Language and Social Justice
© Feng Yu | Dreamstime
Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
Language is and has been a powerful indicator of culture throughout human existence. Bob Holman a poet, poetry activist and host of the PBS documentary Language Matters, said with words we connect, learn from each and express our deepest wisdom. Language is the heart of culture and helps to mark one’s identity.
Language is more than just spoken words. Words of a language must always be considered within context of its culture. From infancy, humans begin to draw from language what it means to be part of a group or culture. In the documentary Language Matters, it is stated the Aboriginal people once had over 300 different languages. Most spoke multiple languages because to be able to talk to another group in their language was a sign of respect. It allowed the groups to coexist. Many of the Aboriginal people have died out for a number of reasons and with their death came the death of many of languages and cultures. There are less than 50 distinct languages still remaining.
Language is an important part of society and how it meters out justice. It is wrapped up in the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and how we view the rest of the world. To become aware of injustice in our world, we must become aware of the words we use, how we use them and the meanings we assigned to them. In many ways, the way we use language is completely unconscious. Because our language use is mostly invisible, we sometimes continue to reinforce stereotypes, bias and norms that create barriers for others to try to overcome.
Although we may exist in the same country or community and speak the same language, the way the language is used or the meaning of words may be different which makes it difficult to communicate. We assign our meaning to other people’s words and intention based on what we’ve learned. It is sometimes assumed since we speak the same language, we should communicate without any issues. On one level we do, but when it comes to experiences and issues unique to a group, we lack the culture associated with the words to really understand what is being said.
It can also be difficult for people to wrap their minds around the concept that there are different cultures within a culture. For example there is the American Culture, but it is really made up various subcultures and micro-cultures. Cultures that may be defined around religion, race, economic status, white-collar versus blue-collar, etc. We assume all people living in America or any other country for that matter, are culturally the same in every aspect.
An example is the different opinions among people of different generation or commonly called the generation gap. While all the generations are represented and identify with the American culture, there are subcultures and micro-cultures that make them distinct.
Comparing people who came of age in the 60’s to those who came of age in the 2,000’s, they share pretty much the same language and some of the larger cultural aspect of growing up in America that someone growing up in Africa might not. But there are distinct attributes to each group which is why our society has the habit of giving names to each generation and then trying to categorizing them.
Here are some of the differences the two groups might encounter:
- The concept of work
- Staying loyal to one company and expecting that company to stay loyal to its employees versus changing up companies to continue to get new experiences
- Expecting equal opportunities in employment
A women or Black American would talk about expectations of getting a certain job or promotion a lot differently. Women or Black Americans from the 60’s would expect getting the job or promotion to be a long shot if any chance at all, but people from the 2,000’s have expectations that either opportunity is available to them get either.
- Discussions around education
- Discussions about the right to choose
- Discussions about the right to vote
