Adapteerumisjutud Austraalia eestlaste näitel

Abstract

The article is concerned with the adaptation narratives of Estonians, who arrived in Australia after World War II. The adaptation stories reveal that people who arrived at different times had to adapt to all possible settings, make relevant changes in themselves, their beliefs and physical space. Presumably, adaptation depends on the migration policy of the country, presence of personal support network, personal choices, personality traits and people’s learning capacity. Excerpts from longer chains of narratives have been chosen to characterise arrival and modes of adaptation into the new environment; also, language use and single controversial customs have been highlighted.

Keywords

• adaptation
• Australian Estonians
• language
• migration