Cultural Maintenance in the Face of Language Shift- Young Sindhi Muslims in Karachi, Pakistan

The Sindhi language, a descendent of a pre-Vedic Prakit language is the most widely spoken language in South Asia. Sindhi speech community comprises both Muslims, and Hindus which have distinct cultural and religious practices, yet they are socially connected because of the geographical link with their land. However, due to the partitioning of the Indian sub-continent, many Sindhi Hindus migrated to India, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and many other countries. There has not only been an external diaspora but within Pakistan, there has also been an internal diaspora of younger Sindhi Muslims who have moved to cities like Karachi, Hyderabad, and Sukkur to pursue tertiary education. These young speakers have acquired and learned the dominant languages Urdu and English as their second and third languages while shifting away from their native Sindhi language. This study investigates the identity markers which have enabled them to retain their Sindhiness[1]. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 male and female young Sindhis and shadow observation of three participants in Karachi. The analysis shows that young Sindhi speakers have a high sense of group solidarity with their community and retain the use of culturally loaded identity markers which include naming patterns, cuisine, dressing, music, customs, rituals, social values, and networking. According to Fishman (1996), there is a deep relationship between language and culture. Despite a shift away from the habitual use of the Sindhi language these respondents have maintained their cultural values and norms. Keywords: cultural maintenance, language shift, Sindhi community, Karachi

Development and Validation of the Revised Multicultural Ideology Scale in Germany and Luxembourg

A revised version of the Multicultural Ideology Scale (rMCI) is currently being developed to measure endorsement of multiculturalism in different cultural contexts. This study, which is part of a wider cross-cultural research project, presents the first assessment of the rMCI scale in the German language. The measure aims to cover several attitudinal dimensions of multiculturalism, relevant to the integration of different ethnocultural groups: Cultural Maintenance, Equity/Inclusion, Social interaction, Essentialistic Boundaries, Extent of Differences, and Consequences of Diversity. Two independent datasets were acquired from Germany ( N = 382) and Luxembourg ( N = 148) to estimate the factor structure of the rMCI using different confirmatory factor analysis techniques. The findings suggest that a four-factor solution, including Cultural Maintenance, Equity/Inclusion, Social interaction, and Consequences of Diversity, was the best fit for the data. Most of these subscales demonstrated adequate psychometric properties (internal consistency, convergent, and discriminant validity). The four-factor model of the rMCI was partially invariant across the two ethnic groups and full measurement invariance was established across gender.

How Refugees’ Stereotypes Toward Host Society Members Predict Acculturation Orientations: The Role of Perceived Discrimination

Refugee migration leads to increased diversity in host societies and refugees have to face many stereotyped attitudes in the host society. However, there has been little research on minority group stereotypes toward host society members and how these stereotypes relate to the acculturation-relevant attitudes of refugees in their first phase of acculturation. This study surveyed 783 refugees in Germany who had migrated mostly in the so-called “refugee crisis” between 2015 and 2016. At the time of the survey in 2018, they had been in Germany for an average of 27 months (SD = 15 months). These refugees reported their positive and negative sociability stereotypes toward German host society members, acculturation-related orientations, shared reality values, and perceived discrimination. Results showed that positive sociability stereotypes toward host society members were associated with increased cultural adoption and shared reality. In contrast, negative sociability stereotypes negatively affected cultural adoption and shared reality. However, stereotypes showed no association at all with cultural maintenance. Interactions between sociability stereotypes and discrimination experiences highlighted a disillusion effect, in the sense that discrimination reduced the motivation to adopt the host culture more strongly among refugees who held strongly positive sociability stereotypes. The study extends knowledge on the significance of minority group stereotypes in the context of refugee migration and reveals the maladaptive consequences of discriminatory behavior against refugees by host society members.

A Taxonomy of Intergroup Ideologies

This paper provides an analysis and a general taxonomy of intergroup ideologies, and presents a list of their indicators. This taxonomy is related to the eight ideologies that were originally outlined in the early works. These ideologies were created on the basis of three dimensions of intercultural relations: cultural maintenance; social participation; and relative power. The taxonomy of intergroup ideologies proposed here follows these three dimensions, which are related to two issues: (i) attitudes towards cultural diversity; and (ii) forms of inclusion of ethnocultural groups in the larger society (including the issue about the hierarchy among groups). It is possible to assess how these issues are solved using four indicators: (1) celebrating differences, (2) status of groups, (3) opportunity for social interaction, and (4) way to ensure the unity of society. Orientations to these indicators make it possible to understand what kind of intergroup ideologies covering intercultural attitudes and intergroup relations exist in countries and describe them.

SYRIAN ATTITUDE TOWARD THE PRESERVATION AND MAINTENANCE OF SYRIAN DIALECT AND CULTURE IN JERASH, JORDAN

The study of dialectical variation and cultural maintenance may help in protecting and promoting norms and values in a given community. The inconsistent background of Syrian from Jordanian culture enables a contingency approach for the influence of dialectical variances in cultural activities. The paper aims at examining the role of dialectical variation towards strengthening the relationship between Syrian-Jordanian communities in Jerash city. The paper examines the elements that determine dialect choice in the vicinity. The study investigates dialect and cultural maintenance among Syrian-Jordanian to allow comparison of the potential influences of several parameters on their use on different dialects. The study used the data collected from various participants through interviews and questionnaires to arrive at the findings of the study. Both local and foreign dialects receive significant recognition and functions such as social domains, social activities, social gatherings, religious practices, cultural heritage, to mention a few, in the city. The findings show that dialect maintenance is strictly secure by Syrians in all aspects, except in exceptional cases like feasts, condolences, weddings, buying and selling where they opt for local dialect other than Syrian dialect. It has been observed that socio-demographic factors impact the flow of Syrian dialect and cultural maintenance in Jerash city. The findings discovered that gender contributed to dialect choice and shifting. What appears to be achieved and documented through the current study is that Syrian males are mostly lean to the usage of Jordanian dialect than the Syrian females because the latter hardly utilize Jordanian dialect even while the necessity arose to a large extent. The regular shift of dialect from Syrian to Jordanian or vice versa which equally constitutes the factors responsible for dialect shift is heavily supported by friendship, marriage, religion, relatives, migrations, and good rapport between Syrians and Jordanians.

Physical form sustainability of Huta Siallagan Samosir architecture in supporting Toba Caldera Geopark cultural tourism

Toba Lake is one of Indonesia's most priority destinations included in the UNESCO Global Geopark. This makes it increasingly famous, necessitating its continued maintenance and preservation. Tourism is one of the economic sources of revenue in Indonesia. Since 2019, the government is determined to increase revenue from the tourism sector, with a target of 20 million tourists. The development of priority destinations influences environmental and socio-cultural maintenance and provides economic opportunities to local tourism village communities. The Huta Siallagan area of Samosir Regency is a village known for the beginning of the law enforcement civilization in Samosir. This tourist village has a stone trials site aged about 500 years, as one of the cultural attractions. The Stone Trial has been maintained for hundreds of years, becoming an interest to tourists, and one of the historical sites included in the Toba Caldera Geopark's geo- site. As a result, its sustainability needs to be maintained. The Samosir Regency Government is implementing the sustainability of tourism. This study showed a a survival aspect from an architectural viewpoint, reflected in the form of Huta Siallagan. The study aimed to determine the survival value in Huta Siallagan. A case study was used to explore architecture, tradition and life due to society's cultural aspects.

“As a Native Person,Why Should I Adapt?”:

Multiculturalism is a controversial concept and a debated topic. To develop scientific analysis and inform political discussions, it is important to study how lay people evaluate it. Previous research has mostly regarded attitudes towards multiculturalism as unidimensional. This research often relies on the operationalisation offered by the Multicultural Ideology Scale (MIS), in which minorities’ cultural maintenance and acceptance of cultural diversity are central. In this multimethod study, we take a critical perspective on such operationalisation and examine majority of Finns’ responses to MIS in a survey and in focus group discussions. By approaching evaluation processes as social interaction, we challenge the unidimensionality assumption of attitudes towards multiculturalism. We show how cultural essentialism and nationalism are used in arguing for and against multiculturalism, and in negotiating its boundaries so that the majority can keep its dominant position. This conflicts with recognition and equality that are widely considered as cornerstones of multiculturalism.