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Chapter
Globalization Off the Beaten Track—Chinese Migration to South Africa’s Rural Towns
DOI link for Globalization Off the Beaten Track—Chinese Migration to South Africa’s Rural Towns
Globalization Off the Beaten Track—Chinese Migration to South Africa’s Rural Towns book
Globalization Off the Beaten Track—Chinese Migration to South Africa’s Rural Towns
DOI link for Globalization Off the Beaten Track—Chinese Migration to South Africa’s Rural Towns
Globalization Off the Beaten Track—Chinese Migration to South Africa’s Rural Towns book
ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the Chinese traders who have settled in South Africa's rural towns in the last decade, and outlines the theoretical perspective which informs and frames our work on globalization, that is, the idea of entanglement which was formulated by the Martinican philosopher, poet and novelist Eduard Glissant. It provides an overview of the history of Chinese migration to South Africa. The chapter also focuses on questions of language and the everyday multilingualisms that globalization has brought about. It also provides a brief historical overview of Chinese migration to South Africa. The South-Africa-born Chinese journalist and novelist Darryl Accone speaks about 'three distinct Chinas' and senses of 'Chineseness' in South Africa. Consequently, what is needed is a research agenda which is, in the words of Glissant, tout monde; a sociolinguistics of globalization which considers the world in its entirety and complexity: rich and poor, North and South, urban and rural, and everything in-between.