Neither boat nor barbeque: in search of new language to unleash the transformative possibility of restorative justice

Abstract

ABSTRACTRestorative justice (RJ) has emerged as a justice approach designed to address some of the perceived inequity and marginalization engendered by traditional retributive justice systems. However, grounding restorative justice philosophy and practice in linguistic and discursive formulations of ‘justice’ cannot be disentangled from historical actions, systems, and narratives that use such language to simultaneously produce and exacerbate marginalization, oppression, and exclusion. Drawing on J.L. Austin’s classic theory of language and Ferdinand de Saussure’s concept of semiotics, this article argues that the current linguistic environment of RJ may prevent it from accomplishing true societal transformation as a social movement. Using the linguistic examples of ‘boat’ and ‘barbeque’ to help elucidate the limiting aspects of restorative justice language, we then introduce the concepts of linguistic abstractions and conversational domains as pathways to liberate restorative justice from the limiting constraints of its languaging. By introducing three central questions, we provide an inquiry framework that offers related concepts of public health, permaculture, racecraft, and satyagraha to demonstrate how alternative languaging may be needed to fully achieve the aspirational possibilities of ‘restorative justice.’