Fun Stuff > CHATTER
patriotism/nationalism
Oli:
Can we move on from architecture before we derail this thread any further? The first post on this page made some interesting points but we just barrelled past.
--- Quote from: Der Golem on 24 Jul 2008, 19:15 ---I have lived my entire life on a small, isolated island and have my own language that only 300.000 people speak.
--- End quote ---
This strikes me as a pretty big thing when considering nationality and culture.
And coincidentally I just finished reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe which deals with, amoung other things, the cultual loss of a Nigerian clan when white man came bringing western influences like Christianity and a new form of Government. One of the more important things I noticed while studying it (I'm reading it for my English Lit course so I've been taking notes and all that) was that after the outsie influences started affecting the culture the language used by the clansmen changed. They stopped refering to days in terms of market days and instead said Sunday (or what have you) for example.
Would everyone agree that language is of huge cultural significance?
By extension would everyone agree that the assimilation of another language, or aspects of another language, into a culture would create problems with the preservation of culture and with that nationality?
I'm conflicted on this. I think that language is a huge part of cultural identity, but I also think that culture is not a frozen thing and that it evolves with the nature of the people it represents.
Johnny C:
The attempted assimilation of the Quebecois into English Canada created a cultural rift that lasts to this day.
So yeah, it creates problems.
elcapitan:
--- Quote from: fatty on 25 Jul 2008, 03:22 ---And yes, I guess it is a cultural note that 'where are you from?' is somehwhat borderline offensive here. I used to see it as terribly rude, especially when I was younger. As young as primary school, I remember being particularly miffed that a boy would ask me that, though he probably didn't know any better.
--- End quote ---
I'm Australian-born, but my family isn't from here. My mum is four-generations Kiwi, and my father is from Manchester. Because I'm white, I've never been asked "Where are you from?" in the sense that Ali mentions, and I can see why she finds it offensive. The implication that I don't belong in Australia (which, by the way, I love with every fibre of my being - although I frequently don't agree with the views of those running the place) would piss me off in short order as well.
That said, the fact remains that unless you're Indigenous, your Australian roots can only go back a few generations max before they head off to some other interesting part of the world. This is hands-down one of the best things about our culture. My close friends and I have roots including the Spanish royal family, upper-nobility bastards in Germany, Druze dissidents in Lebanon, Argentinian explorers, Baha'i Iranians who fled the Revolution, Vietnamese refugees from when it was still French Indochina, etc.
This makes for fascinating conversation. As such, one of the first things I'll ask someone when I'm getting to know them is where their families have come from - not out of implication that they don't belong here, but purely because every different answer I get reinforces my love for Australia.
KharBevNor:
--- Quote from: supersheep on 24 Jul 2008, 23:03 ---You didn't win the Troubles. You still have the North.
--- End quote ---
Yeah but we invented Television and the Jet Engine and Steam Trains so suck it paddy.
waterloosunset:
And computers!
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