Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
19th Eurasian Conference on Language & Social Sciences, Paris, Fransa, 13 - 14 Aralık 2025, ss.11, (Özet Bildiri)
As a rhetorical device bilingualism utilized in literature involves the employment of two languages within a single text to embellish the art of storytelling and transmit cultural codes, otherwise inaccessible to the monolingual reader. The use of code-switching, on the other hand, necessitates a repeated alteration of two or more languages, or dialects, in both the spoken and written word in bilingual/multicultural communities, comprising of individuals who are competent in the syntactic rules of the given languages. With such techniques, bicultural/bilingual writers from a rich linguistic heritage readily provide an insider’s view of their own unique ethnic experiences and cultural codes. In the United States of America, Mexican-American literature (otherwise called Chicano) in particular is laden with examples of bilingualism in the form of code-switching between Standard English and Spanish, among other writing stratagems. The socio-cultural and historical formulation of the Chicano identity — from the onset of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) which ended the war between Mexico and America and established the modern cartography of both countries — is predominantly reflected in Chicano literature and other audio-visual art forms.
Through a diverse selection of texts from different genres (poetry, fiction, drama, academic texts) produced in different historical eras, the present study offers an analysis of how the historically underrepresented Chicano writer employs bilingualism and code-switching as discursive tools in their effort to transmit on the written page, the unique experience of living on literal as well as metaphorical borders between two different signifying modes. By creating their own discursive strategies, these writers ultimately redefine the complexity of cultural identity. In doing so, they document the realities of a multicultural existence without assimilation into mainstream culture, thus challenge Anglo-American hegemonic attitudes towards “outsiders.” Particularly in relation to marginalized groups in society, such as the Chicanos, the representative power of language is undeniably aimed at producing a social or political message that mirrors the lived experiences and rich heritage of Chicanos who resist the rigid cultural boundaries of mainstream American culture. Code-switching in Chicano literature is not merely a linguistic feature, but a profound expression of cultural identity, ethic resistance, and social critique. In conclusion, this present study highlights the importance of language as a site of cultural negotiation and the creation of alternative means of storytelling against marginalization.
Keywords: Bilingualism, Code-Switching, Chicano Literature, Linguistics, Assimilation.