Tongues as a Site of Subversion: An Analysis from the Perspective of Postcolonial Politics of Language

Authors

Ekaputra Tupamahu, George Fox UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2016

Abstract

In this article I discuss the close relationship between colonialism and the expansion of language. Language is always politically contested. A language can become an inter­national language today because it has a long history of colonization and subjugation of other groups of people. I analyze the sociopolitical dimension of tongues by engag­ing, among others, linguist Roman Jakobson, philosopher Michel Foucault, and cultural theorist Judith Butler. By placing tongues in the context of the politics of language, I aim to show that the practice of speaking in tongues can be viewed as a strategic subversion and disruption of the regime of normalized language.

Comments

Originally published in Pneuma

38:3 293-311

https://brill.com/view/journals/pneu/38/3/article-p293_4.xml

Recommended Citation

Tupamahu, Ekaputra, "Tongues as a Site of Subversion: An Analysis from the Perspective of Postcolonial Politics of Language" (2016). Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary. 162.
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gfes/162