Language Shift: How Language Imperialism Enforces Societies’ Hierarchies
Isabelle Chapman placed first in the 2022 state-wide Penn Political Review High School Article Writing Competition.
This article was lightly edited for clarity and formatting purposes.
The language someone speaks, while on the surface indicative of environment and culture, has huge political and real-world ramifications in terms of their access to education and economic opportunities (Armitage, 2022). In response to imperial powers’ historical attempts to dominate through language, more people have begun to pay attention to the status of endangered indigenous languages and groups start to push for these languages’ place in their respective societies. But the question of how the shift in language use happens, and why societies have been able to suppress certain languages for so long without opposition, remains. Many currently widespread languages continue to suppress indigenous languages through education and the complacency of a small elite minority, even as people make increased efforts to save and revitalize such languages. One current and powerful example lies in Ukraine. Amid Russia’s insistence that there exists no distinction between itself and Ukraine, the complex relationship between the Russian and Ukrainian languages has become explosive. A closer look at language usage in Haiti, Tibet, and the Andean region of South America tells a compelling story.
Education systems dictate which languages societies perceive as important, contributing to language shift and rendering success near impossible to attain without proficiency in the dominant tongue. In Haiti, schools are almost universally conducted in French; however, only 5 to 10 percent of Haitians can speak French while 100 percent can speak Haitian Creole (Hebblethwaite, 2021). By educating students in French, the Haitian education system excludes 90 to 95 percent of its population (Hebblethwaite, 2021). In a parallel situation, the Chinese government–under a new bilingual education policy for minorities–has begun to replace Tibetan with Chinese Mandarin instruction in subjects such as science and mathematics, stigmatizing Tibetan (Language Magazine, 2020). Theoretically, bilingual education should enhance students’ skills in both languages. Practically, it has served to almost eliminate Tibetan from students’ colloquial usage, replaced by Mandarin Chinese (Language Magazine, 2020). As Mandarin Chinese begins to replace Tibetan in schools, the use of Tibetan diminishes. Most Tibetans must speak and understand Mandarin Chinese in order to function in everyday life, but many Chinese residents of Tibet see studying Tibetan as a waste of time (Facts and Details, 2021). In the Andean region of South America, where Quechuan languages remain prominent, proficiency in Spanish is necessary to attain success. Arcadia University’s Anna Saroli observes, “Quechua is rarely seen in the media,” adding that no newspapers offer Quechua editions, the language is taught in only one Cusco private school, and Cusco’s university offers just two courses in Quechua (Saroli, 2001). Peruvian adolescent Leila Ccaico categorized speaking in her native Quechua as “embarrassing,” describing how “children who speak Quechua at her school get bullied…parents in her village don’t want children to learn the tongue because they think it will not help children when they move to the cities for work” (Briceño, 2021). To fully access education and the opportunities education affords, Spanish knowledge is necessary (Saroli, 2001). Education systems have a tremendous effect on which languages thrive and which languages shift.
Sidelining indigenous languages almost always benefits small, elite minorities, locking the rest of populations out of key opportunities. In Haiti, because so few people speak French, its dominance excludes those not part of the elite bilingual group (Hebblethwaite, 2021). Haitians without French knowledge struggle to learn in French-dominated schools and cannot understand their country’s French-language media, a pattern that prevails throughout former French colonies: “Throughout the former colonial regions of the ‘Francophone’ southern hemisphere…one finds that limited and very limited French speakers, who form the vast majority of the populations, are deprived of the right to an education, to information, to health care, and to work…” (Hebblethwaite, 2012). As Tibetan education’s shift to Mandarin Chinese limits opportunities for the monolingual Tibetan-speaking citizens who generally have less resources and opportunities to begin with (Language Magazine, 2020). Mandarin Chinese dominance in Tibet conveniences international diplomats and business investors who speak Mandarin Chinese but lack Tibetan proficiency, permitting businesses to engage with the region without a Tibetan language translator (Language Magazine, 2020). In parts of South America, many indigenous Quechua parents oppose bilingual education out of fear that learning Quechua would preclude their children from opportunities exclusive to Spanish speakers (Coronel-Molina and Hornberger, 2004). Peruvian alpaca herder Maribel Licapa attested that her lack of Spanish knowledge cost her jobs as a plantation worker and as a cleaner within her village; a frustrated employer reportedly told her, “‘You have to speak in Spanish'” (Briceño, 2021). 13 percent of the Peruvian population mainly speaks Quechua, but that segment comprises 60 percent of Peruvians without access to healthcare according to the World Bank (World Bank Group, 2014). Peruvian merchant José Cavero Torre–whose parents spoke Quechua and migrated to the country–states, “My mother would say that she was not going to speak it in Lima and my father didn’t teach me…since he would not accept being called a serrano…discrimination was very difficult for migrants” (World Bank Group, 2014). Cavero Torre’s experience illustrates how a language’s perceived inferiority can discourage its use. Language shifts from once-common indigenous languages to imperial languages benefit a small, wealthy segment of the population, simplifying international interaction but eradicating opportunities.
The detrimental effects of imperialism and education on language shift have not gone unnoticed. Global Press Journal describes a “growing movement to formalize Haitian Creole education and to encourage people to take pride in the language” (Felicien, 2019). In 2014 Haiti’s government recognized scholars advocating for better communication with the Haitian people through Haitian Creole as the Haitian Creole Academy, reflective of an acknowledged need for change in Haiti’s language policy (Felicien, 2019). While most schools teach in French, a growing number, such as Liv Ouvè, founded in 2015, have begun to phase in Haitian Creole instead, with strikingly positive results (Felicien, 2019). Beginning in the 2000s the Peruvian government adopted a series of minority language rights through law in part due to advocacy and mobilization of Quechua speakers, and while flawed, a bilingual education policy seeking to incorporate Quechua language into the curriculum remains in effect (Rousseau and Dargent, 2019). The future of Tibetan language instruction given China’s recent minority language policies appears bleak, but advocates continue to push for more visibility for their cause and, ultimately, for change. Despite the potential consequences, Tibetan language advocates have expressed themselves through physical protest as well as letters and petitions (Richardson, 2020). Language advocacy and subsequent policy change in Haiti, Peru, and Tibet mirror the tangible effects of mobilizing for a language’s viability.
The tension between French and Haitian Creole in Haiti, Tibetan and Mandarin Chinese in Tibet, and Spanish and Quechua in South America’s Andean region illustrate the dire effects of colonialism and education policy on indigenous languages exacerbated by the complacency of those positioned to benefit from the language shift. However, increased awareness of the causes and effects of language shift and pushes for change offer reason for hope. Language plays a vital role in the social fabrics of societies–as languages shift, so do power and culture on a broader level.
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