La vie en Fran�ais aux Etats-Unis: Exploring identity and language shifts from a geographic territory to an imaginary homeland

Abstract

Lebanese-American individuals residing and adapting to life in the United States see changes occur in their cultural identity and linguistic repertoire. In this theses, I seek to offer perspectives on identity and language shifts from a geographic territory to an imaginary homeland based on a survey of Lebanese-Americans in the United States and an autoethnographic discovery on translanguaging. First, I explore the changes that Lebanese-American immigrants experience while adapting to a new country (the United States); then, I analyze translanguaging practices among a Lebanese-American family; and finally, I explain the reason behind the choice to use the French language in a Lebanese-American individual. Findings revealed that the use of a preferred language became the apparent location where true identities and a sense of homeness were enacted. The research became transformative while bringing awareness on the need to provide space for immigrants to express themselves in their preferred language.