Opening a gate to citizenship: Media for migrants

Abstract

Migration involves shifting identities, a complex process that requires adjusting to different cultural norms, and accepting a new history and mythology. Becoming a participant member of the new community includes formal steps of citizenship as well as acquiring the language and becoming familiar with the group’s ethos. Linguistic competence provides access to formal and informal socialization, to the history and ideologies, mythologies, and other banal aspects of nationalism and patriotism which are self-evident for ʼnatives’ (Anderson 1983; Bhabha 1990; Billig 1995; Hall 1996; Krzyžanowski and Wodak 2007; Wodak et al. 1996). Subsequently, nation-states develop language policies which are part of the educational and political systems, aiming at socializing citizens in the formal and informal educational systems (Kramsch 2000). Media addressing migrants play a significant role in the process by framing events and telling the national stories on special occasions and national holidays.