Multilingual repertoires at the margins: Zhuang contact with other languages, language shift, and intergenerational transmission in Southwest China

Language sustainability has emerged as a crucial issue in multilingual communities amid fast-paced socioeconomic change and the rising dominance of national languages. This study investigates the determinants of intergenerational transmission of the Zhuang language in Guangxi province, China, by examining the effects of language contact intensity, multilingual repertoire diversity, language attitudes, ethnolinguistic identity, language shift, and family language policy. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was adopted, involving the administration of a questionnaire to 600 Zhuang respondents from four prefecture-level regions and semi-structured interviews with 40 respondents. Higher language contact intensity was associated with greater language shift, while multilingual repertoire diversity, favourable language attitudes, and stronger ethnolinguistic identity were associated with greater intergenerational language transmission and less language shift. Family language policy was the strongest predictor of intergenerational language transmission and served as a significant mediator between the sociolinguistic and identity variables and language transmission outcomes. Qualitative findings reinforced the significance of families’ contribution to maintaining linguistic continuity amid the growing influence of Mandarin Chinese. The research offers an integrated model of minority language maintenance with practical applications for language policy and language planning.