美国华裔母语保持与转用调查研究

A Survey on Current Status of American-Chinese Heritage Language: Maintenance and Shift

本研究以现居美国的华裔汉语学习者为对象,通过调查筛选出206份有效问卷,考察了其母语保持及转用情况。调查问卷包括调查对象的基本情况、代内与代际之间的语言使用、不同场合的语言使用及语言水平等四部分。经统计分析得出以下结论:(1)与东南亚华裔相比,美国华裔母语保持水平总体偏低,听说能力好于读写能力。(2)代际之间语言转用呈现动态变化,一二代之间母语保持较好,一三代之间语言转用出现,二三代之间语言转用非常明显。(3)母语使用场合极为有限,家庭场合母语使用远远多于学校和工作场合。本研究为有针对性地制定美国华裔母语保持策略提供了一定的依据。

The present study surveys the current status of Chinese maintenance and shift among 206 Chinese heritage language learners in America. The questionnaires used to collect data contain the demographic information of subjects, language use of intragenerational and intergenerational communication, language use in different domains, and language proficiency. Through analyzing and interpreting the quantitative questionnaire data, the following results are achieved： First, compared with Chinese learners in Southeast Asia, heritage language maintenance of Chinese learners in U. S. is worse, and among the four language skills, listening and speaking are better than reading and writing. Second, language shift occurs in communication between different generations of immigrants. The percentage of Chinese used between first and second generation reaches up to 95% and still maintains a high rate of 90% or so between the first and third generation, whereas decreases to approximately 80% between the second and third generation. Third, Chinese is mainly used at home, and highly limited at schools and working places. Accordingly, recommendations are put forward to reverse language shift by emphasizing the crucial role of family, strengthening the importance of close-knit social networks, deepening the identity of Chinese community and the like. The value of this study lies in that it provides a basis for the policy-making of Chinese heritage language maintenance.