Communication. Culture. Identity.

Language is the rope that holds communities together. People may eat different foods, listen to different music genres, and even have a different sense of fashion and style, but the way in which we communicate heavily represents the community. Across the African diaspora, we speak thousands of different languages (over 70 in the Caribbean and 2000+ in Africa). Some of our languages are derivatives of others, some are creolised versions of the colonisers tongue, but each of them uniquely represent us as a people.

Although we do not all speak the same language, our ways of communication are not limited to just verbal. As a people, we speak with our eyes and body, we can be quite animated when we communicate, and often, our passion, expressiveness and bluntness is perceived as aggressive and combative. The way in which we communicate, both verbally and non-verbally is a reflection of our culture and identity as Afrikans, an identity that continues to be willfully misunderstood by the masses. But why?

Language is a form of energy, and for several centuries (millennia even) our energy has been siphoned and exploited. Everytime we have been colonised, our literacy is attacked. We are taught to obey but not critically think, to read but not necessarily to comprehend and we are forced to neglect our indigenous ways of communicating for fear of rebellion and loss of control by those that are our enemies. As we have adapted and assimilated to survive through attempted cultural erasure we have absorbed and internalised energy that is not in alignment with our truth, and this energy is becoming an identity threat.

Many of us in The West only speak one language, and deny our mother tongues from being identified as a language, simply because the coloniser has not accepted it as such. Other times, we are shy to speak our language because of how some of us were teased by the elders, causing us to loose confidence and neglecting the language altogether. Additionally, we have learnt that acceptance from the European powers is more important than self acceptance and it has us stuck in a cycle of constantly trying to function in a system that's only function is to destroy us. Thus, some of us carry shame around speaking our mother tongues and intentionally eliminate it, choosing to only speak European languages. There are some downsides to this amongst the community, particularly for those of us that live and raise children in countries where we are the minority:

1.) Becoming monolithic: Whilst we scream that being Black is not monolithic, our disconnect to our ancestors through indigenous languages is paving the way for us to become a monolith. Variety is the spice of life, and many of us are linguistically limited making it difficult for us to connect with our greater diaspora as well as connect with our not so distant past. It is important for us to keep our languages alive (and adapt them where necessary) as to not loose ourselves and our identities in the western sauce of life.

2.) Brain Capacity/Capability: Learning multiple languages and being able to fluidly switch between languages is a skill that helps with brain development, expansion and health. When we choose to limit ourselves to only one language, we are limiting our brains capability. Being bi/multilingual is also advantageous because it gives you a new way to experience the world, to express yourself and to process reality. Your brain is purposed to learn, and when we live in a world where life is made easier by moving us away from learning and into a state of technological dependency (where intellect is concerned), we have the responsibility of doing everything we can to be intellectually independent. Language diversity is a great way to do this because it gives you the power to adapt to different societies and also not rely on a egotistical society that only thrives based on control and a monolithic identity. Furthermore, when we connect through our indigenous languages, we unlock parts of our gene codes and gain access to ancestors that we have disconnected with and parts of our energy that may have otherwise been dormant.

3.) The Language of Energy: When we reduce ourselves to ONLY a language that is not native to our bloodline, we are shifting our vibration and influencing our reality in a way that is not necessarily aligned with our best interest. Language carries a frequency but energy itself is a language which is why you 'read the room'. When you shift your energy to be more aligned with those that are seeking dominion over you, thus taking on the energy of subservience, you are indirectly communicating with yourself that you are less than. This is why long term 'code switching' can be dangerous. Overtime, you absorb so much of what is against you, you soon become it, to the point where your own community is perceived as the threat and the real threat/enemy is perceived as a trustworthy ally. Energy speaks volumes and when we are not careful, we distort our own energy simply because we are trying to 'fit in' and 'get by.

The conversation surrounding energy and language is far and wide, and if you would like to explore it, get tickets to our next workshop, where we'll be exploring all things throat chakra related.