This book presents a much-needed discussion on ethnic identification and morphosyntactic variation in San Francisco Chinatown—a community that has received very little attention in linguistic research. An investigation of original, interactive speech data sheds light on how first- and second-generation Chinese Americans signal (ethnic) identity through morphosyntactic variation in English and on how they co-construct identity discursively. After an introduction to the community’s history, the book provides background information on ethnic varieties in North America. This discussion grounds the present book within existing research and illustrates how studies on ethnic varieties of English have evolved. The book then proceeds with a description of quantitative and qualitative results on linguistic variation and ethnic identity. These analyses show how linguistic variation is only one way of signalling belonging to a community and highlight that Chinese Americans draw on a variety of sources, most notably the heritage language, to construct and negotiate (ethnic) identity. This book will be of particular interest to linguists - particularly academics working in sociolinguistics, language and identity, and language variation - but also to scholars interested in related issues such as migration, discrimination, and ethnicity.

"This is an engaging and original study combining quasi-experimental data with ethnographical observations, looking at identity politics and morphosyntactic variations of multilingual Chinese in San Francisco's Chinatown. It is a welcome addition to the growing body of literature on the sociolinguistics of ethnic identity." -- Li Wei, Chair of Applied Linguistics, University College London, UK This book presents a much-needed discussion on ethnic identification and morphosyntactic variation in San Francisco Chinatown--a community that has received very little attention in linguistic research. An investigation of original, interactive speech data sheds light on how first- and second-generation Chinese Americans signal (ethnic) identity through morphosyntactic variation in English and on how they co-construct identity discursively. After an introduction to the community's history, the book provides background information on ethnic varieties in North America. This discussion grounds the present book within existing research and illustrates how studies on ethnic varieties of English have evolved. The book then proceeds with a description of quantitative and qualitative results on linguistic variation and ethnic identity. These analyses show how linguistic variation is only one way of signalling belonging to a community and highlight that Chinese Americans draw on a variety of sources, most notably the heritage language, to construct and negotiate (ethnic) identity. This book will be of particular interest to linguists - particularly academics working in sociolinguistics, language and identity, and language variation - but also to scholars interested in related issues such as migration, discrimination, and ethnicity. Adina Staicov is Assistant Professor at Hiroshima University, Japan, where she teaches classes on Academic Writing and English for Academic Purposes.

Sociologist Sharon M. Quinsaat sheds new light on the formation of diasporic connections through transnational protests. When people migrate and settle in other countries, do they automatically form a diaspora? In Insurgent Communities, Sharon M. Quinsaat explains the dynamic process through which a diaspora is strategically constructed. Quinsaat looks to Filipinos in the United States and the Netherlands—examining their resistance against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, their mobilization for migrants’ rights, and the construction of a collective memory of the Marcos regime—to argue that diasporas emerge through political activism. Social movements provide an essential space for addressing migrants’ diverse experiences and relationships with their homeland and its history. A significant contribution to the interdisciplinary field of migration and social movements studies, Insurgent Communities illuminates how people develop collective identities in times of social upheaval.

The first volume of a two-volume set contains 15 essays selected from 150-plus papers presented at the Luodi-shenggen International Conference on Chinese Overseas held in San Francisco in 1998. The theme--luodi-shenggen or the planting of permanent roots in the soils of different countries--represents a departure from both an assimilationist point of view and from a China-centered "sojourner" point of view. The papers cover various aspects of two broad areas: transnational issues and concerns of Chinese overseas, and regional studies, including those of lesser-known regions. No index. Times Academic Press is in Singapore; US distribution is by ISBS. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR