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Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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I Pity the Poor Immigrant
2017
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 17 no. 1 2017;'Many years ago I read a now forgotten novel by a now forgotten author, which had a truly wonderful preface. It read, simply, this bloody book nearly killed me. I therefore dedicate it, dear Reader, to myself. There is a delicate irony at play, I think, in my long remembering this dedication while the book itself is erased completely from my memory. I’ll touch on the interplay of knowledge and memory in due course. What I want to start by saying, though, is that in my case, as in the case of that forgotten preface’s author, while writing can be a horrifically stressful business - and while writing this paper did indeed feel like it was going to kill me - the Author is emphatically Not Dead.' (Introduction)
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“A Whole Alternative Universe” : Language and Space in David Malouf’s “The Only Speaker of His Tongue”
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Ilha Do Desterro : A Journal of English Language , vol. 69 no. 2 2016; 'By displacing Aboriginal communities, interfering with their migratorial routes and sacred sites and forcing them into sedentary practices, European colonialism disrupted the closely-knit links between people, space and language that had characterised life in Australia for 40,000 years prior to the arrival of the British. In linguistic terms that meant the disappearance of hundreds of languages, the devitalising of traditions that had been based mainly on orality and, ultimately, the silencing of thousands of voices. In the short story “The Only Speaker of His Tongue”, David Malouf imagines the encounter between a Nordic lexicographer and the last speaker of a certain Australian language. As the lexicographer reflects about the threat that the loss of a language poses to cultural diversity, he also exposes his particular views on the possibilities of language. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that although the encounter between the scholar and the Aborigine is fictitious and the story is extremely concise, it reaches much beyond its fictional status by, both directly and indirectly, raising issues related to the past and present treatment that Australia has dedicated to its Aboriginal peoples, to the complexities of the field of salvage linguistics and to the functions of language itself.' (Publication abstract) -
The Only Speaker : David Malouf and Endangered Languages and Id-Entities
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Partnership Id-Entities : Cultural and Literary Re-Insciption/s of the Feminine 2010; (p. 20-29) -
'Yearning of Grandsons for a Language the Dead Still Speak' : Exile and the Loss of Language in David Malouf's Work
1994
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Provisional Maps : Critical Essays on David Malouf 1994; (p. 51-69) -
'History Is Not What Happened But What Is Told.' An Interview with David Malouf
Samar Attar
(interviewer),
1989
single work
biography
interview
— Appears in: Outrider : A Journal of Multicultural Literature in Australia , June vol. 6 no. 1 1989; (p. 89-110)
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The Only Speaker : David Malouf and Endangered Languages and Id-Entities
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Partnership Id-Entities : Cultural and Literary Re-Insciption/s of the Feminine 2010; (p. 20-29) -
'Yearning of Grandsons for a Language the Dead Still Speak' : Exile and the Loss of Language in David Malouf's Work
1994
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Provisional Maps : Critical Essays on David Malouf 1994; (p. 51-69) -
Body Talk : The Prose of David Malouf
1989
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , June vol. 49 no. 2 1989; (p. 230-238) -
'History Is Not What Happened But What Is Told.' An Interview with David Malouf
Samar Attar
(interviewer),
1989
single work
biography
interview
— Appears in: Outrider : A Journal of Multicultural Literature in Australia , June vol. 6 no. 1 1989; (p. 89-110) -
“A Whole Alternative Universe” : Language and Space in David Malouf’s “The Only Speaker of His Tongue”
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Ilha Do Desterro : A Journal of English Language , vol. 69 no. 2 2016; 'By displacing Aboriginal communities, interfering with their migratorial routes and sacred sites and forcing them into sedentary practices, European colonialism disrupted the closely-knit links between people, space and language that had characterised life in Australia for 40,000 years prior to the arrival of the British. In linguistic terms that meant the disappearance of hundreds of languages, the devitalising of traditions that had been based mainly on orality and, ultimately, the silencing of thousands of voices. In the short story “The Only Speaker of His Tongue”, David Malouf imagines the encounter between a Nordic lexicographer and the last speaker of a certain Australian language. As the lexicographer reflects about the threat that the loss of a language poses to cultural diversity, he also exposes his particular views on the possibilities of language. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that although the encounter between the scholar and the Aborigine is fictitious and the story is extremely concise, it reaches much beyond its fictional status by, both directly and indirectly, raising issues related to the past and present treatment that Australia has dedicated to its Aboriginal peoples, to the complexities of the field of salvage linguistics and to the functions of language itself.' (Publication abstract)
Last amended 29 Sep 2009 09:55:56
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