What's Up Hmonglish?

Hmonglish is a phenomenon sweeping Hmong communities throughout Minnesota and across the country. This mixing of Hmong native language and English is increasing, but the research on Hmonglish is limited. This study examines students’ use of Hmonglish throughout the school day in three subject areas. Single word, clauses/phrases, and sentence forms of Hmonglish are identified in social and academic contexts. The language of four high school Hmong students was recorded and analyzed using a case study approach over the course of four weeks. Results show Hmonglish was used for socializing, but also for supporting each other and clarifying questions about the learning experience. According to student reflections, this type of code mixing left students content with their learning experiences in the classroom. This case study should help shed some light on this new phenomenon and should be especially useful for professionals working with the Hmong community, or anyone interested in how language changes through time.