Language, Education and Uyghur Identity in Urban Xinjiang - 9781138847729

Taylor & Francis

Language, Education and Uyghur Identity in Urban XinjiangAuthor(s): Joanne Smith Finley, Xiaowei Zang\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9781138847729, 978-1138847729\nSynopsis\nAs the regional lingua franca, the Uyghur language long underpinned Uyghur national identity in Xinjiang. However, since the bilingual education policy was introduced in 2002, Chinese has been rapidly institutionalised as the sole medium of instruction in the regions institutes of education. As a result, studies of the bilingual and indeed multi-lingual Uyghur urban youth have emerged as a major new research trend.\n\nThis book explores the relationship between language, education and identity among the urban Uyghurs of contemporary Xinjiang. It considers ways in which Uyghur urban youth identities began to evolve in response to the state imposition of bilingual education. Starting by defining the notion of ethnic identity, the book explores th.