Bound by Restoration: Language as an Affirming Tool

Language is the most effective tool of restorative justice we have, whether “language” refers to Spanish, French, Chinese, Arabic and beyond or the words we choose to express thoughts, feelings or beliefs. From a social justice standpoint, I understand restorative justice as the revaluing process that takes place outside or within a marginalized or oppressed person or group.

To underline this idea, I’d like each of us to take a step back.

For linguists, think about how you became bilingual or multilingual. Some of us were born into a bilingual or multilingual life—our upbringing has featured people from multiple countries who speak multiple languages, and our brains have fallen in line. Some of us learned another language to expand professional opportunities. Some of us learned another language in a formal education setting.

These examples only represent a tiny portion of the manners by which people acquire language, of course.

Next, let’s think about the role others played in your language learning experience. Was it simply expected that you learn multiple languages? Did your friends, family or loved ones encourage you? Maybe you discovered a love for languages in school and your teachers or professors encouraged you to continue?

On a personal level, restorative justice incited my language learning journey.

I grew up in a community comprised largely of native Spanish speakers. As a native English speaker, I noticed that some native English speakers in the community had devalued community members who did not speak English or were learning English.

By following this logic, the ones who spoke “better” English were viewed as the ones who were “better” citizens (a view with which I strongly disagreed at that time and with which I certainly disagree to this day). Sadly, this mindset manifests itself in varying degrees in every community.

So, when it came time to choose a world language in school, I decided to study Spanish not just to meet a requirement, but also to form empathetic connections with those in my community to whom the language belonged.

According to I is An Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How it Shapes the Way We See the World, we (humans in general) use one metaphor per every 10-25 words.

Microaggression theory, a relatively-new wave of research in normative language, has shown that (seemingly) small or minor hurtful words used consistently over time—whether they refer specifically to one’s social or personal identities—are more harmful than a single act of verbal aggression or small series of aggressive acts.

To give a purely hypothetical, calling someone “stupid” every day over the course of five years could cause more psychological—and, subsequently, physiological—damage than blatantly cursing at someone a handful of times.

Translation: Words—even the small ones—carry value.

As David Mitchell wrote in his novel Cloud Atlas, “What is an ocean but a multitude of drops?”

With that idea in mind, we should all take time to regularly reflect on our relationship with language and how we share it with others.