Language shift and identity reproduction among diaspora Sindhis in India and Southeast Asia
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1-2021
Abstract
This article examines the relationship between language shift and identity among diaspora Sindhis in India and Southeast Asia. It focuses on questions concerning how members of this community reproduce identity through language shift. The first part of the article describes identity and language shift among diaspora Sindhis in post-partition India. It argues that language shift facilitates the reproduction of core cultural modalities among diaspora Sindhis. The second part describes the history of diaspora Sindhis in Southeast Asia and analyses language shift. It contends that language shift enables diaspora Sindhis to suspend a connection between mother-tongue proficiency and identity. The article concludes by discussing how the diaspora Sindhi experience retunes the interval that conventionally connects language shift to cultural change.
Keywords
Language shift, Identity reproduction, Diaspora Sindhis, India, Southeast Asia
Divisions
aei
Publication Title
Modern Asian Studies
Volume
55
Issue
3
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publisher Location
32 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, NEW YORK, NY 10013-2473 USA