“Why do the words that are never spoken exist, mamá?”
(Galeano, 2004)
How can one not be moved by human nature when witnessing the long arc of evolution and the world we have built? Daily life often immerses us in a kind of blindness, leading us to take many things for granted as if they appeared out of nowhere. We forget that every element around us, even the most insignificant, has a history and a purpose. With this in mind, the following reflection explores language as a tool for social transformation, not only as a capacity that defines our species, but also as a resource that can be used for both manipulation and liberation.
What Do We Mean by “Language”?
Language can be understood as a system of signs used to express thought, communicate ideas, and transmit meaning (Ferdinand de Saussure, 2002). Importantly, this capacity is not innate to humans. Rather, it emerged over millions of years of evolution and has continued to adapt and specialize over time (Harris & Marvin Harris, 1995).
Seen this way, language has the power to build realities. But what does this mean? It suggests that language is not merely a channel for expressing thoughts or emotions; it is the very medium through which we construct our world. Everything that falls outside our language simply does not exist:
“…language is capable of giving us a translation of what we call reality—a distorted treatment that conceals some aspects and highlights others” (Gómez & Universidad Católica de Murcia, n.d.).
Language, Power, and Politics
Understanding language in this way reveals that it is far from neutral. It adapts to the beliefs, values, and worldviews of each culture, which has deep political implications. Today we live in a globalized world where information circulates instantly and reaches nearly every corner of the planet. This continuous flow of data not only connects us; it also amplifies a particular worldview, often shaped by Western thought.
Through mass media and especially social media, ideas are amplified, standards are set, and perceptions are shaped about what is right or wrong, beautiful or ugly, desirable or undesirable. This process contributes to the consolidation of a dominant mode of thinking that tends to homogenize cultures and place diversity at risk (Wallerstein, 2006).
Countless examples show how language can operate as a powerful tool of social transformation, capable of both strengthening social movements and dismantling them.
Latin America: Words That Shape Worlds
Political landscapes in Latin America clearly reveal how every word is carefully measured—whether to promote unity and belonging or to produce the opposite effect. In Venezuela, for example, the 1999 Constitution redefined the country as a “multiethnic and pluricultural” nation (Asamblea Nacional Constituyente, 1999). For the first time, the state created a category that gave visibility to more than 50 Indigenous communities that had largely been ignored. As mentioned earlier, what lies outside of language does not exist.
In Bolivia, the 2009 Constitution introduced concepts such as Plurinational State, Indigenous autonomy, and decolonization. These terms not only transformed political and legal structures but also sparked changes in collective consciousness (Morales & Pueblo Boliviano, 2009). Ecuador presents a similar case with the Indigenous concept of sumak kawsay (good living) which helped lay the foundation for public policies centered on community well-being (Walsh, 2009).
This type of discursive recognition also connects with broader processes where ancestral knowledge and cultural traditions play a central role in social and economic organization, as explored in our analysis of the relationship between ancestral culture and local economy.
In Venezuela specifically, these discursive transformations had concrete implications. Naming Indigenous communities explicitly in the 1999 Constitution meant recognizing, for the first time, a population that had not previously been considered a “subject” within the state. It also implied acknowledgment of their territories, which are still disputed, as well as their cultures and traditions. However, this recognition generated commitments that have not been fully implemented, leaving a gap between constitutional discourse and political action. Rather than generating resentment in other social sectors, the main challenge has been this persistent distance between what was promised and what has been carried out.
Naming as Political Action
A simple change in language can completely reshape how societies understand and confront social realities. In many cases, movements and social issues that were ignored, minimized, or silenced for decades, or even centuries, have gained public visibility through the introduction of new categories, concepts, and discursive frameworks in political debate.
Latin American studies show how Indigenous, feminist, Afro-descendant, LGBTQ+, and environmental movements have used language intentionally to dispute meaning, redefine identities, and demand rights. Naming is a political act: it makes a phenomenon visible, understandable, debatable, and actionable (Butler, 1997).
Conclusion: Language as a Tool for Social Transformation
Ultimately, language functions not only as a means of communication but also as a mechanism of struggle, recognition, and social change. It is a catalyst capable of reshaping policies, sensibilities, and social structures. Using language to include historically excluded realities in public discourse and collective consciousness is one of the most powerful political resources of our time.
In this sense, we can clearly see how language as a tool for social transformation remains fundamental for understanding contemporary processes of change in Latin America.
References
Asamblea Nacional Constituyente. (1999). Constitución de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela. Gaceta Oficial Extraordinaria. https://www.oas.org/dil/esp/constitucion_venezuela.pdf
Butler, J. (1997). Excitable speech: A Politics of the Performative. Psychology Press.
Emmerich, N. (2014). Los medios de comunicación y el uso político del lenguaje. Instituto De Altos Estudios Nacionales De Quito.
Ferdinand De Saussure, Curso De Linguistico General : Ferdinand de Saussure : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (2002). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/ferdinand-de-saussure-curso-de-linguistico-general/page/7/mode/2up
Freire, P. (1971). Pedagogía del oprimido (Siglo XXI Editores).
Galeano, E. (2004). Bocas del tiempo (Olga Abásolo, Ed.; 1ra. ed., p. 360) [Narrativa; Print]. Catálogos S.R.L. https://resistir.info/livros/galeano_bocas.pdf
Gómez, J. P. & Universidad Católica de Murcia. (n.d.). Lenguaje, creación y realidad. http://bocc.ufp.pt/pag/gomez-juan-lenguaje-creacion-y-realidad.pdf
Harris, M. & Marvin Harris. (1995). Nuestra especie. In Gonzalo Gil, Joaquín Calvo, & Isabel Heimann (Trans.), Alianza Editorial (Third). https://www.alianzaeditorial.es
Morales, A. & Pueblo Boliviano. (2009). Constitución Política del Estado (CPE). In Constitución Política Del Estado (CPE) [Report]. https://www.oas.org/dil/esp/Constitucion_Bolivia.pdf
Wallerstein, I. Análisis de sistemas Mundo Una introducción [2006] : I. Wallerstein : Free download, borrow, and streaming : Internet Archive. (2006). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/wallerstein-i.-analisis-de-sistemas-mundo-una-introduccion-2006
Walsh, C. (2009). Interculturalidad, estado, sociedad. https://repositoriointerculturalidad.ec/jspui/handle/123456789/37951