In the Hebrew Torah a legend was preserved to attempt explaining the origins of the languages (Genesis 11:1-9). It says, this well-known story, that the post-diluvian people decided to build the largest tower. The legend says they wanted a city to stay together as one people. Not a bad idea, which is what often cities empower people to do. But that would reach the Heavens? Impossible of course, although the famous builders of the NYC skyscrapers had that in mind. It is possible that the idea was to protect themselves in case of another flood. A very good idea, after all the higher from the ground the safer you could be from floods. To find yourself in a flood is a very traumatic experience. You want to do everything in your power to prevent such an experience again.
The story then tells us about divine beings concerned about how the city and tower would mislead the people. Cities are often presented in a negative way through the Hebrew Bible. They should not be allowed to become more powerful than they should, in relation to other nations, in other words: stop imperialism. Often imperialist nations insist in one language and one “race.” Therefore, the solution to prevent the building of one nation with one language was to confuse them by giving them other languages. Logical perhaps. However, there is enough evidence about the evolution of languages, including Hebrew. After all there is not a sacred language. Nevertheless, the legend, like all legends, may have some truth in it.
Language, as used by humans, is unique. No other living specie have developed such a complex way of communication, at the same time with structures and grammar that allow others to learn someone else’s language. That’s a divine miracle: grammar. Of course, it is possible that the story is in fact as written. Why not? The issue that concerns us now is the use of language.
These ancient people had a language that kept them together as one powerful nation. A power that could get, and in fact eventually got, out of hand. Leading nation against nation with wars, all type of violence, racism, ethnocentrism, imperialism, and similar evils. Having a common language is not wrong. It has many positive aspects. Discriminating others due to language, hence, due to ethnocentrism, is not one of those virtues.
Language is often used to discriminate against other people. In another story in the biblical text (Judges 12:1-6) how a word was pronounced by someone else was misused as a weapon of war. It is one of the most horrible and tragic stories. Compassion, mercy, housing, access to good education, etc. is frequently denied to people of a different language or ethnicity, even to people of the same ethnic origin (“race”) and language because their accent. It happens in countries of any language, including Spanish and English. It is an international tragic-comedy; you can cry of such bigotry and laugh of such stupidity.
Humans have taken words of normal non-offensive use in Latin and redefined to insult other humans beings. While among the Romans and Greeks as evidence in the Christian history book called Acts of the Apostles shows (Acts 13:1). This man called Simeon and identified as a prophet by the Christian tradition, had an adjective, a nickname, by which he was well known. In Greek he is called Συμεὼν ὁ καλούμενος Νίγερ. Often English speakers insist in mispronouncing the Greek avoiding the Classical, e.g., Erasmus, or even the Modern diction. If it is the Latin Vulgate they are reading then an English phonetic is given. Why? Because the racists have stolen the word and corrupted the language with their senseless prejudices. Can we rescue this and other words from the racists? Can they be redeemed? A word similar to the common friendly nickname used in Spanish for those named Enrique or Heinrich, Quique, is often used by antisemitic people to attempt to insult Jewish people. Sadly, this particular misuse of a word was probably originally from Yiddish in reference to the circle used by some Jewish immigrants who could not write the Roman alphabet to sign. Later stolen by non-Jewish people to offend them. How far can ignorance mislead humans! The tragic of racism/ethnocentrism is found also among our people. Unfortunately, you can hear in the streets of Jerusalem some “white” Jewish person referring derogatorily to another Jewish person of darker skin or from a different Jewish group, e.g., Sephardic or Ethiopian, with the Yiddish word for black שוואַרץ or the Amharic form of the name of Noah’s grandson Kush (ኩሽ). To overcome racism and antisemitism we need to do some work within our own communities. Again, can we redeem language? Can we take back to its proper use words that the racist has stolen and misused, leaving them without the vocabulary to insult us and others? Perhaps, redeeming these and other words to its proper use can make a difference. However, recently I noticed how some feminists have insisted in adding “a” at the end of neutral terms in Spanish (castellano) in order to make them inclusive.
For example, juez (judge) could be el juez (masculine singular), los jueces (masculine plural), la juez (feminine plural), or las jueces (feminine plural). However, they insist in refering to the female judge as jueza. In the strict grammatical sense juez is already feminine instead of neutral. Therefore, the obvious way for inclusion would be juezo, but that will be absurd. Nevertheless, the Real Academia de la Lengua Española accepted the change and we should say jueza. Yes, language evolve, but I am not sure changes should be done by the political insistence of an individual. Language evolves with the community. Another one is abogado (lawyer) which they insist should be abogada for the woman. Others include ministro (m) and ministra (f). Ministra in Spanish is the third person singular of ministrar, meaning ‘he or she ministers.’ The one that should be reconsider is politico (politician). It is common to hear, even in news programs from Spain, say política in reference to a female politician. Política in Spanish was always used to mean politics and policy, according to context. Nevertheless, if the feminists insist taking the language to some extremes in order to fight rampant chauvinism and discrimination against women, in solidarity we will stand with them regardless of my questions on grammar and lexicography. Chauvinistic, machista, and all form of discrimination against women must be overcome. However, I noticed that regardless of how the vocabulary have changed in many languages to be inclusive of women, these changes or “redemption” of the language have not changed the attitudes of the men who discriminate against women in the job place, family, community or politics. There have been improvements, but not the changes needed. It is the way we think, our attitudes, our institutions and systematic discriminatory policies embedded within the cultures, especially Western European societies. Therefore, to overcome systematic institutionalized racism, we need to change more than just the language or redeeming words stolen from their proper place in their languages. We must become anti-racist as individuals, as communities, as congregations (of any faith), as a nation. Yes, watch your language! First, let us seek to change our ‘hearts’, our minds. A Hellenistic Jewish proverb says: περισσεύματος καρδίας λαλεῖ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ (attributed to Jesus of Nazareth, Luke 6:45c). It is written in the book of Mishle Sholomo (Proverbs 4:23-24):
מִֽכׇּל־מִ֭שְׁמָר נְצֹ֣ר לִבֶּ֑ךָ כִּֽי־מִ֝מֶּ֗נּוּ תּוֹצְא֥וֹת חַיִּֽים׃ הָסֵ֣ר מִ֭מְּךָ עִקְּשׁ֣וּת פֶּ֑ה וּלְז֥וּת שְׂ֝פָתַ֗יִם הַרְחֵ֥ק מִמֶּֽךָּ׃
Above all you must guard, guard your mind, because it is the source of life. Keep crooked speech away and devious talk far away from you.
Thus, let us fill up our hearts (minds) with everything that is good. Fill up your mind with the Divine Revelation, a.k.a. Word of GOD, found through the Torah and the Prophets, so when you speak, you speak the very word of GOD. Then, when you speak, your words will be a blessing to those who hear, and you will be a blessing with your actions.
cf. Qur’an, Sura 2 ayat 83
- يْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَقُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًا.
מָ֣וֶת וְ֭חַיִּים בְּיַד־לָשׁ֑וֹן וְ֝אֹהֲבֶ֗יהָ יֹאכַ֥ל פִּרְיָֽהּ׃
Proverb 18:21
May the fruit of our mouth be good. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment