Abstract
Staicov presents a detailed discussion of participants’ own voices and perspectives on language and identity. Focussing on themes, for example, self-labelling, othering, and heritage language, that emerged in interview settings, this chapter describes a more nuanced picture of ethnic identity construction in the community. Staicov illustrates how Chinese Americans’ identification processes correlate with proficiency in Cantonese, ties to the “homeland”, or identification with Chinatown but also considers how these factors are weighed differently across generations and individuals. While the participants’ observations are at the centre of the discussion, Staicov contextualises them within existing research to explore similarities and differences with other diaspora communities. While such comparisons can be insightful, Staicov ends by stressing the fact that local experiences should not be conflated with generalisations across different settings.
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Notes
- 1.
All the examples taken from the interviews have been modified for readability. The comma stands for a short break in the consultants’ speech.
- 2.
Sharon is one of the consultants who arrived in America before puberty and before having had schooling in Hong Kong. For this reason, she was included in the second generation.
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Staicov, A. (2020). Constructing Chinese Americanness in San Francisco Chinatown. In: Creating Belonging in San Francisco Chinatown’s Diasporic Community. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24993-9_5
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