Writing between languages : Kolyang Dina Taïwé and Djaïli Amadou Amal
If there is one basic feature of sub-Saharan African literature, it is multilingualism. In addition to the now well-established literatures in African languages, there are those written in the languages of the former European colonial powers (English, French, Portuguese, Spanish). Many works of these literatures are characterized on the one hand by the ex- or implicit presence of African languages and cultures in the Europhone text – which always undermines the monolingualism of the text – and on the other hand by a constant back and forth between spoken and written language, which is regarded by many cultural scientists as another basic feature – although not a specific feature of African literature(s). This lecture examines this double „exophony“ (Arndt/Naguschewski/Stockhammer 2007) with Kolyang Dina Taïwé and Djaïli Amadou Amal, two Cameroonian authors of the French language.