Brittany Liu's Blog #3 Communication, Language, Expression

I believe a healthy nation is formed in part by expression or more or less communication.  It is the humanistic way of connecting, relating, and sharing.  Language, in its many forms, dialects and styles, is a leading component of communication and it definitely is a unifying agent.  English is my first language, but I am not proud to say that it is my only language.  I think that knowing another language is so important because it connects you with people from a background that is different than yours.  I can’t say that it gives me a feeling of nationalism because I know that there are other countries that speak English too.  Language seems to bring up contradictory ideas regarding unification.  On one hand it connects people through interactions and relationships, but on the other hand it sets barriers.  Varying dialects and accents based on origins naturally form their own communities.  A person from Louisiana will speak much differently than a person from Boston and people tend to gravitate towards their similar background.  This also applies to levels of education and socioeconomic classes, which are always dividing factors.  However, it is still English that we are all generally speaking.  Language seems to divide and unite simultaneously.

Benedict Anderson believes that "nothing served to 'assemble' related vernaculars more than capitalism" (44).  The market of printed books established a unifying language.  Anderson's previous idea of "simultaneous" comes into play here.  As one is reading there is the notion that someone else has read that print or is reading it at the same time.  It becomes a unifying mindset to think that another is consuming the same knowledge as you because they speak the language of the nation.  However, again, this can be a dividing factor because not everyone is able to obtain these books.  The power of money drives the reproduction of printed books, but it also prohibits those who lack money.  Perhaps it was a factor in dividing social classes.  Although, now we have so many more forms of communication including text messages, phone calls, and the Internet.  A broad spectrum of people have more access to different forms of communication.  In this way I believe communication through capitalism and technology unite a society.                  

But what about universal languages?  Expression through dance, music, and visual art are forms of communication that can be understood by any speaking language.  They convey universal emotions that can connect people because they can relate to the art.  Although, I can't make the claim that art can unite a nation.  This also made me think of the universality of sports, but we seem to divide this by nation anyways.  The competitive nature separates the nations.  Maybe instead of looking for what connects a nation, we should question what divides humanity in the first place.  Is it the territory that draws the lines or is it the language that puts up the barriers?