ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ethnic and cultural identifications of Japanese-English biliterate young adults of Japanese-European mixed descent in New Zealand, using surveys and interviews. Mixed ethnic and cultural identities among Japanese-European New Zealanders have not yet been explored in the field of identity studies. Equally unexplored are the roles that language and ethnic community contact through schooling play in the identity formation of mixed-ethnic young adult New Zealanders. Language is a key factor in inter-ethnic categorization and a means of ethnic group membership; types and degrees of contact with one’s heritage language-speaking community can play an important role in identity construction. While research on mixed ethnic identity has found that ethnic/racial categorizations, especially those based on phenotype, affect how individuals identify themselves with ethnic groups and are perceived by others, this study sheds light on how language and ethnic community contact contribute to identity, compared with ethnic/racial categorizations by others.
