[Asia_news] [Reminder] Seminar: Language Shift and Language Choice in a Chinese-Indonesian Family [23 October, By Francisca Handoko]

[APSS -Asia Pacific Seminar Series]

Dear all,

Asia Pacific Seminar Series (APSS) at UNSW at ADFA will be held on
Mondays at 12:10-13:00 in Room SL1 (upstairs), Building 21 at
UNSW at ADFA, Northcott Drive, Canberra. Map/Venue:
http://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/images/adfamap.pdf

23 October 2006
Language Shift and Language Choice in a Chinese-Indonesian Family By
Francisca Handoko PhD candidate, RSPAS, Australian National University

Abstract
In 1966 there was a dramatic change in the Indonesian educational
system when all Chinese schools were closed down. This closing
especially affected the ethnic Chinese Indonesians who had been
sending their children to these schools. Until1965 most children of
ethnic Chinese origin with a Totok background in Surabaya spoke
Mandarin –a language they learned in most cases at Chinese schools.
(Totok are ethnic Chinese Indonesians whose forebears first arrived in
Indonesia in the early part of the twentieth century, and they are
distinguished from Peranakan whose ancestors arrived in Indonesia
centuries ago). Thus, prior to 1966, members of the Hakka family who
are the subjects of this study spoke a number of languages –Mandarin
and Hakka– with each other in addition to Malay/Indonesian and Ngoko
Javanese.

After the closing down of Chinese schools, all children, including
those from a Totok background, had to move to Indonesian schools. The
post 1966 generations speak more (or better) Indonesian (and varieties
of Indonesian) than their parents do. Some also speak English with
their siblings.

When members of this family get together, they use a rich variety of
the languages from their collective repertoire in their conversations,
often switching mid-sentence between one language and another. This
paper focuses on the intergenerational interactions in which more than
two languages are used alternately during family conversations I
recorded in Surabaya in 2001. There are five separate languages
involved, namely Indonesian, Javanese, Mandarin, Hakka and English. In
addition, there are two other similar language varieties, East Java
Indonesian and Chinese Malay/Indonesian, employed in the family
interactions. The paper presents some of the major social motivations
behind the language choice practices which the speakers are engaged
in.

***Next Seminars***
30 October 2006
Literary Links: Australia and the Asia-Pacific By Professor Bruce
Bennett Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, UNSW at ADFA

For the abstracts of the seminars please visit our website:
http://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/hass/APSS/Apss.html

Suggestions:
The Asia-Pacific Seminar convenors welcome suggestions for seminar
speakers and topics. Please contact 2006 convenors: Minako Sakai
(m.sakai at adfa.edu.au), Glenn Banks (glenn.banks at adfa.edu.au), Paul
Tickell (p.tickell at adfa.edu.au)

Enquiries: Taufiq Tanasaldy (apss at adfa.edu.au), tel. (02) 6268 8914 To
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