Minorities within majorities
Do you see yourself, generally, as part of the majority, or part of a minority?
For me, I'm aware of being a minority sub group of a majority. I am a native English speaker, which puts me in the majority in my own country, and in a significant grouping internationally. But I am Australian, not from the USA, or even from the UK, which puts me in a minority context as far as my native language is concerned, and I am very aware of this most of the time, even within Australia.
What does this look like? At least half of the television programs on Australian TV are from the USA, followed by possibly an equal number of British and Australian programs. So, more often than not, characters or personalities on those programs speak with a different accent than my own. In terms of movies, we all know how dominant Hollywood is. In fact, you have to deliberately look for Australian movies at the cinema or other formats. In terms of literature, again there is a strong dominance of American stories, with classics dominated by British authors.
There are other contexts in which I am only sometimes aware of not being in the majority. As a white person, I am in the majority in my own country, and in the majority (to the best of my knowledge) in terms of other native speakers of English. And yet, globally, white people are not a majority. This usually becomes an experienced reality only when I travel - in fact, the only times I have had this experience are when I've travelled in Asia.
There are advantages, I've found, to being part of a minority in certain contexts - not power, or privilege, but knowledge and understanding. Because I have a minority accent within the English speaking world, I am better able to recognise and understand other English speaking accents. Because I have more experience in reading stories from cultures other than my own, I am better able to allow for some cultural differences in relating to people from other English speaking cultures, but also from other non-English speaking cultures.
It also makes me appreciate and value the times when I come across a story based in my own culture. Those books, movies, and TV programs are all the more cherished because they are not as easily available.
For me, I'm aware of being a minority sub group of a majority. I am a native English speaker, which puts me in the majority in my own country, and in a significant grouping internationally. But I am Australian, not from the USA, or even from the UK, which puts me in a minority context as far as my native language is concerned, and I am very aware of this most of the time, even within Australia.
What does this look like? At least half of the television programs on Australian TV are from the USA, followed by possibly an equal number of British and Australian programs. So, more often than not, characters or personalities on those programs speak with a different accent than my own. In terms of movies, we all know how dominant Hollywood is. In fact, you have to deliberately look for Australian movies at the cinema or other formats. In terms of literature, again there is a strong dominance of American stories, with classics dominated by British authors.
There are other contexts in which I am only sometimes aware of not being in the majority. As a white person, I am in the majority in my own country, and in the majority (to the best of my knowledge) in terms of other native speakers of English. And yet, globally, white people are not a majority. This usually becomes an experienced reality only when I travel - in fact, the only times I have had this experience are when I've travelled in Asia.
There are advantages, I've found, to being part of a minority in certain contexts - not power, or privilege, but knowledge and understanding. Because I have a minority accent within the English speaking world, I am better able to recognise and understand other English speaking accents. Because I have more experience in reading stories from cultures other than my own, I am better able to allow for some cultural differences in relating to people from other English speaking cultures, but also from other non-English speaking cultures.
It also makes me appreciate and value the times when I come across a story based in my own culture. Those books, movies, and TV programs are all the more cherished because they are not as easily available.
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