Page 168 - Culture Technology Communication

Cultural Attitudes toward
Technology and Communication:
A Study in the “Multi-cultural”
Environment of Switzerland

Lucienne Rey

Introduction: A Pragmatic Definition of “Culture” and
Cultural/Political Lines in Switzerland

Given the title of the CATaC meeting, we could well ask ourselves
what we actually understand by the word “culture.” As we know, there
are several hundred recognized definitions within ethnology alone, so
our discussion could be endless. In this paper, however, I should like to
use the term in a pragmatic sense, and equate “culture” with the idea
of “speaking the same language.” This definition is practical in that it
not only allows to cite major differences—for instance between the En-
glish and French nations—but also covers more subtle variations such
as vocabulary and accent or even finer differences such as those be-
tween the cultures of the upper classes and the ghettos. The central
role played by language within a specific culture can also be observed
in terms of attempts by totalitarian regimes to undermine a cultural
minority by forbidding the use of its language. Current examples are
the Berber language in Algeria and Kurdish in Turkey.
If we base our understanding of culture on language, then
Switzerland offers ideal conditions for cultural comparisons, because
it is, to a certain extent, a kind of “language laboratory.” The Swiss
State is divided into three major linguistic regions, whose inhabi-
tants speak German, French, or Italian, respectively, plus an addi-
tional language community—that of Rhaeto-Romansch—which is
spoken by a small minority.
And these empirically detectable external differences within the
Swiss population—meaning the various language groups to which

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