The usage of the Chinese language by the Chinese diaspora and their descendants has been determined by a large number of factors, including their ancestry, their migrant ancestors' "regime of origin", assimilation through generational changes, and official policies of their country of residence. The general trend is that more established Chinese populations in the Western world and in many regions of Asia have Cantonese as either the dominant variety or as a common community vernacular, while Mandarin is much more prevalent among new arrivals, making it increasingly common in many Chinatowns, though still not dominant.
Europe The Chinese diaspora in Europe is diverse and speaks different Chinese varieties depending on their place of origin. Similar to other continents, there is an overall shift from Cantonese as the most spoken language by earlier migrants to Standard Mandarin as the lingua franca in the present day. The establishment of Chinese language schools in Europe helps newer overseas generations learn Mandarin as a heritage language, overlooking other Chinese varieties that are lower in status. Despite extra education, younger generations are often not fluent in Mandarin. However, they still show multilingual skills in code-switching with peers or when functioning as language brokers for their parents.
Chinese language education in Europe Because children of the Chinese diaspora in Europe are mainly surrounded by the languages of their host countries, most acquire Chinese as a second language. To pass their heritage language onto their children, Chinese migrants all over Europe have set up Chinese language schools throughout the years. These schools are also called Chinese weekend schools, because students attend these schools in the weekend when regular schools are closed. Before the 1950s, there were attempts to set up language schools, but they were all short-lived and discontinued not long after. The first language school was set up 1919 in Leiden in the Netherlands by Peranakan Chinese students. Later, there were attempts to open schools in Paris, London, Rotterdam, and Berlin, but none of the schools lasted. Between the 1960s and the 1980s, when the Chinese population in Europe was growing due to migration waves from Hong Kong, many schools were established in major countries of Europe. After bringing their families, migrants had formed small communities. To pass on their heritage language to the children that grew up in Europe, they set up weekend schools. These schools were mainly teaching Cantonese, as most migrants came from Hong Kong. After the 1990s, migrants came to Europe from all over China and the language schools grew rapidly. In contrast to earlier language education, schools shifted to teaching Standard Mandarin instead of Cantonese and simplified characters instead of traditional characters. During the COVID-19 pandemic, language schools faced the loss of students. Some schools did not survive the pandemic, but others adapted through a hybrid form of teaching, providing online education.
Language status of varieties As the demographic of the Chinese diaspora changed throughout the years, the languages of the Chinese population in Europe also changed. Whereas Cantonese used to be the main language spoken by earlier migrants, Standard Mandarin has since then become the lingua franca of Chinese migrants. This is promoted even further by the teaching of Mandarin in language schools. Some fear that the status of Mandarin might lead to tensions between speakers of different varieties within the Chinese community. Other varieties are often overlooked in these communities and have a lower status than Mandarin. There is also a hierarchy between varieties. Where Mandarin carries a higher status than Cantonese, Cantonese has a higher status than other varieties. This is reflected in the education choice of language schools, where there is a high demand for learning Mandarin, but not for other varieties. In the United Kingdom, because of its colonial past in Hong Kong, there is less of a tendency to accept Mandarin as the lingua franca. Instead, Mandarin is used alongside Cantonese and English, all for different purposes.
Multilingualism and language contact Local languages are also used by the Chinese diaspora. In the Netherlands, second generations mainly use Dutch as a way to communicate within the community. Despite not always being fluent in Mandarin, many overseas Chinese from younger generations identify themselves as "multilingual and multicultural Chinese transnationals". They often show creative use of code-switching and word play between languages when speaking with their peers. Their code-switching defies grammatical constraints of the two languages and goes across morphological and syntactic boundaries, showing their competency of both languages. Another way that children from overseas Chinese show their multilingual competencies is in their role as language brokers. Parents that struggle with understanding the language of their host country often need help with translation of certain documents or need a language mediator in certain situations. These situations include school meetings, but also doctor appointments and interaction with government officials. This role that is put upon multilingual children in overseas communities can be demanding and comes with responsibility and possible stress. On the other hand, it also can help increase their competence of both languages and their vocabulary.
East Asia Within East Asia, Min Chinese (Hokkien, Fuzhounese, etc.), Yue Chinese (Cantonese, Taishanese, Wu-Hua, etc.), Hakka Chinese, Wu Chinese, Mandarin dialects to some extent nowadays and Standard Mandarin have served as the lingua francas amongst ethnic Chinese across most of the region and within many of its nations. However, the language situation of these communities can vary greatly amongst neighboring nations or even within.
Japan
Mainly speaking Japanese and Chinese. Generally speaking Standard Mandarin can be used. Common Chinese dialects include Mandarin dialects, Min Chinese (Hokkien and Fuzhounese), Hakka Chinese, Wu Chinese and Cantonese.
Ryukyu
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
