Linguistic and extralinguistic aspects of “métis futurism” as a tool for identity (re)construction in fiction

Abstract

The focus of the present paper is on “Metis futurism” as a conceptual framework that allows writers to actualize, construct and reimagine personal, cultural and other types of identity in and through fiction. Characteristics of “Metis futurism” as postulated by Ch. Vowell, a Canadian Metis writer, are examined through a study of her short story collection “Buffalo Is the New Buffalo” (2022) accompanied by the writer’s commentaries. The aim is to outline the key extralinguistic and linguistic aspects of Metis futurism as exemplified by Ch. Vowell’s fiction, as well as to analyze the function of the metaconcept in question within the author’s idioconceptual subsystem. 

The results obtained show that given the hybridity of genres, postcolonial speculative rhetoric, a set of culture-specific concepts relevant for the Metis people and other Indigenous cultures, alongside the extensive use of the speech strategy of discredit and non-English language means that the target audience is supposed to decode on its own, “Metis futurism” allows the writer to personalize and customize the format and the content of their fiction in accordance with their goal of inviting the audience to participate in the (re)construction of all kinds of identity in and through text, thereby performing its interpretive function.

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