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Post by cassiecumberland on Apr 16, 2014 16:08:41 GMT
Hey women group!
Let's talk about language and power!
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Post by allegra on Apr 17, 2014 5:15:32 GMT
Alright, women. Let's talk about language. Arguably, language is power (ha, bet no one saw that coming). The ability to communicate is a luxury that is taken for granted all the time. The English language is a random combination of 26 letters in varying lengths and the alphabet doesn't need to be in order at all. So what does this have to do with the language/power thing? Back to the ability to communicate motif, remember that Maureen can only communicate fully to July's village through July, and July doesn't even speak English that well. When the Smalles are in their area with people who speak their language, they hold power. However, when they're forced into an area where their language is rarely heard, the power dynamic shifts, as seen when July takes their vehicle. Their inability to communicate with the majority of the village keeps them from forming relationships and friendships. They're isolated by the language barrier and that barrier is what shifts the power dynamic so severely.
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Post by betsyrahe on Apr 19, 2014 2:57:16 GMT
So I got back from Outdoor school today and just learned about this assignment. Does anyone wanna create a google doc or should I? If there is one please add me to it. Emails are all in the last one.
Language in July's People was really interesting; it was power dynamic tool to convey the differences, or lack there of, between the Smalles and the Africans(July and his people). Alot of the Africans only knew small command words from working mines or being servants to whites, so the only language they understood of the Smalles was demanding language. This immediately puts the white family in a supposedly superficial superiority. Then if you flip the coin the Smalles are really in a huge disadvantage since they don't speak the language of July's people. In the end they were still able to coexist together so this says how nonverbal cues/language can go further than speaking.
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Post by mattagritelley on Apr 29, 2014 3:05:45 GMT
The power of language in this story extends beyond just the strength and value that each word holds after it is spoken. July's People explores the symbolic and class derived power that lies behind the two different culturally distinct languages and the context in which each is used. I found this following quote particularly fascinating with regards to this pervasive idea. Maureen begins by conversing to Bam:
"-- Why is it the whites who speak their languages are never people like us, they're always the ones who have no doubt that whites are superior? If we could talk-- She had the slow, tight murmor of Gina when resentful.
--There's nothing significant there-- don't go fishing. Not at this stage-- please. I couldn't take it now. Whites in the pass offices and labour bureaux who used to have to deal with blacks all the time across the counter-- speaking an African language was simply a qualification, so far as they were concerned, that's all. Something you had to have to get the job.--" (Gordimer 44).
Interestingly, Maureen notes that the Whites who speak the African language (Afrikaans) make a preconceived assumption that they are superior by "stooping" to this lower level in order to communicate by pure necessity. Otherwise, as is usually the case for subjugated peoples, the "lesser" group is required to learn the language of the more powerful group, and the oppressor speaks to him in his more comfortable language. This made me think back to when I went to Italy a couple summers ago, and simply just expected everyone to be able to speak English to accommodate for me-- this wasn't really out of any sort of subjugating feelings I have for Italians (frankly, I love them), but I now realize that it did speak wonders to the underlying sense of entitlement that we feel towards our own language. Learning another language, or at least trying to speak it, requires much more effort than speaking your native tongue. This example that Gordimer uses is a great representation of how the work as whole uses the language to portray class and racial distinctions as well as the power dynamic.
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