Ethnolinguistic vitality among Japanese-Brazilians: challenges and possibilities

Abstract

This paper explores ethnolinguistic vitality among Japanese-Brazilians (Nikkeis). First, an 18-item questionnaire was administered to 33 individuals who attended a seminar on bilingual studies held in São Paulo. Then, two bilingual Nikkei teachers who participated in the questionnaire and who grew up to be bilinguals themselves were invited for a more in-depth one-on-one follow-up interview. This study confirms the importance of parental involvement as well as various social infrastructures that give rise to quality teacher training and community establishment. Key issues identified were: (1) linguistic and cultural capital ascribed to Japanese language and cultural knowledge, (2) persistence of the native-speaker myth, (3) the complex constellation of Nikkei, and (4) the lack of partnership between the Brazilian Government and Japanese-sponsored institutions. From our participants' narratives, we discovered that society still strongly reinforces beliefs that language teaching should be delivered by native L1 speakers, and that this ascription of native speaker superiority is impeding the training and hiring of Nikkei teachers. It is crucial to establish Brazilian-Japanese governmental partnerships to realize effective Japanese language education in Brazil. Finally, further collecting and disseminating of Nikkei teachers' voices is called for in order to challenge the hegemonic discourse prevalent in language teaching today.