Against Isolation: Multilingualism, Transnationalism and Literary Dialogue in Dutch–Afrikaans Formations. A Report with Critical Reflections on a Research Programme

Abstract This research report pushes back against isolationist accounts of linguistic autonomy, not only in Afrikaans, but across languages and literary traditions. Starting with a focus on recent interactions between Afrikaans and Dutch literary polysystems (both in the Netherlands and Flanders), it combines a critical perspective on ‘minor literatures’ with methods based in functional literary and cultural interactions. I propose a generalisable transversal and multi-linguistic approach to the study of global literary and linguistic polysystems. This contribution focuses especially on the potential of multilingualism and translation to generate literary histories that can accommodate international and cross-cultural networking and exchange, thereby to complicate separatist constructions of linguistic heritage and identity.