Domestic Research on Language and Poverty from the Perspective of Economics: Current Situation and Considerations
Wang Hailan
Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning ›› 2019, Vol. 4 ›› Issue (1) : 34-43.
Domestic Research on Language and Poverty from the Perspective of Economics: Current Situation and Considerations
The relationship between language and poverty has become a research area in China’s language planning studies. At present, Chinese researchers mainly focus on the infl uence of language ability on poverty or vice versa from the perspective of economics. This paper makes a review of the domestic language-and-poverty studies in the lens of macro- and micro-economics:on the one hand, linguistic diversity aff ects economic development; on the other hand, language ability aff ects labor income. Previous studies have shown that linguistic diversity not only aff ects economic development, but also aff ects other variables that hold sway for economic development, such as labor circulation. The language-related factors that influence economic development may include linguistic diversity, communication, education and human capital accumulation, technology diff usion, and social trust. Moreover, foreign language ability and dialect skills play a role in the income and employment of workers under certain conditions. These studies provide a theoretical basis for language poverty alleviation in China. In addition, the findings about the heterogeneity, coexistence and periodicity of the language impacts on the economics of a society can provide a reference for the study of language and poverty, as well as the promotion of language poverty alleviation.
language poverty alleviation / linguistic diversity / language ability / language policy
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