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Article published In:
Asia-Pacific Language Variation
Vol. 3:2 (2017) ► pp.232–270

Investigating the role of speaker attitudes in koinéisation in Hohhot, China

| University of Canterbury

This paper explores the correlation between speakers’ social attitudes and their linguistic production in a contact-induced dialect mixture in Hohhot, a Chinese immigrant city. In Hohhot, the contact between the community speaking the local Jìn dialect and migrants from all parts of the country has led to the formation of a new vernacular. Thirty-five speakers across three generations from the migrant community were recorded, and their social attitudes in different dimensions were measured through questionnaires. A significant correlation between the speakers’ attitudinal scores and their adoption of a local Jìn feature was found by mixed-effects modelling, and the effects of attitude remained even when speakers’ social contact with Jìn speakers was considered. The findings demonstrate the role of attitudes in contact-induced linguistic change and suggest that speakers’ overt attitudes recorded in questionnaires are also likely to predict their linguistic production.

Keywords: attitudes, koinéisation, dialect contact, migration, China, social networks
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Previous discussions on the role of speaker attitudes
  • 3.Background of Hohhot
    • 3.1Hohhot and the emergence of Hū Pǔ
    • 3.2The social situation of Hohhot
  • 4.Linguistic variable: L-words
  • 5.Participants and data collection methodology
    • 5.1Word elicitation task and linguistic data
    • 5.2Collecting and analysing attitudes data
    • 5.3Collecting and analysing social networks data
  • 6.Results
  • 7.Discussion
  • 8.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 19 January 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aplv.16014.wan
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