Towards a Model of Othering through Language in Racial Discourse
Miriam Zapf
Abstract
In linguistic research, the concept of Othering has received increasing attention, yet remains underexplored, particularly regarding the specific linguistic mechanisms involved. This study addresses this gap: Focusing on colonial racial discourse, it analyzes three texts from different socio-historical settings: Raymond Breton’s Relation de l’île de la Guadeloupe (1647), Adolphe Granier de Cassagnac’s Les Antilles françaises (1842), and Pierre Clastres’ Chronique des Indiens Guayaki (1972). Utilizing principles from Grounded Theory, it develops a model of Othering encompassing three processes – outgroup construction, differentiation, and subordination –, each divided into subprocesses and illustrated with corpus examples. Differences between these texts are discussed, as well as conceptual distinctions between (racial) Othering and racism, concluding that Othering can be analyzed on a textual basis, whereas racism involves broader historical and social dimensions. This paper advocates a more precise application of Othering in linguistic research and underscores the need for further studies across various social dimensions.
Keywords: Othering through language; Racial discourse; Discrimination; Racism; Intergroup dynamics; Colonial literature