Report: Language, Traditions Central to National Identity
2024-02-23
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1Luciana de Oliveira considers herself transnational.
2That means she is more than one nationality. de Oliveira grew up in Brazil, but she moved to the United States for her studies.
3She became a U.S. citizen in 2017.
4de Oliveira has some strong feelings about national identity.
5She believes speaking a country's majority language is a very important part of one's national identity. de Oliveira speaks both Portuguese and English.
6A new study found that most people around the world share those feelings about language and national identity.
7The Pew Research Center carried out the study and released the results last month.
8Pew's study centered on people's ideas about national identity.
9It included answers from people in more than 20 countries.
10Pew researchers asked study participants about four aspects, or parts, of national identity: language, traditions, birthplace and religion.
11They found that language is by far the most valued aspect of national identity.
12In fact, a median of 91 percent of people across 21 countries said that speaking a country's most common language is "important for being considered a true national."
13Traditions and customs are also key to national identity, the study found.
14Beliefs about the other two aspects - birthplace and religion - were more divided.
15VOA Learning English spoke with several people who live in countries that were included in the study.
16Among them is Jorge Catalan.
17He has lived in Mexico most of his life.
18The Pew study found that 93 percent of respondents from Mexico said that speaking the country's main language - Spanish - is important to national identity.
19Catalan said he agrees that speaking Spanish is very important.
20But he added that it is regrettable.
21He said, "Mexico is a place where we have around 68 spoken languages besides Spanish."
22He noted that the government has pushed Spanish as the main language throughout history and has turned it into a "must-have tool."
23Agatha Janzen was born and raised in Canada.
24Pew researchers found that more than 80 percent of Canadians say that speaking the country's language is important to national identity.
25In Canada, both French and English are official languages.
26Janzen said that "speaking one of the official languages is important to being Canadian for practical reasons."
27Traditions and customs are also a central aspect of national identity, the study found.
28Results showed 81 percent of people believe sharing their country's customs and traditions is somewhat or very important to national identity.
29The Pew study found that 67 percent of Brazilians consider practicing customs and traditions an important part of national identity.
30That is the fourth lowest percentage of all the countries included in the study.
31But customs and traditions are important to de Oliveira.
32To feel closer to her Brazilian identity, she said she wears jewelry and shoes from Brazil and follows and supports Brazilian soccer.
33Mexico is tied with the highest percentage of respondents who answered that customs and traditions are an important aspect of national identity.
34But for Catalan, they are not so important.
35He noted that Mexican traditions have changed over time.
36He added that he does not take part in many Mexican traditions, "but I still feel proudly Mexican."
37Beliefs about the two other aspects of national identity - birthplace and religion - were more mixed.
38A median of 58 percent of respondents from 23 countries said that being born in a country is important to national identity.
39An even lower number of respondents - 42 percent - said that being a member of the country's main religion is important to national identity.
40Respondents from Mexico and Indonesia had the strongest feelings about the importance of birthplace as central to national identity, at 91 percent.
41Calatan, who was born and lived most of his life in Mexico, agrees somewhat.
42"If you are born outside of Mexico and never lived in it, it would be difficult to get a real sense of what being Mexican means."
43But Janzen, the Canadian, said, "Being born in Canada has nothing to do with being Canadian."
44For her, Canada is a melting pot and offers refuge to those who need it.
45These ideas match the results of the study.
46Countries where immigrants make up a smaller share of the population tend to see birthplace as a more important aspect of national identity.
47Countries with a greater share of immigrants are more willing to accept those born outside of the country as true nationals.
48Less than half of people in most of the countries in the study do not feel religion is important to national identity.
49All of those who spoke with Learning English said they agreed that religion is not an important part of national identity.
50Christine Huang is a research associate at the Pew Research Center.
51She is one of the writers of the study.
52She told Learning English, "This question of belonging in a country is related to other work we have done to measure how connected people feel to each other."
53Huang added, "When looking at how people relate to others in their community, in their country, and all over the world, people most frequently report feeling close to others in their country."
54I'm Gena Bennett.
1Luciana de Oliveira considers herself transnational. That means she is more than one nationality. de Oliveira grew up in Brazil, but she moved to the United States for her studies. She became a U.S. citizen in 2017. 2de Oliveira has some strong feelings about national identity. She believes speaking a country's majority language is a very important part of one's national identity. de Oliveira speaks both Portuguese and English. 3A new study found that most people around the world share those feelings about language and national identity. 4The Pew Research Center carried out the study and released the results last month. Pew's study centered on people's ideas about national identity. It included answers from people in more than 20 countries. 5Pew researchers asked study participants about four aspects, or parts, of national identity: language, traditions, birthplace and religion. They found that language is by far the most valued aspect of national identity. 6In fact, a median of 91 percent of people across 21 countries said that speaking a country's most common language is "important for being considered a true national." 7Traditions and customs are also key to national identity, the study found. Beliefs about the other two aspects - birthplace and religion - were more divided. 8VOA Learning English spoke with several people who live in countries that were included in the study. Among them is Jorge Catalan. He has lived in Mexico most of his life. The Pew study found that 93 percent of respondents from Mexico said that speaking the country's main language - Spanish - is important to national identity. 9Catalan said he agrees that speaking Spanish is very important. But he added that it is regrettable. 10He said, "Mexico is a place where we have around 68 spoken languages besides Spanish." He noted that the government has pushed Spanish as the main language throughout history and has turned it into a "must-have tool." 11Agatha Janzen was born and raised in Canada. Pew researchers found that more than 80 percent of Canadians say that speaking the country's language is important to national identity. In Canada, both French and English are official languages. 12Janzen said that "speaking one of the official languages is important to being Canadian for practical reasons." 13Traditions and customs are also a central aspect of national identity, the study found. Results showed 81 percent of people believe sharing their country's customs and traditions is somewhat or very important to national identity. 14The Pew study found that 67 percent of Brazilians consider practicing customs and traditions an important part of national identity. That is the fourth lowest percentage of all the countries included in the study. 15But customs and traditions are important to de Oliveira. To feel closer to her Brazilian identity, she said she wears jewelry and shoes from Brazil and follows and supports Brazilian soccer. 16Mexico is tied with the highest percentage of respondents who answered that customs and traditions are an important aspect of national identity. But for Catalan, they are not so important. He noted that Mexican traditions have changed over time. He added that he does not take part in many Mexican traditions, "but I still feel proudly Mexican." 17Beliefs about the two other aspects of national identity - birthplace and religion - were more mixed. A median of 58 percent of respondents from 23 countries said that being born in a country is important to national identity. An even lower number of respondents - 42 percent - said that being a member of the country's main religion is important to national identity. 18Respondents from Mexico and Indonesia had the strongest feelings about the importance of birthplace as central to national identity, at 91 percent. 19Calatan, who was born and lived most of his life in Mexico, agrees somewhat. "If you are born outside of Mexico and never lived in it, it would be difficult to get a real sense of what being Mexican means." 20But Janzen, the Canadian, said, "Being born in Canada has nothing to do with being Canadian." For her, Canada is a melting pot and offers refuge to those who need it. 21These ideas match the results of the study. Countries where immigrants make up a smaller share of the population tend to see birthplace as a more important aspect of national identity. Countries with a greater share of immigrants are more willing to accept those born outside of the country as true nationals. 22Less than half of people in most of the countries in the study do not feel religion is important to national identity. All of those who spoke with Learning English said they agreed that religion is not an important part of national identity. 23Christine Huang is a research associate at the Pew Research Center. She is one of the writers of the study. She told Learning English, "This question of belonging in a country is related to other work we have done to measure how connected people feel to each other." 24Huang added, "When looking at how people relate to others in their community, in their country, and all over the world, people most frequently report feeling close to others in their country." 25I'm Gena Bennett. 26Gena Bennett wrote this story for Learning English with reporting from Pew Research Center. 27_______________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29respondent-n. a person who answers questions 30customs-n. the traditionally accepted behaviors of a culture 31key-adj. most important 32participants-adj. people who take part in an activity 33practical-adj. real situations and events, not just theory or ideas 34proud-adj. feeling pleasure or satisfaction about something 35melting pot-figure of speech. a place where different people, beliefs, and cultures melt into one