ELL: Cultural production

[deekonda narsingarao]

Dear ELLer,
thank you for sharing ideas !
deekonda_nr

On Thu, 22 Nov 2001 mauro.tosco at libero.it wrote :
> Dear ELLers,
>
> I agree, of course, with most Julia says about the
> inescapable link
> between language and culture. Just one point:
> in the case of Guernsey you have to fight against
> English influence,
> and this makes everything much more difficult. But in
> most other cases,
> minority languages are NOT fighting against the
> "juggernaut of global
> culture": they are fighting against so-called "national
> languages".
> Minority languages in France are being replaced by
> French, not English.
> It's French politicians who want to fight the influence
> of English -
> it's part of their job. But it is not in the direct
> interest of
> minority-language speakers. One could even argue that
> the decline of
> French and other national languages vis-a-vis English
> is actually
> HELPING the minority languages: if French (Italian,
> Spanish, whatever)
> is becoming more and more just kind of a "big dialect"
> in many contexts
> (international trade, computer industry, etc.) the gap
> between "national languages" and "local dialects" is
> narrowing. What I
> have in mind here is a picture with three actors:
> English is pushing
> DOWN national languges, and local languages can take
> advantage of this
> by starting pushing UP their respective "national"
> languages, whose
> space (role) therefore narrows.
> Any comment?
>
> Best,
>
> mauro
>
>
> > Dear everyone
> >
> > I take Mauro's point, and I am ambivalent myself
> about the link betwee
> n
> > language and culture -
>  I've spent a lot of my life trying to escape from
> > some of the narrower strictures of traditional
> culture, but am still
> > committed to the language. But given a choice between
> McDonald's and
> > Guernsey culture, I know which one I would choose!
> The juggernaut of
> > "global" (plastic and unsustainable) "culture" is
> its
> > problem, and it's not only minority language speakers
> who object to it
>  (and
> > not all of them do object anyway, which is one reason
> for language shi
> ft).
> > I'll take modern comforts such as indoor bathrooms
> but not the plastic
>  food
> > thanks. But this may be rather hypocritical given the
> reliance on
> > international banking in Guernsey's economy (yes, we
> are trying to get
> > sponsorship from them).
> >
> > Diversity in language, culture, politics, religion,
> etc. is a good thi
> ng to
> > uphold. On the one hand, people have a right to
> celebrate traditional
> > culture - but on the other hand, I agree that
> minority languages need
> > modernising and to lose the image (often forced on
> them by outsiders)
> of
> > being 'only for peasants' and looking backwards at
> the 'good old days'
>  (so
> > good that people shifted language to escape from them)
> .
> >
> > The advantages of diversity (including
> multilingualism) need to be
> > promoted -
>  a lot of people abandoned the old language because
> they thought
> > that it would hold back their children in education
> (which was/is in E
> nglish
> > of course). The concept of 'new culture in old
> language' is also diffi
> cult
> > to put over.
> >
> > In fact, there were Guinness adverts in Guernsey
> French in the 1950's
> - at a
> > time when more people used the language, but
> attitudes towards it were
>  more
> > negative than nowadays. Adverts in the language are
> just as symbolic a
> s folk
> > festivals -
>  they won't do anything in themselves to make parents
> speak the
> > language with their children, but they raise its
> profile.
> >
> > Another point is that in the absence of any mass
> media in Guernesiais,
> > cultual festivals are the only chance for many people
> to hear any of t
> he
> > language. And it's by no means only traditional
> culture that is presen
> ted at
> > them - e.g. new plays and sketches are also
roduced.
> >
> > Best wishes
> >
> > Julia
> >
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