Ethnogenesis

Ethnogenesis (from Greek ethnos ἔθνος, 'group of people, nation', and genesis γένεσις, 'beginning, coming into being'; plural ethnogeneses) is 'the formation and development of an ethnic group.' This can originate through a process of self-identification as well as come about as the result of outside identification. Ethnogenesis (from Greek ethnos ἔθνος, 'group of people, nation', and genesis γένεσις, 'beginning, coming into being'; plural ethnogeneses) is 'the formation and development of an ethnic group.' This can originate through a process of self-identification as well as come about as the result of outside identification. The term is a mid-20th century neologism, and refers to the observable phenomenon of emergence of new social groups that are identified as having a cohesive identity, i.e. an 'ethnic group' in anthropological terms. Relevant sciences do not only observe this phenomenon but search for explanation of its causes. The term ethnogeny is also used as a variant of ethnogenesis. Ethnogenesis can occur passively, in the accumulation of markers of group identity forged through interaction with the physical environment, cultural and religious divisions between sections of a society, migrations and other processes, for which ethnic subdivision is an unintended outcome. It can occur actively, as persons deliberately and directly 'engineer' separate identities to attempt to solve a political problem – the preservation or imposition of certain cultural values, power relations, etc. Since the late eighteenth century, such attempts have often been related to language revival or creation of a new language, in what eventually becomes a 'national literature'. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, societies challenged by the obsolescence of those narratives which previously afforded them coherence have fallen back on ethnic or racial narratives as a means of maintaining or reaffirming their collective identity, or polis. Ethnogenesis can be promoted to include or exclude any ethnic minority living within a certain country. In France, the integrationalist policy of the French Republic was inclusive; their laws stated all persons born or legally residing in France proper (including overseas departments and territories) were 'Frenchmen'. The law did not make any ethnic distinctions nor racial categories in between the 'French' people. All people in France were Frenchmen and became citizens of the French Republic as far the country's law was concerned. Language has been a critical asset for authenticating ethnic identities. The process of reviving an antique ethnic identity often poses an immediate language challenge, as obsolescent languages lack expressions for contemporary experiences. In Europe in the 1990s, examples of proponents of ethnic revivals were from Celtic fringes in Wales and nationalists in the Basque Country. Activists' attempts since the 1970s to revive the Occitan language in Southern France are a similar example. Similarly, in the 19th century, the Fennoman Grand Duchy of Finland aimed to raise the Finnish language from peasant-status to the position of an official national language, which had been only Swedish for some time. The Fennoman also founded the Finnish Party to pursue their nationalist aims. The publication in 1835 of the Finnish national epic, Kalevala, was a founding stone of Finnish nationalism and ethnogenesis. Finnish was recognized as the official language of Finland only in 1892. Fennomans were opposed by the Svecomans, headed by Axel Olof Freudenthal (1836–1911). He supported continuing the use of Swedish as the official language; it had been a minority language used by the educated elite in government and administration. In line with contemporary scientific racism theories, Freudenthal believed that Finland had two 'races', one speaking Swedish and the other Finnish. The Svecomans claimed that the Swedish 'Germanic race' was superior to the majority Finnish people. In Ireland, revival of the Irish language was part of the reclaiming of Irish identity in the republic. Language has been an important and divisive political force in Belgium between the Dutch and Germanic Flemings and Franco-Celtic Walloons since the kingdom was created in 1831. Switzerland is divided among Alemannic German-speaking or Deutschschweizer against the French-speaking Romands or Arpitians, and the Italian/Lombard and Romansh-speaking minorities in the south and east. In Italy, there were ethnological and linguistic differences between regional groups, from the Lombardians of the North to the Sicilians of the south. Mountainous terrain had allowed the development of relatively isolated communities and numerous dialects and languages before unification in the 19th century.