Język hiszpański jako element narracji w powieści Marlona Jamesa Krótka historia siedmiu zabójstw

The article investigates various functions played by Marlon James’s use of Spanish in his English language novel A Brief History of Seven Killings (2014). Four overlapping areas of discourse are analysed. The findings suggest that the main functions of the use of Spanish by James’s characters are: pointing to the historical presence of CIA agents in Jamaica and Latin America (contentcreating and alluding function), reflecting on Cuban influence in Florida and several Caribbean Island (alluding function), accurate depiction of trade contacts and dealings between Colombian cartels and American gangsters (sociological function), and also an indirect form of characterisation of both Josey Wales, the novel’s Jamaican protagonist, and Cuban terrorist Doctor Love (characterbuilding and sociological function). Additionally, the presence of Spanish lexis exposes stylistic markers of an individual’s speech, adding to the novel’s polyphonic dimension.