Navigating Dual Worlds: Language Acquisition Strategies and Emergent Identity in Bilingual Gelao-Han Chinese Children

Abstract

This study examines how Gelao children navigate bilingual development and identity construction in a context of rapid language shift in southwestern China. Addressing gaps in child-centered perspectives within sociolinguistic research, the study focuses on three questions concerning the ecological distribution of language use, children’s language acquisition strategies and their relationship with proficiency, and the construction of ethnic and linguistic identities. A qualitatively driven mixed-methods design grounded in critical ethnography was employed, combining participant observation, semi-structured interviews, language background questionnaires, elicitation tasks, and audio-recordings of naturalistic interactions. The findings reveal a clear domain-based distribution of Gelao and Mandarin across home, school, and community settings, alongside children’s active use of domain-specific, interactional, and cognitive strategies in language acquisition. Quantitative analyses indicate that while exposure and family interaction provide a foundation, active language use is more closely associated with higher heritage language proficiency. The study further shows that children display metalinguistic awareness and construct flexible, context-sensitive identities through their language practices. These findings highlight the importance of child agency in bilingual development and suggest that language maintenance efforts should move beyond input-focused approaches to support active language use within meaningful social contexts.

Introduction

In the contemporary era of globalization and intensified nation-state building, linguistic diversity is facing an unprecedented threat. It is estimated that nearly half of the world’s approximately 7,000 languages are endangered, with many likely to disappear by the end of this century (Romaine, 2015). This loss extends beyond language itself, encompassing the erosion of cultural knowledge systems, historical narratives, and embedded worldviews.

For children in minority communities, bilingual development unfolds within a particularly complex sociolinguistic environment. They must navigate between a heritage language associated with ethnic identity and cultural continuity, and a dominant language that provides access to formal education, social mobility, and national integration. This tension is especially evident among the Gelao, one of the officially recognized ethnic groups in China, primarily residing in Guizhou, Guangxi, and Yunnan. Their language is critically endangered in which fluent speakers account for a very small proportion of the population and are largely concentrated among the elderly (L. Yang & Li, 2019).

In such contexts, understanding bilingual development requires close attention to how children actively manage competing linguistic demands in different social domains. Their language acquisition strategies not only shape their proficiency outcomes but also play a central role in identity formation. Examining these processes is therefore essential for both advancing theoretical understandings of minority bilingualism and informing efforts to support the maintenance and revitalization of endangered languages.

Existing sociolinguistic research on minority groups in China has predominantly focused on macro-level perspectives, including language policy, legal frameworks, and ecological conditions of language use, as well as assessments of bilingual education and language proficiency (Cong & Song, 2025; Wang, 2017; Xu, 2026). While these studies provide important insights into structural and institutional dimensions, a critical research gap remains in understanding bilingual development from the perspective of child learners themselves. In particular, there is limited knowledge of how children deploy language acquisition strategies across contexts, how these strategies relate to their developing proficiency in both Gelao and Mandarin, and how such practices are implicated in the construction of ethnic identity.

To address this gap, the present study is guided by the following research questions:

• RQ1: What is the ecological distribution of Gelao and Mandarin in the daily lives of Gelao children across home, school, and community domains?

• RQ2: What language acquisition strategies do Gelao children employ in navigating their bilingual environment, and how are these strategies related to their proficiency in Gelao and Mandarin?

• RQ3: How do Gelao children construct and negotiate their ethnic and linguistic identities through their language practices and metalinguistic discourse?

Literature Review and Theoretical Framing

Bilingual Language Acquisition in Minority Contexts

Research on bilingual acquisition in minority contexts has evolved from documenting outcomes to understanding the processes and strategies employed by learners. A key finding across numerous studies is the prevalence of circumstantial bilingualism, where individuals acquire a second language out of necessity for social, educational, or economic participation, as opposed to elective bilingualism, which is often a choice for enrichment (Baker & Wright, 2021). Gelao children are quintessential circumstantial bilinguals, navigating a linguistic environment where Mandarin is indispensable for future opportunity, while Gelao is of limited functional scope but high symbolic value.

Within these circumstances, children develop a range of strategic competencies. Studies highlight the importance of receptive skills such as listening comprehension often outstripping productive skills in the heritage language, a common pattern in language shift scenarios (Montrul, 2023). Gelao children may understand directives or stories in Gelao from elders but respond in Mandarin, a strategy that maintains communication while minimizing production in their weaker language. Furthermore, practices like code-switching and translation are not merely linguistic interference but sophisticated pragmatic strategies. For instance, children in Navajo communities have been documented to use code-switching to align with different interlocutors and to negotiate meaning, a finding that is likely mirrored among the Gelao (Schaengold, 2004). These strategies are not random; they are context-dependent, goal-oriented, and reflect the children’s metalinguistic awareness of the social values attached to each language.

Rather than treating bilingual competence as two separate systems, recent work on dynamic bilingualism conceptualizes it as an integrated and flexible repertoire (García & Wei, 2015). From this perspective, practices such as code-switching and translation are better understood as strategic uses of available linguistic resources rather than signs of deficiency. The notion of translanguaging further emphasizes how bilingual speakers draw on their full repertoire to make meaning across contexts (Wei, 2017). This lens allows the present study to interpret children’s language use as adaptive and purposeful, especially in settings where proficiency in the heritage language is uneven.

However, existing studies rarely offer detailed, context-specific accounts of how such strategies are deployed across everyday interactional settings, particularly in highly endangered language communities such as the Gelao. This calls for a more fine-grained, child-centered analysis of language use across social domains.

Language and Identity in China’s Ethnic Minorities

The relationship between language and ethnic identity in China is complex and varies significantly across groups. Research on larger, more politically salient minorities like the Tibetans and Uyghurs has consistently shown that their languages often serve as powerful symbols of resistance and core pillars of a distinct ethnic identity, despite intense pressure from state-language policies (Dwyer, 2005). For these groups, language maintenance is frequently intertwined with political and religious identity.

In contrast, studies on groups like the Zhuang, despite being China’s largest minority, reveal a more nuanced picture where official recognition does not automatically translate to vibrant intergenerational transmission, and identity is often negotiated through other cultural markers besides language (Huang, 2025). The situation for smaller, more assimilated groups like the Gelao is even more critical. Existing research on the Gelao remains limited and is largely descriptive, focusing on speaker numbers and linguistic features (L. Yang & Li, 2019). Sociolinguistic accounts of lived experiences of children are still scarce. Evidence from other small minority groups suggests that ethnic identity may persist even as language proficiency declines, shifting toward other cultural practices such as festivals, clothing, or oral traditions (Wu, 2022). However, how such processes unfold in the case of Gelao children, particularly in relation to their everyday language use, remains underexplored.

However, despite growing interest in language and identity, existing research has paid limited attention to smaller and less politically visible groups such as the Gelao, and even less to children’s own discursive practices. In particular, there remains a lack of empirical studies examining how children actively construct and negotiate ethnic identity through their bilingual practices in everyday interaction.

To examine these processes, this study draws on an identity-in-practice perspective, which treats identity as something constructed through interaction rather than as a fixed attribute (Bucholtz & Hall, 2005). This is complemented by positioning theory, which provides tools for analyzing how speakers locate themselves and others in discourse (Harré & van Langenhove, 2021). Together, these approaches make it possible to examine how children use language to negotiate ethnic identity in situated contexts.

Family Language Policy and Intergenerational Transmission

The family is widely regarded as a key site of intergenerational language transmission, but it is also one of the most vulnerable domains in contexts of language shift. Family Language Policy, defined as the explicit and implicit planning of language use within the home, is a critical framework for understanding this process (King, 2023). FLP is not created in a vacuum; it is profoundly shaped by caregivers’ language ideologies—their deeply held beliefs about the value, status, and utility of each language.

In endangered language contexts, a common pattern is a generational disconnect in FLP. Grandparents may hold ideologies that strongly link the heritage language to cultural authenticity and identity, while parents, pragmatic about their children’s future, may adopt an ideology that prioritizes Mandarin for educational and economic success (Smith-Christmas, 2016). This often results in a one-parent-one-language strategy being abandoned in favor of a Mandarin-dominant home, or in children being passive overhearers of Gelao rather than active participants. Shen et al.’s (2021) research on a Miao community in China found that parents’ belief in Mandarin as the key to the city directly led to a reduction in heritage language input to children, despite expressed sentimental attachment to Miao. For the Gelao context, this suggests that children’s language use is closely shaped by the linguistic environment created by caregivers intentionally or not. Their developing proficiency reflects patterns of input and interaction within the family, which are in turn influenced by broader social pressures. Therefore, any analysis of child language acquisition must account for the FLP and the ideologies that underpin it.

This perspective connects with language socialization theory, which emphasizes how children acquire linguistic and cultural norms through participation in everyday interaction (Duranti et al., 2023). At the same time, an ecological approach situates these processes within broader social structures, highlighting how family practices are shaped by institutional and societal forces (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Hornberger & Hult, 2008).

Summary

In summary, while existing research has provided important insights into bilingualism, identity, and family language practices in minority contexts, there remains a lack of integrated, child centered analyses that connect these dimensions at the micro level. In particular, little is known about how language acquisition strategies, proficiency development, and identity construction intersect in the children growing up in critically endangered language communities such as the Gelao. Addressing this issue is essential for advancing current understandings of minority bilingualism and for informing more effective language maintenance and revitalization efforts.

These theoretical perspectives provide a complementary framework for the present study. Dynamic bilingualism and translanguaging inform the analysis of children’s language use as strategic and context-sensitive practices; identity-in-practice and positioning theory guide the examination of identity construction in discourse; and language socialization and ecological approaches link individual behaviors to broader familial and societal contexts. This integrated framework enables a multi-layered understanding of how language acquisition strategies, proficiency development, and identity negotiation intersect in the everyday experiences of Gelao children.

Methodology

This section delineates the methodological framework for a study investigating the complex interplay of language acquisition, cultural practices, and identity formation among Gelao children in Southwestern China. To address research questions listed above, a mixed-methods approach is employed, prioritizing qualitative depth while incorporating quantitative data to provide a comprehensive descriptive profile of the participants and their linguistic contexts.

Research Design

This study is guided by research questions rather than formal hypotheses. While mixed-methods research is often associated with hypothesis testing, the present design is grounded in a critical ethnographic and interpretive paradigm. The study aims to explore how Gelao children navigate language acquisition and identity construction within a context of severe language shift, rather than to test predetermined causal relationships.

This critical ethnographic case study design is uniquely suited to capturing the contextualized realities of participants’ lives (Creswell & Poth, 2018). It enables immersive engagement with the cultural norms and interactional routines that shape children’s language socialization (Duranti et al., 2023). The critical dimension of the ethnography is informed by a commitment to examining power dynamics, particularly the influence of dominant societal languages on minoritized languages and the subsequent impact on cultural identity (Pérez-Milans, 2015).

Framing this ethnography as a case study allows for an in-depth, bounded investigation of language transmission within its real-life context (Yin, 2018). The case here is the community as a site of intergenerational language shift rather than individual children. The integration of qualitative and quantitative data follows a complementary model.

The study adopts a qualitatively driven mixed-methods design, in which quantitative components provide contextual mapping but do not determine interpretive conclusions.

Research Setting and Participant Selection

The field site for this study is Dagouchang Village, Gaofeng Town, Gui’an New Area, Guizhou Province, China. The area has a high concentration of Gelao residents and reflects ongoing language shift under urbanization and Mandarin-medium education. A single-site design enables ethnographic depth in examining local manifestations of broader sociolinguistic change (Liang, 2015).

A purposive sampling strategy was employed to recruit 15 to 20 Gelao children aged 4 to 8 and their primary caregivers. This age range is critical as it represents a period of rapid language development and the initial formation of meta-linguistic awareness and cultural identity (Velasco & Fialais, 2018). Purposive sampling is appropriate for identifying information-rich cases that are central to the research question (Palinkas et al., 2015). Recruitment was facilitated through local community leaders and school administrators to build trust and ensure cultural protocol is followed. Informed consent was obtained from all caregivers, and assent was sought from the child participants using age-appropriate language and procedures.

Data Collection Instruments and Procedures

Data collection occurred over a continuous 3-month period in the field, amounting to approximately 100 hr of direct observation and interaction.

The first is participant observation. Approximately 100 hr were dedicated to participant observation across homes, community centers, and schools. The researcher adopted a peripheral member role initially, gradually moving to an active member role as rapport is built (DeWalt & DeWalt, 2011). Particular attention was paid to language choice in different social contexts, caregiver-child interaction patterns, and community events where language and identity are performed.

The second is semi-structured interviews. Caregiver interviews explored their language ideologies, family language policies, perceptions of their children’s bilingualism, and hopes and concerns regarding Gelao language maintenance (Lanza & Lomeu Gomes, 2020). For children, age-appropriate methods were used to elicit their perspectives. This includes puppet shows where puppets speak different languages, and drawing-telling activities where children are asked to draw their family and community and narrate the scene (Einarsdottir et al., 2009).

The third is language background questionnaire. A questionnaire administered to caregivers gathered essential demographic data and detailed information on children’s language exposure and use. This quantified the proportion of input in Gelao and Mandarin from various sources and document the family’s language history (De Houwer, 2021).

The fourth is Elicitation Tasks. A battery of direct assessment tasks was administered to children to gauge their proficiency and attitudes in both Gelao and Mandarin. In these tasks, children were shown a set of 20 culturally relevant images such as local plants, traditional tools, common household items and asked to name them. What’s more, children listened to a short, standardized story in one language and were asked to retell it in the same language and then in the other. By using a forced-choice paradigm, children were presented with scenarios paired with images representing Gelao or Mandarin speakers.

To complement the structured observations, approximately 10 hr of audio recordings were made of naturally occurring interactions within households.

Data Analysis

Data analysis is an iterative process conducted alongside data collection.

Qualitative analysis was conducted using NVivo 12. Thematic analysis was used to identify patterns related to language practices, socialization, and identity (Braun & Clarke, 2019).

Discourse analysis focused on children’s identity-related talk, examining how they position themselves and others in relation to language use (Bamberg et al., 2021).

Coding for Language Acquisition Strategies was applied to observational and audio data to identify patterns such as language choice and code-switching.

Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS (Version 28). The quantitative data was analyzed as follows:

Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted on all variables derived from the questionnaires including daily language exposure time, caregivers’ language attitude scores and elicited production tasks including picture naming task scores in each language. Frequencies, means, and standard deviations were calculated for each variable to clearly present the overall distribution characteristics and data profile of the key research variables.

To systematically explore the intrinsic relationships among the key variables, and considering the ordinal nature of some questionnaire data, this study employed Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient for correlation testing (Shaqiri et al., 2023). Firstly, in accordance with the pre-established research plan, the analysis focused on examining the correlations between children’s proficiency scores in Gelao and three key factors containing home Gelao language exposure time, frequency of communication with grandparents, and caregivers’ attitudes encouraging Gelao use. This step aimed to clarify the potential influence of the home language environment and caregiver attitudes on children’s language proficiency. Secondly, to quantitatively assess children’s subjective agency in the Gelao acquisition process, the frequency of active output strategies was operationalized. This was defined as the average number of times per hour, derived from naturalistic interaction recordings, that a child actively initiated utterances in Gelao or consciously engaged in code-switching to Gelao. Based on this metric, the correlation between this active output indicator and children’s overall Gelao proficiency was further examined to investigate the mechanism through which children’s own active output behaviors influence their language learning outcomes.

In line with the study’s critical ethnographic orientation, qualitative data constitute the primary analytic lens, while quantitative findings serve a complementary, descriptive function. Statistical results are used to map exposure patterns and proficiency distributions, but interpretive priority is given to children’s narratives, observed practices, and identity positioning processes. Integration therefore occurs at the level of interpretation, where quantitative trends are contextualized and, where necessary, problematized through qualitative evidence.

Ethical Considerations

This research adhered to the highest ethical standards. Prior to commencement, approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the researcher’s host institution. Caregivers received detailed information and provided written consent. Children provided assent through age-appropriate procedures. All data were anonymized. The research was conducted with sensitivity to community dynamics, ensuring respect and accessibility.

Findings and Analysis

This section presents the integrated findings of the critical ethnographic case study. The analysis and findings are presented in relation to the three research questions, which includes examining the ecological distribution of language use across home, school, and community domains, identifying children’s language acquisition strategies and analyzing their relationship with proficiency outcomes and exploring the discursive construction of ethnic and linguistic identities.

The Ecology of Language Exposure

The quantitative data from the Language Background Questionnaires provided a clear, yet complex, map of the children’s linguistic environments. On average, children were exposed to Gelao for 55% (SD = 18%) of their waking hours and to Mandarin for 45% (SD = 17%). However, these aggregate figures obscure a critical pattern of domain-specific language dominance, a phenomenon well-documented in contexts of language shift (De Houwer, 2021; Fishman, 2013).

The home, particularly in interactions involving grandparents, was the stronghold of the Gelao language. Here, Gelao was used for 85% of all recorded interactions, primarily in affective domains such as expressing care, comfort, discipline, and familial storytelling. As one caregiver noted, “How can I scold him or tell him an old story in Mandarin? It doesn’t carry the same feeling. The Gelao words have the weight of our ancestors.” This observation aligns with research on heritage language emotions, where the first language is often deeply tied to emotional expression and intimacy (Pavlenko, 2006).

In stark contrast, the school domain was almost exclusively Mandarin. Classroom instruction, peer interactions during structured activities, and administrative communication were conducted in Mandarin. Teachers, even those of Gelao ethnicity, reported a school-level policy, albeit informal, to promote Mandarin proficiency to ensure academic success. One teacher explained, “My job is to prepare them for the wider world. That world runs on Mandarin. We love our culture, but we must be practical.” This reflects a common societal discourse that frames minority languages as markers of identity and majority languages as tools for socio-economic mobility (Flores & Rosa, 2019).

The community space represented a hybrid, transitional zone. In village gatherings and religious rituals, Gelao was predominant. However, in spaces like small shops or the local clinic, code-switching was frequent, and Mandarin was often used in transactions. This ecological analysis reveals a clear compartmentalization of language use, where Gelao is associated with tradition, intimacy, and the private sphere, while Mandarin is linked to modernity, authority, and the public sphere (Lanza & Lomeu Gomes, 2020).

A Typology of LAS and Correlation with Proficiency

The analysis of observational and audio data revealed that children were not passive recipients of language input but active agents employing a sophisticated repertoire of language acquisition strategies. These strategies can be categorized into three distinct types.

They will use domain-specific strategies in different places. Children demonstrated a remarkable ability to align their language-seeking behaviors with the domain. In a dense Gelao contexts such as family meals, they often engaged in passive listening, absorbing narratives and conversations without active participation. In school and while consuming digital media, they actively engaged in Mandarin, asking questions like “这个怎么说?” (How do you say this?) to expand their academic lexicon. This strategic alignment shows their early meta-pragmatic awareness, an understanding of which language is appropriate in which context (Gleason & Ely, 2019).

Interactional strategies are used in distinct social places. Code-switching was the most prominent interactional strategy. It was not a sign of linguistic confusion but a pragmatic tool used for specific purposes. They will use to quote a Mandarin-speaking media character, to emphasize a point, or to fill a lexical gap. For example, a child telling a story in Gelao might switch to Mandarin for a technical term: “然后那个… 拖拉机… 就过来了” (And then that… tractor… came). Another key strategy was translation for mediation, where a child would act as an interpreter between a Gelao-speaking grandparent and a Mandarin-speaking sibling, demonstrating metalinguistic skill and a bridging social role (Zhan, 2023).

Observations of private speech and solitary play revealed internal cognitive processes. Children were often heard repeating new or complex Mandarin words they heard on TV. Similarly, during play with toys, they would engage in language play, creating hybrid songs that mixed Gelao folk melodies with Mandarin lyrics from popular cartoons. This form of linguistic creativity is a crucial mechanism for practicing and consolidating linguistic knowledge in a low-anxiety environment (Cekaite & Björk-Willén, 2018).

Descriptive statistics from the elicited production tasks revealed substantial disparities in the participating children’s proficiency across their two languages. On the picture naming task, the mean score for Putonghua was 18.2 (SD = 1.5, out of a maximum of 20), whereas the mean score for the Gelao task was considerably lower, at 12.1 (SD = 4.3). A similar pattern was observed in the narrative complexity scores derived from the story retelling task. Given that the two sets of task data originated from the same sample of participants (paired samples) and exhibited markedly different standard deviations, the data characteristics did not satisfy the homogeneity of variance assumption required for parametric tests such as the paired t-test. Consequently, the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test was employed for the comparative analysis (Okoye & Hosseini, 2024). The test results confirmed that the children’s performance on the Gelao picture naming task was significantly lower than their performance on the Putonghua task (Z = −3.82, p < .001).

In analyzing the relationship between the linguistic ecology and acquisition outcomes, Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed multi-faceted influencing factors. On one hand, questionnaire data indicated two variables. Gelao language exposure time and frequency of communication with grandparents showed moderate, statistically significant positive correlations with children’s Gelao proficiency scores (correlation coefficients: r_s = 0.41, p < .05 and r_s = 0.49, p < .05, respectively). On the other hand, caregivers’ tendency to encourage to speak Gelao and their positive attitudes regarding the importance of Gelao also demonstrated a positive facilitative effect on children’s proficiency levels. These findings suggest that foundational language exposure within the home environment, coupled with a positive linguistic atmosphere, constitutes a prerequisite for the maintenance of this minority language.

Discursive Construction of Identity

The children’s emerging identities were not monolithic but were dynamically constructed in their discourse, reflecting the complex linguistic ecology they navigated.

When asked to define what it meant to be Gelao, children consistently invoked a triad of cultural markers: language, food, and ritual. Statements like We are Gelao because we speak Gelao at home, eat Ciba (a traditional food), and dance at the Chixin festival were common. This demonstrates how ethnic identity for these young children is embodied and practiced, with language serving as a primary, but not the only, signifier (Norton, 2016).

Language choice was an active tool for negotiating social belonging. There were poignant instances where children would use Gelao to claim an authentic identity, such as a child proudly teaching a Gelao word to the researcher. Conversely, there were moments of distancing, particularly in the school, where some children would avoid responding in Gelao to peers, opting for Mandarin to align with a perceived modern or educated identity. This mirrors the concept of passing in sociolinguistics, where individuals modulate their language to affiliate with a desired social group (Bucholtz & Hall, 2016).

Perhaps the most telling findings came from the children’s explicit comments about language. Nearly all children displayed a clear metalinguistic awareness of their bilingualism and the domain-specificity of their languages. One 6-year-old articulated this perfectly, “I speak Gelao with grandma, Mandarin with my teacher.” Another child revealed an awareness of language shift, stating, “My mom can speak Gelao better than me. My dad doesn’t speak it much.” These comments are not merely descriptions of behavior; they are acts of identity positioning (Kinzler, 2021). They show that from a young age, these children are not just learning two linguistic systems but are also developing a folk sociolinguistic understanding of the status, value, and appropriate use of each language within their social world (Garrett & Baquedano-López, 2002).

In conclusion, the findings paint a picture of Gelao children as active, strategic, and perceptive navigators of a bilingual landscape. Their language acquisition is deeply intertwined with the ecological pressures of domain-specific language use. The strategies they employ directly impact their proficiency outcomes, with active production in the heritage language being a key differentiator. Ultimately, their bilingualism is a core component of their emerging identities, which they consciously construct and perform through their daily language choices, revealing a sophisticated understanding of the intimate link between how they speak and who they are.

Discussion

Taken together, these findings provide integrated answers to the three research questions by demonstrating how language use is ecologically structured, how children actively engage in language acquisition, and how these processes are closely tied to identity construction. The findings of this critical ethnographic study reveal a complex portrait of bilingual development and identity negotiation among young Gelao children. Rather than passive recipients of their environment, these children emerge as strategic agents navigating a dual world of local ethnic identity and national citizenship. This discussion examines their agency, the fragility of intergenerational transmission, and the implications for theories of bilingualism and language socialization.

Strategic Adaptations in a Complex Ecology

A central contribution of this study lies in empirically demonstrating the pivotal role of children’s own agency in the preservation of an endangered language.

The findings suggest that children draw on a range of strategies including domain-specific, interactional, and cognitive strategies demonstrates that children are highly attuned to the implicit sociolinguistic rules of their community. Their ability to adjust strategies across domains reflects sophisticated metapragmatic awareness. (Gleason & Ely, 2019). This challenges deficit-oriented perspectives that might frame minority-language children as merely language-delayed or confused and instead positions them as adept navigators of multiple linguistic markets (Bourdieu, 1991).

The observed association between active language use and proficiency highlights the role of child agency in language maintenance. While comprehensive input is a necessary foundation for acquisition, it is not sufficient for the development of robust productive skills in a context where the heritage language holds less institutional power (De Houwer, 2021). The children who proactively used Gelao in initiating conversations, asking for vocabulary, and engaging in language play were actively resisting the gravitational pull of Mandarin dominance. Their agency becomes a critical variable in the intergenerational transmission chain. This finding aligns with usage-based models of language acquisition that emphasize the role of frequency and salience of use in strengthening neural pathways (Ellis, 2019). It also highlights a sociolinguistic dimension, choosing the minority language becomes an act of preservation in contexts of shift.

This shifts the analytical focus from input-driven models of heritage language acquisition to agency-centered perspectives, highlighting the need to reconsider children not only as recipients of linguistic environments but also as active contributors to language maintenance.

Bilingual Repertoires and Bifocal Identities

The data show that children are navigating two overlapping yet distinct worlds. The compartmentalization of Gelao in affective, private domains and Mandarin in institutional, public domains forces children to develop what might be termed a bifocal identity (Anderson, 2015). They learn that being Gelao is associated with the warmth of grandmother’s stories and the taste of traditional food, while being a successful student and, by extension, a modern Chinese citizen, is performed through Mandarin. This has important implications for how bilingual identity is conceptualized in minority contexts, suggesting that identity should not be viewed as a stable category but as a dynamic and context-sensitive process shaped through everyday linguistic practice.

The children’s discursive constructions of identity and their strategic code-switching are the practical manifestations of this negotiation. When a child uses Gelao to speak to an elder, they are enacting a local, ethnic identity. When the same child seamlessly switches to Mandarin to discuss a cartoon or a homework assignment, they are performing a national, citizen identity. This is not a case of identity confusion but of what García and Wei (2015) call dynamic bilingualism, where an individual’s linguistic repertoire is not composed of two separate, monolingual competencies but is a single, integrated system used flexibly to meet communicative needs. The children’s metalinguistic comments are evidence of their conscious awareness of this bifocal existence. They are developing what Rymes (2020) refers to as communicative competence, which includes not only grammatical knowledge but also the sociocultural knowledge of when, where, and with whom to use each language. This negotiation occurs under significant institutional pressure, often leading to the perception, as seen in the teacher’s comment, that the heritage language is an identity marker while the national language is a tool for survival and mobility (Flores & Rosa, 2019).

The Precariousness of Intergenerational Transmission

This study identifies several points of both rupture and resilience in the chain of intergenerational language transmission, a process critical for the survival of the Gelao language.

The primary point of rupture is the school gates. The near-total dominance of Mandarin in the educational system, reinforced by national policies and ideologies of standard language, creates a powerful discontinuity in the children’s linguistic development (Pérez-Milans, 2015). As children spend more time in school and their academic and social lives become increasingly centered on Mandarin, the functional domains for Gelao shrink. This is exacerbated by the penetration of Mandarin-language digital media, which further marginalizes the heritage language in children’s leisure time. The findings suggest that without sustained active use, the heritage language can stagnate at a comprehension level, leading to a generation of semi-speakers (Romaine, 2015).

However, the findings also reveal powerful sites of resilience. The home, particularly the grandparent-grandchild relationship, remains a stronghold. The use of Gelao in affective domains provides a unique emotional anchor that Mandarin cannot easily displace. Furthermore, the children’s own agency, as demonstrated by their use of active production strategies, is itself a form of resilience. When a child chooses to use Gelao with a peer or engages in translation for a grandparent, he or she is actively mending potential ruptures in the transmission chain. Community rituals and cultural festivals also serve as resilient spaces where the language is performed and validated, linking it to a positive, collective identity (Lanza & Lomeu Gomes, 2020). The future of the Gelao language will likely depend on the community’s ability to expand these resilient domains and create new, meaningful contexts for the active production of the language by the youngest generation. These findings suggest that efforts to support endangered languages should move beyond increasing exposure alone and instead create conditions that encourage active use, particularly among younger speakers.

Conclusion and Implications

This study examines the relationship between language, identity, and cultural continuity in a Gelao community in Guizhou. It highlights that language shift is not merely a change in communicative practice but a transformation of identity, social relations, and cultural transmission.

Summary of Key Findings

The findings of this study provide integrated answers to the three research questions by revealing how language use is ecologically structured, how children actively engage in bilingual acquisition, and how these processes are closely linked to identity construction.

With regard to the ecological distribution of language use, the study shows a clear domain-based differentiation between Gelao and Mandarin. Gelao is primarily maintained within the home and community, especially in interactions with grandparents and in culturally embedded practices, while Mandarin dominates in institutional contexts such as schooling and formal communication. This patterned distribution reflects a functional compartmentalization of languages, where Gelao is associated with intimacy and cultural continuity, and Mandarin with education and social mobility.

In relation to language acquisition strategies and their relationship with proficiency, the findings demonstrate that children are active participants in their bilingual development. They employ a range of strategies, including domain-sensitive language choice, code-switching, and interactional mediation. Quantitative results further indicate that Gelao proficiency is associated not only with exposure factors such as home language use and interaction with grandparents, but also with children’s own active language production. This highlights the importance of both environmental input and learner agency in shaping language outcomes.

Concerning ethnic and linguistic identity, the findings show that children construct their identities through everyday language practices. They display an emerging awareness of the social meanings attached to different languages and use language choice to negotiate belonging across contexts. Gelao is linked to family, tradition, and ethnic identity, whereas Mandarin is associated with schooling and broader societal participation. These patterns suggest that identity is not fixed but dynamically constructed through situated language use.

In a nutshell, these findings illustrate that bilingual development in this context is shaped by the interaction of ecological conditions, strategic language practices, and identity-related meanings.

Implications for Theory and Practice

This study contributes to both theoretical discussions and practical efforts in minority language contexts. From a theoretical perspective, the findings support dynamic models of bilingualism by showing that children draw on integrated linguistic repertoires rather than maintaining two separate systems (García & Wei, 2015; Wei, 2017). Their flexible language use reflects adaptation to unequal sociolinguistic conditions rather than deficiency. The study also extends language socialization theory by demonstrating that children are not only socialized into linguistic norms but actively shape them through their own practices (Duranti et al., 2023). This highlights the importance of viewing children as participants in sociolinguistic processes.

From a practical perspective, the findings suggest that language maintenance efforts should move beyond increasing exposure alone. This study strongly advocates for the adoption of translanguaging pedagogies and culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris & Alim, 2017). This approach aligns with recent Chinese scholarship calling for pluralistic integration in education, which respects ethnic diversity while fostering national cohesion (Zhou, 2003). Educational approaches need to recognize children’s full linguistic repertoires and create opportunities for meaningful language use. At the community level, intergenerational interaction remains a key site for transmission, indicating the importance of supporting family-based language practices. At the policy level, macro-level language planning can be complemented by community-based initiatives that promote active use of the heritage language in everyday contexts. For example, guides can use the heritage language to explain local flora, fauna, and traditional practices in ethno-ecological tourism (H. Yang et al., 2022).

Limitations and Future Research

This study provides a contextually grounded account of language use and identity construction within a Gelao community; however, several limitations should be acknowledged.

As a qualitative case study based on a single research site and a relatively small sample, the findings are not intended to be statistically generalizable. Second, the site-specific nature of the study means that the findings are shaped by local socio-economic conditions, educational practices, and patterns of intergenerational transmission. Variations across different regions or minority groups may lead to different trajectories of language maintenance and identity formation. Besides, emerging forms of online communication and content production may contribute to the development of new speaker communities and reshape language practices in ways that extend beyond traditional domains (Costa, 2017). Comparative research across communities, including other minority groups such as Yi, Uyghur, Tibetan, or Monguor, as well as Indigenous communities in other global contexts, would help identify broader patterns and context-sensitive mechanisms (Flores, 2017). Third, this study captures a specific moment within an ongoing process of language shift. Longitudinal research is needed to examine how language practices, proficiency, and identity evolve over time, particularly in relation to educational experiences and intergenerational dynamics (Ortega, 2018). In addition, the role of digital media in shaping language use and identity is an increasingly important area. Future research can further examine how online environments influence language practices and contribute to the development of new speaker communities.

In sum, while the present study offers a nuanced account of the interconnections among language, identity, and community resilience, its conclusions remain contextually grounded and interpretive in nature. Addressing the limitations identified above through comparative, longitudinal, and digitally oriented research will deepen our understanding of how endangered languages can survive and how identities can be sustained amid accelerating sociolinguistic change.