THE TEOCHIU: ETHNICITY IN URBAN HONG KONG
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in private housing and at higher socio-economic levels. Certainly many Teochiu businessmen are heavily committed to Teochiu commercial networks and there generally appears to be a positive relationship between age, psychological orientation to Teochiu identity, and primary interaction with Teochiu. One pattern that does apply to all Teochiu, regardless of social class and educational level, is the tendency for most Teochiu youth born in Hong Kong to abandon any commitment to a Teochiu identity. They feel, and this to a large extent reflects the attitudes of their parents, that an ethnic identity is largely irrelevant to their lives. Rich and poor parents alike have told me that Teochiu-ness is entirely irrelevant to life in Hong Kong today, and that their children must concern themselves with the problems of living in Hong Kong, particularly getting an education and a good job.
This de-emphasis of ethnicity in socialization is reflected in the fact that many Teochiu born in Hong Kong and now aged 20 years or less are unable to speak Teochiu, although they may be able to partially understand Teochiu when it is spoken by others. This is reflected in Table V which categorizes the Teochiu population according to usual language. The columns of interest are those labelled "Cantonese" and "Hoklo" (the latter is defined by the 1971 Census as all Min languages, including Teochiu). The relative percentages of those Teochiu whose “usual language” is Cantonese decreases in the higher age groups. Table VI presents these percentages according to age groups. There are questions which arise concerning the use of the expression “usual language" when the census questionnaires are administered. It is difficult to know what respondents think when asked this question but Teochiu have responded to my questioning with the reply that they use Teochiu in some contexts and Cantonese in others. It is questionable whether only 52% of Teochiu aged 55 and over consider Teochiu to be their usual language. In any case, it is clear that age is generally related to usual language and I would suggest that this is primarily due to the inability of many young Teochiu to speak Teochiu. The latter have or are attending schools in which the medium of instruction is Cantonese and/or English; this is also true of all Teochiu secondary and primary schools in Hong Kong. They are also more likely, at least in the resettlement estate intensively studied, to have more non-Teochiu close friends and to marry non-Teochiu.