Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Bengali
Demographics
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Burmese
Demographics and Immigration
o Past events (Militaristic government and anti-chinese
persecutions) = the main motivations for Burmese ethnic
minorities to move to the U.S (Karen and Chin).
o Refugees face educational barriers (Level 1 or 2 English) and
lack resources and skills to teach children English.
Community Groups and Resources: Coalition for Refugees from
Burma =>
o Refugees of ethnic minorities (Karen and Chin). They teach
their own language which is a variant of Burmese at local
ministries or churches.
Samoan: Previously...
the Great Migration beginning in 1950-51 with the fitafita guard (followed in
the 60s by a time of family reuniting).
Theres this stereotype that Samoan kids are violent, and that schools not their
thing.
In Seattle Public Schools, the dropout rate among Samoan students (as of
2010/2011) was 8.5%, in contrast to the overall rate, which was 4.0%
Additional Demographics
184,440 Samoans in the US in 2010, which is 15.1% of
the Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander ethnic
group (US Census Bureau)
About 33% of Samoans in the US are in California, 20.3%
in Hawaii, and 9.9% in Washington.
Cantonese
Challenges Facing
Immigrants
FOB
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Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead
o one of the worlds first anthropologists
o travelled to American Samoa in 1925
She made some very broad generalizations about Samoans which have
been very harmful. I think a lot of Samoans have hated the scholarship
of people like Margaret Mead. Its created a lot of stigmas and
stereotypes that people have about our people. One of them is that
women, Samoan adolescent girls, are sexually promiscuous. Thats
dangerous. And Margaret Meads work was studied for generations
and has shaped what people think about Samoans.
Cantonese
First Chinese immigrants to US were low-skill
laborers, faced racism and discrimination
Chinese Exclusion Act hindered from
naturalization, buying property, or reentry to
the United States
Max Fleischer's Chinatown My Chinatown
(1929)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=115&v=
VjFu5XwCVyI
Culture maintained in hostile environment
Bengali
Language maintenance (second-generation)
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Generalization
Burmese
Interview with Mona Han (Director of Coalition for
Refugees from Burma)
Findings:
Burmese language is not taught. Refugees are of
ethnic minorities who have been in a sixty-year war
with Burma (Karen and Chin)
We try to maintain the culture as well as language,
but the main barrier is the hesitance of the refugees.
The tricky thing is that the militaristic government
has oppressed the refugees so they dont want to
learn the language from the oppressor.
Methods of Maintenance
Cantonese
Bengali
Language Movement Day: February 21
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Literature
Age
Bengali
University of Washington:
1 of 3 universities to offer the language (US)
Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced
Both heritage and non-heritage speakers
Variety of motivations
Burmese
Refugees move to the U.S to live freely by speaking their
own ethnic languages.
Buddhist monasteries used to teach Burmese, but it was
run by volunteers (limited)
Private tutors (UW), or family members
Coalition for Refugees from Burma: Incorporate songs
w/ Burmese phrases (Parents and Children Together
PACT)
Omai Faatasi
come together or unite.
Samoan community organization in the 1960s in Carson, California, documentary
about Samoans in the US
(0:46 - 2:45) (3:45 - 4:10)
Conclusion
Burmese
Burmese presence is continuing to grow to this day => Burmese immigrant
parents want their children to go to school and receive a quality education
in the U.S.
Language is important if a parent wants to raise their child in a particular
culture, religion, or tradition.
Refugees seeking community groups (churches, coalitions,
families/friends). Resources that provide ESL classes.
135 different ethnic languages (tribes), but after assimilation to bigger
cities these smaller languages have died out. (Why ethnic minorities
formed church groups to maintain ethnic languages)
As long as the country is speaking the language as the official language = a
very small chance that it will die out.
Cantonese
...individuals prefer to speak language varieties that are associated with the members of
high-status groups. [...] One reason why Putonghua wasnt widespread in Guangzhou is that
it is not easy to learn...But there is another reason why Putonghua wasnt widespread until
recently and remains in competition with Cantonese. First, consider the socio-economic
prestige of Guangzhou City (formerly called Canton). Guangzhou has an exceptionally strong
economy compared with most other areas in China and a good deal of local pride for this
reason. The only other Chinese city where a local dialect rivals the prestige and use of
Putonghua is Shanghai, also an industrial center. In both places the local dialects are
common even in official settings. Guangzhous industrial success has attracted short-term
rural migrants who have been more loyal to their local capital than to the nation as a whole
because economic advantages have come largely through local connections.
Carol Myers-Scotton, Multiple Voices: An Introduction to Bilingualism
Bengali
Bengalis are often abroad
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Connection to home
Thank You
Faafetai