Do You Speak My Language? Immigrant Identities and Accents

Wynona
Falcao

Falcao, Wynona

About me

My name is Wynona Falcao. I am an undergraduate student completing my final year in the School of Professional Communication at Ryerson. I am an amateur artist and I like to experiment with new mediums and techniques in both traditional and digital art. Throughout my undergraduate career, I was able to combine my passion for art with communication techniques to help me establish my brand as a creator and entrepreneur of my upcoming confectionary business, My Girls Sweets and Treats.

Research

Research

The focus of this research is on the formation of the identity of immigrants. An individual’s identity is created through social interactions which influence the way they perceive and understand the culture. Immigrant identity is a combination of various cultures, which often creates a sub-culture of people with mixed experiences. However, the individual can choose to portray certain parts of this cultural identity, resulting in the formation of two personas: a westernized one and a culturally rooted one. One of the most prominent identifiers is the changing of accents. The survey and interview conducted aim to gauge an individual’s experiences of a changing cultural environment and how it is influenced by the media. Through this research, I hope to highlight the behavior patterns of young immigrants who struggle to identify their sense of cultural belonging that are influenced by media depictions of immigrants. Additionally, the research could also contribute to creating better character portrayals of immigrants in film and TV that steer away from caricature stereotypes and showcases the intricacies of the immigrant identity.

Lightning Talk

Project Tags

Film; T.V.

Do You Speak My Language?

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