The Trauma of Emigration: Language Change (B. Stanišić, V. Čolić, A. Mahmutović, A. Božičević, N. Kulidžan)

The article is devoted to the problem of choosing a language among modern writers – immigrants from the countries of the former Yugoslavia and it presents four options for «life in another language». A number of authors continue to write in their native language, their works, however, are published, more often in translation into the language of the country of residence, the second category of authors are those who have completely changed their native language to the language of the country of residence, and still others begin their literary career in a non-native, acquired language – the language of the country residence, the last group, the smallest, are authors who began their literary career in a non-native language and, at the same time, not in the language of the country of residence. Loss of home, severance of ties with the homeland, isolation from «one’s own» culture and language are perhaps the most common motives in the texts of migrant authors. Creativity becomes for them a way to reflect on the events of the past (the trauma of war, loss of home) and the present (attempts to adapt to new conditions), which can be interpreted in terms of the therapeutic function of writing as an attempt to overcome trauma. The new space and time gap create a distance that allows one to turn to the inexpressible experience and try to narrativize it. Choosing a non-native language can also create (additional) distance, a mask.