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PERSEVERING THROUGH PRESERVATION: THE UNIFYING FORCE OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE IN THE FICTION OF LOUISE ERDRICH AND PATRICIA GRACE

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Date Issued:
2019
Summary:
Louise Erdrich, an American Ojibwe, and Patricia Grace, a New Zealand Māori, incorporate code-switching, moving between languages, in their creative works. Rather than viewing language choice as an aside to cultural representation in fiction, codeswitching should be viewed as an integral part of the text because these writers attempt to rectify the oppression of their people by using code-switching as a tool of cultural and language survival that shifts power dynamics in response to settler colonization. However, while Erdrich and Grace use the same linguistic tool for similar purposes, they ultimately impart different themes; Erdrich’s language protagonist symbolizes reconciliation while Grace’s language protestors symbolize resistance. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Erdrich and Potiki by Grace should be read in conversation with each other so that we can better understand the role indigenous languages play in Anglophone fiction.
Title: PERSEVERING THROUGH PRESERVATION: THE UNIFYING FORCE OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE IN THE FICTION OF LOUISE ERDRICH AND PATRICIA GRACE.
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Name(s): Wilber, Elizabeth, author
MacDonald, Ian P., Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Department of English
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2019
Date Issued: 2019
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 99 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Louise Erdrich, an American Ojibwe, and Patricia Grace, a New Zealand Māori, incorporate code-switching, moving between languages, in their creative works. Rather than viewing language choice as an aside to cultural representation in fiction, codeswitching should be viewed as an integral part of the text because these writers attempt to rectify the oppression of their people by using code-switching as a tool of cultural and language survival that shifts power dynamics in response to settler colonization. However, while Erdrich and Grace use the same linguistic tool for similar purposes, they ultimately impart different themes; Erdrich’s language protagonist symbolizes reconciliation while Grace’s language protestors symbolize resistance. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Erdrich and Potiki by Grace should be read in conversation with each other so that we can better understand the role indigenous languages play in Anglophone fiction.
Identifier: FA00013428 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Indigenous authors
Erdrich, Louise Last report on the miracles at Little No Horse
Ojibwa Indians
Grace, Patricia, 1937- Potiki
Maori (New Zealand people)
Indigenous peoples--Languages
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013428
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.