The Importance of Language Liberation
I have had the good luck of being in a U.S. RC Region that often partners with Quebec, Canada, in doing workshops. The Canadians have been training us for many years (with warmth and patience) on the importance of language liberation. We have had a lot to learn.
Zoom has made it easier for RC Communities everywhere to get together. But in other ways, workshops on Zoom are harder. We drop instantly from one room to another. There is no pause. Our minds need pauses. They need time to process and rest. This is true for all of us. It is doubly true of people for whom English is not their first language. Their double workload does not stop as long as people are speaking in English. On Zoom there is no opportunity to walk from one building to another, speaking your language with someone who understands. It is important that native English speakers reach to understand how much work others must do to be part of an RC workshop in English.
When we speak our first language, we have increased access to our early experiences, our memory, our culture. Non-native English speakers must leave a piece of themselves behind when they are speaking English. English speakers need to recognize and acknowledge this. It is everyone’s loss.
Most white Canadians and USers have lost the first language of their people, their ancestors, and most have not let themselves notice that. We who are white need to notice, feel, and discharge the grief of that loss. A chunk of our collective memories, of our people’s culture, has been left behind. It is useful to face the pain of having lost a part of ourselves and our heritage over a period of a few generations.
Over time Greek, Latin, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and, most recently, English have been the languages of conquest, colonization, imperialism, and now capitalism. I can’t give you examples from Eastern cultures, but I know they are there as well.
English is a language of oppression and has been for some time. We English speakers did not ask to be oppressors. It is a role that was handed to us. It is not our fault, but it is our responsibility. It is our responsibility to challenge and end the oppression.
We do interpretations at RC International workshops for several reasons. One is to contradict capitalism’s drive for production, efficiency, and speed. Equally important, everyone deserves to learn RC theory in their own language.
Over the past decades, we in RC have done a lot to combat language oppression, and we have a great deal more to do. Whenever we English speakers believe that what we have to say is more important than others understanding it, we are looking at language oppression. It is the responsibility and privilege of native English speakers to take it on [confront and eliminate it].
Danville, Vermont, USA
(Present Time 206, January 2022)