A thought that didn't quite make the cut into the newsletter. :)
“Bienvenidos y bienvenidas a todos y todas. Gracias por estar con nosotros y nosotras hoy.” Welcome everyone. Thank you for being with us today. You might notice that this seems a long way to say a short greeting. A few people in Nicaragua do it anyway in an effort to use gender-inclusive language. The responses range from puzzlement to frustration, similar to responses to “politically correct language” in North America. In our process of language learning, we have a heightened awareness of the way culture is transmitted through language. For example, if there are cultural tendencies excluding or exploiting women, sometimes that appears in linguistic structures. In Spanish (and many languages), the masculine form swallows up the feminine. As “missionaries” who are part of God’s mission of salvation from all kinds of unhealthy structures (including those of exclusion and discrimination), how can we use language in the new, radical, inclusive ways of God’s Kingdom without encumbering our communication and imposing our cultural values on others? This is one of our many questions on our journey of understanding gender here and joining in the struggle of women.
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1 comment:
Great post guys. Language differences are so interesting, even the small ways that they affect underlying assumptions about life. Keep up the good work!
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