We Are Who We Are Not: Language, Exile, and Nostalgia for the Self

This essay focuses on the effects of exile on language and, by extension, on the shifting identities of exiles. It is based on two creative experiences of its author: translation of his memoir, originally written in English, into his mother tongue, and his creating a sound art piece titled In My Language I am Smart, dealing with strategies of establishing identity through the acquisition of language. The noise of new culture permeates exile’s life. The information becomes coded and difficult to comprehend and use. In Lacanian terms, this effectively prevents the exile from reaching the mirror phase that is needed to enter the new society. Author argues that performing exile means performing decryption.