Arts of Contact Zone
In Arts of the Contact Zone, Mary Louise Pratt discusses a conflict, which she has labeled the "contact zone". Pratt defines the contact zone loosely as the social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other. In 1613 Guama Poma, a native Andean of Incan descent, wrote a twelve-hundred page letter addressed to King Philip III of Spain. Although the letter never reached its destination, we are now recognizing it as a contact zone in which two languages and cultures meet, and misinterpret each other. Poma had adopted the Spanish language as his means of communication of King Philip III. Poma's work is autoethnographic, which means that he describes his own society in a way, which he thinks the other society views his culture, using their lan
Although Poma may have become fluent in the Spanish language, his letter was still misinterpreted when it finally reached the Spanish some 300 years later. It is curious, however, to note that in the same year Guaman Poma sent off his letter, a text by another Peruvian, Inca Garcilaso, was adopted in the official circles in Spain. Garcilaso's book is now a staple item in the Ph.D. reading list. Why then was Poma's letter so poorly received? Interpretation. The purpose of language is to be able to express our feelings and thoughts with the most accuracy with someone else. The goals, then, being to have the other person interpret your language in the way you intend them to. Poma was not so lucky to have his letter interpreted as he has wished when it finally re
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 515
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)
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