Project Dates: 2019-2024
Funding: UBC Scholarly Publications Fund, UBC Aspire Grant
Amdo Lullaby is the first book-length study of Tibetan children in the People’s Republic of China. This ethnography examines the everyday language use of children in Amdo, Tibet (Qinghai, China). Based on an annotated corpus of over 60 hours of Amdo Tibetan children’s spontaneous language use, this book compares the language learning trajectories of rural and urban children from one extended family, in order to understand the effects of urbanization on child development. Integrating fine-grained linguistic analysis with findings from oral history interviews, Amdo Lullaby situates current cultural and linguistic changes on the Tibetan plateau in a longer term history of migration and mobility in Amdo.
Reviewers say:
“Shannon M. Ward’s delightful ethnography on Tibetan children’s language socialization in rural and urban language contexts is an important contribution to the literature on language socialization, language ideology, and a much-needed exploration of the role children play in the vitality of heritage languages. Amdo Lullaby deftly balances fine-grained linguistic analysis with ethnographic contextualization to present insights into the agency children exhibit as they create emergent Tibetan cultural worlds. This book is a must-read for those interested in language shift and childhood language acquisition and learning.” Bernard C. Perley, Director of the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies, University of British Columbia
“Amdo Lullaby draws readers into an intimate and sobering portrait of rural Tibetan communities in China, who raise children in their rich language and cultural practices in the face of state suppression of minority languages. Like an epic film Ward documents rural children happily speaking exquisite Amdo Tibetan with peers until forced to board at Mandarin schools. Parallel scenes follow young urban Tibetan children speaking Mandarin and even English, becoming ever more detached from Tibetan life worlds.” Elinor Ochs, Distinguished Research Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
“This fine-grained linguistic ethnography exquisitely presents a portrait of language socialization of Amdo Tibetan children navigating their social identities through everyday language use amidst the assimilationist political policies and urban/ rural inequalities that have promoted a major community language shift. Ward’s compelling literary style deftly weaves a seamless narrative that meticulously details cultural, historic, and political contexts, richly documents captivating language data, and provides compelling critical theoretical insights.” Perry Gilmore, Professor Emerita, University of Arizona and University of Alaska Fairbanks
Shannon M. Ward, Ph.D. 