Title: Language and literacy in refugee families /
Authors: Duran, Chatwara Suwannamai,
Year: 2017
Subjects: Karen (Southeast Asian people) United States.; Kayah (Southeast Asian people) United States.; Refugees United States Public opinion.; Language and languages Usage; Literacy Social aspects United States
Abstract: This book examines the agreements and discrepancies between public understanding and assumptions about refugees, and the actual beliefs and practices among the refugees themselves in a time of increasing mobility fuelled by what many call 'refugee crisis'. With a focus on language and literacy practices among recently-arrived Karenni refugee families in the United States, this book explores the multilingual repertoires and accumulated literacies acquired through the course of the refugees' multiple movements. Through the lens of transnationalism, the author emphasizes that despite their numerous struggles, the refugees daily and diligently use and strategize their old, emerging, and evolving linguistic and literacy resources to make the best of their resettlement. This book will shed light on the language and literacy practices among transnational and diasporic communities, minoritized or marginalized groups for researchers in these fields as well as practitioners and resettlement agencies working with refugee populations.
Contents: Introduction: Refugee, Language, and Literacy -- 'But, We Are Karenni. We Are Not Burmese.' Historical contexts and lived expereinces of Karenni Refugees from Burma -- The Three Families -- Life, Liberty, and (the Pursuit of) English -- Kaarenni youth, multilingual practices, and transnational literacy -- Digital literacy in the Karenni families -- Revisiting transnationalism and key resources -- Conclusion and implications.