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Article published In: Historiographia Linguistica
Vol. 23:1/2 (1996) ► pp.123–158

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Savage eloquence in America and the linguistic construction of a British identity in the 18th century

 | Carleton University
Published online: 1 January 1996
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https://doi.org/10.1075/hl.23.1-2.07lau
Summary
This paper examines particular aspects of 18th-century British linguistic thought by focusing upon discussions of American Indians which depicted them as poetic and eloquent. The paper places this depiction within the context of the larger British concerns of the time to show how it was used by some to portray the ‘primitive’ Indians and their languages as inferior, by others as superior, to the ‘modern’ Europeans and their languages. It is argued that this contextualizing of the idea of the ‘savage poet’ helps us to understand the terms of the debates over which European language could rightfully lay claim to the crown of linguistic supremacy.
Résumé
Cet article examine quelques caractéristiques de la pensée linguistique britannique du XVIIIe siècle en mettant l’accent sur les discussions où on décrivait les Amérindiens comme étant poétiques et éloquents. On place cette description de l’Amérindien dans le contexte des préoccupations britanniques de l’époque pour démontrer qu’elle servait pour certains à caractériser les Amérindiens comme ‘primitifs’ et leur langues comme inférieures, pour d’autres comme supérieures aux Européens et leurs langues ‘modernes’. L’auteur estime que, en mettant cette idée du ‘poète sauvage’ dans son con-texte historique, nous comprenons mieux les termes des débats concernant quelle langue avait le droit de prétendre à la suprématie linguistique.
Zusammenfassung
Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht besondere Aspekte des sprachlichen Denkens in Großbritannien, in dem er vor allem solche Diskussionen beleuchtet, die die Indianer Nordamerikas als poetisch und beredsam charak-terisieren. Diese Darstellung wird in breitere britische Vorbehalte der Zeit eingebettet, um zu zeigen, auf welche Weise sie von einigen dafür benutzt wurde, um die ‘primitiven’ Indianer als den ‘modernen’ europäischen Sprachen gegenüber als unterlegen, von anderen als überlegen zu kennzeichnen. Es wird hier das Argument vorgetragen, daß durch die Herstellung des historischen Umfelds der Vorstellung vom ‘wilden Dichter’ das Verständnis dafür erwächst, auf welche Weise die Debatte über die Frage, welche Sprache die Krone der Überlegenheit davontragen müsse, ausgetragen wurde.
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