Code-Switching and Diasporic Identity in Edward Said’s Out of Place: A Memoir and Fawaz Turki’s Exile’s Return: The Making of a Palestinian-American

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the cultural and philosophical significance of code switching in the formulation of diasporic identity in Edward Said's Out of Place (1999) and Fawaz Turki's Exile's Return: The Making of a Palestinian-American (1994). It argues that exilic Palestinian writers' use of code-switching pursues various purposes related to the multiplicity and plurality of voices to which they are subject, but it mainly pertains to the ‘exoticization’ of their homeland and ‘nationalizing’ their experiences in exile. Ultimately, the use of code-switching in the memoirs chosen here act as one of the most effective strategies that diasporic writers employ to satisfy a number of important socio-pragmatic and rhetorical functions that are usually expected in exilic writing. These strategies also aim to guide the (mainstream) readers’ affective responses to their work in the way(s) exiled authors believe best suit their rhetorical and national goals.