By Kiera Kirchner
How Language Changes our Perception: Mindset, Gender Equality
and Relationship with Nature
Core Text
Kimmerer, Robin. “Speaking of Nature.” Orion Magazine, Orion Magazine, 28 July 2020, orionmagazine.org/article/speaking-of-nature/.
“One does not inhabit a country; one inhabits a language. That is our country, our fatherland – and no other.”
Emile M. Cioran
Summary
While exploring the many diverse poems, stories, and well known literary works throughout this unit of Environmental Literature, the one that was the most profound to me was “Speaking of Nature” by Robin Kimmerer. Her take on language makes the reader reflect on the power that words have on a cognitive level- that even the slightest vocabulary choices have huge consequences. This work evokes many questions and brings attention to our unconscious ways of thinking and our pre-determined stance on many different issues.
Kimmerer discusses and provides several examples to her claims, on how her tribal language influences our perception. This, she feels, is unfortunately shown by labeling things as he, she or it, by dehumanizing and objectifying parts of nature, by distancing humans from the outside, by labeling what is dead and what is alive, and ultimately, by placing humans above all else. In learning her tribal language, she is able to witness a different way of viewing our relationship with the world.
Literary Analysis
As an author and college botany professor, Kimmerer brings her students to a nearby cemetery right off of campus, where they are asked to ponder and reflect on language and nature, in the realm between the living and deceased. They visit this cemetery twice- once at the beginning of the unit and a final time at the end. By the end of the course, the students will inevitably have more deep and well rounded views concerning the topic of language in life. Through this article, Kimmerer provides the reader with a brief overview of the different components of language that start to make the reader think about our everyday language use in association with the world. There are three ideas in “Speaking of Nature” that can be interconnected, these being: how language influences our perception of mindset, gender equality, and relationships with nature.
To begin, the author truly views nature as being animate. She seems to have discovered this by progressively learning more about her tribal language, Potawatomi. Grammar is a component of language structure that we use to construct our relationships with what is around us, especially nature. Animacy is a subcategory of grammar that distinguishes how “alive” a certain part of speech is. The example she provides is how in Potawatomi, different verbs are used to talk about different things such as hearing a bird vs. hearing an airplane; one would use two completely different verbs. Language is alive; it is part of what sentimentality indicates what the speaker views according to their dependence with the natural world.
Because language use is especially controlled by pronouns, Kimmerer defines the English language as sexist because its speakers always assign a gender to a noun, as opposed to assigning nouns for whether they are alive or not alive (the alive category having a larger collection to what is typically believed). She introduces the idea of “ki” which could be used, “…signify a being of the living earth.” She further explains the idea of “ki” simply being using it in context and not very much explicitly defining it, similarly to how a native speaker would understand this implicitly by use of the language.
This also enables language and people to be held at the same level. The natives of Potawatomi saw the importance of the animals and ecosystems. They needed them to survive so they respected them. It can be concluded that Kimmerer feels that it is unfortunate that animacy does not exist in every language. Kimmerer suggests we use personhood words as opposed to objectification. It is due to our native language and/or the lack of adaptation of aspects in other languages (such as animacy) that create the way humans feel disconnected to nature, simply by the roots of their language.
While animacy is an interesting aspect of language to discuss, many readers being exposed to this concept for the first time may be very skeptical of what Kimmerer has to say. As one finds herself/himself reading “Speaking of Nature ” they will have many questions that enter their minds from the opposing viewpoint. What can be appreciated from this article is that Kimmerer discusses these many arguments and defends her viewpoint in a comprehensive manner, which all tie back to the main concept of broadening our senses to respect nature.
Kimmerer states, “In the English language, a human alone has distinction while all other living beings are lumped with the nonliving “its.” One example of this is how English speakers use “it” to refer to things as if they’re nonliving, but in doing so, it is degrading to nature. The argument to this is that when referring to animals that will be consumed by humans, they are commonly referred to as “it”. This is because it is obvious what is implied by not providing a name. It creates a mental barrier of detachment to prevent people from feeling guilty. Another complication identified to this way of thinking of language is that it could possibly offend religious people. This is because a large number of commonly practiced religions typically follow the teachings that humans were created above all else. This allows a bit of brainstorming for the reasoning behind this in tribal relation to language. Kimmerer suggests that the Bible was written prior to people having a philosophical view of the social implications of language. They were not yet aware of the issue of human’s relationship with nature.
What Kimmerer leaves the reader believing is that words matter. It is not to be taken at surface level — that works can hurt people — but vocabulary importance on a subconscious level. If we make small changes now and are more intentional with vocabulary choices, we will unveil another layer of interconnectedness with our world, and more positive things could arise from that- not just for humans but also for the planet. Above all, Kimmerer’s article encourages its readers to rethink the way they view nature and to focus more on its “beingness.”
Teaching Resources
- Mentality and Thought
Language shapes our perception of reality. Consider that in some languages, spatial awareness is oriented differently. In others, there is no use of past, present or future tenses. Some languages contain vocabulary words that can not be translated to another language. The way people view and identify colors is different, partially determined by native language.
These are all subtle differences that impact humans’ perceptions on how the world is viewed. This Ted Talk is very interesting and helps us understand the surprising nuances in one’s native language.
What else can you and your students brianstorm as being contributing factors or differences from language to language, that affect our perception and create our reality?
- The exit in sexist
Mills, Sara. “Minding Your Language: Implementing Gender-Free Language Policies.” Critical Survey, vol. 4, no. 2, 1992, pp. 183–190. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41555650. Accessed 1 Aug. 2021.
Laugesen, Amanda. “Changing ‘Man Made Language’: Sexist Language and Feminist Linguistic Activism in Australia.” Everyday Revolutions: Remaking Gender, Sexuality and Culture in 1970s Australia, edited by Michelle Arrow and Angela Woollacott, ANU Press, Acton ACT, Australia, 2019, pp. 241–260. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvq4c17c.16. Accessed 1 Aug. 2021.
Kimmerer discusses how parts of speech are labeled by their gender, being either masculine or feminine. Woman is Mother Nature- the dainty and delicate creature that reins over the children of Earth. In much of literature, Kimmerer points out, the “soft” elements of nature are often labeled as feminine. While she specifically relates gender in language with her own personal experiences with her tribal language, this similar idea can be applied to many other languages with gender pronouns. There are many ways language is sexist and this society is in need of some “verbal hygiene” (Laugesen 241).
“Minding Your Language: Implementing Gender-Free Language Policies” explains how feminist linguistic activists claim that one way to progress in society’s conception of women is to change the involuntary, everyday use of the English language. Mills claims that language is sexist in a variety of manors, to name a few: chairman (instead of chairperson), postman (as opposed to postie), or words like doctor that when speaking about a doctor who is a female, needs to be clarified as “lady doctor.” These innuendos are often subtle, highly likely to go unnoticed regardless of the conversational setting and are probably overlooked by most people when spoken due to the masculine default in common vocabulary, sayings and law. If asked to explain why Anglophones use them, however, the explanation would allude to a place of anthropocentric and patriarchal origins, where “man” (literally) is at the center.
While these may be unintentional uses of sexist language, it becomes a problem when subconsciously, women feel inferior. Likewise, in the school setting, it’s problematic when the young female students feel limited, as if they would not belong in a certain field or occupation strictly because of the social standards of gender roles.
Mills continues by suggesting solutions and points out implications to the variety of efforts to alter our language use. For example, companies can implement language standards in the company handbooks, pamphlets and within the workplace, expecting that at meetings, employees abide by the given guidelines. This may include mandating gender neutralization; it’s the idea that as a society, we should avoid using words and labels for certain duties that separate the sexes. This avoids discrimination and eliminates gender roles.
In the second article cited, Laugesen provides the example of Australia. Australia legally made aligning policies in 1984 under the Sex Discrimination Act. “Changing ‘Man Made Language’: Sexist Language and Feminist Linguistic Activism in Australia.” talks about the success and impacts the country has had since put into place. This article also discusses the contrary and potential difficulties that come with implementing such policies. Focusing so much on the details of how people speak would become tedious and irritating to many. Taking the example of an employment setting, it would not be practical to constantly interrupt colleagues.
As both of these articles would agree, it can not be expected that language will change by itself overnight, but its speakers can serve as the catalysts for this innovation. At minimum, provoking conversation about the topic will call attention to the ongoing debate. We hold this responsibility on an individual level. Because so many people speak without even considering these forever-used vocabulary words, bringing more awareness to the way we speak is the beginning to break sexist language.
- Language and Nature
Reo, Nicholas J., et al. “Environmental Change and Sustainability of Indigenous. Languages In Northern Alaska.” Arctic, vol. 72, no. 3, 2019, pp. 215–228. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26822408. Accessed 4 Aug. 2021.
Aligning with Kimmerer’s views of the power indigenous languages hold, Reo discusses the connections between indigenous groups and their decline in relationship with nature and identity throughout Alaska. Due to language shifts and climate change, many of the heritage languages of Alaska are not sustaining and this statistic is predicted to only decline with time. A heritage language is a language (often of minority) that is learned by children at home, which is not the predominant language of the country they are residing. (“Heritage Language.”). Through a series of ethnographic interviews in 2018, the following conclusions were drawn.
The preservation of the identity of indigenous communities in Alaska is very important to its people, language being a major aspect of their identity. While language use and competencies are tending to decrease with each generation, there are Language Nest programs in schools and adult learning programs that exist, as well as mentor-apprentice organizations that connect adolescents with older mentors of their community who will practice the heritage language with them on a regular basis. While this is a step in the right direction, these programs aren’t enough.
In 1998, Alaska officially adopted English, the progressive language, as the state’s official language. After receiving major backlash from the decision, the state declared English along with 20 other heritage languages as part of Alaska’s many official languages. Nonetheless, English has had a predominant presence in the state and there seems to be a pattern. When English was adopted, the state also accepted many social, cultural and environmental changes as well.
The issues in bilingualism are especially evident in school-aged children, who seem to live in two conflicting cultures with different expectations. For example, at home, they may speak Yup’ik with their grandparents and parents. The children may find themselves independent from their family because of communal pressures for parents to work and spend more time away from the house. While at school, the education system has similar values to that of the United States mainland. Another example of this is how sometimes, there is just not a great translation. It’s more accurate to express how one must respect an elder in Iñupiaq, while in English, these expressions don’t exist. As Roe states, “The knowledge encoded in heritage languages from the observations of ancestors has been built up over thousands of years, and losing access to these languages could mean losing links to that knowledge and ways of viewing and understanding the surrounding environment.” (224). Not only are the languages dying as generations are not as adequately learning and carrying on their linguistic skills, but the traditions surrounding their culture and practices are becoming more and more scarce due to environmental changes.
The effects of climate change have caused their resources (especially ice) and traditional activities to become sparse. In a language like Iñupiaq, they have many specific words to explain different types of ice, as well as traditional activities involving land-use, all surrounding their values of group activity and language. Many of their hunting practices and traditional food sources are disappearing because of climate change. Another issue that has arose because of climate change is the safety of the hunters seeking wild-game. In consequence, their traditions are fading and creating a shift in language use.
While English may pose a threat to the indigenous communities of Alaska, their resilience, positive attitudes and persistence are helping to stand up for their roots and preserve their culture, traditions and environment.
Language has the ability to enhance our harmonious lives in balance with nature. Yoga is an art in which its most basic practices derive from the principles of blending movement with nature, and connects the human body with language and its innate surroundings. Many of the poses are based on animal positions and elements of nature, their name’s origin coming from Sanskrit. Since the universal vocabulary of yoga can be difficult to memorize, yoga instructors will often incorporate the English translations of the poses into their practice. The language is what bridges us humans with the peace and embrace of nature in a unique way. Please see my photos below, exemplifying a variety of different yoga poses.
Discussion Questions
- Second language acquisition gives its speakers the ability to live between two different mindsets. If you speak a foreign language, how has learning this language changed how you see or view communication in comparison to the way you communicate in your native language?
- Consider the fact that language is constantly evolving. How do you see the way we speak changing in a positive or negative sense and what implications could arise from this, specifically regarding the topic of gender neutralization?
- What is your opinion on the stance Kimmerer takes on language and the way we feel about nature? Do you agree with the author that we, as society, need to alter the way we think and speak in order to have a more equivalent identity with our surroundings?