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FIC Research Grant, Universiti Brunei Darussalam
Chang-Yau Hoon (PI), Noor Azam bin Hj Othman (Co-I)
Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI)
2018 - 2019
The Chinese language (i.e. Mandarin) is widely spoken among the ethnic Chinese in Brunei Darussalam. Comprising around 10% of the population, the ethnic Chinese are the second largest ethnic group in Brunei. However, there is a dearth of literature on the ethnic Chinese in Brunei, and even less about the status of their lingua franca in Brunei. The market demand of Mandarin has rekindled interest in the language among Chinese and non-Chinese in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines. China has also been investing heavily in promoting its language and culture in order to build its soft power on the world stage. Situated in these broader contextual developments, this project examines the current state of Mandarin learning in two Chinese middle schools in Brunei.
Through school ethnography and interviews conducted with Mandarin teachers, students and parents, this project analyses the main factors driving Bruneian youths’ learning of Mandarin in schools in relation to factors such as the ethnic minority status of the Chinese in Brunei, the global economic rise of China, and the rapidly developing China-Brunei international relations.