Spanish as a foreign language and a language of alienation in Colm Tóibín’s South
Bożena Kucała
Uniwersytet JagiellońskiAbstract
This article analyses Colm Tóibín’s novel South as an account of the heroine’s inner transformation, prompted by her contact with an alien culture. Katherine Proctor’s departure from Ireland is primarily an escape from familial and national history, but settlement in Spain does not lead to full assimilation in a new environment. The article stresses that Katherine’s sense of alienation is compounded by her initial ignorance of the language; however, even after she acquires a working knowledge of Spanish (and later also Catalan), her lack of knowledge about the cultural context in which the language functions continues to impede communication. On the other hand, the heroine’s gradual discovery of certain convergences between Spanish and Irish histories enables her to understand her own country better and to come to terms with her Irishness.
Keywords:
emigration, Francoist Spain, intercultural communication, language barrier, emigración, España de Franco, comunicación intercultural, barreras lingüísticasReferences
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