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A strange situation. | ||
Tags: Cultural Identity | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages |  | |
| Thor1987 Groupie Canada Joined 4528 days ago 65 posts - 84 votes  Studies: German | Message 1 of 6 09 June 2012 at 9:03am | IP Logged | ||
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Alright here goes, In the last couples I've learned I have some native ancestry, not a
lot, but either way, I'm getting government support for school. I don't consider myself native, but part of a greater metis community from which many of my friends, and community members are part of. Anyhow Its a weird situation, because on the one hand, I feel fortunate to have it as part of my heritage and grateful for the funding it provides. On the other I feel guilt and kinda foolish as I am very much white. So that being the case I have a dual reasons for wanting to learn my "tribes" language. For one thing I think the language is cool, and I do wish it was embraced by local people not just native as our regional heritage. Secondly If I'm gonna take money from the band I should at least make an effort to preserve the heritage. This leaves me with two conflicting feelings be proud and embrace it, or don't be a pretendian and just leave it alone. What would you do? have you been in a similar situation? and would you like to be in this situation? Edited by Thor1987 on 09 June 2012 at 9:08am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| yantai_scot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4596 days ago 157 posts - 214 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 2 of 6 09 June 2012 at 9:50am | IP Logged | ||
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At least you'll be doing something positive for the continuation of the culture in exchange for the money. And better you, as someone with a genuine interest in the language, gets the opportunity to learn it as opposed to someone who has 100% ethnicity but can't see the need for it.
In Scotland, English newcomers to the rural Highlands and Islands are often ones who are driving Gaelic medium education as they see the community/second language acquisition benefits. I'd say enthusiasm to learn about the culture and language are more important than your genes. The genetic part just removes the financial impediment. Public funds tend to be clawed back each year if they're not used so grab the money with both hands and make the best use of the opportunity. What's the language by the way? Edited by yantai_scot on 09 June 2012 at 9:51am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5128 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian | Message 3 of 6 09 June 2012 at 10:12am | IP Logged | ||
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Throughout history people have suffered horrible consequences for having some drops of a minority ethnic
group's blood in their veins. If for once there is something financially positive to be had from it I'll say go for it. And I think it is a lovely idea to learn the language. Sometime you may be able to give something back to the community, and knowing the language will be a big help. We are all mixtures of different kinds, and often I have felt that it is unfair for someone as internationally oriented as me to only have 1/16 th part of Swedish blood as my only foreign background. I should have had Spanish, Italian, Arabic or Hebrew roots. I look forward to hearing how your language studies are proceeding! Edited by Solfrid Cristin on 09 June 2012 at 11:03pm 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| ajackso3 Newbie United States Joined 4347 days ago 29 posts - 52 votes Speaks: Spanish | Message 4 of 6 09 June 2012 at 5:38pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hello--I've been lurking around these boards for a while and have decided to "delurk" a little bit.
I think the fact that you are aware of this issue and your position within the situation (a white person who has not faced the racism/discrimination that many native people have faced) shows that you will be able to study this language and culture without pretending to be something you are not. This heritage is something that you can be proud of--it is where (some of) your ancestors came from--and ancestry is often an important part of people's identities. Making this distinction (that this culture has played an important part in your family's history vs simply saying 'I'm 1/X part indigenous so...') can also help you maintain your positionality in the situation and also explain your reasons to others if they are curious. I think efforts to preserve languages and embrace cultures are especially important in the increasingly globalized world we live in--good luck with your efforts! Andrea 6 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Thor1987 Groupie Canada Joined 4528 days ago 65 posts - 84 votes Studies: German | Message 5 of 6 09 June 2012 at 7:14pm | IP Logged | ||
only a few thousand speakers, mentioning the name could give away way to much personal information. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| hribecek Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5143 days ago 1243 posts - 1458 votes Speaks: English*, Czech, Spanish Studies: Italian, Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, Toki Pona, Russian | Message 6 of 6 09 June 2012 at 8:15pm | IP Logged | ||
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Personally I'd absolutely love to discover a lost foreign background, especially a really rare one. I'd relish that sort of motivation to learn a language, so I'd say that you're so lucky and congratulations! :))
Unfortunately, as far as I know and as far as I can look back, I'm a very boringly 100% Englishman. Edited by hribecek on 09 June 2012 at 8:15pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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