Title: Cultural Identities in Transition
Subtitle: Voices of Saudi Arabian Mothers in New Zealand
Series Title: Language, Education and Diversity
Publication Year: 2025

Publisher: Multilingual Matters
http://www.multilingual-matters.com/
Book URL: https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/?K=9781800416222

Author(s): Esra Yaghi and Roger Barnard

Hbk ISBN 9781800416222 £99.95 / US$129.95 / €119.95

PDF ISBN 9781800416215 £20.00 / US$25.00 / €23.00

EPUB ISBN 9781800416246 £20.00 / US$25.00 / €23.00

Abstract:

This book explores the social, educational and linguistic acculturation of a group of Saudi wives and mothers sojourning in New Zealand while their husbands undertook full time study. Such sojourners, and their families, are faced with many challenges due to linguistic, social and cultural distance – as well as ethnic stereotyping and prejudice. They tell their stories in a series of interviews and focus groups, relating their pre-sojourn background, the challenges they faced and the changes they made during their sojourn, and their preparation for returning home post-sojourn. The narratives illustrate how these women renegotiated their own identities in relation to their changed circumstances and environment. The authors address the distinctive challenges faced by sojourners as opposed to immigrants, and present a nuanced and detailed picture of the women as individuals negotiating the complex interaction between the influence of the host country and the Saudi and Islamic identities of themselves and their children.

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics