University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Paper
This paper reports the findings of a sociolinguistic study which
examined the language attitudes, acculturation strategies of the
Dinka-speaking community in a regional Australian settlement. The paper
is positioned in the context of language policy and planning both on
the macro (offical national) and micro (community-based) levels.
This project is set in a highly unique multilingual setting with sharp
differences in the structure, corpus, status, and power features of
each language represented. The Sudanese community, mainly from Southern
Sudan, represents 4 separate Dinka language groups with 4 separate
dialects: Dinka Bhar Al Gazel, Dinka Bor, Neur and Dinka Ngok. The
majority of Dinka in Toowoomba are from the Dinka Bor group, but they
are highly multilingual and use Arabic, Acholi and Kiswahili as local
lingue france. These ‘low-status’ codes are in sharp contrast with the
‘powerful’ host language, English. Given these sharp differences and
the complexity of multilinguality, it is crucial to explore whether
'status-seeking behaviour' (Ager, 2001) will shape the future of the
less prestigious languages.
The regional Australian context is significant from two main
perspectives. Firstly, there is increased policy focus on refugee
settlement in regional and rural areas as they offer the ‘highest
degree of community support’ (DIMIA, 2003 p. 27). The government
recommends that ‘humanitarian entrants settle in regional areas to
enhance their prospects of early employment and help meet regional
economies’ demand for semi-skilled workers’ (DIMIA, 2003 p. 27). With
this long-term strategic plan, the settlement of refugees in regional
areas will be a high research priority from policy perspectives.
Secondly, the regional context (as opposed to major urban) is a strong
factor in language shift studies. It is well documented in the
literature that regional and rural communities have different language
maintenance shift patterns due to the demographic characteristics.
The paper, firstly, gives a brief overview of current immigration,
language and settlement policies in Australia. Then, the paper reports
the survey data collected from 67 Dinka speakers in 8 schools and the
main findings of the interview data conducted in 10 households.
Attitudes and motivations for the maintenance for the Dinka language
will be discussed and contrasted with attitudes to Arabic and Kiswahili
as well as the the explicit desires of the community to exit the
refugee identity and fit-into the mainstream Australian community.
Findings of this study are applicable to other communities and have
strong implications for building better links between macro- and
micro-level language planning.
Session: Paper session
Shift 2 (Maintenance)
Friday, April 4, 2008, 10:30-12:00
room: 05