Cover not available

Article published In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 45:3 (2022) ► pp.246–271

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

Translingual identity

Perpetual foreigner stereotype of the Eastern-European immigrants in Australia

ORCiD logo with link | Curtin University
Published online: 26 November 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.20078.tan
Abstract
Translingual identity, as a part of the trans-paradigm, refers to linguistic, sociocultural, ethno-racial, and religious practices, which are negotiable, fluid, and in motion, transcending mainstream boundaries. This paper expands the translingual literature from the perspective of sociolinguistic disparities of culturally and linguistically diverse Eastern-European immigrant women in Australia, as they become victims of the perpetual foreigner stereotype in their host communities. Using the linguistic ethnography methods, such as open ethnographic observation and semi-structured interview, the study reveals that due to biographical accent, name, and the country of origin, as aspects of translingual identity – Australian-by-passport, those women become the victim of the perpetual foreigner stereotypes, such as ‘perceived as different’ and ‘Russian bride,’ which led to their feelings of inferiority and social inequality. By expanding the scope of the translingual identity and how it is perceived in Australia, this study provides a necessary contribution to the translingual literature, while simultaneously advocating for the quality of life and justice for translingual immigrants in their new home.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Translingual identity
  • 3.Perpetual foreigner stereotype
  • 4.Linguistic ethnography
  • 5.Findings: ‘Australian-by-passport’
    • 5.1Perceived as different: Biographical accent and name
    • 5.2Russian bride: Country of origin
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
References (74)
References
Ahmed, S. (2000). Strange encounters: Embodied others in post-coloniality. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2017, June 27). Census reveals a fast changing, culturally diverse nation [Press release]. [URL]
Bakhtin, M. (1981). The dialogic imagination: Four essays. University of Texas Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Baszanger, I., & Dodier, N. (2004). Ethnography: Relating the part to the whole. In D. Silverman (Ed.), Qualitative research: Theory, method and practice (pp. 9–34). Sage.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Black’s Law Dictionary. (n.d.). What is ALIEN? In Black’s Law Dictionary. Retrieved 2020, June 15 from [URL]
Blommaert, J. (2005). Discourse: A critical introduction. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2009). A market of accents. Language Policy, 81, 243–259. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2010). The sociolinguistics of globalisation. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blommaert, J., & Dong, J. (2010). Ethnographic fieldwork: A beginner’s guide. Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blommaert, J., & Rampton, B. (2011). Language and superdiversity. Diversities, 13(2), 1–22.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bommaert, J., & Verschueren, J. (1998). Debating diversity: Analysing the discourse of tolerance. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bommes, M. (2006). Integration durch Sprache als politisches Konzept [Integration through language as a political concept]. In U. Davy & A. Weber (Eds.), Paradigmenwechsel in der Einwanderungsfrage: Überlegungen zum neuen Einwanderungsgesetz [Paradigm shift in immigration: Reflections on the new immigration act] (pp. 59–87). Nomos.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Booth, A. L., Leigh, A., & Varganova, E. (2012). Does ethnic discrimination vary across minority groups? Evidence from a field experiment. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 74(4), 547–573. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bornholt, L. J., Piccolo, A., & O’Loughlin, M. (2004). Understanding “identity of place”: Thoughts and feelings on local, regional and national identity for adolescents and young adults in urban contexts. In H. W. Marsh, J. Baumert, G. E. Richards, & U. Trautwein (Eds.), Proceedings of third international biennial SELF research conference “Self-concept, motivation and identity. Where to from here?” (pp. 1–19). SELF Research Centre, University of Western Sydney.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. Sage.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Burgat, F. (2003). Face to face with political Islam. I.B. Tauris. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Canagarajah, S. (2013). Translingual practice: Global Englishes and cosmopolitan relations. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2017). Translingual practices and neoliberal policies: Attitudes and strategies of African skilled migrants in Anglophone workplaces. Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chang, R., & Morris, S. L. (2015). “You speak good English”: Stereotyping of the perpetual foreigner. In N. D. Hartlep (Ed.), Modern societal impacts of the model minority stereotype (pp. 133–154). IGI Global. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Clarke, S., Gilmour, R., & Garner, S. (2007). Home, identity and community cohesion. In M. Wetherell, M. Lafleche, & R. Berkeley (Eds.), Identity, ethnic diversity and community cohesion (pp. 87–101). Sage. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Copland, F., & Creese, A. (2015). Linguistic ethnography: Collecting, analysing and presenting data. Sage. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Creese, G., & Kambere, E. N. (2003). What colour is your English? Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue canadienne de sociologie, 40(5), 565–573. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
De Fina, A., & Perrino, S. (2013). ‘Transnational identities’. Applied Linguistics, 34(5), 509–515. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Devos, T., & Banaji, M. R. (2005). American = White? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 881, 447–466. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dobinson, T., & Mercieca, P. (2020). Seeing things as they are, not just as we are: Investigating linguistic racism on an Australian university campus. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 23(7), 789–803. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dovchin, S. (2018). Language, media and globalization in the periphery: The linguascapes of popular music in Mongolia. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2019a). Translingual English, Facebook, and gay identities. World Englishes, 39(1), 54–66. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2019b). Language crossing and linguistic racism: Mongolian migrant women in Australia. Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 14(4), 334–351. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2019c). The politics of inequality in translingualism and linguistic discrimination. In T. A. Barrett & S. Dovchin (Eds.), Critical inquiries in the studies of sociolinguistics of globalization (pp. 84–102). Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2020). The psychological damages of linguistic racism and international students in Australia. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 23(7), 804–818. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dovchin, S., & Lee, J. W. (2019). Introduction to special issue: ‘The ordinariness of translinguistics’. International Journal of Multilingualism, 16(2), 105–111. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dovchin, S., Pennycook, A., & Sultana, S. (2017). Popular culture, voice and linguistic diversity: Young adults on- and offline. Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dovchin, S., Sultana, S., & Pennycook, A. (2016). Unequal translingual Englishes in the Asian peripheries. Asian Englishes, 18(2), 92–108. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dovidio, J. F. (2010). The Sage handbook of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination. Sage. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Garton, S., & Copland, F. (2010). ‘I like this interview, I get cakes and cats!’: The effect of prior relationships on interview talk. Qualitative Research, 10(5), 1–19. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Habibis, D., & Walter, M. (2015). Social inequality in Australia: Discourses, realities and futures (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hobsbawm, E. (2007). Globalisation, democracy and terrorism. Little, Brown.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hogg, M. A. (2016). Social identity theory. In S. McKeown, R. Haji, & N. Ferguson (Eds.), Understanding peace and conflict through social identity theory. Peace Psychology Book Series. Springer, Cham. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
hooks, b. (2001). Eating the other: Desire and resistance. In M. G. Durham & D. Kellner (Eds.), Media and cultural studies: Keyworks (pp. 366–380). Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Huynh, Q.-L., Devos, T., & Smalarz, L. (2011). Perpetual foreigner in one’s own land: Potential implications for identity and psychological adjustment. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 30(2), 133–162. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jenkins, R. (2004). Social identity (2nd ed.). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Korstjens, I., & Moser, A. (2018). Series: Practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 4: Trustworthiness and publishing. European Journal of General Practice, 24(1), 120–124. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kubota, R. (2016). The multi/plural turn, postcolonial theory, and neoliberal multiculturalism: Complicities and implications for applied linguistics. Applied Linguistics, 37(4), 474–497. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ladegaard, H. J. (2014). Crying as communication in domestic helper narratives: Towards a social psychology of crying discourse. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 33(6), 579–605. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lee, S. J., Wong, N.-W. A., & Alvarez, A. N. (2009). The model minority and the perpetual foreigner: Stereotypes of Asian Americans. In N. Tewari & A. N. Alvarez (Eds.), Asian American psychology: Current perspectives (pp. 69–84). Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Levitt, P., & Jaworski, N. B. (2007). Transnational migration studies: Past developments and future trends. Annual Review of Sociology, 33(1), 129–156. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lippi-Green, R. (2011). English with an accent: Language, ideology and discrimination in the United States. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Maydell, E. (2017). ‘We need engineers, not Russian brides’: Cultural stereotypes in New Zealand print media and what the engineers have to say. Communication Research and Practice, 3(4), 335–357. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Menard-Warwick, Y., Masters, K. A., & Orque, R. (2019). The translingual identity development of two California teachers: Case studies of self-authoring. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 18(2), 110–125. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Morgan, G., & Poynting, S. (2012). Global islamophobia: Muslims and moral panic in the West. Ashgate.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
news.com.au. (2020, July 6). Pauline Hanson axed from Channel 9 after Melbourne towers rant. [URL]
Ono, K. A., & Pham, V. N. (2009). Asian Americans and the media. Polity.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Otsuji, E., & Pennycook, A. (2010). Metrolingualism: Fixity, fluidity and language in flux. International Journal of Multilingualism, 7(3), 240–254. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pennycook, A. (2000). English, politics, ideology: From colonial celebration to postcolonial performativity. In T. Ricento (Ed.), Ideology, politics, and language policies: Focus on English (pp. 107–120). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2007). Global Englishes and transcultural flows. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2010). Language as a local practice. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2013). Language policies, language ideologies and local language practices. In L. Wee, R. B. Goh, & L. Lim (Eds.), The politics of English: South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific (pp. 1–18). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Piller, I. (2014). Linguistic diversity and social inclusion in Australia. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 37(3), 190–197. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2016). Linguistic diversity and social justice: An introduction to applied sociolinguistics. Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Portes, A., Guarnizo, L., & Landolt, P. (1999). The study of transnationalism: Pitfalls and promise of an emergent research field. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 22(2), 217–237. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rampton, B., Maybin, J., & Roberts, C. (2014). Methodological foundations in linguistic ethnography. Working papers. Urban Language & Literacies, 1251.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Seargeant, P., & Swann, J. (Eds.). (2012). English in the world: History, diversity, change. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shah, A. (2017). Ethnography? Participant observation, a potentially revolutionary praxis. Hau: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, 7(1), 45–59. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Singer, J. B. (2009). Ethnography. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 86(1), 191–198. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Skenderovic, D. (2016). Challenges of diversity: Language and immigration in Switzerland. In C. Späti (Ed.), Language and identity politics: A cross-Atlantic perspective (pp. 158–176). Berghahn Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Smith, A. (1986). The ethnic origins of nations. Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Späti, C. (2016). Language and the rise of identity politics: Introduction. In C. Späti (Ed.), Language and identity politics: A cross-Atlantic perspective (pp. 1–13). Berghahn Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A. M., Nadal, K. L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist, 62(4), 271–286. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behaviour. In S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7–24). Nelson-Hall.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tajfel, H. (2001). Social stereotypes and social groups. In M. A. Hogg & D. Abrams (Eds.), Key readings in social psychology. Intergroup relations: Essential readings (pp. 132–145). Psychology Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wiley, N. (1994). The politics of identity in American history. In C. Calhoun (Ed.), Social theory and the politics of identity (pp. 130–149). Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wong, A. (2005). “Cuz thez care who goes about the people who goes there”: A portrait of a community-based youth center (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Wisconsin, Madison.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zare, B., & Mendoza, L. S. (2011). ‘Mail-order brides’ in popular culture: Colonialist representations and absent discourse. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 15(4), 365–381. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (21)

Cited by 21 other publications

Brdarević-Čeljo, Amna, Vildana Dubravac & Eldin Milak
2025. Between play and precarity: translingual practices of youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina. International Journal of Multilingualism ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Ding, Seong Lin & Rui Li
2025. Politics of Language and Identity. In Chinese on the Move, ► pp. 75 ff. DOI logo
Sah, Pramod K.
2025. Antiracist workshops as sites of resistance: Ethnic minority youths’ multilingual and multimodal counternarratives to linguistic racism and nationalized identities. Language Awareness 34:3 ► pp. 749 ff. DOI logo
Sun, Yachao
2025. Power dynamics in translingual practices for Chinese as a Second Language writing education. Language Teaching 58:1 ► pp. 116 ff. DOI logo
Tarrayo, Veronico N., Poowadol Srimalee & Sirikorn Bamroongkit
2025. Accentism: Experiences of Thais as English LX Users in Workplaces. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 35:3 ► pp. 1262 ff. DOI logo
Xiong, Ying
2025. Digital community, identity, and multilingual parenting: a netnography of transnational Chinese mothers in a WeChat group. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Bogachenko, Tetiana, Rachel Burke, Yi Zhang & Qian Gong
2024. The use of Google Translate for language learning in emergency forced displacement contexts. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 47:3 ► pp. 309 ff. DOI logo
Dovchin, Sender, Toni Dobinson, Qian Gong & Paul Mercieca
2024. Translingual Playfulness, Precarity and Safe Space. In Translingual Practices, ► pp. 19 ff. DOI logo
Dryden, Stephanie & Sender Dovchin
2024. Accentism: English LX users of migrant background in Australia. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 45:5 ► pp. 1466 ff. DOI logo
Oliver, Rhonda, Honglin Chen & Sender Dovchin
2024. Review of selected research in applied linguistics published in Australia (2015–2022). Language Teaching 57:3 ► pp. 341 ff. DOI logo
Ospanova, Sholpan, Aigerim Mynbayeva & Pawel Boski
2024. Communicative Barriers and Stereotypical Representations in the Interactions of Intracultural Groups within the Same Ethnicity with Different Dominant Languages of Communication: A Case Study of Kazakhstan. PSYCHOLINGUISTICS 35:1 ► pp. 162 ff. DOI logo
Tankosić, Ana, Sender Dovchin, Rhonda Oliver & Mike Exell
2024. The mundanity of translanguaging and Aboriginal identity in Australia. Applied Linguistics Review 15:4 ► pp. 1277 ff. DOI logo
Urman, Aleksandra & Mykola Makhortykh
2024. “Foreign beauties want to meet you”: The sexualization of women in Google’s organic and sponsored text search results. New Media & Society 26:5 ► pp. 2932 ff. DOI logo
Dovchin, Sender
2022. Translingual Discrimination, DOI logo
Dovchin, Sender & Stephanie Dryden
2022. Unequal English accents, covert accentism and EAL migrants in Australia. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 2022:277 ► pp. 33 ff. DOI logo
Sultana, Shaila & Dariush Izadi
2022. Editorial. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 45:2 ► pp. 127 ff. DOI logo
Tankosić, Ana & Sender Dovchin
2022. Monglish in post‐communist Mongolia. World Englishes 41:1 ► pp. 38 ff. DOI logo
Tankosić, Ana & Sender Dovchin
2023. (C)overt linguistic racism: Eastern-European background immigrant women in the Australian workplace. Ethnicities 23:5 ► pp. 726 ff. DOI logo
Tankosić, Ana & Sender Dovchin
2024. “Women are capable too!” Exploring intersectionality and challenging CaLD gender stereotypes at Australian universities. TESOL Journal 15:S1 DOI logo
Tankosić, Ana & Sender Dovchin
2024. Translingual Identity of Postgraduate International Students in Australia. In The Handbook of Cultural Linguistics [Springer Handbooks in Languages and Linguistics, ], ► pp. 253 ff. DOI logo
Tankosić, Ana, Stephanie Dryden & Sender Dovchin
2021. The link between linguistic subordination and linguistic inferiority complexes: English as a second language migrants in Australia. International Journal of Bilingualism 25:6 ► pp. 1782 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 1 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue