Cross-cultural Impact on Food and Languages: A Study

Author: T.Sai Chandra Mouli (Osmania University)
Speaker: T.Sai Chandra Mouli
Topic: Anthropological Linguistics
The (SCOPUS / ISI) SOAS GLOCAL AFALA 2021 General Session

Abstract

Food sustains life of man across cultures and continents. It is quite natural to love one’s own food and savour its richness in the company of near and dear. Not all share the same system or style.Food one consumes determines his birth, up-bringing and socio-cultural aspects that impacts one’s faith too.Location defines one’s food culture. In globalised context cross-cultural exchanges through all possible avenues have minimized distances and differences. ‘Fusion’ matters most in bringing people, societies and nations closer besides cultures. Fusion music, blended learning in addition to fusion cuisine have forged powerful bonds among varied communities. Migration enabled people carry their heritage in every possible way to the place they preferred to settle. Contact between cultures and languages invariably influence their life styles. Apart from enriching vocabulary of languages, shared food culture builds strong network of understanding, tolerance and coexistence among diverse communities across continents. Afro-Asian contact dates back to the time European quest to find sea route to the Orient started after the fall of Constantinople. Asian impact on African and subsequently on European societies too assumes significance, when one begins thinking about food culture that made people come closer emotionally. This presentation seeks to focus on impact of Indian food culture on African cuisine. Subsequently when those who settled in African countries like Kenya migrated to Europe, they carried their rich fusion food culture with them, enriching the languages and social practices, wherever they chose to settle ultimately. Thus, fusion of Afro-Asian cuisines gained prominence through linguistic and cultural contacts.

Keywords: Food, Culture, Vocabulary, Flavour, Co-existence, Fusion.