When two cultures come in contact, each impacts the other. Even if one culture or language becomes dominant, there’s still a mutual impact. That’s why, for instance, there are so many words in English that come from other languages. That cultural blending is a part of a lot of different places in the world, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that it’s also a part of crime fiction.

For instance, many of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux novels take place in Louisiana, which was home to several Native American Nations, and also part of the French empire. Later, it became part of the United States. All of that means that the French, English, and Native American languages in the area (and their speakers) came into a lot of contact with each other. In today’s Louisiana, people often speak English with French words included, and we see that in Burke’s novels. Here’s a bit, for instance, from A Morning For Flamingos. In one plot thread of the novel, Robicheaux is working to clear the name of Tee Beau Latolais, who claims he’s innocent of a murder for which he’s been convicted. Here’s what his grandmother says when he asks her about what she’s said to police:

‘I told all them people, Mr. Dave. They ain’t listen to me. What for they gonna listen to an old n—- woman worked Miss Hattie’s crib. That’s what they say. Old n—– putain lyin’ for Tee Beau.’

You can probably guess the meaning of putain, and what’s interesting in the novel is that words from French are frequently mixed in with the local dialect.

Fans of Tony Hillerman’s Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn novels will know that there’s an interesting blend of dominant-culture speech patterns, ways of doing things, and so on, and the Navajo language and way of life. Even native speakers of English who don’t speak Navajo do often follow Navajo customs. For instance, one Navajo custom is that visitors to a home announce their presence by blowing the horns of their cars. That gives the occupant time to do any last-minute tidying or to quickly change clothes before welcoming someone into the home. The custom is to wait until the host appears at the door before getting out of the car and going in. That little ritual takes place in several of these novels, especially when Chee or Leaphorn is visiting witnesses and looking for information. Western ways are also present; just about everyone speaks English, and shops and restaurants reflect that culture, too. You’re absolutely right, fans of Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire books; there’s an interesting mix of Native American ways and Western ways in those novels.

Nicole Watson’s The Boundary takes place in today’s Brisbane, where the English-speaking culture and the Corrowa people have shared space for a long time. In the novel, attorney Miranda Eversley is representing the Corrowa people in their claim to Meston Park. They lose their case, and just a few hours later, the judge is murdered. Soon other people involved in the case are murdered, too. Corrowas’ leader Ethel Cobb says that an ancient spirit named Red Feather has returned to exact revenge for this injustice. The police, though, believe there’s a much more prosaic explanation, and they start to investigate. Throughout the book, we see how both Miranda and police detective Jason Matthews live in the Western-culture world, but at the same time, blend that with their personal Aboriginal histories. We see that blending of cultures in several other Australian crime stories, too.

India has been home to many cultures for thousands of years. During the years of colonialism, English became the elite language, and the English culture founds its way into many aspects of Indian life. At the same time, most people continued to speak their own languages, and their own cultures were still a part of their daily lives. We see that in a number of novels that take place in India. For example, Vaseem Khan’s Baby Ganesha novels feature retired Inspector Chopra, who has opened his own detective agency. He and his wife Archana ‘Poppy’ speak English, shop at malls, and in other ways follow Western customs. But at the same time, they use their own language, too, prefer traditional food, and have more traditional views of things like family relationships. In this series, as in many other series that take place in India, there’s a blend of cultures, customs, and languages, and there’s also use of Hindi and other non-English words in the novels. And in case you’re wondering, it goes both ways; I was once told by an English acquaintance that a lot of people think of curry as an informal national dish…

Sue Younger’s Days Are Like Grass shows the blending of cultures and languages that have happened in New Zealand. In the novel, plastic surgeon Claire Bowerman has returned to her native Auckland from a long stay in London. With her are her partner Yossi Shalev and her fifteen-year-old daughter Roimata ‘Roi.’ Claire’s not entirely glad to be home, though, as her father is notorious for being accused of the abduction and murder of a young girl years before. Unfortunately for Claire, word that she’s back is soon out there, and the media starts to pay attention. If she can, she wants to really find out the truth about that long-ago case and lay the gossip to rest. In the meantime, Roi wants to connect with the Māori part of her family, and they with her. Claire’s not happy about it at first, as she and Roi’s father didn’t stay together. But eventually, she sees the point of it, and it’s really interesting to see how Younger makes use of Māori and Western words, cultures, and so on to tell the story.

There’s a real example of this sort of culture/language blending in Christina Hoag’s Skin of Tattoos, which takes place in Los Angeles. Magdaleno ‘Mags’ Argueta has recently been released from prison, where he served time on gang-related weapons charges. He’s innocent, but he covered for his gang’s leader. Now, all he wants is to start over and break free of his gang’s influence. It’s not going to be easy, though. For one thing, he may be finished with the gang, but the other members aren’t necessarily finished with him. For another, plenty of employers will not consider hiring a person with a prison record. Stil, Mags does his best. Then, a series of events drags him back into the gang. Now, he’ll have to think of a way to get out, if, that is, he lives long enough. In this novel, there is a real impact of the Mexican/Central American cultures and language. Many people speak Spanish, and the local food and drink reflects that impact. But at the same time, it’s Los Angeles, a part of the United States, where English is the most common language. So there’s plenty of influence from that language and culture, too.

And that’s the way it is in places where one culture meets another. Each one impacts the other, and there are influences from both cultures. These have been just a few examples; which ones come to your mind?

*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from Roddy Woomble’s I Came in From the Mountain.