Vietnamese-Americans: Culture 9/30/2014. Vietnamese-Americans: History & Immigrant Experience. Vietnamese-Americans: History & Immigrant Experience

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1 Vietnamese-Americans: Vietnam has experienced many foreign invasions and civil warfare for the past years. Since the fall of Saigon in 1975, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese have left the country. Most US immigrants moved to southern California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, Washington state, and Washington, DC. Vietnamese-Americans: 3 waves of immigration to the USA: : mostly US military and government employees and/or educated urban professionals; much more likely to be bilingual : fled Vietnam by boat to refugee camps in Thailand, Malaysia, Indochina, Philippines, and Hong Kong before coming to the US; less educated rural population (e.g. farmers, fishermen, soldiers, etc.); very limited English 3. 80s-present day: varied group of refugees, political prisoners, multi-racial individuals, military and government employees Vietnamese-Americans: Culture Immediate and extended family is highly valued Elders highly respected; children expected to obey Men and boys may be considered higher status than women and girls Traditionally patriarchal in decision-making, so changes to gender roles since immigrating have created some conflict Individualism less important than family responsibilities (e.g. interdependence, belonging, support, etc.) Religious & Philosophical Practices Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam 1

2 Vietnamese-Americans: Culture Interpersonal Interaction Avoiding eye contact showing respect to those who are older or have another type of higher status e.g. teacher/student; doctor/patient Nodding greeting; indicates listening Note: Nodding does not necessarily indicate agreement. NOT expressing disagreement and/or NOT answering questions directly or asking questions avoiding confrontation or signs of disrespect Nodding and/or remaining silent or saying yes/yeah does NOT indicate understanding or agreement Vietnamese-Americans: Culture Interpersonal Interaction (continued) Crossing arms sign of respect Shaking hands friendly greeting between men of similar age, but not customary between women or between a woman and a man Winking inappropriate, especially across genders Beckoning with index finger offensive and/or threatening Putting hand(s) in pocket(s) or on hips while talking disrespectful Touching the head and/or patting on the back disrespectful The Vietnamese language is a member of the Austro-Asiatic family of languages. Austro-Asiatic languages are mostly found in continental Southeast Asia, but small pockets are also found in India, Bangladesh, and along the southern border of China 2

3 Articulation: Vietnamese English 3 dialects that vary in tone and pronunciation: Northern, Central, Southern Most Vietnamese immigrants use Southern dialect. Challenges may arise when families dialect differs from interpreter s dialect. Articulation: Vietnamese English No voiced or voiceless th in any position Difficulty with and/or confusion of ch and sh (e.g. sheep vs. cheap) Epenthesis: inserting uh between consonants in a cluster /p, b, f, v/ substitutions Difficulty with /r/-controlled vowels (e.g. er/ur/ir, or, ar, air, ear, etc.) Articulation: Vietnamese English There are many fewer final consonants in Vietnamese, which ones depends on the dialect being used. Note: Articulation of the same phoneme in Vietnamese and English differs. However, it is not unheard of for Vietnamese speakers of English to still omit these consonants in final position! They are often omitted or substituted with another consonant. Final consonant clusters will often be reduced or completely absent. 3

4 Language: Vietnamese English Omission of plural marker s Omission of s to indicate possession Omission of article (e.g. She has job.) Use of the word one instead of a or an (e.g. She is one engineer.) Omission of object pronouns (e.g. That man is very rude, so nobody likes.) Omission of pronouns in clauses (e.g. If not have jobs, they will not have food.) Language: Vietnamese English Use of pronouns with subject nouns (e.g. My parents, they live in Vietnam.) Avoidance of pronouns by repetition of nouns (e.g. Sara visits her grandfather every Sunday, and Sara makes a meal.) Position of adjectives after nouns (e.g. I read a book interesting.) Omission of s in present tense (e.g. She go to school everyday.) Vietnamese-Americans Language: Vietnamese English Omission of tense markers (e.g. I give it to him yesterday.) Omission of linking/auxiliary verb (e.g. He hungry.) Use of incorrect tenses in time clauses (e.g. After she comes home, it was raining.) Avoidance of English inverted-question forms in yes/no questions in favor of tag questions and/or intonation (e.g. You come tomorrow, ok?) Incorrect tag questions (e.g. You want to go home, are you?) 4

5 Somali-Americans: Society was historically founded on the concept of clans (one s lineage is more important than his nation) Clan system is unstable due to changing alliances. Most (~80%) Somalis live in rural areas. From the mid-1800s on, Somalia has had frequent periods of instability/foreign rule. Colonizers created boundaries that did not match the areas in which ethnic Somalis live, so some now live in Ethiopia and Kenya. Colonial rule ended in 1960, but Somalia s new government quickly became corrupt and inefficient. Somali-Americans: Civil war that began in 1990 (and has not yet ended) led to dissolution of any kind of central government. To reiterate, there is still no stable central government 24 years later. As a result, Somalia s infrastructure and economy are very unstable. The people of Somali have suffered greatly; many have been killed or forced to become refugees. Approximately 400,000 people died due to disease, starved to death, or were killed in war. 45%+ of the population has left Somalia. One million+ Somalis have left and settled as refugees in neighboring countries. Most Somalis enter into the US under refugee status. Somali-Americans: 1920s: Most Somalis entering the US were sailors. 1960s: After colonialism, Somali students (sponsored by the U.N., US government, or family members) began to immigrate. Some returned to Somalia. 1980s: A relative small number of Somali refugees were admitted to the US. 1990s: Due to the civil war, the number of Somali refugees coming to the US drastically increased : 55,000+ Somali refugees came to the US. Somali immigrants predominantly settled in Minnesota, California, Georgia, New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Washington, DC. 5

6 Somali-Americans: Culture Not all immigrants who are ethnically Somali have lived in Somalia. Some lived in other African countries, such as Ethiopia and Kenya. Not all who immigrated from Somalia are ethnically Somali. There are other small populations such as Arabs, Southeast Asians, and Bantus from SE Africa. Somali-Americans : Culture The idea of family is supremely important, including family honor and loyalty. Described as the ultimate source of personal security and identity. This is rooted in the history of clans. Other important values include independence, democracy, individualism, egalitarianism, and generosity. Gratitude or appreciation might not be expressed visually or verbally. Names reflect the family into which you were born. Therefore, women do not change their names when they marry. Arranged marriages are traditional, but this appears to be changing. Men have typically worked outside the home; women stay home to care for children. Hand and foot painting with henna is common seen on women and girls for special occasions (e.g. marriage, new baby, etc.). Somali-Americans : Culture Religion: Islam predominates in Somalia. Most are Sunni Muslims. Annually, Muslims participate in 30 days of Ramadan by fasting and praying from sunup to sundown. Because Ramadan is determined by a lunar calendar, the specific dates will vary from year to year. Pregnant women, the ill, and children may be exempt from fasting. After Ramadan comes a 3-day feast called Id-al-Fitir ( Id for short; alternative spelling is Eid ). Students will often stay home from school during Id-al-Fitir. 6

7 Somali-Americans : Culture Religion (continued): Muslims do not eat pork, lard, or drink alcohol. Meat must be slaughtered/prepared according to halaal rules to be considered clean. In the US, kosher foods meet halaal standards. Islam drives most social rules and interaction. Women and men do not touch each other. Husbands and fathers may speak for their wives and daughters in public. Women cover their head (variety of types of coverings). Somali-Americans : L 1 L 2 The Somali language is a member of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages. Afro-Asiatic languages are mostly found in the Horn of Africa, North Africa, Sahel (zone between the Sahara Desert to the north and the Sudanian Savanna to the south), and Middle East. More specifically, Cushitic languages are spoken predominantly in countries such as Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, Kenya, etc. Somali-Americans : L 1 L 2 Verbal communication is very highly valued as an art form. In fact, societal success and career advancement can be quite dependent on one s level of verbal skill. In 2000, the literacy rate in Somalia was estimated to be 24% Be aware when sending home printed materials. 7

8 Somali-Americans : L 1 L 2 Articulation: Somali English 15 Somali consonants are very similar to English: b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, s, sh, t, w, y There are 7 consonants that do not exist in English. Keep in mind that there are letters that represent very different sounds in Somali than in English: c, q, r, x Somali does not use digraphs (2+ letters that make 1 sound), so they may pronounce both consonants or vowels in a digraph. Examples: bigger, noon, boat, etc. Somali-Americans : L 1 L 2 Language: Somali English Difficulty with indefinite articles (a/an) Using a tone change in place of possessive -s Misuse of word endings to create adjectives Difficulty with prepositions Putting verbs at the ends of sentences Difficulty with passive voice Misuse of verb tenses Aqoon la aani waa iftiin la aan. Being without knowledge is to be without light. ~Somali proverb 8

9 Bibliography Vietnamese-Americans Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Promoting Cultural Sensitivity: Vietnamese Guide. Detzner, et al. (2010). Helping Youth Succeed: Bicultural Parenting for Southeast Asian Families. University of Minnesota Extension. Rigby/Harcourt. (2004). Teacher s Resource Guide of Language Transfer Issues for English Language Learners. Roseberry-McKibbin, C. (2001). Language Disorders in Multicultural and ESL Students. Cheng, L.L. (1991). Assessing Asian Language Performance: Guidelines for Evaluating Limited-English-Proficient Students (Second Edition). Hunt, P. H. (2002). An Introduction to Vietnamese Culture for Service Providers in the US. Somali-Americans Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). Promoting Cultural Sensitivity: Somali Guide. Putnam & Noor. (1993). The Somalis: Their History and Culture. 9