The Reception and Perception of Algerian Literature in the Global Literary Context ()
1. Introduction
Algerian literature dates back to ancient times with the influence of numerous cultures and tongues. Its modalities varied from oral traditions such as folktales and proverbs to poetry and novels throughout different historical periods, yet orality was overwhelmingly prevalent over the other modalities. Factually, it was only during the French colonization that Algerian writers emerged as significant contributors to world literature; in this regard, Boudersa (2014) explained that “the shift from oral performances and traditions to written texts was a result of the colonial discourse”. Algerian literature has undergone tremendous transformation due to Algeria’s colonial past; globally, it has gained recognition and appreciation for its rich cultural and historical aspects while essentially reflecting the country’s struggle for independence, post-colonial identity and social issues. However, it is worth addressing the question whether the body of Algerian literary works have gained enough recognition or treasured as world literature. To answer this, one must understand how Algerian literature is read/perceived in the world. This article dives into the linguistic complexity in Algeria explaining the roots of Arabic and French and how they came to existence in the Algerian society that gave birth to the Algerian novel in Arabic and French. In this sense, the distinctive features of the Algerian novel in French and Arabic will be addressed to provide a comprehensive examination of the nature of the literary production in Algeria. Another main point to concentrate on is the power literary translation possesses in publicizing any literary production especially in the case of the in/visibility of Algerian literature in the global literary scene.
2. The Linguistic Complexity in Algeria
The composition of the Algerian population is of a diverse nature. Initially, it can be broken down into the indigenous population known as the Imazighen1 who are a group of natives to North Africa most of whom are living in today’s Algeria and Morocco—roughly 25 - 30 million Imazighen—(National African Language Resource Center), a succession of invaders from Phoenicians, Romans, to Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula around the 9th century. Each group brought different customs that made the sum of the whole population. In 1830, the French colonization gradually penetrated the country on a north-southward scale allowing settlements to be built for European settlers, many of whom were not of French origin but rather Spanish, Italian and Maltese and that is how the European community was formed along the Algerian coast. Upon Algeria’s independence, the settlers of Algeria pieds-noirs faced inevitable mass displacement from liberated Algeria, but a great number of them remained in the country. Having such a diverse population with distinctive tongues and cultures indeed led to clear societal, intellectual and ideological divisions; in this sense, Samuel Huntington suggested that the great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural.2
The cultural differences that marked the Algerian society were to a great extent the outcome of the colonial regime. For instance, Mission Civilisatrice (the civilizing mission), an ideology that originated in the christian theology and swept Europe and the US mainly as major powers in the world, was an incitement for those countries to push their imperialistic agenda and carry their so-called ‘holy duty’ of bringing civilization to indigenous people. This cultural imperialism was France’s main goal of turning Algeria into French Algeria through different programs of assimilation that eradicated people’s sense of identity as well as their mother tongue; the latter was banned and replaced by French in schools. Consequently, by 1962 the majority of Algerian elite spoke French since education was given in French and was only accessible to a small friction of the population “One of the results of the colonial era in Algeria was the rise, in the late nineteenth century, of a French-educated élite” (Saadallah, 1967). Despite the regime’s linguistic persecution, a slice of Arabic-speaking elite who received their education mostly in countries like Egypt, Syria and the middle east in general were also on the rise. Therefore, a considerable dispute sparked off between French and Arabic-educated elite as the situation appeared to be more like both elites attempted to revive the society through the parallel use of Arabic and French while completely separate themselves from the colonial condition.
Additionally, as we discuss diversity and identity, Majumdar expressed that “Ethnic and regional diversity in itself is not necessarily an obstacle to national consciousness and identity” (Majumdar, 2007) comparing in her course the United Kingdom as it incorporates several regions within one British identity. Nonetheless, Algeria’s case seemed to progress slowly as some groups, notably, the Amazigh have for so long felt neglected as Déjeux and Mitsch (1992) stated “speakers of Berber dialects, especially in Algeria, continue to fight for the recognition of their language and culture”. This linguistic dilemma can be only determined by giving every language the importance and attention it requires at a certain level without incriminating French as it is historically linked to Algeria. To wrap it up, recently Algeria has been moving on an upright trajectory by giving Tamazight a status as an official language alongside Arabic and heavy incorporation of English in education.
3. The Algerian Novel in Arabic and French
Algerian literature between the past and the present refers to the body of literary works by authors originated from Algeria or others who explore Algerian themes and experiences. The Algerian novel portrays the very notion of the Algerian individual: its social experiences, aspirations, struggles and realities. It seizes to constantly explore issues of identity and the search for ‘self’ in the post-independence era. In defining Algerian literature and what constitutes it lays a problem of what is to be included or excluded. Arabic literature in Algeria certainly experienced a revival after achieving political independence since Arabisation was a fundamental key to homogeneity in Algeria; the move intended to break with the French colonial past including culture and language through the total assimilation of the Imazighen with Arabs under one nation and one religion which was essential to achieving a national identity. Edward Said in his work Invention, Memory, and Place writes “national identity always involves narratives” (Edward, 2000). To create a particular national identity, one draws on the narratives that are in accordance with memory to understand who we/they are as “memory and its representations touch very significantly upon questions of identity, of nationalism, of power and authority” (Edward, 2000). In the Algerian context, the narrative was about the necessity of creating a fundamental Islamic Arabic identity deeply attached to the memory of our ancestry. The very notion of the model of Algerian identity is ‘Arabo-islamic’ which according to Majumdar (2007) served as a “key mobilising tool throughout the period of the war and thereafter”. The upgrade of the country as an Arabic speaking one was more of a subjective move rather than an inclusive one as the question of which Arabic Algerians actually speak was totally avoided leaving a complex situation of spoken Darja in all life aspects, French at the level of university and in administrations and Standard Arabic in school.
Literature like any other cultural or artistic expression can reflect societal dynamics and influence political scenes. Historically, there have been loads of discussions about the linguistic and literary representation in the country. The latter led to many views concerning literature in Algeria, for instance, despite the advocacy for the dominance of literature in Arabic, writing in Arabic posed serious obstacles for Algerian writers. Croisy (2008) elucidated that the issue with Arabs is their constant fear of the traumatic repetition of the Westerner’s Oedipus Complex. The Complex that eventually resulted in a sense of overpride associated with writing in Arabic as the only way of embracing their authentic identity. Ahlem Mosteghanemi, for instance, upon receiving Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature in Cairo, 1998, overtly addressed Francophonie3 in Algeria as “dubious and Divisive tendencies to which Algeria is exposed” which was nothing less than a declaration of discontentment and downheartedness for Algerian writers writing in Arabic whom she described as victims of “onslaughts of Francophony and its diverse temptations” (Tageldin, 2009).
Mosteghanemi, who is known for being the first Algerian female writer to publish fiction in Arabic, and one of the ten most influential women in the Arab world according to Forbes Magazine in 2006, in an interview by Joas Elbousty and Karima Belghiti that appeared in Arablit: A Magazine of Arabic Literature in Translation, clarified her stance as a writer who will only write in Arabic “Although I have a great command of French, Arabic is the language of my heart and the voice of my faith.”Considering that she had spent many years in Paris, got married and started a small family there, her choice of pursuing writing in Arabic comes from the heartfelt glory of being close to her people and heritage as it would be pointless to address people in a language that is not theirs.4 Choosing Arabic over any other language for Mosteghanemi was a profound embrace of one’s own language and identity and a decline to temptations. Tageldin proceeded to explain that “among the “diverse temptations” of Francophonie, Mustaghanimi surely would count [Assia] Djebar’s acceptance of her 2005 election to the Academie Francaise” (2007). There is a stark contrast between Mosteghanemi’s Cairo speech and Djebar’s 2006 address to the Academie in Paris where she had announced her “definitive break” with Arabic and full embrace of French. “Djebar writes in French partly by historical compulsion, because French is the only written language she truly commands, and partly by political choice, because she imagines ‘free’ French to afford a space of expression for women that ‘patriarchal’ Arabic supposedly cannot” (Tageldin, 2009).
Colonization gave birth to generations of native authors who adopted colonial languages in writing as Boudersa (2014) stated “The appearance of the Algerian novel in French is one of the explicit results of the deliberate colonizer policy of authoritarianism.” In the case of Algeria, writing in French served as a tool for reclaiming what has been taken from Algerians: the real Algerian identity. To fathom Djebar’s thoughts on writing in Arabic versus in French, one must understand the complex historical and political landscape in Algeria which has at times posed serious challenges for writers especially censorship. The latter in its broad meaning refers to the state’s control over the artistic freedom or the cultural production; hence, it is worth clarifying that what is regarded as censorship is not always clear as it can be in various forms including legal actions, boycotts, fund cutbacks, racial and gender discrimination as well as policy regulations that moderate art and free expression.
Algeria has a long history of prevalent censorship, Gafaiti (1997) in Between God and the President thoroughly analyzed the literary scene in Algeria; in his defence, censorship has been practiced on Algerian literature for so long. First, he clarified that one of the ways to escape censorship during the colonial era is through “adopting French ideologies in subtle ways.” Algerian writers had to switch to French to fit in the global literary scene at that time; it was the only way to gain a ticket to express writers’ identity and culture as well as promoting the “Algerian personality and morality.” This “writing between the lines” was one of the main characteristics of the Algerian novel somewhat between 1920-1940 as writers couldn’t publicly condemn the French regime; in this case language use indeed became a way of censorship. In the same sense, after the independence and under the socialist regime, writers in Arabo-Algeria were indebted as free Algerians to carry on the liberation process of people—being liberated in the linguistic context meant the complete break with the French language. Hence, Algerian writers of French were necessarily and forcibly cut from their readership. In the 1990s, the Algerian novel again came into contact with the echoing frustration of a terrorized generation and suppressed writers who faced another major form of censorship that was attacks on writers. One of the cases to mention is Tahar Djaout’s assassination by the Islamist party for being a potential threat to the public opinion on who should lead the country.
Besides, the linguistic scene in Algeria between Arabic and French can be very puzzling. Algerians discern French language as a step-mother that can never replace the mother (Arabic); however, in this case, French was not a bad step-mother but rather a good one i.e., writing in French was not entirely detrimental as it enabled a slice of Algerian Intellects to explore a realm of free expression. For instance, The Academie Francaise has opened its doors and wholeheartedly embraced the Francophonie of the Maghrib. Moreover, Algerian authors of French expression received immense recognition for the privileges the French novel has offered “the French novel offered an open forum through which Algerian authors explored the internal sociopolitical and cultural particularity of their situation as well as psychologically probed the challenges facing a nation in formation” (Majumdar, 2007).
4. The Role of Literary Translation in Promulgating Literature
Literary translation undoubtedly plays a preeminent role in promoting literature on a global scale. The selection of the literary works to be translated is a matter of choices and decisions made by publishers, translators and literary agents. One crucial prerequisite to be translated is an author’s merit implying that the literary work ought to be artistically pleasant, original, well written and most importantly engaging to readers. Generally, the linguistic and cultural aspects also influence a particular work’s translation potential. Relatively, the decision-making process to translate a literary work is ultimately subjective and highly depends on the publishing industry practices worldwide. Certainly, for any literary work to be translated, it should possess cultural relevance that goes beyond boundaries. While these cultural differences are a vital part of any literary scene, translation sometimes fails to preserve those aspects when adapting any work to ensure it resonates with the target audience.
In this regard, Faiq (2008) claimed that translation can never be innocent when it comes to intercultural communication because translation per se becomes the source of “conflictual relationships of power and struggle between cultures being translated and those doing the translation; with dire consequences and accusations of misrepresentation and subversion” Faiq (2008). As translation efforts are of an utmost importance in making literary works accessible to speakers of other languages, in a case of subversion, the repercussion on the source literature can be detrimental and this is the case with literature in Arabic. Edward Said in Orientalism theorized that the western’s blind perception of the middle east as an uncivilized remote region might be the outcome of their established norms and refusal to accept the eastern social and cultural norms which were viewed rather exotic. Nearly, the west has always held the thought that the western societies were naturally superior to the eastern ones because of their bigotry. Edward further explained that the west created this stereotype and used it as an excuse to colonize the Middle East.
Similarly, Ettobi (2008) stressed the impact of geopolitical conflicts on literary translation, he posited that “geopolitics can have an effect on literary translation and that interregional problems can encourage or impede its development, depending on the nature of the situation under study” Ettobi (2008). The unsettled conflicts between the Arab world and the West have been for long a fault line dividing both civilizations generating a clash of civilizations5 that culminated in cultural misrepresentations. For instance, Faiq (2005) stated that “the representations of Arabs and Islam by and/or for the West are not just accounts of different places, cultures and societies, but more importantly, they are projections of the West’s own fears and desires masqueraded as objective knowledge”. Thus, the global monolithic relationship between the Arab world and the West still determines and limits the literary production.
To underline some of the drawbacks of literary translation and its influence on literature, Guardi in his research on the Algerian novel (2003) elucidated that literature in Arabic translated into Italian is stratified on a regional basis into two parts: “Sharqi” and “Maghrebi” literature; the given segregation is thereof the outcome of the premise that Middle Easterners are more Arab than North Africans who had been long in contact with several crossroad colonizers and thus exposed to different cultures and languages. Consequently, the number of translations from both regions (the Middle East and North Africa) varies on a wide scale and evidently the translations from the Middle East are significantly more. It is interesting to consider the shift Arabic language had undergone in Algeria for instance Classic Arabic that is the form used in the Mosque and for prayers transitioned into Modern Standard Arabic to meet new social requirement namely illiteracy and unemployment (Mokhtar, 2018). In another take Mokhtar highlighted that Classic Arabic “enjoys the prestige of a written language, but is no one’s mother tongue. It is used by scholars who have taken pride in their ability to speaking flawless Arabic” (Mokhtar, 2018). The issue in hand points out that there is an extent to how Algerian Derja speakers struggle to acquire a flawless Arabic. Eventually, North Africa served as a transit region for people coming from Europe and the Middle east which made its inhabitants experience a linguistic friction between a couple of tongues which relatively clarifies the biased preference of Middle Eastern literature to that produced in North Africa by Maghrebi writers.
This cultural bias can be also seen in the selection of the literary works to be translated. Noting that understanding literature is never devoid of cultural or societal reflections, Guardi (2005) again questioned which image of Algeria is being dealt with in Italy. She stressed the fact that usually the study of Algerian literature is a matter of the Francophone department which essentially occupies itself with Francophone Algerian literature inasmuch translators are frequently French scholars (they rarely know Arabic and Algerian culture), this in fact can be reflected in the selection of works to be translated. The shortage of translations from Arabic to Italian clearly portrays the bias to works in French casting aside the ones in Arabic.
However, Djafri and Osamina (2018) in The In (visibility) of Algerian Literature and Its Resistance to Translation shrewdly analyzed the issue of the status of Algerian literature by exposing the monopoly of publishing houses and the English speaking authorities “a great number of texts is deliberately marginalized and dropped from the canon confirming then the Western monopole operating upon the marketing and publishing houses.” They highlighted the struggles of the Algerian novel in French as “it finds no echo in the wider world simply because poorly welcomed by the English dominant marketing enterprises” (2018). It is understandable that the Algerian novel exists in abundance in Arabic and French, yet it is far from being recognized. This brings us to the discussion of one of the main points advocated for in this article which is comprehending the nature of the obstacles facing Algerian writers in general.
5. The Status of Algerian Literature
Algerian literature has contributed significantly to the global literary landscape through a rich literary tradition. It, particularly, Algerian literature in French, has a prominent presence in international literary fairs and translations as it offers unique perspectives on Algerian identity, culture and history. Works by authors such as Assia Djebar, Mohammed Dib, Kateb Yacine, Yasmina Khadra...etc., had remarkable input in world literature. It’s worth clarifying that the trajectory of Algerian literature has seen two main turning points: the aftermath of the Independence War (1962) and the Black Decade (the civil war) during the 1990s. Additionally, regarding contemporary Algerian literature, it appears to have no identifiable marker to what is considered contemporary, therefore, within the scope of this research, the term contemporary Algerian literature will be used to refer to the literature produced in the post-civil-war era onwards. This section will provide general insights of the perception of Algerian literature throughout history and time from different perspectives.
For instance, Wilford in his review on Writing the Black Decade: Conflict and Criticism in Francophone Algerian Literature suggested that the post-conflict literature of the Black Decade emphasized the fusion of fiction, autobiography, and history in creating a communal experience of the civil war. This collective memory of the Algerian war was by account “testimonial literature” produced by authors such as Assia Djebar, Rachid Mimouni and Maissa Bey who supposedly provided counter-narratives to the governing regime at that time. This era gave birth to enraged writers whose literature functioned as a means of political expression.
On a national level, it appears that there is a lack of collective spirit in the Algerian society which served a catalyst for writers to seek literary recognition overseas, particularly, France as a means of provoking a response from the Algerian audience. Seemingly, Algerian fiction functions through a detour: a work must first arouse international attention to gain notice and provoke national discussions. Given this negligence from the national readership, the Algerian novel couldn’t possibly secure a robust standing within its territory especially with the younger generation’s growing interest in literature in English and other literatures for the plethora of genres and the diversity of narratives.
The Algerian novel is indeed diverse, yet it is overshadowed by social and political discourse. In this sense, Kamel Daoud, France’s favourite Algerian writer, related the fault in the Algerian novel to its claustrophobic nature, for him, the problem is twofold: themes lack aspiration and fiction is confined in the Algerian frontiers. Daoud who loudly declared his disinterest in apologies by asking “what are you going to do if your colonizer apologizes?” further asserts that the government in Algeria intends to keep living in the colonial past even if France wants to take accountability for its brutal colonization “He says colonialism has become little more than an excuse for Algeria to ignore its internal decay” (McAuley, 2018). Despite Daoud’s controversial view on the political and literary landscape in Algeria, he remains one of the individuals who think that reviving the Algerian novel an only be achieved by escaping the excuse of the fault of colonization. To many young Algerian writers, Daoud’s stance serves as a hope of real achievement precisely in their interest of breaking free from the victim complex and moving toward universality. Hereafter, regardless of the violent criticism of this writer in reference, Algerian literature is to an extent ghettoized in its culture, past and national identity.
On the other hand, the west certainly has a limited vision on Algerian literature with its prejudiced attribution to the Independence War and the French colonization. The premise that Algerian literature is to a great extent confined in its post-colonial era with themes trapped in the colonial history has been haunting the Algerian novel and drawing its borderlines. Déjeux and Mitsch (1992) stemmed the problem with the Maghrebian literature to be in the way it is viewed outside of its borders as merely Francophone. They proceeded to explain that “Francophone Literatures represent neither the total nor the essential of literary production in the Maghreb, although if the literary Maghreb is known to the rest of the world, it tends to be through works written in French” (1992). In fact, Algerian literature in French is mostly produced by the Algerian Diaspora who plays a significant role in shaping the Algerian novel.
Algerian writers who aspire to reach a wide readership are trapped in a chain of reinforcing an already established image on the country. According to Guardi, there are only thirty-eight Algerian novels that have been translated into Italian, among those titles, only four have been translated directly from Arabic and the rest are written in French by mainly big names who reiterated cliche scenarios about fundamentalism, Islamism and violence in the country. Guardi insinuated that these works are exactly the ones that have the French Ministry of Foreign Affair’s potential sponsor; the premise suggests that there is a bias towards literary works that feed a propagandist narrative about a particular society. Considering the works of Yasmina Khadra, for instance, the Italian market unquestionably shows no interest in a wide range of his novels but enthusiastically engage with those detective stories about terrorism in countries such as Algeria and Afghanistan.
Globally, the emergence of Female Algerian writers who explored themes of gender, patriarchy and women’s rights within the Algerian society gained prominence. Their writings resonated with the contemporary discussions surrounding gender equality and living in a patriarchal society; therefore, putting forward fresh perspectives on the female body and memory by resisting existing social conventions. Considering for instance the work of Assia Djebar So Vast The Prison, it appears that the writer has determined thoughts on the situation of women that was best described as a prison; through the character Isma, Djebar unveils that her culture is also a prison where freedom is encaged, even as a child, freedom was not granted. She referred to two elements which are first the language confinement “When I was fifteen I lived in a country at war! Arabic was the language of flames—not of governmental power, as it is no. When one learned Arabic, outside of school, it was not to have a career but to be willing to die!” (Djebar, 2001) and the cultural prison “Thus I unveiled myself. Thus I was in search of myself. Thus I attempted to disguise myself from myself” (Djebar, 2001).
Recently, the “Algerian New Novel” seems to be on the rise, especially works in Arabic. Ghanem’s (2020) interview with Samir Kiacimi, an Algerian novelist, revealed that the presence of so many Algerian novels on 2020’s longlist of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction is due to the evolution of the Algerian novel and the embrace of new narrative techniques. He explicitly expressed that one of the advantages of the Algerian novel is the linguistic and cultural wealth that make the literary production open to all; however, he drew attention to the political instability of the Arab world today that certainly weakened the distribution in the region. In Algeria, there was a renewed interest in the production of literature in Arabic for the sense of cultural reawakening writing in Arabic had carried.
6. Conclusion
Literature plays a vital role in helping us understand the world around us. It serves as a mirror that reflects the diverse aspects of human experience, allowing us to broaden our perspectives and gain a deeper appreciation for the complexity of the world we inhabit. The Algerian literature is versatile per se, it exemplifies eminent inter-culturality and diverse languages in different regions, it encompasses various genres, including novels, poetry, plays, and essays written in different languages such as Arabic, French, and Tamazight (Berber). It is seen as an important voice in African and postcolonial literature as it particularly reflects the experiences and struggles of indigenous people for independence and liberation.
The Algerian novel has witnessed major transformations since its emergence. One key period that served as a contributing factor to the recognition of the Algerian novel is the colonial period. Early novels highlighted the remarkable resilience of Algerians making these novels a voice that echoed with the international liberation movement. Later in the post-independence era, there was a cultural and literary renaissance, literature served as a platform for social and political commentary pointing out inequalities, power dynamics, and the challenges of a newly independent nation. Another critical point was the civil war, literature particularly in French suffered drastically as Algeria was fully committed to being purely Muslim thus Arab. Gradually, as the country recovered from the civil unrest, the Algerian novel in French and Arabic again found its way into diversity allowing authors to evolve and shift their focus from politics and conflict towards individual and personal territory.
To present day, the Algerian novel continues to thrive by embracing the dynamic and unique nature of the Algerian novel. Authors in the late 20th century onwards, the contemporary scene, began exploring intertextuality and experimentation of different themes through various narrative techniques broadening the horizon of Algerian literature by covering the complexities of living between cultures, sexuality and decolonization in an attempt to reach a wider readership.
NOTES
1Imazighen (Amazigh in singular) refers to the aboriginal population of North Africa and it means the free men. The term Berber is also commonly used to refer to the north African nation although many denounce the word for its colonial and derogatory nation.
2Samuel Huntington in his book Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order (1998) determined the divisions between societies or communities as a clash of civilizations because of the different cultural norms.
3Term coined by Onesime Reclus in 1880 referring to the whole body of people and organizations around the world who use French language regularly for private or public purposes, the term is also relevant to countries which speak French as their national language be it mother language or secondary language. “Francophonie.” Wikipedia, 20 Mar. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francophonie.
4The Interview of Ahlem Mosteghanemi by Jonas Elbousty and karima Belghiti was published in English in: “Ahlem Mostaghanemi: A Writer’s Journey Of Love For And Devotion To Arabic Literature.” Arablit. 19 October 2021. https://utica.libguides.com/c.php?g=703243&p=4991636.
5A term used by Samuel Huntington in his work Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order.