PROJECT

Based on self-made recordings in Palestine, this work attempts to spatialize various voices in the form of conversations in Palestinian Arabic colloquialisms that are about language itself. In doing so, Marah Haj Hussein balances on a tightrope between (im)possible translations from one reality to another. How does one’s relationship to one’s mother tongue change when one begins to master other languages? What power dynamics arise when speaking more than one language? This research starts from the question of defining a mother tongue in both local and immigration settings. It looks at the intersectional layering, relativity and constantly evolving reality of a language through its humor, power, pressure and imagination. Giving voice to spoken Palestinian Arabic, Hebrew, Dutch and English, Language: no broblem aims to explore through personal narratives the role of language in our understanding of borders and displacement.