Africans in China: A Sociocultural Study and Its Implications on ...

The “Immigrant Community as Bridge” Theory

In this chapter, I propose a bridge theory for describing the role of this emergent migrant community. Based on the sociolinguistic and sociocultural profiles built from statistical studies as well as in-depth interviews of community members and community leaders, the role of this community is examined in terms of it acting as a bridge for Africa-China relations.

There are at least two theoretical positions for situating a migrant community vis-à-vis its place of residence. The community can be seen as an enclave (Li, Ma, and Xue, 2009) or an outpost (Bertoncello & Bredeloup, 2007), in isolation from the larger host community. Alternatively, it can be seen as assimilated, integrated into its larger host community. Both of these represent a two-dimensional approach.

There is, however, a deeper way of looking into this situation—that is, by using a three-dimensional approach that recognizes the target community, its source community, and its host community. There may be elements of both enclosure, or isolationism, and integration with regard to a target community’s interactions with its host community. The target community also serves as a link or a contact—indeed, as a bridge—connecting its place of origin (its source community) with its new place of domicile (its host community). I argue for and project this theoretical aspect of the migrant community’s role based on the findings from my research on the African community in Guangzhou. A community can never fully be an enclave, thus isolating itself completely from its host community, or fully integrate into the host community. However, given the right conditions, it can serve as a bridge between its source and its host communities. I will demonstrate that this theory of the migrant community as a bridge can be used to consider issues in the emergent fields of contact linguistics and cross-cultural or urban anthropology, among other areas of study.

Guangzhou’s “Chocolate City”

Guangzhou is one of the biggest marketplaces in China, attracting many businessmen from different parts of China. For various reasons