Fitting in or standing out : language choice and identity construction of South Asian teachers in Hong Kong

Abstract

 Accommodating over 580,000 individuals from various ethnicities, the linguistic marketplace of Hong Kong is complex and rich. Contributing to this diversity is the multilingual abilities of the South Asian (SA) population originating from India and Pakistan. This study explores how professional SA teachers use their linguistic abilities to negotiate their identities. Interviews, workplace observations and recording of social gatherings of ten SA teachers reveal that their language attitudes and practices contribute substantially in the negotiation of their identities. Findings show that participants’ use their heritage language mainly at home and within their SA community. In their families, a language shift occurs with siblings and there is evidence of heritage language loss with their own children. In public, participants almost always adopt converging communicative strategies to receive better customer service. In the workplace, they are able to utilize their multilingual abilities to make diverse language choices that best accommodate the needs of students, parents and colleagues. Participants believe more value and power is associated with Cantonese than English in the city. Although they identify no benefits of their heritage language due to its low socioeconomic status, it is still an important thread that connects them to their culture and heritage identity. In contrast to previous studies of Hong Kong minority students, this study of the under-researched group of SA professionals shed new light on how language and identity are intertwined for minority adults in the city.