Chinese Heritage Language Maintenance in the Context of Superdiversity: Perspectives from Dialect-background Heritage Learners.
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| Title: | Chinese Heritage Language Maintenance in the Context of Superdiversity: Perspectives from Dialect-background Heritage Learners. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Chen, Lin1 lin.chen@auckland.ac.nz, Wang, Danping1 danping.wang@auckland.ac.nz |
| Source: | Researching & Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language. 2024, Issue 1, p97-117. 21p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Language maintenance, *Multilingualism, *Code switching (Linguistics), Heritage language speakers, Chinese diaspora, Chinese language, Equality, Multiculturalism |
| Geographic Terms: | New Zealand |
| Abstract: | Situated in the context of migration trends toward superdiversity in Anglophone countries, this study conceptualizes Chinese heritage language (CHL) learners as complex social beings with increasingly diverse language repertories, migration histories, and socioeconomic statuses. Failing to understand such diversity in language maintenance and language shift may lead to oversimplifying the process of Chinese language maintenance and consequently perpetuating educational inequities in overseas Chinese education. The study analysed questionnaire data from 56 CHL learners who identified as dialect speakers in a New Zealand university. Findings show that CHL learners are indeed a linguistically and socioculturally diverse group. There is a clear shift towards English among participants as they approached adulthood, with some also speaking non-Chinese languages like Khmer. While Chinese dialects remain prevalent within their homes, younger generations exhibit a decrease in the number of Chinese dialects spoken. Surprisingly, Mandarin, despite being the primary language resource for Chinese education, is underutilized and tends to remain at a low proficiency level. This study concludes by offering implications to policymakers and Chinese curriculum developers to provide genuine support for maintaining and learning the Chinese language within the increasingly diverse Chinese diaspora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Researching & Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 187542081 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1558/rtcfl.26170 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 21 StartPage: 97 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Language maintenance Type: general – SubjectFull: Multilingualism Type: general – SubjectFull: Code switching (Linguistics) Type: general – SubjectFull: Heritage language speakers Type: general – SubjectFull: Chinese diaspora Type: general – SubjectFull: Chinese language Type: general – SubjectFull: Equality Type: general – SubjectFull: Multiculturalism Type: general – SubjectFull: New Zealand Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Chinese Heritage Language Maintenance in the Context of Superdiversity: Perspectives from Dialect-background Heritage Learners. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Chen, Lin – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Wang, Danping IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Text: 2024 Type: published Y: 2024 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 20531788 Numbering: – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Researching & Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language Type: main |
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