Homescape

Abstract

This article presents the redefined concept of the homescape as space where transnational, newly arrived, and settled families can provide agency for their identity framing through multisensory discourse resources. The study investigated the experiential, non-interactional multisensory discourse resources in the homescape. The homescape extends from the Linguistic Landscape and houses temporal and spatial components, which occur over time. The yearlong ethnographic case study of three Nepalese families (two transmigrant Ghurkha families and one immigrant family) included 150 hours of observational data triangulated with qualitative interviews. The study posed two questions: How do transmigrant and transnational families find capacity for agency in the homescape? How do families use experiential multisensory discourse resources embedded in homescape to facilitate identity framing? Findings highlighted that experiential multisensory discourse resources are threads of identity in the home that have yet to be fully recognized as research evidence by ethnographers in the home context.