ABSTRACT
Summary: The chapter defines ethnic or minority groups in cultural terms. A society that has more than one ethnic group may develop in a number of different ways. The ultimate outcome depends in large measure on the prevailing values adopted by the various cultural groups within society, especially the dominant group, while another factor is the relation between the core values of minority and majority groups.
The conceptual issues raised by cultural pluralism are also discussed. Two types of pluralism are distinguished, one of a separatist kind, which occurs at a communal level, and the second of a kind which takes place at the level of the individual. The latter type of pluralism can be encouraged in such a way that members of all ethnic groups are able to participate in economic and public life while still maintaining, developing and sharing their distinctive cultural traditions in other areas of life.
To develop cultural pluralism within individuals it is usually vital to maintain the ethnic language, which must be treated in a similar way to the language(s) of the dominant group(s), which all people share as a means of communication. We can distinguish between language-centred cultures, which decay on the loss of mother tongue, and those which can be maintained with the aid of other core values. Internalized cultural pluralism is only likely to be achieved if the state makes provision for the transmission of ethnic languages and cultures within the national education system, so that the culture of the home is maintained, all cultures can be shared, and the stability of society can be strengthened.
