Language and Power. The Implications of Language for Peace and Development: The Implications of Language for Peace and Development

Development Speak

- 107 DEVELOPMENT SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT By Steven J. Klees Introduction Discussions of education and development use a proprietary language that has evolved over decades. Crush (1995: 3) notes that: The discourse of development, the forms in which it makes its arguments and establishes its authority, the manner in which it constructs the world, are usually seen as self-evident and unworthy of attention. However, this position is usually held by those who are partisans of the dominant discourse. Critics like Samoff (2008: 3), point out: Words matter. The language we use structures how we think about things…. Over many years the development business has spawned a standardized authoritative terminology. Within that terminology are embedded particular conceptions, orientations, prejudices, and policy preferences. Kincheloe (2007: 23) elabourates more generally: Critical theorists have come to understand that language is not a mirror of society. It is an unstable social practice whose meaning shifts, depending upon the context in which it is used. Contrary to previous understandings, criticalists appreciate the fact that language is not a neutral and objective conduitfordescriptionofthe“realworld.” Rather,fromacriticalperspective, linguistic descriptions are not simply about the world but serve to construct it. With these linguistic notions in mind, criticalists begin to study the way language in the form of discourses serve as a form of regulation and domination. In this chapter, I use a critical perspective to examine some of the language of education and development and the discourses in which that language is embedded. In the next section, I look at overall development discourses, followed by sections that consider some of the specific language and discourses of development. This specific language deals with empowerment and participation, partnership, conditionalities, dialogue, and ownership, Sector Wide Approaches (SWAps), the Comprehensive ...