Trying to make the intangible tangible — communicating national identity to new immigrants through citizenship handbooks
Trying to make the intangible tangible — communicating national identity to new immigrants through citizenship handbooks

Summary/Abstract: This article is involved in citizenship tests in different countries. It compares Great Britain and France focusing on a linguistic analysis of the citizenship handbooks. The 2007 edition of ‘Life in the UK handbook – A Journey to Citizenship’ sits neatly upon thousands of British bookshop shelves, ready to be bought by aspiring Brits for the modest price of £9.99. The carefully made and tastefully bound handbook makes for pleasant reading, the purple cover and colourful pictures on the inside take care to attract the reader’s attention. The British government has spent large amounts of time and resources on the publication of this handbook, which was first introduced in 2005 and is currently in its second edition. In France, on the contrary, the newly released guide to citizenship is available on-line only, but is free of charge and easily accessible. The font is big and bold, the wording simple and easy to read. In other countries, such as Canada, the handbook is sent to the neo -Canadian (landed immigrant) free of charge, and it has a feel of simple, friendly Canadian hospitality. Welcome to Canada! It announces on the first page.

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