Gender studies

Sociology

Identity (music)

Aesthetics

Ethnic group

Philosophy

Political science

Anthropology

Linguistics

Chinese americans

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

This study explores how a transient community of Chinese visiting scholars in the US negotiates the language norms and identity in the transnational spaces. Transient communities, being different from diasporic stable communities in terms of flexibility and fluidity of movements, are subject to continuous negotiation of social or language norms. With an ethnographic approach, I observed, documented and interviewed Chinese visiting scholars, exploring their negotiation with various groups of interactants from both the host country and the home country. It is found Chinese visiting scholars' language choices in various interactional contexts are not a priori assignment but the results of constant negotiation within and across contexts. Their multilingual practices or strategies not only enact their identity and ethnicity, but also reflect their implicit power struggle in the transnational space. The Chinese visiting scholars' language practices and their situated and iterative positioning of themselves helps maximise the benefit of their stay in the host country, thus imposing significant implication for EIL (English as International Language) research.

Enacting identity and ethnicity in transnational spaces: bilingual practices and positioning of Chinese visiting scholars in America