Globalization

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyBoarder

I have a question as pertains to this thread. I must admit, though, in my haste to post between classes I did not read this entire discussion. However, from the thread’s development, I think that the following situation has not been addressed.

I am currently taking an upper level class entitled, in fact, “Globalization.” One of the theories suggested as the outcome of globalization termed “globality,” will be cultures that are very similar to every other culture. This is to say that the world would be, in effect, Americanized. Of course, there are skeptics who view this outcome as highly unlikely for various reasons.

However, for discussion’s sake, let’s consider that in the near future, the world does start to look drastically Western; languages begin to disappear, English is adopted more then it already is and values begin to mimic those more recognizable to Westerners.

What effect does this outcome have on the CMF of Special Forces? Surely, there would have to be drastic alterations made to a profession that prides itself on its unmatched knowledge of foreign cultures. If cultures stop being so foreign, how does SF continue to perform in ways “special;” that is to say, unconventional?

Any thoughts?

Thank you.

I think the premise is preposterous.

The world seems to be moving towards a Balkanization of tribes rather than a globalization. The globalization theory was popular 10-20 years ago. What happened to the Soviet Union? I would say that the current situation in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa pretty much destroys this little illusion, wouldn't you?

The fact that someone drinks Coke, eats at McDonald's, smokes Marlboros, and watches CNN does not mean that they want to be part of a global United States. It means that they enjoy the products, or have bought into the marketing. The person doing it could be a jihadi.

TR

[x-factor]

There is in fact a McDonalds in Mecca. The halal nuggets pioneered there were recently introduced at restraunts in the Arab communities of Detroit.

Comedian Aron Kader (half Palestinian, half Mormon if you can believe that) does a great bit about exactly the same point TR just made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCF-B...elated&search=

[Ret10Echo]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyBoarder

I am currently taking an upper level class entitled, in fact, “Globalization.” One of the theories suggested as the outcome of globalization termed “globality,” will be cultures that are very similar to every other culture. This is to say that the world would be, in effect, Americanized. Of course, there are skeptics who view this outcome as highly unlikely for various reasons.

However, for discussion’s sake, let’s consider that in the near future, the world does start to look drastically Western; languages begin to disappear, English is adopted more then it already is and values begin to mimic those more recognizable to Westerners.

I challenge you to support this premise.

1. The Soviet Union sought to create such a society, but immediately after the break-up the individual states and regions returned to their native dialect and distanced themselves from all things Soviet. This continues in the Baltic states as they seek to remove signs of the Soviet occupation. This shift from a "globality" occured in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia in several places (Bosnia, Albania, Montenegro, Slovenia....). Czechoslovakia reverted to the Czech Republic and Slovakia....

2. Travel through Europe. Despite the close proximity of the nations there are distinct cultural differences. As far as language goes Germany is a great example of how there are multiple dialects spoken within the country itself as you travel from North to South.

3. Americanization??? if the adoption of American-style products is the basis for that then it would that indicate that the U.S. is becoming Chinese due to the amount of products made in China we purchase and use.

Originally Posted by WhiskeyBoarder

What effect does this outcome have on the CMF of Special Forces? Surely, there would have to be drastic alterations made to a profession that prides itself on its unmatched knowledge of foreign cultures. If cultures stop being so foreign, how does SF continue to perform in ways “special;” that is to say, unconventional?

Any thoughts?

Thank you.

Over time, cultural differences will become more distinct.

Adjustments made: As with the fall of the Soviets and the example I gave concerning the language shift. Many places that spoke Russian during that period reverted back to Ukrainian, Belorussian etc etc...and would be offended if you used Russina....6 months of language Gulag in the tank...but the basis for expansion into Serbo-Croat and the others is much easier with the basics down. Lift and Shift...the mission continues...that's why there is a selection process.

[WhiskeyBoarder]

Gentlemen,

I want to thank you for your responses. It was refreshing to hear views outside of those proposed in academia. Sometimes, as a student (and I am sure you know this very well), I am bombarded with so many loaded facts that is difficult to form independent conclusions.

Given that many of you have experienced developing cultures in more direct ways than any of these scholars from whose work I read, I am going to default to the standing conclusions drawn here: the result of globalization is NOT a world that at every corner looks completely Western.

Thanks for opening my eyes and bringing up an opposing opinion to those taught at the university.

However, I do want to respond to Ret10Echo. He challenged me to support my premise. In fairness, I just want you to see that I am, in fact, presenting a premise that is delivered to us in class. So I present these tidbits from Manfred B. Steger in his “Very Short Introduction to Globalization,” as published by the Oxford Press:



…Still another thesis emphasizes the power of the Anglo-American culture industry to make English the global lingua franca of the 21st century….

…In the 16th century, 7 million people used English as their mother tongue. By the 1990s, this number had swollen to over 350 million native speakers, with 400 million more using English as a second language…

…Today, more then 80% of the content posted on the Internet is in English…

…Given the current rate of decline, some linguists predict that 50-90% of the currently existing languages will have disappeared by the end of the 21st century…


…Almost half of the world’s growing population of foreign students are enrolled at institutions in Anglo-American countries…

(Pages 83-84)




Again, I appreciate your feedback. I truly feel that this forum often works to “round out” my education. Thank you.

[Ret10Echo]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyBoarder

…Still another thesis emphasizes the power of the Anglo-American culture industry to make English the global lingua franca of the 21st century….

…In the 16th century, 7 million people used English as their mother tongue. By the 1990s, this number had swollen to over 350 million native speakers, with 400 million more using English as a second language…

…Today, more then 80% of the content posted on the Internet is in English…

…Given the current rate of decline, some linguists predict that 50-90% of the currently existing languages will have disappeared by the end of the 21st century…


…Almost half of the world’s growing population of foreign students are enrolled at institutions in Anglo-American countries…

(Pages 83-84)

I understand the environment in which you operate so do not take my comments as a personal attack...it's much like being in a philosophy class that uses a textbook authored by the professor. You adapt to the environment. The take-away you have already, never confuse the so-called facts with reality

I'm no Rhodes Scholar, but just some observations:

I disagree with the connection between technology, business and culture. Foreign students enroll in the U.S. probably because of the prolific number of colleges and universities in the Anglo-American countries. Realistically, outside of occasional semesters, I seriously doubt most American students would be interested in attending university in the Middle East or Asia...Likewise, I would imagine "foreign" students might find U.S. institutions quite attractive given the living conditions etc.


I would also imagine that much of the statistics concerning the use of the English language would be closely related to the fact that England was a world power and in the midst of building their empire.


I am not sure what the rate of growth that Spanish has in the United States and how often one finds it NOT the primary language spoken in the home, but I seem to come across this issue more and more often.

People adapt to technology and the standards. If the internet had made it's debut in Phrance, then I imagine the story would be different. Al Gore decided it should be in English so there you have it.

.

[x-factor]

I'd like to comment specifically on the role of the Internet in globalization and how it pertains to the cultural homogenization we're talking about.

Many have operated on the assumption that the Internet is a singe community where everyone interacts in the same pool and so by extension the Internet acts as an agent of homogenization. This could not be more wrong. While its true that the Internet provides people all over the world access to certain central information resources (Google, Wikipedia, etc), the discussion taking place on the Internet serves far more to reinforce existing identities (or even to create new ones) than to consolidate them into a "globalized" way of thinking.

One silly example and then one serious example.

Look at high school. For any number of reasons, the cool kids, the trendsetters, whatever you want to call them have a crushing influence on the average high school kid. Once you get to high school, you are expected to sublimate whatever geeky goofball hobbies you had as a kid in favor of "cool" things: popular music, sports, chicks, whatever. As a matter of social survival, geeks are driven from spending all their recreational time memorizing Tolkien trivia (or whatever other arcana strikes their fancy) to trying to conform. Now, with the internet, geeks are not as susceptible to that social pressure because when they get home from school they can easily seek out other geeks (wherever they may be) and indulge in talk of hobbits, orcs, and whatever else. Suddenly, being "cool" is not as pressing a need because they've found social acceptance somewhere else.

Now consider Islam. The unchallenged center of Islam since its inception has been the local mosque. A young disgruntled man who found himself drawn to the teachings of Ibn Tamiyah would still have to interact with people of other leanings at his local mosque. In this way the community had some kind of influence or even control over his opinion. Today? That young man can go to a moderate mosque to fulfill his social obligations, but when he gets home he can pull up any of a thousand extremist bulletin boards and instantly be united with other extremists around the world. People who think like him and will support, reinforce, and nurture his opinions. He doesn't have to travel to another village to seek out a specific school of theology. He doesn't have to pack up and move to Afghanistan like in the 1980s. He can withdraw from the societal mainstream and easily immerse himself in extremism right from the comfort of his own home.

Point being, the technology that so many hail as "globalizing" empowers the individual to resist homogenization just as much, if not more, as it exposes him to homogenizing influences.

[Peregrino]

Originally Posted by x-factor

I'd like to comment specifically on the role of the Internet in globalization and how it pertains to the cultural homogenization we're talking about.
..........
Point being, the technology that so many hail as "globalizing" empowers the individual to resist homogenization just as much, if not more, as it exposes him to homogenizing influences.

I am occasionally reminded that restraint has its virtues. Maybe there was a good reason I didn't delete you when first tempted. Peregrino

[x-factor]

Adapt, overcome, always maintain a good sense of humor.

[smp52]

Originally Posted by Broadsword2004

Overall, I think English might be spreading around the world plenty, but none of these people seem to be losing their native languages because of it. On the contrary, English just becomes an additional skill it seems (at least as far as those students were concerned).

You'd be surprised as to how English has a creeping influence in foreign languages. It starts from basic words, and as time goes by, more and more English words creep into the language to the point that some 'native' words are rarely spoken. Now, they may sound different with a local accent, but it's still an English word.

Language and culture generally adapt over generations. IMHO the bottom line is about communicating in whatever medium you can get your message out in, and the other party understanding it. With immigrants in the United States, the native languages tend to fade over 2-3 generations. Immigrants generally speak the language. Their kids generally understand much of it and can speak it well enough to communicate, but it sounds funny. Their kids generally won't speak a lick of it.

I had a recent conversation with a friend, who is of Bengali background (West Bengal, India). She was mentioning how some of her cousins spoke better English than the local Bengali language. My mother's brother and sister, both grew up in Bombay, and speak far better English than mother tongue of Gujarati. Granted, as mentioned earlier, British colonial influence resulted in the language being used in many former colonies. A few countries that forced English out, like Malaysia, probably had an older generation that spoke better English than their kids. The same thing happened in the Indian state of Gujarat where the older colonial era generation spoke better English. My grandfather (mother's father) spoke it flawlessly with absolute mastery of it. My mother, was educated in a Gujarati medium school (primarly language of instruction) and wasn't all that good at it. I guess places like these get the message with globalization that it matters for business and better economic opportunities.

As long as business and trade is conducted in English, it will continue to be used. More often than not, English words slowly enter foreign languages, while the reverse has happened, it's not as prolific. Nothing scientific, merely my experience...

Originally Posted by Broadsword2004

I am more concerned about an America that looks mostly Spanish-speaking in the future and a Europe that is mostly Muslim.

Question is, even with a larger spanish speaking population, will we decide to attract and develop our scientific/mathematical skill sets? Will the United States evolve into an educated bilingual society that maitains English, but adds spanish as another fluent language, or devolve into a largely segregated society of an undereducated spanish speaking population and educated upper class, english population with a declining birth rate? A bilingual, trilingual, or whatever nation isn't the problem. Having people uneducated and only speak one language is. Education is FUNdamental

[Ret10Echo]

This is a little plagarism, but brings about my point and reinfoces some of the other points made:

In the 5th century BC, Latin was just one of many Italic languages spoken in central Italy. Latin was the language of the area known as Latium (modern Lazio), and Rome was one of the towns of Latium. The earliest known inscriptions in Latin date from the 6th century BC and were written using an alphabet adapted from the Etruscan alphabet.

Rome gradually expanded its influence over other parts of Italy and then over other parts of Europe. Eventually the Roman Empire stretched across a wide swathe of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Latin was used throughout the empire as the language of law, administration and increasingly as the language of everyday life. Literacy was common among Roman citizens and the works of great Latin authors were read by many.


So what of Latin now?

IMO, English has become what it is in the world because of America's strength following immediately behind the colonial power of England. If (and when) that strength declines so goes the language. People adjust in order to get along. As the point was made concerning the person in India, the requirement to speak English in order to improve one's position became apparent so people adjust to the demand of the market. Technology requires English much like Latin is used in legal, medical and other scientific terminology because those terms were developed while that language was that of the power of the time.

We are globalized at the high, 50,000 foot level. Individual people can be as isolationist as they desire.

[smp52]

Originally Posted by Ret10Echo

This is a little plagarism, but brings about my point and reinfoces some of the other points made:

In the 5th century BC, Latin was just one of many Italic languages spoken in central Italy. Latin was the language of the area known as Latium (modern Lazio), and Rome was one of the towns of Latium. The earliest known inscriptions in Latin date from the 6th century BC and were written using an alphabet adapted from the Etruscan alphabet.

Rome gradually expanded its influence over other parts of Italy and then over other parts of Europe. Eventually the Roman Empire stretched across a wide swathe of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Latin was used throughout the empire as the language of law, administration and increasingly as the language of everyday life. Literacy was common among Roman citizens and the works of great Latin authors were read by many.


So what of Latin now?

IMO, English has become what it is in the world because of America's strength following immediately behind the colonial power of England. If (and when) that strength declines so goes the language. People adjust in order to get along. As the point was made concerning the person in India, the requirement to speak English in order to improve one's position became apparent so people adjust to the demand of the market. Technology requires English much like Latin is used in legal, medical and other scientific terminology because those terms were developed while that language was that of the power of the time.

We are globalized at the high, 50,000 foot level. Individual people can be as isolationist as they desire.

Good points. Economic power is definitely at the core of the market value for a particular language. English though, has had the most prolific expansion of any language worldwide due to global business models and British then American strength.