Poverty of Language and Voice Recovery

Sor Juana cultivated eloquence and rhetorical power—languages of theology, philosophy, poetry, and argumentation—in a world where poor and female voices were silenced or dismissed as inarticulate. Her command of multiple intellectual discourses gave her authority and platform. This concept recognizes that poverty includes a poverty of voice: restricted access to publication, platforms, credible speech genres, and audiences that will listen. Marginalized communities are characterized not just by material lack but by epistemic injustice—their knowledge, experience, and speech are devalued. Sor Juana models the recovery of voice through rigorous intellectual development and insistence on being heard. Today, this applies to literacy work, rhetoric education, platform access, and cultural validation of marginalized speech. Writing, speaking truth, developing argumentation, and claiming authoritative voice become practices of identity and justice. The framework suggests literacy and articulation are not luxuries but essential tools for reclaiming dignity in poverty.