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Rating: 
Summary: A meditation on language and culture
Review: "Monolingualism of the Other; or, The Prosthesis of Origin," by Jacques Derrida, is a compelling blend of autobiographical material and cultural criticism. Originally published in French in 1996, the text has been translated into English by Patrick Mensah. According to a note at the beginning of the book, a shorter, different version of the text was delivered orally at a colloquium at the Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, in 1992.In the book, Derrida reflects on his past as an Algerian Jew living under French colonialism. He raises questions about language politics, personal identity, cultural domination, the notion of a "mother tongue," and the idea of "metalanguage." He reflects on the practical mechanics of French colonial administration in Algeria, and on Algeria's Jewish population: "a disintegrated 'community,' cut up and cut off." He also discusses his own problematic relationship with the French language. I found "Monolingualism of the Other" absolutely gripping. Although Derrida's prose (as translated by Mensah) sometimes strikes me as convoluted to the point of obscurity, I often found Derrida's style to be elegant, even poetic, and very accessible. But be warned: if you're intimidated by phrases like "ontico-ontological re-mark," "a pre-egological ipseity," or "the hegemony of the homogeneous," the book may be a bit much to take. But many will, I believe, tear into this challenging text with gusto. I believe that the issues raised by Derrida in this book are relevant to many other cultural phenomena: the debate over Black English, the political and literary recognition of creole and pidgin languages, the ongoing efforts to preserve the Celtic languages, etc. If you have a serious interest in these and related issues, I strongly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: strikingly readable
Review: after wading through _writing and difference_, this nice little book was a most pleasant surprise. In comparison to W & D, _The Monolingualism of the Other_ is a very readable book and there are plenty of ideas presented in this text that can be grasped without fully understanding Derrida's project. In conjunction with this, many of the ideas that Derrida discusses can be accepted and implented into ones own thought without necessarily agreeing with Derrida's project. An enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
Rating: 
Summary: mildly interesting
Review: I'll admit right now that this is the first (and probably last) of Derrida's books that I've read cover to cover. Therefore I'm sure all those converted post-modernists will lambast me for not fully grasping the meaning of this book since I can't put it in the context of Derrida's other works. Nonetheless there is some interesting stuff here for the newcomer, especially anyone interested in what it means to have a language as 'one's own' or to have a 'mother tongue.' Derrida asks these questions in reference to his experiences as a French-speaking Algerian Jew and as a participant at a conference in French-speaking Louisiana (where this work was first presented). The whole book is about Derrida's problems with identity and language, and he is mildly interesting in drawing out some paradoxes like 'we only ever speak one language' and 'we never speak only one language.' He documents his personal problems with language, claiming that 'I feel lost outside the French language.' Yet Derrida writes in a very annoying style, creating new words every other page and presenting the book as if it were the transciption of a dialogue. It's also overpriced unless you're a Derrida fanatic, which means you probably already own it anyway. Not exactly a must read.
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