Affiliation:
1. University College London, Institute of Education , London , UK
Abstract
Abstract
The Somali community in Britain has been portrayed as largely homogenous and rather problematic, unwilling to integrate into mainstream British society, a perception that is reinforced by the media and government policies. The government policies tend to ignore the internal diversity and change that the community is experiencing. Drawing on data from a family language policy project, this paper aims to explore intergenerational changes in language preference and use and associated issues of identity within the Somali community in Britain. We look at how the changes in language preference and practice manifest themselves through reported language use and language policies at home, how the changes are affecting the British Somali youths in particular, and how ideas of Somaliness and Britishness are negotiated on an individual level, as well as on a community-wide level through Somali-led organisations. And we highlight the work that the community is doing to tackle issues of intergenerational language shift and Somali identity building. The study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the struggles of the Somali community in Britain in dealing with diversity and change, an understanding that is crucial to the development of appropriate policies regarding the community.
Subject
Linguistics and Language,Language and Linguistics
Reference49 articles.
1. Abikar, Shamsudin. 2013. Loss and maintenance of Somali language in the UK. Arab World English Journal 4(4). 285–309.
2. Adfam. 2009. Becoming visible: The Somali community and substance use in London. https://adfam.org.uk/files/docs/becoming_visible.pdf (accessed 2 May 2020).
3. Ali, Emua. 2001. Somali women in London: education and gender relations PhD thesis. London: UCL.
4. Andrzejewski, Bogumił W. 1977. The introduction of a National Orthography for Somali. London: School of Oriental and African Studies.
5. Arthur, Jo. 2004. Language at the margins: The case of Somali in Liverpool. Language Problems & Language Planning 28(3). 217–240. https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.28.3.01art.
Cited by
2 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献