L’exophonie chez Sekiguchi Ryōko : transfert de saveurs

Abstrakt

This article analyses heterolinguism as a tool to create a cultural transfer between the Japanese and French cultures in Ryōko Sekiguchi’s essay Nagori (2018). The study of the use the author makes of heterolinguism reveals that this concept can do more that define an aspect of a text, it can help to bring closer cultures that don’t even share the same writing system. In Nagori, which was written in French, Sekiguchi chooses to transcribe the Japanese characters into latin alphabet, hence making it possible for French-speaking readers to read Japanese words. This writing strategy smoothes the meeting of both languages. Moreover, Japanese words become a full part of the French text, which allows the readers to learn them, along with the Japanese concepts they convey. Sekiguchi uses Japanese words and concepts to describe the themes of this essay that are food and the seasons. Japanese words can in this way become associated with physical sensations. Sekiguchi’s heterolinguism calls upon our sense of corporality as well, making this cultural transfer even more tangible. Thus, this weaving of Japanese words into a text written in French opens up a new vision of the francophone literature.