2025/06/30 by Mouawad, Nada
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Identity #Language Hybridity #Lebanese Literature #Linguistic and Sociocultural Studies #Linguistics #Middle East Politics and Society #Multilingualism #North African History and Literature
paper · doi:10.13136/2724-4202/1700
openalex publication_date 2025/06/30 · openalex created_date 2025/12/16 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01
The article analyzes the linguistic conflict in modern Lebanese literature as a reflection of the nation’s fragmented identity. Between Arabic, French, English, and the Lebanese dialect, language becomes both a site of tension and a tool of creation. Through the works of Farjallah Hayek, Amin Maalouf, Wajdi Mouawad, and Morice Awwad, the study explores how multilingualism shapes literary form, ideology, and self-representation. Each author reveals a distinct negotiation with linguistic plurality – through hybrid syntax, voluntary grafting, universalizing abstraction, or rebellious dialectal expression. The analysis argues that Lebanese literature transforms linguistic disorder into aesthetic harmony, asserting a unique “Lebanophone” voice that transcends identity conflicts.