Multilingual Fictions | Episode 31

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“Monster Building” in Quarry Bay (Yik Cheong Building) Photo by Sead Dedić on Unsplash

Each week on The Matterhorn podcast, I discuss a way to layer fictions and discover the nuances of truth, using my novel as a catalyst but looking at other works of fiction as well as theory and interdisciplinary ideas. Each week, I also spend a little time on places & spaces, as part of a continued discourse on these ideas.

Thursday, I’ll be back with a 5-minute actionable version of today’s show, and Saturday I’ll share the next chapter of A Hong Kong Story. If you want to choose which posts you receive via email, please visit this page.

I’m keeping all of this completely free for listeners/readers with the option of patronage and support through my Bookshop.org affiliate page. Thanks for joining us today!

Today’s episode links to “Part I: Quarry Bay, ii” in A Hong Kong Story.

Table of Contents

A full transcript can be accessed on the desktop web version.

Keywords:

• Language as Cultural, Political, Practical (Economical)…Choice

• Mother Tongues and education

• Toward a Minor Literature (major/minor literature and language - minor literature as political)

• Prague / Basel / India / Hong Kong (feel free to share your local context)

• Englishes

• Multilingualism for Writers (see article below)

• Place & Space focus - Quarry Bay, Hong Kong / urban areas outside of center

Texts:

Books are linked to my affiliate page on Bookshop.org where I receive 10% of profits on any purchase. 80% of their profits go to independent bookstores. This helps to keep all my work paywall-free. Thanks for your support!

• My video about rhythms of language

• CHEN BAR-ITZHAK  LITERARY MULTILINGUALISM: REPRESENTATION, FORM, INTERPRETATION — INTRODUCTION

• Language and Power (UN discussion)

• The Languages of Kafka  from Czech Center. Org  

• Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature (Deleuze and Guattari)

• Education department of India on Language

• The White Tiger (Adiga) - not mentioned in the podcast but relevant to India discussion - quote from protagonist to Chinese president: “Neither you nor I speak English, but there are some things that can be said only in English.”

• HK Free Press on Chinese language in schools (2022)

• HK Free Press 2017 on Education Bureau

• Kongish

• Atyab Rashid on University Challenge

• If Black English isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me What Is by James Baldwin

• No official language in the US

• The Hate U Give (Thomas)

• Teaching The Hate U Give

• Our Country Friends (Shteyngart)

• Pygmalion (Shaw)

• QB photos

• QB now – Timeout quote

• Monster Building (Yik Cheong Building)

• Michael Bay – Transformers director attacked

• Nine Tones of Cantonese – here it says only purists say 9 vs 6 tones, but all the HKers I knew said 9 when I lived there

• extra — Funny line: “Hit ‘em with the bilingual.” — Moi, by Lolo Zouaï