Sight Unseen: Imag(in)ing Indigeneity in English

Abstract

While Western linguists have challenged the notion that a distinct worldview results from the speaking of Indigenous languages in comparison to European languages, Indigenous-language speakers generally support the idea. The Indigenous worldview, they argue, is fundamentally different and evinces an infinite connectedness that is lacking from European languages. However, if different languages do produce distinct worldviews, then each language should be not only structurally different, it should have a unique “look” and “feel”. We have been using new media technology to generate language visualizations that will be mapped against distinctive grammatical features of the respective languages. Our theoretical framework fuses new media and Indigenous theories. Our goal is to identify the source of connectedness in language in order to discover a means of re-Indigenizing English. In this article, presented as a dialogue between the authors, we consider some implications and ask whether the project is wise or even possible.