Maintaining the Panjabi Language and Culture: Auckland’s Sikh Gurdwaras and the Home Domain Gurpreet Kaur A thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy 2019 Auckland University of Technology Faculty of Culture and Society Primary Supervisor: Alison Booth Secondary Supervisor: Ineke Crezee Attestation of Authorship I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person (except where explicitly acknowledged in the reference list), nor material which to a substantial extent has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma of a university or other institution of higher learning. i Acknowledgements I would firstly like to acknowledge my supervisors, Dr. Alison Booth and Assoc/Prof. Ineke Crezee, for their expertise, enthusiasm and support over the duration of this thesis. The beginnings of this research from Skyping in Amritsar up to its accomplishment must be credited to both of them. They have always been there for taking their time out for looking into the document in minute details – especially during the Christmas period. You both never stopped believing in me, and your words “you can do this” echoed in my mind every day. I am forever grateful for the wonderful guidance you both have provided and honoured to have done this thesis under your supervision. To Lindsay Richdale, my heartiest thanks for your immense help in bringing my thesis to its conclusion. I am overwhelmed by the support and guidance you offered in the last days of the thesis. Your work has been commendable! Thank you for getting into the thesis in so much detail. I would never have thought of accomplishing this study without the love and perseverance of my incredible family – my parents Parmjit Singh and Baljeet Kaur, my siblings Navpreet and Jaskawalpreet, my husband Gagandeep and mother-in-law Mohinderjit Kaur. I am always humbled and forever grateful for my parents’ motivation and endless support, for keeping me in their prayers, especially when I was about to give up. Without you I would not have achieved that I have achieved. I love you. Thank you to many friends, who have provided me with support and encouragement during the duration of this thesis. My special thanks to the participants in this study for sharing their valuable experiences so willingly and giving their time so generously. I am extremely grateful to those lovely children who have participated in this study, the teachers at the community school and their parents who have helped me in the data collection at various stages. The support of the Sikh Supreme Society New Zealand (SSSNZ) and especially Manjeet Singh paji from the onset of this project has been invaluable and greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank Dr. Chris Jenkins for providing guidance in gaining the ethics approval for this project, and Donna Channings for being available whenever I needed any help whether it was regarding an extension or any other trivial issue. ii The accomplishment of this thesis on the auspicious occasion of Vaisakhi – a sacred festival which marks the birth of the Khalsa Panth, makes this study more valued for what it is intended for. Thank you, Waheguru, for giving me the opportunity of this sewa to work for my community. To the Guru Panth and Maa boli Panjabi, may this sewa serve to inspire you in the search for knowledge. Ethics approval was granted by the Auckland University of Technology Ethics Committee on 9 May 2018: AUTEC Reference number 18/143. iii Abstract New Zealand is home to approximately twenty thousand Sikhs, a cultural community with its first arrival in 1890, which has grown significantly since 2001, particularly in the Auckland region. This Auckland case study considers the acquisition and maintenance of community’s heritage language, Panjabi, and Sikh cultural identity among young Sikh migrants, within the Sikh religious institutions (gurdwaras) and the home environment. The research also considers indications of any language shift or attrition. This ethnographic qualitative study used mixed methods in the form of surveys, interviews and field observations to obtain data. Participants included Sikh adults who had children in the age group 8-16 and had migrated to New Zealand, and children of the aforementioned age group who were either born in New Zealand to migrant parents or were born overseas and migrated later. Survey data was collected in-person and online and was supplemented by interviews with ten different families. Observations from field visits to gurdwaras and visits to participants’ homes provided background information on the community. The findings relating to gurdwaras showed that they are ideal places to continue the teaching and maintenance of Panjabi and cultural identity development among young Sikhs living in Auckland. The fact that the Sikh community greatly values its language is evident from the extensive range of cultural events and classes held within gurdwaras. The study also found that these religious institutions are not homogenous, with the type of institution determining the importance placed on religious transmission events and their content and style. Participants’ interviews confirmed similarities with existing literature on language maintenance/shift and the effectiveness of community domain in maintaining the heritage language fails without preservation in the home domain (Fishman, 1991). The interview phase showed that communication with extended family members, knowledge and use of heritage language and religion were the core cultural values of the community. These were major influences within families to pass the language onto the next generation and pointed to home as the core of heritage language maintenance. The findings identify that there are many challenges to be addressed if language shift and attrition are to be avoided in Auckland. The easy access to the availability of translations iv of Guru Granth Sahib (the Sikh Holy Scriptures) in the dominant language (English), means that children focus less on gaining literacy skills in Panjabi. The findings suggest community members’ awareness of the advantages that bilingualism could offer so that they can make more efforts to maintain Panjabi among their children. The support available in gurdwaras means that language transmission may be successful for future generations depending upon parental perceptions. This research will add to the existing body of knowledge on heritage language maintenance in New Zealand and will act as a tool for the Sikh community, allowing them to assess better the state of Panjabi while also providing information on potential challenges that might impede their language maintenance efforts. v Table of Contents Attestation of Authorship ............................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... ii Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. ix List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. x A note on words from the Panjabi language ........................................................................... xi Abbreviations and Glossary ..................................................................................................... xii Chapter One: Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 Setting the scene ....................................................................................................................... 4 Structure of the thesis .............................................................................................................. 5 Chapter Two: Literature Review and Key Theoretical Concepts ........................................... 7 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 7 Defining heritage language and heritage language speakers ............................................... 8 Heritage language (HL) ......................................................................................................... 8 Heritage language maintenance (HLM) ................................................................................ 9 Language shift/attrition ....................................................................................................... 10 Models ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Ethnolinguistic vitality (EV) ................................................................................................. 11 Core value theory ................................................................................................................. 12 Fishman’s model of language maintenance and shift .......................................................... 14 Domains of language use ......................................................................................................