Language attitudes of the T’rung
This paper describes a research project on the language attitudes of the T’rung (Dulong) people of southwest China, speakers of a Tibeto-Burman language fast becoming endangered. A total of 48 T’rung residents of two villages were interviewed for their opinions on the use and importance of T’r...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2024
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/177734 |
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| Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | This paper describes a research project on the language attitudes of the
T’rung (Dulong) people of southwest China, speakers of a Tibeto-Burman language
fast becoming endangered. A total of 48 T’rung residents of two villages were
interviewed for their opinions on the use and importance of T’rung, Lisu, and
Chinese in one of China’s most multilingual regions. The results show unanimity
about the importance of Chinese in all aspects of life, although few T’rung speak
the language well and it is a relative newcomer to the region. Attitudes towards
T’rung are complex, with some in the community viewing it as a language of
solidarity even as it retreats from spheres of everyday use, while others bemoan its
irrelevance in the changed circumstrances of modern life. Women and those over 50
years old feel particular ambivalence about T’rung, instead valorizing Lisu, a
regional lingua franca. T’rung youth feel pride in the language as a marker of ethnic
identity but appear to be uncertain about the language’s future and in what spheres
they should promote its use. |
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