Attitudes towards Qingtian dialect among Qingtianese in Sweden

Abstract: Emigrants from Qingtian County (Zhejiang province, China) have a long and rich history in Europe, but to date, little research has been done on their unique language, or its role in Qingtianese diaspora communities. Drawing inspiration from other studies about attitudes towards, and use of, Chinese heritage dialects in China and overseas, the author examines attitudes toward Qingtian dialect using established quantitative and qualitative sociolinguistic research methods. While the results indicate that most Sweden-based Qingtianese seem to have a relatively positive attitude toward their heritage dialect, there are strong signs of an ongoing language shift from Qingtian dialect to Putonghua. The results of the study also indicate some generational differences in attitude towards Qingtian dialect between younger and older Qingtianese, especially in regards to the perceived importance of being able to speak Qingtian dialect in connection with claiming a Qingtianese identity. The author concludes that additional research is needed to confirm the results of this study.