Episode 69 | Ethics in Language Learning
“Sadly, there is a linguistic hierarchy where society deems some languages as more desirable than others.”
-Eliza Keyton on “The Ethics of Language Learning”
Eliza Keyton (Eli Kutty) and Jessica Kumar are both language learners of Indian languages. In the years since learning Malayalam and Hindi, Eliza and Jessica have become increasingly convinced that there needs to be greater representation of Indians and proper credit given to those who have taught their indigenous languages to foreigners. In this episode, Eliza and Jessica talk through the challenges of navigating leftover colonialism which makes learning a language responsibly tricky in today’s climate.
Jessica and Eliza both share their clear intentions of uplifting Desi voices and pointing the attention back to native speakers of their target languages. They both speak about their unique experiences as white Americans and how one needs to be aware of white privilege while learning a language.
Hear Episode 68 for more information about Eliza and Jessica’s personal journey of learning Indian languages.
Find Eliza on Instagram @Eli.Kutty and YouTube!
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Links mentioned in this episode:
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