‘I feel a sense of solidarity when speaking Teochew’: unpacking family language planning and sustainable development of Teochew from a multilingual perspective

Abstract

The complexity of language contact and intercultural communication has generated various issues in relation to language use and education. As one of the many Chinese dialects (fangyans), the Chaoshan dialect (Teochew) has been affected by the extensive promotion of Putonghua, the key lingua franca across China, and English, the lingua franca for international communication. Therefore, it is worth exploring the current situation and sustainability of Teochew from the perspective of multilingualism. This study used a questionnaire and interviews with local Chaoshan people as the research instruments with which to investigate the perspective of family language policy, the usage frequency of Teochew on different occasions and among different groups, parents' and students' levels of Teochew mastery and the factors influencing the family language policy of Teochew. It also aimed to determine the participants' first-language practices and attitudes towards Teochew. The findings reveal that the majority of the participants have positive attitudes regarding the inheritance and development of Teochew; however, the future of sustainable development shows a weakening trend. The paper concludes by emphasising the significance of maintaining Teochew as one of the many fangyans in China, in addition to the lingua franca, as seen from a multilingual perspective.

Language Situation in the Chaoshan Community: A Pilot Study

“…It can be asserted that the Teochew language is seen by the people as a symbol of their Teochew identity, which is in accordance with prior research [Huang, Fang, 2021]. Certain members of the subcommunities do exhibit a stronger sub-regional identification than that of the all-embracing Teochew identity.…”

“…Other scholars were concerned with family language policy, Teochew was used for communication with parents and grandparents since these generations usually do not have a good enough command of PTH and Teochew was the language they used to raise their offspring. Huang and Fang [2021] showed that parents' Teochew proficiency was the key factor influencing children's language planning in the family domain, and parents with higher levels of education were more positive toward multilingualism. Their participants believed that the language symbolizes their Teochew identity and felt a strong connection to the language and a sense of solidarity with people who spoke the same language.…”

Global Englishes and translanguaging in textbook design and curriculum development for universities in the Greater Bay Area of China

“…In particular, the application of such ecological perspective in GBA of China could promote the multilingual and multidialectal reality (e.g. Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew) with a recognition of linguistic diversity in knowledge acquisition process (Fang & Hu, 2022;Huang & Fang, 2021). In a similar vein, Widodo, Fang and Elyas (2022) proposed some GE-oriented learning goals (Table 4).…”

Disposal constructions in Chaoshan Southern Min

“…Compared with many other varieties of Sinitic, Chenghai Southern Min (and Chaoshan dialects in general) manages to maintain a good level of vitality. Even so, amid the dominance of Standard Mandarin in China, it is inevitable that its influence on Chenghai Southern Min will continue to deepen as the national official language is increasingly used in various domains of social interaction (Huang and Fang 2021). Since topicalization is by no means uncommon in Standard Mandarin, it will likely remain one of the most frequently used strategies in the Chenghai dialect for expressing disposal meanings, but its proportion may gradually decrease; the disappearance of topicalized double object 'give' construction suggests that the declining use of topicalized structures may be systemic.…”