DECOLONIZING DISCOURSE: POSTCOLONIAL PERSPECTIVE ON LANGUAGE USE AND COMMUNICATION IN FINNEGANS WAKE

Abstract

This paper explores James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake through a postcolonial lens, focusing on its radical linguistic experimentation and its engagement with the legacies of colonialism, particularly in terms of language and communication. While Joyce's novel has been extensively analyzed for its complexity and literary innovations, its connections to postcolonial discourses remain underexplored. By examining the novel’s use of multilingualism, puns, and dialects, this study aims to illuminate how Joyce challenges Eurocentric modes of communication, reflecting the fragmented and hybrid identities shaped by colonial dominance. Drawing on postcolonial theorists such as Homi K. Bhabha, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, and Gayatri Spivak, the analysis highlights how Joyce’s use of indigenous languages and mimicry destabilizes colonial power structures, offering alternative forms of resistance. Through its linguistic polyphony and fluid narrative, Finnegans Wake becomes a site of postcolonial resistance, deconstructing hierarchical language systems and embracing the complexity of cultural hybridity. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the novel’s significance within postcolonial literature, positioning Joyce’s text as a profound exploration of identity, language, and resistance.