Reflections

Recently we have read the articles Woman Warrior, How to Tame a Wild Tongue, and The Language of Power. The one that resonated the most with me was The Language of Power by bell hook. In this text, a few elements jumped out at me. For one, the repetitive use of "the oppressor language" in reference to english. It is first mentioned in reference to a poem called "The Burning of Paper Instead of Children". When I heard this way to refer to English, I began to actually think of the implications. And I realized, though english is my native tongue and i know few others, it truly was a language with a "shady" past. I thought of all the places all over the world, once colonized by the English, that had few to no other languages. Certainly none of the languages spoken by the ancestors of the native people had survived. Even worse, the places that had never had this mode of oppression ousted upon them that willingly threw away what is arguably one of the biggest parts of not only culture but also identity for this foreign tongue. Language is an important facet of social and cultural identity.  For the promise of a brighter future that may never come in a wider world that shrinks every time a language disappears. And wondered, is it worth the loss of diversity? Though I would argue avidly against I also realized it is not my place to say. Many of the great achievements of the past were possible because of the large widely spoken languages. Without these, the ideas and cooperation necessary could not have occurred. If someone wants to put there native tongue into a little box in the back of your mind, its there decision. Though they risk the loss of their past, they gain a promise for the future. ONe that many underprivileged people want and need.