Chinese Perspectives on the Dungan People and Language
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Chinese Perspectives on the Dungan People and Language A Critical Discourse Analysis on the Ambiguousness of the Chinese Ethnicity Kari Fougner Masters thesis in EAL 4090- East Asian linguistics Asian and African Studies: East Asian Linguistics 60 ECTS credits Spring 2012 Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages Summary This thesis treats a broad selection of Chinese academic articles, all of which concern different aspects of Dungan culture and language. The articles are, without exception published in Chinese academic journals after the year 2000. The notion of “Chineseness” as a quality of the Chinese ethnicity, the Zhonghua minzu can be said to be the superior theme of the thesis. However, the research question of the thesis is divided into two. Through my research, the ultimate goal has been to attempt to understand the actual definition of the term Zhonghua minzu and what it signifies to be a part of the ethnicity. Subsequently, the Dungan people have been used as a specific example, as affiliated with China, to better understand how ethnic groups are connected to the Zhonghua minzu. The Dungans, an ethnic group mainly situated in the Central Asian countries of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, are examined in this thesis within the scope of Chinese academia’s point of view on the notion of “Chineseness”. I have studied how different attitudes regarding ethnicities, especially ethnic minorities, appear within the topical medium, how they shape and are shaped by the social discourse. In my research, one of the main findings in regard to the Zhonghua minzu- the Chinese ethnicity was that the ethnicity in itself did not match the Stalin based criteria traditionally used to define ethnicity within China. Whilst these criteria are based on common psychological makeup, territory, religion, economy and language, the Zhonghua minzu is solely based on a broad and general explanation of what it means to be Chinese: The people of the republic of China and overseas Chinese. This can be interpreted as to be focused on an ancestral bond. Nevertheless, the analysis shows language as integral, if not the most important factor, in terms of determining affiliation with the Chinese ethnicity. Furthermore, the analysis displays how Chinese academia, through different voices and perspectives, imparts both China and various ethnicities a myriad of roles and traits. This will show, both in theory and praxis, how it mirrors the official and unofficial Chinese language politics. Preface Due to my language background being Chinese and Farsi, I wished to write a master thesis in which I could combine these two languages. My original intention was to write a thesis aimed at socio- linguistics of the Sarikoli people, a Persian speaking ethnic minority situated in northwestern China, and the relation between their mother tongue and Chinese. As with many master students, the topic of the thesis was modified and changed several times. Due to an increase in the tension between ethnic minorities in northwestern China and the Chinese government over the last few years it became clear that finding objective information and conducting research on the subject would be difficult at best. As I still wanted to write an assignment where the languages Chinese and Farsi could be combined with language and its function in society, I decided on a topic which merged language, identity and nationalism. The Dungan people, a Muslim ethnic minority of Hui Chinese origin situated in Central Asia whose mother tongue is a dialect based on northwestern Chinese dialects which contain many Persian loanwords became the starting point for my research. I would like to express my gratitude to my two advisors Kjell Lars Berge and Ivo Spira. During the course of the writing process they have provided me with inspiring supervision and suggestions. I would also like to thank both family, good friends and Brad for moral support and encouragement in times when the climb uphill has been especially steep. Index 1. Introduction.........................................................................................................................................4 1. 1. Background and research question................................................................................................4 1. 2. Choice of text...............................................................................................................................5 1. 3. Limiting the text............................................................................................................................6 1. 4. Disposition...................................................................................................................................6 PART A: Discourse analysis: Theory and Methodology............................................................................8 2. Theoretical starting point......................................................................................................................8 2. 1. Research context...........................................................................................................................8 2. 2. Discourse analysis.........................................................................................................................9 2. 2. 1. Critical Discourse Analysis .................................................................................................................. 10 2. 2. 2. Reflections around own role in discourse analysis. .......................................................................... 10 2. 3. Methodology- Abduction as method...........................................................................................11 2. 4. Power within text........................................................................................................................12 2. 5. The metafunction of language in text..........................................................................................14 2. 5. 1. Textual structure .................................................................................................................................... 14 2. 5. 2. Ideational structure ............................................................................................................................... 15 2. 5. 3. Interpersonal structure ......................................................................................................................... 15 2. 6. Summary.....................................................................................................................................16 PART B: the sociocultural context of the Dungans and the Chineseness in which they are seen in light of. ...............................................................................................................................................................17 3. Introduction.......................................................................................................................................17 3. 1. The History of the Dungan people.............................................................................................18 3. 1. 1. Early Dungan history- from migration to settlement ..................................................................... 18 3. 1. 2. The beginning of the Dungan migration- The First wave ............................................................. 19 3. 1. 3. The second wave ................................................................................................................................... 20 3. 2. Research material from the early days..........................................................................................21 3. 3. The development of the Dungan writing system.........................................................................22 3. 4. The Origin of the name Dungan.................................................................................................23 3. 4. 1. The Russian Theory .............................................................................................................................. 23 3. 4. 2. The Theory of Turkic origin ............................................................................................................... 24 3. 4. 3. The Chinese Theory ............................................................................................................................. 24 3. 5. Dungan language as instrumental self- assertion:.........................................................................27 3. 5. 1. Uniting an ethnicity ............................................................................................................................... 27 1 3. 5. 2. Endogamy as a mean of preservation of Dungan culture ............................................................. 28 3. 5. 3. Geography and Nationality as language and identity barriers ........................................................ 29 3. 6. The present situation of Dungan language..................................................................................30 3. 7. Why has there been such a decline in the use of Dungan as mother tongue?...............................31 3. 8. Dungan Patriotism......................................................................................................................33 3. 9. Chineseness and Nationality from a Chinese perspective.............................................................36 3. 10. The Beginning