The Language of Politics

I just wanted to make a little comment on the film that we watched last Wednesday entitled "Discovering the Human Language."

During the bit about the Walpiri people of Australia, I noticed some imperialist euphemisms. This is quite interesting to me especially because the film happens to be about language. Hmm.

The narrator mentioned that the Walpiri people "used to be nomadic" and that "now they cluster in one area." Cluster. Now I am not terribly familiar with the history of colonialism in Australia, but I think stating that "now they cluster" implies that the Walpiri people chose to change their way of life voluntarily. Also note the lack of explanation for this change. They simply used to be nomadic. Now, for unknown reasons, they are not. Furthermore, the word cluster seems quite inappropriate to describe a group of people instead of say, bushes.

Next, the narrator states that they have "adopted European ways." How about cultural imperialism? Nope, they "adopted" European ways. As if it was once again voluntary.