The Subaltern’s Syntax: Deconstructing Linguistic Hybridity and Resistance in Contemporary Anglophone Fiction

Abstract

This research provides a post-structuralist critique of linguistic hybridity within contemporary Anglophone literature, specifically focusing on how "Global South" narratives utilize the English language as a site of political and cultural resistance. The primary objective is to analyze the "Subaltern’s Syntax"—the deliberate manipulation of English grammar, rhythm, and lexicon—to challenge Western hegemonic literary standards. By applying Homi Bhabha’s theory of "Third Space" and mimicry, the study examines how authors decolonize the novel form through untranslated fragments and indigenous metaphors. The methodology involves a close textual reading of select 21st-century prose, identifying patterns of "linguistic refractions" that force the Western reader into a position of cultural alterity. The novelty of this research lies in its move beyond thematic "representation" toward a formalist analysis of language as a weapon of decoloniality. The implications suggest that contemporary English literature is undergoing a radical "provincializing" of the center, where the "periphery" dictates the new stylistic norms of the genre. Ultimately, the study argues that the evolution of the Anglophone novel is defined by its ability to house multiple, often conflicting, cultural identities within a single syntactic structure.