Article published in:
Developments in Diglossic Settings in the Asian Pacific RegionEdited by Marinus van den Berg
[Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 30:1/2] 2020
► pp. 255–272
Language behavior and identity change in the Fangshang Hui community of Xi’an
Hongjie Dong | Xi’an University
This article provides information of language behavior practices and identity change of members of the Fangshang
Hui community in Xi’an, China. The study explores how differences in residential space influence language behavior as well as the
way in which community identity is perceived. Two areas were studied, the traditional Hui community area “around the mosque” and
the new area of modern flats. Data were collected via two-hundred questionnaires and forty sociolinguistic interviews. The survey
was administered in 2016. Aspects of language behavior and language choice were related to residential area. The findings show
that change of residential area has a significant effect on language choice behavior. Language choice was calculated according to
the extent of use in community internal and external interactions. The varieties involved were the Fangshang Hui variety, the
Xi’an dialect and Mandarin Chinese. Divergent linguistic behavior is related to altered Hui identity, which divides the community
into home-dialect oriented and official-language oriented members. ‘Differential recurrence’ is introduced as the mechanism that
creates language and identity change and is presented as contribution to sociolinguistic theory.
Keywords: language choice, language behavior change, identity change, differential recurrence, Hui Chinese, Xi’an
Published online: 30 June 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.00051.hon
https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.00051.hon
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