When Francophone means national: The case of the Maghreb

Abstract

The idea that Francophone studies are made rather than found is beginning to take hold of our imagination in academe. The model has moved from a single type of interpretation (Francophone world as opposed to France) to a multileveled operational system (Francophone distinctions, and differences within national discourses) first and foremost obsessed with finding ways to legitimate its own authority. The case of Francophone literature from the Maghreb demonstrates that the considerable historical, social, or linguistic significance of what France was, and to a certain degree still is, can be displaced. However, the lasting use of French in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia should not be underestimated and shows as well that literature from these nations gives an unimpeachable credential to all expressions of power. In a context in which North African peoples are struggling to win a measure of democratic rule and to gain economic independence, the continuous presence of the colonial language has created new cultural forms within each society. This is a paradox that most clearly stands out in the field of literature. Francophone Maghrebi literature elevates language to the place in culture traditionally held by political discourse, religion, and a sense of identity relevant to both society and the individual. While Arabic (unlike Berber languages) benefits from a high degree of official representation, French allows tactical transgressions in the name of the mother tongue. For instance, the treatment of identity by Algerian or Moroccan Francophone authors is less indicative of a given colonial condition than is that of Francophone Caribbean writers. Yet those Maghrebi novelists strive for self-assertion sometimes at the cost of exile because of their cultural desecration and political subversion. Writing in French can also be an emancipatory experiment putting the individual at the