Code-Choice and Identity Construction on Stage (Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies) - Hardcover

Aaltonen, Sirkku

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1138088803 ISBN 13: 9781138088801

Publisher: Routledge, 2020

Synopsis

Code-Choice and Identity Construction on Stage challenges the general assumption that language is only one of the codes employed in a theatrical performance; Sirkku Aaltonen changes the perspective to the audience, foregrounding the chosen language variety as a trigger for their reactions.

Theatre is ‘the most public of arts’, closely interwoven with contemporary society, and language is a crucial tool for establishing order. In this book, Aaltonen explores the ways in which chosen languages on stage can lead to rejection or tolerance in diglossic situations, where one language is considered unequal to another. Through a selection of carefully chosen case studies, the socio-political rather than artistic motivation behind code-choice emerges. By identifying common features of these contexts and the implications of theatre in the wider world, this book sheds light on high versus low culture, the role of translation, and the significance of traditional and emerging theatrical conventions.

This intriguing study encompassing Ireland, Scotland, Quebec, Finland and Egypt, cleverly employs the perspective of familiarising the foreign and is invaluable reading for those interested in theatre and performance, translation, and the connection between language and society.

About this title

About the Author

Sirkku Aaltonen is one of the pioneers in the study of drama and theatre translation. She is an affiliated researcher at the University of Vaasa, Finland and a visiting Researcher at Effat Socio-Cultural Studies Research Center at Effat University in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1138088803
• ISBN 13: 9781138088801
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 202