Racism and Language

Paper Summary:

This paper examines and compares the link made between language and racism in Robert B. Moore's article "Racism in the English Language" with the link made in Anne Ishii's article "English as a Second Language". The paper relates that Moore's article demonstrates that racism is so deeply rooted in culture that it can be easily identifiable upon the analysis of a few linguistic structures whereas for Ishii, the main problem is one of perception: Once the mainstream culture adopts a self-centered perception of the other cultures, racism begins to infiltrate into its structure. In other words, according to Ishii, English is in itself employed as an emblem of the 'mainstream civilization' and the other cultures are 'different' simply because they speak English with an accent or make frequent confusions about words and expressions.

From the Paper:

"If perceived from the inside of the Japanese culture, the European heritage would certainly seem extremely exotic or different. Thus, the main problem is that of perception: once the mainstream culture adopts a self-centered perception of the other cultures, racism begins to infiltrate into its structure. Ishii establishes her argument on a critique of the film 'Memoirs of a Geisha.' The paper pertinently observes that the film is literally unintelligible since it proposes absurdly to use a Chinese cast which speaks in deliberately erroneous English."

More papers on Racism and Language:

• Argumentative Essay # 124185 : "Racism and Language"
• Analytical Essay # 58670 : "Racism in the English Language"
• Book Review # 119261 : "Racism and "Wuthering Heights"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: