Anglo Saxon Assimilation

This sociological study will define the problem of Anglo-Saxon assimilation in the Canadian immigrant experience. Canadians from differing backgrounds define the problem of “dual identity” when attempting to assimilate into a primarily Anglo-Saxon culture. Isabel Vincent’s defines this phenomenon through the theme of a “mosaic” of Canadian culture that often divided Portuguese immigrants from Anglo-Saxon Canadian communities: “But we still had problems, and didn’t seem to belong. We never quite fit into the emerging Portuguese community” (Vincent, year?, p..145). In this manner, Vincent defines the divided sense of ethnic identity, which not only divided Portuguese-Canadians from the Anglo-Saxon community, as well as being divided amongst Portuguese …show more content…
These Canadians have experienced the problem of a “dual-identity” when living as first and second generation immigrants living in a predominantly Anglophone society. Vincent’s Portuguese immigrant experience defines the conflicting sense of identity that occurs when she and her brother interacted with Portuguese that had a more difficult time assimilating into Anglophone culture: “My brother and I balked at heritage-language classes and remained passive spectators at the annual religious processions”” (Vincent, year?, p.146). This type of social interaction reveals the divided communities of Toronto, which reveal the dual-identity issues that created some confusion for Vincent and her family. This aspect of the Portuguese immigrant experience illustrates how some Portuguese chose to assimilate into Anglophone culture; while some Portuguese preferred to retain their Portuguese identity in the neighborhoods of Toronto. This is part of the “mosaic” of Canadian life …show more content…
The inherent problem with the hyphenated term, “Chinese Canadian, is a problem for immigrants that seek to leave their “home country” behind and become a Canadian citizen: “I no longer hyphenate myself, for the same reason Peter Gzowski doesn’t call himself a Polish-Canadian” (Wong, year?, p.149). In this declarative statement, Wong has chosen to reject the language-based barriers of being “Chinese-Canadian” that goes beyond Anglophone terminologies. In this manner, Wong has chosen to reject racially divisive language in order to adapt to an assimilative context “in which individual identity is not necessarily contained within a single collective identity” (Simmons, 2010, p.204). This is part of the dual identity problem that many first and second generation Chinese must endure, as Wong was clearly born in Canada. This is one reason why Wong does not view himself as being, “Chinese-Canadian, since he had never lived in