Understanding Language Identity From The Perspective Of Bourdieu’s Theory Of Practice:A Case Study Of Four Mongolian Trilinguals

Understanding the language identity of the Chinese Mongolian trilinguals is not only theoretically significant for the study of third language acquisition, but also practically meaningful in enriching the socio-cultural background of the language identity research in multilingualism. It will provide empirical evidence for a better understanding of the solution to the dilemma faced by teachers of foreign languages in ethnic minority areas in China. More importantly, the study could reveal the spiritual world of Chinese ethnic minorities, which may improve the related social practice and the construction of a harmonious society. However, little has been found in the study of Chinese ethnic minorities’language identity.Taking a cross-disciplinary approach under the theoretical guidance of Bourdieu’s theory of practice, the present study puts the Chinese Mongolian learners of English in the perspectives of multilingualism and identity study of the second language learners to answer the following three research questions:(1) What is the language identity of the Chinese Mongolian trilinguals?(2) Why do they have such language identity?(3) How is their language identity related to their ethnic identity? Critical ethnographical sociolinguistic research methods have been employed to analyze the life trajectories of four Mongolian trilinguals using data collected through in-depth interviews, everyday observations, and researcher’s reflective journals and personal correspondences.The present study finds that the Mongolian trilinguals adopted the metaphors of "heart, hands and eyes" to describe their multiple language identity with Mongolian as its primary and foundational core supplimented by Chinese and English as its instrumental and extensional support. The Mongolian trilinguals’language identity was developed and influenced by their social, educational and economic experiences during which they witnessed the unequal distribution of educational and linguistic resources, the transformation of linguistic perceptions, individual accumulation of linguistic capital and its structural change. The three languages Mongolian trilinguals have acquired over the years have served to enhance their ethnic identity respectively in their social life trajectories.The study demonstrates the rich language learning experiences of the Chinese Mongolian trilinguals. By revealing the characteristics of their language identity the study argues for the importance of constructing a harmonious linguistic social context, promoting the development of multilingual educational models and improving the individual multilingual’s self-awareness.