Most refugee and immigrant communities see cultural preservation as a very important goal. Culture is often equated with language preservation and promotion.
Because over 100 languages are spoken in Guilford County by some 50,000+ newcomers, we are probably North Carolina's most linguistically diverse county. Many elders in local refugee and immigrant communities regard language as the foundation of culture. Without it they fear cultural identity will be lost, especially among the young.
For the dominant culture, languages other than English are generally regarded as a problem, the cause of poor outcomes in health and social services areas, citizenship, law enforcement, etc. Unsurprisingly, given the added cost, time and energy to access qualified interpreters, some conclude that newcomers themselves are the "problem".
Worldwide, language loss is accepted by many as the price of globalization rather than as the permanent loss of world knowledge and culture. Perhaps half of the languages spoken today will be extinct by the end of the century.
A refugee-immigrant language preservation and promotion effort is one way to engage the disparate bodies that have a stake in local refugees and immigrants. There is a good opportunity now for academics to intervene and engage with newcomer communities to assess language preservation needs. If undertaken, this would be a rich, multidisciplinary field that exemplifies local to global themes and community matters that academics are uniquely qualified to address. In North Carolina, Western Carolina's Cherokee Studies program is an interesting example of academic-community partnership to preserve and promote language of a marginalized people.
Notes, Links
Historically, Guilford County's language richness is the result of having been North Carolina's number one refugee resettlement location.
Poor interpretation and translation in NC was cited by a US DOJ letter to the NC Administration of Courts. Our subsequent complaints to NCAOC about bad Jarai interpreters was the subject of a 12-page report to Guilford County Courts.
We have been training refugee students about interpretation and translation protocols (CBPR examples: Allies in Community Outreach, Research and Education [Guilford-NCAT] and Family Factors Associated with Hypertension Among the Montagnard Refugee/Immigrant Community in NC [UNCG-Bonner Center at Guilford College]) so health research and interviews with community members can proceed.
I have worked with elders in the Montagnard community to translate the 2010 Census form, as well as with former MDs to translate medical terms. All MDs reported incidents in which American health professionals made drastic mistakes due to a failure to understand the cultural dimensions of the language spoken by refugee patients.
Refugee and immigrant students continue to come in increased numbers to higher ed.
Some of the most interesting communities are mostly preliterate. Written language may have been introduced only recently. In the case of Montagnards, indigenous languages are not taught in schools in Vietnam.
Because over 100 languages are spoken in Guilford County by some 50,000+ newcomers, we are probably North Carolina's most linguistically diverse county. Many elders in local refugee and immigrant communities regard language as the foundation of culture. Without it they fear cultural identity will be lost, especially among the young.
For the dominant culture, languages other than English are generally regarded as a problem, the cause of poor outcomes in health and social services areas, citizenship, law enforcement, etc. Unsurprisingly, given the added cost, time and energy to access qualified interpreters, some conclude that newcomers themselves are the "problem".
Worldwide, language loss is accepted by many as the price of globalization rather than as the permanent loss of world knowledge and culture. Perhaps half of the languages spoken today will be extinct by the end of the century.
A refugee-immigrant language preservation and promotion effort is one way to engage the disparate bodies that have a stake in local refugees and immigrants. There is a good opportunity now for academics to intervene and engage with newcomer communities to assess language preservation needs. If undertaken, this would be a rich, multidisciplinary field that exemplifies local to global themes and community matters that academics are uniquely qualified to address. In North Carolina, Western Carolina's Cherokee Studies program is an interesting example of academic-community partnership to preserve and promote language of a marginalized people.
Notes, Links
Historically, Guilford County's language richness is the result of having been North Carolina's number one refugee resettlement location.
Poor interpretation and translation in NC was cited by a US DOJ letter to the NC Administration of Courts. Our subsequent complaints to NCAOC about bad Jarai interpreters was the subject of a 12-page report to Guilford County Courts.
We have been training refugee students about interpretation and translation protocols (CBPR examples: Allies in Community Outreach, Research and Education [Guilford-NCAT] and Family Factors Associated with Hypertension Among the Montagnard Refugee/Immigrant Community in NC [UNCG-Bonner Center at Guilford College]) so health research and interviews with community members can proceed.
I have worked with elders in the Montagnard community to translate the 2010 Census form, as well as with former MDs to translate medical terms. All MDs reported incidents in which American health professionals made drastic mistakes due to a failure to understand the cultural dimensions of the language spoken by refugee patients.
Refugee and immigrant students continue to come in increased numbers to higher ed.
Some of the most interesting communities are mostly preliterate. Written language may have been introduced only recently. In the case of Montagnards, indigenous languages are not taught in schools in Vietnam.
