Asking question about the word "separatism"

[Ron Kuzar]

Dear Zaki,
From your question it appears as if you assume that ideological meanings
reside in our mental lexicon ("Is there any 'ideological meaning' in
those words?"). In my opinion, no word has an ideological meaning in the
lexicon. Ideological meanings are a phenomenon of discourse. Every word
- and for that matter also every grammatical construction - may be used
as a discursive device that becomes part of a discursive strategy, which
is representative of the ideology of a given text. If you have found
that "separatist" is used in a way that represents the ideology of the
author of a certain text, and if you can prove that this is one of an
array of devices all pointing in the same direction, then ideological it
is, not as a lexical entry but as a discursive device.
Best wishes
Roni
---------------------------------------------
On Mon, 9 Jun 2003 02:37:09 +0700
Mohamad Zaki Hussein <zaki at CENTRIN.NET.ID> wrote:

> Dear friends,
> I want to ask you  about the words 'separatist' or 'separatism' or
> 'separation movement'. What do you think about those words? Is there any
> 'ideological meaning' in those words?
> 
> Seeing from the 'formal defintion' in some encyclopedia (i.e. 'separatist':
> 'an advocate of separation, esp. ecclesiastical or political separation'
> (Encyclopedic World Dictionary) or 'a person who advocates the secession of
> a province, esp. Quebec from Canada' (Wordreference.com)) on in a scientific
> writing (like Daniel Tan Kuan Wei's  "Investigating the Dynamics of
> Separatism", in which he said 'separatism can be broadly defined as a
> "process whereby territorial units consisting of a minority or subordinate
> ethnic group, or a coalition of ethnic groups assert themselves politically,
> challenging the scope of a particular authority and seeks to secede or gain
> autonomy from the control, de facto and de jure, of a central government
> predominantly administered by a different ethno-linguistic and/or religious
> group'),
> it seems that the words 'separatism', 'separatis' do not have any
> 'ideological meaning'. But reading the following documents of the ASNLF,
> (Acheh Sumatra National Liberation Front, the organization in Acheh,
> Indonesia, wich demands self-determination for the Achehneese people), in
> which they denied the word "separatism", it seems that the word
> 'separatist', 'separatism', 'separation movement', has an 'ideological
> meaning':
> 
>      'Secondly, to call the world's attention to the fact that the
>      question of Acheh Sumatra is not a question of "separatism" as
>      alleged by the Javanese/Indonesian colonialist regime and the
>      Western press, but a question of self-determination of the people
>      of Acheh Sumatra, and a question of decolonization of the Dutch
>      East Indies alias "Indonesia" which has not been decolonized
>      legally and properly in accordance with the purpose and meaning of
>      the Charter of the United Nations, with the principles and
>      procedures of International Law, and with the UN Resolution on the
>      Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.'
> 
> Also, the above statement by the ANSLF is similar to the refusal of the
> Tamil guerilla movement to be called "separatism", like in the following
> news from Asia Times, November 29, 2001:
> 
>      "Sri Lanka's Tamil guerrilla movement "is neither separatism nor
>      terrorism", the head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
>      (LTTE) has declared. It is the closest a Tamil guerrilla leader
>      has come to suggesting that a homeland separate from the Sinhalese
>      majority on the island may not be essential to ending the bloody,
>      decades-long conflict."
> 
>       "The Tamil people want to maintain their national identity and to
>      live in their own lands, in their historically given homeland with
>      peace and dignity. They want to determine their own political and
>      economic life; they want to be on their own. These are the basic
>      political aspirations of the Tamil people," Pirabhakaran said in
>      his annual Heroes Day speech on Tuesday. "It is neither separatism
>      nor terrorism."
> 
> >From what the ASNLF and the Tamil Eelam said, it seems that 'separatism' has
> a negative connotation, and so that's why they don't want to be called
> 'separatist'.
> 
> So what do you think, do the words "separatist", "separatism", or
> "separation movement" have an 'ideological meaning"?
> 
> I think that's all for now. Thank you very much.
> 
> Best Regards,
> Zaki

==================================================
                             Dr. Ron Kuzar
Address:           Department of English Language and Literature
                         University of Haifa
                          IL-31905 Haifa, Israel
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