'Soft' Linguistic Terrorism: A Theory (Mena, 2023)

In this episode, Mike introduces a theoretical expansion to linguistic terrorism theory, which is updated to include "soft" methods of terror. What does that mean? Let me show ya.

------------------------------CITATION--------------------------
Mena, Mike (2023). "Soft Linguistic Terrorism: 21st Century Re-articulations." Educational Linguistics, 2(20): 123-144.

------------------------CHAPTERS------------------------------------
00:00 Introduction
02:39 Anzaldua's "Linguistic Terrorism" Theory
04:54 The "deficiency perspective"
06:24 The "borderlands" of South Texas
08:15 The differences between "old" and "soft" terrorism
08:41 The narrative of "soft" terror
17:25 The application of "soft linguistic terrorism" theory

----------------------------------- LINKS------------------------------------

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'The Social Life of Language' is an open-access educational YouTube channel designed to bring complex theoretical academic work on language into the realm of public discourse—covering research from linguistic anthropology, applied linguistics, and sociolinguistics—in a way that is “simple, but never simplified.” Each video guides viewers through an individual publication (peer-reviewed journal article or book chapter) in a linguistic register accessible to a general public in a style that is entertaining, quick-paced, and conversational. Each video is aimed at an undergraduate/graduate student audience and intentionally presents individual publications in isolation for easy insertion into any class syllabi about language, race, bilingualism, inequality and/or social theory. The Social Life of Language channel has already garnered (inter-)national recognition and is being used in higher education classrooms as well as digital and public forums. This YouTube channel remains committed to illustrating to students (and the general public) that we can better understand society and social inequality by analyzing how we think and talk about language—indeed, by understanding the “social life of language.”

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1) Create fast-paced, entertaining educational content by “rewording” complex theoretical work on language and society into everyday talk in a way that is “simple, but never simplified.”
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- "Public Outreach and Community Service" Award (2019), Society for Linguistic Anthropology
- "Provost's Digital Initiatives" Grant (2019), Graduate Center, NY.

[mikedies]

Excellent and informative video. As a white guy in my fifties trying to unlearn a lifetime of racial indoctrination I cannot tell you how much I value your content. Please continue working at it Mike, you are making a difference. You have certainly been a great help in my journey. Thank you so much!

[TheOG-GG]

Another brilliant work! I love your content and how you explain these deep and complex subjects in a way anyone can understand. Thank you! I study psychology, religion, history, human sexuality, language and a range of different subjects. 18:33 I am curious about how you came to the realization of the effects of the soft & old terror on you and your mom. How were you able to recognize and deprogram yourself so effectively? People have been so groomed that they all seem like lost causes in terms of deprogramming. What did it for you and why?

[ethancrump]

Would you say the any education system that incentivizes students to learn a particular language is engaging in soft linguist terrorism?

[mohammedhaddaoui]

You have done a great job, professor! keep up the good work!

[BeeMarla]

Great video on "soft" linguistic terror and anecdote, thank you Professor for standing in your truth and being reflective.

[amoscare]

Thinking of applying to an educational linguistics program and this idea of soft linguistic terrorism is fascinating and possibly something I'd like to pusue. Would you say that the whole "no sabo kid" phenomenon that has gained popularity online (but that is nothing new) is a form of soft linguistic terrorism? I feel like it steers children to not speak Spanish through this idea of "proper Spanish" as something they do not posses thus they "choose" to be monolingual English speakers. This is conjecture on my part as I grew up in Mexico and don't have this experience but it feels like from the discourse I see online what could be happening.

[angrymurloc]

I am not sure if the term terrorism is the greatest choice. I understand politics of fear as a motivator for the choice, but terrorism in the usual sense is a small actor trying to outdo their limited means by effective use of media channels, while the example of both you and your inspiration are the big actor itself, and violence enacted by a state or state like entity is totalitarian not terroristic

I'm invested in this critique because, unlike a small entity relying on media channels, the state is not impacted by analysis in that same way. you cannot defuse a nation wide system of oppression, and I'm noticing a tone of neutrality in your presentation

of course this is good science. but I can't help but notice it none the less. at least in the name, the origin of oppression should be accounted for

(Sorry if the name makes more sense in the original work I have never read anything uwu)

[idbnicv]

It always upset me seeing my friends with immigrant parents trying to learn their parents’ language. I almost felt as though the parents were “selfish” with their language, whatever that means. As I learned more about the history of non English languages in the US, it started making more sense. Thank you for this video.

[PostScarcitytCat]

Really thought provoking, not sure how i got here.. Thanks for the content anyways!

[paulpope]

Very interesting! I taught political science at the University of Texas Brownsville, which has been merged with UT Pan American to become UTRGV. Also where I began to study political language and power.

[MsIvargas]

Currently watching your video for class.

[nicolastrincado]

I like what you say, but my question is, where do you draw the line between soft terror and indoctrination? Instead of beating children and/or forcing them violently to supress their own language, the oppressor did it through, let's say, the inforcment of local patriotic traditions (like it happened in other countries). Would it be indoctrination or still soft terrorism?

[patricksullivan]

Good vid. The only thing is that constently using "race" as a pointer is quite american centric. Any "race" in power tries to standardize and uses all sorts of power moves to do so. Its not "white" at a global scale per se. And there are studies showing that people dont engage as much when we effectively scape-goat or infer a collective marker like race interwoven with the power structures made or complied with by some members who might be labelled as such! Also there's structure to it and a lot of that structure is auto development by the socio-cultural milieu.

The self phenomenological experience is good, however globalizing the language might be a useful caveat.... The white label is a synecdoche for all power moves made by humans and it's over totalizing. Personally its too much as it is now trendy to scape goat white people, and apply to only white culture. Everybody plays the games even at small scale domestic power levels and it does rub off - people are traumatized by soft domestic small scale power. Its pretty obvious we can observe with almost all people - people are traumatized by domestic power. And yes there is a residual effect rolling down from the empire. But it is only peeling back a simple layer to call the empire hyper object as "white" the easiest objective thing to examine but it doesnt hit the nail on the head. Again based on the studies i have read : its polarizing and dividing based on race - a simple material lure to point at!

Other than that its quite useful and informative video :)

[fhf]

This is such a nice theory that also describes something we experience in Brazil, which we only recognize as a linguistic prejudice. However, there are institutionalized forms of carrying it out and subduing people's speech at school. And who's the target of such terrorism? Non-white poor people and their dialect (that even though tend to fix systemic anomalies of the standard Brazilian Portuguese or recollect forms of Proto-Portuguese and Latin just by applying linguistic change principles). This is clearly a form of colonialism and a form of the continued State project of whitening the population ─ now carried out through genocide and terrorism (not only linguistic).

[Goreuncle]

Spanish is also a "white language" imposed on native American peoples.

If you have native American ancestors, you're not honoring them by speaking Spanish either... just a thought.

Encouraging people to speak Spanish in the Americas is just as bad (or just as good, or just as meh) as encouraging them to speak English.