Search

This study analyses the evolving means of China's formal language policy on Putonghua and minority languages from 1986 to 2021. This paper identifies four stages based on the shifting focus between Putonghua and minority languages: status planning of the central government (1986–1990), balance via bilingual policy (1991–2000), strong Putonghua spread at all levels (2001–2011), and Putonghua promotion and minority language preservation (2012–2021). Through descriptive and corpus analysis of a self-constructed language policy database, for each stage, we explore the major means stated in policy documents by analysing keywords to explain policy changes with consideration of social conditions. The results show that China has continuously adjusted its formal language policy according to social changes, and that language planning in this emerging economy has been profoundly influenced by national strategy and government administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Este trabajo analiza, desde una perspectiva glotopolítica, la conformación y el funcionamiento de una escuela pública bilingüe español-putonghua de la ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Esta institución y su puesta en funcionamiento evidencian una preocupación por la inclusión educativa de los migrantes chinos y sus descendientes, a la vez que por el mantenimiento y aprendizaje de la lengua de inmigración. A lo largo de este artículo, se mostrará cómo el putonghua se construye como lengua de instrucción, y, al mismo tiempo, como “lengua objeto”, en la normativa legal, las clases y en los discursos de los funcionarios. Sostenemos que la motivación que subyace a la creación de esta escuela es la importancia que el putonghua fue ganando mundialmente en los últimos años.

This paper analyzes, from a glotopolitical perspective, the establishment and functioning of a Spanish-Putonghua bilingual public school in the city of Buenos Aires. This institution and its implementation demonstrate a concern for the educational inclusion of Chinese migrants and their descendants, as well as for the preservation and learning of the immigration language. Throughout this article, we will show how Putonghua is constructed both as a language of instruction and as an "object language" in legal regulations, classes, and in the speeches of officials. We argue that the motivation underlying the creation of this school is the increasing importance that Putonghua has gained globally in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the effect of Mandarin proficiency on poverty reduction and its mechanism. The China General Social Survey (CGSS) is taken as the data source. From the perspective of social integration, the poverty reduction effect of Putonghua and its mechanism are empirically studied from the perspective of social interaction, social fairness, and social trust. The findings showed that improving the ability to listen and speak Mandarin positively affects social interaction, social trust, and social fairness. It showed that Putonghua proficiency positively correlates with the suppression of economic poverty. After the occurrence of poverty, whether a sample of absolute poverty or relative poverty, the ability to listen and speak in Mandarin has a specific inhibitory effect on social interaction, social trust, and social fairness. After the occurrence of poverty, the frequency of social interaction, social trust, and social public since have been reduced to a certain extent. Specifically, the ability to express Mandarin has shown remarkable results in improving social interaction, and the ability to listen among ordinary people has shown remarkable results in enhancing social fairness. The results of this paper provide empirical evidence of poverty alleviation in China via Improving Mandarin Proficiency. This research is also of great significance for optimizing poverty alleviation paths through language in the post-poverty alleviation era.

Vector models based on word embeddings are an indispensable part of advanced Natural Language Processing research and language analysis. We describe several Chinese language (Pǔtōnghuà) word embeddings, the differences from "western" language models caused by specific orthographic and linguistic features of the written Chinese language, and introduce a publicly available web interface for querying the vector models, aimed at linguistically or pedagogically oriented users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite having numerous Chinese language varieties and non-Chinese ethnic minority languages, China is often considered a monolingual nation (Liang, Sihua. 2015. Language Attitudes and Identities in Multilingual China: A Linguistic Ethnography. London: Springer, 154). The country's strong monolingual language policy heavily promotes a single standard language – Putonghua. Recently, scholars have begun to investigate 'regional Putonghua' varieties, contact varieties that have emerged from standard language promotion and community second language acquisition (e.g. Xiao, Jinsong. 2007. "Putonghua Zhongjieyu Yanjiu Shuping." Journal of Yunyang Normal College 27 (2): 119–122). This paper analyses data collected from Weibo, China's online microblogging site, to investigate the language ideologies surrounding these 'non-standard' regional varieties. Two cities (Ningbo and Shanghai) and their local Putonghua varieties are examined: the cities share a similar linguistic background but Shanghai is more economically advanced than its neighbouring city Ningbo, and the language varieties in Shanghai are also believed to have more prestige (Zhou, Minglang. 2001. "The Spread of Putonghua and Language Attitude Changes in Shanghai and Guangzhou, China." Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 11 (2): 231–253). Discourse analysis on Weibo posts allows us to show how regional Putonghua varieties are portrayed and perceived by laypeople and how they exist as 'non-standard' varieties in the shadow of the strong standard language ideology. These 'non-standard' varieties are associated with rich language ideologies and social meanings and their links to both negative cultural stereotypes and positive local identities often associated with vernacular varieties are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this editorial introduction, we present what motivated us to organise this collection of studies on family language policy and planning (FLPP) in the Chinese contexts. In order to better understand why ethnic minority languages and fangyans (also known as dialects or regionalects) are challenged by the official Chinese language, Putonghua, the introduction situates this group of studies in the disciplinary context, and proposes the family as a critical site where macro and meso language policies penetrate the private domain and influence the process of family language decisions. By looking at the interactions between families, schools, communities and workplaces, we can also trace the sociolinguistic and political environments in which language shift takes place. In the discussion of these contextual factors in China, we argue for the need to explore family and language changes in Chinese contexts. The introduction concludes with an overview of the studies included in this special issue, highlighting the key claims put forward by the contributors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the connections between educational language policy for Uyghur youth and the language ideologies among Uyghur families. Chinese language policy has historically accommodated multilingualism, and promoted minoritized language education; however, we reveal how policies have shifted towards favoring and promoting Putonghua (only) as the lingua franca. We then present interview data collected from four Uyghur youth attending university, all of whom are the targets of Uyghur language policy in China. In many ways, Chinese language policy has had the desired effect on these students. We provide a historical overview of educational language policy in China, with a focus on its impact on Uyghur speakers, and then illuminate how language attitudes and ideologies circulate through official policy texts, among families, and among students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study investigates how a cohort of Myanmar ethnic minority students' language ideologies shape their Putonghua learning and educational trajectories at government schools and Chinese supplementary schools in the borderland next to China. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and from the participants' autobiographies on their language learning experiences. The findings indicate that Myanmar ethnic minority students are often linguistically and culturally excluded in government schools because of their lack of proficiency in the Burmese language. Yet having access to Putonghua and other Chinese-related resources provides them with an agentive strategy and capital to reposition themselves from being a disadvantaged ethnic minority group in a peripheral region to moving towards full inclusion and empowerment as part of China. The paper highlights the multiplicity and contested nature of language ideologies that mediate between learners' language practices and social structures during socio-economic transformations. It also sheds light on Myanmar's language policy-making and the expansion of China's soft power through the increasing capital of Putonghua in the borderland of neighbouring countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor phonological development adversely affects language development and interpersonal communication abilities in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However, the characteristics of phonological development in children with ASD who speak Putonghua (the official standard spoken form of modern Mandarin Chinese) remain largely unknown. This study aims to investigate phonological acquisition and development among Putonghua-speaking children with ASD. Data were collected from participants recruited in Shanghai, China. Two experiments were conducted. In experiment I, phonological acquisition was compared between 16 children with ASD aged 3–6 years and 16 age-matched typically developing (TD) children. In experiment II, phonological acquisition was compared between 26 children with ASD over 6 years old and 26 receptive-language-age-matched TD children. Picture naming was applied to measure participants' phonology – the 21 initials, 36 finals and four tones of Putonghua. Paired-samples t-tests and Fisher's exact tests were applied. In experiment I, scores on initials, finals, tones and total phonology of children with ASD aged 3–6 years were significantly lower than those of age-matched TD children. The pronunciation accuracy rates for initials such as/x, th, l/, finals such as/jaʊ, joʊ, wo/ and Tone 3 (the low-rising tone) in the ASD group were significantly lower than in the TD group. In experiment II, there was no significant difference in overall phonological developmental level between children with ASD over 6 years old and receptive-language-age-matched TD children. Phonological development of Putonghua-speaking children with ASD was significantly lower than that of age-matched TD children but closer to that of receptive-language-age-matched TD children. Further, participants with ASD showed atypical development sequences in both initials and finals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is a nation with linguistic and ethnic diversity. Putonghua, which translates to "common language" is the common spoken language in mainland China, also known as Standard Chinese historically and Mandarin Chinese in English, has been actively promoted for over half a century aiming at facilitating communication among people with different dialects across China. Under the nationwide promotion of standard Chinese since the State Council issued Instructions Concerning the Promotion of Putonghua in 1956 (Zhou & Sun, 2004), the linguistic ecology represented by the interaction among Putonghua and other dialects in urban contexts has changed dramatically. Based on the three dimensional language policy theory which includes the language ideology, the language practice and the language management (Spolsky, 2004), this study intends to investigate the family language ecology of 30 Chinese parents from 20 urban families with children aged three to seven years. Through analyzing the data collected from survey questionnaires and two interviews, the results indicate that the status of dialect has been marginalized consensually by parents within the family domain. Additionally, parents are shielding their children from dialect both consciously and unconsciously. This study concludes with a discussion of implications for future Family Language Policy (FLP) research within the distinctive Chinese context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In April 2015, a meeting of a Hong Kong Legislative Council Panel discussed the potential for using Putonghua, as opposed to Cantonese, to teach the 'Chinese Language Subject' within the Hong Kong curriculum. Their primary reason for making this suggestion was based on the idea that Putonghua and the Han Chinese ethnicity are somehow inherently linked - if you are Han Chinese, you should be able to speak Putonghua. This paper discusses the validity of this assertion and examines language-in-education policy related to Putonghua in Hong Kong from the late-colonial period and the contemporary period to establish whether Putonghua is used by the Hong Kong Legislative Council to encourage Hong Kong pupils to identify with a pan-Chinese ethnicity and by dint, a pan-Chinese language, Putonghua. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As with most fields of life, China can trace its history of word standardization back to ancient times, when the first dictionaries (such as Erya, ca. 3rd century B.C.) appeared. Modern Standard Chinese used in Mainland China – Putonghua – has been subject to standardization since its proclamation as the official national language of China in 1956. The definition states quite clearly that its base is formed by the Northern dialects. This statement concerns also vocabulary. However, it is not a simple matter to make a choice of words which are to be used throughout the country. On the one hand, the so-called "Northern dialects" are spoken by almost 70% of the Han Chinese population, i.e. by about 800 million people. Although the Northern dialects are said to be quite uniform, the vast area that they cover must bring diversity in vocabulary. On the other hand, the remaining 30% of the Han Chinese speak a range of mutually unintelligible tongues, which are bound to penetrate the Northern dialects. The aim of this paper is to show how the lexicon of Putonghua is being codified. An attempt will be made to reveal how the basic vocabulary was selected during the forming of Putonghua in the 1950s. Some of the tools used by the State Language Commission in order to control the process of vocabulary standardization will be described. Moreover, the paper intends to describe the ongoing changes in the Chinese lexicon. It will show the sources of new words that are gradually accepted into the authoritative dictionaries of modern Chinese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Other Modernities / Altre Modernita / Otras Modernidades / Autres Modernités is the property of Altre Modernita and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study attempts to observe how natives of different age groups in a city of south-east China switch between Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese), the H language variety, and the local dialect, the L variety, the linguistic features of different CS patterns, and the function of the H variety in conversation. Topics of the participants’ conversations ranged from family to friends, neighbourhood, games, movies, computers and business. Data analysis shows that the participants mainly use the local dialect and Putonghua in their daily conversation, while English and other dialects in China like Cantonese and Dongbeihua(Dialect in north-east China) are also used.

Strategy use is a critical competence for academic achievement and problem solving in globalised and information-based knowledge economies. It involves skills such as synthesising information from task source materials and elaborating on interlocutors' viewpoints during integrated group discussions. However, evidence from empirical studies on this topic is scarce. We recruited 171 local Hong Kong undergraduate students to participate in an integrated group discussion task in Putonghua as an L2 (i.e., second language) and to complete a strategy use inventory of the task. The students' performances and responses were analysed with multiple statistical methods. The strategy use inventory of the integrated group discussion was validated. Five categories of strategy were identified: active engagement, non-verbal, synthesis, clarification and affective strategies. These strategies significantly predicted task performance (with 19.9% variation), leading to significant improvement in oral production quality. Both the synthesis (the integrative use of information) and active engagement (including elaborating viewpoints) strategies were significantly associated with task performance, which are rarely found in existing oral communication strategy inventories. The participants with high levels of task performance demonstrated significantly more use of the active engagement, clarification and synthesis strategies (with the first two merged in the complex interaction strategy) than those with medium or low task performance levels. The implications of the results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hong Kong's language policy is codified in Article 9 of its Basic Law, which declares English and a non-specific 'Chinese' as the region's official languages. The definition of English is not particularly troublesome in Article 9; however, formulating a sound definition for the word 'Chinese' is problematic in the Hong Kong context. What does Chinese mean in Hong Kong? Does it refer to Cantonese, Putonghua, written Chinese, all of these or some of these? Hong Kong is a region wherein several languages are used with certain languages generally being used in specific domains and not in others. This situation is complex, far more so than Article 9 in its simplicity would lead us to believe. Using critical discursive methods, this article explores how Hong Kong's Basic Law is inadequate in properly dealing with Hong Kong's complex sociolinguistic situation and offers some suggestion as to how this might be remedied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined language anxiety (LA) in Chinese dialects and Putonghua among college students in mainland China and explored the links between their LA in the first language and a range of sociobiographical variables (i.e. gender and geographical background) as well as linguistic variables (i.e. mother tongue, age of onset of acquisition, context of learning, self-perceived oral proficiency, and frequency of use). Participants were 778 Beijing university students who speak Chinese dialects and Putonghua. Statistical analyses revealed that participants reported significantly higher levels of LA in dialects than in Putonghua across a variety of situations. Geographical background and gender had scattered effects on LA in Putonghua and in dialects. Early bilinguals whose mother tongue were both a dialect and Putonghua reported the least LA in both. Later age of onset and acquisition of Putonghua in an instructed context were linked to increased LA in Putonghua. The negative relationships between self-perceived oral proficiency, frequency of use and LA were stronger in Putonghua than in dialects. The higher levels of LA in dialects combined with their language practices suggest a relatively lower confidence in the use of dialects among this group of highly educated young Chinese adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Asia-Pacific Language Variation (APLV) is the property of John Benjamins Publishing Co. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With increasing global demand for English and Chinese language education, the existence of linguistic variation in (and varieties of) both languages has focused scholarly attention on the choice of language standards, norms and models. Using in-depth focus group interviews, this study compared bilingual learners’ choice of English and Putonghua learning targets and examined their language attitudes and identities in relation to these two ‘big’ languages, both of which have played important roles in colonial and post-colonial Hong Kong. The findings revealed that the participants held a hierarchical attitude (i.e. native speaker ideology) towards English but not Putonghua, and identified four key factors affecting their choice of language learning targets, namely (1) the language’s status and instrumental value, (2) the perceived attainability of the target, (3) practical communication needs and (4) the learner’s cultural identity. These results shed light on the local and global status of the two languages and subsequently on the identity construction of Hong Kong people. By comparing the attitudinal patterns of learners towards the world’s two ‘big’ languages, this paper argues for the possibility of applying a World Englishes-oriented framework to the study of Chinese, given its increasing global visibility, linguistic variation and extensive use around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a linguistically heterogeneous nation, China has 290 languages and nearly 2000 distinct fangyans (dialects or subdialects) with Putonghua as the national language. These languages and language varieties are hierarchically ranked, based on their wider communicative and socioeconomic values. This paper reports on how Putonghua, fangyans, and English are perceived by a group of Chinese middle-class parents and how parents as agents of language policy provide affordances and constraints in facilitating or limiting their children’s language development in English, Putonghua and fangyans. The study involves eight Chinese city-dwelling families with children aged 5-11 years. By examining the children’s family language audits, observing their language/literacy practices, and engaging in conversation about parental language ideologies, the study aims to understand how public discourse about different languages or fangyans and their perceived values shape parental involvement in their children’s language development. The results of the study suggest that parents as agents of decision making have a strong influence on the changes of linguistic ecology in China in urban contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the identity construction process of China’s rural-urban migrant children through analyses of their discourses and of their use of language. Rural children have relocated to the urban centers with their parents on a massive scale over the past decades as China has undergone rapid economic changes. Many migrant children are able to attend urban public schools, and their identity construction emerges as an important issue that attracts increasing public and scholarly attention. This study draws on ethnographic data and presents four examples to illustrate the complex process of migrant identity construction. The results show that the migrant children deploy a range of linguistic features and claim multiple identities; in order for their identities to be established in social reality, they have to go through negotiation processes in which their identities are evaluated, ratified, challenged, or denied. Language is at the center of such processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to shed light on the attitudes of Chinese Singaporeans and Chinese nationals residing in Singapore to varieties of Mandarin Chinese. 64 Singaporean Chinese and Chinese national participants took matched and verbal-guise tests, evaluating recorded speakers of two varieties of Singapore Mandarin (standard and colloquial) and the variety spoken in the PRC on status and solidarity traits. These evaluations were followed by optional questionnaire items intended to probe for additional more insights into the participants’ attitudes and perceptions of one another. Both Singaporean Chinese and Chinese national participants assigned higher status to the PRC’s variety of Mandarin. Attitudes toward the two varieties of Singapore Mandarin, however, varied, with Singaporeans rating the standard variety higher than the colloquial variety on all traits and Chinese nationals favouring the colloquial variety. Interestingly, for all three varieties of Mandarin, solidarity traits were rated higher than status traits by all participants, suggesting that, in Singapore, Mandarin Chinese is now viewed more as a language of solidarity than status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Asia-Pacific Language Variation (APLV) is the property of John Benjamins Publishing Co. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper investigates the interrelationship between the implementation of language policies and the development of cultural soft power in contemporary China by examining the Party-State's utterances concerning these two policy areas. China's official discourse on soft power enhancement shows that the Chinese leadership is targeting the domestic audience with the promotion of a higher level of faith in Chinese culture. In recent years, China's language policy has featured among cultural policies promoted by the government with the aim of enhancing the role of culture as part of the country's soft power. Ties between language planning and the concept of cultural soft power in this discourse are drawn out by sketching the regulatory framework of the former, the characteristics of the latter, and their relationships with China's language practices. Aiming to contribute to the discussion regarding China's language policy from the perspective of cultural soft power, this paper reflects on the Party-State's vision of the dissemination of Putonghua and the harmonisation of China's language life as cultural capital resources and explores the motives for the adoption of this dominant narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigated how Putonghua-Cantonese bilingual children differ from monolinguals in their acquisition of speech sound and phonological patterns. Fifty-four typically developing Putonghua-Cantonese bilingual children aged 3;6–6;0 were recruited from nurseries in the North District of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Cantonese Articulation Test (Cheung et al., 2006) and a Putonghua picture-naming task (Zhu & Dodd, 2000) were used to elicit single-word samples of both languages. Acquisition of speech sound and phonological patterns exhibited by ≥20% of the children in an age group were compared to the normative data on children who were Cantonese native or Putonghua monolingual speakers. The bilingual children demonstrated smaller sound inventory in both languages and more delayed and atypical phonological processes. The atypical patterns could be explained by phonological interference between Putonghua and Cantonese. The findings serve as a preliminary reference for clinicians in differentiating language difference from true speech sound disorders in Putonghua-Cantonese bilingual children in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysian Mandarin is a unique variation of Mandarin that exhibits certain degrees of variation as opposed to Putonghua, the standardized Mandarin spoken in Mainland China. Following the spread of Putonghua under the Mandarin globalization trend, the issue of language standardization has become a central concern among the Chinese Malaysian community. This article examines the central principles of language standardization and thus gives suggestions to the proper and workable strategies needed for managing the Malaysian Mandarin variations. By these principles, in addition to an analysis of issues within Malaysian Mandarin standardization, this article proposes, through illustration of lexical standardization, a flexible and dynamic approach to setting strategies for standardization of Malaysian Mandarin with regard to the Mandarin globalization trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines 138 news articles published in Hong Kong print media on Putonghua as a medium of instruction (PMI) for teaching Chinese during a one-year period. Informed by theories of framing and the multiple streams approach (MSA), the study investigated the local Chinese print media's participation in the PMI policy process. Detailed content analysis revealed how the press discursively impeded policy outputs with regard to PMI in Hong Kong. The results remind policy entrepreneurs of the importance of framing and counter-framing. More studies from the policy process perspective are needed to explore the ways in which stakeholders, policy entrepreneurs and policy makers engage with the mass media in the educational language policy debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that various changes in the quality of the vocal elements occur in the atonic syllables in the Beijing dialect which represents the phonetic basis of the Chinese national language, so-called putonghua. These changes, which could be termed a reduction of the vowel values, also penetrate to a limited extent into putonghua, where they may be considered optional. Considering the fact that the prosodic quality of emphasis in Chinese is subject to many variations, it is difficult, even in the Beijing dialect, to establish lists of words and other linguistic units where the reductions are indispensable. The appearance is regular, however, in such a way that it allows for a systematic representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses strategies of minority education currently in place in Xinjiang in the context of the second generation ethnic policy debate in China. The article argues that the 2009 ethnic riots in Xinjiang coupled with the change of leadership in China has significantly hardened the state’s approach to aggressively promoting Putonghua (standard Chinese). This policy is facing significant structural and political challenges in its implementation and acceptance in Xinjiang. The policy to universalise Putonghua in all Xinjiang schools is likely to produce more resistance to the statist agenda rather than resulting in the intended outcome of integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study aimed to explore Hong Kong pre-service teachers’ beliefs about the potential benefits of a short-term study abroad programme and their practices. Pre- and post-programme semi-structured interviews and reflective journals were employed to collect data. The findings suggest that the transformation of beliefs into practices plays a critical role in the actualization of possible learning outcomes, such as increasing the use of the target language, fostering pedagogical development, broadening cultural understanding and nurturing personal growth. The programme per se, however, does not guarantee target language enhancement in a short time. Implications for programme coordinators and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of direct observations of language use in two shopping areas in Shanghai, Nanjing East Road and Xujiahui. The data reported in this paper were collected in 2007. In Nanjing East Road, four traditional stores provided a base line for the use of Shanghainese. That base line (60 percent) was compared to a hierarchy of department stores in Xujiahui. The results showed that the store that best matched the base-line data attracted customers representing upper-working class / lower middle class customers. The remaining two stores attracted middle class and upper class customers. In the latter setting, it was found that a certain segment of the customers switched from Shanghainese to Putonghua for the business transaction, an effect we associated with the presence of young urban professionals of all backgrounds. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of speech community theory, and network density, which allows predictions of changes taking place within the dominant language of the Shanghainese speech community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, 269 Beijing born respondents were interviewed and asked questions about their language attitude and language behavior. Research categories, apart from 'attitude', were 'accent maintenance', 'accent selection', and 'codeswitching', whereas the variables employed were 'gender', 'age group', 'origin' of parents, 'district' grown-up, 'spouse' background, 'education' level, 'job profile', and 'network density'. We found that Beijing dialect in Beijing's central city districts, coexists with the national language Putonghua, or, Standard Chinese, has high language status among native young people in Beijing and a wide range of uses. The main factors which effect respondents' language behavior are 'network density', 'place-of-origin', and 'occupation'. We also determined a high level of confusion between Beijing dialect accent and Putonghua accent, which we related to the mode of Putonghua teaching and Putonghua promotion. We conclude that Beijing dialect and Putonghua will form two functional varieties, playing different roles in different language environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speech errors associated with cleft palate are well established for English and several other Indo-European languages. Few articles describing the speech of Putonghua (standard Mandarin Chinese) speakers with cleft palate have been published in English language journals. Although methodological guidelines have been published for the perceptual speech evaluation of individuals with cleft palate, there has been no critical review of methodological issues in studies of Putonghua speakers with cleft palate. A literature search was conducted to identify relevant studies published over the past 30 years in Chinese language journals. Only studies incorporating perceptual analysis of speech were included. Thirty-seven articles which met inclusion criteria were analyzed and coded on a number of methodological variables. Reliability was established by having all variables recoded for all studies. This critical review identified many methodological issues. These design flaws make it difficult to draw reliable conclusions about characteristic speech errors in this group of speakers. Specific recommendations are made to improve the reliability and validity of future studies, as well to facilitate cross-center comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies suggest that pre-service teachers' existing beliefs often serve as a lens to interpret the subject matter to be taught, guide their thoughts in lesson planning and shape their behaviour in classroom practices during their teaching practicum. This study examines how these beliefs affect pre-service teachers' conceptualization of Putonghua-medium-of-instruction (PMI) and their teaching. The findings indicate that the conceptualization of pre-service teachers about PMI ranged from code switching to curriculum integration. Their focus of lesson planning and teaching practice varied from transmission of Putonghua knowledge and detailed explanation of text information to integration of Chinese Language and Putonghua. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Speech adaptation after oral rehabilitation is based on a complex interaction of articulatory and myofunctional factors. The knowledge of basic phonetic principles may help clinicians identify phonetic problems associated with prosthodontic treatment. The purpose of this article is to illustrate basic phonetic terminology, standard Chinese (Putonghua) phonetics, and the anatomic structures relevant for dentistry. In cooperation with a Chinese linguistic specialist, Chinese articulators were selected and are described and compared with English phonetics. Established test words and sentences aid the identification of mispronounced articulators and their related dental structures. The pronunciation of most consonants and vowels in standard Chinese is similar to English, but some of them, such as the retropalatals (/zh/ [tʂ], /ch/ [thʂ], /sh/ [ʂ]), have notable differences. Palatal consonants (/j/ [tɕ], /q/ [tɕh], /x/ [ɕ]) are unique to the Chinese phonetic system and are not found in English phonetics. The comprehension of the basic anatomic regions involved in Chinese phonetics may help prosthodontists treat patients whose native language is standard Chinese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1997, the ‘biliterate and trilingual’ policy has been adopted by the Hong Kong government, and is now guiding the curriculum design in Hong Kong primary schools. This language policy aims to ensure that Hong Kong students become biliterate (written English and Chinese) and trilingual (spoken English, Cantonese and Putonghua). However, Hong Kong primary schools currently do not have an agreed method for the implementation of trilingual education. As a preliminary step in the investigation of methods of the implementation of trilingual education in Hong Kong primary schools, we carried out a detailed case study of the trilingual education model adopted in a primary school. Views of key stakeholders (the principal, teachers, students and parents), on how successful the model is, were collected, and a number of lessons taught using English, Cantonese or Putonghua as the medium of instruction were recorded and analysed. On the basis of the research findings, a possible model for implementing trilingual education in Hong Kong primary schools has been suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research focuses on the prosodic features of utterances where two Chinese utterance-fmal particles (UFPs) A and NE may occur. The study investigated these discourse markers through an approach that integrated phonetic analysis into characteristics and distributions of these UFPs. Acoustic properties and prosodic environments were examined in addition to discourse contexts of these UFPs. Prosodic correlates, such as pitch and duration were measured to investigate the relationship between prosodic features and discourse functions. This study also assessed the effectiveness of prosodic features in speech perception. Our results suggested that changes of prosodic characteristics triggered by UFPs in different contexts may be interpreted as contexts' adaptation to the presence or omission of a UFP; also that listeners relied on enhanced prosodic features to perceive moods carried by UFPs. We concluded that A and NE carry different pragmatic and discourse functions, which can also be realized by prosodic correlates when they are not present in discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immediately after the handover of Hong Kong to China, the teaching of Chinese in Putonghua was promulgated by the Hong Kong SAR government as a long-term goal. However, no clear definition and guidance regarding Putonghua instruction has been provided to teachers to facilitate the smooth implementation of this change. A review of the literature indicates that teachers’ beliefs have great value in assisting them to make sense of changes and govern their thoughts and behaviours. However, little is known about how teachers’ beliefs help teachers to understand the transition to a new medium-of-instruction (MOI). Thus, the aim of this case study is to examine how teachers’ beliefs help teachers to conceptualize the Putonghua medium-of-instruction (PMI) and how these beliefs affect their curricular decisions as well as the implementation of PMI. Data were collected from 10 secondary Chinese Language teachers in one school using semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. The findings revealed that since teachers held misconceptions about PMI in the initial phase, the implementation of PMI led to a shift of focus away from Chinese content knowledge. In the second phase, PMI was perceived merely as a code-switching device, and, as a result, only a surface change occurred that appeared unlikely to facilitate effective teaching and deep learning. This paper concludes with the observation that code switching alone is insufficient to achieve a successful transition of MOI if the deeper issue of teachers’ beliefs is neglected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term maidan has become a common way of asking for the bill in Putonghua. In this paper we investigate whether this is the transfer of a Cantonese expression which has been re-interpreted as a Putonghua expression, and thus an example of language change being caused by a mistake or mishearing. The study surveyed Mainland Chinese in a number of settings to elicit their preferred way of asking for the bill. By asking them to write the characters, we were also able to determine whether those whose preferred way of asking for the bill was to say maidan were using the Cantonese or the Putonghua expression. We conclude that, in many contexts, maidan has indeed become the preferred way of calling for the bill, and that the majority of those who use this expression are using the Putonghua 'buy the bill' rather than the original Cantonese expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the discursive processes of migrant identity construction through multilingual practices in the context of China's linguistic diversity and population movement. Drawing on the data from ethnographic observation, interview and document collection, the article demonstrates how small discursive features become emblematic of individual and group identities, and how such identities are negotiated and ratified at various scale levels, particularly in the public and institutional spheres. Using a theoretical framework revolving around indexicality, this article starts with a discussion on the notions - abnormality and modernity - that are essential for data analysis, and presents three examples to demonstrate the discursive processes of migrant identity construction. The article concludes that people invoke general social norms and administrative notions when producing discourses from the public and institutional spheres, and that the identity categories defined and motivated in these discourses are rigid, static and general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After China resumed the sovereignty of Hong Kong, the Curriculum Development Council encouraged schools to experiment with Putonghua as a medium of instruction (PMI) to teach the Chinese language. A review of the literature indicates that there have been problems in implementing the switch to the new medium of instruction (MOI). The aim of this exploratory case study is to investigate in more detail the problems that teachers and administrators of a secondary school face in implementing the new policy. Based on interviews, classroom observation, and documentary analysis, it is shown that conflicts and tensions have arisen from the incongruent beliefs of teachers and administrators regarding the rationale and impact of the PMI policy. Moreover, inadequate knowledge of Putonghua among teachers and students, a shortage of appropriate teaching resources, and the absence of helpful support from the government create further barriers to effective teaching and learning in the new programme. This paper argues that it is problematic for schools to translate any MOI policy into action if policy-makers fail to address the challenges that teachers and administrators encounter in switching to a new MOI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on language contact between Uyghur and Chinese in the Uyghur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang in China. It proposes that the massive influx of Han Chinese migrants to Xinjiang resulted in intense language contact between the speakers of Uyghur and Chinese. As a result of this, these two languages are mutually affecting each other in the region. The focus of this article is on the influence of Uyghur on Putonghua in Xinjiang. Four categories of this influence are reported: (1) phonological influence that produces Putonghua sounds similar to Uyghur sounds, exemplified by the dropping of tones, the changing of sounds and the addition of certain sounds which are closer to those in Uyghur; (2) lexical influence, exemplified by introducing into Putonghua elements of the Uyghur lexicon which are then adapted to resemble Putonghua lexical forms; (3) grammatical influence that produces Putonghua grammatical structures similar to those of Uyghur, exemplified by changing word order in Putonghua grammatical structures; and (4) semantic influence that makes use of Uyghur expressions in Putonghua through literal translation, exemplified by using Uyghur similes and metaphors directly to describe people and things in certain contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Miao language is spoken in southwest China and adjacent countries by some 10 million people. This article focuses on the treatment of Chinese loanwords in the Hmu dialect of Miao. In the 1950s, the script earlier used by missionaries was replaced by a Latin-based script. In 1956, a written form for Hmu was elaborated, with detailed prescriptions for the spelling of Chinese loanwords. After 1949, the amount of Chinese loanwords in Hmu increased drastically, and by 1959 already reached around one third of the words in the colloquial language. After 1959, the new Hmu script ceased to be used in education; however, in 1981, Hmu writing was reintroduced on a trial basis in primary schools and the spelling of Chinese loanwords was changed in accordance with local Chinese pronunciation. Since the 1980s, the use of Putonghua has spread rapidly in the Hmu communities. The spelling principles for Chinese loanwords have, however, been retained, although an increasing number of Hmu tend to pronounce these words according to the Putonghua standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The medium of instruction (MOI) and its impact on improving the language proficiency of students has become a debated issue worldwide. The policy-makers of post-colonial Hong Kong believed that the general Chinese competency, Chinese writing and Putonghua proficiency of students would be improved through the use of a Putonghua-medium-of-instruction (PMI) rather than the Cantonese medium, the mother tongue of students and teachers. Therefore, using Putonghua to teach the Chinese language has been promulgated as a long-term goal by the Curriculum Development Council. Early studies have placed an emphasis on using standardized tests to assess students' learning outcomes with the use of PMI, but unfortunately the findings have been inconclusive. Despite teachers' involvement in implementing the MOI policy, there is a dearth of studies examining the perspective of teachers regarding the language learning of students under PMI. This paper aims to explore this important issue in greater depth through a case study of a high school, which has implemented PMI to teach the Chinese language for 10 years. The findings indicate that there are mismatches between the stated educational policy intentions and the language learning of students in various aspects. Further studies and follow-up measures on the language policy and education are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Drawing on ethnographic research, this article explores how a once alien and unsophisticated language has enregistered as a national linguistic standard through the mediation of metadiscursive practices in everyday social life, and how its indexical values associated with speaker attributes and social personae are reproduced in mass circulation of metadiscursive standard. It shows that the standardization of Putonghua has been a deliberate institutional effort closely related to the making of the nation; it is however, part of a more general and more tacit ideological process – enregisterment – through which the symbolic dominance of Putonghua is accepted as natural and normative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the impact of Hong Kong's transition from British colony to Chinese Special Administrative Region on patterns of language use in the domain of professional employment. In particular, it presents the findings of a large-scale multifaceted investigation into the roles of Putonghua, Cantonese, written Chinese and English in the civil service, government-related organisations, and public and private companies. The study therefore offers much-needed perspectives on the viability of China's 'one country, two systems' framework and the vitality of Hong Kong's 'biliterate and trilingual' policy more than a decade after the handover. The findings indicate that English remains the default medium of written professional communication in both the public and private sectors, while Cantonese is the unmarked medium of intra-ethnic spoken communication. Despite Hong Kong's political and economic reintegration with the mainland, written Chinese and Putonghua currently play only a limited role in business and professional communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Language in education debates in Hong Kong focus on the role and status of English (as the former colonial language and an important means for international communication); Cantonese, the mother tongue of the majority of the population; and Putonghua, the national language of China. This paper examines the language policy formulated in 1997-1998, and finds that it radically departed from previous policies by mandating the use of Cantonese as the medium of instruction in secondary schools. The paper then analyses two subsequent policy revisions and concludes that, while the tonal emphasis on mother-tongue education has remained, the policy revisions have reversed the language policy to previous practices that emphasised the importance of English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qingdao dialect is one of the dialects that are worth studying. According to Animals of Qingdao Records of Qingdao Dialect, there are 317 codesignative terms (i. e. terms which refer to the same object) in total. The result of the quantitative lexicostatistics and quantitative analysis shows that there are similarities and differences between the words in standard Chinese (putonghua) and the words in Qingdao dialect. And the similarities and the differences are embodied both in form and in meaning. This thesis attempts to make a comparative analysis of them in various aspects so as to do better in Chinese teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]