Language has a major role in today’s modern day and age, and
there are language’s used more than others, but this does not depict their
worth. All languages around the world have been created in order to for fill
the people’s needs for communication and the sharing of knowledge. This is what
makes a language useful and important. The Khwe language is one such language,
where a group of people started a tribe and created it in order to communicate.
This had lasted for hundreds of year. This language carries a key, to
understanding multiple cultures around southern Africa, holding information about
their medicines and cures to health issues which may benefit others living in a
similar climate and area, as well as how they have survive as a people in that
harsh environment, farming and agricultural knowledge would be lost as well.
There is no way to decide whether or not a language is more important than
another, due to their different uses from those who createdit.
Tuesday 26 January 2016
Sunday 24 January 2016
Tuesday 12 January 2016
Language and Power
Welcome Back
Its definitely been a long times since I've posted a blog, the topics will change now from media and language to language and power. Today's topic is based around a question that had been given in class..
What did medieval linguist Antonio de Nebrija mean when he told Queen Isabella that: “language is the perfect instrument of empire?” How has language contributed to colonial power?
When Antonio de Nebrija had presented this to the Queen, with the use of this quote, it is believed that he was stating how the use of a language could be one of the most important "weapons" used when forming a colonial power. Exactly why is when ruling over people it is simply that much easier to control them when one specific language is being used. Meaning there would be no confusion and that you could stop any plots that are being planned against your rule as an monarch. However when looking at how it would be used for colonial reasons, a language could be used to infiltrate another culture and act like a virus in order to wipe this culture out and convert to what the invaders consider appropriate. Some of the most obvious examples were the Spanish and British effect on the America's, with the influence of Spanish and English, forcing Christianity upon the natives. Which would slowly cause their culture's, beliefs and languages to decay, resulting in the loss of their way of life.
To conclude, language plays one of the most crucial parts of establishing a colonial power, using it to control, influence and destroy. It has helped form a base for empires and ultimately cause their destruction.
Its definitely been a long times since I've posted a blog, the topics will change now from media and language to language and power. Today's topic is based around a question that had been given in class..
What did medieval linguist Antonio de Nebrija mean when he told Queen Isabella that: “language is the perfect instrument of empire?” How has language contributed to colonial power?
When Antonio de Nebrija had presented this to the Queen, with the use of this quote, it is believed that he was stating how the use of a language could be one of the most important "weapons" used when forming a colonial power. Exactly why is when ruling over people it is simply that much easier to control them when one specific language is being used. Meaning there would be no confusion and that you could stop any plots that are being planned against your rule as an monarch. However when looking at how it would be used for colonial reasons, a language could be used to infiltrate another culture and act like a virus in order to wipe this culture out and convert to what the invaders consider appropriate. Some of the most obvious examples were the Spanish and British effect on the America's, with the influence of Spanish and English, forcing Christianity upon the natives. Which would slowly cause their culture's, beliefs and languages to decay, resulting in the loss of their way of life.
To conclude, language plays one of the most crucial parts of establishing a colonial power, using it to control, influence and destroy. It has helped form a base for empires and ultimately cause their destruction.
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