February 26, 2015 - 12:53
When Anne asked us in class (I think last Thursday) to think of specific scenarios that involved contact zones, I couldn't really think of a specific time. However, when I thought of a a contact zone I couldn't help but think of times of when I was either in fear or in desperation. I find that in many of those scenarios where I was fearful or under severe stress, language itself could not serve as an efficient mode of communication. For example, last semester some of my friends and I were discussing about whether or not there was really a ghost in Pem West. As we were discussing this intense matter in a dorm room with the door open, I see one person's eyes widen while they were looking straight ahead into the hallway only to let otr a piercing shriek right after. It didn't take more than one second before all of us were screaming and flying across the room without even looking up to see what the cause of fear was. For me, there was no need to turn around and see what could possibly be so scary, she didn't have to communicate that to me with words. Haraway refers to Mary Pratts description of a contact zone which "refers to improvised languages that develop among speakers of diffferent native languages." However, I question just how "improvised" these languages really are and if the only develop between those that speak different native languages.
In The Hungry Tide, Fokir is able to rescue Piya twice without hesitation or a need for her to express her need for saving due to the intensity of the situation. In addition, the trust that develops between the two is the result of kind actions and because of premonitions about character. In those scenarios, the factor of whether or not they speak the same language is irrelevant because does not involve verbal communication to begin with, but rather emotional communication. I disagree with the notion that contact zones only occur between indidual that speak different native languages. In everyday life, I think we encounter many different contact zones, even with people that speak the same native language as us. When I think of a contact zone, I think more of a place in time where verbal communication is not available and another type of language/communication form has to be used such as hand gestures, emotional expressions, playing charades, etc. We use these alternate forms of language/communication daily, so is it correct to say that these communciations are exactly "improvised"
On a side note, I found it very interesting how Piya is drawn to biology and how different aspects of biology affect each other, specifically the dolphins and the possibility of the dolphins having adapted to the tidal ecology, but sees biology as a way to "be on her own, to have no fixed address, to be far from the familiar while still being part of a loyal but loose knit community." It's very odd to think that a subject like biology that relies so much on the interdepence of different organisms and their environments allows her to feel independent of everything. If anything, I think studying a subject like biology would make one embrace their interconnectedness with the world and be hyper aware of their many roles on the earth. Maybe I read too much into the statement, and she feels that biology does not exactly isolate her, but connects in a sense that she doesn't feel tied down anywhere.