Language: A Segue to Oppression
Language was invented by humans as a method of communication. It served an important purpose a few thousand years ago when one person needed to tell something to another, such a warning or an indication that they found food. Over time, separate languages evolved in many regions of the world, dividing people into different groups. Some groups began taking advantage of others, imposing cruel and unjust treatment and control over each other in the form of dictatorships and tyrannies. Slaves, often speaking a foreign language and carrying a distinct culture, were used as a source of labor. The differences in the languages of various groups facilitate oppression, as people are unable to communicate their ideas to others, causing them to be viewed as different and providing the other group with an opportunity to promote their superiority, as well as defend themselves in their own vernacular.
A common language can lead to oppression, as it brings a group closer, while at the same time limiting other groups’ perspectives and defense of themselves. It is human nature to want to belong to a group. According to Dr. Markman, belonging to a group “increase[s] feelings of warmth and motivation.” When we are within a group of people speaking a common language, we acquire a bias that that group is superior to all others, a phenomenon known as in-group bias. Most of the time, it results in that group attempting to take control of other groups that exist within the same community because they view themselves as superior. Orientalism is the idea that it is the responsibility of Europe to travel to foreign lands and free indigenous people by exposing them to European culture. This originated from the spread of Edward Said’s book on Orientalism and quickly spread to different parts of Europe. In contrast, these indigenous people were not given a chance to express their own views. Furthermore, the Orients were a minority compared to Europeans, as they did not speak a European language, making it harder for them to defend themselves. Nazi Germany’s concept of Aryan Supremacy is another great example of this. At the time, Germans believed that their race was dominant to all others. They communicated this idea through publications in the German language. Most people who were able to read these messages were German. Thus, this idea spread very quickly throughout the country, convincing Germans that they were the superior race. At the same time, non-German beliefs and points of view were blocked out of Germany by the language barrier. The rise of these ideas led to many of the actions taken by the country at the time, such as persecution of minorities, such as in Poland, a hotspot for Jews. Aside from this in-group bias, other motivations exist for oppressing people. For example, slavery is an effective method that plantation owners could obtain labor with much less cost. To justify their use of slaves, slave owners convinced each other that slavery was fine by spreading ideas in their own language. The language used by a group strongly influences its opinions and beliefs.
James Baldwin believes that language has several functions, such as to establish one’s identity and to articulate one’s circumstances. When one person speaks to another, they convey to that person a variety of characteristics, such as their social status and the family from which they come, revealing who they are. People who speak a common language tend to form a group, leading to the formation of coalitions of people who speak a language. This leads to conflict between coalitions that speak discrete languages, such as English and Ebonics. This lack of communication and each group’s view of the other group as different leads to conflict, and eventually one group subjecting another to cruelty. After one group establishes its superiority over another, it can stop that group from expressing its ideas, much like slave owners tried as much as possible to prevent slaves from coming together and expressing their ideas.
Both in present day and in the past, the language spoken by a particular community has played an important role in oppression. Slavery is a great example of this discrimination in action. Most often, slavery only works out with a group of people who speak a different language. Why else do you think America used Africans as slaves, restricting their life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for nearly a century? Were they not people too? Simply because they couldn’t speak up for themselves, Americans justified their maltreatment of these people through Biblical passages and books like James Hunt’s The Negro’s Place in Nature, an anti-abolitionist book resisting the belief that slavery should be abolished. Had these blacks been given the same opportunity to speak English and express their ideas, slaves would have been accepted as Americans and emancipated much earlier. A similar pattern can be seen today.
Today, white supremacists and other terrorist organizations use scriptures and publications to justify their brutality. ISIS is infamously known for kidnapping, murdering, and bombing people in the Middle East in order to expand their territory. They contort the meaning of Islamic scriptures written in Islamic languages (e.g. Arabic, Urdu, Farsi) in vindication of their cruel actions against women and minorities. Klans like the Ku Klux Klan hold a belief that the white race is superior to all other races and continue to think that the white race should be superior to all other races. They believe that all other people living in America are inferior since English originated from whites living in European countries. It is easy for them to rally against minorities like African Americans since these minorities usually speak a different language, such as Ebonics and are unable to gather much sentiment from English speakers. These minorities thus become a great target for groups like these. Even in America, Black English speaking African Americans and other minorities also continue to be oppressed in states like Texas through both verbal and physical harassment, despite the end of all de jure segregation.
Language is a crucial factor that leads to the formation of different groups, ultimately leading to conflict. Partially due to circulation of their own ideas, and partially because they view themselves as superior, these groups then seize control of and oppress other groups. Members convince their own group that their oppression of the other group is justified, all while disregarding the other group’s beliefs. This conflict between groups speaking different languages continues to exist in modern times, leading different groups to be at odds with each other. Scriptures and publications in a particular language are another basis for oppression. It is quite marvelous how powerful something as simple as language can be. Imagine how remarkable it would be to see the world’s status quo of oppression if it were united by a common language.
Works Cited
“10 Oppressed Minorities Around the World.” History and Headlines, www.historyandheadlines.com/10-oppressed-minorities-around-world/.
Markman, Art. “It Is Motivating to Belong to a Group.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, Aug. 2012, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-motives/201203/it-is-motivating-belong-group.
Baldwin, James “If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” Jacobus, Lee A. A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013
“The Southern Argument for Slavery.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/us/27f.asp.
A common language can lead to oppression, as it brings a group closer, while at the same time limiting other groups’ perspectives and defense of themselves. It is human nature to want to belong to a group. According to Dr. Markman, belonging to a group “increase[s] feelings of warmth and motivation.” When we are within a group of people speaking a common language, we acquire a bias that that group is superior to all others, a phenomenon known as in-group bias. Most of the time, it results in that group attempting to take control of other groups that exist within the same community because they view themselves as superior. Orientalism is the idea that it is the responsibility of Europe to travel to foreign lands and free indigenous people by exposing them to European culture. This originated from the spread of Edward Said’s book on Orientalism and quickly spread to different parts of Europe. In contrast, these indigenous people were not given a chance to express their own views. Furthermore, the Orients were a minority compared to Europeans, as they did not speak a European language, making it harder for them to defend themselves. Nazi Germany’s concept of Aryan Supremacy is another great example of this. At the time, Germans believed that their race was dominant to all others. They communicated this idea through publications in the German language. Most people who were able to read these messages were German. Thus, this idea spread very quickly throughout the country, convincing Germans that they were the superior race. At the same time, non-German beliefs and points of view were blocked out of Germany by the language barrier. The rise of these ideas led to many of the actions taken by the country at the time, such as persecution of minorities, such as in Poland, a hotspot for Jews. Aside from this in-group bias, other motivations exist for oppressing people. For example, slavery is an effective method that plantation owners could obtain labor with much less cost. To justify their use of slaves, slave owners convinced each other that slavery was fine by spreading ideas in their own language. The language used by a group strongly influences its opinions and beliefs.
James Baldwin believes that language has several functions, such as to establish one’s identity and to articulate one’s circumstances. When one person speaks to another, they convey to that person a variety of characteristics, such as their social status and the family from which they come, revealing who they are. People who speak a common language tend to form a group, leading to the formation of coalitions of people who speak a language. This leads to conflict between coalitions that speak discrete languages, such as English and Ebonics. This lack of communication and each group’s view of the other group as different leads to conflict, and eventually one group subjecting another to cruelty. After one group establishes its superiority over another, it can stop that group from expressing its ideas, much like slave owners tried as much as possible to prevent slaves from coming together and expressing their ideas.
Both in present day and in the past, the language spoken by a particular community has played an important role in oppression. Slavery is a great example of this discrimination in action. Most often, slavery only works out with a group of people who speak a different language. Why else do you think America used Africans as slaves, restricting their life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for nearly a century? Were they not people too? Simply because they couldn’t speak up for themselves, Americans justified their maltreatment of these people through Biblical passages and books like James Hunt’s The Negro’s Place in Nature, an anti-abolitionist book resisting the belief that slavery should be abolished. Had these blacks been given the same opportunity to speak English and express their ideas, slaves would have been accepted as Americans and emancipated much earlier. A similar pattern can be seen today.
Today, white supremacists and other terrorist organizations use scriptures and publications to justify their brutality. ISIS is infamously known for kidnapping, murdering, and bombing people in the Middle East in order to expand their territory. They contort the meaning of Islamic scriptures written in Islamic languages (e.g. Arabic, Urdu, Farsi) in vindication of their cruel actions against women and minorities. Klans like the Ku Klux Klan hold a belief that the white race is superior to all other races and continue to think that the white race should be superior to all other races. They believe that all other people living in America are inferior since English originated from whites living in European countries. It is easy for them to rally against minorities like African Americans since these minorities usually speak a different language, such as Ebonics and are unable to gather much sentiment from English speakers. These minorities thus become a great target for groups like these. Even in America, Black English speaking African Americans and other minorities also continue to be oppressed in states like Texas through both verbal and physical harassment, despite the end of all de jure segregation.
Language is a crucial factor that leads to the formation of different groups, ultimately leading to conflict. Partially due to circulation of their own ideas, and partially because they view themselves as superior, these groups then seize control of and oppress other groups. Members convince their own group that their oppression of the other group is justified, all while disregarding the other group’s beliefs. This conflict between groups speaking different languages continues to exist in modern times, leading different groups to be at odds with each other. Scriptures and publications in a particular language are another basis for oppression. It is quite marvelous how powerful something as simple as language can be. Imagine how remarkable it would be to see the world’s status quo of oppression if it were united by a common language.
Works Cited
“10 Oppressed Minorities Around the World.” History and Headlines, www.historyandheadlines.com/10-oppressed-minorities-around-world/.
Markman, Art. “It Is Motivating to Belong to a Group.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, Aug. 2012, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-motives/201203/it-is-motivating-belong-group.
Baldwin, James “If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” Jacobus, Lee A. A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013
“The Southern Argument for Slavery.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/us/27f.asp.
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