Due to social and geographical mobility and globalization, many minority languages in the world are pushed to the periphery. Reasons for such a trend differ among languages. In the case of the ...Punjabi language, despite being spoken by a major portion of the population, the speakers are gradually disowning it. Considering this gradual shift, the present study explores the predicament of the Punjabi language. The study uses phenomenological design and collects data from Punjabi ethnic students in four different universities in Islamabad. The study uses semi-structured interviews, TV shows, and natural conversations. Findings reveal that the Punjabi speakers themselves disown their language as well as Punjabi identity due to social, economic, religious, and political reasons. Especially women avoid the language more, they do not speak Punjabi with their children, and they reject their Punjabi identity.
Avtor v članku preučuje pojav posameznikov slovenskih korenin iz ZDA in Kanade, ki so stik z etnično identiteto in s slovensko skupnostjo izgubili že zelo zgodaj oz. jim predniki slovenske identitete ...sploh niso predali, a so jo pozneje (ponovno) odkrili. Življenjske zgodbe posameznikov postavlja v kontekst globalnega trenda individualizacije, ki ga aplicira na omenjene mikro primere. Zanima ga, kaj jih je privedlo do iskanja korenin, kaj jim te pomenijo in kako se renesansa etnične identitete odraža v njihovih življenjih.
Avtor v članku najprej opiše različne pojavne oblike in značilnosti etničnih ekonomij, nato pa se osredotoči na slovenske skupnosti v zamejstvu in po svetu. Ugotavlja, da so posamezne etnične ...ekonomije odvisne od socialne in izobrazbene strukture pripadnikov etničnih skupnosti in od zgodovinskega in političnogeografskega konteksta njihovega nastanka. Na podlagi izkušenj sklene, da slovensko ekonomijo in politiko čakajo še številni koraki v smeri spodbujanja razvoja in »implementacije« slovenskega modela etnične ekonomije. Opaža spremembe pojma »slovenski izseljenec«, saj ta danes pomeni nekaj drugega kot v preteklosti, to so namreč lahko študent, ki v tujini pridobiva izkušnje, strokovnjak ali pogumni podjetnik.
Pomemben vidik v preučevanju migracij je tudi raziskovanje etničnih društev v državah imigracije. Etnična društva ne le oblikujejo dejavnosti in identiteto migrantov, temveč vplivajo tudi na ...integracijo migrantov v družbo gostiteljico. Prispevek govori o migracijah Hrvatov (Jugoslovanov) v Švico in etnični identiteti hrvaških migrantov v Švici z vidika družbene organizacije (z aktivnostmi in delovanjem različnih hrvaških etničnih društev) v obdobjih, ko je bila Hrvaška v sklopu SFRJ. Poskušali bomo poudariti specifi čni družbeni kontekst in socio-kulturne razlike pri hrvaških migrantih glede na različna obdobja in vzroke izseljevanja, s tem pa tudi različne oblike in intenziteto etničnega organiziranja ter vplive hrvaških etničnih društev na ohranjanje etnične identitete in integracijo v imigrantsko švicarsko družbo.
Prispevek obravnava problematiko etničnega neopredeljevanja prebivalstva v popisnih podatkih za leti 1991 in 2002. Skupino sestavljajo etnično neopredeljeni ter statistični kategoriji neznano in ...oseba ne želi odgovoriti na vprašanje . Na podatek o etnični sestavi Slovenije v zadnjih dvajsetih letih je vplivalo predvsem spreminjanje števila oseb, za katere podatek o etničnem izvoru ni znan. V zadnjem desetletju se je zelo povečalo število oseb v kategoriji neznano.
Contrary to the general perception, The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity by Benjamin Isaac recognizes the ancient society as racist and tries to detect the early forms of racist attitudes ...and behaviour in the Greek and Roman antiquity. Thus Isaac introduces a new concept in understanding the ancient attitudes toward the Others, at the same time offering a new explanation model for collective group characteristics, which are, by his definition of racism, based on environmental determinism and the impossibility of change at an individual or collective level. Isaac’s model, however, raises certain reservations and counter-arguments. Firstly, there are crucial divergences from racism in the modern sense of the term, which recognizes the collective group characteristics not as environmentally but as biologically determined; this is also perceived by Isaac, who therefore defines the ancient attitudes toward Others as protoracism rather than racism. Secondly, contrary to Isaac’s view, the Greek and Roman explanations of collective differences between peoples were not dominated by the environmental-determinist approach but rather by historical, political, cultural, social, and – in particular – linguistic differences. The use of the term ‘racism’ in ancient contexts therefore seems anachronistic, misleading and somewhat narrow. By contrast, the term The Other and the concept of the derogatory and stereotypical Universal Other, invented during the Persian Wars, prove much more stimulating and useful in attempts to define the attitude to other individuals and groups. Introduced by a storm caused by Juno, which breaks the linear journey from Troy to Rome and brings Aeneas to the Libyan shores, the Carthage passage in Books 1–4 of the Aeneid draws the image of a historical and literary Other. To this end, Vergil attempts to ascribe the negative stereotype of the Phoenicians and Orientals in general to the Carthaginians. Moreover, the ‘otherness’ is established through the historical distinctions between the uncivilized barbarians, represented by the Carthaginians, and civilization, the Romans-to-be. The Carthaginians of the Aeneid share with the mythical other, the Trojans, such qualities as an association with Oriental luxury goods, evoked by Homeric images of the Phoenicians and by allusions to Troy. The pairing of the mythical Trojans and the historical Carthaginians resolves into a new symbolic and imaginary aspect of Carthage, associated with ancient Troy: Carthage becomes a new Troy – Ilion novum. The recognition of Carthage as a new Troy is most obvious in the first Vergilian ecphrasis, a description of the images in Juno’s new Carthaginian temple. The ecphrasis is more than a mere retrospective of past historical events, as it is perceived by Aeneas; for Vergilian readers, the temple painting would have drawn a powerful visual analogy between the mythic Trojans and their historical successors, the Carthaginians. As such, the images also function as an ominous hint about the future events. The Vergilian images of Oriental ‘otherness’ can be perceived as a speculum morum reflecting the problematic ethnic identity of Aeneas, who is de facto still a Trojan and as such a direct threat to his mission and to the future Roman race. His inability to recognize his problematic ethnic identity is evident from his personal appearance, his Oriental garb and arms, and the fact that he is reconstructing the wrong city, Carthage.
Since their war against the Dutch in 1873, the Acehnese have been known as a people of character in Indonesia: a distinctive and robust sense of communalism has shaped their society and culture. ...Strong family bonds, community ties, and social frameworks have reinforced this communalism. However, this character has eroded under a thirty-year conflict in Aceh, which began in the 1970s under the New Order government. The conflict only ended in Aceh after a tsunami in 2004 struck it. This article analyses how the structural context of Aceh, with its various agents, has influenced Acehnese culture. Changes in the context have promoted a redefinition of community cultural identity and transformed social life. This research has found that structural changes have forced adaptations that have severed ties between generations and disturbed the passing of values. The severing of social bonds in society has been unavoidable, and restoring them has been difficult. This article recommends a need to redefine culture, taking an approach that is more open to the dynamics of power. The construction of values in society has involved diverse agents and, as such, Acehnese culture has not been free of the influences of various power interests.