Family language policy in multi-ethnic and multilingual villages in Yunnan, China: a comparative case study of Kena village and Anmin village

Abstract

ABSTRACT Based on Spolsky’s (2004) tripartite framework for language policy, this study explores language practices, language ideology, and language management in relation to minority languages, Putonghua, and English in ethnic minority families in Yunnan, China. Through observations of and interviews with nine interethnic marriage families in Kena Village and Anmin Village, we found that although people in both villages recognise the value of their native languages in ethnic identification and cultural inheritance, people in Anmin Village make efforts to teach the children Mosuo, while children in Kena Village usually acquire Malimasa naturally. Such differences are associated with sociolinguistic environment and child agency. Meanwhile, Putonghua is widely used in television programmes and smartphone applications and acquired by the young generation due to national policy and the spread of smartphones and television. Families in both villages demonstrated similar aspirations for their children’s English learning, but low socioeconomic status affected their ability to invest in foreign language learning. The results suggest that in the special context of multi-ethnic and multilingual villages in Yunnan the agency of rural parents and grandparents is relatively weak, and family language policies are mainly influenced by meso – (e.g. school) and macro- (e.g. socioeconomic environment, national policy) level factors.