Language and Translation Theme Analysis

Language, and the lack of it, play a pivotal role in “Lullaby.” On numerous occasions, Ayah’s inability to speak English hinders her participation in the world and ends up exacerbating her pain. She receives the news of her son’s death filtered through her husband, unable to understand what the government official is saying. Knowing only how to write her own name, Ayah signs papers she cannot read and, in a tragic turn of events, ends up forfeiting her right to keep her children. When her younger son, Danny, is brought to visit her after his removal, he has difficulty speaking Navajo with her and intersperses the words with English. These constant breakdowns of communication leave Ayah isolated and bereft of the family she tried to build.

Despite these difficulties in understanding and being understood, Ayah does not attempt to learn English. On several occasions, she disdains Chato for learning to speak English, and is satisfied when his efforts to endear himself to white men do not result in better treatment. Ayah sees clearly that learning her oppressor’s language will do no good, since signing her name was the act that resulted in her children being taken away from her. By dismissing the value of speaking English, the story suggests that, rather than easing their participation in the dominant society, language-learning and translation only make minorities more vulnerable to oppression.