Negotiated Identities: Nepali Bhutanese in West Michigan

Presentation Type

Poster/Portfolio

Presenter Major(s)

English

Mentor Information

Kathryn Remlinger, remlingk@gvsu.edu

Department

English

Location

Kirkhof Center KC66

Start Date

13-4-2011 2:00 PM

End Date

13-4-2011 3:00 PM

Keywords

Culture, U.S. Diversity

Abstract

The language practices of one small community of ethnic Nepali-Bhutanese who were revoked citizenship in Bhutan, expelled into refugee camps in Nepal for nearly twenty years, and who now reside in Grand Haven, Michigan were of interest here. We examined the linguistic means by which Nepali-Bhutanese negotiate American English speaking culture while simultaneously retaining their Nepali-Bhutanese languages and culture. Data included recorded ethnographic interviews, participant observation, and written texts such as email, Facebook wall posts, and essays, and were organized on axes of grammatical indicators of identity, language loss, language perception and cultural identity formation through language. A potential benefit of this study is to aid ESL (English as a Second Language) tutors and teachers, social workers and the wider community of West Michigan in better serving, assimilating and welcoming this growing population.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 13th, 2:00 PM Apr 13th, 3:00 PM

Negotiated Identities: Nepali Bhutanese in West Michigan

Kirkhof Center KC66

The language practices of one small community of ethnic Nepali-Bhutanese who were revoked citizenship in Bhutan, expelled into refugee camps in Nepal for nearly twenty years, and who now reside in Grand Haven, Michigan were of interest here. We examined the linguistic means by which Nepali-Bhutanese negotiate American English speaking culture while simultaneously retaining their Nepali-Bhutanese languages and culture. Data included recorded ethnographic interviews, participant observation, and written texts such as email, Facebook wall posts, and essays, and were organized on axes of grammatical indicators of identity, language loss, language perception and cultural identity formation through language. A potential benefit of this study is to aid ESL (English as a Second Language) tutors and teachers, social workers and the wider community of West Michigan in better serving, assimilating and welcoming this growing population.