THE WORLD CULTURE JOURNAL

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My Archives: January 2005

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

When the German government recently announced its official recommendation to radio stations “to play more German music”, it reacted to a real threat, which became increasingly apparent around the world. In a world of globalization the English language is spreading out like the newest fashion trend in teenage groups. Very often English words replace original ones and other modern words become part of local languages all over the world (“e-mail”).

Even the Chinese realize this as a danger to their own language, as recently published in China Daily:
"Chinese, as one of the world's oldest languages, is now facing unprecedented challenges. We cannot speak good English to the detriment of our mother tongue. For everyone of us, mastering a foreign language should be based on having a good command of our mother tongue. We Chinese have enough problems with our own language ...And beside the standard spoken putonghua, there are another seven main dialects, which are each further divided into several accents."

A Culture can survive in adapting to changes and languages are an important part of local cultures. It is therefore important to safeguard the traditional languages beside the international English.

Posted by WB @ 06:33 AM NY [Link]

Vietnam has submitted documents to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), asking for recognisation of Tay Nguyen gongs as a non-tangible and oral cultural heritage of the world.
The diverse and distinctive culture of the ethnic people in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) region has been receiving special attention along with increasing investment in socio-economic development to improve their living conditions reports VietNam News

Posted by WB @ 06:05 AM NY [Link]

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