The Underestimated Threat Caused by Cultural Loss

Introduction:

Ocean pollution, global warming, racial discrimination… These are some existential threats that form current debates between people on both sides of the political spectrum. Ocean pollution leads to the destruction of numerous human habitats and their source of food; Global warming causes glaciers to melt, resulting in the flooding of islands and the annihilation of human properties; while racial discrimination triggers conflicts within ethnicities, assaulting people both physically and mentally. Can an unrealized threat impact the existence of humankind in a similar way as threats that are known and discussed constantly like these? The loss of languages and cultures threatens human society today hugely, yet we underestimate this problem and even seem to not notice it at all. 

Language is the symbol of civilization. The existence and mortality of a group depends on its culture and language. Without these, each group will lose its value and heritage, which is the foundation of their establishment and ultimately, their identities in a globalized world. The loss of culture will be the result of the extinction of cultural groups. Due to the dominance of patriarchal hegemony of each government, the unification of language and culture often happens. While this is inimical to people’s daily life, it is used to support the governors of the society to gain more control over them. To demonstrate how the loss of language diversity impacts the world, I will introduce three groups of people from three heavily populated countries that are economically and politically powerful - American Indians, Chinese and Indians, and I will analyze how and why they are losing their diversity, alongside why this is a reflection of a bigger world problem.

Part 1- Indigenous Americans

The Indigenous Americans, having crossed the Bering Strait from Siberia, lived on the American Continent long before the Europeans discovered this huge landmass. They established innumerable tribes, traditions and languages, but a lot of these were devastated by diseases brought by westerners invading their territories. The inauguration of the United States worsened the situation as the original British settlers forced the remaining Indigenous people to move into necessitous reservations. They also forced the assimilation of their children to westernize concepts at the detriment of their own tribal traditions and ideas, and even carried out mass genocides trying to wipe out the entire community. However, the loss of culture and tribes did not stop here, as the decline of Indigenous languages continues even today, representing one of the biggest, existential threats to this population of people. .

The two causes that threaten the Indigenous American languages are historical trauma and health disparities. Firstly, the historical violence established a bias and stigma against these communities, eventually leading to current prejudice that now gives excuses for mobs to execute violence on them today. Government white paper from 2016 argues that “A new Department of Justice study shows that of over 2,000 women surveyed, 84 percent of Native American and Alaskan Native women have experienced violence, 56 percent have experienced sexual violence, and, of that second group, over 90 percent have experienced violence at the hands of a non-tribal member.” [1] The continuous assault reduces Indigenous peoples’ confidence, making them doubt the value of their individual and collective identities. It wouldn’t be such a stretch to believe that some people would think that breaking the bond with this group will reduce their chances of getting hurt. Therefore, they will stop using their native languages in public, and stop celebrating their traditions.

Native American people also suffer from health disparities, which is also creating a concern in the preservation of their culture, especially their language. Research about mortality-disparity rates by The Indian Health Service (IHS) between 2009-2011, comparing all races in the US to Native Americans specifically, shows that the ratio of diabetes of Native and Alaskan Americans to all races in America is 3.2; the ratio of alcohol-induced mortality rates of Native and Alaskan Americans to all races in America is 6.6. [2] The evidence indicates that the possibility for Native Americans getting lethal diseases is fairly high, making it physically more difficult to pass on the traditions and languages, since there will be less people celebrating them.

The obstacles Indigenous people face today in the US are leading to an existential threat to their languages and cultures, making them less likely to be protected in the future. The population of the Natives remains small. As a lot of them stop preserving their identities, their languages will likely disappear throughout the time. Since they see the benefit of leaving the group, they have not realized the ominous threat that comes as they leave. With no human preservation, the entire Indian culture and language will eventually vanish, meaning that what was constructed and inherited for thousands of years will be gone, leading to the apocalypse of the whole Indian ethnicity and a huge part of the world’s diversity.

Part 2- The Chinese

Chinese civilization can be traced back to 2070 BCE, and it has prospered considerably with technology, trading, agriculture and its military. However, pivotal Chinese cultures and languages are being lost due to governmental policies. This situation can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty-an era, where China was ruled by the Manchus who would eventually become victims of assimilation. The domination of the Hans infiltrated the Manchu culture, gradually replacing the Manchu language, and causing a lot of the traditions to become adulterated and eventually extinct. The most recent language loss in China is severely critical compared to the loss of those from the past, as it is an existential threat that people are not distinguishing. Following the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 by Chairman Mao Zedong, the official language was set to Mandarin, which has become the standardized Chinese. Previously, teachers in schools in 31 provinces across China taught children in their local dialects, of which there were hundreds at one time. There were even places in provinces of China where their dialects cannot be understood by people from other provinces. After Chairman Mao’s political demand, all schools only teach in standardized Chinese. There are even rules preventing students from using dialects when talking to friends, because it is believed that this strengthens the unity of Chinese people in different regions.

Vincent Ni suggests in 2022 that building off of Chairman Mao’s decree, Chairman Xi Jinping prohibited in 2014 the TV program Shanghai Dialect Talk to be spoken in Shanghai dialect, attempting to quell the spread of the language. The law established that all television channels in China have to use Mandarin for the purpose of uniformity. [3] This policy is threatening the preservation of languages and cultures due to the fact, and the need is becoming imperative. There are places in China where only a few elders speak traditional, local dialects. According to the Atlantic, there are Chinese languages with only speakers in their 70s and 80s, for the reason that people are consciously using Mandarin at home. [4] And here another significant population of the global community is losing its language due to standardized versions of a language. This can therefore result in the loss of people’s connection to their ancestries, which has been inherited over generations.

The future for Chinese languages is precarious. Not only did the national policy contribute to the decline of dialects in different provinces, but parents in China today are intentionally encouraging their children to learn international languages such as English and Mandarin at the expense of more traditional local languages. They believe that acquiring the two of the most frequently-used languages helps their children find lucrative jobs in the future, and helps them to provide better housing and living conditions for their descendants. In this way, parents in cities all over China are turning the volume down on their local dialects, causing even some of the biggest Chinese dialects- Cantonese and Shanghainese- to be in the danger zone. The decline of these major languages can be seen as an existential threat to China which is often ignored by people. As culture and languages represent the history and wisdom of a certain area, losing these traits of knowledge can lead to the death of the entire area, because without language and culture, this place is left unprotected, leaving the essence to gradually disappear. Luckily, according to Stanford Daily, one million dollars was donated to Stanford University’s language program to preserve Cantonese. [5] If more language courses are set up, China’s thousands-of-years of history can be saved, and the existential threat of losing cultural diversity can be eliminated.

Part 3-Indian subcontinent

While being the second-largest English speaking country, India still preserves numerous domestic dialects. Nevertheless, they are slowly disappearing throughout the time, as the new generation of people stop using their regional languages. This is mainly due to the westernization of culture and the fact that the governors wish to establish unity through only using one official language. India's loss of culture initially appeared when Victorian Britain colonized the nation, setting the dominant language to English, offering less opportunity for Indians to use their dialects in their daily lives.

The Indian language and traditions continue to decline today as a result of government policies. According to downtoearth.org, the Indian government excluded languages spoken by less than 10,000 from the list of official languages. [6] With this policy, the endangered languages are closer to extinction because it would be more difficult for language professors to protect them, and it would be more challenging for the younger generations speaking dominantly in English and Hindi to learn them. This situation is detrimental to the Indians since the decline of language stratifies the older generation with the young. Youngsters incapable of using local dialects are unable to communicate and understand their elders, stopping critical knowledge preserved by the elders from being passed on to the future generations.

The future for Indian languages and cultures does not seem promising. Due to the government policies, more endangered languages are likely to disappear in the future, leading to a catastrophic loss of knowledge that will cause loss of life. The Swaddle.com claims that “The Aka tribe in Arunachal Pradesh has its own way of treating fever and cough. The trick is to crush 10 grams of fresh leaves and stems of a plant called “Syowum” in the Aka language, strain it through a cloth, and apply it on the body.” [7] This shows that tribes in India have unique knowledge of treating illnesses. If the younger generation today cannot communicate using tribal languages, countless tribes like the Aka, holding a significant amount of knowledge, will gradually fade away. In this way, cures from a specific plant or animal cannot be acquired by scientists, making it more difficult to provide remedies for certain diseases. Although a lot of Indian citizens have not realized the importance of protecting the tribal dialects, it is crucial for them to notice the existential benefit the languages bring to modern society. In short, the loss of Indian culture is an ignored threat, as it leads to the disappearance of heritage, the decline of cultural-biodiversity, and the loss of wisdom.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the loss of languages and culture is an underestimated threat that is existential to human life on Earth. Through analysis of Indigenous Americans, Chinese and Indians, the disappearance of languages is often caused by human intervention, or more specifically, by the power of authorities. Government policies lead to the decline of cultural diversity, the loss of knowledge and historical heritage, and even the extinction of cultural groups, which are all critical for the existence and progress of humankind. 

To eliminate this menace, the governments should establish policies to protect languages and cultures, and courses and materials should be available so that more people are aware of this problem. It is crucial to preserve the languages in different regions, which represent different stories. Without diversity, all the diverse cultures will be useless and plain. Actions need to be made to stop the decline of diversity immediately.

Work Cited:

[1]: Gilpin, L. (2016, June 7). Native American women still have the highest rates of rape and assault. High Country News. Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://www.hcn.org/articles/tribal-affairs-why-native-american-women-still-have-the-highest-rates-of-rape-and-assault

[2]: Disparities | Fact Sheets. (n.d.). Indian Health Service. Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://www.ihs.gov/newsroom/factsheets/disparities/

[3]: Ni, V. (2022, January 16). Chinese dialects in decline as government enforces Mandarin. The Guardian. Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/16/chinese-dialects-in-decline-as-government-enforces-mandarin

[4]: Schiavenza, M. (2013, June 18). On Saving China's Dying Languages. The Atlantic. Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/06/on-saving-chinas-dying-languages/276971/

[5]: Donors gift $1 million to support Stanford Cantonese program. (2022, February 16). The Stanford Daily. Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://stanforddaily.com/2022/02/16/donors-gift-1-million-to-support-stanford-cantonese-program/

[6]: Mohanty, A. (2020, August 26). Seven decades after independence, many tribal languages in India face extinction threat. Down To Earth. Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/governance/seven-decades-after-independence-many-tribal-languages-in-india-face-extinction-threat-73071

[7]: Kalia, S., Naraharisetty, R., Rakshit, D., & Sarkar, A. (2021, June 30). As Indigenous Languages Die, India Loses Vital Means of Preserving Biodiversity. The Swaddle. Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://theswaddle.com/as-indigenous-languages-die-india-loses-vital-means-of-preserving-biodiversity/