English Speaks Us
Racist Ideology And Colonial Discourse Shapes Our Language, Shaping In Turn Our View Of Aboriginal Identity
Apr 7, 2006
A Revealing Comment About Indigenous Language
Supposedly on the subject of low school attendance for Indigenous students, a Cape York principal recently said to The Australian newspaper, "A big start would be to convince parents here and in the Torres Strait that it is important to speak to their children in English at home." I wonder where thinking like this comes from?
Colonial Suppression Of Native Language
For years I have been mystified at the insistence by dominant culture educators on the suppression of aboriginal language use. In the midst of horrific educational outcomes, even in communities where school attendance is below 40%, these educators still insist that the most pressing issue is the need for Anglo monolingualism in Indigenous schools. The above quote is a prime example.
The principal was asked to comment on attendance issues, and instead of addressing this, proposed the silencing of Indigenous language across an entire region - not just at school, but in the students' homes as well.
Aboriginal Language And Culture Banned From Schools
This is not an isolated opinion. For years I have personally run the gauntlet of dominant culture teachers campaigning to have Indigenous language banned from schools. I remember one meeting in which it was unanimously decided that the most critical issue in Indigenous education for that school was the need for teachers to be forbidden to speak the local language.
It is not racist bigots who are making these statements, but regular, liberal, caring professionals who genuinely want to help Indigenous people. So why is the suppression of native languages foremost in their thoughts?
Key Questions, Root Causes
It is said that our thoughts make the world. If that is the case, then what makes our thoughts? Language, of course. But do we shape the language we speak, or does it shape us? Are colonial attitudes of racism and exploitation so embedded in the English language that it is impossible for even the most liberal person to speak it without being hijacked by a racist colonial agenda?
There is a secret English, a hidden English that lurks behind our subtext, subverting our best intentions. I know this, because when I speak other languages my worldview shifts the moment I open my mouth. Truly, we don't speak English - English speaks us.
Language As Creator
The power of language as a source of creation is not some new French academic idea. Most religious traditions contain this concept, from the Indian "Om" as the first sound that created the universe, to the Indigenous notion of the world being "sung" into existence. Even Christianity states that "In the beginning, there was the Word".
Language As Destroyer
So really, when you take away a people's language, you are producing the opposite of creation - destruction. That is why genocidal, assimilationist policies throughout history have always begun with the suppression of the targeted people's language.
Find out more in my article "Secret English Myth" which deals with the cultural assumptions of uniform "black" and "white" ethnic groups, assumptions that hide in our language, invading our reality against all logic.
Also read Nanette Croce's article on Indigenous boarding school programs, called "Kill the Indian"
