Joseph Conrad’s Linguistic Identities
Joseph Conrad’s Linguistic Identities

Author(s): Ewa Kujawska-Lis
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Joseph Conrad; language; identity; sociolinguistics
Summary/Abstract: Being multilingual himself, Conrad had an extraordinary linguistic awareness. Hewas not only proficient in various languages, but also conscious of the ways in whichlanguage contributes to one’s national identity and professional distinctness. In hisprivate life, he created his distinct “selves” through different languages. His nationalidentity as a Pole was bound with his mother tongue that he continued to speak whenamongst his compatriots. His professional careers, first as a mariner, then as a writer,were linked with his command of English and its varieties. He employed French tocreate his “intellectual self.” This paper examines briefly Conrad’s different linguisticidentities, considering sociolinguistic approaches to language and identity.

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