Monica Zwaig Talks with Spanish MA Students about her 2023 Novel La interlengua

“La interlengua” or in English, “Interlanguage”, can be described as, "The process of learning a second language (L2) [which] is characteristically non-linear and fragmentary, marked by a mixed landscape of rapid progression in certain areas but slow movement, incubation, or even permanent stagnation in others. Such a process results in a linguistic system known as 'interlanguage'”, according to linguistics professor Larry Selinker (1972). In her 2023 novel, French-Argentine author Monica Zwaig gives her work the title La interlengua, describing a process of the protagonist’s search for her own identity through language learning and reflection on her mother tongue(s). The description on the back cover of the novel reads, “Amanda, que nació en Francia y vive hace diez años en Buenos Aires, se anota en un curso de italiano. La mayoría de sus compañeros buscan aprender el idioma para sacar la nacionalidad italiana y dejar el país, pero Amanda hizo la inversa: dejó Europa y se vino “para acá”” (Amanda, who was born in France and has lived in Buenos Aires for ten years, signs up for an Italian course. Most of her classmates are looking to learn the language to obtain Italian citizenship and leave the country, but Amanda did the opposite: she left Europe and came “here”).

On November 20th, 2025, the ISU Spanish MA course Spanish 6690: “21st Century Argentine Literature” led by Dr. Marin Laufenberg met virtually with author, translator, lawyer, and performer, Monica Zwaig, to discuss her novel. The book is based on the author’s lived experience, and many students expressed how they could relate to the protagonist and thereby, to Zwaig herself, because they are also language learners and teachers. Many of the Spanish MA students speak more than two languages, and have experienced the frustrations and joys of learning a new language; they understand deeply how language itself is connected to our identity. 

One student pondered with Zwaig, “El final de la novela es bastante abierto. ¿Por qué decidiste dejarlo así? Para ti, el final refleja esta lucha que no tiene fin y las preguntas de identidad que no se pueden resolver?” (The novel's ending is quite open. Why did you decide to leave it that way? For you, does the ending reflect this endless struggle and the unanswerable questions of identity?) to which Zwaig responded that the process of understanding one’s identity and also that of learning a language are unending processes. We are constantly remaking, refining, and gathering pieces of our identity throughout life, and therefore she wanted the openness of the book’s ending to reflect that ongoing journey. 

Another student reflected, “En su libro aparece constantemente la sensación de no sentirse del todo en ninguna lengua. ¿De qué manera piensa que la incomodidad lingüística puede transformarse en un espacio de creatividad o de descubrimiento personal?” (In your book, the feeling of not quite belonging in any language appears constantly. How do you think linguistic discomfort can be transformed into a space for creativity or personal discovery?). Zwaig rejected the idea that a person needs to have a singular identity, saying, “Uno se queda atrapado en esta idea que tiene que ser una sola cosa” (We get caught up in this idea that we have to be just one thing). 

Zwaig also explained that she feels differently in Spanish versus in French, and that if she had sat down to write this book in French, she would have written a completely different work. Upon finishing writing the last sentence she realized, “acabo de escribir una novela que no se puede traducir” (I have just written a novel that can’t be translated). This “untranslatability” of the work is due to the fact that it incorporates Spanish, Italian, French, Argentine slang, and also cultural references couched in Argentina, the history of Argentina’s relationships with France and Italy, and other very contextually specific details such as Argentina’s passion for soccer culture. 

This virtual dialogue brought together students located geographically all over the U.S. who participate in our Spanish MA program who have diverse backgrounds and personal histories with cultural and linguistic identity, and connected those students with Zwaig, a French-Argentine author located in Buenos Aires. Zwaig marveled at the way her book had crossed so much geographic distance to arrive at the hands of Idaho State University’s students, stating, “Les llega a la gente que sabe lo que es cambiar de país… Me emociona que hayan leído la novela desde un lugar tan alejado a la Argentina y que les haya llegado el tema tan fuertemente” (It resonates with people who know what it's like to move to a new country… I'm thrilled that you all read the novel from a place so far removed from Argentina and that the theme resonated with you so strongly). 

ISU’s online Spanish MA program is constantly breaking barriers, creating community, and bringing folks together in spite of physical distance. To learn more about ISU’s Spanish MA program and the various activities in which the students participate, visit: https://www.isu.edu/anthropology/language-programs/graduate/