“Made-in-China”: Chinese as a commodity and a socio-economic resource in Chinese language schools in Zambia

Abstract

This thesis provides an account of Sino-Zambian relations at the local level, through an ethnographic analysis of Chinese language education in Zambia. It argues that Chinese language is a manifestation of the commodification of language (Heller 2010a). Recently, two Chinese schools have opened their doors, and have since then been integrating into the Zambian educational system. Chinese language has been valued as a helpful tool in getting a job on the local and global market, or as a way out of Zambia by receiving a scholarship for a Chinese university. Chinese has become popular through China’s linguistic ideology that presents itself to Zambians as a useful economic tool for development. This thesis will show the relation between students’ cultural capital and self reflexivity, and Chinese linguistic ideology and imperialism. It describes how students of Chinese language try to catch the moving train towards progress and prosperity that China has to offer.