The social and symbolic aspects of languages in the narratives of young (prospective) migrants

Abstract

When talking about language in the context of research regarding children and migration, the focus tends to be on proficiency in the receiving country's language as an indicator of successful integration and/or for its role in educational achievement. This article explores the social and symbolic aspects of language in the narratives of young Ghanaian migrants to Italy at several levels: that of global hierarchies of power as expressed through the prestige offered by different languages; that of the expectations for linguistic assimilation and linguistic maintenance which centre around migrant children; and that of young people's challenging of adult rules through the instrumental use of different languages.

Parlare di lingua nel contesto della ricerca su ragazzi e immigrazione significa generalmente focalizzare la discussion sulla padronanza della lingua del paese ricevente, spesso come indice di integrazione e/o in relazione al successo scolastico. Questo articolo si propone di esplorare gli aspetti sociali e simbolici della lingua nelle narrative di giovani migrant Ghanesi in Italia a vari livelli: quello delle gerarchie globali di potere espresse attraverso il prestigio offerto dalle varie lingue; quello delle aspettative di assimilazione linguistica e di mantenimento della lingua di cui i giovani migrant sono al centroe quello dell'uso strumentale delle diverse lingue da parte dei ragazzi, al fine di sfidare alcune delle regole imposte dagli adulti.

Keywords:

• migrant children
• intercultural communication
• education
• inclusion
• adaptation
• Italy

Notes on contributor

Giovanna Fassetta has a Masters in Education (Applied Linguistics) and a Doctorate in Sociology. She has taught for over 20 years in Italy, Eritrea and the UK. Since being awarded her PhD in 2012, she has been a researcher at the University of Strathclyde. She is a member of Glasgow Refugee and Migration Network (GRAMNet) and part of the Diverse Teachers for Diverse Learners (DTDL) international research network. She is the current chair of the charity Scottish Detainee Visitors (SDV), who regularly visit Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre to offer emotional and practical support to people in detention.

Notes

1. As defined by Article 1 of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, in this article the word ‘children’ will be applied to refer to individuals under the age of 18 years. The terms ‘young people’ and ‘young participants’ will be used as synonymous of children.

2. OECD refers to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which has 34 member countries. They include many of the world's most advanced countries but also emerging countries like Mexico, Chile and Turkey. See http://www.oecd.org/about/membersandpartners/ (Accessed 25 February 2013).

3. These tests are aimed to covertly exclude people who, for a variety of reasons (which can include costs of language courses, availability of language classes, age, ability to learn, etc.), do not meet linguistic standards set by the prospective destination country (Hogan-Brun et al., 2009).

4. Ghana has a history as regards the language used in its public schools, and the medium of instruction in the first few years of primary education has alternatively been one of the local languages (depending on the geographical area), and English (Owu-Ewie, 2006). In secondary schools, universities and colleges, the language of instruction is English.

5. Hirsh's (2012) Ghana calls an end to tyrannical reign of Queen's English. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/10/ghana-calls-end-queens-english?CMP=twt_gu (Accessed 25 April 2012).

6. The exact number of languages spoken in Ghana is disputed because of the lack of a clear-cut distinction between languages and dialects. Different scholars put the number of languages spoken between 45 and 80 (Bodomo, Anderson, & Dzahene-Quarshie, 2009).

7. Primary and secondary schools are part of Universal Basic Education, which comprises the compulsory stages of education. Basic Education lasts for a total 11 years, which include 2 years of kindergarten, 6 years of primary school and 3 years of junior high school