Language masters: defying linguistic materialism

• Autores: Florian Coulmas
• Localización: International journal of the sociology of language, ISSN 0165-2516, Nº. 137, 1999, págs. 27-38
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This paper deals with acclaimed literati who have written their works in a language other than their first and are esteemed äs first-rate stylists. The literary contributions of these writers raise some questions about t he twin notions of national language and national literature. The former is often thought of being the suitable and, indeed, only possible medium for expressing the latter. The very concept of a national literature suggests that nonnationals should not be able to contribute to that literature. The national language is likewise conceived äs the prerogative of the nationals. In the guise ofthe "mother tongue" it is seen äs a patrimony rather than a matter ofchoice. The writers discussed in this paper have all consciously chosen the language of their literary expression, some ofthem more than one. This is at variance with the notions that the native Speaker of a language has a privileged competence in it and that in order to produce great literature one has to be a na