NICOLE JI SOO KIM
TYPING THE OXFORD CANADIAN DICTIONARY OF CURRENT ENGLISH FROM Z-A BACKWARDS, 2020-

I’m typing the Oxford Canadian Dictionary of Current English from Z-A, backwards. I reflect on the power which English had over me growing up in a country that did not speak my first language. I question the shame I had felt in speaking Korean outside of my home and in front of my non-Korean friends. As well, my childish yearning to lose all trace of a foreign accent and speak fluently like my peers at school. A self erasure of my own language merely because I wanted to fit in. Typing the dictionary backwards is a reflection on my past, my shame towards speaking my language and why this shame might’ve manifested. It is recognizing the superiority of the english language and the oppression it has caused since colonization of indigenous lands. It is criticizing the violence it has brought, the subtle erasures of language erasing culture, tradition and value; and understanding that its power remains in countries which are being vastly globalized, still. Typing the dictionary backwards is the reclamation of power, making English less significant through taking the time in transforming the dictionary into something unrecognizable. Alongside moving forward with this project I am learning to read, write and communicate the entirety of myself in my first language as I can with English.

The typing will continue throughout the exhibition and can be followed through the Google docs linked below.