Learning Arabic as a Third Space: An Ethnography of Chinese Muslim Women

Jia Li¹, Yuanmeng Ma^1, and Yuanyuan Bi²

¹Foreign Language School, Yunnan University, Kunming, China

²Foreign Affairs Department, Yunnan University, Kunming, China

Cite this paper:
Jia Li, Yuanmeng Ma and Yuanyuan Bi. Learning Arabic as a Third Space: An Ethnography of Chinese Muslim Women. Journal of Linguistics and Literature. 2020; 4(2):54-59. doi: 10.12691/jll-4-2-2

Abstract

In the context of China-oriented new economy, non-English foreign languages have been conceptualized as capital for China’s global governance and individuals’ upward mobility. As one of the valorized foreign languages, Arabic is gaining in importance in China. Adopting the concept of language investment [1,2], this study examines Arabic language learning trajectories of three Chinese women from a Muslim-centered and poverty-stricken region in China. Findings demonstrate that learning Arabic constitutes a third space for Chinese Muslim women’s identity transformations and empowerment in fulfilling their educational and employment prospects. However, their empowerment is not without contestations but restricted in the wider structural constraints that are beyond their control. The study concludes by considering the implications for language policy and language education.

Keywords:
learning Arabic Chinese Muslim women language investment

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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