James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Monday, December 20, 2010
Languages are not neutral. They give us systems of symbolic representation affected by our world views and history.
Within any one language, descriptions are not neutral. They are affected by the individual capacities and background of the speaker or writer. In many contexts, this subjectivity is a quality to celebrate, as we celebrate diversity of cultures and minds.
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One man's detainee is another man's prisoner. The same holds true for taxpayer and citizen. Catholic Canadians and Canadian Catholics may be similar. However, their nuances in meaning may be different.
Even our system of oral and written languages gives differences in meanings. The presentation of messages in different media will give the receiver different information.
In terms of visual representation, look at a map of Canada. Now turn it upside down. Which parts of Canada are emphasized? Try the same with a map of the world. Look at other maps that are Euro-centric or Pacific-centric.
Finally, words in different languages have different nuances in meaning. Try chauffeur in English and French. Teacher in English and kyōshi (教師) in Japanese have different subtleties.
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