“We're Not ABC. We’re ABT”: Identity and Language Ideologies of Taiwanese American Youth

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 11:25 am
  In Roundtable Session: Identity, Ideology, and Grit: Language Education Research From Various Settings (Table 17)

Abstract

Taiwanese Americans often get grouped together with other Chinese speakers, or Sinophones, due to Chineseness being seen as a monolithic entity. Ignoring the diversity of Sinophones, however, negates their life experiences. Using a sociocultural framework of identity, twelve Taiwanese American undergraduates were interviewed about perceptions and negotiations of ethnic identity and heritage language use (HL). In this narrative analysis, findings show participants’ beliefs of their cultural identity and (dis-)actions that create a collective Taiwanese American consciousness, including avoidance of conflict; others’/own deficit perspectives towards their HL; and their desire to maintain culture through language. Findings reveal the need for a greater focus on Asian American history in public education, and importance of supporting Taiwanese Americans’ identity development in HL contexts.

Author

• Huay Chen-Wu, University of California - Santa Barbara