The Languages of Migration

Contributor(s): Professor Michael Rosen | Language is central to our understanding of migration: on the one hand, migrants bring languages with them and, on the other, the countries they arrive in develop a special language to describe migrants. Michael Rosen will explore the ways in which these two aspects meet, partly by looking at his own background, partly by looking at his experience in education over the last 40 years. Michael Rosen (@MichaelRosenYes) was born in 1946 in north-west London. His mother was born in London, his father in Brockton, Mass. USA. All their grandparents were migrants – mostly from Poland but also from what is now Romania. He is a former Children's Laureate and the present Professor of Children's Literature at Goldsmiths, University of London. The Migration Museum Project plans to create the UK’s first dedicated Migration Museum, to tell the story of movement into and out of the UK in a fresh and engaging way. The museum will be an enquiry into who we are, where we came from and where we are going. Britons at home and abroad have a shared cultural history and an exciting future. We aim to represent the thrilling tales, the emotion and the history that have gone into shaping our national fabric; we aim to be the museum of all our stories. Credits: Tom Sturdy (Audio Post-Production), LSE AV Services (Audio Recording).