Shared Languages, Shared Identities, Shared Stories : A Qualitative Study of Life Stories by Immigrants from German-speaking Switzerland in Australia

Doris Schüpbach

ISBN 10: 3631579470 / ISBN 13: 9783631579473

Published by Peter Lang, 2008

About this Item

Druck auf Anfrage Neuware - Printed after ordering - This book explores how 15 immigrants from German-speaking Switzerland in Australia make sense of their migratory experience, of building a new life in a different language. It does so by examining their written and oral life stories. The analysis takes two complementary perspectives: Firstly, the construction of language identities is studied through the language practices and attitudes discussed and displayed by the participants. Secondly, the ways in which they create coherence in their life stories focuses on autobiographical identities where language is a medium of sense-making across their life course. The combined perspectives highlight the diversity among the participants and the complexities of language and identity construction in the context of migration.; Dissertationsschrift.

Seller Inventory # 9783631579473

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Shared Languages, Shared Identities, Shared Stories : A Qualitative Study of Life Stories by Immigrants from German-speaking Switzerland in Australia
• Publisher: Peter Lang
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3631579470
• ISBN 13: 9783631579473
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 210W x 148H x 18D millimeters 210 millimeters width by 148 millimeters height by 18 millimeters depth
• Weight: 460 grams

About this title

Synopsis

This book explores how 15 immigrants from German-speaking Switzerland in Australia make sense of their migratory experience, of building a new life in a different language. It does so by examining their written and oral life stories. The analysis takes two complementary perspectives: Firstly, the construction of language identities is studied through the language practices and attitudes discussed and displayed by the participants. Secondly, the ways in which they create coherence in their life stories focuses on autobiographical identities where language is a medium of sense-making across their life course. The combined perspectives highlight the diversity among the participants and the complexities of language and identity construction in the context of migration.

About the Author

The Author: Doris Schüpbach is a research fellow at the Research Unit for Multilingualism and Cross-Cultural Communication of the University of Melbourne and a lecturer in the German program at Monash University (Australia). Originally from Switzerland, she moved to Australia in 1998 where she completed an M.A. and a Ph.D. Her main research interests are in sociolinguistics and language contact, including societal and individual plurilingualism and language and identity in an immigrant context.