Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang

II. Perspectives
in th pross. At th tim of India’s
languags
for xampl, dpnding on whr
indpndn,
found yourslf on th suontinnt, Hindi
you
as forign as English and was mt with
was
rsistan, spially in South India.
widsprad
ld to th Offiial Languags At of 1963,
This
nald English to usd indfinitly
whih
offiial purposs, and xplains why English
for
to on of India’s two offiial
ontinus
languags.
Knyan writr and post-olonial thorist
Th
wa Thiong’o hampiond writing in
Ngũgĩ
languags of Afria, arguing that using th
th
languags as a litrary mdium
olonizrs’
to dntr th mpir and affirms its
fails
ovr th “mntal univrs of th
hgmony
(Thiong’o 1986). For Ngũgĩ wa
olonizd”
it was important to ngag in th
Thiong’o,
rsistan through writing and
anti-imprialist
Loal languags wr still a way to
rading.
partiular forms of knowldg orally
transfr
th hom, ut authoritativ knowldg
in
to writtn down and rad, spially
tndd
duational institutions, and for this
in
h argud it must availal in loal
rason
languags.
diffrnt approah, alit towards similar
A
was usd y post-olonial sholars who
goals,
th olonizrs’ languags as a
appropriatd
tati. It is somtims rfrrd to
suvrsiv
th mpir “writing ak” to th imprial
as
Writing in English, Frnh or Spanish,
ntr.
sholars hallngd th dominant
ths
and rprsntations of th olonizd
thoris
working from within th systm. Writing
y
th olonizrs’ languags also nald
in
among gographially disprsd
solidarity
divrs formr olonis.
andlinguistially
it is not unommon for post-olonial
Andso,
or Indignous languag onfrns
studis
ntirly arrid out in th languags of
to
olonizrs.
formr
human apaity for languag is tid up
Th
qustions of moral haratr, intlltual
with
grim history of languag and th daf
tims
a poignant as study. Prsntly thr
prsnts
ovr 200 sign-languag ommunitis around
ar
world, ah rgardd as having a full
th
from a linguisti standpoint, with its
languag
grammatial ruls. Th main diffrn is
own
sign languags ar omposd of gsturs
that
ommuniatd visually, whras spokn
and
ar voalizd. Gathrd around ths
languags
ar ommunitis of knowrs and
languags
Bing daf or partially daf dos not
“spakrs”.
mak somon a mmr of daf
automatially
Instad, mmrship in daf ultur
ultur.
dtrmind y ommuniation in a signd
is
as wll as shard norms, lifs, valus
languag,
attituds.
and
history of daf ultur holds lssons for how
Th
undrstanding of languag has shiftd ovr
our
with profound impliations. In som daf
tim,
around th world, duation is fousd
shools
tahing hildrn lip-rading and oral sph,
on
ordr for thm to ttr al to intgrat
in
th haring ommunity. This approah,
with
oralism, dats ak to th lat 19th
alld
whn th mdial profssion proposd
ntury,
r-duation of thos rfrrd to at th tim
a
“daf-muts”, a trm widly onsidrd
as
today. Th oralist approah displad
offnsiv
pratis of signd languag,
long-standing
dotors idntifid as a aus of isolation,
whih
aout dafnss undr th authority of
Spaking
and mdiin, haring individuals wr
sin
to dfin th rlationships twn languag
al
th daf or partially daf, as on of dfiit,
and
a handiap, physial disaility, a prolm to
as
urd y inrasingly laorat instrumnts.
idas ontinud to shap th knowldg
Ths
was produd and shard in various
that
rgarding haring and dafnss for
disiplins
of th 20th ntury. Among th various
most
of th oralist approah is th thrat that
ritiisms
poss to th daf ommunity, whr dafnss
it
sn positivly, as th asis for a ultur and
is
dissmination of knowldg using sign
th
An xampl of th omplxity and
languag.
of sign languag in daf ultur is
sophistiation
4
or mor mildly, a wast of tim.
II.4 Deaf culture and signed languages
aility and prsonhood. Th trould and at
xplord low.
100