Japanese reportedly have the highest ratio of interracial couples in Canada, (Census Statistics Canada, 2010) which has led to an increased number of Japanese mixed heritage learners. However, in the field of heritage... [ view full abstract ]
Japanese reportedly have the highest ratio of interracial couples in Canada, (Census Statistics Canada, 2010) which has led to an increased number of Japanese mixed heritage learners. However, in the field of heritage language education there has been very limited research that focuses on this segment of the population. Especially those learners who enrol in a beginner’s Japanese class at a post secondary institution have received little attention, due to the heavy focus in research on the benefit of maintaining a heritage language. Moreover, the ambiguous linguistic status of these learners, whether Japanese heritage language leaners or learners of Japanese as a second language, made the selection of an appropriate research approach difficult to investigate their language issues. Hence, to address this research gap, this paper attempts to provide an in-depth understanding of Japanese Mixed Heritage Youth (JMHY) by analyzing their daily language use and senses of ethnicity with the aid of a linguistic ethnography approach.
The present paper is based on the analysis of a multi-set of data, including interviews, short essays on language experiences, and photos provided by fourteen JMHY who possess a beginner’s level of Japanese proficiency. The analysis of JMHY’s sense of ethnicity is framed by Baumann’s (1996) conceptualization of “ethnicity as culture” and JMHY culture is analyzed through the lens of “two cultural discourses” also promoted by Baumann (1999). The analysis suggests that while the term “Japanese-half” used by JMHY indicates their consciousness of the lack of Japanese proficiency, it also implies that they acknowledge the coexistence of their other “half.” Regarding the JMHY’s Japanese ethnicity, their tendency is to reconnect to the past, to a rather reified heritage culture, but at the same time they reinterpret Japanese heritage through their daily experiences in their present contexts. The paper discusses that when ethnicity is examined as culture, JMHY’s daily language use assists them in establishing their own meaning of Japanese heritage culture and language.
Reference
Baumann, G. (1996). Contesting culture: Discourses of identity in multi-ethnic London. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Baumann, G. (1999). The multicultural riddle: Rethinking national, ethnic, and religious identities. New York: Routledge.
