|
|
3. Using the media to promote different languages and to raise awareness on the issue of languages and their role in the world.
4. Strengthening the arts and cultural expression, which are strong vehicles for carrying messages and meaning.
5. Celebrating diversity! This can be done in many ways, and increases the appreciation for those things that are different to that which we are. Celebrations of diversity help to reduce and eliminate the fears I referred to earlier and replace xenophobia and ignorance with being informed and enlightened.
The above-suggested actions cannot really take place if there are not any significant investments in culture and languages. These investments can be in the form of finances and capital, as well as political will, which hopefully translates into progressive action and effective policies. As with any good investment, it may take time to see the results, but the returns on an investment in languages and culture will be well worth it. They will include:
• Improved intercultural understanding. If language is at the core of who we are, as I have argued earlier, then we can understand each other in a deeper and more profound manner by understanding each other’s languages;
• Embracing diversity and shifting away from being driven by a fear of differences;
• Greater interests in learning and knowledge;
• A stronger sense of identity amongst people whose pride is strengthened by seeing their culture and language celebrated;
• People participating in the world more meaningfully because they look through it with different lenses and have access to the tools that foster participation.
• Lessened fears of loss, or being erased from existence because of investments in preserving and protecting the essence of ethnicity and identify.
The world has realized and understood the need to protect and preserve the environment. Numerous conferences have been held on the environment, which has led to a sustainable development movement and mainstreamed ideas about making our planet physically healthier. A United Nations agency [UNEP] exists that has been charged with promoting environmental well-being and similarly, governments around the world have created departments to further the same goals. Business and civil society have also responded positively and proactively to this cause. A Global Environment Facility is in place to ensure that strategic investments at the global level are directed towards environmental protection and stewardship. In the same way, similar investments need to be made towards languages and culture. A Global Cultural Facility would not be such a bad idea. Perhaps it is about time we compliment improvements to the Earth’s physical well-being by taking care of its emotional and social state too! J
Globalization and Language
Some people argue of the inevitability of the emergence of a global language as a result of globalization. Perhaps this means of the world’s current major languages becomes a global language. English is well positioned to be that. Perhaps that may be a good thing. According to the National Geographic Society, Africa speaks well over 1600 languages. The continent already has many challenges as a result of all of these differences. For some people, the solution has been to eliminate smaller languages to create unifying ones. The same formula may be employed at the global level, although I must say I oppose it. This is where language becomes political, and often politics in its present form creates messes. I think that by investing in a deeper understanding of different languages you can achieve social harmony and still streamline economic interaction. You gain more and lose less.
The Role of TakingITGlobal in the International Language Dialogue
TakingITGlobal brings together more than 45 000 youth and adults from over 200 countries worldwide. All of these people speak thousands of languages and currently many communicate through English. No one can doubt the richness of the TakingITGlobal community. Imagine just how much more vibrant the community can become when the potential to interact and communicate expands and grows? TIG is launching a Multilingual Platform this month in an effort to bridge the communication gap created by language barriers. This is a positive development for the entire TIG community, as it will give more people tools to participate in the community and to navigate life at TakingITGlobal.org
The Multilingual Platform at TakingITGlobal.org will redefine the global-local interaction fostered by the online tools TIG provides. It will also enable people who have not had the ability to connect or to understand each other’s points of views and expressions to do so with much ease. Local connections will translate to global connections. An example of how the Multilingual Platform will add value to already existing resources on TIG is through the Global Gallery. I feel that this space can now transform from being just an online gallery, but rather a point of intersection. Members can navigate the site in a language familiar to them and discover each other’s work. They can create an exchange around what they are expressing through their art. They can write in languages they are most comfortable in (currently just English, Spanish and French) and post comments, responses and critiques of work in the Gallery and opening up the interaction around art work and involving people who may previously have been held back by a language barrier.
|
Tags
You must be logged in to add tags.
|
Writer Profile
Dumisani
I write because I believe in the power of ideas! Thoughts are what have changed the world... Every revolution, every legislation, every act started off as a thought. All thoughts are inspired by other thoughts expressed in song, essays, research, poetry, spoken word, action...
I write because I love. I hope that my writing inspires and informs you as much as the writings of others has done to me in my life.
~dumisani
|
Comments
You must be a TakingITGlobal member to post a comment. Sign up for free or login.
|
|
