Most Meaningful Takeaway

The most meaningful takeaway from our group discussion was that in the text “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” there was one particular quote that allowed us to elaborate on our thoughts and ideas and really get to dig deep into the meaning. The quote is:

“Who is to say that robbing a people of it's language is less violent than war?”

The quote touches on the idea that you can not simply just rob someone of their language, it is seen as a much bigger crime. By stripping an individual of their mother tongue ,you are stripping away their identity aswell. That raises the question that if successful in stripping an individual of their language, what will they have left to turn to? This relates to the relationship between language and power as the possibility of individuals being robbed of their language, this would happen in a situation of linguistic imperialism.

The most meaningful takeaway from our group discussion was that in the text “The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts” the concept of how different the atmospheres were for the Chinese girls when they were either at the American or Chinese School. When they were at the American school, the girls rarely spoke unless asked to do so. They felt left out as English was not their mother tongue, hence allowing those whose mother tongue was to have the upper hand. However, when the girls were at Chinese School, they completely transformed into girls who were constantly speaking and participating as they were comfortable with the language and they in turn were the ones that possessed the upper hand. This relates to the relationship between language and power, as we are able to differentiate how different cultures (when put in specific environments )display their power through language, as they are able to adapt much faster.