The Language of Postcolonial Literatures

by Ismail S. Talib

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to some of the central features of language in a wide variety of postcolonial texts.
The Language of Postcolonial Literatures draws on a range of writers, from Jean Rhys and Derek Walcott to Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Nuruddin Farah and Salman Rushdie, to show how English has been shaped by and had to contend with other languages in former British colonies. Exploring literatures from a range of countries including India, Nigeria, Canada, Australia, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the Caribbean, Talib shows how individuals retain cultural and national identity in the face of such changes. The book further demonstrates that language is one of the central concerns of postcolonial literatures.
The Language of Postcolonial Literatures is invaluable for anyone with an interest in the evolution and development of English and its use in contemporary world literatures.

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2002

About the author

Dr Ismail S. Talib has been lecturing in the Department of English Language and Literature at the National University of Singapore since 1986. He has been the regional editorial representative of the Journal of Commonwealth Literature for the bibliography of Singaporean literature (which later includes Malaysian literature) for more than twenty years now. Among his recent publications is a chapter in Volume 10 of The Oxford History of the Novel in English. He also has research interests in narratology and film.

Reviews

[maia]

3.5. useful but dull, also randomly picks fights w the literatures of certain countries lol