Ethnic language maintenance among Chinese immigrant children in the UnitedStates

Based upon ethnolinguistic theory, this study examined the familial and pee r influences on immigrant Chinese American children's ethnic language maint enance. Children's decisions to retain their ethnic language were hypothesi zed to be influenced by their parents' attitude toward the maintenance of C hinese, parent-child cohesion, grandparent-child cohesion, peer influence o n language behavior, and age of immigration. Of the 250 respondents, 131 we re first-generation and 114 were second-generation immigrants to the United States. The results indicated that Chinese-speaking peer influence, follow ed by English-speaking peer influence, were the most important factors in C hinese American children's ethnic language retention. Parent-child cohesion was an important mediating factor in the relationship between parent's lan guage attitude and the children's ethnic language retention. In addition, a ge of immigration played an important role in Chinese American children's e thnic language maintenance. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reser ved.