이창래의 ‘네이티브 스피커’ 분석에 나타난 언어와 정체성의 결속성 연구

Investigating the Cohesive Relationship between Language Use and Identity Construction in Chang-rae Lee’s Native Speaker: from the Poststructuralist Perspectives

The purpose of this study is to explore the cohesive relationship between language use and identity construction through the multilingual experiences of an immigrant, Henry Park, who appears in ‘Native Speaker’ written by Lee Chang-rae. Drawing on poststructuralist approaches as a challenge for binary distinctions such as native speaker-nonnative speaker and insider-outsider, it was argued that Henry, as might be expected of someone who speaks fluently the target language as he grew up in an English-speaking country, could not be considered as a legitimate native speaker of his target language, but rather as a language user who negotiates and reconstructs his hybrid and conflicted identities. His conflicted identities were socioculturally imposed by others and self-imposed as well. The narratives of Henry demonstrate the process of transformed identity on using the language of the other: the violent experiences, the complex relationships between desire, ownership, authenticity, and legitimacy, the perception of his contradictory identity, and the deconstruction and reconstruction of his identity through retelling his stories. The analysis of this cross-cultural autobiographic narrative offers unique insights into the comprehension of the links between language and identity in hyphenated individuals.