Differentialism, Convergence, Hybridization and Language

Language and globalization need to be looked at with multiple lens, so I hope this post provides some deep thinking.

In my class we have discussed the three dimensions of cultural difference that are in relation to globalization: 1) Differentialism, 2) Convergence, and 3) Mixing or Hybridization. Difrrerentialism looks at the differences among cultures and diversity. Convergence looks at one culture being superior and one dominating; like colonialism. Mixing or hybridization looks at the mixing of cultures and ideas. The first two ideas, differentialism and convergence, are modern ideas and mixing/hybridization are post-modern ideas. (Class Notes, 5/11/2015 & 5/13/15)

These ideas are emphasized by Pieterse in his book "Globalization and Culture: Global Melange". In chapter three he goes into depth with these concepts and describes McDonaldization in relation to idea #2, convergence. Pieterse says, "McDonaldization, according to the sociologist George Ritzer, is 'the process whereby the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world'"(51). This can be related to language in saying that language is "coming to dominate more and more", and it looks like that can be said for English.

Societies come with languages, so this idea of McDonaldization and convergence is related to homogenization of language. I would say that English has been homogenized through out many parts of the world and this has happened with colonialism, capitalism, westernization, and so on. The website "Vistawide: World Languages and Cultures shows statistics saying that Chinese has the largest number of native speakers in the world and English has the largest number of non-native speakers in the world (http://www.vistawide.com/languages/language_statistics.htm). With that being said it shows how it could be that English is dominating the world on an international level. I think convergence has deeply affected language and I would say that language has been homogenized because of it. The website also mentioned that there are 6912 languages in the world and 516 are "nearly extinct". With English becoming a dominant language, maybe this is the reason there are many endangered languages.

Many could say that this is a negative affect to globalization and that may or may not be true. There are negative aspects to it, but I like to look at it with a positive lens and say that this is where hybridization comes in.

The McDonaldization and convergence happened in the modern time period around 1840's to 1960's (Class Notes, 5/18/15). But now we are in the post-modern period which is 1960's to about now (Class Notes, 5/18/15). There are other shifts happening, but I would say we still have post modern aspects. With the post-modern period comes hybridization that I mentioned earlier (Class Notes, 5/11/15). Hybridization and mixing of different cultural elements brings on many other ideas with globalization.

Pieterse and our teacher have discussed four ideas with Hybridization. There is hybridity which is mixing of differences. Then there is post-hybridity which is looking at the similarities instead of differences with mixing. Pieterse mentions both of these in chapter four (65-94). Then there is neo-hybridity which our class sort of came up with. It is the idea that mixing looks at differences and similarities of cultures(Class Notes, 5/22/15). The fourth idea is anti-hybridity where there is not mixing and that it can be superficial where it appears to be on the top, but not really mixing on the bottom (Class Notes, 5/27/15). These all attribute to globalization and interconnections between people. They can be looked at in a positive or negative light, but I say that they can be positive when it comes to language. I think using neo-hybridity can be the lens to look through when going towards the future with culture, in general, and more specifically language. We can do this because we can take similarities and differences and still be mixed. With a world that has been globalizing for a long time (according to Pieterse and class discussions) we will continue to globalize and with that we need to do so in a proficient way.

By taking our differences into the mixing (globalized) world we can embrace our cultural and personal identities, but by taking our similarities into the mixing (globalized) world we can embrace our human similarities and global consciousness. This can be said for language as well. Knowing our native language is important for that personal identity and should not be forgotten or pushed aside, but knowing more than one language helps us move towards a brighter future of human connectedness.