Language maintenance and attitudes of mandarin speaking families in New Zealand

In this paper, we report on the attitudes Mandarin-speaking families in New Zealand hold on Mandarin and its maintenance. Data was collected as a part of a wider project investigating the phonological development of Mandarin-English bilingual children (n=330). Parents were interviewed about the family's use of Mandarin, attitudes to maintaining Mandarin and the strategies employed in their language maintenance. Findings show a broad consensus in regard to the high value families place on Mandarin, and are in line with earlier research on language maintenance strategies employed by families to maintain their home language. Findings also reveal how factors specific to this Mandarin-speaking community play a role. Of particular note are participant attitudes towards Mandarin and other (non-dominant) Chinese 'dialects' and the cross generational support for Mandarin.