CAST-AWAY CULTURES AND TABOO TONGUES: FACE[T]S OF FIRST LANGUAGE LOSS by SANDRA GAIL KOURITZIN B.A., The University of British Columbia, 1984 M.A., The University of British Columbia, 1987 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF ' • DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY• - in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Centre for the Study of Curriculum and Instruction Department of Language Education We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA August 1997 © Sandra Gail Kouritzin, 1997 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed; without my written permission. -" Department of / arsa/ jatj f f-o/n £-<gf.//<o>o The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada DE-6 (2/88) ABSTRACT This dissertation examines first language loss, or lack of first language development, in minority first language children, trying to answer the questions: (a) what have been the consequences (negative or positive) of losing a first language?, and (b) what does first language loss mean both personally and literally? Taking a multiple life history case study approach, this dissertation seeks to understand first language loss from a descriptive, narrative, retrospective, and personal point-of-view, one heretofore overlooked in language loss research. Linguistic life histories were collected through a series of interviews with each of 21 subjects. Five of the life histories are included in full edited form and are intensively analysed in this dissertation. Additionally, all 21 case studies are reviewed in an emergent theme analysis which examines the consequences of first language loss for family relationships, school relationships, school performance, and self image. A final section of the emergent theme analysis tries to determine the meaning of first language loss. A number of negative consequences of losing one's primary language are cited, including familial misunderstanding, loss of extended family, loss of parental closeness and guidance, anger and frustration toward the family, the school system and the community, poor scholastic performance in some subject areas, poor self image, loss of employment opportunity and marketability, and loss of cultural identity. It is concluded that first language loss has had a significantly negative impact on many aspects of the subjects' lives. iii Table of Contents ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii ACKNOWLEDGMENT vi Overture 1 INTRODUCTION 4 On What Pretext? 8 A Pre/text for Language Loss Research: Executive Summary 10 A PRE/TEXT FOR LANGUAGE LOSS RESEARCH 13 Definition of Terms 13 Review of Empirical Studies 15 Language Loss that Isn't: Language Shift 16 Minority Language Families 19 Individual Language Loss 24 The Majority Language Culture 28 Questioning Findings and Methodologies 29 Limits of the Criterion Variable Approach 30 Limits of the Predictor Variable Approach 32 Considerations of the Present Study 35 Ethnographic Studies of Language Loss 36 Life History 38 A Musical Interlude. 41 Recording the Third Horn: Executive Summary 42 RECORDING THE THIRD HORN 44 Life History Case Study Raison d'etre 44 Subjects 46 Procedure 50 Interview Format 50 Life History Selection 52 Analysis 53 Individual Story Analysis 53 Emergent Theme Analysis 56 Methodological Postscripts 57 Found on the copy room floor 59 iv Face-Touching: A Story-book: Executive Summary 61 FACE-TOUCHING: A STORY-BOOK 63 Ariana: Introduction 64 The Interview Context 64 The Life History Context 68 The Narrative Context 72 Ariana's Story: But I'm Canadian-Born 79 Richard: Introduction 89 The Interview Context 89 The Life History Context 94 The Narrative Context 99 Richard's Story: English is a full-time job 104 Lara: Introduction 117 The Interview Context 117 The Life History Context 120 The Narrative Context 126 Lara's Story: An Outsider Looking In 132 Brian: Introduction 146 The Interview Context 146 The Life History Context 150 The Narrative Context 159 Brian's Story: Nothing too deep 163 Helena: Introduction 173 The Interview Context 173 The Life History Context 179 The Narrative Context 187 Helena's Story: Learning the Rules 193 Borders. 208 Dwelling in the Borderlands: Executive Summary 209 DWELLING IN THE BORDERLANDS 215 Inhabitants 216 Nadia 216 William 217 Dhiet 219 Greta 220 Alexandra 221 Kuong 222 V Kurt, Cameron, and Julian 223 Alex • 224 Naomi 224 HanaKim 226 Minette 227 Nellie 228 Michael 229 Charles 230 Emergent Themes 231 Family Relationships 231 School Relationships 241 School Performance 248 Self Image 254 The Meaning of Loss 266 NOT A FINALE: A DECRESCENDO 274 Summary 274 Implications 277 Reflections 278 REFERENCES 280 APPENDICES 292 Appendix A: Letter to the editor 292 Appendix B: Sample Questions 1 294 Sample Questions 2 295 Appendix C: Consent Forms 297 Appendix D: Text of Advertisement 299 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENT Any list of all the people who encouraged me, assisted me, or otherwise contributed to this undertaking is bound to be incomplete. I want to thank my committee, Dr. Marion Crowhurst, Dr. Donald Fisher, Dr. Margaret Early, and Dr. Patricia Duff for all of their time, energy, and care. In particular, I extend my thanks to Dr. Crowhurst for at all times providing a model not only for the type of academic, but also for the type of person I would like to be. I also thank Dr. Fisher for always being a caring, warm, and empathetic "touchstone". I am most grateful for the support of my family and friends. My mother and father never said "if you go to university", but instead always said "when you go to university", and they have stood by me every step of the way. My parents-in-law have given their love and support, and have never openly asked what kind of wife their son has married. Thank you to my brother and his family, my sister-in-law and her family, and to Yumiko, who will always feel like family. Thank you to Wendy, Katie and Laura, all of the volunteers for this study, and to Garold, who listened to this entire dissertation at least twice over the telephone, and didn't once miss a word. And thank you most of all to my husband for his love and support, his strength and guidance, his compassion and generosity, his sacrifices and for Hanika. And, thank you Hanika for teaching me the most important things of all. And when I first encountered that flower-like fragrance, I came to realize that meaning and reality do exist. For Hanika and her daddy Satoru. 1 Overture Once upon a time there was a little girl named Sandie. Sandie grew up in an ordinary middle class house in an ordinary middle class suburb with her father and mother and younger brother. Sandie's father was a professional engineer who was a high-ranking manager at the telephone company, and her mother was a housewife who went back to teaching when Sandie was ten years old. Sandie lived on a street with the Petersons, and the O'Haras, and the Cowies and the Glovers, and the Martins and the Carmichaels and the Stanleys, and behind her lived the Carmacks and the Henrys, and it didn't take her very long to realize that her last name was different. Sandie's last name was Kouritzin because her father was born to Russian parents. To her chagrin, the neighbourhood kids called her "Fritzie-bum",—or sometimes "Russian dame". Sandie grew up with a defiant pride in her last name. Rather than being ashamed of her paternal heritage, she wanted to become more Russian. She hated the name Sandra, and wanted to be Alexandria instead. She tried to learn Russian words from a book, but she didn't have anyone to help her. (Her father did not encourage her to learn Russian, perhaps because he had grown up speaking Russian during the suspicious "Red Menace" era that followed World War Two, and only learned English when he went to school.) From the beautiful items in her grandparents' home, Sandie wove a fantasy tapestry of her Russian history that she believed in more than she believed in "the truth"—and she was ashamed when she discovered this made her a liar. But then Sandie became busy in the process of growing up. She forgot about how much she wanted to learn Russian, except when she was told that she had to choose between French and German in high school. When she left home to go to university, she became involved with the Russian Community Center, where she was envious of all her peers who had been encouraged to learn Russian. But, except 2 for nagging regrets and momentary sorrows, Sandie was content. She completed an MA in English literature, moved to Japan, married a Japanese man who belonged to a linguistic and cultural minority group, carved a career in teaching English literature and language to university students, and eventually moved back to Canada where she enrolled in a Ph.D. programme in TESL. It was during her first year in the Ph.D. programme that Sandie read about first language loss, and started to connect the concept with her own life. She remembered her Japanese-American friend who, beginning at the age of 16, had been detained in Japan, where she had gone to scatter her parents' ashes—and then the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour.