The Language of Postcolonial Literatures: An Introduction

by Ismail S. Talib

Drawing on a range of writers, including Jean Rhys, Derek Walcott, Chinua Achebe, Salman Rushdie, Ngugi wa Thiong'o and Nuruddin Farah, The Language of Postcolonial Literatures provides a comprehensive introduction to some of the central features of language in a wide variety of postcolonial texts. Ismail S. Talib illustrates 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, he shows how individuals retain their cultural and national identity in the face of such changes. Language is the primary concern in postcolonial literature, and postcolonial literature is achieving canonical status, so this book is essential for all world literature scholars and sociolinguists.

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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