Practical Work No.

8: The effects of Globalization

Name: Carolina Petryszyn

ID: 27.822.780

Date: June 14th, 2019

Mark:

OBJECTIVES
 To analyze the cultural effects of Globalization

ACTIVITY
Write an essay explaining to what extent globalization threatens cultural identity. Use the shared
material and your own knowledge to support your answer.

Word count: 400-600 w

IMPORTANT!
-Marks will be deducted for typos, spelling, punctuation, grammar and language mistakes.

Globalisation as an opportunity for Spanish- speaking culture

It is said that globalisation threatens cultural identity, because it can be seen as a dynamic
process in which the social structure of modernity is spread all over the world, normally
destroying pre-existent cultures and local self-determination in the process. However, from my
personal experience I can say that, in the case of Latin American countries, globalisation
appears as an opportunity to enhance the use of Spanish and promote Spanish-speaking
culture given the easier flow of cultural goods and greater intercultural understanding that the
process brings.

Throughout history, humankind has experienced the rise and fall of international languages,
from Greek to Latin to English. In the globalisation, era I believe the time has come for English
to start its own decline path, and to be, in turn, superseded by Spanish. Technology and
globalisation have made it possible for Spanish to spread over the international community and
gain popularity, especially in Europe.

Firstly, I strongly believe in the soft power exerted by media content through the internet which
allows Spanish-speaking artists to reach even the most remote places on Earth. It is common
knowledge that Latin people have a swing and rhythm that result appealing to the most
conservative countries; you just need to turn on your radio wherever you are. Be it Greece or
England, the most popular stations feature numerous Spanish songs; one particular example
of the level of interest is the hit “Despacito”, by Puerto Rican Luis Fonzi which was on Billboard
charts for 84 weeks –56 weeks at peak position. Another example is the Spanish TV series
“Money Heist”, which Netflix’s affirmed has become the most popular non-English speaking
series in the history of the platform; this success was only preceded by other Spanish
screenings like “Velvet” and “The Invisible Guest”.

Furthermore, during the last decade, migrations changed 180-degree, traditional receptive
countries like most Latin American ones started to send fluxes of immigrants to Europe due to
the socio-economic crisis experienced at home. For instance, in Germany there are almost
40,000 Brazilians and 14,000 Mexicans, while in the United Kingdom the figures go up to more
than 50,000 Brazilians; almost 26,000 Colombians; and 10,000 Argentinians. This
transformation of the migration schemes goes hand in hand with the proliferation of Spanish in
Europe, since people tend to replicate its customs –including music, books and media
contents– in their hosting cities. In addition, we shouldn’t forget the intra-EU migration, namely,
from Spain to more financially stable and successful countries, with the same effect recently
mentioned.

Last but not least, globalisation has to do with exchanges through the means of
communication. In this sense, I must say that I have experienced first-hand the struggle of
Spanish-speaking countries for preserving their language within the international organisms,
be it the United Nations or the World Trade Organisation. In this respect, even though the
informal meetings are conducted in English, the formal hearings, as well as the submission are
always made in Spanish, and each organisation has more and more Spanish-speaking staff
every year.

On balance, it is my own personal view that the extent to which globalisation might threaten
cultural identity is very low in the case of Spanish-speaking countries. English is gradually
superseded by Spanish and americanization by the rising of Spanish culture.

Consulted sources:

Class printed material: “UNIT XIII: The Impact of Globalization”.

https://www.billboard.com/music/luis-fonsi/chart-history/latin-songs/song/1010807

https://www.lavanguardia.com/series/20180417/442634930315/la-casa-de-papel-netflix-serie-
mas-vista.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migration_from_Latin_America_to_Europe