Towards a Bourdieuian Understanding of the South Asian Language Minorities’ Language Acquisition in Hong Kong

Abstract

Inequalities encountered by South Asian language minorities in education as a result of having inadequate Chinese language skills under the Chinese administration have attracted intensive academia and public concern in Hong Kong. Lacking primary familial and linguistic habitus of Chinese, the language minorities relied heavily or even entirely on the secondary habitus, that is, schools as a mechanism for inculcation. However, the language minorities were located in a space of eliminated opportunities to mingle with their Chinese counterpart in the designated school. Moreover, factors that affected the familial and linguistic habitus inculcation were explored. This study also contributes to the literature of adoption of habitus as a research method to gain a deeper understanding of the familial and linguistic habitus of a small group of South Asian language minorities in Hong Kong.