ERIC Number: EJ1392150
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0143-4632
EISSN: EISSN-1747-7557
The Restructuring of a Speech Community on a Foreign Land: The Tianjiners in Sabah, Malaysia
Wang, Xiaomei; Yeoh, Yin Yin
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, v44 n6 p467-480 2023
This paper focuses on the linguistic evolution of the Tianjin speech community in Sabah, Malaysia. From the perspective of restructuring of speech community, the paper integrates both micro and macro levels of language change into the analysis. Several methods were adopted in this study. Interviews were conducted with community leaders and various families. Besides, an ethnographic approach is taken to observe language use in different activities within the community. In total, 17 Tianjiners were interviewed who were from four generations (G3, G4, G5, and G6) and several community activities were participated. Despite all the social changes within the community, the Tianjin people (also known as northern Chinese) still manifest a strong group identity which differentiate themselves from southern Chinese, such as Hakka in Sabah. The strong group identification goes well with its diversity, which is one of the characteristics of the Tianjin speech community.
Descriptors: Language Variation, Ethnography, Language Usage, Ethnic Groups, Social Change, Self Concept, Identification (Psychology), Family Relationship, Language Maintenance, Diversity, Foreign Countries, Dialects, Mandarin Chinese, Immigrants, Land Settlement, Code Switching (Language), Diachronic Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, Marriage, Intergroup Relations, Language Attitudes, History, Mutual Intelligibility, Language of Instruction
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Malaysia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A