Cultural Motivation and Social Network Structures as Mechanisms of Oral Language Maintenance: A Case Study of the Mạ Ethnic Minority in Southern Vietnam

This study examines the determinants of language maintenance among the Mạ ethnic minority in Southern Vietnam through an explanatory mixed-methods design (N = 420; n = 25). It argues that language maintenance among the Mạ is not simply a passive result of geographic or social isolation but rather an active process of identity negotiation in response to socioeconomic pressures. The regression model explains 84.0% of the variance in linguistic persistence (Adjusted R2 = .840), identifying a structured hierarchy of influence among the predictors. Cultural Motivation (CM, β = .333) emerges as the primary predictor, followed by Endogamous Social Networks (ESN, β = .276), Intergenerational Transmission Strength (ITS, β = .248), and Domain Functional Expansion (DFE, β = .239). These findings suggest that internal psychological attachment and dense communal interaction within the family domain act as pillars of linguistic resilience. Qualitative insights further clarify how the Mạ language serves as a crucial marker of identity in the context of contact with the national language. The study concludes that sustaining ethnolinguistic vitality requires synergy between individual conviction and the expansion of functional domains beyond the intra-communal context.