Project 3 Abstract: To Be Identified As Belgian Means To Know Both Languages And Their Cultures
For this project, I investigated the relationship between language and national identity. I chose this because for my personal narrative, I expressed my frustration with the French-speaking Belgians (Walloons) who refuse to learn Flemish. In my opinion, part of being Belgian is being able to speak in both Flemish and French, and if the Walloons do not know the other language, I question whether it qualifies as being able to identify with this nationality.
I show this by using Suthanie Motha’s article Race, Empire, And English Language Teaching and Tanya Basu’s article Oy Vey: Yiddish Has A Dying Problem, which both illustrate the dying out of a language means the dying out of a cultural view. However, I extend this to show that the dying out of a language also means the loss of a national identity. If a national identity is not only multi-lingual but also multi-cultural, and one or both of these are in decline, then that means that so is the identity. In the Belgian context, because the Walloons do not know Flemish, the Belgian identity (in my opinion) is being transformed.
I show this by using Suthanie Motha’s article Race, Empire, And English Language Teaching and Tanya Basu’s article Oy Vey: Yiddish Has A Dying Problem, which both illustrate the dying out of a language means the dying out of a cultural view. However, I extend this to show that the dying out of a language also means the loss of a national identity. If a national identity is not only multi-lingual but also multi-cultural, and one or both of these are in decline, then that means that so is the identity. In the Belgian context, because the Walloons do not know Flemish, the Belgian identity (in my opinion) is being transformed.