At a meeting organized for me at the Department of Arts and Culture today, I was made aware and told in no uncertain terms that there is no place for individuals such as myself in this society and the ("post-transformation") society to come. In essence, I am said to suffer from a false consciousness, an "alienation" (estrangement) from "my culture" and "my identity" manifest in the fact that I am more literate in a foreign language than I am in my mother tongue. That I do not see this as a catastrophic crisis apparently exasperates the problem (even if I recognized the problematic nature of the state of affairs and had some intention to remedy the situation in particular respects). This was all bolstered by the notion of language having an essential character that cannot be communicated or translated with any accuracy, that can only be expressed in one code (language) being that language located in that culture ( -- that is one of the reasons why I am apparently lost boy of Africa). In a very loose sense, we may find agreement with this statement; but if we understand the implications of language merely standing in place of concepts we see that, theoretically, it is possible that a concept be appropriately rendered into another code (language) with all its connotative and detonative meanings. That is exactly what scientists aim to do whether writing in German, French, or English: to represent the concepts they wish to communicate in any accessible and appropriately constructed system of expressions -- and if the system of expression chosen is lacking, to augment and improve it to be able to express those concepts. In a very important sense, though, all natural languages are significantly different and so afford different modes of expression because they are caught up within the focus and traditions of the cultures of the people who use those languages. Thus, what it would mean to promote the development and expansion of a language is to promote the development and expansion of a culture (in a like manner to that which I have just described). That was my understanding of the project of the development of indigenous languages in this country -- what would be to me a very exciting project to be involved in. I was wrong, and I am disillusioned. There was a time I did believe that somewhere in the world there would be someone who would see what I am getting at, but no longer. (White ears, black ears, deaf ears -- or maybe I speak nonsense and am the only one who does not know it.)
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 20:52:55 +0000
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