Weird English

by Ch’ien

With increasing frequency, readers of literature are encountering barely intelligible, sometimes unrecognizable languages created by combining one or more languages with English. Evelyn Ch'ien argues that weird English constitutes the new language of literature, implicitly launching a new literary theory.

Weird English explores experimental and unorthodox uses of English by multilingual writers traveling from the canonical works of Nabokov and Hong Kingston to the less critiqued linguistic terrain of Junot Díaz and Arundhati Roy. It examines the syntactic and grammatical innovations of these authors, who use English to convey their ambivalence toward or enthusiasm for English or their political motivations for altering its rules. Ch'ien looks at how the collision of other languages with English invigorated and propelled the evolution of language in the twentieth century and beyond.

Ch'ien defines the allure and tactical features of a new writerly genre, even as she herself writes with a sassiness and verve that communicates her ideas with great panache.

Genres: Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2004

Reviews

[Cynthia]

Nien-Ming Ch'ien examines the use of weird English in the work of different diasporas, ranging from Nabokov to Rushdie. Their linguistic bravado of experimenting with weird Englishes celebrates their linguistic heritage and addresses their anxiety of exile at the same time. This weirdness is not a sign of illiteracy, but a framework to obliterate the boundary between English and other languages.

[Shephali Bhatt]

A treat for linguaphiles. Fascinating and insightful read.

[Jennifer Hu]

Looking for readable contemporary literary criticism? Who knew it was out there? Chi'en has worthy readings of Junot Diaz and Nabokov.