Videos by Evgeniya (Jenia) Gutova
The use of Arabic dialogue in Korandje and Berber stories, by Lameen Souag and Evgeniya Gutova. T... more The use of Arabic dialogue in Korandje and Berber stories, by Lameen Souag and Evgeniya Gutova. This presentation was given at the workshop on Cross-disciplinary Perspectives on Quoting and Speech Reporting. Université libre de Bruxelles (Brussels, Belgium). Octobre 5-7, 2022. https://qsr.ulb.be/ 6 views
Drafts by Evgeniya (Jenia) Gutova
Across a wide band of northwestern Africa stretching at least from the Mediterranean coast of Mor... more Across a wide band of northwestern Africa stretching at least from the Mediterranean coast of Morocco to the oases of western Algeria, folk tales in non-Arabic languages (Berber, Korandje) tend to feature formulaic phrases in Arabic. This is particularly widespread for opening and closing formulae. In many cases, however, these are put into the mouth of particular characters within the story, typically taking the form of short “catchphrase” songs, or proverbs encapsulating the moral of the story. Skilled storytelling thus naturally involves code-switching at strategic moments. This usage has previously been described for Tarifiyt (Berber). In this presentation, it will be documented for Korandje (Northern Songhay, Algeria) and Senhaja (Berber, Morocco). Such a practice raises a number of questions. In terms of form, the language used in these phrases sometimes diverges strikingly from attested contemporary spoken Arabic; to what extent are these phrases grammatically analysable? Direct evidence on this point is scarce, but parallel attestations of switched vs. translated versions sometimes provide clues, as does the occasional embedding of matrix language islands within Arabic formulaic phrases. In terms of meaning, how does this practice affect the interpretation of the story? A priori, one might expect putting Arabic phrases in a character’s mouth to mark him/her as bilingual, but there is reason to suppose that bilingualism is itself an unmarked characteristic to be assumed by default for all characters. This seems to reflect wider social practice; characters switch to Arabic for songs and proverbs (not to mention greetings) because, in everyday life, speakers typically do the same. The use of other languages in reported speech mirrors the division of sociolinguistic functions in speech more generally.
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Videos by Evgeniya (Jenia) Gutova
Drafts by Evgeniya (Jenia) Gutova