Ambivalent belongings: a discourse analysis of second generation Cretan immigrants in Cunda

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the discourse of second generation Cretan immigrants whose forefathers were forcibly relocated to Cunda via the population exchange between Greece and the Republic of Turkey in 1924. The aim is to analyze the identity construction of the second generation Cretan immigrants to understand their positioning in relation to the migration, migrancy and to the “others” and to reveal the situational, social, historical and political processes that influence and frame their identity formation. In the analysis, we focus on the choice of grammatical voice, pronouns and vocabulary seeking to link the analysis at the level of language with the historical, political and cultural contexts and the discourses and the ideologies in action. A strongly felt ambivalence regarding the issues above emerges as the strongest characteristic of the data. The migration is represented as both “compulsory” and “voluntary” depending on particular contexts. We also observe that the population exchange is set as a milestone in the lives of the immigrants keeping its profound impact. The most frequently raised aspect of identity is ethnicity, specifically “Turkish” and “Cretan”. The participants position themselves as both Turkish and Cretan switching from one to the other as required by the immediate interactional context. In addition, the ambivalence that the second generation immigrants display is also linked to the historical, political and cultural contexts, the other discourses and ideologies in action.