Minority groups

The terms minority and  majority would seem to be mostly about numbers. A minority can be defined as less than half the population in a society. Therefore African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanic Americans can all be considered minorities in the United States. Realistically, however, minority cannot always be defined by numbers. Being in a minority often can have much more to do with one's standing in society. The black people of South Africa make up the overwhelming majority of the population.

The most common conception of a minority is of a group of people who are distinct in ethnic background, religion, language, or nationality. Such minorities are often visible in contrast to the rest of society. Asian Americans, for example, are perceived as a distinct group in contrast to the mass of white Americans. In India the Sikhs are visible in relation to the Hindu majority by dress, general appearance, and religious practice. Every nation with a sizable population has minority groups within it.

Whereas racial and ethnic characteristics most frequently serve to set minorities apart, there are other kinds of minorities as well, including religious, sexual, economic, and political. In Egypt the Coptic Christians are a minority. They are distinguished by their generally low economic and social status in an overwhelmingly Muslim nation. In many nations openly homosexual people are in the minority and are shunned. Throughout history all societies have had economic minorities.

Political minorities are often called factions or interest groups. Any group that organizes to achieve political aims may be considered a minority. Sometimes a minority may gain control of a government and establish itself as the majority by subordinating the rest of society. This happened in 1917 in Russia. A faction of the Communist party, the Bolsheviks, seized control of the revolution and established the Soviet Union. In many countries such minorities seek only limited political and economic aims, not control of the government. To achieve their aims they vote for representation in government, and they form organizations to put pressure on elected officials.

(From: Britannica Student Encyclopedia 2004 Children's Edition. Copyright © 1994-2003

Exercises:

1. Translate the words in bold.
2. Explain the underlined grammar phenomena.
3. Give the summary of the text.
4. What do you think about various types of minorities in our republic?
5. How should people treat national minorities? Sexual minorities?
6. What is your attitude to so called right defenders?

2. Project\Writing:

• Wright an article on the matter and send it to the magazine “A different View”
• Make up a report and a presentation on your article and deliver it.
• Try to discuss the problems of human rights, using the E-mail discussion list.

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