Linguistics and the ‘Liberal Colonial’

The ‘liberal colonial’ employs and understands language differently than the more traditional-minded colonial. My argument is realized in the passage that I will examine below. The passage includes a conversation that takes place between Ronny and his mother Mrs. Moore who has just returned from the mosque after meeting an Indian man [page 27-29].

We will take the character of Mrs. Moore as our liberal colonial figure; while Ronny undisputedly serves as the more traditional colonial figure. There is a marked distinction in their use and perception of language that depicts a larger divergence in their more liberal and traditional views on colonial administration. Firstly, Mrs. Moore’s casual recollection of events leads Ronny to think she is talking about an Englishman and he is rather shocked by the ‘mix-up’ (27). He seems to think that the Indians deserve a different tone of voice altogether – ‘’Why hadn’t she indicated by the tone of her voice that she was talking about an Indian?’’ (27). Therefore, for him, the native deserves a differentiated form of language – the native and the colonizer must be set apart in the very tone of voice.

Secondly, the notion of private and public conversations comes up. Mrs. Moore does not want Ronny to tell others about the conversation she has had with the Indian man because she deems it a ‘’private conversation’’ (29). For her, the exchange of language and dialogue with the native Indian is deemed as a personal matter. For Ronny, such a linguistic exchange cannot be private – ‘’Nothing’s private in India’’ (29).  For him, the natives employ language against the British only to serve their own purposes – ‘’to increase his izzat’’ or ‘’to score’’ because there is ‘’always something behind every remark he makes’’ (29). It is precisely because he believes that the native attempts to trick the British with his use of language that Ronny deems himself an expert on the Indian. The following lines indicate an almost pseudo-scientific characterization of the Indian linguistic psychology – ‘’It’s the educated native’s latest dodge…there are exceptions’’ (29). What does the concept of private/public conversation signify about colonial perception? On the very basic level, it means that Mrs. Moore as a liberal colonial, is able to view the Indian natives as individuals capable of having private, personal and meaningful interactions with the British.  

Lastly, the more ‘traditional’ colonial seems to place himself in a linguistic tradition that the liberal colonial is able to identify. Ronny, in his retort of Mrs. Moore’s accusations, indulges in phrases that ‘’worked and were in current use at the Club’’ (29).  His defense of the colonial administration, then, relies heavily on a linguistic borrowing from other ‘’older officials’’ (29). Mrs. Moore, however, is said to be ‘’rather clever at detecting the first from the second-hand’’ (29).