Globality: The Point of View of Language and Literature

Abstract

The phenomenon of globality has had significant consequences for both languages and literatures. The disciplines of linguistics and literary studies are in the process of redefining their subject matter as well as their theoretical and methodological approaches to meet the challenge of adopting a global perspective. In linguistics, the “global turn” has for instance led to a growing interest in the properties and dynamics of “global languages” in general and “World Englishes” in particular. In literary studies, the growing impact of Postcolonial Studies since the late 1970s and the awareness of globalization have caused an extension with respect to the subject matter and the theoretical and methodological approaches that are drawn upon. There also appear to be more and more literary texts which address issues related to globalization in terms of their themes and/or structural and linguistic features. With its increasing interest in “world literature,” the field of comparative literature faces new challenges such as having to rely on translations and negotiating between the global and the local in readings of literary texts.