Linguistic integration of adult migrants: the case study of Greeks in Switzerland

Abstract

For hundreds of years people have been migrating, each for different reasons, with the common goal of a better life with all the problems that entails. Due to migration movements, societies have become multicultural and migrants have to adapt to new conditions. This case study presents the linguistic integration of adult Greek immigrants living in Switzerland, specifically in Zurich and the Lausanne region. In order to enable the presentation of the participants’ experiences, qualitative research using semi-structured interviews was chosen and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The participants who took part were ten and live in Switzerland some with their families and some without. The results of this research show that there is no substantial language integration of the participants, as most of them do not speak the language to be able to socialize and work except for their daily life, such as public services and others. They also present how the target language affects their social and economic integration and the problems they have faced or still face with the language. Participants believe that their social integration is mainly influenced by knowledge of the target language as opposed to economic integration where according to most of them the labor market is open for them without knowledge of the target language. Although they consider language important for social integration, it seems that their social relations are only focused on their compatriots, despite the fact that they are in a different environment and the relations with the locals make them easier to adapt to the society. This shows that they are not integrated into Swiss society.