The colonisation of language: a phraseology in five parts

The Colonisation of Language: A Phraseology in Five Parts explores, in a broad sense, aspects of oral storytelling and how the influence of colonisation can corrupt language and the sense of an origin story through multiple iterations over time. 

In much of my sound work, I’m drawn to the spoken word, and was immediately drawn to the characteristics within the vocal utterances contained in the 1962 original field recording by Raymond Clausen of a Navel-Miel performance accompanied by shaken rattles and seed pods from Malekula, Vanuatu. 

Selecting snippets of these utterances with some of the percussive elements, I created a speculative language to run alongside the opening paragraph of the Brothers Grimm tale, Rapunzel (1812). I assigned an utterance to each word in the story and developed a version of this story "spoken" in this speculative language. Distinct phrases contained within the original narration are repeated and ‘corrupted’ through unlikely juxtapositions of these set phrases over the length of the work. 

I chose Rapunzel as my source tale due to its allusion to industry and exploitation, especially within its opening paragraphs, as both key activities of colonial intervention. Although the tale of Rapunzel can be read through many lenses, this selection, I felt was critical to situate the conceptual approach of the composition more solidly within this framework and make clearer my intent. Further to this, I included the familiar and Western story-telling trope, “Once upon a time”, which doesn’t appear in Rapunzel’s original form, to open each of the five parts. The voice which narrates the opening of Rapunzel in English, is an AI-generated voice.

All instrumentation, apart from the AI-generated narration, is sourced directly from the original 1962 field recording and modified through extensive processing and effects. No DAW stock beats or sounds were used in the composition. 

On reflection, incorporating AI into this work, also adds another layer of critique and meaning to The Colonisation of Language: A Phraseology in Five Parts. Using the opening paragraphs and set phrases of Rapunzel as my language model, also interrogates AI’s compilation process and corruption of meaning when AI is forced to draw on a singular set language model for its output. How many iterations from a set model, does it take to output only diabolical errors in sense and meaning, thereby compromising the integrity of heritage? 

Navel-Miel performance with rattle and seed pods reimagined by Kenneth Lyons.

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Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds