This article is about navigating asylum, employment and language policy in a new country as an asylum seeker. Through the story of one individual, we show that profound inequalities are exacerbated when forced migrants are limited in their choice of language they might study or use. The individual is Tailor F, an Iraqi man seeking asylum, and the country is Finland, officially bilingual, with a majority language (Finnish) and a minority language (Swedish). Finland’s official bilingualism does not extend evenly to language education provided for asylum seekers, who are taught Finnish regardless of the region where they are placed. Upon arrival, Tailor F was housed in a reception centre for asylum seekers located in a Swedish-dominant rural area of the country. Through our linguistic ethnography we examine how he navigates multilingually in his early settlement, his current work and his online life. We relate his story to explicit and implicit official bilingualism in Finland and discuss his lived experiences in relation to the contexts of asylum policy and employment. Tailor F’s story shows how, through his practices, he has contested implicit language policy for asylum seekers in order to gain membership of the local Swedish-dominant community, achieve a sense of belonging, and potentially realise his aspirations for the future.

中文翻译：

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北部边缘寻求庇护者的语言政策竞争：Tailor F 的故事

本文是关于寻求庇护者在新国家的庇护、就业和语言政策。通过一个人的故事，我们表明，当被迫移民在他们可能学习或使用的语言选择方面受到限制时，严重的不平等会加剧。个人是Tailor F，一个寻求庇护的伊拉克人，国家是芬兰，正式双语，有多数语言（芬兰语）和少数语言（瑞典语）。芬兰官方的双语制并没有平等地扩展到为寻求庇护者提供的语言教育，无论他们被安置在哪个地区，他们都被教授芬兰语。抵达后，Tailor F 被安置在该国瑞典占主导地位的农村地区的寻求庇护者接待中心。通过我们的语言民族志，我们研究了他在早期定居、目前的工作和在线生活中如何使用多种语言进行导航。我们将他的故事与芬兰明确和隐含的官方双语联系起来，并讨论他在庇护政策和就业背景下的生活经历。裁缝 F 的故事展示了他如何通过他的实践，对寻求庇护者的隐性语言政策提出质疑，以便获得当地以瑞典为主的社区的成员资格，获得归属感，并有可能实现他对未来的愿望。