Sociolinguistics Symposium 19
Freie Universität Berlin | August 21-24, 2012
Programme: accepted abstracts
Abstract ID: 700
Part of Session 192: Margins vs Megapoles (Other abstracts in this session)
The negotiation of the Chinese identity with the local and global identity through linguistic landscape: A comparative study of Asian and European contexts
Authors: Wang, Xiaomei
Submitted by: Wang, Xiaomei (University of Malaya, Malaysia)
Overseas Chinese is a minority or marginal group in most countries in this world. With the rapid process of globalization, this group, especially the new immigrants, are facing two challenges in their identity: (1) how to adapt to the local country and acquire a local identity? (2) how to response to the globalization in the 21st century? This article will take linguistic landscape as a window to seek the answer to the above questions. That is how overseas Chinese use language(s) and script(s) to express their identity as Chinese and citizen in the host country.
The discussion will be based on two surveys in Malaysia and the Netherlands/Belgium. In Malaysia, the survey was carried out in a Chinese New Village, Serdang. In Europe, the linguistic landscape survey covered six cities, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Den Haag, Rotterdam, Brussels, and Antwerp. In both contexts, Chinese scripts, either in its traditional or simplified form, show up in most signs, which is associated with the Chinese identity. The use of Malay, Dutch, French, or localized spelling system is a sign of localization. The presence of English on the multilingual signs is signifying their awareness of internationalization and globalization and tendency to reach a large audience. In addition to the above commonalities, this article will also address the difference between these two contexts in the process of negotiation of their Chinese identity with the local and global identity through linguistic landscape.