By Lala Montoya
Hola hola
Imagínate tratar de leer este artículo y no poder entender, escuchar algo y no poder participar.Ahora imagine leerlo en el lenguaje que tú entiendes, escuchar algo y poder participar
Imagine trying to read this article and not being able to understand, listening to something and not being able to participate. Now imagine reading it in the language you understand, listening to something and being able to participate.
How did it feel to read this and perhaps stumble into the confusion of finding a different language than expected? And then how liberating to find the translation below!
Wherever you might teach or learn, language is being used as a tool of communication, empowerment, liberation, or oppression. Language is one of the most powerful tools we can use and it is one of the first things we learn when very young. There is such joy in learning how to describe a taste, say what we like and what we are learning to like, explain what we agree with and what we think is unfair.
For those of you reading this, you might find yourself living in the dominance of English. Or perhaps you find yourself in a vibrant community like us here in Poughkeepsie, NY where - with 19% of the population being Hispanic or Latinx - you can walk down Main Street and you see areas where multilingual spaces are the norm; there are stores where one can walk in and feel transported to Latin America. And yet when we step into the banks and schools, things go back to that dominance of English. To some, that might not seem so bad but just imagine..
You are a young 16 year old who just moved to the United States from South America. Your mother came with you fleeing a civil war and wanting to be with family who had moved here years before. You go to sign up for school, you’re undocumented and neither one of you speaks English. You walk into the school and it takes some time to find someone who speaks broken Spanish, finally a sight of tranquility where a secretary is able to help you get everything in place. Now fast forward 4-5 years, you have learned English, but your mother hasn't, she can’t help you with school work and you know she cries about it in the quiet of the night. After a long day at school before you head to work, you have to interpret for her at the bank, with your landlord, or help with immigration papers. That’s what I experienced as a young person, here in a country where there is nothing written in the Constitution about English being the national language.
As educators, we have a powerful role in making this young person's experience - and the experiences of all the youth we engage with - into something so different! Imagine the young child walking into that school being welcomed by signs in different languages, a staff member accompanied by an interpreter who asks which is the language of preference! And this mother walks through the experience with understanding and without being judged. Four to five years later, that young person now has the tools of language justice because it’s talked about in schools and when they step into a bank or immigration office, translation and interpretation services are the norm! Both mother and daughter thrive and because culture shapes us and we also shape the culture, that mother and daughter can now be integral parts of their new community. They can become teachers, nurses, translators, and interpreters. They can be language justice workers in all their fields. -- Language Justice (as defined by Communities Creating Healthy Environments): “For us, language justice is about building and sustaining multilingual spaces in our organizations and social movements so that everyone’s voice can be heard both as an individual and as part of a diversity of communities and cultures. Valuing language justice means recognizing the social and political dimensions of language and language access, while working to dismantle language barriers, equalize power dynamics, and build strong communities for social and racial justice”
So that is the dream we are cultivating at Poughkeepsie Farm Project. Along with many beautiful organizations in the Hudson Valley and worldwide. We dream of supporting our community by having all that we offer at the farm available in Spanish and English. We began this process during the pandemic when our staff realized that many parents and families needed more Spanish-language support now that learning was taking place at home, widening the gap between the English-dominant schools and the homes where English is not the language of preference. To support everyone in our community, we hosted events like a read-aloud storytime with breakout groups in the 2 languages that are predominant in Poughkeepsie. We also started on the journey of translating all our learning materials into Spanish!! Last summer, we began hosting multilingual community harvest events at the farm where Spanish and English were both equally important and present. The support of the community was felt, English-speaking folks were now making an effort to speak Spanish! It was beautiful, at one event after folks heard a land acknowledgement and explanation of language justice in both Spanish and English the whole audience present clapped! That moment still brings tears to these eyes!
Picture of Lala M and Tania holding interpretation equipment. photo credit: Nora Evita Aresti
I want to share with you some of the basic things we can all do to begin engaging in the practice of language justice. We can have lesson materials and paperwork translated. We can have interpretation services available. We can create and foster multilingual spaces. Let's break down the terminology so we can all better understand and truly support our students and their families with a language justice framework.
Translation: Translation is a mental activity in which a meaning of given linguistic discourse is rendered from one language to another. It is the act of transferring the linguistic entities from one language in to their equivalents in to another language.
https://translationjournal.net/October-2017/definition-of-translation.html
This is a helpful tool and a starting point (not an end point!) for our schools and organizations.
Interpretation: The oral process of rendering a spoken message from one language into another. Interpretation is like taking translation to the next level and getting closer to a just space. But without translation and the proper outreach, we can host Spanish interpreted events and have no Spanish speakers attend.
https://nesfp.org/sites/default/files/resources/language_justice_toolkit.pdf
Multilingual Space (as defined by Alice Johnson): “Combining bi-directional simultaneous interpreting with comprehensive document translation and multilingual facilitation, in order to integrate cross-race efforts in (multiple languages), shifting power away from traditionally dominant cultural norms…and intentionally using language to collectively build political analysis and cross-race allies among grassroots leaders.” Multilingual spaces are how I dream our farms, schools, and all organizations to be!
Language Justice (as described in the Multilingual Strategies for Community Organizing): “Language justice is rooted in a history of resistance by communities and peoples whose voices and cultures have been suppressed for generations. Language justice is an alternative to that historical pattern of disenfranchisement and oppression. It affirms the fundamental rights of individuals and communities to language, culture, self expression, and equal participation.”
Language Justice (as described in Soul Fire Farm's Language Justice Guide): “We see Language Justice as a framework that transcends language access, and we uplift the languages that go beyond speech - the ones that are signed as well as the languages of the roots, the soils, the rains, the lands, and our more-than-human relatives. We understand that we filter these languages through our identities and privileges, including class, race, ethnicity, education, literacy, documented status, gender, sexuality, and physical and cognitive abilities. Holistic accessibility rooted in the struggle for justice is not merely about access - it is about participation, reflection, visibility, equity, shared leadership, radical acceptance, and love. Understanding each other is part of the foundation to loving each other. “
What a powerful tool for us as educators to incorporate language justice into our work. Now I leave you with a quote from the song Awakening by Climbing Poetree:
https://www.climbingpoetree.com/video/bioneers-2014/
Hold a mirror to your heart? What does it reflect?
What will be the message of the legacy we left?
We were born for a reason,
we can be whatever we give ourselves permission to be.
interpreting team
At PFP we are giving ourselves permission to learn, to acknowledge that we should have been delivering content in Spanish long ago. To also be realistic about our current capacity and start where we can. And continue to grow in sustainable, radical and magical ways. So what are you giving yourself permission to try? Where do you see the journey of language justice and access beginning for you?
And just before you go to reflect on what we discovered, I will share some of the beautiful and rich content we've been creating. I invite you to learn a little Spanish with us, or to plant a little container garden with us and uplift the language of plants as well. And learn to prepare some of our favorite summer recipes.
And please if you know folks who can learn with us in spanish share our youtube channel with many videos in spanish
And I remind you, “Hold a mirror to your heart? What does it reflect? What will be the message of the legacy we left? We were born for a reason, we can be whatever we give ourselves permission to be.” Give yourself permission as an educator starting today to welcome Language justice into the spaces you hold. “Holistic accessibility rooted in the struggle for justice is not merely about access - it is about participation, reflection, visibility, equity, shared leadership, radical acceptance, and love.” Soul Fire Farm Language Justice Guide
Understanding each other is part of the foundation to loving each other. Let's radically accept each other and nurture communities rooted in love so that we can all thrive and grow!