adoption by the Portuguese, alluding to the migration of the dish itself. As a consequence, by giving various names and spellings for the dish, its changing recipe and consumer community are illustrated on a linguistic level, foregrounding the close relationship of movements between languages, cultures and places. Globalization and migration are poeticized through a food item and one individual human being’s relationship 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 transformed: 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 immediately 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; Theodor 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". 4 a 4 S 4 & 4 © «79 «
