Othering as a trait of postcolonial literary discourse (based on the example of French-language literature)

Modern globalization processes are changing not only the geopolitical but also the linguistic map of the world which in turn affects the spread, use of languages and the number of their native speakers. Nowadays Romance languages including French are a cultural part of the identity of the world's majority. They laid and formed the postcolonial matrix of the intercultural dialogue the development of which continues today. Modern linguistic and cultural interactions are implemented within the framework of the opposition "minority-titular culture" thereby forming the interaction of "global" and "local". It is clearly manifested at the junction of the language, the history of a country or region and its socio-cultural aspects. However, it finds a special form of expression in the postcolonial discourse of fiction, which has not only linguistic specificity, but also is a carrier of the ethnocultural code of individual regions and countries. The designated type of discourse has special characteristics, among which we highlight the idea of othering. In this article, we consider the opposite points of view on the interaction of global and local cultures, as well as how it manifests itself through the prism of language, both in cultural-historical and sociolinguistic aspects. The narrative strategies used by the authors in postcolonial discourse allow for a different interpretation of the concept of the "other", the idea of borderline cultures, spatial and temporal perception and ethnospecificity. Based on the analysis of the literature of the Franco-Moroccan writer T. Ben Jellun, whose novel has become the object of research, can conclude that the identity of minority cultures in postcolonial discourse manifests itself through syncretism, hybridity, extralinguistic factors, ideas of indigenization and othering.