REFLECTING ON VICENTE RAFAEL’S MOTHERLESS TONGUES: THE INCURSIONS OF THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SELF AND THE APORIA OF TRANSLATION
Abstract
In reflecting on Filipino historian Vicente Rafael’s book, Motherless Tongues: The Insurgency of Language amid Wars of Translation (2016), this article examines the author’s critique of Filipino nationalism and its pursuit of a national language and culture. It brings to question Rafael’s characterization of nationalism as a monolingual project that rejects the foreign, arguing that such assertion not only presents a reductionist view of Filipino nationalism, but also undermines its value as form of resistance to enduring structures of linguistic and intellectual imperialism. Submitted: 06 Septembet 2025 Submitted: 06 September 2025 Accepted: 04 January 2026
Fields of Study & Subjects
Philippine History and Culture
Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies
Translation Studies and Practices
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Prajñā Vihāra: Journal of Philosophy and Religion
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1–26
- Publication date
- 14 January 2026
- Language
- EN