What is, then, writing which has an accent? It is a writing which does not completely identify with the power, authority of the language it uses; but confronts, without glossing over, the gap between the user and the language. Such writing reveals an ambiguity towards power: the writer chooses to embrace a language (because of its pervasive centrality) which he/she knows is not quite his/her own, is sufficient for his/her inner purposes. Accent in writing has little to do with explicit theme or semantic context: it rather has to do with texture, structure, the scratches, distortions, painful gaps (in rhythms, syntax, diction, etc.) caused by the alien relationship between the writer and his/her adopted language. Accent is cracks (many unconcious, the way a speaker is unaware of his or her accent when speaking, does not have to create it) on the transparent surface.

Murat Nemet-Nejat

Extracted from the article titled ``Questions of Accent (Exquisite Corpse, No. 43, 1993)'' at the risk of taking it out of its context. The complete article can be found at this site