“With this understood, it is no longer sufficient to view the question of Africans speaking European languages as a function of cognitive skills, physical age, approximation to whites, relationship to specific tasks, and so forth. Admittedly, these are issues to consider, but none go to the heart of the matter. The real question is not, How difficult was it for Africans to learn English words? Rather, the truly important queries are, What did it mean to the African to hear and at some point repeat words associated with his captors? What did it signify to the African to be expected to learn and embrace concepts which further concretized his condition of social death? What was it like to have the world renamed, redefined, and reimagined for him? Sober reflection leads to the conclusion that the African understood the political nature of his predicament. And in that setting, he also understood that his new language was profoundly political. It stands to reason that he would respond in kind.” Michael A. Gomez “Exchanging Our Country Marks: The Transformation of African Identities in the Colonial and Antebellum South” Page 170
Posted on: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 14:56:31 +0000
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