Abstract

France largely viewed Algerian immigrants as well as their languages and culture in an unfavorable light, which was extended to their descendants who, despite being French citizens by law, were also negatively viewed as the other. Such perception places younger generations of Algerian origin in a challenging situation, resulting in feelings of confusion and uncertainty, as well as problems with identity and sense of belonging. This study aims to explore the struggles experienced by second- and third-generation Algerians in navigating their linguistic and identity duality in a context that rejects immigrants’ cultural, religious, and linguistic differences (i.e. France). The methodology involved conducting 11 semi-structured interviews, including 6 with members of the second generation and 5 with members of the third. The overall results show that both generations suffer from an identity crisis. For the second generation, it is related to their ethnicity, while it revolves around religion for the third generation, especially for Muslim women. The results also show that despite a shift towards French from generation to generation, most participants appreciate their heritage culture and struggle to preserve it.

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