The New Americans Recent Immigration and American Society Edited by Steven J. Gold and Rubén G. Rumbaut A Series from LFB Scholarly “This page left intentionally blank.” Between Two Generations Language Maintenance and Acculturation among Chinese Immigrant Families Donghui Zhang LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC El Paso 2008 Copyright © 2008 by LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC All rights reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zhang, Donghui, 1976- Between two generations : language maintenance and acculturation among Chinese immigrant families / Donghui Zhang. p. cm. -- (The new Americans : recent immigration and American society) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-59332-271-7 (alk. paper) 1. Chinese Americans--Cultural assimilation. 2. Chinese Americans-- Languages. 3. Americanization. I. Title. E184.C5Z43 2008 305.8951073--dc22 2008024655 ISBN 978-1-59332-271-7 Printed on acid-free 250-year-life paper. Manufactured in the United States of America. In dedication to my dear Chinese friends in Philadelphia, whose love and support had made my journey in the US so enriching and enjoyable, and who had helped me so much in coming to self-realization by sharing their world with me. “This page left intentionally blank.” TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ix List of Figures ix Acknowledgements xi Preface xii Introduction 1 Immigration, Language and Acculturation 1 Understanding Language Maintenance within the Context of Acculturation 3 Organization of the Book 5 1. Language Maintenance, Language Shift and Acculturation 9 Heritage Language Maintenance and Language Shift 9 Heritage Language Maintenance and Models of Acculturation 12 Heritage Language Maintenance in the Three Domains of Acculturation 20 Chinese as a Heritage Language in the US 28 2. The Socio-cultural Context: Chinese Immigrants in the US and in Philadelphia 31 Chinese Immigration in the US 31 The Profile of the Chinese Population in the US 36 The Chinese Communities in Philadelphia 42 3. Access, Research Relationships and Ethics 49 Access, Power Relations and Subjectivity 50 Research Sites(cid:1)Two Chinese Communities in Philadelphia 56 Data Collection and Data Analysis 60 Ethical Issues 66 4. Encountering Two Languages: Varied Bilingualism 69 Parents’ Bilingual Proficiency 70 vii viii Table of Contents Children’s Language Struggles 78 Language Shift and Preference from an Early Age 85 Unbalanced Bilingualism and Biliteracy 92 Summary 98 5. Language Attitudes and Heritage Language Maintenance 103 Parents’ Language Attitudes 103 Parents’ Language Maintenance Efforts 116 Children’s Attitudes towards Learning Chinese 121 Summary 127 6. Language Maintenance and Cultural Participation 129 Home Culture Participation and Transmission 130 Generational Dissonance in Acculturation 143 Children as Language and Cultural Brokers 156 The Mediating Role of Heritage Language 164 Summary 168 7. Language Maintenance: A Social Network Perspective 171 Passive Ties: Extended Family 172 Parents’ Networks: Co-Ethnic Communities and Cross-Ethnic Ties 183 Children’s Networks: Co-Ethnic and Cross-Ethnic Peers 191 Chinese Language Schools 198 Summary 209 8. Policy and Beyond 213 The Study 213 Policy Implications 220 Directions for Future Research 228 Appendix 1: Interview Protocols 231 2: Consent Form 239 References 243 Index 255 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Berry’s Two-Culture Matrix 14 Table 2: LaFromboise et al’s Typology(cid:1)Socio-Political Structures and Acculturation Outcomes 14 Table 3: Generational Language knowledge and Types of Acculturation 19 Table 4: Language Attitudes 21 Table 5: Asian American Population: 1980, 1990, and 2000 37 Table 6: Top Ten States with the Largest Chinese Population 40 Table 7: Top Ten Cities with the largest Asian Population 41 Table 8: The Asian and Chinese Population in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia 42 Table 9: Summary of Child Participants 61 Table 10: Summary of Parent Participants 62 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Asian Groups by Ethnicity 2000 37 Figure 2: The Growth of the Chinese Population from 1980 to 2000 38 ix