Does Literary Translingualism Matter? Reflections on the Translingual and Isolingual Text

Abstract

Though it has an ancient pedigree, literary translingualism manifests itself differently in different cultures. But does the question of whether a text is written in L1, L2, L3, or L4 matter to the creation or consumption of literature? Most writers believe it does. To determine the difference it makes might require testing a translingual text against one by a rare author who is completely monolingual. Translingual texts are often metalingual, self-conscious about language itself. Though the circumstances under which L2, L3, or L4 was acquired matter, translingual authors tend to exhibit great cognitive flexibility and a greater awareness of the relativity of things.