Language as a Process of Othering in Amitav Ghosh’s the Shadow Lines Essay Example

comprehends, it reaches his brain. But, if you converse in his language, it reaches his soul.” Notably, language doesn't have to be restricted to oral or textual means; it can manifest in various forms. Body language is one such form. It's prolifically used in the literature to indicate the closeness between characters, such as Nick and Ila. However, it can also function to isolate, as suggested in numerous instances with the author throughout the narrative.

The storyteller's descriptive account of Nick and Ila's distinctive yet unmistakable connection at Kemble's Head, despite their physical distance, made the author feel isolated. In a similar vein, during Christmas at number 44, Lymington Road, Ila briefly leaves the cellar, where she was spending the night with the author, to see Nick and never returns. This event stirs a deep emotional upheaval in the author and begins to cultivate a feeling of estrangement between himself and the part of him that cared for Ila. There's also a persistent issue concerning the cultural implications inherent in language - to such an extent that even identical languages can cultivate divergent cultural experiences.

Consequently, the English language used by an Indian and a British person could have starkly differing shades. Recounting an incident, she mentioned that she was home that day and knew for a fact that Nick did not lend any help to Ila. Instead, he sprinted back home, a common practice he maintained during that time. Nick Price, at a young age, felt humiliated about Ila's nationality, his erstwhile friend. Strangely, he decided to distance himself from her even though they shared a common language and friendship, just to protect his societal standing.

This is not an isolated incident, as numerous such occurrences are reported involving exchange program students. These experiences often harm them psychologically, leading to profound mental wounds and life-long social difficulties. - (page 76, shadow lines)

The famous quote by George Bernard Shaw, "England and America are two countries separated by the same language," along with the previous event, implies that language alone does not always lead to social division. On many occasions, even communities speaking the same language feel isolated, sometimes to an extreme extent. The cultural and social associations that every language brings, often result in perceived distinctions among its users. It's also worth highlighting that at times, the way a language is presented takes precedence over the language itself.

Tridib regularly visited West End Lane to purchase newspapers for his father, hence becoming accustomed to those on display at the newsagent's stands. The ones he preferred were "The Sphere", "Picture Post", and "News Chronicle". However, when Dan introduced him to the "Daily Worker", Tridib instantly lost interest and returned the paper. He was unfamiliar with this publication. He wondered why Dan didn't suggest "the Sphere" instead? - page 61 (shadow lines) This depicts Tridib's particular preference for certain newspapers and his dismissal of an unfamiliar one recommended by Dan without even sparing it another glance.

Contemporary business experts may refer to this as brand loyalty, but upon close examination, it essentially points out to how a piece of text is framed in a certain language and how that certain language use draws a specific audience while seeming offensive to another. Nevertheless, language also plays a pivotal role in combating the adverse effects of othering. The

book "Shadow Lines" serves as an excellent demonstration of how aptly written language in text form, complete with appropriate concepts, can prompt a vast majority of its readers to ponder on the phenomena of othering and encourage them to eliminate the mental barriers that confine us.

Language and the conceivable physical boundaries might also be seen as a tool in the formulation and creation of identity, rather than estrangement- "Stuart Hall (1997) prefers the term 'identification' to identity, arguing that identity denotes a static entity, while 'identification' suggests a dynamic process of establishing one's identity that allows for alterations, being more of a 'becoming' instead of a 'being'. " - Women in Between: The case of Bangladeshi Women Living in London by Nilufar Ahmed Our world is composed of static polygons and intersecting, complex, constantly fluctuating boundary lines.

People who move from one region to another, either physically or mentally throughout their lifetimes, transform into global citizens. They are the result of a mix of diverse cultures and intermingled global societies, becoming ideal specimens due to their broader, global comprehension of the world and its inhabitants. Ideally, they perceive the entire world as their identity rather than identifying with a specific region. However, issues occur when one group attempts to impose its cultural and linguistic presence over another group i.e. when one group identifies exclusively with one distinct identity while degrading others.

There are innumerable instances like the Holocaust of Jews, the Franco-Prussian conflict, Hindu-Muslim disputes, and apartheid where the idea of global identities and cross-cultural interactions fail to create uniformity and consistency in our perceptions. Language is typically defined by dictionaries as "a methodical way of communicating

through sounds or standard symbols". Considering this, renowned French psychologist Jacques Lacan's mirror stage concept can serve as a valuable analytical instrument to comprehend how the acquisition of language leads to individualisation and differentiation of human subjectivity.

His hypothesis suggests that newborn infants possess entirely empty minds, devoid of understanding about language or the concept of otherness. The baby perceives everything as an extension of itself. For example, while breastfeeding, it perceives its mother as a part of its body. Therefore, initially, the infant's mind lacks any sense of otherness. The child begins to grasp the idea of otherness only upon seeing his reflection in the mirror for the first time, a result of confusion from observing the reflection. The teaching approach employed with children habitually relies on binary contrasts.

The concept of contraries – such as hot and cool, black and white, or high and low, is ingrained into a young individual's cognition as a crucial fact about our universe. This fortifies the mirrored reflection that the kid identifies as his dichotomous counterpart, illustrating the tension inherent in this two-fold relationship. This binary ilk addresses both the Self and the Physical form, as well as the Disparity between the Abstract and the Tangible. As the youthful mind matures through linguistic acquisition – through words, identifiers, geographies and the like – they start to perceive a divide between themselves and everything else in existence.

The concepts of names and the act of naming are often a bit controversial because they fundamentally contribute to a sense of division among individuals. The differentiation process mostly happens due to the existence of unique forms of identification - typically names or

numbers, for which language plays a pivotal role. Possibly, this could be why the author deliberately doesn't disclose his identity throughout "Shadow Lines". He may believe that revealing it can result in creating a distance between him and his readers. Furthermore, it could be his attempt to break free from rigid, reductionist perceptions of identity.