This thesis aims to explore the spaces created by migrant communities as they make their place in a new homeland. Theoretically conceived of as translocality, these place-making practices are constructed through vibrant relationships between countries, mainly across national orders. I set out to understand the impact of the global on the local in these negotiations between and within migrant groups and the receiving population through the lens of language practices. Previous studies of translocality have focussed on larger, global cities and this research aims to shed some light on the phenomenon in the super-diverse urban environment of a smaller city. A migrant’s first encounter with a dominant institution in the host country is often in the health domain. My case study is located in a hospital maternity department where large numbers of migrants require language support and is considered to offer a rich site of translocal interactions. I use a qualitative ethnographic methodology and interpretation through induction from contextualised subjective data and a theme-oriented discourse data analysis. This approach is suitable for a study, which requires an understanding of how individuals and groups perceive and construct their worlds, difference, agency and power relations. My findings reveal the control of languages by local governance framed by dominant monolingualism. The reality of in situ multilingualism of the interpreters and patients accessing healthcare in the city is challenging this monolingual dominance. I suggest the vertical top-down to grass roots relationship of the control of languages is becoming increasingly non-hierarchical as the hospital responds to this linguistic reality. The light shed on the negotiation of translocality may inform effective professional practice in the health domain. This knowledge can be of use to other public sectors, language policy makers and planners that engage with members of migrant communities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:628668 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Cadier, Linda M. |
| Contributors | Mar-Molinero, Clare ; Wright, Vicky ; Sutton, Kim |
| Publisher | University of Southampton |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/367079/ |
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