A Genetic Study of G.E. Gerini’s Multilingual Writings about Siām and the Orient
Author: Gerini, Kanokwan
Under the direction of: Axel Gasquet
Clermont-Auvergne University
English text
Keywords: Languages, Literatures and Civilizations, Thailand, G.E Gerini, Genetic criticism, Siam, Western and Eastern literary multilingualism, Narrative genetics, Dramatic genetics, Gerini, Gerolamo Emilio - Criticism and interpretation - Genetic criticism, Thailand in literature.
Abstract
The aim of this research is a reconstruction and study of the genesis of the complex creative process of G.E. Gerini’s literary and academic multilingual writings about Siām and the Orient (1881-1913). The writing process of his multilingual prose and poetry in English, Italian, French, Siāmese and other Oriental languages is preserved in various kinds of archives which include his personal multilingual glossary for specific purposes and multilingual dictionary of dialects, multilingual notebooks that contain material he incorporated into the texts of his writings as well as his original handwritten draft, preliminary studies and revised manuscripts. This genetic evidence is an active agent of the formation of multilingual works and thus the genesis of the literary multilingualism. To trace all the used items in the final text and in the relevant draft and locate the sources the author was obtaining information from, the research aims also to show how genetic approach can contribute to the interpretation of his multilingual prose and poetic works and explain the genesis as well as the development of the literary multilingualism in his works. The genetic study of Gerini’s works also includes the critical study of the influence and relevance of religious, social and political memory in Siām and the Orient in his works.
