Authenticating ‘mother tongue’ in a multilingual minority community

Abstract

This study examines mother tongue in a multilingual region which includes a national language, a recognised ethnic minority language, and multiple other minority languages (including so-called ‘dialects’) and English. We probe into practices and perceptions of one designated ethnic minority group in China across domains of family, community and education through a process of authentication. Drawing on a questionnaire of 576 students with local, multilingual education experience and interviews with 48 students of the Zhuang minority group, we examine the intersubjectivities of language, ethnicity and Chineseness. The findings highlight an unwavering affirmation of Putonghua (PTH) dominance as central to Chineseness along with wavering support of Zhuang and other minority languages or dialects as linked to ethnicity and regional identity. Crucially, our data show that the policies and ideologies around recognised minority languages can make it difficult for speakers to name or claim their ‘mother tongue’. The analyses suggest that ‘mother tongue’ is a misnomer in many ways as it is not primordial, matrilineal or geneological but is based in (primarily monolingual) ideologies which do not adequately represent multilingual individuals and communities. We propose a conceptual framework to expand our understanding of the authentication of mother tongue and the resilience of minority/minoritised language, problematised by monolingual ideologies.

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