1. Introduction

​

Race is a central organizing factor that has mobilized several political initiatives in global politics (Zvobgo and Loken, 2020). According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, race is “any one of the groups that humans are often divided into based on physical traits regarded as common among people of shared ancestry.” It is an interesting point to note that the concept of race is not ancient. The emergence of racial categories has its roots in colonialism (Zevallos, 2017). The colonial powers used violent and psychological tactics to dominate foreign lands. They justified the act as a civilizing mission. Religion and language have been used to establish colonial dominance (Zevallos, 2017).

​

The topic is relevant because it highlights the colonial atrocities that led to linguistic damage to the region's indigenous languages. Moreover, each language is a representation of race, culture, and history, which deserves to be saved (Fanon 1952). Most importantly, the topic sheds light on the discourse at the intersections of language, race, culture, power, etc., which is imperative.

​

In the article, I argue that Spanish settler colonization of Hispanic America led to the disappearance of indigenous languages. This kind of linguistic imperialism has profound racial roots, where vernacular languages were and are often treated as inferior and primitive with respect to Spanish, the colonial European language seen as modern. I aim to dwell deeper and de-layer both concepts of race and language with an intersectional approach, with the help of the case study.

 

2. Intersection of Race and Language

 

Language is an important means of communication that has a structured system, such as phonetics, letters, symbols, etc., and each language shows the norms, culture, ethnicity, race, etc. (Green 2020) During the civilizing mission of the European colonial power, the language was widely used to establish colonial dominance (Zevallos, 2017). Both language and race are intertwined anthropological elements (Alim, Reyes, and Kroskrity, 2020). Languages have been racialized during colonization. Understanding the intersection of race and language is imperative to examine the colonial atrocities in the correlated domains of race and language. Settlement colonization is a form of colonization where the colonizers moved from their native land to the colonized land and later settled there. This type of colonization has caused cultural damage. In the article, I will discuss the linguistic damage, which is a kind of cultural damage caused by settler colonialism. As a case study, I will use Hispanic America, which was colonized by the Spanish empires. As a result, the area is now dominated by Spanish.

​

3. Colonizing via languages: A case study of Hispanic America

 

The Americas have a rich history and have had many civilizations like the Aztecs, Mayas, Incas, Olmec, etc. (History.com, 2009). Hispanic America is a region with a plethora of linguistic diversity (Stearns, 2008). The colonization of America led to the annihilation of a lot of indigenous languages, and certain languages are at a vulnerable stage. The only few surviving languages currently in the area include Quechua, Nahuatl, Tupi-Guarani, Mapuche, etc., but they are in danger (Adelaar, 2007).

​

In Hispanic America, the impact of colonization, both historically and in the present, is profound. Spanish conquerors implemented governmental policies based on monolingual ideologies in their American colonies, as highlighted by Kroskrity (2016) and Hamel (2005).I chose to research Hispanic America because of its diverse history and culture and because Spaniards colonized it. This led to a Spanish linguistic predominance and reduced indigenous linguistic diversity. To view the colonized as non-human or less human (Kebede, 2001), and elements associated with them, including language.

​

Another important concept of ‘cultural amnesia' can be used to analyze the situation in Hispanic America. The term cultural amnesia was coined by Clive James (2007) and refers to the loss of cultural knowledge, languages, and histories because of the dominating powers. Cultural amnesia in Hispanic America is evident, hence linguistic imperialism and cultural amnesia. Another important concept that can be associated with linguistic imperialism is 'blind obedience." The term was coined by Hannah Ardent and means submission to an authority without questioning whether it is immoral or causes cultural harm. In the concept of Hispano America, we can call it 'blind cultural-linguistic obedience, which is visible even today. I would also emphasise that these forms of amnesia were not always voluntarily taken on but forcibly imposed on the native populations in Hispanic America.

​

The intersection of languages and race due to colonialism moulded language practices and educational discourses in Hispanic America (Veronelli, 2015). During the Spanish conquest of the Americas, Spanish was represented as the language of the Spanish crown, unified under one language as one sole authority (Veronelli, 2015). As per Nebrija and Alderte, the racialization of language portrayed Castilian as the "real language" of the colonized population. Nebrija constructed the written Castilian grammar, as he considered languages without structured grammar to be vulgar (Nebrija and Tiseryra, 2016). The structured Castilian grammar helped to teach the language easily during the linguistic colonizing mission of Spaniards in Hispanic America.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

4. Modernity, or coloniality of language, and the dominance of the Spanish language in education

 

The concept of coloniality and modernity was introduced by Anibal Quijano (2007), with the view that coloniality and modernity are both elements that are inseparable. With respect to languages, colonial languages and indigenous languages are considered superior and inferior, respectively, and this distinction is seen as a biological, natural, and historical phenomenon. As part of the modernity project, race and language were co-naturalized (Rosa and Flores, 2017). But coloniality, when examined, entails domination, alienation, social injustices, and margination that are linked to race (Estermann, 2014). Another important view of Veronelli (2015), with which I agree, is that the coloniality of language is racialized and has gradually led to the dehumanization of colonized populations. The imposition of Spanish in the Americas, which was a part of Eurocentric appropriation and seen as legitimate by the colonizers.

​

The Spanish colonial power imposed racial and linguistic hierarchies and exoticized indigenous languages. The imposition of language was imposed through religious conversion to Christianity by the Spanish colonizers. Missionary education was introduced during the colonial era with the dominance of Spanish in educational institutions. Language policies were favored by Spain in education and government, creating a linguistic hierarchy and stratification. This kind of racism is called governmental racism (Rosa and Flores, 2017), which enforces linguistic racism. Overwhelmingly, certain indigenous languages have been preserved through informal education and oral tradition (Belle and White, 1978). This demonstrates how religion in the linguistic domain is used as an educational tool to suppress the native languages by the colonizers, who positioned race and the indigenous language as inferior (Zevallos, 2021).

​

In the Andean region of South America, such as Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, there is widespread illiteracy, poverty, and a lack of access to quality education (Ballard, 2021; Currie and Duncan, 1999; Glewwe, 2002). One of the UNESCO reports (2010) demonstrates a strong correlation between low-quality employment and high levels of illiteracy among the indigenous population. Moreover, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Information (2018), Quechua people have three times the prevalence of illiteracy as Mestizo people (9.5%), and Aymara-speaking people fare poorly as well (8.5%). According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a mestizo is a person of' mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry’. These statistics show how colonization linguistically racialized the indigenous population and has put them in a lower social stratum of the region.

​

There has been a noticeable rise in linguistic racism in many educational institutions in the region. There have been incidents in schools where indigenous children are attacked and bullied for speaking their own languages in many parts of Mexico (Majumdar, 2022). Another instance of linguistic racism was in Peru, where students are encouraged to speak Quechua, and there are certain testimonies of indigenous students feeling embarrassed speaking Quechua (Briceno, 2021).

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

5. Linguistic harm and the Spanish conquest of Peru

 

To narrow down the research, this section will focus on Hispanic America, Peru, and "Linguistic Harm and Spanish Conquest of Peru" and suggest a clear view of how, due to settler colonization, the indigenous population, both racial and linguistically, was subjugated. The emergence of new constitutional rights for bilingualism and the presentation of some statistics on the literacy rate of the indigenous population throw light on the educational and linguistic racism still in the country.

​

I consider that linguistic harm in the country should be viewed through an intersectional lens. There is multiple oppression of the colonized people, both racially and linguistically. They have suffered and will continue to suffer.

The Spanish colonizers invaded Peru in 1532 and forcefully established Spanish as the official language of the state. It is estimated that they killed two-thirds of the indigenous population in central and southern Peru. As per a source, there were 280.000 Incans before the Spanish invasion, and 1683 reduced them to 93,331 (Newson, 1985: 45; Zevallos, 2021).

In Peru, while under the rule of the Bourbon dynasty of Spain, there was a rebellion from the years 1730 CE–1780 CE led by indigenous leader Tupac Amaru II (Mannheim, 2008: 301; Zevallos, 2021), but the rebellion was suppressed in 1781 CE when the colonizers banned the Quechua language in literature and theatre (Mannheim, 2008: 300–301; Zevallos, 2021). Later in 1792, there were policies establishing education only in Spanish to legitimize it with the modernity of the language and the indigenous languages, traditions, and cultures in Peru (Mannheim, 2008: 301-302; Zevallos, 2021).

​

Mestizos in Peru account for the largest category of the population, accounting for 60%. The mestizos are a mixed race of indigenous and white people. The Spanish colonizers used to rape and force marriages, and the result was that offenders were mestizos. The mestizo population was bilingual, seen above the indigenous population, and was the translator between the indigenous population and the Spanish colonizer (Mannhiem, 2008; Zevallos, 2021). Later, Peru gained independence in 1821. The ruling classes that profited under Spanish rule created a narrative of nationalism. The Spanish language continued to be the dominant language, and racial, linguistic, and class divisions were created during the Spanish conquest.

​

As per the 2007 (Clear Global) census, Peru has an 84% Spanish-speaking population, with Quechua speakers comprising 13% and Aymara spearheads constituting 2% of the population. Indigenous populations account for 25% of Peru's population.

​

Marsol de 'Andrea, in her comprehensive article ‘Peru: Inequality of Education for Indigenous Groups’ (2009), The Neglected Class, discusses how the education system does not do injustice to indigenous populations. The education system fails to recognize indigenous languages, and indigenous students are obliged to learn Spanish and are disconnected from their own linguistic roots. The language the colonizer used for the language policy is called 'Castellanizacion' or 'Hispanicization' to teach the indigenous population Spanish above any other language (Rodriquez, 2015; Zevallos, 2021). This is how languages and cultures are racialized and how colonialism is deeply rooted in society, even after so many years of independence from colonial power (Cadena, 2007).

​

There have been certain bilingual educational experiments initiated by individuals and organizations in the 1940s (García, 2010: 351). Later in 1979, the new constitution made Quechua the official language of Peru (García, 2010:365). There have been bilingual educational experiments initiated by certain individuals and organizations since the 1940s. There has been a social policy for promoting universal education, even though the government has not been successful in taking diverse perspectives and needs into account (García, 2010).

​

The Prime Minister of Peru, Guido Bellido, who belongs to the region of Cusco and whose mother tongue is Quechua, has been committed to the implementation of national policy based on the constitutional right of bilingualism to racial and linguistic inclusion in the country (Briceno, 2021; Cote, 2022).

​

Access to bilingual education is a fundamental right for each indigenous student. However, implementation is difficult due to a lack of resources (Jara, 2022). Moreover, as per Alfredo Luna, the Vice Minister of Cross-Culturalism at the Ministry of Culture, while speaking in La República (2018), the number of Quechua speakers is reducing not because children don't want to learn it but because parents don't want to teach their children Quechua, which is one of the challenges to implementing bilingual education in the country. This shows the existence of coloniality and linguistic racial dominance, which came through the county because of the Spanish conquest.

​

6. Conclusion

​

In the article, I discussed various themes, including coloniality, modernity, racism and language, the intersection of race and language, and a case study of Hispanic America. As mentioned, the origin of race has its roots in colonization. I argued how Spanish colonization imposed racial and linguistic hierarchies in Hispanic America. The imposition of Spanish through education is a visible continuation of colonial discourse. I analyzed Peru, a Hispanic American country, to narrow the research on Spanish conquest in Peru and linguistic racialization in its society. I analyzed Peru, a Hispanic American country, to narrow the research on Spanish conquest in Peru and linguistic racialization in its society.

​

There are visible stereotypes and stigmas for their own vernacular languages, which brings up the concept of cultural amnesia, in which the region faced an immense amount of cultural assimilation due to colonization, which has resulted in many indigenous languages in the region being on the verge of extinction.

​

However, there have been decolonial initiatives taken by international institutions and state governments in Hispanic America. UNESCO declared 2019 the Year of Indigenous Languages and pledged to collaborate with the Latin American government to save the vulnerable indigenous languages in the region (Diego Oré 2019). Another example is the Mexican government's publication "Building a Decade of Action for Indigenous Languages" for the years 2022–2022, which lays the groundwork for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages to promote linguistic diversity in social, public, and educational settings (IWGIA 2021).

​

Even though efforts have been made and are still being made, the linguistic harm has led to cultural damage. Rectifying the historical wrongs would take a lot of time. This article can be an opening that there should be more work in the area of linguistic imperialism that could spread consciousness about cultural, linguistic, and racial diversity not only in Hispanic America but also in different post-colonial regions like South Asia and Africa, which have experienced linguistic and cultural assimilation due to different European colonization in the past. Therefore, I conclude that language is part of each person's identity and that, due to colonialism, it was used as a tool for discrimination and marginalization in Hispanic America. And as argued, the racialization of language has its roots in colonialism.