Graphic assimilation: New immigrants and social identity

Visible Language, 2003 by Martinson, Barbara, Chu, Sauman

community

social

service

identity

assimilation

Delivery of essential social service information to immigrant groups in the United States raises issues of language, cultural imagery, social status and identity. Two perspectives on these issues are offered. From a formal viewpoint, theories of materiality of meaning and the construction of social identity provide insight regarding perception of identity based on representation in print publications. From a grassroots viewpoint, Hmong and Somali focus group discussions explore the character and practical nature of information available to their respective communities. The goal of the paper is to explore appropriate design strategies for bilingual communication for new (Somali) and more integrated (Hmong) residents of Minnesota.

An increase in refugee immigration has challenged professional communicators to develop multilingual informational materials. A recently completed study examined the visual communication of public service information from community service organizations to an audience of culturally diverse readers who have been in the United States less than five years. Focus groups of recent Hmong and Somali immigrants participated in two sessions to determine appropriate design strategies for bilingual communication. Subjects preferred bilingual publications (English/Hmong; English/Somali) with layouts that were clear, used limited text, organized information with bulleted lists, used a simple bold font and contained culturally appropriate imagery. Recommendations for design procedures included using several translators from different sub-groups within each culture and testing the information with focus groups before publishing (Ghu & Martinson, 2000).

In addition to the pragmatic issues of designing for a multilingual audience, a number of social issues emerged during the focus group discussions. There were distinct differences between Hmong and Somali participants regarding their reactions to currently available publications targeted at each group. While the participants in both focus groups had been in the United States for less than five years, the first Hmong refugees had begun arriving in Minnesota in the late 1970s and they established connections within the community and created social service agencies and political organizations (Minnesota has the first Hmong state legislator).

Participants in the Hmong focus group expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of publications that are available specifically for Hmong immigrants. Many of the publications have been developed by non-profit community service organizations with restricted budgets. The resulting publications are inexpensively produced, and most have not been created by designers. Members of the focus group asserted that poor production quality makes a negative social statement. Lesser quality indicates lower status within the social system. Many of the publications included images of Hmong in ceremonial dress. This is not typical everyday dress for the Hmong, and these images cause potential Hmong readers to assume that the information pertains to a special event, when in fact it may provide instructions on how to attain medical help. Service organizations have used such images to signify Hmong culture in general. There seems to be a disconnect between intended and perceived representation. Hmong participants perceived the slickness of typical American print communications to signify a position of power over the groups depicted in lesser quality publications.

The Somali focus group enthusiastically embraced any publications that included the Somali language. As a more recent immigrant group in Minnesota, printed information is scarce. Quality of production was not of great concern; access to information was deemed most important. Both the Hmong and Somali have been primarily verbal cultures, so the concept of print communication is relatively recent.

Reactions to this social phenomenon will be examined in relation to the role that materiality plays in social identity. A theoretical approach, adapted from Manuel Gasteils' project identity will be used to discuss how the perception of identity is based on representation in print publications (Castells, 1997). Moya's realist theory of identity will be used to describe the notion of identity development when settling in a new culture (2002). The recent immigrants must build a new identity that defines their position in society. In that process their cultural identity and the identity of the communities that they inhabit will change.

The recent immigrants' ability to forge an identity within a community will depend on their ability to learn about social and economic variables related to their position in society and their own community (Moya, 2002). This lesson will be learned in many different ways - interactions with others within the cultural group, interactions with established citizens of the community, media, the physical environment and community organizations. The immigrants' social location within the new culture will depend on their skills at understanding how the world works and what they need to know and do to survive and thrive within the community.