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Low German-Speaking Mennonite Identity, Language, and Literacy Constructions

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Low German-Speaking Mennonite Identity, Language, and Literacy Constructions Contesting the centre: Low German-speaking Mennonite identity, language, and literacy constructions by Christine Kampen Robinson A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in German Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2017 © Christine Kampen Robinson 2017 Examining Committee Membership The following served on the Examining Committee for this thesis. The decision of the Examining Committee is by majority vote. External Examiner NAME Rachel Heydon, Professor, University of Western Ontario Supervisor(s) NAME Grit Liebscher, Professor, University of Waterloo Internal Member NAME Barbara Schmenk Professor, University of Waterloo Internal-external Member NAME Marlene Epp Professor, University of Waterloo Other Member(s) NAME Emma Betz Associate Professor, University of Waterloo ii Author’s declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. iii Abstract We make sense of who we are by talking about ourselves with others, telling stories about ourselves, our experiences, and our feelings. When we do this, we construct sociolinguistic spaces in which we speak, live, work, read, and play. These spaces are connected to geographical realities, or places, but consist far more of the practices in which we engage that give them meaning. When migrants move from one place to another, they construct new migrant spaces that contain aspects of their former place of living as well as their new one. Language plays a crucial role, because it is through language that we speak about ourselves, through language we construct spaces, and through language we position ourselves within those spaces. This project examines how Low German-speaking Mennonite (LGM) migrants to Canada from Mexico construct a migrant space and position themselves and the languages they come into contact with, and how their constructions of identity and literacy are linked to their perceptions and use of language. LGMs are a marginalized minority population connected to the Old Colony Church, a religiously conservative Mennonite denomination who speak Low German (Dietsch) as a primary language. The data for this project consist of 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork, individual interviews and focus group discussions. Drawing on an interactional sociolinguistic framework, narratives and conversations about language experiences are examined to illustrate how LGMs construct a migrant (Dietsch) space in Canada. Specifically, conversations about language attitudes, language learning experiences, and literacy practices are analyzed to determine how individuals position themselves and others in relation to the languages they encounter and the role these play in the Dietsch iv space. The author finds that the LGM participants in the study demonstrate significant agentive capacity by actively constructing and producing a Dietsch space that allows them to contest not only what constitutes the centre of the broader Canadian space, but also contest what constitutes the centre within the LGM migrant group. Keywords: Low German-speaking Mennonites, Low German, identity, language, literacy, sociolinguistic space, positioning v Acknowledgements When I think about the many people who have been a part of the process that brought this thesis into being, it is hard to know where to begin. I am thankful to my supervisor, Grit Liebscher, for recognizing that this was going to be my project, even before I did, and for our early Wednesday morning writing sessions at Seven Shores—you kept me on track and focused, and have been such an important mentor to me, especially in how it is possible to be an academic and a mother, equally. I am also thankful to my committee members, Emma Betz, Marlene Epp, and Barbara Schmenk— you were instrumental in shaping and guiding this project into what it has become, from early conversations with Marlene about the importance of research on Mennonites that isn’t strictly historical, to fine-tuning conversations with Emma about transcripts and analyzing conversation, to Barbara zeroing in on my argument before I had clarified it for myself—thank you for taking the time to read my work, for your encouragement, tough questions, and invaluable suggestions. Thank you also to Rachel Heydon, my external examiner, for your positive feedback, and new disciplinary perspective—I am eager to see where the nudging leads. I would also like to thank the German-Canadian Studies Foundation for generously funding portions of this research. This thesis project would never have happened were it not for the Tuesday Ladies themselves, and the service providers who connected me with the CAPC group in the first place. I cannot name you here, for privacy reasons, but you know who you are. I am so grateful for how you welcomed me into the group, trusted me with your babies, your recipes, and your stories. Each of you has become an integral part of my story—you have humbled me, taught me so much about myself, turned my preconceived notions on their heads, and constructed a space that let me in. I wrote you a book about you and your stories, which has simultaneously become a book about me and my stories—Dank scheen for everything! Over the last number of years, I have been working with an amazing team at the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Career Action. I am so grateful to each and every one of my colleagues for making space for my academic work—asking questions, picking up slack, and coming to support me during my defense. I can’t imagine a more supportive, encouraging group to work with. Thank you especially to Erica—you have a gift for knowing when what is needed is a listening ear, an encouraging word, or a bar of chocolate—I am so thankful to work with you and learn from you. I am also grateful for all of the clients I have had the privilege of working with over the past few years—you are smart and focused and capable, and have taught me so much about what I am also capable of. Thank you also to the staff at the Writing Centre—for coordinating and facilitating the Dissertation Bootcamp, which was, as I’ve already told anyone who will listen, the most motivating thing I’ve done during my PhD. Thank you especially to Nadine, Mandy, and Jane, who met with me to work my way through twists and turns in structure and argument, and whose vi whiteboards I filled with dissertation mind maps. Thank you for listening, and for encouraging me. Thank you also to Clare—you are a management queen and an encouraging friend! There are so many other colleagues and friends at the University of Waterloo and beyond who have supported and encouraged me while I worked to juggle academics, day job, and family— Trish, who gave me an opportunity to participate in a project I truly believed in that helped me to find myself again as an academic; Lyndsay, who saw something in me and my work and has gone out of her way to mentor and encourage me, even from afar; Michael, for allowing me to struggle through theory, but making sure I came out on the other side with a new perspective; Katharina, whom I admire for her strength and ability to seemingly manage everything, and whom I love because of the time she takes for others; Jill, for the many conversations about learning outcomes and collaborating with me to develop curriculum; Tetyana, Mareike, Belinda, Ali, Gerlinde, and Kyle, for showing me how it’s done, and studying and working alongside me; Dany, Sara, and Mario for also working alongside me and keeping in touch—you’re next! I am so grateful to the women of SWORM—Kerry, Luann, Lily, Wendy, Katherine, Sally, and Avril. I am so thankful that you decided that I could belong to your group, could join in discussions and contribute to the Still/Moving conference. You are all strong women with a commitment to Dietsche people that I admire and strive to emulate—thank you for your example. To my parents—it’s really because of you that this dissertation exists. Because of the many hours you spend on Das Blatt, Mum, and the many hours Dad drove in the car to get to Mexico. You planted the seed of interest, of love for Dietsche people. I am grateful for that. You also taught me about learning from everyone I meet, and treating everyone with respect, values which where foundational to how this project came about. I am also grateful for how you have always supported and encouraged me—even when we moved halfway across the country, you made the trip regularly, to stay connected, to develop strong relationships with your grandchildren. And you read every word of this dissertation—I am so thankful for your insight and copy-editing! And then, of course, there are the people who have been closest to me during this whole graduate school ordeal. David, who has been there since the beginning, who moved out here with me so that I could just do my Master’s and then we could go home, but who stayed, and encouraged me to do the PhD I was so excited about. You, more than any other person, made space for this project, made space for the academic me—to write, to research, to present at conferences, to think and stress and plan. You listened as I ranted, worked things out, cheered as I clicked send and successfully defended. I love you for how you have supported me, always. And my children, Mateo and Elena—you haven’t known me as not a graduate student.
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