Though Shalt Not Speak My Language
From the Mother Tongue Shapeshifting & Reclaiming collection.
Nominated by Writer, Researcher & Language Scholar Eva Barbarossa |
"Addresses the complexities and effects of translation and the conscious and subconscious ways in which language, mother tongue and translation, require ethics and awareness of impact." |
It has been said that the difference between and language and a dialect is that a language is a dialect with an army. Both the act of translation and bilingualism are steeped in a tension between surrender and conquest, yielding conscious and unconscious effects on language.
Abdelfattah Kilito’s Thou Shall Not Speak My Language explores this tension in his address of the dynamics of literary influence and canon formation within the Arabic literary tradition. As one of the Arab world’s most original and provocative literary critics, Kilito challenges the reader to reexamine contemporary notions of translation, bilingualism, postcoloniality, and the discipline of comparative literature.
Borrow, share, exchange as you wish, and return by the end of the season on February 6th. Pick up at the gallery anytime, and return and swap for a new book of your choosing. To our global friends - online borrowing is possible, just pay for the shipping there and back.
The Mother Tongue Library is a love letter to the thinkers, writers, and artists who’ve given us the language of courage when we needed it most.
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