Liang Sihua. Language Attitudes and Identities in Multilingual China: A Linguistic Ethnography

Springer, 2015. — xvi, 202 p. — ISBN 978-3-319-12619-7.These in-depth case studies provide novel insights in to the fast-changing language situation in multilingual China, and how it changes the meanings of language identity and language learning. This linguistic ethnographic study of language attitudes and identities in contemporary China in the era of multilingualism provides a comprehensive and critical review of the state of the art in the field of language-attitude research, and situates attitudes towards Chinese regional dialects in their social, historical as well as local contexts.The role of language policies and the links between the interactional phenomena and other contextual factors are investigated through the multi-level analysis of linguistic ethnographic data. This study captures the long-term language socialisation process and the moment-to-moment construction of language attitudes at a level of detail that is rarely seen. The narrative is presented in a highly readable style, without compromising the theoretical sophistication and sociolinguistic complexities.Introduction: Sociocultural and Sociolinguistic Backgrounds
Dialect Issues in Multilingual China: A Dog That Has Barked
The Report and the Denial of the “Cantonese Day”.
The Protest triggered by a Survey.
The Politics and Sociolinguistics of Chinese Dialects
The Language–Dialect Issue in the Chinese Context
A Historical and Sociolinguistic Overview.
General Introduction
Nearly a National Standard?
Cantonese: A Dialect of Prestige and Exception
Language Policies Regarding Chinese Dialects since the 1950s: an International Dimension.
Mainland China: A Web of Language Policies for the Promotion of Putonghua
Hong Kong: Linguistic Autonomy and Dependence
Singapore: The Speak Mandarin Campaign and the Redefinition of “Mother Tongues”
Conceptual and Methodological Frameworks
Researching Language Attitudes in Multilingual China
Researching Language Attitudes.
Attitudes as Mental Constructs
Attitudes as Discursive Practice
Previous Research on Chinese Dialects
Conceptual Framework of the Current Book
Basic Assumptions
Empirical Foci and Analytical Concepts.
Research Design: Linguistic Ethnography
Fieldwork and Data Collection
The Roles of the Ethnographer
Becoming Members of a Multidialectal City
“Mother Tongues” of a Multidialectal City
Overview of the Setting and the Participants
Multidialectal Guangzhou: Migration and Demographic Changes
Profiles of the Two School Communities
Who Speaks What in Guangzhou
I Speak Putonghua but I am a Guangzhouer.
What if You Are a Half-Hunannese?
A Discredited Cantonese Speaker
Language Socialisation in Multidialectal Households: A Case Study
Language Shift Within the Family
Rules of Speaking at Home
The Importance of Being Multilingual
Translanguaging Practices in Multidialectal Groups
Mischief, Learning, and Having Fun
Confrontations.
Putonghua and Regional Dialects at School
Language Socialisation in Educational Institutions
Teachers’ Mediation of Language Policies.
The Legitimate Language
Habits and Conventions
Students: Making Sense of the Rules of Speaking at School
The Explicit Ban on Dialects.
The Implicit Rules of Speaking: A Case Study
Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Dialects in School
The Role of School in Relation to Regional Dialects.
The Impacts of Regional Dialects on Language Learning
Discussion and Reflection
Problematizing the Monolingual Norm in a Multidialectal City.
Emergence of the Native Putonghua Speakers.
The Impact of Social Network
The Search for “Roots” and a “Sense of Belonging”
Questions of Integration in the Era of Multilingualism
Multilingual Native Cantonese Speakers vis-à-vis Monolingual Language Ideologies
Schools in the Era of Multilingualism
The “Habits” and the “Language Environment”
Attitudes Towards Translanguaging at School
Language Attitudes in Heteroglossia: Methodological Reflections.
Sketch of a Roadmap
Reflexivity and Positionality
Limitations and Future Directions