The role of Japanese as a heritage language in constructing ethnic identity among Hapa Japanese Canadian children

• Autores: Hiroko Noro
• Localización: Journal of multilingual and multicultural development, ISSN 0143-4632, Vol. 30, Nº. 1, 2009, págs. 1-18
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Today, Japanese Canadians are marrying outside of their ethnic community at an unprecedented rate, resulting in the creation of a newly identifiable group of ‘Japanese Canadians’ borne from these interracial unions. Members of this emergent group are increasingly being referred to both by social scientists and self-referentially as Hapa. This term, originally a Hawaiian term, is now a common and empowering tool of self-identification for people of mixed ethnic heritage. Recent sociological research argues that, while the notion of a shared Hapa identity exists, it is less rooted in individual members’ physical appearance or cultural identification and more rooted in their experiences, parental upbringing, and the locality/environment in which they grew up.