Sometimes globalization feels like an unstoppable force. But maybe something is actually fighting against it. Maybe language is the saving grace of different cultures and peoples. Sometimes I feel so powerless to stop the merging of cultures, the erasure of differences and histories in favor of a common narrative. There is an increasing sense of reality as instantaneous, and therefore ephemeral .
But maybe people like me have a fellow fighter in this quixotic battle. As long as different cultures speak different languages, there will be a line separating them, acting as a ‘do not cross’ strip of paint around a museum exhibit.
Think about it: if you are searching for some good South American music, the internet seems like a perfect solution. A search in English, however, will reveal only a desultory and incomplete list. But if you have just a bit of Spanish, a few key searches (mi cantante favorito, lo mejor musica argentina) will yield exponentially higher success rates. Simple, but insurmountable without language.
Think about the war on terror. American soldiers on the ground can be rendered completely useless without translators if civilians refuse to cooperate. A man could be standing in front of them, saying, “I can take you to Bin Laden”, but they wouldn’t have a clue. It’s vitally simple
So, while these frustrations are countless, they have a higher purpose. Preservation. Survival. As long as language separates people, cultures will remain distinct. Even in this increasingly connected (and English-speaking) world, nuances and shades of meaning remain in the shadows.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
language vs. globalization
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1 comment:
Well put.I feel globalization is encroaching on my way of life everyday where the truest translation of English is an American dollar.Sometimes I do not know what to do. My family and colleagues hardly want to speak German, French or Spanish anymore. I think they want to be more marketable but they do not see that marketability is a world of distinctions and niches. They only become dissolute in their end distribution as they pursue homogeneity. But! I push back and require them to speak their language to me even if I only get less than half of it. I hope in vain sometimes that this reminds them to become more German, French, Croatian or whatever their nationality may be. I want them to sit in their corner for awhile, rediscover the the people that their ancestors were and create the things that we in our too well connected world cannot.
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