The French in the United States : an ethnographic study / / Jacqueline Lindenfeld

• Autore: Lindenfeld Jacqueline
• Pubblicazione: Westport, Conn. : , : Praeger, , 2000; London : , : Bloomsbury Publishing, , 2024
• Edizione: 1st ed.
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (183 p.)
• Disciplina: 973.04/41
• Soggetto topico: French Americans - History; French Americans - Ethnic identity
• Soggetto geografico: United States Ethnic relations
• Note generali: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. [157]-161) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Cover -- THE FRENCH IN THE UNITED STATES -- Contents -- Illustrations -- MAPS -- FIGURES -- TABLES -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1 Overview of French Migration to North America -- A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE FRENCH PRESENCE ON THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT -- THE CURRENT FRENCH POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES -- 2 French Ethnicity on the American Scene -- DEFINING ETHNICITY: THEORETICAL AND ANALYTICAL CONCEPTS -- PRESENT-DAY FRENCH IMMIGRANTS ON THE WEST COAST: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY -- Data Collection -- Sampling Procedures -- Systematic Interviewing -- The Final Sample of Semiformal Interviews -- Analysis of the Data: A Preview -- 3 Voyage to the West: From France to the United States -- GENERAL PRE-EMIGRATION CHARACTERISTICS AND MOTIVES FOR DEPARTURE -- RECENT TRAJECTORIES TO THE WEST COAST -- The "Push" Factors -- The "Pull" Factors -- 4 Integration into American Society: Socio-Demographic Factors of Acculturation -- RESIDENCE AND MARRIAGE PATTERNS -- SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS -- CITIZENSHIP STATUS -- REPRISE -- 5 Life at Home and Beyond: Behavioral and Interactional Factors of Acculturation -- LIFE AT HOME -- Food Patterns -- Celebration of Holidays -- Use of the Media -- REPRISE -- LIFE BEYOND HOME -- Formal Ties with the Community -- Informal Friendship and Acquaintance Networks -- Visits to the Homeland -- REPRISE -- 6 Perceptual Dimensions of Ethnicity -- SUBJECTIVE IDENTITY -- Self-Labeling -- Variability in Self-Identification -- MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS OF A DUAL WORLD -- Perceived Attitudes of Americans toward the French World -- Internalized Images of the French and the American World -- The Two Countries and Their People -- The French Language and American English -- THE "REALITY TEST" -- 7 The French Linguistic Heritage -- LANGUAGE RETENTION IN THE IMMIGRANT GENERATION -- Language Skills and Preferences -- Naming Practices. ; LANGUAGE TRANSMISSION IN LATER GENERATIONS -- French Language Skills in the Offspring of First-Generation Immigrants -- The Process of Language Transmission Within the Family -- Family Configuration as a Factor of Variation -- Patterns of Language Use at Home and in Public -- Parental Attitudes Toward Bilingualism -- LANGUAGE AS A MARKER OF ETHNICITY -- Conclusion -- Appendix: The Interview Guide -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author.
• Sommario/riassunto: Complex patterns of acculturation are revealed in the most comprehensive ethnographic study of contemporary French immigrants in the United States. Written by a French-born American anthropologist who has insider status among French Americans, The French in the United States offers a fresh look at the histories and experiences of French immigrants. In the foreign-born generation, a high degree of social integration into American society co-exists with the maintenance of a French identity which manifests itself in the areas of language, culture, and perceptions. The French heritage does not usually endure past the second generation, however, because its maintenance within the family is not adequately supported by collective efforts, due to a lack of cohesiveness among French-born individuals who have become permanent immigrants. A number of factors account for the foregoing: the small number of French natives in the United States, their scattered geographical distribution, the absence of spatially defined communities populated by direct immigrants from France, and a very high rate of intermarriage. Another important factor is the primarily individual nature of migration from France to this country since the last half of the 20th century, and a highly developed sense of self-direction in those who stay permanently. Their French identity must be regarded as cultural rather than ethnic: it is tied to a distant homeland, rather than to a group with territorial, institutional, and organizational identity in the United States. Lindenfeld delves into the makings of this French identity and distinguishes French immigrants from other Americans.
• Titolo autorizzato: The French in the United States
• ISBN: 9798400654039; 9780313002748; 0313002746
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910954713903321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II