Arrogance is not an uncommon trait. While it is relatively easy for individuals to adopt a heightened sense of self, I had never before considered how a language could exhibit such arrogance as well. In her chapter “Learning the Grammar of Animacy,” Kimmerer underscores the linguistic connection between English and humanity’s perceived superiority by asserting that “the arrogance of English is that the only way to be animate, to be worthy of respect and moral concern, is to be a human” (57).
While I have always recognized the intrinsic value of word choice, I had never before considered that the grammatical norms of English could so heavily influence how the individuals who speak it view the natural world around them. Individuals who adopt English as their first language are conditioned to ingrain the moral superiority of humans over nonhuman beings from the start. Although animals have been deemed worthy of gendered pronouns, the natural resources that humans rely on, such as trees, are simply reduced to the inanimate, inferior “it.”
Throughout the entirety of this course, we have discussed the importance of developing a greater understanding of our intrinsic ties to Earth. To foster such an understanding and strengthen our connection with the living, breathing system of Gaia, we must first recognize our linguistic faults. Our language reinforces the hierarchy of lifeforms that led to humans’ exploitation of Earth. When we believe ourselves to be morally and inherently superior to other products of nature, we distinguish ourselves as lifeforms that may consume and dominate others. We see nonhumans as resources to exploit, and thus, view actions such as deforestation as morally permissible. We share the same ancestral ties to the Earth as do all other lifeforms, but we perceive the life of “he” or “she” as far more important than the life of “it.”
The industrialization and exploitation of Earth that has led us to the Anthropocene stems from our arrogant belief that other inferior lifeforms exist for our own benefit. While several languages successfully respect the shared dignity of human and nonhuman beings, English has failed to adopt this much needed sense of humility. To achieve such humility, we do not necessarily have to challenge the longstanding grammatical norms of the English language. Rather, as Kimmerer suggests, we should attempt to be “bilingual between the lexicon of science and the grammar of animacy” (56).
Work Cited
Kimmerer, Robin Wall. “Grammar of Animacy.” Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Milkweed Editions, 2013.
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