La Langue Française in a Postmonolingual World: Two Francophone Novels against the Backdrop of the Monolingual Paradigm

Abstract

Today’s globalization and increased travel has led to a rise in multilingualism. For literary studies, this has led to an increase in multilingual writers and multilingual texts. This is an interesting phenomenon considering the wide-spread and previously long adherence to the monolingual paradigm. This thesis examines two novels by bilingual authors, namely "La disparition de la langue française" by Assia Djebar, and "Le testament français" by Andreï Makine. I reflect upon how they either challenge or confirm the monolingual paradigm. I do this primarily through a thematic analysis of both novels, which I augment with the writer's own reflections upon bilingual writing and critics' responses to the texts.