ABSTRACT
Today's young Uyghurs are caught between identities, balancing their ethnic identity with the identity imposed by the state, which requires them to identify as members of the Chinese nation. Uyghur youth face dramatically increased pressure from state policies to assimilate culturally and linguistically to Chinese majority culture. Ethnic identity is not something people 'possess' but rather something they 'construct' in specific social and historical contexts. Ethnic identity often involves shared objective characteristics such as language, religion, culturally defined notions of descent, and socio-political circumstance. The Uyghur experience of mother-tongue education is very important in the construction of modern Uyghur identity. The distinction between older people and youth is central to the analysis of the construction of Uyghur identity through language use. Cross-generational comparisons helps better understand Xinjiang youth identities, just as such comparisons work to inform an understanding of youth issues across the globe, because these two groups have had different social experiences in their interactions in Chinese society.
