Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1994. [Vol. 2.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 22)

STUDIES - Judit Molnár: Search for Identity in the English-language Writing of Allophone Quebecers

Language has always been a most sensitive issue in Québec, in accordance with which both writers put a great emphasis on langauge varience. The problem is even more delicate in their individual cases because they have both chosen to operate in the language that has threatened the distinctiveness of the "belle province". The polyphonic character of their settings is treated more directly by Raymond Filip since for him language is of paramount importance in a language-divided place. The narrator in 'Allophone' says: "In this politician-ridden province, language was no longer a treasure, or an issue, just a game, a friendly fight with neutral corners growing crowded" (7). But this is meant ironically for the cacophony of voices is in the the centre of his stories. Mary Melfi's representation of language awareness is linked to social demands imposed upon members of society according to the different generations they happen to belong. Thus mother tongue maintenance and/or loss for the protagonist in Infertility Rites is connected to the intricate and inimical relationship between her and her mother. As has been noted by Fulvia Caccia: "Language of Eden, language of Return in the manner of Hebrew for the Jews, Italian has provoked contradictory feelings of hate, love and indifference" 0985: 159). Raymond Filip's description of interethnic communication is comprehensive and very vivid indeed, while Mary Melfi's treatment of the linguistic map is largely metalinguistic, though not inclusively, concentrating basically on Italian and English with occasional references to other voices, too. The linguistic behaviour of the French, the English, and "the others", their social interactions are in the centre of the first two stories 'Allophone' and 'Rat Racist' by Raymond Filip. In the remaining stories his scope somewhat narrows down to the communicative procedures between the English and the Québécois. The visual representation of the complex discourse involving the mixture of different languages and even that of different registers has become an artistic strategy for Raymond Filip. His method is certainly supported by the following belief: The use of untranslated words as interface signs seems a successful way to foreground cultural distinctions, so it would 98