New Caledonia is a French overseas territory consisting of the main island and the Loyalty Islands, enjoying a high degree of autonomy. In history, the indigenous Kanak people were oppressed for a long time, and their legal status was elevated after World War II. At present, the population is mainly composed of Kanaks and Europeans, with a certain degree of opposition. New Caledonian literature is primarily based on French, with indigenous languages as a supplement. Before 1945, Kanaks were not literary subjects, but the problem had already been buried. After the war, Kanak writers emerged, closely related to nationalism and independence movements. The independence movement reached its peak in the 1980s, with bloody conflicts. In the 1990s, the political situation was stable and literary creation was active. Contemporary literature is defined as the period from 1988 to present, characterized by social stability and literary prosperity. Literary issues have continuity, and some writers' creations span across eras.

1、 The origin and culture of the Kanak ethnic group

Kanak people are a collective term for the indigenous people of New Caledonia, belonging to the Melanesian language family of the Austronesian language family. The Kanak people have diverse internal languages, with 28 indigenous languages collectively referred to as the "Kanak language". The term 'Kanak' originated from the Hawaiian language, originally referring to Pacific Indigenous peoples, and later became a self designation for New Caledonian Indigenous peoples. The Kanak culture from the perspective of 19th century Europe presents exoticism, combined with identity issues in the 20th century. Jean Mariotti and other writers focus on Kanak culture and history, and their works showcase the inner world of the Kanak people. After World War II, Kanaks gained more political rights and their identity gradually formed. Kanak writers such as Apollinaire Arnowa influence identity consciousness and independent thinking through their writing. Political figures such as Jean Marie Ghibaau are also writers who reinforce Kanak identity through their theatrical works. The phenomenon of mixed race in New Caledonia is not as common as in other French speaking regions, and mixed race identity has been challenged. In contemporary New Caledonian literature, Kanak is the subject, theme, and language of writing, showcasing multiculturalism.

2、 Diversity of Languages: Towards a Creolization?

During the Kanak independence movement in New Caledonia, a group of Kanak writers emerged, whose works were known as "Kanak French Writing", mainly in French but incorporating Kanak language vocabulary, resulting in a phenomenon of multilingual mixing. There are a total of 28 Kanak languages, among which Drehu, Negne, Paisi, and Aje are more commonly used. These languages originally had no script and were later spelled using the Latin alphabet. In the 1860s, British missionaries translated and printed a Drahu translation of the Old Testament in the northern New Caledonian Islands, and in the 1980s, Kanak letters appeared. However, the assimilation policy of the French colonial authorities in the late 19th century led to the prohibition of Kanak language in the fields of education and religion, and the process of formalization was temporarily interrupted. At the beginning of the 20th century, with the relaxation of colonial policies, the process of written Kanak language was promoted through the efforts of ethnologists and anthropologists, with ethnologist Maurice Leonat making the greatest contribution. Under his influence, some purely Kanak language works emerged in New Caledonia, but their influence was limited and most of them were unpublished. Contemporary Kanak writers extensively use the Kanak language in their creations, such as Devi Goloday using Paisi vocabulary in his poetry and reproducing Kanak oral expressions in his novels; Pierre Goup reshapes the oral tradition of the Negne language in drama; Paul Vamo uses the Drahu language in his poetry. Their writing attempts to juxtapose Kanak language with French, giving Kanak traditional culture a new appearance. Although French remains the main language, Kanak language and culture have become an indispensable part of New Caledonian literature. Kanak culture and Kanak identity have been integrated into the civil society of New Caledonia, but language mixing has not led to widespread language integration. The existence of creolization in New Caledonia is still debatable. Creolization is first and foremost a form of linguistic hybridity, namely the emergence of Creole languages. Creole language is based on European languages, mixed with indigenous languages, and has become relatively stable after several generations of development. In the French speaking world, Creole is prevalent in the Caribbean region. Martinique philosopher Edward Grissom developed creolization into a broad sense of 'cultural hybridity'. From a broad perspective, the cultural phenomenon of New Caledonia may be summarized as creolization, but we should not talk about creolization outside of the creole language. The Creole language in New Caledonia is only Tayo, based on French and associated with over a dozen Kanak languages, but its influence is relatively small, with about 2000 speakers mainly concentrated in the Saint Louis community near Numea, and there is also a lack of literary achievements. The multilingual mixture in New Caledonia differs fundamentally from the creolization of the French Caribbean region in terms of historical and cultural background. Although creolization may occur in the future, the current linguistic diversity and cultural hybridity in New Caledonia symbolize another path, which does not emphasize identity, does not require universal integration of culture and language, and always respects differences. Vaniel Werepane's poetry collection "The Wind of the Islands" is written in French, accompanied by multiple Kanak language translations and even English translations, reflecting the need for a multilingual community. Contemporary Kanak writers, on the one hand, trace the history and traditions of their own nation, and on the other hand, actively engage in dialogue with other cultural groups. These two tendencies have a model effect in building a multicultural perspective.

3、 Two tendencies in contemporary Kanak literature: reshaping tradition and cultural hybridity

In contemporary New Caledonian literature, the creative tendencies of Kanak writers are mainly divided into two types: one is to reshape Kanak traditions, including tracing pre colonial myths, oral literature, and colonial history; The second is cultural hybridity, which refers to establishing dialogue between the Kanak ethnic group and other ethnic groups. Early European writers such as Louise Michel and Jean Mariotti used Kanak stories as prototypes for their works, but depicted Kanaks as exotic objects. After World War II, Kanak writers began to reshape their own culture, such as Anova's review of the "Atai Uprising" and Jibaao's creation of the play "Kanak". After the 1990s, Kanak literature became more moderate, with representative writers Devi Goloday and Pierre Gopp using Kanak language in their novels and plays, focusing on women's issues and contemporary social problems. After the Matignon Accords, New Caledonians began to identify with their "mixed race" identity and reflect on the conflict between Kanak and European ethnic groups. Writers such as Gonzaga Filippo and Sonia Brangledo reflect on history and promote dialogue through their works. European born writer Louis Jos é Barbanson reflects on identity issues and proposes the concept of "Caledonians". Nikola Kurtovich collaborated with Kanak writers to showcase linguistic diversity. Kanak culture maintains independence in dialogue with other cultures, and scholar Dominic Ruff believes that cultural differences should be respected rather than simply creolized.

conclusion

In contemporary literature of New Caledonia, the Kanak issue not only concerns identity, but also involves complex history such as politics, economy, and education. From a postcolonial perspective, the Kanak people still suffer from colonial trauma, maintain cultural independence, engage in dialogue and integration with European culture, and demonstrate openness and tolerance. Kanak culture is different from creolization, and we look forward to the development of multiculturalism.