No Words for the Sea: A Metaphor for the Loss of Indigenous Languages

This study seeks to analyse the underlying metaphorical parallel between the extinction of languages in Aboriginal tribes and the loss of language in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, as portrayed in Diane Glancy’s novel No Word for the Sea. The novel explains the development of Alzheimer’s disease in the character Stephen Savard, which results in a steady decline in his verbal abilities and the subsequent impact on his family. The patient’s deterioration in language mirrors the disappearance of indigeneity due to European imperialism and subsequent assimilation activities, which have resulted in the erosion of their language, identity, and culture. Particularly, the language loss experienced by indigenous populations has had a significant and lasting impact on the disappearance of numerous tribal communities. The indigenous people’s efforts to preserve their diminishing language were unsuccessful even in the aftermath of colonialism, owing to a range of factors. Diane Glancy, who identifies herself as a Native American and, due to her mixed heritage, has personally witnessed the adverse effects of language erosion among her community, leading to the loss of cultural heritage and personal identity. Therefore, this article examines the author’s implicit narrative and her representation of language loss among Aboriginal people through metaphorical implication and the lens of Subaltern Studies. Drawing on Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s seminal 1988 essay “Can the Subaltern Speak,” this theoretical framework explores the silencing of indigenous voices, resulting from systematic oppression, colonial oppression and assimilation policies that enacted epistemic violence against native communities.