A Summary of Teaching to Transgress, Chapter 11 ~ Language

By Cham Holland 9/8/2020

This chapter looks at the history of the standard English language as it relates to the systemic oppression of culture and language in the US, both through history and in the present. Throughout the chapter, hooks continually returns to the quote, “This is the oppressor’s language, yet I need it to talk to you,” which so eloquently summarizes the link between language and domination. Yes, it is the oppressor’s language, but it is the language we need to be able to communicate with one and other, not only to discuss the past and current oppressive uses of the language, but also for use in simple day to day conversation. While both hold true, hooks makes it clear that it is not the language itself that does the oppressing (as it is not a sentient being), but those who wield it as a tool — a weapon even — to erase and rewrite the heritage and identity of those this country has conquered, dominated, and enslaved. hooks talks about how, in the black community, language became a “space of resistance” as well as a “space of bonding” — as through a shared language, even if it is the oppressors language, comes the ability to form community and reclaim personal power. They then went a step further, making a counter language of their own, shaping standard English into “more than the oppressors language”. Within this vernacular, the black community was able to, “[Forge] a space for alternative cultural production and alternative epistemologies,” creating a space for the intimacy and community that the oppressors had used standard English (and many, many other methods) to deprive them of.