Speaking In Tongues

 “Language is the perfect instrument of empire”

When medieval linguist Antonio de Nebrija claimed to Queen Isabella, "language is the perfect instrument of empire," he alluded, in an overarching sense, to the fact that language itself is a pivotal component of the building and sustenance of territorial expansion from an imperialistic perspective. The theoretical underpinning for this ideology relates directly to the notion that language can be as much of a dividing force as it can be a uniting one. 

When Nebrija classifies language to be the "perfect instrument of empire," he unveils his appreciation of the fundamentals of colonization as imperialist territorial gain relies heavily on collectively oppressing a large group of people into succumbing to the might of a central power. Accordingly, this task of essentially taking over a group of people and asserting control over them is made relatively easier if the prevalence of a communication barrier is lowered; this can be ensured through the effective establishment of one language being that associated with the identity of an empire, thus mandating for the people of the colonies to acquire the basics of said language. 

In the case mentioned in the reading, "Speaking in Tongues," Nebrija proposed Spanish to be the language of the empire and the implications of this assertion are evidently described in the "beginning of the end of thousands of languages."

This concept of the loss of several languages at the cost of colonization however is not an unfamiliar phenomenon. 

The most prominent example would indubitably be the widespread conquests of the British Empire in the 1800s, whereby English was the language that permeated all conquered colonies. More specifically, if one was to look into the impact of the European colonization of India, the impression left behind by the ruling powers in regards to the pervasiveness of the English language was so utterly drastic that the language itself has been embedded in the country as that of its own, and remains to be so even 70 years after the English left the country. However, that being said, India is perhaps one of the only countries that preserved, despite the prolonged 300 year reign of the British, its plethora of languages, may perhaps be indicative of language also acting as a form of resilience to an empire. Thus while language, as stated by Nebrija, can be a "perfect instrument for empire," it can on the other hand also be equally detrimental to a Sovereign if the languages of a colony are powerful enough to overpower empire's "ideal instrument."

This is exactly what makes language threatening. Looking at the quote beyond its literal meaning, it can be inferred that "empire" could be applied to not only a large colonized territory but perhaps even to a small group of people who share a tongue, thus suggesting that language acts as a binding force amongst the members of any group. Hence, the remarkable power of language is subtly encapsulated in the relatively simple but notable quote whereby it is cemented that language acts not only as a conduit for communication amongst people but also as a critical cohesive force, extending to each one a unique identity.