Social 10-1 Chapter 4 Affirming Identity, Language, and Culture Review

Affirming Language O To some people, language is Identity –militant. O People have always expressed their traditions, values and culture through language. O In Canada we have three language groups – Anglophones, Francophones and Allophones O Allophones are people whose first language was not either English or French

Number of languages O The number of languages spoken in the world declines every year. O On average, one language disappears every two weeks. O There are 6000 – 7000 languages spoken in the world today.

O Languages disappear and aren’t used for a variety of reasons; O A) People and the language die off O B) Different mix of cultural groups, O C) Wanting to assimilate to a new culture O D) Being a minority language with little opportunity to put to use O E) Young generations don’t care

English dominance O The main language in the world today for business, science and pop culture is English. O It is also the main language of the Internet and the WWW. The internet is designed to use the Roman alphabet

O The result is that 90% of the content on the Internet is now in only 21 languages. O In 2006, the world’s largest language group, in terms of first language speakers, was Mandarin Chinese.

Promoting Our Identity O Cultural/Ethnic groups affirm and promote their identity in a number of ways – creating heritage villages, building totem poles, gathering artifacts (museums), education programs and cultural/meeting centers.

O Cultural revitalization is one way for a nation or people to keep their cultural identity from being absorbed into the “industrial strength blender” of globalization. O An example of assimilation and saving ones identity are The Ladakh people who live in the Himalayan Mountains of India

Multicultural O In 1971 Canada became the first country in the world to officially adopt a Multicultural Policy. O The Prime Minister at the time was Pierre Trudeau. O Since 2003, Canadians have celebrated Multiculturalism Day on June 27. The Canadian government has adopted various ways to preserve the “Canadian culture”.

O In Edmonton we promote our different cultures at Heritage Days through music, dance, food and displays O The Official Languages Act of 1969 and the 1982 Charter of Freedom and Rights are two ways to promote our different cultures. O (languages)-Bill 101 in Québec is a law protecting French Culture in Quebec.

O Since 1968, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunication Commission’s (CRTC) goal has been to protect and preserve Canada’s cultural identity by making sure a certain percentage of programming must be Canadian.