Contemporary Hoisan-wa Language Maintenance in Northern California: Evidence From Fourteen Frog Story Narratives

Abstract

This article explores uninvestigated issues in Cantonese and Hoisan-wa language maintenance from an ethnic Chinese diaspora point of view. Data come from a larger study looking at Frog Story narratives from 140 Cantonese–English bilingual children in California. Fourteen of these children were found to display uniquely Hoisan-wa phonology and lexicon in their narratives. Focusing on these 14 children, this article attempts to answer the following questions: Due to low prestige factors and lack of support for the maintenance of Hoisan-wa, have these speakers assimilated to the standard Cantonese-speaking community? Are there any signs that Hoisan-wa language backgrounds are still reflected in elementary school students attending schools with a relatively high Cantonese-speaking enrollment? If yes, what are these signs? Because nearly nothing is known about Hoisan-wa maintenance in the United States, the author documents markedly Hoisan-wa lexicon and phonology, and offers evidence of intergenerational language transmission.