Mixed Marriage, Language, and Identity: The Children of Chinese-Indian Parentage in Malaysia

Abstract

The study explores the social identity by children of Chinese-Indian parentage in Malaysia through their choice of language. The focus is on two key perspectives: firstly, verification of their spoken language and secondly, social identification based on their choice of the language in communication with family members and friends. The discussion is based on interviews of a small sample of respondents from different states in Malaysia. The evidence suggests that social identity is influenced by the choice of language by the respondents. Children of Chinese-Indian parentage tend to choose to use the English language and the ethnicity that they would like to be identified as is Chinese-Indian, but not purely Chinese or Indian.