“With languages, you are at home anywhere.”
– Edmund De Waal
Read on to find out how much of a role language plays in a country’s identity and why it is considered to be the ultimate trump card when it comes to one’s nationality.
The question of ‘Who is a true member of the nation?’ has been floating around in the recent past, due to the shift in global political and social scenarios. Recently, however, language has been making an appearance on that list.
Birthplace, culture, and religion have been the go-to characteristics to determine whether or not an individual truly belongs to their adopted country.
In a survey conducted by Pew Research Centre, conducted in 14 countries among 14,514 respondents from April 4 to May 29, 2016, language was considered to be the deciding factor of national identity. Most of the respondents believed the ability to speak the native tongue was what made one a true member of the nation.
It was found that eight-in-ten or more Dutch, British, Hungarians and Germans had the opinion that being able to converse in the national language was necessary to instill a sense of nationality. Even among Canadians and Italians, the least likely to link language and national identity as per the survey, six-in-ten people from either country believed in this correlation.
It is not surprising given how language is the bridge that connects people, enabling them to pass on ideas and information. Communication is necessary to forge any relationship and the lack of a language barrier aids the forging of a strong and unbreakable bond among people.
A majority of those surveyed believed that language does, in fact, play a key role in national identity. The results of the survey showed that language had greater importance than a place of birth, race or religion while determining one’s nationality.
This was a trend that was noticed in the 14 countries where the research was conducted. This includes a median of 77% in Europe and majorities in Japan (70%), the U.S. (70%), Australia (69%) and Canada (59%).
The response of immigrants included demonstrated a belief that ideal way to fit into a new country would be to pick up the language spoken there. Governments across the globe include aspects of the language in their citizenship interviews.
Even more surprising was the evidence of the difference in opinion amongst different generations regarding the relationship of language and national identity. In America, that shift is especially pronounced: People of ages 50 and older (40%) are more likely than those ages 18 to 34 (21%) to say it is very important that a person is born in the country to be considered truly American. In Japan, the generational divide is even more pronounced: Older Japanese are more likely than their younger counterparts to link national identity to birthplace by a 59% to 29% margin.
Generational differences, though generally more modest, are also evident in Australia and Canada and across most European countries surveyed. Only 13% of Australians, 21% of Canadians, and a median of 33% of Europeans believe that it is very important for a person to be born in their country in order to be considered a true national. There are some exceptions – Hungary (52%), Greece (50%) and Japan (50%)-the birthplace is given a lot more importance.
It’s important to note, however, the survey was conducted in countries where there is a single official language. In countries like India, with as many as 22 official languages, all of which have an equal number of speakers, this stat wouldn’t hold true. It would be unreasonable to expect the population to identify a particular language as the true language of the nation. Here’s our guide to languages you need to do business in India.
In her article, Amy Thompson, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of South Florida, states that learning a language has many benefits, including making you more tolerant. Researchers Hanh Thi Nguyen and Guy have shown that when students learn another language, they develop new ways of understanding the culture through analyzing cultural stereotypes. They explain that “learning a second language involves the acquisition not only of linguistic forms but also ways of thinking and behaving.”
Language can be a bridge or a wall, depending on how one looks at it. It can be used to bridge and bring people from different communities together, and in the same way, lack of access to language learning can act as a barrier to life choices. Which way you look at it, language is definitely a tool for improvement: 7 languages that will make you richer.
“With languages, you are at home anywhere.”
– Edmund De Waal
Andrie Steliou
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