语言转用与族群认同关系:研究及其进展

The Relationship between Language Shift and Ethnic Identity:Research and Its Progress

语言转用是否影响讲话者的族群认同?如果语言转用对讲话者的族群认同有影响,是族群认同消失了或者减弱了,还是族群认同发生了转变?这是语言与族群认同的关系研究长期关注的问题。客观主义观点认为,语言转用使讲话者对本族群的认同消失;主观主义观点认为,语言转用不影响讲话者的族群认同;动态建构观点认为,语言转用与族群认同的关系是变化的,语言转用对不同族群、在不同历史阶段、对不同社会阶层的族群成员的影响不同。语言转用与族群认同的关系复杂,既不能把两者的关系简单地归结为语言转用决定族群认同,也不能把两者之间关系视为完全独立的。动态建构观点既避免了客观主义观点的偏颇,又弥补了主观主义观点的不足。影响语言转用与族群认同关系的因素有客观因素和主观因素:客观因素包括国家的语言政策、族群间的相对地位、学校教育的语言媒介、语言环境、人口数量与地理因素等,主观因素包括个体的价值观、性别和年龄、跨文化敏感性等。未来应该加强对该问题的实验研究,增强共时性和继时性的比较研究,开展方言转用与族群认同的研究,以便得出更为确定的结论。

Does language shift affect the ethnic identity of the speaker?If language shift does affect the ethnic identity of the speaker,is it the disappearance or weakening of ethnic identity,or a transformation of ethnic identity?This is a long-standing issue in the study of the relationship between language and ethnic identity.The objective view holds that language shift causes the speaker to lose their ethnic identity,while the subjective view holds the opposite;the dynamic constructivist view holds that the relationship between language shift and ethnic identity is dynamic,and that the impact of language shift on different ethnic groups,at different historical stages,and for different social classes of ethnic members is different.The relationship between language shift and ethnic identity is complex:it cannot be reduced to a simple conclusion that language shift determines ethnic identity,nor can it be considered completely independent from each other.The dynamic constructivist perspective avoids the bias of the objective view and make up for the shortcomings of the subjective view.Factors affecting the relationship between language shift and ethnic identity include objective and subjective factors:objective factors include national language policy,relative status between ethnic groups,language medium of schooling,language environment,population size and geography,etc.,while subjective factors include individual values,gender and age,and cross-cultural sensitivity.In the future,experimental research on this issue should be strengthened,comparative studies on co-occurrence and subsequence should be enhanced,and research on language shift and ethnic identity should be carried out in order to achieve more definitive conclusions.