Language and Culture Maintenance Among Bangladeshi Migrants in Southeast Queensland, Australia
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Queensland eSpace Language and culture maintenance among Bangladeshi migrants in Southeast Queensland, Australia Farzana Yesmen Chowdhury Master of Applied Linguistics (TESOL Studies) - University of Queensland, Australia A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2019 School of Languages and Cultures Abstract Australia’s linguistic and cultural diversity has provided scope for the study of language and culture maintenance among its immigrant communities since the late 1970s (Clyne, 1979, 1982, 1991, 2003; Clyne & Kipp, 1999, 2006; Hatoss, 2013; Smolicz, 1991; Pauwels, 2016; Rubino, 2010). Among the immigrant groups in Australia, Bangladeshi-born migrants are a relatively new but fast-growing community who have come from a recently formed nation in which Bangla, the national language, is very strongly associated with national identity. This community has, however, attracted comparatively little research to date. This study is the first in-depth exploration of language and culture maintenance among Bangladeshi migrants in Australia. It examines the extent of the practice of Bangla language and Bangladeshi culture in South-East Queensland and focuses on the attitudes of this group of immigrants towards language and culture maintenance. Two rounds of individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 Bangladeshi-born migrants who had lived in Australia for at least five years. Participants were asked to describe their language use and cultural practices and their strategies for their children’s language use, proficiency in Bangla and cultural affiliation in Australia. They were also asked about their views on intergenerational ethnic language and culture transmission and their identity in the host society. Thematic analysis of the interview data was framed by three approaches: domains (Fishman, 1965; Clyne, 1991; Pauwels, 2016) and core values (Smolicz, 1981, 1999) in the field of sociolinguistics; and dimensionality (Berry, 1974, 2005, 2010) in the fields of sociolinguistic and cross-cultural studies. The interviews show that this group of Bangladeshi migrants maintain their ethnic language and culture to a great extent and adopt some Australian behaviours that do not contradict their core values. Bangla-based nationalistic sentiment, the determination of parents and the wider Bangladeshi community, along with the socio-political atmosphere of multicultural Australia are found to be the most significant factors contributing to their language and culture maintenance. The interviewees demonstrated strong positive attitudes towards maintenance of Bangla language, extended family relationships, and cultural practices associated with religion and food. They showed awareness of the need to make deliberate efforts to maintain their language and culture in i their host society. This suggests that Bangla language and Bangladeshi culture will continue to thrive in this community because its participants consider them integral parts of their social and cultural identity. Of the four acculturation strategies identified by Berry (1974, 2005, 2010), integration best describes the views expressed by the interviewees. They believe that they are well integrated in Australia due to their English proficiency and employment, while they have limited contact with Australians outside work, and do not encourage close friendships between their children and their mainstream peers. Although their social bonds are largely confined to the Bangladeshi community, the participants expressed respect towards Australians and Australian institutions and a sense of gratitude for being able to be a member of Australian society without feeling pressured to exchange their ethnic language for English or to discard their ethnic identity. This suggests a complex cultural identity and an “ideological dilemma” (Billig et al.,1988) whereby the participants feel a sense of belonging and happiness in Australia, but such feelings do not lead them to discard their ethnic identity and exchange it for mainstream identity. A significant implication of this study is that multicultural policies are effective to help migrants develop a sense of belonging, loyalty and feelings of attachment to Australia, not because they advocate integration (maintaining both ethnic and host cultural practices and identifying with both cultures) or assimilation (identifying with the host culture discarding ethnic cultural practices), but because they advocate respect for migrants who maintain their ethnic languages and cultural practices and values in the host society. The study contributes to building a more complete picture of language and culture maintenance among immigrant communities in Australia, pointing to the similarities and differences between the Bangladeshi community, post-war migrants from Europe, and more recently arrived immigrant and refugee migrant communities from Asia, Latin America and Africa. This comparison reveals distinctive characteristics of this ethnolinguistic community, including the strength of their emotional attachment to Bangla language and Bangladeshi culture. Their desire to sustain these is facilitated by the multicultural policies of the host society, and realised through strong family language policies, culturally vibrant ethnic community associations, and the determination of the community to transmit their language and culture to the next generation. ii Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, financial support and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my higher degree by research candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis and have sought permission from co-authors for any jointly authored works included in the thesis. iii Publications included in this thesis No publications Submitted manuscripts included in this thesis. No publication included Submitted manuscripts included in this thesis No manuscripts submitted for publication Other publications during candidature 1. Chowdhury, F. Y., & Hamid, M. O. (2016). Language, migration and social wellbeing. A narrative inquiry into the lives of low English proficiency Bangladeshi migrants in Australia. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 39(1), 8-30. 2. Chowdhury, F. Y. (2017). Using narrative inquiry for educational research in the Asia Pacific. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 40(5), 554-555. Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree No works submitted towards another degree have been included in this thesis iv Research Involving Human or Animal Subjects Human Ethics Unit Ethical Clearance Application Number: 16-04 Name of approving committees: SLC Ethics Committee Ethics approval letter: See the appendix 1 v Acknowledgements The successful completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the love and support of many fantastic people. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my appreciation to them. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my principal supervisor Dr Juliana De Nooy for her relentless support, cooperation and depth of knowledge to guide me throughout my candidature. I will always remember her contributions of time, consistent efforts and patience in correcting my thesis and giving feedback till the last date of submission. I would like to thank my associate supervisor Dr Sol Rojas-Lizana for her insightful comments and encouragement to complete my thesis successfully. I am very much fortunate to have the support from my two supervisors who never lost their faith in me and inspired me through the ups and down of this journey. Besides my advisor, my sincere thanks go to Dr Barbara Hanna, Director of Research Training, Dr Ilana Muhsin, Reader of my thesis review milestone, Dr Jeewon Shin, Dr Obaid Hamid and Dr Kayoko Hashimoto. I am also indebted to Dr Celia Thompson and Dr Janne Moreton who gave me the foundation of doing research when I studied at the