(Supra)National Identity and Language: Rethinking National and European Migration Policies and the Linguistic Integration of Migrants (original) (raw)
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Dis-Citizenship and Migration: A Critical Discourse-Analytical Perspective
Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 2013
Inclusion and exclusion of migrants are renegotiated in the European Union on almost a daily scale: ever new policies defining and restricting immigration (usually from third world countries) are proposed by European member states. Thus, a return to ever more local policies and ideologies can be observed on many levels: traditions, rules, languages, visions, and imaginaries are affected. In this article, I suggest that we are currently experiencing a re/nationalisation in spite of (or perhaps because of) multiple globalising tendencies. Thus, citizenship and language tests are being or have already been introduced to all European nation states, thus emphasizing a revival of “the national language” as constitutive for access to employment, housing, or education and promising achievement of successful “integration.” In this way, migrants are perceived as having a “deficit” even if manifold tests provide evidence that native speakers (of German, for example) might also lack many language skills.
National'languages in transnational contexts: Language, migration and citizenship in Europe
… , Policies and Practices: Language and the Future of …, 2006
Introduction: language, migration and anti-cosmopolitanism In the literature on language and nation, most notably perhaps in relation to German nationalisms, language is seen to be central both to the practical, instrumental processes of nationism (for example, in relation to citizenship) and to the symbolic, integrative processes of nationalism (for example, in relation to national identity): standard languages, in particular, are seen as both a vehicle for articulating and achieving common political goals and a manifestation of a common purpose and singular identity. While these processes are sometimes cast as political and ideological issues respectively, I want to argue that discourses of citizenship are not separate from, but rather subsumed in, discourses of national identity, and that recent public debates and national policies on the relationship between language and citizenship in several western European states are not merely issues of political 'management' but part of a larger ideological process and constitute a classic example of what Blommaert (1999) calls a language ideological debate. This process has, of course, to do with challenges to national sovereignty (in economic, political and cultural terms) in the context of social and political change in Europe and in particular in relation to perceived threats to national integrity posed by large-scale migration. The movement of people brings with it the movement of languages, and this arguably most salient item in the baggage of migrant individuals and groups confronts most immediately what Blommaert and Verschueren (1998: © Patrick Stevenson. Not for citation or distribution without permission of the author. 2 194-5) call the 'dogma of homogeneism': 'a view of society in which differences are seen as dangerous and centrifugal and in which the "best" society is suggested to be one without intergroup differences'. For, as the literature on language and nationalism has repeatedly shown, the fundamental paradox on which the dominant discourse in most European nation-states is still constructed is that these manifestly multilingual societies are conceived as essentially and irrevocably monolingual (cf Ingrid Gogolin's discussion of the 'monolingual habitus' of multilingual states: Gogolin 1994). Until relatively recently, these states have been able to maintain their dogma of linguistic homogeneity (whether or not they inscribe it in constitutional and other legal apparatus) through a combination of implicitly embedding the idea of a 'national language' in state institutions such as education and public employment and the unspoken recourse to established tradition and 'common sense'. Indigenous or longstanding ethnolinguistic minorities have been absorbed into this homogeneous political culture by granting limited linguistic rights on the one hand and promoting what Kymlicka (2001: 25) calls a 'societal culture' on the other: 'all liberal democracies', he argues, 'have encouraged citizens to view their life-chances as tied up with participation in common societal institutions that operate in [the 'national' language]'. But post-1989 large population movements have coincided with growing instability of beliefs in and understandings of 'national' integrity: for example, debates in the UK on regionalism, 'Englishness' and the popular image of the 'disunited kingdom'; the recent debates in Germany on multiculturalism and the concept of the Leitkultur; and ruptures in the political culture in Austria over social and ethnic inclusion. Governments of radically different colours in Germany and Austria (as well as, for example, the Netherlands) have reacted simultaneously by © Patrick Stevenson. Not for citation or distribution without permission of the author. 3 introducing new legal instruments to control the flow of migrants, which include strict rulings on proficiency in the 'national' language 1. It therefore no longer appears to me possible to regard the question of the relationship between language and citizenship exclusively as a matter of principle in liberal democracies. Rather we have to acknowledge the historicity of discourses on language and citizenship and analyse them in the context of the national histories of the states in which they occur. From this perspective, overtly political (nationist) activities may be revealed as tacitly ideological (nationalist) operations intended to salvage the integrity of the nation based on the myth of a stable monolingual norm that is increasingly at odds with, and under assault from, multilingual realities. For the denial of societal multilingualism underpins and reinforces discourses that reject the status of (particularly) Germany as an Einwanderungsland (country of immigration). For example, former President Richard von Weizsäcker's categorical assertion: 'By European standards we [i.e. Germany] are more or less a classic country of immigration' (Nach europäischen Maßstäben sind wir nahezu ein klassisches Einwanderungsland) (Weizsäcker 2001) echoes the insistence of the Süssmuth Commission on Migration that It is a fact that Germany has been a country of immigration for a long time. … The assertion that 'Germany is not a country of immigration' used to be a defining political principle but has become untenable as the cornerstone of migration and integration policy. (Zuwanderung gestalten-Integration fördern 2001: 1) Faktisch ist Deutschland seit langem eine Einwanderungsland. … Die in der Vergangenheit vertretene politische und normative Festlegung "Deutschland ist kein Einwanderungsland" ist als Maxime der Zuwanderungs-und Integrationspolitik unhaltbar geworden.
Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) is a transdisciplinary family of theoretical and methodological approaches, focusing on the analysis and critique of discursive practices in relation to broader ideological processes, as well as the material conditions that shape and are shaped by them (see Wodak and Meyer, 2016; Flowerdew and Richardson, 2017). A CDS approach can be seen as an extension of the Critical Linguistics framework (Fowler et al., 1979; Kress and Hodge, 1979) that developed in and out of Western European contexts. The main premise of the analyses developed from this perspective considers language not as a neutral descriptor of reality, but as an important instrument in the structuring of power relations in societies. Consequently, CDS strives to uncover how the legitimation of particular control mechanisms occurs, among others, through specific linguistic practices. In spite of its Western European core, and due to its decidedly problem- oriented nature, as well as the constant refinement and broadening of its analytical tools, CDS has progressively become appealing to the larger European continent, as well as to other Western and non- Western contexts such as the US, Australia, or China (Shi- Xu, 1999; Tracy et al., 2011).
MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL OF REFUGEE STUDIES, 2017
Histories of migration are connected to the development of collective identities and the articulation of discourses of belonging in many national contexts. They are also often employed in legitimating policies on migration, asylum and integration in many national contexts. Critical Discourse Analysis, as a methodological approach inherently concerned with relations of power and the dynamics of exclusion, is particularly suited to exploring how references to past experiences of migration are used in parliamentary debates to legitimate or delegitimate migration policies. Greece, a country where histories of emigration and reception of ethnically Greek refugees are central to constructions of national identity, is used as a case study. Drawing on the analysis of twenty parliamentary debates on eight different laws on migration and asylum, I argue that the invocation of past experiences of migration is both instrumental and ambivalent. All parties, regardless of their political orientation, employ them to either legitimate or critique proposed policies. However, the analysis shows that historical experiences of migration are used to create both narratives of similarity as well as difference between the experiences of immigrants to Greece and Greek emigrants. They are thus used to argue both for the inclusion and exclusion of migrants. In addition, invocations of past experiences of migration reproduce the imagined national community.
2017
Histories of migration are connected to the development of collective identities and the articulation of discourses of belonging in many national contexts. They are also often employed in legitimating policies on migration, asylum and integration in many national contexts. Critical Discourse Analysis, as a methodological approach inherently concerned with relations of power and the dynamics of exclusion, is particularly suited to exploring how references to past experiences of migration are used in parliamentary debates to legitimate or delegitimate migration policies. Greece, a country where histories of emigration and reception of ethnically Greek refugees are central to constructions of national identity, is used as a case study. Drawing on the analysis of twenty parliamentary debates on eight different laws on migration and asylum, I argue that the invocation of past experiences of migration is both instrumental and ambivalent. All parties, regardless of their political orientat...
Testing Regimes: Introducing Cross-national Perspectives on Language, Migration and Citizenship
Discourses on Language and Integration: Critical Perspectives on Language Testing Regimes in Europe, G. Hogan-Brun, C. Mar-Molinero & P. Stevenson (eds), 2009
One of the most pressing issues in contemporary European societies is the need to promote integration and social inclusion in the context of rapidly increasing migration. A particular challenge confronting national governments is how to accommodate speakers of an ever-increasing number of languages within what in most cases are still perceived as monolingual indigenous populations. This has given rise to public debates in many countries on proposals to impose a requirement of competence in a ‘national’ language and culture as a condition for acquiring citizenship. These debates in turn have revealed an urgent need to develop a fuller conceptual and theoretical basis than is currently available for the widespread public discussion of the linguistic and cultural requirements being proposed as elements in the gate-keeping process leading to the achievement of citizenship in many EU member states. The controversial nature of such policy proposals and their potentially far-reaching consequences are often highlighted in public debates on social inclusion and integration. This however is frequently conducted almost entirely at a national level within each state, with little if any attention paid either to the broader European context or to comparable experience in other parts of the world. At the same time, further EU enlargement and the ongoing rise in the rate of migration into and across Europe suggest that the salience of these issues is likely to continue to grow.
The political discourse on immigration in southern Europe: a critical analysis
Journal of community & applied social psychology, 2000
This study analyses the political discourse on immigration in Greece\ Italy and Spain\ with a view to highlighting how discourse is organised and\ in particular\ the use of ingroup and outgroup categories in it[ It is hypothesised that talk on immigration involves a re!elaboration of national identity and re!de_nition of the ingroup:nation and outgroup:immigrant rep! resentation[ Moreover\ it is expected that immigrants are represented as Others\ alien to the ingroup and\ therefore\ to be excluded from the host society[ My aim here is to highlight the commonality of identity processes activated in di}erent social!historical contexts and analyse the connection between ingroup!outgroup representations and the speci_c historical legacy and socio!economic reality of a given country[ Greece\ Italy and Spain have been selected as a suitable set of case studies because they have recently been transformed from senders to hosts of migrants[ The section that follows describes brie~y the size of the immigration phenomenon in each country and the public policies adopted[ The second section discusses the ingroup! outgroup dynamics activated in immigration discourse from a sociological and a social psycho! logical perspective[ The third section concentrates on the analysis of political discourse\ namely interviews with non!governmental organisations\ trade union representatives and public admin! istration employees in Athens\ Rome and Madrid[ The methodology used is that of qualitative discourse analysis[ Findings are discussed under the light of sociological and social psycho! logical research on the issue[
Analysis of Discourses and Rhetoric in European Migration Politics full chapter proofs
Handbook of politics of migration in Europe, 2018
This chapter will give an overview of the main contexts, concepts and methods employed by European CDS scholars working on migration politics. We divide the literature in three main 5 strands, according to the sphere of society (institutional, media or everyday) that is highlighted. We also address developing areas and possible future research directions.
Discourse analysis, policy analysis, and the borders of EU identity
This introductory contribution frames the theoretical and methodological endeavour of the special issue. The underlying goal of the special issue is two-fold: On the one hand, it aims to shed light on the diversity of discourse theories and related toolkits for analysis. On the other hand, it aims at applying these approaches to the European Union’s (EU) discursive practices, with special attention to foreign policy discourses. All contributions revolve around a central focus: the manifold ways in which various EU institutional, national or societal actors employ different discursive strategies (such as justification, legitimation, and argumentation) related to foreign policy with bilateral partners; within multi-lateral milieus or vis-á-vis domestic audiences. In the last section, the contributions to this special issue are briefly summarised.