today’s empires have taken on a different form. they have adapted accordingly to the times and have no need to directly manipulate constituting states. instead, their rule over the populace are more subtle. empires need not garrison an army to occupy the territory. not a single drop of blood need be spilled to enforce the will of the rulers. if a culture wants to impose itself upon a people, it should teach them their language. in any particular language, certain concepts are important in order to communicate. in some languages, the masculinity or femininity of an idea is important. in others, it is the social relationship of the speakers. or which compass direction the speaker is facing. language directly influences how we perceive the world. they are a framework by which to construct ideas. by teaching a language, you implicitly teach the culture in which that language is used. they cannot be dissociated from each other.
if ideas are buildings, the speaker is the architect. language includes the materials and tools available to the architect. the architects may be masterful communicators, but they still have to work within the constraints of the materials available. likewise, an architect can do nothing without tools and materials, however good the ideas. this is another method of control which may not be popular if the right to an education and to speak out are perceived as fundamental rights.
the ideology of the state is more readily transmitted to populace if they share the same language. the language need not even be written or spoken. think about music, movies, books, fashion, advertising, maps, standards, and protocols. even sharing the same language, a misspoken word can be disastrous for public perception. how much more so if the rulers don’t even speak the same language as those being ruled?
