Conquered Primitives Have No Written Language

Language Revitalization, Reactionary Settler Colonialism, and Perpetual Genocide

Bibliographic Data

ID6425522
AuthorsGerald Roche (0000-0002-2410-351X, La Trobe University, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume16
Issue2
Pages145-164
Publication date2024-12-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGenocide Studies International (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2291-1855 • E-ISSN: 2291-1847
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3138/gsi-2024-0011
OpenAlexW4404948355
LanguageEN
References cited39

Indigenous people in settler colonies such as Australia, the United States, and Canada are currently engaged in a range of projects to revitalize their languages: to reclaim and restore them in the wake of colonial destruction. Such language revitalization is frequently met with fierce backlash. This article examines the relationship between language revitalization backlash and genocide. I argue that language revitalization is part of broader efforts by Indigenous people to reconstitute themselves as distinct groups in reaction to colonial genocides. Backlash against language revitalization can therefore be seen as one element of ongoing efforts to prevent this, leading to a set of social and political relations I call perpetual genocide. I explore the dynamics of language revitalization backlash and perpetual genocide through an analysis of more than 600 social media comments collected from Australia over 2022 and 2023—the opening years of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages—and identify three key themes in these comments: civilizational racism, English and white supremacy, and linguistic diversity as a threat. Based on this analysis, I argue that this backlash, and the perpetual genocide of Indigenous peoples more broadly, is driven by a structural arrangement I call reactionary settler colonialism, which is led by a right-wing vanguard but involves all settlers as implicated subjects. I conclude by discussing counter-genocidal praxis in relation to this formation

Colonialism · Genocide · Indigenous · Indigenous language · Political science · Politics · Racism · Reactionary · Sociology · Gender Studies · Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights · Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare · Law · Multilingual Education and Policy