And the runner up is…

As I wrote and revised The Newcomer’s Dictionary, there were a number of excellent words that I did not have the space to include.

‘Nomad’ lost out to ‘Newcomer’; ‘Alien’ was left behind for ‘Abroad’; ‘Immigrant’ was the runner up to ‘Itinerant’; ‘Homesick’ won out over ‘History’ and ‘Transient’ beat out ‘Transfer’. At times, I would have appreciated a consulting panel to discuss the merits of individual words.

As I considered a word, I put it under a serious review. Was the definition relevant? Did it have any special associations, historical relevance or an element of surprise? How did it connect with my feelings around the past and in the present? Some words felt antiquated like ‘Abroad’ and ‘Keepsake’ but they were important to include to reflect how language and ideas associated with newcomers have evolved from the past up until the present. Also, it seemed important to acknowledge words that are used to negatively describe newcomers including ‘Gypsy,’ ‘Itinerant’ and ‘Vagabond’. Some of the words included in the dictionary are less relevant today but ‘Outsider’ and ‘Journey’ have stood the test of time and remain essential vocabulary for newcomers.

I took liberties, of course, and introduced words that aren’t in common usage. I included the word ‘Sojourner’ and decided to use ‘Xenophobia’ since I was not including ‘racism’—I did not feel comfortable writing directly about the topic in a short essay. But it was important to show how racism can impact on different newcomers but within the context of an overall newcomer experience. In “Belong’ I described how antisemitism operates, and in ‘Disappear’ and ‘Xenophobia,’ I shared stories where I experienced or witnessed racism.

Writing a book in some sense is talking to ourselves and others simultaneously. I wrote The Newcomer’s Dictionary to explore how values are formed and ideas and imagination can survive despite constant change. It also was a testament to experiences that might otherwise vanish. It was like writing a diary and a fairy tale at the same time. And this time around, I was hoping to arrive at a happy ending.

Picture of Joyce Agee

Joyce Agee

Writing can magically transport us anywhere. My blog looks at the experiences of being an expat newcomer; life in a small town in regional Australia, and what the world looks like living ‘down under’.

SHARE

Related posts

Pets make a home

Moving pets is very stressful for animals and their owners. Close family friends of mine were under urgent pressure to move internationally, but the restrictions and costs associated with transporting their dog were prohibitive. Sadly,

Read More »

Louisa May Alcott – newcomer inspiration

The Alcott family moved an exhausting twenty-two times in thirty years before settling into Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, which became the setting for Louisa May Alcott’s (1832–1888) semi autobiographical novel Little Women. She certainly

Read More »

Word tourist

To select words for The Newcomer’s Dictionary, I became a word tourist. That is to say, I would visit a word and delve into its meaning and history in order to decide whether it should be

Read More »