Words and War

New Zealand Listener, Volume 8, Issue 197, 2 April 1943, Page 3

Words and War

half humorous incident in Christchurch last week when a member of the Canterbury Education Board declared that "language is the cause of war" and asked the Board ‘to resolve "that a universal language be taught in schools all over the world." It is difficult not to laugh when so noble an ambition is expressed in such ingenuous words; and the Board did laugh. But it allowed the resolution to go before a special committee, and we- shall perhaps encounter it again. In the meantime it is interesting to have it suggested that it is not exactly what they say that makes men fight but the nasty way they say it. We should have put the emphasis the other way round if that motion had not made us cautious; and it is certainly the case that the same words spoken in different ways can. produce different results. It is. not offenwas a half pathetic,

sive in science to say that Mongolians have yellow skins; but it would almost have justified Pearl Harbour if Mr. Cordell Hull had said to the Japanese plenipotentiaries when they arrived in Washington, "Hallo, you two yellowbellies, what can we do for you now?" It may even be true that the Normans conquered England because Harold or one of his knights made a joke about William’s waistband; and we can’t doubt that it is true that forty and two children perished miserably on the road to Bethel for a less than respectful reference to the bald head of Elisha, The Board member may be right: not only bad language may precipitate strife, as the Chairman suggested, but any language at all if it is used offensively; and the trouble is that radio has brought the whole world’s ear within teach of the whole world’s tongue. Not so many weeks ago, for example, atrangements were made by which questions asked in New York were answered by a BBC brains trust in*London, and the answers given were heard all over the United States, In _ short New York, and not only New York but Chicago and Kansas City and Los Angeles, could now argue with London and Birmingham and Glasgow, and the points made and the back-chat could be heard from the Pacific to the North Sea. Although a universal language would increase rather than decrease such possibilities of strife, the fact that such possibilities exist’ will perhaps restrain the’ world from rudeness some day, and justify the Canterbury resolution.