Language and the Ruins it Brings

In Professor Lewis’s lecture, she expresses how language, both written and spoken, is a partner of empire. How it supports its goals and how no empire fails to leave its own language behind. But that same language can be used against the empire, as a tool to critique, dislodge and appropriate power. Language is what binds but, at the same time, dismantles every empire. “Sans Lingua Franca, the world will be torn asunder. And then, it shall be free.” This quote is from the popular Metal Gear Solid game franchise. Specifically from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain‘s main antagonist Skull Face. Skull Face expresses his hatred towards language and the ruins it brings. In the trailer, it is hinted that he plans to destroy the major languages to free the world from the shackles that language places on humanity.

“It is no nation that we inhabit, but a language. Make no mistake; our native tongue is our true fatherland.” –Emil Cicoran

 

The quote mentioned earlier with the words Sans Lingua Franca can be translated as without a bridge language. This is in reference to the English language as it is a bridge language for many other countries that allow people to converse despite the difference in nationalities. As mentioned in the trailer, Skull Face talks about how America is a country of immigrants that do not assimilate but rather live side by side. The bridge language that allows all immigrants to converse in a common tongue is English. It is the ultimate tool that binds all people together but at the same time, separate them. Almost every person that was born in America of a nationality that was other than Caucasian most likely started with the language of their parents. After learning the language of your parents, you would have to forget it, or shelf it in order to learn how to read, write, and speak English as it is the common form of communication for all people in America.

Skull Face critiques the idea of imperialism through the usage of the English language. He expresses later in the game that he lost his mother tongue at a very early age and the language he used constantly changed as those in charge changed as well.  Every change causes part of him to become ruined which he expresses by saying, “With each new post, my masters changed, along with the words they made me speak. With each change, I changed too. My thoughts, personality, how I saw right and wrong… words… can kill.” This situation does not only apply to Skull Face as this problem is visible in the world as well. Many of the imperialized countries still feature some problem and influence that originated from the imperialist country.

To Skull Face language is, “…the greatest symbiotic parasite the world’s ever known…” Language has a way of surviving and integrating into other languages. Even the English language uses many other aspects of other languages. Languages that stopped being used for thousands of years still exists in a modern bridge language. As Professor Lewis said, no empire fails to leave behind its language.

 

Percentage of the English Language derived from Other Languages

Though it does not only refer to just language integrating with other languages. It also refers to the integration of language into communities. Language, both written and spoken, can be easily be taught to someone who has no prior knowledge about it. After teaching, the language seamlessly integrates itself into society and leaves its mark for generations to come. Language that is forced upon the indigenous people ends up become mixed after many years. The English spoken in Britain is a far cry from what it is in America, just like how the French spoken in Canada and France are not entirely similar.

Heroes and Villains

What is a hero and what is a villain? These two words have been iconically used throughout history however, the words have been used to project and reinforce the ideology of the empire. The ideology of what is inherently good and bad.

Typically we would have the heroes and villains very clear cut as black and white. Heroes were the good guys and the villains were the evil-doers. Most stories with heroes have them on a quest to slay the evil lord who is the villain in the story. The story usually ends with a happy ending showing that the hero has triumphed and the villain’s evil plans are over.

Looking through a manga called MAOYUU MAOU YUUSHA – KONO WATASHI NO MONO TONARE, YUUSHA YO KOTOWARU! and a comic called Nimona, the idea of what a hero is and what a villain will be deconstructed.

Maoyuu Maou Yuusha is set in a medieval fantasy world where humans and demons exist. The two sides are currently at war and the manga starts with the hero entering the demon queen’s castle. As seen in the picture above, the hero is questioned by the demon queen about his role as a hero and what he really is. She later then reveals that the empire knows what his real role is and what he means to the people despite the dark truth.

“The one who takes the life of an enemy king is an assassin”

We glorify heroes as the paragons of hope when they are in reality an assassin. The next slide continues to say that the empire knows this and continues anyways. Heroes are glorified like this much like how war veterans are. A country’s war veterans are heroes but to the place they come back from, they are the worst villain. The concept of good and evil are all purely subjective and will change from person to person. As Beilby Porteus once said, “One murder makes a villain; millions a hero.”

The character that is missing an arm is the protagonist, Balistar Blackheart, and the girl is his sidekick, Nimona. Despite being a villain, Balistar does not wish to kill or do many of the typical villainous activities. As seen above, he won in a competition against Ambrosius Goldenloin and lost his arm because of him. Later in the comic, Blackheart goes out of his way to minimize the damage and casualties sneaking into the castle while Nimona goes and kills many of the guards. As Nimona tries to please Blackheart, the viewer can see that Balistar continually tries to stop her from causing more damage. He was once a hero but because he lost his arm, the empire had no more use for him. Many of the times, a villain is someone that no longer fits in society and this constitutes to it. He is a villain because he can no longer fit in society but other than that, not much else establishes him as a proper villain.