CODE MIXING IN CONTEMPORARY ARAB-AMERICAN POETRY
Zina Tariq Ahmed
English Department, College of Education for Humanities, Tikrit University
Arwa Hussein Mohammed
English Department, College of Education for Humanities, Tikrit University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25130/Lang.8.6.6
Keywords: code mixing, dialogue, diaspora, heteroglossia, hybrid identity
Abstract
The paper argues that code mixing which is a key concept of sociolinguistics is highly implemented in contemporary Arab-American poetry as a mechanism of representing identity. It focuses on the innovative use of original codes within the dominant one and examining the poetic expressions that produce mixing in the poetry of contemporary poets with dual identities namely, Suhier Hammad, Safia Elhillo, and Ziad Shlah. This qualitative paper uses textual and analytical methods and is based on concepts such as heteroglossia and hybrid identity. It tackles identity through analysis of selected poems in the collections entitled as Breaking Poems (2008), The January Children (2022) and Taqsim (2006). It contends that, despite the diverse backgrounds and poetic styles such as rap, narrative, and metaphor besides, the poets achieve the similar target which is the negotiation of identities in order to accept the difference and integration with other cultures.
References
Abuelhiga, S. J. (2013). “Dislocating culture, relocating identity: Literary formations of the multiplied self in the works of Roberto Bolaño, Ben Okri, and Suheir Hammad”. Towson University Institutional Repository. https://mdsoar.org/handle/11603/1956
Arnaut, K., Blommaert, J., Rampton, B., & Spotti, M. (Eds.). (2015). Language and superdiversity. Routledge.
Alaghbary, G. S. (2019). “Construction of identity in Suheir Hammad’s What I will”. World Journal of English Language, 9(1), https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328773523_Construction_of_Identity_in_Suheir_Hammad%27s_What_I_will
Al-Bijari, Z. (2020). The search for ethnic identity in Suheir Hammad's Born Palestinian, Born Black with reference to translation”. Adab AL Rafidayn, 50(83), 53-80.
Bauridl, B. M. (2013). “Rowing for Palestine,” Performing the Other: Suheir Hammad, Mark Gerban and Multiple Consciousness”. Journal of Transnational American Studies, 5(1), 221-242.
Bressler C. E. (2011). Literary criticism: an introduction to theory and practice (5th ed.). Pearson Longman.
Charara, H. (Ed.). (2008). Inclined to speak: an anthology of contemporary Arab American poetry. University of Arkansas Press.
Cohen, R. (2022). Global diasporas: An introduction. Taylor & Francis.
El Said, M. (2003). “The face of the enemy:(61) Arab-American writing post-9/11”. Studies in the Humanities, 30(1-2), 200-217.
Elhillo, S. (2017). The January Children. U of Nebraska Press.
Gupta, R., & Moradabad, U. P. (2021). “Being vs Becoming – the Search for Identity in Safia Elhillo’s Alien Suite”. https://doi.org/10.31995/rjpsss.2021v47i01.40
Hammad S. (2008). Breaking poems (1st ed.). Cypher Books.
Holquist, M. (2003). Dialogism: Bakhtin and his world. Routledge.
Huddart, D. (2006). Homi K. Bhabha. Routledge.
Hall, J. K., Vitanova, G., & Marchenkova, L. A. (Eds.). (2005). Dialogue with Bakhtin on second and foreign language learning: New perspectives. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Motyl, K. (2013). “Born Palestinian, Born Black–Hip Hop as a Means of Criticism of Palestinian Marginalization in Suheir Hammad’s breaking poems”. https://www.english.upenn.edu/sites/www.english.upenn.edu/files/intersections-motyl-breaking_poems.pdf
Rasheed, Lamiaa Ahmed. (2023). “The Non-Western Representation of Third World Woman in Mohja Ka hf’s The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf: A Transnational Feminist Study” . Diyala Journal of Human Research, 96(2), 334-352
Rasheed, Lamiaa Ahmed. (2023). “Representation of Half-Arab Half-American: Homi K. Bhabha's Third Space in Laila Halaby's Once in a Promised Land”. College of Education for Women Journal, 20(4)., 183-214
Scanlon, M., & Engbers, C. (Eds.). (2014). Poetry and dialogism: Hearing over. Springer.
Sharaf, M. S. (2015). Palestinian diaspora and feminine identity in Suheir Hammad’s poetry as reflected in the conflict between alienation and integration. Annals of the Faculty of Arts, Ain Shams University, 43, 493-540.
Shlah Z. (2006). Taqsim (1st Canadian). Frontenac House Ltd.
Sohini, R. (2022). “Decolonization through Spoken Word Poetry: A Postcolonial Analysis of Emi Mahmoud and Safia Elhillo’s poetry”. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences (IJELS), 7(6), 44-59.
Trask., R. L & Stockwell P. (2007). Language and linguistics: The key concepts. Taylor & Francis.
