Research Article

Multilingual London and its Literatures

---

Abstract

It is almost commonplace to say that London today is ‘the multilingual capital of the world’ (The Independent, 29 March 1999), the ‘most ethnically diverse city’ (Evening Standard, 2 December 2003), perhaps even ‘the most cosmopolitan city in the world’ (The Guardian, 21 January 2005). What interests me here, and what I want to explore in this essay, is how this multilingual and multicultural character of contemporary London affects the domain of literature. What literatures are being produced here today, and in what languages? What can we say about the character of these literatures, their genres, forms of expression and representations? And what about the themes and concerns that shape and define them?

Keywords: literature, languages, multilungualism

How to Cite:

Salverda, R., (2006) “Multilingual London and its Literatures”, Opticon1826 1(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.5334/opt.010603