Across language borders: writing integration and belonging in Kindertransport diaries

Stahlberger, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5053-783X (2026) Across language borders: writing integration and belonging in Kindertransport diaries. German Life and Letters, 79 (2). pp. 129-147. ISSN 1468-0483 doi: 10.1111/glal.70018

Abstract/Summary

The diaries of six Kindertransport refugees who fled Nazi persecution from Germany and Austria to Britain between 1938 and 1939 offer unique insights into how language use reflects negotiations of identity and belonging. Moving beyond traditional concepts of bilingualism, a translingual framework reveals how these young refugees navigated between German and English in their diary writings. Through close textual analysis, this research identifies various linguistic strategies including code-switching, borrowing of words and phrases, script switching between Sütterlin and Latin script, and gradual syntactic changes. These practices demonstrate how the refugees developed fluid, hybrid forms of expression that reflected their evolving cultural identities. While some diarists explicitly discussed language challenges, others displayed unconscious linguistic adaptations that signalled their integration process. Rather than shifting from writing texts entirely in German to writing entirely in English, these young refugees developed dynamic linguistic repertoires that allowed them to express their complex experiences of displacement and belonging. Their diaries thus serve as valuable historical documents that show not only personal narratives but also the intricate relationship between language use, identity formation and cultural adaptation in forced migration contexts.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/128133
Identification Number/DOI	10.1111/glal.70018
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Literature and Languages > Languages and Cultures Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Literature and Languages > Languages and Cultures > German
Publisher	Wiley-Blackwell
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