A Rhetorical Analysis of the 1981 Belizean Constitution: National Identity in the context of History, Race, and Language

Abstract

Building upon a variety of approaches in postcolonial discourse, this project performs a rhetorical analysis of the 1981 Belizean Constitution through the features of race and written Standard English. It contends that neither race nor written Standard English are suitable and reliable constructs of national identity in Belize, as each feature perpetuates a particular interpretation of Belizean national identity as formulated in accordance with hidden undertones of colonial power that have influenced, and continue to influence, a vernacular understanding of national identity in Belize. Each feature is also suggestive of continued colonial practices that once deemed Belize a colony of Britain and colonized through the institutions of that era. A specific focus on race and written Standard English allows for a close, rhetorical analysis on the 1981 Belizean Constitution, introducing these features as variables in the act of misrecognition, invisibility and human agency affecting the different ethnic groups in the country. In considering race and written Standard English as rhetorical constructs, this project demonstrates the degree of psychological aggression by the British, and now the Belizean government, which was a common practice and feature Belize's colonial past. Though a critical look at race and written Standard English in the 1981 Belizean Constitution might be problematic, it holds the promise of reconstructing national identity as it pertains to the constitutional recognition of different ethnic groups in Belize, allowing the discursive space to reopen a dialogue on what it means to be Belizean.