Diplomatic language as colonial memory: protocol, Gaullist rhetoric, and counter-discourse in Guy Menga's Case de Gaulle

Abstract

This study focuses on "Diplomatic Language as Colonial Memory : Protocol, Gaullist Rhetoric, and Counter-Discourse in Case de Gaulle by Guy Menga." Adopting an approach that combines enunciation theory, pragmatics, and stylistics, our analysis demonstrates how the Congolese writer addresses the issue of official diplomatic discourse within the colonial context through his distinctive style. Indeed, Menga employs various literary expressions – integral to diplomatic language as a form of colonial memory – within his fictional work. These include, on the one hand, expressions linked to official proto-diplomatic mechanisms and the Gaullist rhetoric of emancipation – manifested through the pageantry of official visits and media language, the monument as a diplomatic act of commemoration, the conditional-permissive formula, the popular reception of de Gaulle as a messianic figure, and the revolutionary or Pan-African rhetoric associated with de Gaulle and Matsoua. On the other hand, they encompass elements related to diplomatic circumlocution and official colonial (counter)-discourse, such as the politics of broken promises and paternalistic colonial rhetoric, collaborationism and realism, internal critique, negotiation, and popular mediation. Thus, the specific features identified in the Congolese writer’s novel allow us to gauge his frequent use of literary expressions to articulate his imaginative vision, creating a style that aligns with his literary, linguistic, diplomatic, and stylistic aspirations.