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English language teaching has had a chequered history in China, reflecting an increasing desire to modernise and participate on the world stage combined with a watchful caution against importing unwanted cultural elements. Change, however, has proceeded rapidly in the last 35 years, and China now provides around 700,000 postgraduate students annually to Western universities. Given this importance to western universities and the concerns surrounding the nature and perceived purposes of English-medium instruction, we believe a better understanding of Chinese ELT is crucial. This article tracks the changing role and importance of English in China through its language policy for university non-English majors. We do this using a corpus approach to analyse the keywords in the 1986, 1999, 2007 and 2020 iterations of the national curriculum documents. Our results show a focus on language skills has been replaced by employer-friendly communicative requirements, followed by greater student awareness of learning strategies, and most recently, a more culturally sensitive and critical orientation. We offer a study of an EFL curriculum development outside a more familiar Western context, suggesting the value of discourse analyses to understanding key changes in curricula, and revealing that choices regarding language instruction are rarely ‘neutral’ pedagogical decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Over the past few decades, there has been a sharp increase in the number of international students enrolling in postgraduate courses at UK universities, with students from China making up the single largest national group. At the same time, there has been a gradual increase in Chinese teachers and faculty members, as these same students continue their studies and build a life in UK academia. Ideally, this demographic shift should offer the opportunity for a flourishing multilingual and translingual academic space in UK universities. However, this is often not the case, with English remaining the default and often only option in teacher/student interactions, regardless of the linguistic and cultural background of the interlocutors. In this study, we explore the barriers to translanguaging practices between Chinese students and their Chinese dissertation supervisor. Through observation of supervisory sessions and interviews with students, we found considerable resistance to translanguaging practices involving the use of shared first language whilst in the UK learning environment. This resistance was seen to be driven by native-speakerist and monolinguistic ideologies, lack of institutional language policy, and actions and attitudes of individual students and teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the global push towards a green economy, this research investigates the impact of green trade barriers on the export trade volume of Chinese photovoltaic products to ASEAN from 2010 to 2021. The strong evidence indicates that green trade barriers have a positive effect on improving the export trade volume of Chinese photovoltaic products to ASEAN. This conclusion remains robust through multiple robustness tests, including excluding data from pandemic-affected years and the only developed country Singapore. Moreover, the impact of green trade barriers varies with exchange rate levels and language environments. In countries with higher exchange rates and countries with different official languages, the positive effect of green trade barriers on trade is more significant. In contrast, in countries with the same official language, green trade barriers have a negative effect on improving the trade volume. Additionally, higher levels of renewable energy consumption diminish the beneficial effect of TBT on photovoltaic trade, and CO2 emissions lessen the detrimental effect of TBT on photovoltaic trade. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, suggesting that align with international standards, provide differentiated technical assistance and adopt transparent trade rules when formulating green trade barriers to better support the competitiveness and export growth of Chinese photovoltaic products in the international market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to distinguish between language-related ideologies, Ruiz (1984) proposed three language orientations, namely 'language-as-problem', 'language-as-right' and 'language-as-resource'. Although this typology has been applied to various countries and regions around the globe, relevant research in China, a multi-ethnolinguistic country, remains limited. Through a review of China's minority language policies and relevant literature, this paper explores the application of Ruiz's theory to the context of China and proposes two possible directions which can complement this theory. Firstly, the study found that there are different layers, complexities, and even contradictions under a broad/unified language orientation, and that minority languages can be simultaneously positioned as a 'right', a 'resource' and a 'problem'. Secondly, by investigating a particular ethnic minority language (the Nuosu Yi language), the study found that the written (literacy) and spoken (oracy) skills of the language can be positioned differently in language-in-education policies and practices. We therefore propose that a critical 'biliteracy continua' lens (Hornberger 2004) can provide further analytical nuance to the language orientations put forward by Ruiz (1984). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, the Chinese language has emerged as a global language. Gulf Cooperation Council countries, such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, have integrated Chinese language into their educational systems and established Confucius Institutes to promote Chinese language and culture. In Qatar, interest in Chinese language education has risen, though not as pronounced as its neighbouring countries. This article, grounded in a Critical Cultural Political Economy of Education (CCPEE) approach, provides a comprehensive overview of Chinese language and education policy in Qatar, utilising a mix of primary and secondary sources, and insights from the second author’s role as a Chinese language coordinator in Qatar. The article examines cultural, political, and economic aspects related to Qatar-China ties and the Chinese community in Qatar, the role of China during the World Cup, Chinese language in the linguistic landscape, Chinese language education policies, and the state of a Confucius Institute in Qatar. Finally, it offers some implications in terms of the future of Chinese language education in the country and some fruitful directions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governmental language policies in China have varied across recent decades, including the intensive promotion of Mandarin as a language of unification and public championing of regional varieties. Concomitantly, increasing urbanisation, regional migration, and cross-linguistic marriage have led to greater use of Mandarin in private domains. Given the varied status of regional language varieties by city, language ideologies and home practices play an increasingly important role in shaping youth language proficiencies, and maintaining dialect diversity. This paper examines links between parental language ideologies and child language proficiencies in three Chinese cities. The analysis of 167 interviews with young adult children and their parents reveals that parents tend to hold one of four ideological stances: Mandarin-dominant, dialect-dominant, bilingual diglossic, and 'whatever works'. Furthermore, we find that location matters: families differ by region in their ideologies and support for local varieties. Moreover, parental language ideology predicted children's current language proficiencies: parents who reported having explicit pro-Mandarin language ideology tended to have young adult children with lower levels of reported skill in the regional dialect. However, the strength of that relationship varies by city. We conclude by considering the implications of these findings for language policy and the promotion of dialect diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The language vitality of non-dominant communities has gained increasing attention worldwide with international declarations and national legislation enacted to protect the right of non-dominant language use and development. As information and communication technology (ICT) has spread, extending ICT to ethnic or indigenous languages has lagged. Nevertheless, their use on social media and other platforms has been growing rapidly, raising the question of their role in supporting non-dominant language vitality. In 2020 in China, non-dominant languages were used on various social media platforms to communicate anti-COVID messages. Drawing on language revitalisation frameworks, the investigators explore how the global pandemic has provided minority nationalities in west China the opportunity to increase recognition of their cultures and languages. We explore how minority communities in Yunnan and Gansu provinces in western China participated in China's anti-Covid-19 campaign through the creation and dissemination of multilingual materials of different forms, genres, and modes on ICT social media platforms. We argue that using multilingual and multimodal ICT platforms to publicise countermeasures against Covid-19 has the potential to contribute to recognition and use of languages of non-dominant ethnic communities and revitalisation of heritage languages and cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past few decades have seen a boom in English-medium instruction (EMI) in Chinese universities. Despite growing research interest in EMI policy and practices in China, little is known about how students' motivation to study in the EMI programs is influenced by EMI policy and its implementation at the meso and micro levels. This study addresses this gap by examining an EMI program at a Chinese medical college. Through a survey of 118 students and interviews with 10 students and 6 teachers, we investigated students' EMI learning motivation, how and why it changed over time, and different stakeholders' perceptions of the EMI implementation. The questionnaire and interview data were triangulated with textual analysis results of institutional EMI policy documents. It was found that students' motivation generally declined over the course of EMI study and was often influenced by implementation factors such as pedagogical practices, assessment-related policies, and incentive strategies. Interactions and contradictions between the EMI policy goals, EMI implementation at different levels and students' motivation change were also analyzed through the Activity Theory lens to shed light on how higher education institutions could better sustain students' EMI motivation and enhance the quality of EMI programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term " wanghong women" has been in a state of flux in China's public discourse since its inception in 2015. In particular, the COVID-19, while causing major economic setbacks across the world, has, to some extent, boosted the growth of the wanghong industry and altered public attitude towards wanghong women in China. Against this background, this study aims to investigate how wanghong women are linguistically represented in the six leading official English language newspapers in China. A corpus-assisted discourse analysis of 156 English news articles (i.e., 140,931 words), covering the years between 2015 and 2022, was conducted. The study revealed a significant attitudinal shift in the editorial stance on China's wanghong women phenomenon since the COVID-19 epidemic: the semantic prosodies of the word " wanghong " has shifted from women who are stereotypically young, fashionable, and attract online attention by using pretty face and sexualized body shape to women who can boost the national digital economy, contribute to the state's agenda of rural regeneration, and help spread timely instructions regarding the pandemic. The findings shed new light on the evolving Chinese gender politics which is shaped by the entangled forces of traditional patriarchy, commercialization, and the government's crisis management strategies during the pandemic. Plain language summary: This study aims to investigate how wanghong women are linguistically represented in the six leading official English language newspapers in China. A corpus-assisted discourse analysis of 156 English news articles (i.e., 140,931 words), covering the years between 2015 and 2022, was conducted. The study revealed a significant attitudinal shift in the editorial stance on China's wanghong women phenomenon since the COVID-19 epidemic: the semantic prosodies of the word " wanghong " has shifted from women who are stereotypically young, fashionable, and attract online attention by using pretty face and sexualized body shape to women who can boost the national digital economy, contribute to the state's agenda of rural regeneration, and help spread timely instructions regarding the pandemic. The findings shed new light on the evolving Chinese gender politics which is shaped by the entangled forces of traditional patriarchy, commercialization, and the government's crisis management strategies during the pandemic. The wanghong phenomenon has been still evolving in China at remarkable speed. Further studies can conduct a comparative analysis of the media representation of wanghong men and wanghong women to shed light on gender differences and stereotypes in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While extensive studies have been devoted to English-medium-instruction programs as a major strategy of internationalization, there is a paucity of research on the content-and-language learning experiences of international students enrolled in non-English-medium-instruction programs in the Asia-Pacific region. Drawing on the notions of translanguaging and sociolinguistic infrastructuring, the present study investigates translanguaging among instructors and international students in Chinese-medium-instruction (CMI) postgraduate programs in the humanities and social sciences departments in a top university in China. Content analysis of student and instructor interviews reveals that despite the monolingual language policy that governs the medium of instruction for international degree programs at the institutional level, translanguaging serves as sociolinguistic infrastructuring to support some international students' active participation in knowledge construction, as well as to negotiate tensions imposed by epistemic injustice inherent in disciplinary histories in Chinese academia and the enacted CMI curricula. It is argued that, as a defining feature of translanguaging, sociolinguistic infrastructuring highlights the agentive role of both teachers and international students, who coordinate and navigate distributed and diverse material-semiotic conditions, which can be used to foster a decolonial space for knowledge construction in CMI programs. Pedagogical and curriculum design implications are discussed at the end of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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AbstractIn addressing the two problems within the existing literature – an over-emphasis on English as the medium of instruction (EMI) in the internationalisation of higher education and the under-explored, yet important, ‘default’ common language for communication beyond university classrooms – this article presents findings of a qualitative study on African international students’ lived experience of surviving, thriving and transforming at a provincial university. Drawing upon data collected from semi-structured interviews, the findings reveal that monolingual ideologies and Chinese-only practices were dominant at university. Whilst the participants expressed confusion, anxiety and perceived difficulties and challenges both in pursuing academic studies and social life at the initial stage of study in China, their ensuing self-identified easiness and confidence in making use of Chinese and building social relationships also means Chinese was increasingly considered as a norm and a ‘natural’ choice for them. It was also found that the participants moblised their agency towards their preferred language competency, which was a response to survival and living needs in the monolingual host community. As China is emerging as an education hub and actively promoting its official language, the article also calls for more nuanced understandings of monolingual, bilingual and multilingual experiences in different categories of universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have investigated current English-medium Instruction (EMI) programmes for international students studying in universities in China's mainland. The present study applies Spolsky's language policy framework to analyze Chinese EMI programmes in terms of language ideology, language management, and language practices on the national level, the university level and the individual level. Data are collected from policy statements, interviews, and questionnaires. This study finds that in EMI programmes for international students, language belief lays the foundation for meso-level language management. Guided by macro beliefs, meso institutions use the management tools of curriculum design, instructional staff management, and evaluation to implement EMI programmes. Language practice is influenced by and modifies beliefs and management. In practice, professional learning is prioritised, and a slight mismatch between the language support provided by the institutions and international students' actual expectations is found. This study contributes to the development and implementation of EMI in Chinese higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of language policy and planning has seen increasing scholarly attention that explores social actors' micro language planning towards a given language policy situation at the grassroots level. In educational contexts, teachers and educators are often considered pivotal locals whose agency, when enacted in micro language planning, can contribute to educational language policymaking. However, little attention has been given to learners – those on the receiving end of educational language policy. Situated in the current discourse concerning Mandarin-dominated Chinese language education, within the context of China's promotion of Mandarin language learning, this study examines dialect-background heritage learners in a tertiary-level Mandarin Chinese language programme in New Zealand. By adopting the concept of micro language planning, this study explores how dialect-background heritage learners perceive and react in a Mandarin-dominated Chinese programme. The findings show that dialect-background learners exercise agency to interpret, implement, reject, and negotiate language policy according to their self-identified language needs. However, their ability to enact agency is also constrained by a series of social realities including socio-economic discourse, language ideology, language proficiency, and technology development. This study offers implications for language policy makers involved with different levels of Chinese language policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the first study addressing family language policy (FLP) in d/Deaf-parented families in China, the current research explores language ideologies, practices and management held by different members within the families. Children of d/Deaf adults (Codas) form an unusual bimodal bilingual group, and the study concerning this group prompts us to rethink the notion of bilinguals as well as types of bilingual families within the FLP domain. The study is based on the data collected from online questionnaires, semi-structed interviews, and observations. Two versions of questionnaires were administered for both d/Deaf parents and Codas, which collected data from participants across Mainland China. Semi-structed interviews (with 10 d/Deaf parents and 4 Codas) and observations (in 4 families with underage Codas) were conducted in Shanghai. The analyses of the data suggest that language practices in d/Deaf parented families with hearing children can be viewed as miniatures of social language ecology and these families serve as micro-realisations of language socialisation, during which process both social factors on the macro level and family factors on the micro level make active contributions. Emphasised impacts are also attributed to the critical agentic roles of individuals within the families and the support given by communities and schools, whose different attitudes and practices can lead to various outcomes of the Codas' linguistic development. The study also offers new insights into the notion of successful FLP in these bimodal bilingual families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption of English medium instruction (EMI) in higher education has gained popularity in China's tertiary education as a result of globalization. International students in Chinese universities are celebrated as part of soft power projection to extend China's global impact. Informed by Piller and Cho's concept of "Neoliberalism as language policy" (2013) and Collins' "social reproduction theory" (2009, 2012), this study attempts to explore the EMI learning experiences of a cohort of international students at a border university in China. The policy documents, in-depth interviews, classroom observation, reflective journals and online interactions converge to reveal that, international students in EMI programmes experience exclusion and inequality despite the welcoming discourses of diversity. The paper highlights the necessity to pay attention to the ways in which higher education institutions reproduce inequalities of social stratification of international students through explicit and implicit institutional practices. It is argued that EMI policy in China's peripheral regions targeting international students from less-developed countries tends to perpetuate and accentuate educational inequalities. The study sheds light on a more inclusive pedagogical approach to alleviating international students' marginalisation and educating students of diverse linguistic, cultural, socioeconomic backgrounds for global citizenship in the context of China's Belt and Road Initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper advances a legitimacy‐based view on what factors determine multinational corporation (MNC) employees' adoption of English at work. We posit that legitimacy judgment represents an alternative mechanism, other than language ability, for explaining MNC employees' response to headquarters' corporate language policy. The hypotheses were confirmed in two studies with mixed‐methods (experiments; semi‐structured interviews), involving MNC employees in China. Our findings verified that corporate language policy increases positive legitimacy judgment, which in turn enhances employees' adoption of English at work. Further analysis showed that language ability moderates the mediating effect of legitimacy judgment, such that this effect is stronger for employees with lower language ability. Semi‐structured interviews confirmed the experimental findings and brought more insight into why and how Chinese employees adopt English in daily work. This paper contributes to the research on corporate language policy, legitimacy judgment, and cross‐border management in Asia Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xu Fang's book, "Silencing Shanghai - Language and Identity in Urban China," examines the decline of the Shanghai dialect and the rise of Putonghua (Mandarin) in the city. The book explores the historical background of Shanghai, the impact of language policies and urban development on the local language, and the effects of demographic changes on linguistic identity. Xu Fang's research reveals that the Shanghai dialect is being phased out in both public and private life, leading to tension between speakers of Putonghua and the Shanghai dialect. The book highlights the sociological factors that have contributed to the decline of the Shanghai dialect and emphasizes the importance of language preservation efforts. While the book focuses on Shanghai, it also discusses the broader issue of language loss in urban centers across China. The reviewer suggests that Hong Kong's unique circumstances may allow Cantonese to continue thriving despite similar pressures. Overall, the book provides valuable insights into the sociocultural dynamics of language change and loss. [Extracted from the article]

Recent developments in multilingualism and multilingual education in minority-dominated regions in China highlight the importance of policy studies to support the national goals of achieving multilingualism [Feng, A. W., and B. Adamson, eds. 2015. Trilingualism in Education in China: Models and Challenges. Dordrecht: Springer], especially in remote western regions such as Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) that pose geographical, socio-political, and educational challenges. This study investigates the effectiveness of language policies and the implementation of multilingual education for minority dominated regions in XUAR, and of the extent to which those policies support multilingual education. The data mainly comprise policy documents issued at the national, regional and institutional level, supplemented by interviews with policy makers at regional and local levels. The study finds that, while the policies at both national and regional levels regarding language education in China are generally supportive of multilingualism, in reality, some of the implemented practices at local school levels in XUAR are not totally consistent with the policy goals, while weak local capacity also hinders the implementation of multilingual education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This scholarly investigation delves into the metamorphosis of China's language policies across three distinct epochs spanning over two millennia, tracing from ancient China to contemporary times. Employing a sociolinguistic lens, the analysis elucidates the historical trajectories of these policies, accentuating their theoretical and pragmatic implications, particularly in the realms of linguistic strategies for ethnic minorities and the overarching national language. The derived conclusions highlight a nuanced amalgamation of subjectivity and diversity within these policies, encompassing both the elevation of Mandarin and the preservation of minority languages. By deciphering historical patterns, this study aspires to furnish insights that could inform prospective orientations in China's linguistic policy formulation, set against the evolving backdrop of global interconnectedness, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the nation's overarching developmental objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have investigated language poverty related to aspects of economic assistance, water scarcity, gender inequality, climate change, etc. However, a focus on language policy discourse has been lacking. Language policy discourse is vital because it can be deemed as preliminary to language poverty alleviation action, influencing the success of its implementation. To fill this gap, this study employed positive discourse analysis to investigate discursive strategies used in the discourse of language poverty alleviation in Chinese language policies. The finding shows that through four main discursive strategies–nomination, argumentation, perspectivisation, and predication–official documents concerning language poverty alleviation constructed motivational discourse and applied campaign-style mobilisation to encourage people to follow the implementation of language poverty alleviation. This study sheds light on the official purpose of using certain discursive strategies in language poverty alleviation discourse and some ideological implications behind it and sets an example of the popularisation of official languages to tackle poverty alleviation from a linguistic perspective for other countries/regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As preconditions and consequences of the globalization of higher education, multilingualism has reconfigured language ecology, language policy and planning, and multilingual management in the contemporary world. However, studies of multilingualism focusing on real-language scenarios in Sino-foreign cooperative education institutions (SCEIs) are rare. This study explores the multilingual ecology, language policy and planning, and language management of three leading SCEIs in China. It also investigates the attitudes of SCEIs' stakeholders toward language use and language policy in multilingual contexts. A case study was conducted by analyzing a significant number of language policy documents, semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, and partial participant observations. The research results reveal the main features of multilingual coexistence and intense competition in the three leading SCEIs by identifying the micro, meso, and macro issues of language management. The effects of language policy and planning mechanisms are also identified in SCEIs of higher education. Potential conflicts in multilingual environments are interpreted from the perspective of global cooperation. Last, recommendations are offered for the advancement of the language evolution of SCEIs in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A noteworthy change in China's newly released national English language curriculum standards is the inclusion of 'viewing' ability, i.e., the skill of acquiring information conveyed in multimodal discourses like graphics, photos and animation (MOE, 2022a). To investigate how ELT textbooks are compiled to foster learners' viewing ability, we conducted a descriptive content analysis of two ELT textbook series (N1 = 12, N2 = 6) for young learners. Informed by Fingeret's classification of graphics (2012) and Martinec and Salway's framework of image-text relations (2005), we coded a total of 7182 visual images to examine how different types of visual images and image-text relations were utilised in terms of frequency and distribution in the two textbook series. Results show that both textbook series feature the use of diverse visual images and the Chinese ELT textbook series exclusively uses cartoons, whereas the global ELT textbooks use photos in addition to cartoons. Regarding image-text status relations, equal relations constitute a larger percentage than unequal relations, and the expansion logico-sematic relations appear much more frequently than the projection relations. Implications for dealing with visual images and image-text relations in ELT textbooks for young learners are suggested in the conclusion section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Language learning motivation plays a critical role in a successful language learning process. Research into foreign/second language learning motivation has been a focal point in the field of foreign/second language acquisition for long. Over the past twenty years, there has been a substantial body of research dedicated to motivation, conducted across various social and cultural contexts. These studies have played a crucial role in exploring the factors that impact learners' motivation to acquire a foreign language, as well as in examining the intricate relationship between motivation and other facets of foreign language learning. Foreign language proficiency is seen as the ultimate aim of foreign language learning. Some studies have delved into the relationship between foreign language learning motivation and foreign language proficiency, and no agreement has been reached yet. Nonetheless, there exists a notable dearth of research concerning the relationship between English learning motivation and English language proficiency of Chinese ethnic minority learners who have minority language as native language, Mandarin as national language, and learn English as a foreign language. To address this gap, a quantitative study was undertaken to identify if there is relationship between English learning motivation and English proficiency among ethnic minority learners in rural China. Pearson correlation coefficients were performed on the data which were collected from English learner questionnaire and English proficiency test. The findings revealed that there is no relationship between the participants' English learning motivation and English proficiency. The findings can be treated as evidence that high level of English learning motivation may not always contribute to good English proficiency. Researchers should concern more about motivation in relation to English proficiency. The results of this study provide implications for both policymakers and English educators in ethnic minority regions of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses China's foreign language education policies (FLEPs) from ancient China to the present, examining their origin, development, reform, present situation, and future direction. The analysis offers detailed insights into the background, content, and impact of crucial FLEPs in China at different times. The study highlights the role of English as a lingua franca in communication between China and the rest of the world and the consequent focus of China's FLEPs on English. However, with the advent of the Belt and Road Initiative (B&R), attention has gradually shifted towards foreign language education (FLE) in other languages. The main focal point of this study is on the reform and adjustment of China's FLEPs to meet the new situation, opportunities, and challenges along with the B&R's implementation, aiming at offering theoretical and practical references for improving FLEPs in China and the Belt and Road nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the linguistic landscape (LL) of four towns along the rural-urban line in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, which is located in southwest China and is the main residence of the Yi ethnic minority group. In recent years, the status of the Yi language has been challenged by Han (Chinese Mandarin) and English both in the field of education and general society in Liangshan. Recognising this, the local government has issued a range of policies to revitalise the Yi language, including ensuring its use on public signage. The aim of this study is to explore the LL of Liangshan, which has not been looked at before, and the actual implementation of these signage policies. 1497 language signs were analysed, including commercial signs, government signs and public signs in four schools. The findings indicate that the visibility of the Yi language on public signage is closely related to the intensity of policy support. However, in order to make signage policies effective, a holistic approach is in need at both prefectural and regional levels, and in 'micro spaces' such as education spheres and workplaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the consideration of Chinese song culture from the standpoint of its development based on folklore. The purpose of the article is to identify national stylistic features of Chinese vocal and song culture in accordance with regional characteristics, as well as in the process of socio-cultural changes in the country. Among the main tasks of the study was to highlight the significance of the musical folklore of China in accordance with its place in the composer's creativity, as well as in the context of socio-cultural changes. The research methodology: the dialectical method as a way to distinguish the stylistic components of Chinese composers' work as a unity of traditions and innovations; the deductive method due to the research orientation from the general (socio-historical context) to the specific (reference to the genre); the historical and cultural method to identify general stylistic regularities of the aesthetic, ideological, and socio-cultural levels in the context of historical changes; elements of genre and style analysis to identify the genre component of chamber vocal music. The scientific novelty of the obtained results lies in the fact that for the first time in the Ukrainian scientific space, the influence of national traditions as a permanent quality of vocal and song creativity is considered; the study of the regional component in accordance with the development of Chinese vocal and song culture is in-depth. Conclusions. The result of the study was the highlighting of Chinese vocal and song creativity as a synthesis of folklore and academic influences, where folklore, associated with the peculiarities of phonetics and vocabulary, intonations of the national language are of central importance. In its development and formation, the Chinese vocal and song composing school has created a powerful base that determined the further vector of Chinese song culture in general, namely vocal arrangements of folk melodies, which logically entered the genre of chamber music, where national and stylistic origins later intersected with models of the Western song-romance style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the strategies of governance in the language policy 'Chanting the Chinese Classics' (CCC) as deployed by State authorities, schools, and local communities. It highlights the strategy of 'viewing' as a nexus between language policy processes and traditional Chinese governing philosophy. To examine the connections between macro-level language policy and local educational and communicative processes, an ethnography of language policy was conducted at a weekend community school. We argue that language policy governance in Chinese language policy implementation mirrors Confucian philosophy. To further this strategy, State authorities organize nationally televised events at which school children compete in chanting competitions, which serve as exemplars for educators, parents, and students, who are encouraged to memorize vast quantities of classic Chinese literature. Results reveal that the appropriation of the CCC policy by teachers and parents encourages self-government and aligns with language policy ideology. While the CCC policy effectively encourages thousands of children to memorize Chinese Classics, it simultaneously promotes cultural confidence and nationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delivering presentations in English class is an anxiety-provoking activity for English learners. However, the anxiety states of foreign language learners in such a public speaking task are largely subjective and may not be apparent to observers. Therefore, this study aims to explore the acoustic and kinesic indicators that are related to speakers' real-time self-rated and observer-rated anxiety states of presenters from both perspectives. Seventy undergraduates from non-English majors in China were recruited to give English presentations in class while being video-recorded. Speakers' anxiety states were measured with the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) by speakers and observers immediately after presentations. The acoustic parameters of audio data were automatically extracted by a computer program, and the kinesic features of visual data were coded by independent raters with robust inter-rater reliability. The results showed a positive correlation between two subjective perspectives on the presenter's anxiety levels but a discrepancy in terms of specific nonverbal signals. Other-perceived anxiety that was originated from both audio and visual modalities was positively correlated with body tension, the standard deviation of the first formant, and negatively correlated with head-turning. Self-perceived anxiety only originated from the audio modality, i.e. mean fundamental frequency and standard deviation of the first formant. This study assesses the anxiety-related recognition model of speech and kinesics in a setting of English class presentations, contributing to the automatic and real-time computation of learners' negative emotions in a foreign language classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classical communities had the confidence that their difficult written languages placed an exclusive position as the literary language. Along with Latin, traditional written Chinese was also far from the colloquial language. In modern China, many intellectuals felt that it was necessary to overcome this situation and establish a new language education system. Hu Shih (1891-1962), picked up in this paper, is still one of the most famous philosophers, who reevaluated vernacular Chinese as the new “active” literary language. This paper aims to examine the formation of curriculum theory for language education through the case of Hu Shih’s contemplation and practice. For this purpose, the author analyzes his statements concerning curriculum and instruction for language education. Hu Shih went to the United States in September 1910 with the help of a government scholarship. During summer vacation in 1915, certain staff members at Chinese student office in Washington D. C. distributed documents on Chinese situation. Because of this incident, Hu Shih was regularly discussing about Chinese literature with his friends. At the same time, he formulated rules for the literary reform and published the improved version of them as the eight points. After studying in the U.S., he proposed the thesis “Guoyu de Wenxue, Wenxue de Guoyu(國語的文學・文學的國語)” in his paper. This new thesis means “Literature written in national language, National language of literary value” in English. When returning to China, he read Edith Sichel’s book and wrote the impression in his diary. Referring to the history of European Renaissance, he pointed out that the accumulation of creating practical works based on vernacular Chinese would become the basis of national language with literary value as Chinese Renaissance. To promote these steps, he started to argue for the necessity of new curriculum and instruction theory for language education. In this context, he concretely suggested that all school textbooks composed in colloquial language should be distributed from the lower grades, and classical literature should be arranged after junior high school and high school stages. This paper picks up Hu Shih’s statements on curriculum and instruction for language education. The analysis of this paper reveals that he proposed the thesis “Guoyu de Wenxue, Wenxue de Guoyu” with reference to European Renaissance. As Li Jinxi, a famous linguist in modern China, mentioned, Hu Shih’s argument played a key role in unifying the language unification and the literary reform. This background also set the stage for the development of his theory on language education and his contribution as the core policymaker for educational reform in the May Fourth Period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students' experiences and practices regarding English as a lingua franca (ELF) have been central to the discussion in research on intercultural communication in academia as it provides the basis for English language policy and practices in the international university. To date, however, few previous studies have explored diverse factors for perceptions of ELF communication with a single framework. To fill this gap, this study provides the integrative research model for perceptions and behaviours regarding ELF communication in the international university context, using Theory of Planned Behaviour. It further explores the effect of those factors on actual intentions to engage in ELF communication. Data were collected from 232 questionnaires and seven interviews on the offshore campus of a Hong Kong university in mainland China. Findings showed that factors such as acceptance, social expectations, the sense of control over linguistic knowledge for intercultural communication, and self-esteem had significant effects on intentions. The study concluded that ELF speakers' decision-making process to engage in ELF communication is not simply based on individual behaviour, but on social performance in academic communities of practice. This study suggests academic and educational implications for incorporating the ELF perspective into English language policy and practices in the international university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Silencing Shanghai: Language and Identity in Urban China" by Fang Xu is a book that explores the decline of the Shanghai Wu dialect in China's reform years, particularly since the 1990s. The author takes an interdisciplinary approach, examining the issue from the perspective of urban sociology. Xu's research highlights the political agendas and language policies, economic development and urban transformation, and demographic migration and dislocation that have contributed to the decline of Shanghai Wu. The book provides a comprehensive account of the changes in language and urban landscapes in Shanghai over the past two decades. While the book focuses on the role of the state in promoting Mandarin and marginalizing Shanghai Wu, it also acknowledges the complexities of the issue, including the heterogeneous nature of Shanghai Wu and the influence of globalization. Despite some flaws in methodology and linguistic scholarship, the book is a valuable addition to the literature on language politics in contemporary China and is recommended for scholars and general readers interested in Shanghai and contemporary China. [Extracted from the article]

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, a frequent claim among speakers of local Chinese languages (called fangyan in Chinese) is that their native languages preserve the language of antiquity better than the Beijing-based national language, Mandarin. This paper explores the origin of these claims and probes their significance in the making of the Han ethnoracial collective identity. I argue that claims of linguistic proximity to the imagined ancient origins of Chinese civilization represent a form of "hegemonic Han-ness"—an idealized form of the Han collective identity that was both internally hegemonic, in that it was meant to supersede other expressions of Han-ness, and externally hegemonic, in that it was meant to uphold the superiority of the Han people over other ethnoracial groups. From Zhang Taiyan, whose work provided a model for drawing linguistic connections between contemporary local languages and the language spoken at the dawn of Chinese civilization, to local gazetteer authors, who used linguistic data to prove their mother tongues directly had preserved the language of antiquity without being adulterated by the languages of non-Han peoples, this paper explores how various groups drew upon the cultural power of an idealized Han-centered past to challenge the authority afforded to the national language by the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the shifting connotations of two key terms in propaganda texts on bilingual education policy in Inner Mongolia. The two terms are dumdadu-yin ündüsten (Ch.: Zhonghua minzu , Chinese nation) and ulus-un neidem hereglehü üge hel (Ch.: guojia tongyong yuyan , national common language). I examine how the meanings of these key terms have begun to shift as China strives to shed its multinational character and build a linguistically homogenous Chinese nation-state. The new prominence given to the term dumdadu-yin ündüsten (Chinese nation) and the gradual substitution of the terms neitelig hel (Ch.: putonghua) and khitad hel (Han language) with the term ulus-un neidem hereglehü üge hel (national common language) in propaganda texts in Inner Mongolia reflect and shape China's changing policies on its borderlands. In this brief exploratory article, I underline how the Mongolian terms referring to the Chinese nation and national common language undergo shifts in their meanings as what sits at the very core of these terms – the Han – irrepressibly exposes itself and subsumes other meaning potentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

4 The Chinese government, through the State Council Information Office, has produced its own bilingual list of keywords, 'analysing and explaining essential expressions used to describe the developmental theories and pathways, external and internal policies ... of contemporary China' (SCIO n.d.; CIPG I et al i . 2019). Tibetan officials, conscious of the trust of herders in the central state rather than its local representatives, use the device to obtain compliance with policies although they probably know the formula is inaccurate, since it enables them to signal high-level authorisation for an action that they are obligated to complete. Baioud shows how, for Mongolians within China, the promotion of I yiti i over I duoyuan i , unity over plurality, in the new terminology of China's political order and in its language policies 'flattens layers of identities of multilingual minorities and renders their nested loyalties to the country and their own nationality (ethnicity) impossible'. In the context of Xinjiang, however, where the state's privileging of unity over diversity has taken what is by far the most extreme form known in modern times, particularly since 2017, a villager's compact with the state can be reversed at any time. [Extracted from the article]

For me, language policy and planning (LPP) is both a field of practical enquiry and a field of theoretical enquiry. As a practical field, LPP is about actions; actions that are taken by various agents and agencies on the structure, use and acquisition of language. As a theoretical field, LPP critically assesses these actions and further our understanding of why individuals and society decide to take certain actions at certain times in certain ways with regard to language structure, language use and language acquisition. Ultimately, this will help to further our understanding of society. Crucially, LPP as a theoretical field of enquiry needs to raise critical questions about the actions, rather than simply describing and documenting what the actions are. In doing so, LPP studies need to adopt specific theoretical stances. In the present case, the theoretical perspective that the contributors to this special issue have adopted is that of Translanguaging. I am grateful to the editors of the special issue for their invitation to write this short foreword to introduce and contextualise the special issue. I want to do so by highlighting what I think the potential contributions of Translanguaging as an analytical concept are to the studies of LPP, with reference to the Greater Bay Are of China that I would describe as an emerging and evolving Translanguaging Space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the China Office of an international Non-governmental Organization (INGO) as its site of study, this article analyzed how an international multilingual language policy was localized by focusing on the solving of communication problems. It was found that overt and covert language policies work together to form a talent pool of potential language broker and language node, who functioned in solving communication problems in planned and unplanned scenarios. The emergence of language broker and language node in INGOs demonstrates on one hand, the exercise of individual and institutional agency in solving communication problems; on the other hand, the interaction of language policy at different layers (international-national-institutional) in shaping individual’s language practice. The article contributes to the study of language policy in post-modern era by providing a conceptualization of language policy localization process that centers around solving communication problems in INGO work places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Translation policy, although an essential topic in the domain of language policy, has been understudied in China. Macau, as the earliest encounter point between the western and oriental cultures in Modern China, has been undeservingly neglected in this aspect, although its translation activities have never been interrupted since the Ming Dynasty. As such, this article sets out to trace the development of the translation policy in Macau (from its establishment to its handover to China in 1999). In particular, we will focus on tracing the historical evolution and development of the translation policy in Macau in the time span of over 400 years since the Portuguese establishment in 1557. The purpose is to cast a critical eye on its experiences in translation policymaking, using examples from official regulations, existing studies, and bibliometric data. We reconceptualize translation policy to entail the aspects of translation management, translation practices, and beliefs. Overall, the translation policy of Macau contributes to remapping the translation policy of China as important footnotes to the fuller picture of several essential historical periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent news about China's attitude the human rights of Uighurs in Xinjiang and its crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong has drawn a great deal of attention in the western media, with China facing a barrage of criticism from that source. Shortly before these developments came to light, China was taken to task over violence against Tibetans, which some viewed as cultural genocide. In contrast, the plight of Inner Mongolians is not widely known. In 2020, the Chinese government announced a new language policy promoting immediate Mandarin-language education in schools in the region. This shows how actively China has been eradicating the identity of peripheral minority groups. This article begins with a brief historical overview of China's linguistic assimilation policy toward ethnic minorities, followed by an investigation based on existing research and media information on the current position in Inner Mongolia and in particular of Mongolians living in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how China's LOTE (languages other than English) students perceive English and their target languages as different types of linguistic capital with different values, and how they exercise their agency as micro level LPP (language planning and policy) actors in language learning. Data were gathered from in-depth interviews with 35 university students (including Hindi, Persian and Thai learners) and analysed through the lens of individual agency in language planning and policy, as well as the Bourdieusian constructs of linguistic capital and the linguistic market. The findings reveal that English is regarded as a requisite, while LOTE(s) is/are perceived as a plus by LOTE learners. It was also found that English learning seems to be a default choice among LOTE learners, while LOTE learning is more often an extra choice in their language learning investment. Such findings have a counter-intuitive implication, namely that without recognizing the role of LOTE learners as micro LPP agents and the gap between the individual needs of career development and the macro and meso level demands for high-level multilingual personnel, LOTE education planning and policy may contribute to the English domination over LOTE(s) rather than enhancing (supra-)national linguistic capacity and multilingual and multicultural diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Confluenze. Rivista di Studi Iberoamericani is the property of Universita di Bologna, Dipartimento di Lingue, Letterature e Culture Moderne 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.)

The main issue of the paper is the analysis of the key factors which affect the development of the Polish language in China. Each of these factors has been discussed in this article against the background of language policy and power of Polish language in mainland China. The author, starting with a review of important concepts on this subject, tries to indicate the factors determining the creation of new Polish studies faculties and Polish studies centres in mainland China. Political and economic factors, the task-oriented approach of Chinese institutions in combination with a far-reaching profit planning strategy, factors related to regional cooperation between Poland and China, as well as sentimental and historical ones are considered to be the most significant aspects. The author tries to find a common denominator for the actions of Polish public diplomacy and often arbitrary decisions of the Chinese authorities in promoting Polish language in China. He points out some challenges and threats related to the dynamic development of Polish in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the relationship between language policy and spatial production. The regulation of language is inextricably tied to extra-linguistic—social, cultural, political and economic –processes permeating the broader sociolinguistic ecology. The article argues that language policy creates territorial space in this otherwise open ecology. Territories emerge from the tension between two dimensions of language policy: the free-flowing language activities in circulation and the coordinated regulation of boundaries in space. The article examines the relation between these two dimensions through the concepts of 'languaging' and 'assemblage'. This theoretical argument is illustrated with the developing Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in southern China as an example. The example suggests two theoretical implications. First, language policy regulates not only linguistic features or varieties but the coordination between linguistic and extra-linguistic practices of languaging. Second, territorial spaces are created not by externally imposed orders but by assemblages formed within the processes of languaging. • Language policy is entrenched in the open sociolinguistic ecology. • The regulation of language creates territorial spaces in the ecology. • Territories thus formed are simultaneously fluid and bounded. • Languaging presents the fluid dimension in language policy. • Assemblage presents the bounded dimension in language policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Theoretical Studies of Literature & Art / Wenyi Lilun Yanjiu is the property of Editorial Board of Theoretical Studies in Literature & Art 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.)

The article titled "News from Language Policy in China: 'Views of the State Council Office on the Comprehensive Consolidation of Language and Script Work in the New Era'" discusses language policy in China. Terms such as "Putonghua" and "Hanyu Pinyin" are mentioned, which are related to the Chinese language and script. The article also delves into the basic rules for Hanyu Pinyin orthography and script reform. It mentions various journals and collections of writings that deal with the Chinese language and script. It is noted that language policy in China has been implemented both theoretically and practically since 1949. [Extracted from the article]

Two recent books illumine arenas of state practice in Qing and Republican China and/or in the People's Republic of China. One takes up state practice through the problem of the establishment of a national language in China's nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the other engages statecraft from the perspective of the 1950s efforts to collect data and account statistically for China's material conditions and its population. Each book contributes to narrower and broader areas of research and academic interest in China's and the world's modern history, and both could be of interest to scholars of nationalism, language, statistics, Chinese identity, and the Chinese state. This essay discusses the following works. Arunabh Ghosh. Making It Count: Statistics and Statecraft in the Early People's Republic of China. Histories of Economic Life Series. Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2020. 340 pp. Hardcover ($45.00), softcover ($32.95), or e-book. | Gina Anne Tam. Dialect and Nationalism in China: 1860–1960. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. 261 pp. Hardcover ($99.99), softcover ($29.99), or e-book. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]