Abstract：The cultivation of rural social capital can provide support for the realization of rural revitalization strategies, with language playing an indispensable role in the construction of social capital. Through ethnographic interviews with villagers, village committee officials, village enterprise leaders, and migrant workers in Shuibei Village, Yixing City, Jiangsu Province, this study examines language practices from three perspectives: “outward mobility”, “inward mobility”, and “staying behind”. It was found that diverse language practices have transformed Shuibei village into a diglossia community, where varying levels of shared language among different groups have different impacts on the construction of rural social capital: Higher levels of shared language between outward enterprise personnel and customers in the villages, as well as between incoming cadres of the village committee and local residents have facilitated the establishment of a good trust-based relationship with business partners and constituents; Conversely, the lack of shared language between grandparents and grandchildren affects the socialization of children and the cultivation of their social norms. Similarly, and the lack of shared language between external investigators and villagers results in the ineffectiveness of promoting civic norms. Additionally, limited shared language with villagers has hindered incoming village workers from building close social networks with villagers. Trust, norms, and networks are the main elements and forms of social capital, which can enhance the efficiency of society by promoting cooperative behavior. In the future practice of rural revitalization, attention should be paid to language planning not only in furthering villagers’ Putonghua proficiency but also in focusing on improving villagers’ ability to apply language technology as well as to the learning, cultivation, and enhancement of dialect proficiency among rural children and migrant workers.
殷志平. 宜兴水北村语言实践与社会资本构建[J]. 语言战略研究, 2024, 9(6): 48-59.
Yin Zhiping. Language Practices and the Construction of Rural Social Capital in Shuibei Village, Yixing City. , 2024, 9(6): 48-59.
