SILENCING DIFFERENCES IN THAMMAVONGSA’S HOW TO PRONOUNCE KNIFE

Sanja  Ignjatović; Jovana  Jovac

doi:10.21618/fil2633438i

Auteurs

Sanja Ignjatović University of Niš, Faculty of Philosophy Department of English Language and Literature
Jovana Jovac University of Niš Faculty of Philosophy Department of English Language and Literature

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.21618/fil2633438i

Mots-clés :

assimilation, foreignness, immigrant literature, integration multiculturalism, Souvakham Thammavongsa

Résumé

This paper specifically deals with the process of integration in multicultural Canada and its focus on language as a marker of foreignness, as represented in Souvakham Thammavongsa’s short story collection How to Pronounce Knife. The premise is that language, as a system encapsulating markers of culture, presents both a barrier and a bridge in the experience of immigrants in the process of their assimilation into the receiving community and culture. Therefore, the voice of integrating immigrants becomes simultaneously a means of asserting the target identity, and the underlier for marginalization. The introductory chapters discuss multiculturalism as the official policy of Canada, as well as the practical implications of multiculturalism as historically emphasizing difference, especially in terms of language. The section that follows provides the analyses of a selection of Thammavongsa’s short stories, illustrating the mechanisms behind the effort to erase markers of difference, including the linguistic ones. The concluding remarks summarize the discussion on multiculturalism simultaneously working to efface and emphasize difference.

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