The Problem of the Other

2011, digital print

This work refers to the book The Conquest of America: The Problem of the Other (1982, Suhrkamp Verlag) by Tzvetan Todorov, in which he examined how Europeans encountered the indigenous populations of America and what mechanisms of foreign perception, misjudgement and violence shaped this encounter.

Colón (Columbus), who encountered the linguistic diversity of America with a deeply Eurocentric attitude, was unable to truly recognise the independence of other languages, but responded to the foreign with two complementary strategies: Either he recognised that the indigenous peoples had a language, but refused to believe that it was fundamentally different; or he acknowledged their otherness, but denied them the status of a ‘real’ language. In doing so, he operated within a narrow mindset in which his own culture was the norm and everything else appeared either as a deviation or a defect. This became particularly clear during his first encounter on 12 October 1492:

‘If it pleases the Almighty, I will take six of these men with me on my return to present them to Your Highnesses and teach them to speak.’

This quote expresses the idea that the language of the indigenous people had no value and only became valid through European instruction. Later, he insisted on hearing familiar words in their utterances, spoke to them as if they had to understand him, and accused them of mispronouncing words. Colón appeared here as a figure who did not want to accept the foreign as an independent reality: he thought authoritatively, possessively, and with a deep-seated cognitive rigidity that prevented him from recognizing the equality of other cultures and languages. In doing so, he embodied a fundamental colonial pattern: the inability to perceive others as equals.

The visual interpretation of this conflict is manifested in this text-based work. Picallo Gil researched dictionaries that translate indigenous languages such as Quechua, Guaraní, Tetum, Maya, and Pitjantjatjara into German and English. She searched for words whose sound or spelling resemble those of colonial languages—such as Spanish, German, or English—and juxtaposed them. One exception is the word “joga,” which contrasts with the ancient Indian “yoga” and is commonly used in colonial countries today. This research shows that the resulting “translations” are deliberately absurd, as the meanings of the words are completely different. The layout imitates the style of a 21st-century Langenscheidt dictionary and reinforces the association with a supposedly objective, authoritative reference work.