Linguistic Imperialism | Pirawat Punyagupta | TEDxBangkokPatanaSchool
Вставка
- Опубліковано 27 лип 2024
- Linguistic prowess nourishes one's understanding of ethnographic differences. Immersing myself in the study of foreign languages has opened up innumerable avenues. What used to be unintelligible clusters of cursive have now morphed into agents of understanding. The imperialism of dominant languages has thus resonated with me on personal levels. A tongue forms the basis of our cultural identity and gives us a sense of belonging in our respective speech communities. Thailand is a country experiencing underlying linguistic pluralism under the guise of state-sponsored homogeneity, with consequences such as more fragile democratic institutions and societal disunity; depriving a people linguistically can sever the bond between a people group and their heritage. I am not advocating for any particular political agenda. From a practical perspective, I believe that linguistic rejuvenation is an effective way of ensuring long-term vitality of minorities and marginalized communities. Linguistic prowess nourishes one's understanding of ethnographic differences. Immersing myself in the study of foreign languages has opened up innumerable avenues. What used to be unintelligible clusters of cursive have now morphed into agents of understanding.
The imperialism of dominant languages has thus resonated with me on personal levels. A tongue forms the basis of our cultural identity and gives us a sense of belonging in our respective speech communities. Thailand is a country experiencing underlying linguistic pluralism under the guise of state-sponsored homogeneity, with consequences such as more fragile democratic institutions and societal disunity; depriving a people linguistically can sever the bond between a people group and their heritage.
I am not advocating for any particular political agenda. From a practical perspective, I believe that linguistic rejuvenation is an effective way of ensuring long-term vitality of minorities and marginalized communities. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx
Great lecture. Fascinating. I live in Germany; as a fluent speaker of German and native speaker of English it's fascinating to me to see the way English is creeping into everyday usage, advertisements, etc. I think one scholar called it asymmetrical hybridization. As a language learner, and someone who loves the sound, look, study of, and enjoyment of the cultures/histories/ways of life intrinsically bound up in languages, it breaks my heart a little bit to see one slowly edging out all of the others, like an invasive species. And many countries actively encourage it- teaching English or the other local dominant language to the next generation, while neglecting the local one (see the Rapa Nui people & Spanish). Of course, I understand it- it is a means of ascending the economic ladder within the English-dominant hegemonic structures... but it still breaks my heart. We must find a way to preserve these languages (and the ways of life, thinking, being, expressing bound up in them) within an increasingly linguistically-hegemonic world
This is very true, in fact the other day I was wondering how the famous female football player Alisha Lehmann sounded speaking German. So I looked up videos of her where she spoke German and I found this video on UA-cam where she was interviewed, and I noticed that she used not only a lot of anglicisms when she was speaking German but outright speaking English in the middle of the conversation while she was speaking German. And the interviewer was no different, a lot of anglicisms and English words in between sentences. This doesn’t happen only to German but nearly every language on the planet. The influence of the English language has no precedent in history. It is impossible to avoid it unless you live under a rock. It is total asymmetrical hybridization. By the way, if you remember the scholar said this, tell me, I'd be glad to know.
so intresting
I enjoyed the lecture.
That's what India is doing with Hindi, trying to impose it on non-Hindi speakers.
Yup, I am an Indian too. And I hate language Imperialism, whether it be English, Hindi or Arabic. People think it's cool to speak the dominant language. People should start speaking there own language more often, you can speak another language if you have an interest in it, but it doesn't mean you'll kill your own mother tongue. We should speak second languages only when it is necessary, not because it is cool, but because it's necessary so that your own language doesn't die. That's what happening in Ireland.
That's what happening with bhojpuri speakers and they are not even realising it
I am in favor of preserving all languages for future generations, which can be done electronically. It is practical and realistic to accept English as the global language (Lingua Franca) for all humans on this planet.
Strong NO to your second point. Having English as a lingua franca keeps the world dialog focused on English-speaking countries, in particular the USA. It reenforces models from the English speaking world (such as Capitalism, anglo-saxon values, McDonalds, etc.) all around the world, to the detriment of other models and ways of thought. It also gives native speakers who grow up speaking English as their first language a very unfair advantage in all sorts of areas, from debating to negotiating, entertainment etc. We need to end US-English hegemony and promote multilingualism.
@@jackfordon7735 You are wrong. It is to the advantage of modern technological civilization to have one unifying lingua franca, as historically miscommunication has led to war and other problems. The fact is that English is the current dominant lingua franca which is a fact that you must accept unless you want to stick your head in the sand like a foolish ostrich. While your claim that native speakers of English have an advantage is correct for now, in time with proper education most of the entire world’s population of humans will become fluent in English enough that the advantage will eventually be minimal. Many nations such as China enthusiastically teach English and a required 2nd language for all students. Your other claims are baseless and ridiculous.
I am strongly in favor of electronically preserving ALL languages in detail for future linguistic scholars to study in the centuries to come.
@@davea6314 It certainly is easy to disregard everything the other person's said by just saying "YouRe WrOng", isn't it? In what way are my claims baseless or ridiculous? Because you don't agree with them? Linguistics is my area of expertise, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about.
The use of English as a Lingua Franca has caused just as many issues. Just look at airline crashes caused by misunderstandings in ELF, there's a whole wikipedia article dedicated to it.
The only way that non-natives speakers would get as good at English as native speakers would be for them to adopt English as their own native language, like the people of Central Asia did in the USSR, or Spanish in Latin America. That, of course, would lead to an even larger mass extinction of languages than we're witnessing today. I, for one, would like to see languages preserved as living languages, and not just recordings on a USB stick.
The fact that Chinese are taught English as a manditory 2nd language doesn't change the fact that 1 percent said Chinese students are capable of holding a B1 level conversation at the end of school. English is veeeery different from their native language, and it's incredibly hard to learn for them, let alone to master. Having learned Chinese myself, I couldn't imagine having to debate someone in a language that's so different than my own, I'd need YEARS of non-stop practice. I clearly remember my Chinese host sister coming home after her English classes and breaking down crying.
There's no need to blindly accept English as a lingua Franca as an inevitable fact of life, like the Earth revolving around the sun or gravity. It's something that is artificial, like racism or pollution, that can be actively fought against. Of course, to do this, you have to see the intrinsic issues in it.
@@davea6314 The native English speakers will always have that slight edge over those who learn English as a second and third language. And yes with English comes the culture of English speaking countries like America and britian and a sense of inferiority complex in in non native English speakers with an idea they have to rely on a foreign language to convey their message. If I dedicate a good part of life in understanding German language and culture I certainly won't be worried what's going in China or Russia as most of my time would be dedicated towards watching German movies, listening to German songs and d reading German newspapers and magazines. That is what we call hagemony.
Start preserving as of now? I’m not against the notion but I’m curious to your thoughts about if languages and cultures dying or evolving is only natural when we become more and more connected to each other especially online? Just imagine how many cultures and languages have come and gone due to the test of time whether circumstances were preventable or not. Again not against the notion of preserving, but I think it’s worth pondering whether or not it’s inevitable or not.
handsome