Minor Transnationalism: Language Ideologies and Welsh Learning Among Hong Kong Migrants

This article examines a group of recent Hong Kong migrants in the United Kingdom who are learning Welsh. It shows how these migrants construct a parallel between Welsh and Cantonese, viewing both as languages shaped by similar processes of minoritisation. Their decision to learn Welsh thus becomes a gesture of solidarity with another marginalised linguistic community. At the same time, their engagement is mediated by pragmatic considerations, including Welsh’s perceived lack of practical utility and their own position as migrants navigating an English-dominant society. Although they express enthusiasm for Welsh revitalisation, their learning efforts remain limited, ultimately reinforcing rather than challenging existing linguistic hierarchies. By introducing the concept of minor transnationalism to the study of migrants’ language ideologies, this article advances new insights into how migrants’ relationships with a host country’s minority language are shaped at the intersection of sociopolitical structures and transnationally constituted identities.