Most people have head of ‘Ten Pound Poms’. But what about ‘Ten Pound Jewish Maltese’?
Among the stories of identity that emerged from Australia’s post-World War II mass subsidized migration scheme a Maltese Jewish family’s experiences of assimilation were arguably more complicated than those of other Southern European migrants. Having failed to thrive in Israel, Tayar’s parents were determined that their children should succeed in their new country, not shackled to other people’s perceptions of them based on religion, geography and class. ‘Them Languages’ refers to their son’s rejection of the family’s multilingualism, a giveaway of their foreignness. While their daughter was influenced by their polyglot’s parents passion for languages, their son chose the path of total, monolingual assimilation.
As in her first memoir, ‘How Shall We Sing?: A Mediterranean Journey Through A Jewish Family’ (Pan Macmillan/Picador Australia), Tayar brings to this story of transplantation a wry humour and a keen eye for cultural nuance.