THE BILINGUAL CREATIVITY OF TATJANA POKRAJAC-PAPUCCI

Abstract

Contemporary Croatian female author of literary works for children Tatjana Pokrajac-Papucci for a long series of years has been creating poetic and prose texts in the Croatian standard language and the Chakavian dialect, which are not infrequently published as a bilingual, Croatian-Italian edition. Considering that the author lives in the area of western Istria for which the right of equal use of the Italian language is prescribed by law, the intention of the author to publish her works in both languages represents a good practice of nurturing bilingualism. In the work, works published in the Croatian and Italian languages are observed. The illustrated books Mala slikarica/La piccola pittrice, Andana i Bijeli Jure: Mala priča o Rovinju/Andana e Giorgio Bianco: Piccola storia di Rovigno, and poems from the illustrated collection Mašta čini svašta are singled out. The stated works are placed in the educational context of bilingualism characteristic of the Istrian area, considering that the author's texts have been published also in textbooks of primary education. The results of the thematic analysis indicate that the themes and motifs in the observed texts can be classified into two groups. The first group consists of themes and motifs from the Istrian/Rovinj past and they are shaped so that singled out local and regional features describe and interpret in a reception-wise close way to the child reader, while the second group of themes and motifs is aimed at the experience of childhood which corresponds to the contemporary reception of that life period. On the basis of the conducted analyses, it can be concluded that the observed works are intended in the first place for the bilingual reader who can, in accordance with their bilingual experience, experience the texts in both languages.