Translanguaging and its effects on accessibility in Travel Writing. A Case Study: H.V. Morton on Apulia.

Within the field of applied linguistics and particularly bilingual education, scholars (see C. Baker 2001, García 2009) are paying increasing attention the phenomena of translanguaging whereby languages (seen as manifestations of the activity of communicating, rather than as separate systems) are used in conjunction with each other as expression of an individual’s linguistic repertoire. Such an approach recognises that the relationship between languages is fluid and dynamic rather than rigid and mutually exclusive. It can also be relevant to areas such as creative writing, when authors mix and match forms from different sources not only to reflect their own linguistic repertoire but also for stylistic effect appealing to ethos and establishing authorial stance (Cherry 1998, Kockelman 2004). In the specific genre of travel writing, such translanguaging can be used as a strategy partly (but not exclusively) to introduce items from the source language, adding the lingua-cultural insights that readers of such works may expect, thereby establishing the expertise and credentials of the writer. In this paper, we will examine the writings of H.V. Morton specifically regarding his visit to Apulia in 1966 contained in the work: A Traveller in Southern Italy (1969). Analysis will concentrate on the types of phenomena which are accessed through translanguaging, mainly in Italian but also in other codes such as local dialects, Latin, or French. We examine whether these concepts are explained further to the reader, either through accompanying translations, glosses, or by means of cohesive ties, such as co-reference or anaphora (Reinhart 1983, Cornish 1999, Christiansen 2011). Instances of translanguaging will be categorised and compared in an effort to explain when and why each is used. The aim will be to show how introducing unfamiliar forms and concepts through translanguaging can empower readers, as active participants in the discourse to access the relevant culture by adapting and expanding their own lingua-cultural schemata.