Immigrant generations

First-generation immigrant

The term first-generation [citizen of a country], e.g., "first-generation Ruritanian^[1]" may have either of two different meanings^[2][3]:

• A citizen of the country who is a naturalized immigrant.

or

• A citizen whose parents are naturalized immigrants.

A "first-generation immigrant" may be someone living permanently in the country without becoming a citizen; descendants of such a person born in the country may automatically be citizens (different countries have different laws, and the laws change over time, with many changes in the early twentyfirst century^[4]).

There is no agreement on which of these meanings is normally to be understood; a typical discussion is to be found here.

The term "immigrant" is often considered to be rather disparaging; a person from a poorer country settling in a richer one would be called an immigrant, but people from a richer country permanently living in a poorer one might call themselves "settlers", or speak of retiring to, rather than immigrating into, a country with better weather and lower living costs.

Second generation immigrant

The ambiguity of this term extends to the term "second generation immigrant," which may refer to the first generation born in the new country, or the first generation born to parents who were themselves born in the new country. The term is not actually correct, as a "second-generation immigrant" is not an immigrant, although "second-generation Ruritanian" is correct. Incidentally, the less common term 1.5 generation was unambiguously coined to refer to those who immigrate early in life, thus remaining consistent to the notion that "first generation" refers to immigrants themselves, and "second generation" refers to the first generation of a family born in the new country.

Generation labeling of immigrants is further complicated by the fact that immigrant generations may not correspond to the genealogical generations of a family. For instance, if a family of two parents and their two adult children immigrate to a new country, members in both generations of this family may be considered "first generation" by the former definition, as both parents and children were foreign-born, adult, immigrants. Likewise, if the two parents had a third child later on, this child would be of a different immigrant generation than its siblings. For every generation, the factor of mixed-generation marriages further convolutes the issue, as a person may have immigrants at several different levels of his/her ancestry.

Despite the ambiguity of generation labeling, it is frequently used in common discourse, news articles [1], and reference articles without deliberate clarification. It may or may not be possible to determine, from context, which meaning is intended.

1.5 generation

The term 1.5 generation or 1.5G refers to people who immigrate to a new country before or during their early teens. They earn the label the "1.5 generation" because they bring with them characteristics from their home country but continue their assimilation and socialization in the new country. Their identity is thus a combination of new and old culture and tradition.

Depending on the age of immigration, the community into which they settle, extent of education in their native country, and other factors, 1.5 generation individuals will identify with their countries of origin to varying degrees. However, their identification will be affected by their experiences growing up in the new country. 1.5G individuals are often bilingual and find it easier to be assimilated into the local culture and society than people who immigrated as adults.

Many 1.5 generation individuals are bi-cultural, combining both cultures - culture from the country of origin with the culture of the new country. Some notable members of 1.5 generation are: Elaine Chao (immigrated from Taiwan to U.S. at the age of eight), David Ho (immigrated from Taiwan to U.S. at the age of twelve), and Karina Smirnoff (immigrated from Ukraine to U.S. at the age of fourteen).

Here's a social network group on 1.5 generation: http://onepointfive.ning.com/

Japanese immigrant parsing terms

The term Nikkei (日系) was coined by a multinational group of sociologists and encompasses all of the world's Japanese immigrants across generations.^[5] The parsing terms themselves were a kind of cultural baggage which accompanied the emigrants who left Japan because of opportunities in other lands.

Generation	Summary
Issei (一世)	The generation of people born in Japan who later immigrated to another country.[6]
Nisei (二世)	The generation of people born in North America, Latin America, Australia, or any country outside of Japan either to at least one Issei or one non-immigrant Japanese parent.[7]
Sansei (三世)	The generation of people born in North America, Latin America, Australia, or any country outside of Japan to at least one Nisei parent.[8]
Yonsei (四世)	The generation of people born in North America, Latin America, Australia, or any country outside of Japan to at least one Sansei parent.[9]

The immigrant Nisei, their parents, children and grand children are changing the way they look at themselves and their pattern of accommodation to the non-Japanese majority.^[10] In the face of a declining birthrate and return migration, the Japanese government is also turning its attention to Issei, Nisei, Sansei and Yonsei emigrants.^[11]

See also

• Immigration
• Cultural assimilation
• Emigration
• Dekasegi

Notes

1. ^ Ruritania is a fictional country, used to avoid confusion due to immigration policies of different real countries.
2. ^ generation
3. ^ yourdictionary.com results from Webster and American Heritage dictionaries
4. ^ For 21st-century changes to nationality laws see for example German nationality law or Irish nationality law
5. ^ "What is Nikkei?" Japanese American National Museum.
6. ^ 1st generation of non-Japanese nationality; widely used term
7. ^ 2nd generation of non-Japanese nationality; widely used term
8. ^ 3rd generation of non-Japanese nationality; less widely used in assimilating contexts
9. ^ 4th generation of non-Japanese nationality; limited use, primarily in Brazil and Hawaii
10. ^ McLellan, Janet. Many Petals of the Lotus, p. 68. at Google Books
11. ^ Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA): Future Policy Regarding Cooperation with Overseas Communities of Nikkei

References

• McLellan, Janet. (1999). Many Petals of the Lotus: Five Asian Buddhist Communities in Toronto. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 10-ISBN 0802044212/13-ISBN 9780802044211; 10-ISBN 0802082254/13-ISBN 9780802082251; OCLC 247672282
• Roberge, Mark. (2005). "Who are Generation 1.5 Students?" Northern New England Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Conference, Southern New Hampshire University.

Further reading

• Amaya, Ismael. (2010). "How First-Generation College and Underrepresented Students Can Overcome Obstacles to Attaining a College Education: Handbook for a New Family Tradition,"Paper 318. Applied Research Projects. Texas State University.

External links

• Dictionary citation for 1.5 generation from Double-Tongued Word
• Generation 1.5 Students and College Writing