Nested [Broader-Selective] Integration of South Asians: Mediating Role of Language and Ethnic Networks

Immigrant integration is a complicated phenomenon where multiple factors (e.g., language, ethnicity, culture, population, and geographical location) can play significant role(s) in how immigrants settle and integrate in host communities and the type of integration (broader or bounded) that takes place at the social level. This requires investigating integration patterns of immigrants from a heterogenous perspective where integration is understood as a complex, multidirectional, and multidimensional practice, and special attention is paid to the issues of language, culture, and ethnicity. Taking this perspective to do a case study of a sub-group of South Asians from Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, this study reports findings from 19 interviews with participants who may live or work in an ethnically concentrated area (i.e., Northeast of Calgary). In addition to reporting multilingual communicative practices across the four dimensions of integration outlined by the Canadian Index for Measuring Integration (CIMI) (i.e., economic, social, political, and health), data analysis identified two dominant integration patterns: nested-broader integration and nested-selective integration. These patterns describe the lingo-ethnic factors that impact South Asians’ socio-politico-economic and health integration in Alberta and may have implications for the Albertan and Canadian society in the long run.