Abstract
‘Language professions’ refer to occupational categories in which practitioners derive their livelihood from providing language products and services. They are directly related to the high-quality supply of language products and the sustainable development of the language industry, and affects the overall planning of language talent development. Language professions and talents are producers of language products and providers of language services, and creators of language productivity. These professions can be classified into “typical language professions” and “quasi-language professions” based on whether the primary output consists of language products and the extent to which task completion relies heavily on linguistic expression. This paper defines the concept of “language profession” and maps out the existing language professions and those yet to be recognized in the National Occupational Classification Codex of the People's Republic of China (2022 Edition). It further proposes a foundational research framework for language professions comprising three hierarchical levels: from the base upward, these are studies of occupational conditions, analyses of underlying dynamics and mechanisms, and investigations into development strategies. Building on this framework, the paper offers the following recommendations: for language professions with an established number of practitioners but have not yet been included in the Codex, they should be formally supplemented and recognized, and professional terminology should be standardized; emerging language professions should be actively cultivated, especially language technology professions; Starting from the study of language vocational abilities, construct a language vocational standard system; Focusing on the investigation of language occupational conditions, comprehensively grasp the current state of language professions in China; and a national database of language professions should be established to support talent development in the field and planning for the language industry.
Key words
language industry /
language professions /
occupational classification /
research on language professions
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Li Yan and He Hongzhi.
On Language Professions[J]. Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2026, 11(1): 17-28 https://doi.org/10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20260102
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