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Inscribing Difference: Code-Switching and the Metonymic Gap in Post-Colonial Literatures

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Katalin Egri Ku-Mesu explores how code-switching in post-colonial texts creates a “metonymic gap” between languages, emphasizing cultural differences

Image courtesy of interviewee. October 2, 2024

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This video discusses the concept of code-switching and the "ton gap" in post-colonial literature, particularly focusing on African literature written in European languages, especially English. The author aims to highlight the significance of such literature, which emerged post-colonialism, as part of the independence movement in Africa.

Key points addressed in the text include:

1. **Translingual Literature**: This video defines translingual literature as writings by authors of one linguistic and cultural background in the language of another. This video literature is rich in its representation of cultural hybridity and translingual practices.

2. **Cultural Distinctiveness**: The discussion references the notion of indigenization, where African writers adapt European languages, such as English, to express their cultural narratives and identities, often leading to a blend of linguistic features reflective of their mother tongues and local dialects.

3. **Ton Gap**: This video concept refers to the cultural gap that arises when untranslated or unexplained words or phrases from the author's original language are included in the text. Such expressions may be unfamiliar to non-native readers, reinforcing the cultural distance between the author and the colonial audience.

4. **Reader Experience**: This video explores how different readers—particularly Ghanaian and non-Ghanaian African readers—experience and interpret African literature. It emphasizes that readers who share cultural background with the writer may understand the work more comprehensively compared to those who do not.

5. **Research Gap**: It identifies a diminishing scholarly focus on African translingual literature and suggests the need for greater awareness and study of this rich linguistic landscape.

6. **Complex Interactions**: The research aims to reveal the complex relationships between literary texts and their readers, highlighting that the understanding of untranslated words and phrases varies greatly based on cultural experience and linguistic knowledge.

In conclusion, the text emphasizes the necessity of recognizing and analyzing the intricacies of translingual literature and the different cultural experiences of readers, advocating for broader study and appreciation of African literature within the context of post-colonial discourse.

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Here are five key points extracted from the video on code-switching and the ton gap in post-colonial literatures:

1. **Focus on African Literature in European Languages**: The author emphasizes the importance of African literature written in European languages, particularly English. This literature is described as translingual, being produced by authors with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds using a language of a different culture.

2. **Decline in Scholarly and Publishing Interest**: There has been a decline in both the publication of African literary works in series like Heinemann African Writer Series post early 2000s and scholarly attention towards this literature, particularly as it pertains to translingualism and its unique linguistic characteristics.

3. **Cultural Distinctiveness through Code-Switching**: The video discusses how African writers use code-switching between languages to express cultural distinctiveness and represent their realities. Ashcroft and others suggest that such linguistic choices inscribe cultural differences and create a tonal gap for readers unfamiliar with the authors' backgrounds.

4. **Reader Interpretation and Cultural Distance**: The video highlights the challenges faced by Western readers who encounter untranslated local words and phrases in African literature. This results in a cultural distance, where readers may not easily comprehend these elements due to a lack of familiarity with the authors' cultural convideos.

5. **Multilayered Ton Gap**: The "ton gap" is introduced as a multifaceted concept, suggesting that the distance between the writer's culture and that of the reader is not binary (colonizer versus colonized) but rather stratified, influenced by cultural and linguistic familiarity among different reader groups, including Ghanaian and non-Ghanaian African audiences.

These points encapsulate the central themes of the lecture on the complexities of language use in African literature and the varied reader experiences shaped by cultural knowledge and linguistic backgrounds.

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Here are some key quotes extracted from the video that discuss the key concepts related to code-switching, translingualism, and cultural interaction in post-colonial literature:

1. **On the Purpose of the Chapter:**
- "The motivation behind the chapter was... to bring back into the center of attention African literature written in European languages."

2. **Translingual Nature of African Literature:**
- "African literature written in European languages... is translingual by definition, as it is written by authors of a particular linguistic and cultural background in the language of a different culture."

3. **Cultural Remnants in Literature:**
- "These videos are pales in which we can still perceive the imperfectly erased remnants of the author's mother tongues and other local languages they are conversant with."

4. **Decline of African Literature Editions:**
- "By the early two thousands, however, we can see a decline... in 2003, Heinemann announced that there would be no new additions to the Africa Writer Series."

5. **Research Gaps:**
- "Research into trans-lingualism and literature largely ignores African literature despite its richness in linguistic material."

6. **Indigenization of Language:**
- "The process of molding the European language... to express African Indian, Caribbean, or other culturally and linguistically non-Anglo Saxon visions is identified by cultural as nativization and by zabi as indigenization of the European language."

7. **Cultural Ton Gap:**
- "Language variance in the English video creates a ton gap... which is a cultural gap that is formed when untranslated unexplained or unlost words... are inserted into appropriations of the colonial language."

8. **Reader's Experience:**
- "I found that Western readers who have no prior experience in or with Africa are not able to understand untranslated or onlo African language words in these videos."

9. **Importance of Cultural Knowledge in Interpretation:**
- "Full appreciation of the writer's meanings is shown only by those readers who share both the writer's cultural and linguistic experience."

10. **Complexity of Cultural Knowledge Among Readers:**
- "The picture clearly shows that the ton gap is not a simple bipolar concept between colonizer and colonized culture... but it is a multilayered entity."

These quotes summarize the key themes surrounding the interaction between language, culture, and literature within the convideo of post-colonial African writing. They highlight the complexities faced by both writers and readers navigating these dynamics.

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Here are some articles and videos that are similar to the content , focusing on themes of code-switching, translingualism, post-colonial literature, cultural interactions, and representations of African literature in English:

1. **"Translingualism and the Politics of Language"** - This article explores how multiple languages coexist and influence each other within post-colonial literature, highlighting the complexities of identity and cultural expression through language.

2. **"The Language of the Colonized: Analyzing Code-Switching in Postcolonial Texts"** - This piece discusses how authors from formerly colonized countries employ code-switching as a literary device to reflect their cultural realities and negotiate their identities in colonial languages.

3. **"Challenging the Canon: African Literature in English and the Legacy of Colonialism"** - An analysis of how African writers use English to create a unique voice, challenging Western literary canons while maintaining cultural authenticity.

4. **"Cultural Translation in Postcolonial African Literature"** - This article investigates the concept of cultural translation and the role of untranslated terms in conveying cultural nuances that are often overlooked by Western readers.

5. **"Language and Identity in African Literature: The Case of Ngugi wa Thiong'o"** - A study focused on Ngugi wa Thiong'o's writings and his advocacy for writing in indigenous languages, emphasizing the connection between language, identity, and politics in post-colonial Africa.

6. **"Exploring the Ton Gap: Re-examining Cultural Proximity in Postcolonial Narratives"** - This research addresses the 'ton gap' in literature, emphasizing how shared cultural experiences can mitigate misunderstandings and elevate the interpretative frameworks of diverse readerships.

7. **"Code-Switching in Multilingual Literature: The Mechanics of Identity"** - This article explores the theories behind code-switching in literature and its significance in affirming cultural identity and resistance against dominant narratives.

8. **"Postcolonial Perspectives on Language, Power, and Identity"** - An examination of how language is used as a tool of both oppression and resistance, informing the identities of post-colonial writers and their audiences.

9. **"Narrative Strategies in Multilingual Convideos: The Use of Local Languages in African English Literature"** - This research analyzes various narrative strategies employed by African authors who integrate local languages into their English videos to enhance cultural representation.

10. **"The Power of Untranslated Terms in African Literature"** - This video discusses the significance of maintaining untranslated phrases in African literary works, arguing that they serve as markers of cultural identity and political resistance.

These articles should provide relevant insights and discussions surrounding the themes in your original video.

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

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Describing difference code switching

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and the, ton gap in post-colonial literatures

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appeared in the volume, entitled, narratives,

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crossing borders, the dynamics of cultural interaction,

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which was edited by Herbert Jansen Loberg, patina Ed

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and Bo Janssen.

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And the volume was, published,

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by Stockholm University.

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And the motivation behind the chapter was, for me was

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to bring back into the center

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of attention African literature written in

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European languages, in my case, specifically in English,

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which is translingual by definition, as it is written

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by authors of a particular linguistic

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and cultural background in the language

00:49.175 --> 00:50.175
of a different culture.

00:52.055 --> 00:56.715
Um, in her book entitled African Palest, Zais suggests

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that these texts are pales in which we can still perceive

01:01.375 --> 01:03.155
the imperfectly erased remnants

01:03.155 --> 01:04.755
of the author's mother tongues

01:05.175 --> 01:08.075
and other local languages they are conversant with.

01:10.055 --> 01:13.915
Um, the bulk of this literature emerged around and

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after the end of the colonial era

01:16.575 --> 01:17.795
and form part

01:17.795 --> 01:21.715
of the independence movement in Africa at the time.

01:22.255 --> 01:25.635
It received a lot of attention, not only from the readers,

01:26.015 --> 01:28.395
but also from critics and researchers.

01:28.905 --> 01:30.515
Between 1962

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and 2003,

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358 books were published in the Heinemann African Writer

01:37.375 --> 01:40.915
series, and Longman also published the Longman African

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Classics and another series,

01:43.455 --> 01:45.275
the Longman African Writer Series.

01:46.985 --> 01:50.445
By the early two thousands, however, we can see a decline.

01:51.025 --> 01:53.565
In 2003, Heinemann announced

01:53.635 --> 01:56.165
that there would be no new additions

01:56.305 --> 01:57.845
to the Africa Writer Series,

01:58.625 --> 02:01.685
and in 2008, only 60,

02:01.695 --> 02:05.605
64 titles remained in print,

02:06.765 --> 02:09.255
despite periodic revivals, which tend

02:09.255 --> 02:12.575
to accompany the publication of critically acclaimed works

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by African authors, mostly from the diaspora.

02:16.925 --> 02:19.895
Scholarly interest in this literature also seems

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to have dwindled, and it appears to me that,

02:24.295 --> 02:26.055
research into trans-lingualism

02:26.055 --> 02:30.215
and literature largely ignores African literature despite

02:30.275 --> 02:32.455
its richness in linguistic material.

02:33.635 --> 02:37.375
Um, for example, in the Ledge Handbook

02:37.375 --> 02:41.735
of literary Trans-Lingualism, out of 29 chapters,

02:42.065 --> 02:43.495
there is only one

02:43.685 --> 02:46.455
that discusses literary trans-lingualism in Africa.

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I think that there is a need to raise awareness

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that there is a large body of African literature,

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which is hybrid or if you like, translingual in nature,

02:56.675 --> 02:58.775
and that there is a large body of

02:58.805 --> 03:02.085
Rich scholarship on this particular literature

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that addresses many of the issues

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that researchers on literary,

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literary trans-lingualism grapple with.

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When a writer, an African writer

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or a writer in a similar social linguistic context in other

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parts of the world decides to employ a historically alien

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language for literary recreation, they are bound

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to be confronted by a conflict inherent in such a choice.

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The consequence for the written literary code is the African

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writer's attempt to mold the foreign language so

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that it can convey their cultural and linguistic experience.

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The process of molding the European language,

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in our case English to express African Indian, Caribbean,

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or other culturally and linguistically non-Anglo sex

03:56.075 --> 03:59.555
and vision is identified by cultural as nativ

04:00.775 --> 04:04.955
and by zabi as indigenization of the European language.

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O points out that this is a process of linguistic

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and social linguistic change

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through which an external language becomes part

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of the culture of the community that uses it

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as an additional language.

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While it still retains many features of the language

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as it is used by its native speakers.

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In Ghana, for example, in the spoken language,

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there is a language continuum,

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from the unmixed Ghanaian languages at one end,

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and the unmixed English at the other end.

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Both are used in highly inform of highly formal situations.

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For example, unmixed Asante Twi is used by the Asante Hena,

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in his address to the nation or to the state,

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and unmixed English is used for example, in board meetings,

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and there are mixed varieties in between these two ends.

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In the written language,

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however, a Hulu's research found that indigenization

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is a distinctive feature of the language of literature.

05:19.245 --> 05:21.215
Ization has been used to refer

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to the unconscious collective process of a speech community,

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as well as to the conscious choice of an individual writer.

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Indigenization, on the other hand, is defined by,

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as the writer attempt at contextualizing linguistic

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differentiation and conveying African concepts both patterns

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and linguistic features through the ex colonizers language.

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Understanding the processes at work helps

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to navigate the two interpretive context

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that such literary texts have.

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On the one hand, the surface meaning of the second language,

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in our case English,

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and on the other hand, the underlying meaning of the first

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or dominant language of the author

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interpretation is bound to be influenced

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by this underlying meaning, which so calls the source

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language in filigree.

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In addition, MYOS cotton's matrix

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language frame model is useful, is a useful framework,

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to, study such literature,

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because it differentiates between the matrix language,

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which is the main language in, is in code switching

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and the embedded language, which is the other language

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that participates in code switching,

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but with a lesser role

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applying myo cotton's matrix language model loosely

06:54.725 --> 06:57.065
can consider English the dominant

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language in which these hybrid literary books are written

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as the matrix language, which is the unmarked

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expected language choice for this type of text.

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Embedded code switch language on the other hand,

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is the author's marked choice

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and it aims to install cultural distinctiveness in their

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book, the Empire writes back, Ashcroft Griffiths

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and Tiffin identify code switching between two

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or more codes in post-colonial literary texts

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as the most common method of inscribing Alterity

07:35.485 --> 07:37.245
Ashcroft further develops the idea

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of installing cultural distinctiveness in the text

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and posits that together with a wide range

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of other linguistic devices, for example, neologisms

07:47.585 --> 07:49.685
or ethno rhythmic pros

07:50.305 --> 07:54.735
and so on, the use of code switching has a ton

07:55.295 --> 07:59.425
function to describe cultural difference according to him.

07:59.985 --> 08:04.185
Language variance in the English text creates a ton gap,

08:04.715 --> 08:06.785
which is a cultural ga gap

08:06.935 --> 08:10.665
that is formed when untranslated unexplained

08:10.685 --> 08:13.225
or unlost words, phrases,

08:13.245 --> 08:17.345
or passages from a first language which may be unknown

08:17.445 --> 08:22.125
to the readers, are inserted into what he calls

08:23.165 --> 08:25.245
appropriations of the colonial language.

08:26.535 --> 08:29.505
Such words become syn of the writer's culture.

08:29.815 --> 08:34.425
That is the, they are the part that stands for the whole.

08:35.455 --> 08:37.675
So the inserted language stands

08:37.735 --> 08:40.595
for the colonized culture in a me way,

08:42.245 --> 08:43.815
according to Ashcroft.

08:44.125 --> 08:46.135
Such African language, words

08:46.675 --> 08:49.255
or phrases resist interpretation

08:49.795 --> 08:52.815
and construct a gap between the writer culture

08:53.435 --> 08:54.735
and the colonial culture.

08:55.965 --> 08:58.895
Through inserting untranslated words in the text,

08:59.305 --> 09:02.815
local writers are able to represent their world

09:02.915 --> 09:07.175
to the colonizers and others in the metropolitan language,

09:07.835 --> 09:10.575
and at the same time, they're able to signal

09:10.755 --> 09:12.535
and emphasize the difference from it.

09:12.815 --> 09:13.975
I use novels

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and short stories written by Ghanaian writers in English,

09:17.515 --> 09:20.615
and I found that Western readers

09:21.275 --> 09:23.495
who have no prior experience in

09:23.555 --> 09:27.815
or with Africa are not able to understand untranslated

09:27.915 --> 09:30.375
or onlo African language words in these text,

09:31.615 --> 09:35.835
or they are uncertain about being able to infer the meaning

09:35.895 --> 09:37.395
of these words from the context.

09:38.855 --> 09:41.715
Um, this confirms the cultural distance

09:41.715 --> 09:43.155
between them and the writer.

09:43.865 --> 09:46.715
They live in a different world with different experience,

09:46.715 --> 09:49.235
different traditions, habits, different understanding

09:49.455 --> 09:54.065
and expectations, so they confirm the existence

09:54.085 --> 09:56.425
of ashcroft's mey gap.

09:58.185 --> 10:02.955
However, my research has also found that while the concept

10:03.175 --> 10:06.875
of the metonymy gap is plausible, the suggestion

10:06.945 --> 10:10.755
that the inserted unexplained African language word,

10:11.105 --> 10:15.555
resists temptation, seems to have less valid validity.

10:16.425 --> 10:19.645
On the one hand, such a point of view takes account only

10:19.665 --> 10:22.365
of a readership, which excludes those

10:22.385 --> 10:25.485
who share the author's cultural and linguistic background,

10:26.225 --> 10:29.765
and passively agrees that modern English language,

10:29.765 --> 10:32.365
African literature, is indeed written for

10:32.425 --> 10:35.685
and read mostly by a non-African audience.

10:37.065 --> 10:41.185
On the other hand, although Western readers may find such

10:41.185 --> 10:42.545
words unintelligible

10:42.725 --> 10:47.065
and incomprehensible, they very fact that they

10:47.585 --> 10:50.505
recognize them as syn of the writer's culture

10:51.085 --> 10:53.545
and the signals of an intricate linguistic

10:53.645 --> 10:57.905
and cultural reality proves that they are able

10:57.965 --> 11:00.305
to build a text word around these words

11:00.325 --> 11:03.545
and phrases in which they make some kind of sense,

11:04.105 --> 11:06.305
although not necessarily literal sense

11:09.115 --> 11:10.885
with regard to the Ghanaian

11:11.025 --> 11:13.365
and non Ghanaian Africa readership,

11:13.865 --> 11:16.365
my research has also revealed a complexity

11:16.995 --> 11:20.525
that Ashcroft's original concept does not account for.

11:21.685 --> 11:25.165
I have found that that exists a multi-tier distribution

11:25.165 --> 11:29.375
of Ghanaian readers at the Raeth ethnic national level.

11:29.925 --> 11:31.335
They all share cultural

11:31.435 --> 11:34.455
and linguistic experience with the writer and each other.

11:36.065 --> 11:38.635
This is the level which embraces them all

11:39.175 --> 11:41.195
and situate them on one side

11:41.195 --> 11:43.755
of the ton gap, the writer's side.

11:44.955 --> 11:46.375
At the level of ethnic groups,

11:46.375 --> 11:50.175
however, subdivisions occur according to cultural

11:50.315 --> 11:54.335
and linguistic proximity to the writer, there are readers

11:54.435 --> 11:57.295
who are both culturally and linguistically distant.

11:58.045 --> 11:59.175
They share experience

11:59.175 --> 12:02.295
with the writer only at the NIC national level.

12:03.355 --> 12:05.805
Readers who know the writer's language

12:06.305 --> 12:07.805
but are not fully conversant

12:08.345 --> 12:12.285
or not f familiar at all with this, his culture

12:13.225 --> 12:15.605
are able to share in the writer's experience

12:15.665 --> 12:17.205
to the extent their linguistic

12:17.385 --> 12:19.685
and encyclopedic knowledge allows.

12:21.685 --> 12:24.335
This highlights the overriding importance

12:24.335 --> 12:26.495
of cultural knowledge in communication

12:26.495 --> 12:27.935
between different ethnic groups,

12:28.405 --> 12:30.855
even within the same national boundaries.

12:31.805 --> 12:36.215
Full appreciation of the writer's meanings is shown only

12:36.315 --> 12:39.175
by those readers who share both the writer's cultural

12:39.675 --> 12:41.655
and linguistic experience.

12:44.165 --> 12:48.145
Uh, when it comes to the non Ghanaian African readers,

12:48.845 --> 12:50.345
it is reasonable to expect

12:50.345 --> 12:53.825
that they would exhibit some affinity, perhaps not

12:53.825 --> 12:56.105
with the Ghanaian writers linguistic experience,

12:56.765 --> 12:57.985
but at least with his

12:58.005 --> 13:01.265
or her cultural experience due to similarities

13:01.285 --> 13:02.945
of their physical environments

13:03.085 --> 13:05.145
and overlaps between their cultures.

13:06.305 --> 13:08.365
My research provides evidence that

13:08.625 --> 13:12.005
for the non Ghanaian Africa readers, the lack

13:12.005 --> 13:15.965
of linguistic knowledge may well be a barrier to activating

13:16.065 --> 13:18.125
and accessing cultural knowledge.

13:20.235 --> 13:24.055
Non Ghanaian African readers rely not so much on the context

13:24.635 --> 13:27.975
as on their existing cultural knowledge when they are

13:27.975 --> 13:30.455
working out the meaning of untranslated

13:30.755 --> 13:32.735
and Anglos words in the texts,

13:33.885 --> 13:38.535
they rely on their schema in their encyclopedic memory about

13:38.605 --> 13:41.535
such concepts as deities,

13:41.755 --> 13:43.695
or for example, vehicles used

13:43.715 --> 13:45.655
for transporting people and their crew.

13:46.565 --> 13:48.905
And they fill in these schema

13:49.135 --> 13:53.945
with their assumptions based on their own, knowledge

13:53.965 --> 13:55.065
of their own culture

13:56.125 --> 13:59.345
and on their knowledge of other African cultures.

14:00.935 --> 14:04.755
The fact that non Ghanaian African readers are able

14:04.775 --> 14:06.995
to provide either good approximations

14:06.995 --> 14:08.435
of the intended meaning,

14:09.255 --> 14:11.475
or they indeed provide the intended meaning

14:11.535 --> 14:13.195
of the translate untranslated

14:13.255 --> 14:18.165
and ongo words in the text is evidence that they,

14:18.465 --> 14:22.085
their cognitive environment contains assumptions about

14:22.105 --> 14:25.285
the writer's physical and social reality.

14:26.195 --> 14:28.965
That is they share cultural knowledge with the writer

14:29.665 --> 14:31.925
and they are capable of making the same

14:31.925 --> 14:33.285
assumptions as the writer.

14:35.395 --> 14:38.975
Um, the fact that this cultural knowledge is accessed

14:38.995 --> 14:42.575
by the non Ghanaian Africa readers who in my study

14:43.535 --> 14:44.975
represented a wide ethnic

14:44.975 --> 14:48.175
and regional variety testifies

14:48.275 --> 14:52.205
to such cultural knowledge being super ethnic supernational

14:52.745 --> 14:54.245
and Pan-African in nature.

14:55.465 --> 14:58.675
This cultural knowledge places the non Ghanaian African

14:58.695 --> 15:02.515
reader on the same side of the ton gap As the writer.

15:02.745 --> 15:05.795
Such a picture clearly shows that the

15:06.455 --> 15:11.315
ton gap is not a simple bipolar concept between colonizer

15:11.935 --> 15:14.955
and colonized culture, as Ashcroft would have it,

15:15.675 --> 15:17.735
but it is a multilayered entity

15:17.965 --> 15:20.215
that the reader's position in relation

15:20.215 --> 15:23.775
to the ton gap is indicative of their ability

15:23.835 --> 15:25.735
to interpret the untranslated

15:25.795 --> 15:29.065
and unexplained words,

15:29.295 --> 15:32.185
leaving these words without any authorial

15:32.185 --> 15:33.505
assistance to the reader.

15:34.365 --> 15:36.305
The writer signals that he

15:36.325 --> 15:39.705
or she concedes the importance of mean ability

15:40.045 --> 15:41.345
as Ashcroft puts it

15:42.125 --> 15:45.665
and opts for the inscription of difference distance

15:45.765 --> 15:47.665
and the absence of the writer

15:47.805 --> 15:51.345
and metropolitan reader from each other as a result

15:51.345 --> 15:53.825
of them being located in different cultures.

15:55.455 --> 15:57.355
The reader's position in relation

15:57.355 --> 16:00.315
to the ton gap is indicative of their ability

16:00.615 --> 16:02.355
to interpret these untranslated

16:02.415 --> 16:05.345
and unexplained words for the majority

16:05.525 --> 16:07.825
of the Western readers in my study,

16:08.435 --> 16:11.905
these words do remain symbols of the writer's difference

16:11.905 --> 16:14.385
of experience, while the Ghanaian

16:14.405 --> 16:16.865
and other African readers can ex,

16:17.085 --> 16:19.265
access their culture band meaning fully

16:19.925 --> 16:22.945
or to varying degrees depending on the similarity

16:22.945 --> 16:25.465
of their cultural experience to the writers.

16:26.745 --> 16:29.315
Whether the reader understands these words

16:29.375 --> 16:32.595
or not is not crucial for understanding the story.

16:33.535 --> 16:36.875
If it were, there would probably be an authorial strategy

16:36.875 --> 16:39.195
present in the text to assist the reader.

16:41.025 --> 16:44.245
As I pointed out earlier, such words become syn Select Doc

16:44.345 --> 16:47.805
for the writers culture, their function is to signal

16:48.325 --> 16:51.405
cultural difference and to contribute to the creation

16:51.425 --> 16:53.405
of the africanness of the text.

16:55.475 --> 16:58.175
And my research so far has focused on

16:58.175 --> 17:01.575
what the autonomy gap is, how it is created in hybrid

17:01.755 --> 17:04.695
or if you like, lingual anglophone literary text

17:05.515 --> 17:08.375
and how it impacts different groups of readers.

17:09.235 --> 17:11.535
And I concentrated on one side

17:11.535 --> 17:14.335
of the Maton gap, the writer side.

17:15.435 --> 17:19.135
The logical ne next step for me, would be

17:19.275 --> 17:20.935
to examine the other side

17:20.935 --> 17:25.495
of the maton gap on which the Western metropolitan reader is

17:25.495 --> 17:29.735
located and find out whether it shows similar complexity

17:30.075 --> 17:31.135
and stratification.

17:32.195 --> 17:34.285
Another di direction is

17:34.305 --> 17:37.205
to apply the analytical frameworks I used

17:37.305 --> 17:40.725
to other translingual literature to test if there are

17:41.565 --> 17:43.765
suitable for analyzing any hybrid

17:43.985 --> 17:47.605
or translingual literary text, irrespective of where

17:47.985 --> 17:49.085
or when they were created.

"Navigating the Ton Gap: Exploring Code Switching and Translingualism in Post-Colonial African Literature"

00:00:00 - Describing difference code switching and the, ton gap in post-colonial literatures appeared in the volume, entitled, narratives, crossing borders, the dynamics of cultural interaction, which was edited by Herbert Jansen Loberg, patina Ed and Bo Janssen. And the volume was, published, by Stockholm University. And the motivation behind the chapter was, for me was to bring back into the center of attention African literature written in European languages, in my case, specifically in English, which is translingual by definition, as it is written
00:00:46 - and cultural background in the language of a different culture. in her book entitled African Palest, Zais suggests that these texts are pales in which we can still perceive the imperfectly erased remnants of the author's mother tongues and other local languages they are conversant with. the bulk of this literature emerged around and after the end of the colonial era and form part of the independence movement in Africa at the time. It received a lot of attention, not only from the readers,
00:01:28 - Between 1962 and 2003, 358 books were published in the Heinemann African Writer series, and Longman also published the Longman African Classics and another series, the Longman African Writer Series. By the early two thousands, however, we can see a decline. In 2003, Heinemann announced that there would be no new additions to the Africa Writer Series, and in 2008, only 60, 64 titles remained in print,
00:02:09 - to accompany the publication of critically acclaimed works by African authors, mostly from the diaspora. Scholarly interest in this literature also seems to have dwindled, and it appears to me that, research into trans-lingualism and literature largely ignores African literature despite its richness in linguistic material. for example, in the Ledge Handbook of literary Trans-Lingualism, out of 29 chapters, there is only one that discusses literary trans-lingualism in Africa.
00:02:49 - that there is a large body of African literature, which is hybrid or if you like, translingual in nature, and that there is a large body of Rich scholarship on this particular literature that addresses many of the issues that researchers on literary, literary trans-lingualism grapple with. When a writer, an African writer or a writer in a similar social linguistic context in other parts of the world decides to employ a historically alien language for literary recreation, they are bound to be confronted by a conflict inherent in such a choice.
00:03:34 - writer's attempt to mold the foreign language so that it can convey their cultural and linguistic experience. The process of molding the European language, in our case English to express African Indian, Caribbean, or other culturally and linguistically non-Anglo sex and vision is identified by cultural as nativ and by zabi as indigenization of the European language. O points out that this is a process of linguistic

"Language Continuum and Cultural Indigenization: Exploring the Dynamics of Code-Switching in Ghanaian Literature"

00:04:13 - through which an external language becomes part of the culture of the community that uses it as an additional language. While it still retains many features of the language as it is used by its native speakers. In Ghana, for example, in the spoken language, there is a language continuum, from the unmixed Ghanaian languages at one end, and the unmixed English at the other end. Both are used in highly inform of highly formal situations. For example, unmixed Asante Twi is used by the Asante Hena,
00:04:57 - and unmixed English is used for example, in board meetings, and there are mixed varieties in between these two ends. In the written language, however, a Hulu's research found that indigenization is a distinctive feature of the language of literature. Ization has been used to refer to the unconscious collective process of a speech community, as well as to the conscious choice of an individual writer. Indigenization, on the other hand, is defined by,
00:05:37 - differentiation and conveying African concepts both patterns and linguistic features through the ex colonizers language. Understanding the processes at work helps to navigate the two interpretive context that such literary texts have. On the one hand, the surface meaning of the second language, in our case English, and on the other hand, the underlying meaning of the first or dominant language of the author interpretation is bound to be influenced by this underlying meaning, which so calls the source
00:06:20 - In addition, MYOS cotton's matrix language frame model is useful, is a useful framework, to, study such literature, because it differentiates between the matrix language, which is the main language in, is in code switching and the embedded language, which is the other language that participates in code switching, but with a lesser role applying myo cotton's matrix language model loosely can consider English the dominant
00:07:01 - as the matrix language, which is the unmarked expected language choice for this type of text. Embedded code switch language on the other hand, is the author's marked choice and it aims to install cultural distinctiveness in their book, the Empire writes back, Ashcroft Griffiths and Tiffin identify code switching between two or more codes in post-colonial literary texts as the most common method of inscribing Alterity Ashcroft further develops the idea of installing cultural distinctiveness in the text
00:07:43 - of other linguistic devices, for example, neologisms or ethno rhythmic pros and so on, the use of code switching has a ton function to describe cultural difference according to him. Language variance in the English text creates a ton gap, which is a cultural ga gap that is formed when untranslated unexplained or unlost words, phrases, or passages from a first language which may be unknown to the readers, are inserted into what he calls

"Bridging the Ton Gap: The Role of Untranslated Language in Post-Colonial African Literature"

00:08:26 - Such words become syn of the writer's culture. That is the, they are the part that stands for the whole. So the inserted language stands for the colonized culture in a me way, according to Ashcroft. Such African language, words or phrases resist interpretation and construct a gap between the writer culture and the colonial culture. Through inserting untranslated words in the text, local writers are able to represent their world to the colonizers and others in the metropolitan language,
00:09:10 - and emphasize the difference from it. I use novels and short stories written by Ghanaian writers in English, and I found that Western readers who have no prior experience in or with Africa are not able to understand untranslated or onlo African language words in these text, or they are uncertain about being able to infer the meaning of these words from the context. this confirms the cultural distance between them and the writer. They live in a different world with different experience, different traditions, habits, different understanding
00:09:54 - of ashcroft's mey gap. However, my research has also found that while the concept of the metonymy gap is plausible, the suggestion that the inserted unexplained African language word, resists temptation, seems to have less valid validity. On the one hand, such a point of view takes account only of a readership, which excludes those who share the author's cultural and linguistic background, and passively agrees that modern English language,
00:10:32 - and read mostly by a non-African audience. On the other hand, although Western readers may find such words unintelligible and incomprehensible, they very fact that they recognize them as syn of the writer's culture and the signals of an intricate linguistic and cultural reality proves that they are able to build a text word around these words and phrases in which they make some kind of sense, although not necessarily literal sense with regard to the Ghanaian
00:11:13 - my research has also revealed a complexity that Ashcroft's original concept does not account for. I have found that that exists a multi-tier distribution of Ghanaian readers at the Raeth ethnic national level. They all share cultural and linguistic experience with the writer and each other. This is the level which embraces them all and situate them on one side of the ton gap, the writer's side. At the level of ethnic groups, however, subdivisions occur according to cultural and linguistic proximity to the writer, there are readers
00:11:58 - They share experience with the writer only at the NIC national level. Readers who know the writer's language but are not fully conversant or not f familiar at all with this, his culture are able to share in the writer's experience to the extent their linguistic and encyclopedic knowledge allows. This highlights the overriding importance of cultural knowledge in communication between different ethnic groups, even within the same national boundaries. Full appreciation of the writer's meanings is shown only

"Navigating the Cultural Divide: Understanding the Ton Gap in Post-Colonial Literature"

00:12:39 - and linguistic experience. when it comes to the non Ghanaian African readers, it is reasonable to expect that they would exhibit some affinity, perhaps not with the Ghanaian writers linguistic experience, but at least with his or her cultural experience due to similarities of their physical environments and overlaps between their cultures. My research provides evidence that for the non Ghanaian Africa readers, the lack of linguistic knowledge may well be a barrier to activating and accessing cultural knowledge.
00:13:24 - as on their existing cultural knowledge when they are working out the meaning of untranslated and Anglos words in the texts, they rely on their schema in their encyclopedic memory about such concepts as deities, or for example, vehicles used for transporting people and their crew. And they fill in these schema with their assumptions based on their own, knowledge of their own culture and on their knowledge of other African cultures.
00:14:04 - to provide either good approximations of the intended meaning, or they indeed provide the intended meaning of the translate untranslated and ongo words in the text is evidence that they, their cognitive environment contains assumptions about the writer's physical and social reality. That is they share cultural knowledge with the writer and they are capable of making the same assumptions as the writer. the fact that this cultural knowledge is accessed by the non Ghanaian Africa readers who in my study
00:14:44 - and regional variety testifies to such cultural knowledge being super ethnic supernational and Pan-African in nature. This cultural knowledge places the non Ghanaian African reader on the same side of the ton gap As the writer. Such a picture clearly shows that the ton gap is not a simple bipolar concept between colonizer and colonized culture, as Ashcroft would have it, but it is a multilayered entity that the reader's position in relation to the ton gap is indicative of their ability
00:15:25 - and unexplained words, leaving these words without any authorial assistance to the reader. The writer signals that he or she concedes the importance of mean ability as Ashcroft puts it and opts for the inscription of difference distance and the absence of the writer and metropolitan reader from each other as a result of them being located in different cultures. The reader's position in relation to the ton gap is indicative of their ability to interpret these untranslated and unexplained words for the majority
00:16:08 - these words do remain symbols of the writer's difference of experience, while the Ghanaian and other African readers can ex, access their culture band meaning fully or to varying degrees depending on the similarity of their cultural experience to the writers. Whether the reader understands these words or not is not crucial for understanding the story. If it were, there would probably be an authorial strategy present in the text to assist the reader. As I pointed out earlier, such words become syn Select Doc for the writers culture, their function is to signal

"Exploring the Maton Gap: Analyzing African Literature and Its Impact on Readers"

00:16:51 - of the africanness of the text. And my research so far has focused on what the autonomy gap is, how it is created in hybrid or if you like, lingual anglophone literary text and how it impacts different groups of readers. And I concentrated on one side of the Maton gap, the writer side. The logical ne next step for me, would be to examine the other side of the maton gap on which the Western metropolitan reader is located and find out whether it shows similar complexity
00:17:47 - Another di direction is to apply the analytical frameworks I used to other translingual literature to test if there are suitable for analyzing any hybrid or translingual literary text, irrespective of where or when they were created.

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