Ethnic Identity and Ethnic Language Attitude and Maintenance in Yunnan.docVIP

Ethnic Identity and Ethnic Language Attitude and Maintenance in Yunnan 　　【Abstract】This paper mainly discussed the current situation of ethnic groups’ identity and their language attitude and maintenance by giving two case studies focus on Dai ethnic group in Xishuangbanna and Bai ethnic group in Dali respectively. Both groups maintain their ethnic identity generally and their language is also maintained at home. However， they consider Chinese as a useful communicative tool in society and younger generation give more preference to Chinese. 　　【Key words】Ethnic Identity； Language Attitude； Maintenance 　　1. Introduction 　　1.1 Ethnic groups and language background in Yunnan 　　Located in the southwest China， Yunnan is a unique place in the sense that there are 25 officially recognized ethnic groups in Yunnan， and 24 among them have their own language（Yang， 2013）. Mixed ethnic residences are common in Yunnan， and small-scale villages of individuals with different ethnic backgrounds force individuals to use a mutual intelligible language， which is Mandarin once they are outside of their small village （Shih， 2000）. 　　1.2 Ethnic identity and language attitude and maintenance 　　According to Phinney， ethnic identity is a broad multi-dimensional construct that encompasses self-identification， a sense of belonging， positive and negative attitudes towards one’s ethnic group， and ethnic involvement or social participation and cultural practices（Phinney， 1990）. Language attitudes are usually the reflection of attituedes toward members of various ethnic groups and attitude toward language（Baker， 1992）. Language maintenance refers to the degree to which an individual or group continues to use their language， particularly in a bilingual or multilingual area or among immigrant groups（Richards Schmidt， 2013）. 　　The link between language and identity is often so strong that a single feature of language use suffices to identify someone’s membership of a given group（Coulmas， 1