Literary Writing in the Other’s Language in a Pluralist and Multilingual Society: In the Shade of the Jujube Tree by Jeries Tannous

Abstract

Palestinian-Arab authors in Israel often write in the language of the Other, adopting the language of the Jewish majority as their creative tongue alongside their native Arabic. Despite the powerful creative presence of these authors in the local cultural landscape, they have attracted little scholarly attention. This study explores the political, sociolinguistic, and psychological aspects of Arab authors in Israel who write in Hebrew, focusing on Jeries Tannous’s 2007 novel In the Shade of the Jujube Tree.1 Based on a content analysis of the novel and a semi-structured interview with the author, this study demonstrates that the use of Hebrew by Arab authors in Israel has three purposes. The first of these is the symbolic-normative purpose: using the Other’s language to establish an alternative collective identity and bring the minority culture from the margins to the mainstream. The second is functional: in some cases, the author is more proficient in Hebrew than in his or her mother tongue. The third and final purpose is emotional: using Hebrew to express individual and collective mental distress and traumas.