Defining and Measuring Diversity
- Imagine walking through a city where you hear multiple languages, smell foods from around the world, and see people celebrating different traditions.
- This is cultural diversity in action - a vibrant tapestry of human expression.
What is Culture?
Definition
Culture
A system of shared meanings and values used by people who belong to the same community, group or nation to help them interpret and make sense of the world
- These systems of meanings include visible traits like language, religion, customs, tradition or food, as well as hidden ways of being in the world such as ideas about place and time, concepts about what is valid and relevant (or invalid and irrelevant), strategies on how to approach and solve problems or conflicts, etc.
- Culture gives us a sense of “who we are” and “where we belong”. It gives us a sense of our own identity and how we identify with others.
- Culture is a process rather than a thing, and it is constantly shifting and changing rather than fixed.
Cultural Traits: The Building Blocks of Diversity
Language
- Language is a primary cultural trait that shapes how people communicate and express their identities.
- It also serves as a repository of history, values, and worldviews.
- Finally, it allows us to express human imagination as well as predictions and concerns about the future - a key difference between humans and other animals.
Language diversity is often measured by the number of languages spoken in a region or the prevalence of bilingualism and multilingualism.
Example- In most of the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and South-East Asia official language is a mother tongue to less than 50% of a given society.
- There are countries officially bilingual (e.g. Belarus, Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, The Philippines).
- It is estimated that globally there are over 6,000 spoken languages. However, approximately 40% of people speak one of the eight major languages: Mandarin, Spanish, English, Hindi, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, and Japanese.
Religion
- Religion influences belief systems, values, and moral codes.
- It can also shape architecture, art, and social norms.
- Finally, it is a source of different rituals, traditions, holidays or cuisine.
- There are five major religions in the world: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and traditional Chinese religions (including Taoism).
- Christianity and Islam are truly global followed by 31% and 24% respectively.
- Judaism plays important role due to the Jewish diasporas.
- Cultural diversity is usually associated with Western societies reshaped by intense migration processes.
- Whereas, countries like Brazil, Nigeria or India are highly diverse internally due to their size, history, and complex ethnic structure.
