Bilingualism in Transition: Case Studies in Myanmar and Hong Kong

Abstract

When a family with young children migrates between two linguistically different societies, bilingualism typically emerges but it may vanish within a few generations. I will refer to this as bilingualism in transition. By looking at how linguistic situation may fluctuate in two ethnic Chinese immigrant families, I hope to shed some light on the dynamic nature of naturally acquired bilingualism, as opposed to learning of a foreign language in school. Myanmar (or Burman) and Hong Kong are chosen as the settled territories, as they provide comparable and yet rather different socio-politic settings. They were both British colonies more than seventy years ago, and had attracted a large number of immigrants from mainland China and elsewhere. Myanmar has stopped being a destination for immigration for the past several decades, while Hong Kong has maintained its status as a place for pursuing a better life for mainland Chinese. Two case studies will be presented: one on a Southern Min-speaking family in Burma and the other on a Shanghainese-speaking family in Hong Kong. It will be shown that bilingualism can be transient at three levels: individual, family, and societal levels. Language shift is possible for an individual speaker even with early child bilingualism. When a dominant language is consistently used between family members, bilingualism has reached its transitional end. Finally if most sectors of a bilingual society should adopt a common preferred language, the society would become de facto monolingual.