Articulating metalinguistic and political awareness in Flemish discourses on integration and allochthony

Abstract

This article focuses on the way actors involved in the Flemish minority debates construct alternative modes of subjectivity and political awareness in the debate on the integration of ‘allochthon’ minority members. Resistance to hegemonic discourse requires articulatory practices marked by a high degree of metalinguistic awareness. This type of awareness is necessary in order to distinguish between preferred and disavowed modes of activism and subjectivity. Through his analyses of the decision of newspaper De Morgen to ban the notion of ‘allochthony’ and of an interview with a former Arab European League member, the author demonstrates that subjects can grip ideological elements actively through metalinguistic strategies. He argues that an understanding of resistance to hegemonic logics requires an understanding of metalinguistic awareness as marked in concrete texts and interactions. The author argues in favour of a methodological and theoretical articulation of poststructuralist discourse theory and linguistic pragmatics.