Abstract

This article proposes that Julia Kristeva’s semiotic view of language supports the mother/child paradigm as a model for ethical discourse. Her defense of motherhood, particularly her discussion of the sacredness of maternal love and the mother tongue, strengthens the argument that motherhood is a primary means of preserving language acquisition and ethical development. It focuses on motherhood’s ability to ensure, protect and preserve the possibility of productive ethical discourse through verbal and non-verbal means of communication. This article discusses the constraints of language, and its effects on the actualization of self.