Timelines

Explore histories of migration, citizenship and belonging in Germany and the U.S. over the centuries.

1998

Kanak Attak // KanakSprak

It is one of the most significant works of so-called migration culture. Feridun Zaimoğlu's book “KanakSprak – 24 Misstöne vom Rande der Gesellschaft” (KanakSprak – 24 Discordant Notes from the Margins of Society) is a collection of fictional monologues by men* with a migration background, which is particularly captivating for its language.

In “KanakSprak,” pimps, garbage collectors*, drug addicts, Islamists, and transsexuals have their say. “These characters describe mainstream society and their own status within it in a critical, provocative, and at times even offensive manner. The challenging attitude of the volume is expressed in the appropriation of the highly derogatory term ”Kanake" in the title. Instead of pointing to positive counterexamples in an attempt to counter the negative associations of this term—such as crime, violence, or sexism—KanakSprak embraces many of the stereotypes associated with this slur in an exaggerated and defiant appropriation." (Yasemin Yildiz)