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WI & HdlInformation and Leaming 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 481B1348 USA MINORITY LANGUAGES AS ESISTAXCE IN MARCO MICONE'S -+DOCURATA, BEïTY QUAN'S MOïEER TONGLE,AND GUELERMO VERDECCHIA'S FRONTEMSAMERlCNRT (mCAVBORDERT) A Thesis Presented to The FacuIty of Graduate Studies of The University of GueIp h in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Augusr, 1999 National Library Biblhthèque nationale 1+1 ,canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie SeMces services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ûN4 O(tawaON KIAW Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse- thesis nor substantial extracts fkom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation, MINORïïY LANGUAGES AS RESISTANCE IN MARCO MICONE'S ADDOLORATA, BElTY QUAN'S MOTNER TONGUE AND GUXLLJBMO VERDECCHIA'S FRONTERAS AhEiWCANAS (AMERTCAN BORDERS) Julie Byczynski Advisor: University of Guelph, 1999 Professor Ric Knowles This thesis is an investigation of the use of uatranslated minority languages (that is, the presence of "foreign" words or phrases in the dialogue of plays written in Canada's 'official languages") as resistance to dominant discourses in three Canadian plays emerging £tom immigrant or ethnic cultures. Marco Micone's AdZolarata (in its original French and in its English translation), Betty Quan's Mother Tongue, and Guillermo VerdecchiarsFronteras Americanm represent varying degrees and types of resistance. The thesis draws on pst-colonial theorists and on such writers as Mikhail Bakhtin, Michel de Certeau, Baz Kershaw, and Homi Bhabha to explore the often ambivalent linguistic power relationships among French, English, Italian, Cantonese, Amencan Sign Language, and Spanish Ianguages and cultures in English Canada and Quebec. Acknowledgements 1 would like to thank my fadyand niends for their continuing encouragement- especiaily Angus. 1wodd also iÏke to acknowledge the support of my feiiow graduate students and so many of the facuity and staff at the University of Guelph, particularly François Paré and Doma Palmateer Pennee. 1thank Ric Knowles for the the and thought that he has invested in me and in this thesis. My appreciation also goes to Betty Qum for granting permission to quote fkom ber correspondence with me. Lastiy, this thesis is dedicated to my aunt, Pat Bethune, who continues to inspire me with her infectious laugh, her endless strength, and her cornmitment to her career, family, and many friends- Tabie of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter One: Marco Micone's AddoIorata 23 Chapter Two: Betty Quan's Mother Tongue 44 Chapter Three: Guillermo Verdecchia's Fronteras Americmurs 64 Conclusion 83 Works Cited 92 Marco Micone's Addolorata, Betty Quan's Mother Tongue, and Guillermo Verdecchia's Fronteras Americunas (Amen'can Borders) share common ground in their portrayal of immigrant expenences, albeit contrasting ones. The plays' Nerences in subject matter, dramatic style, and writing technique do not preclude the prevaiIing tendency of the plays' use of minonty languagesLto function in ways that resist the hegemony of dominant languages and therefore destabilize the dominant cultures for which they speak. Although it might be tempting to cdthe technique of unstrans1ated2 minority language in the theatre a sure sign of resistance against, at the very Ieast, the dominant iinguistic culture surroundhg the minority one, the iines between "us" and "them" ("ethnie" and "non-ethnic"), as the foilowing analysis of these plays wdl explore, are not as clear as such an assumption suggests. Indeed, this thesis will investigate the ways in which the practices of dominance and resistance to that dominance through the use of minority languages are ambivalent and fragmented in Addolorata, Mother Tongue, and Fronteras Americanas. These three plays tell storïes of an intensely intimate nature: Addolorata, the story 1 By "minority" languages 1refer to Ianguages other than the dominant one of the given locale of the first production, Since Micone's Addotorara was first performed in a French speaking environment, the rninority ianguages in this play are English, Italian, and Spanish, but it is also important to keep in mind that English plays a larger role in Quebec; it is, in fact, the language of the cultures against whkh Québécois nationalism is aligneci, On the other hand, Verdecchia's Fronteras Americanas was first performed in English speaking Toronto, so the minority languages in this play are Spanish and French- In Quan's Mother Tongue,the rninority Ianguages are American Sign Language and Cantonese. '1 use the term "untranslated" with caution here because to suggest that a given piece of dialogue is untranslated is to assume that a translation is required; i.e. that a spectatorfreader is not familiar with the language in question. For the sake of clarity, 1will use the word 'iintranslated" to refer to dialogue that is scrïpted as a minority language, as defined in note 1. of a failed marriage; Mother Tungue, the story of a family confiïct; and Fronteras Americunas, the story of an individuai's stniggie for identity- It is through this glimpse into the pnvate that these plays present political messages that concem the socio- economic status of hm@ants, the loss of cultural heritage, and the fight against ethnic stereotypes and racism. Aithough Micone, Qum, and Verdecchia bring spectators and readers3 into the very private world of their characters, their plays can be read as political, and their use of minority Ianguages cmbe read as resistant to what Baz Kershaw casthe "status quo" or ccmutuaiiyreinforcing" dominant ideologies as 1WU discuss in detail in the following chapters (20). 1 have chosen Addolurata, Mother Tungue, and Fronteras Amencanas because they openly deal with issues of Canadian immigrant experience and use untranslated so- called "foreign" or "other" languages. 1have decided not to include in my study a play by a First Nations playwright such as Tornson Highway for one main reason. Aithough Highway uses native languages in a simiiar fasbion to Micone, Quan, or Verdecchia, his plays do not reflect the experience of new Canadians, people who have corne to Canada from someplace else. 1feel that by limiting the scope of my thesis to plays that involve immigrant experiences, the cultural specificities, although still quite variable between Italo-Queôécois, Chinese Canadian, and Argenthian Canadian communities, are more manageable in the course of this project The plays that 1 have selected were chosen for the obvious reason that they all represent immigrant experience and use untranslated minority languages, but also for 1wi11 mostly explore plays as performances, but consideration will be made of the plays as published te- when such consideration is usefil. several other reasons. First, they were produced within a short tirne span (1982-1995): and they therefore are representaeive of a paaicular thehe. Second, the settings of these piays represent contrasting regions within Canada and the three most common destinations of immigrants (Montreai, Vancouver, and Toronto). Lastly, each of the plays demonstrates the at once different and similar ways in which theorking power and resistance is inherentiy problematic. The cultural specificity of each of these piays varies considerably, and corresponds to the perspective of the playwrights themseives. Marco Micone, who immigrated to Canada fiom Italy as a child, writes from wiihin the Italo-Queoécois community in Montreai. His position as a minority writer ciiffers significantly fiom other Italian Canadian (or other so-cailed "ethnie") writers because as a Quelbécois, he is already a part of a French Canadian cultural and linguistic minority- Betty Quan is fiom a younger generation and was educated at the University of British Columbia, Qum, as a Chinese Canadian fÏom Western Canada and as a woman, represents another perspective on immigrant play Wfiting. GuiUermo Verdecchia was bom in Argentina and raised in Waterloo, Ontario. His cnticaIiy successful plays corne out of the Toronto theatre scene, and more recently, out of Vancouver. As wZ be discussed later, many critics, including pst-colonial critics Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffen, assert that the use of untranslated languages is a way to inscribe difference (53).