THE LEGACY OF

COLONIALISM

ENGLISH AND GLOBALIZATION

Azka, Cello, Haikal, Ridhwan
PREFACE
To gain a full picture of the development of Global Englishes, then the
historical facts outlined in the previous presentation cannot be divorced
from the social and political contexts in which events took place. Nor can
these ‘facts’ be taken at face value, but instead need to be problematised.
For colonialism was neither a natural nor a neutral process, but one
involving large-scale coercion and displacement, and one that inevitable
impacted in major ways on the lives of those whose lands were colonised.
In this presentation we will focus more on the devaluing of local language
and culture and the loss of ethnic identity.
 THE DEVALUING OF LOCAL
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
One major legacy of the two diasporas of English is
the assumption of the inferiority of the indigenous
language, culture, and even character of the
colonized, alongside the assumption of the
superiority of the colonizers and their language.
During the colonial period, this took an extreme
form, and it is not uncommon in the literature to
find references to the native populations of
colonized lands as ‘savages’, to their languages as
‘primitive’, and to their cultures as ‘barbaric’.
The legacy of colonialism has all but bring many
cultures to its end. For example, Celtic, who here
even knows Celtic. Colonialism have entirely
stopped the culture of Celtic to all but fade away
making decades of oral records disappeared just
because of merely being “barbaric” in their eyes.
They too didn’t stop there many other cultures
suffer from this too. Many African culture
disappeared even those of native north American
Aztec tradition almost disappeared. This till now
have caused us to almost lose our cultures had it
not been the contributions of many to yet again
rediscovered the lost culture of the past.
They even went as far as desecrating long lost or
even sacred place rich with culture such as tomb or
sacred worshipping temple of other culture they
manage to get their hands on stealing them and
making it their own thinking it was measly for
sports and fun. If only they knew what the gravity
of their actions have caused us. Losing our culture
perhaps even a hint of early human culture that can
tell us of what it was like in the past.
 THE LOSS OF
ETHNIC IDENTITY
We are currently experiencing an identity crisis in
our society, where indigenous cultures and
languages that have been used since long ago or
can be said to be heritage languages are slowly
disappearing. This is due to urbanization,
globalization, and the younger generation who are
currently less interested in or connected to their
cultural heritage. The loss of ethnic identity can
result in the loss of cultural diversity and traditional
heritage. It can also reduce understanding of the
history, language, and values of a particular ethnic
group.
In addition, the impact can be detrimental to social
aspects, personal identity, and sense of
personhood for individuals and communities. An
example of the loss of ethnic identity is the 175
indigenous languages still spoken in the United
States today, but only 20 are passed down to
children. It can be argued that human culture is not
interchangeable; the loss of even one language and
the cultural knowledge it encodes would diminish
us all. However, with fewer languages being
taught, many tribes are actively restoring lost
languages.
They are making efforts to keep languages and
cultures alive. So, the benefits of ethnic identity are
many: cultural diversity, historical heritage, respect
for differences, maintenance of traditions, and
more. On the other hand languange immersion
programs such as the California Master-Apprentice
Language Learning program, have successfully
revived many hawaiians lack of native speakers.

In conclusion, the loss of ethnic identity is a

complex process caused by various factors, such as
cultural assimilation, societal pressures, and
globalization. While it can have negative
implications, it's also part of the broader evolution
of cultures and identities in an interconnected
world.
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!
Don't hesitate to ask any questions!