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Abstract
This article explores the innovative language strategies employed by Senegalese writer Ken Bugul in her novel Aller et retour to construct a dynamic and interconnected linguistic landscape that challenges fixed language boundaries. Ken Bugul's "langue fabriquée" combines elements of French, Wolof, and English, reflecting a transglocal dimension that embodies the essence of afrophonics—a poetics of resistance that empowers local cultures in a globalized context. Through a detailed analysis of Ken Bugul's linguistic choices, including the use of quotation marks, footnotes, and arbitrary transcription, the study reveals how she creates a language that defies categorization and decolonizes French without resorting to conventional diglossia or creolization. Drawing on Edouard Glissant's errant aesthetics, Ken Bugul's fluid and rhythmic writing mirrors the interconnectedness of cultures and languages, emphasizing the rhizomatic roots of identity. By crafting a new language that transcends national and historical boundaries, Bugul's "langue fabriquée" serves as a powerful form of resistance, challenging dominant narratives and offering new possibilities for the future of global literature.
Bio Note
dr. Hapsatou Wane is an assistant professor in the Department of English.
Recommended Citation
Wane, Hapsatou
(2023)
"Decolonizing French: Afrophonics in Ken Bugul’s Aller et retour (2013),"
The Coastal Review: An Online Peer-reviewed Journal: Vol. 13:
Iss.
1, Article 5.
DOI: 10.20429/cr.2023.130105
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/thecoastalreview/vol13/iss1/5
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