Language And Identity: An Ethnographic Study Of Kokang Students In Chinese Language And Culture School Of Kunming

Thanks to geographical adjacency, similar culture and same ethnic origin, Chinese people and Myanmar people have interacted frequently. They call each other as "pauk paw". With the development of China, the cooperation between China and Myanmar in the fields of economy, trade, culture and education has increased. Yunnan province, as the gateway of "the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road" strategy, has made efforts for the cooperation of the two countries. The frontier schools are the best examples of education cooperation. Among these frontier schools, those in Zhenkang County are special because the Myanmar students in these schools are all from Kokang district.Kokang district is a self-administered zone of Myanmar. It is situated in northeastern part of Shan State. The Kokang (Han) ethnicity accounts for more than 80% of the total population. They inherit the "Huaxia" culture. The language they speak has no difference with the Zhenkang dialect. Therefore, the Kokang students studying in Zhenkang have obvious advantage in language and cultural adaptation as international students. After two year’s study in Zhenkang, some Kokang students come to Chinese Language and Culture School of Kunming, taking preparatory courses.The informants of this thesis are these Kokang students. Historical, geographical and cultural factors lead to their special language usage and identity construction. By adopting ethnographic methods, including questionnaire, interview, observation, autobiography and filed journal, this thesis explores the language and identity of the Kokang students in Chinese Language and Culture School of Kunming.The findings suggest that the Kokang students are proficient in Chinese, but their English and Burmese are not as good as their Chinese. The Kokang students and their parents attach importance to Chinese, Burmese and English, especially Burmese. Most of the students express their desire to learn Burmese. The Kokang students choose different languages when they talk with different people in different places. Their language choices reflect how they construct their identities. The findings also indicate that the Kokang students have strong cultural identity to China and strong sense of belongingness to Kokang ethnicity and Myanmar.At the end of thesis, the author gives some suggestions. Chinese schools especially vocational colleges are suggested to open doors to the Kokang students. The Kokang students are advised to "invest" more languages which can help them gain the access to a wide range of resources. The author also offers proposal on Myanmar language policy. It would be better if the Myanmar government makes polices to help the Kokang students. Meanwhile the author points out the limitations of the study and suggestions for future study. The future scholars are strongly advised to conduct diachronic research.