Language as a Personal Culture Indicator in Recent Asian American Novelists
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Recently, the importance of Asian American writings has increased in the United States – due to their growing numbers, increasing recognition and important issues they deal with. What distinguishes them from other ethnic minority groups is the lack of cultural connection of Asian cultures with the culture of the United States – the history of Asia and the United States’ relationship is shorter and less diverse than that with Europe, South America and Asia, and the difference between their cultures is greater than in the case of Australia. This gap creates an interesting situation for Asian Americans, who need to negotiate their double cultural identity for themselves. Those are conditions the writers of this group are rooted in. This paper is going to explore a selection of recently published Asian American novels written by women, America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo, The Wangs vs the World by Jade Chang and The Girl from Foreign by Sadia Shepard, where culture and language choices meet. The authorial background, as well as the particular cultural contexts within the texts, will be considered, and possible patterns for linguistic and cultural negotiation will be drawn from the analysis. Also, the history of Asian and American languages as cultural signifiers within Asian American women’s prose will be briefly introduced. |
| Related projects: |