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"'The Earthers don't speak to us unless they're contracting business,' Flowers-in-the-Sun explained. 'They think our life-knowledge is not equal to theirs.' 'They're  right. We don't know how to kill cultures or cut throats. May we never  learn.'" (208)

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"'The Earthers don't speak to us unless they're contracting business,' Flowers-in-the-Sun explained. 'They think our life-knowledge is not equal to theirs.' 'They're  right. We don't know how to kill cultures or cut throats. May we never  learn.'" (208)

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There's a lot of information from this one exchange. Here, the issue is that language is primarily being used as a power dynamic, since the Earthers don't seem to talk to the protagonists unless they're speaking using voices, then they have no chance to explain the value of their culture, intelligence, and collective knowledge.

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Mist doesn't think their deafness is a disability, and that by undergoing the throat cutting they're losing something integral to their heritage and their specific means of communication. People counter Mists views with practical concerns (it seems that people from Earth are in the dominant position, and therefore do not have to accommodate to using sign language whereas the protagonists are the ones pressured to speak) and they also raise concerns of fitting in. Fitting in with the Earthers, which brings many benefits, seems to go hand in hand with undergoing the throat cutting in order to speak

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Language as a necessary step in cultural exchange

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Language as a necessary step in cultural exchange

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Both Mist's and the Earther's cultures have much to learn from each other, but one problem is that there seems to be a power imbalance between the two. Because of this, compromise isn't presented as an option, and the dominant group gets to dictate the rules of engagement. Because one group is much less proficient when it comes to voice communication, the Earther's general impression is that they don't have much to offer, only talking to them when conducting business. Undergoing the operation is a tough decision because it seems to be the only way to enact positive change, but Mist is concerned that by doing this the new generation is giving up something integral and beautiful about their heritage.

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"He and I will drive out together to perform the identification, a long silent car ride. I remember the morgue, all tile and stainless steel, the hum of refrigeration and smell of antiseptic. An orderly will pull the sheet back to reveal your face. Your face will look wrong somehow, but I'll know it's you.                                  "Yes, that's her," I'll say.     "She's mine."                        You'll be twenty-five then.  

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"He and I will drive out together to perform the identification, a long silent car ride. I remember the morgue, all tile and stainless steel, the hum of refrigeration and smell of antiseptic. An orderly will pull the sheet back to reveal your face. Your face will look wrong somehow, but I'll know it's you.                                  "Yes, that's her," I'll say.     "She's mine."                        You'll be twenty-five then.  

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This suddenly comes right after what reads like a pretty standard backstory where Louise and Gary meet on professional terms. Emotionally, it feels unsettling and shocking because a mother is describing her daughter's death so matter-of-factly. The author intentionally wrote this reveal in the same way that they wrote the dry meeting between Colonel Weber and Louise. Obviously, this feels unnatural because emotionally speaking these two events are worlds apart, and usually the language used to describe a daughter's death is packed with emotion, totally unlike what's seen here. We come to learn that this weird way of framing things is a consequence of Louise learning the alien's language and therefore their understanding of time. Communication has literally altered her perception and worldview

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Non-linear Understanding of time and Emotional Detachment

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Non-linear Understanding of time and Emotional Detachment

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Another character who explores very similar themes is Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan. He also experiences the past, present, and future simultaneously, and in that story it's framed as the primary reason why he becomes detached from everyone around him.
"I am tired of Earth, I'm tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives."
Louise's experience is not necessarily as negative, and by the end of the story she still resolves to live her life in the same way, even knowing that it will lead to her daughter's death. The implication is that she makes this choice because her experiences and relationships will be worth it, despite her daughter's untimely death.

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Watchmen (2009) - Birth of Dr. Manhattan

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Louise only starts to view time in this non-linear way through her understanding of the aliens' language. Their view of physics doesn't need to be directly explained to her in much detail, but it's more so a consequence of simply understanding their language. We often see language and worldview as independent, but the story points out how simply being limited to certain tools in a language can in turn limit our general perception, which ultimately could also limit our worldview. I think what's also important is that Louise is still the same person at the end of the day. She still makes her final choice through her own beliefs, and so the story does seem to be pointing to something universal across languages, anatomy, and culture. In my opinion, the thing being pointed to is love, but that's debatable too.