Analyzing Maintenance of Heritage Languages in Migration Context: Insights from Cantonese Heritage Language Users in the Netherlands

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Date

2024-11

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Ohio State University. Libraries

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Abstract

Despite the global decline of Sinitic varieties other than Mandarin, there is an absence of research on the heritage language maintenance on the user’s level. This study proposes the Heritage Language Attitude model to explore the dynamics of heritage language maintenance by analysing the experiences of 1.5- and second-generation Dutch Cantonese descendants. Through constructivist grounded theory, four dimensions emerged: Necessity, Perception of the World, Cultural Heritage, and Pragmatic Reasoning. These dimensions reveal how individual experiences intersect with broader cultural and societal factors, influencing language attitudes and intergenerational transmission outlook. The findings contribute towards a more inclusive and effective heritage preservation and heritage language policies. The study calls for community-driven research to address the needs of heritage communicative communities, urge rethinking heritage language maintenance in migration contexts, and offers an analytical framework to accomplish this.

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Chinese Diaspora, Cantonese, Cultural Heritage, Heritage Language Maintenance, Language Policy and Planning

Citation

So, Aholi. "Analyzing Maintenance of Heritage Languages in Migration Context: Insights from Cantonese Heritage Language Users in the Netherlands." Buckeye East Asian Linguistics, vol. 9 (November 2024), p. 114-143.