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10 January 2026, Volume 11 Issue 1
    

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  • Yang Dan
    Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2026, 11(1): 1-1.
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  • Zhao Tingyang
    Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2026, 11(1): 5-15. https://doi.org/10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20260101
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    This article argues that the systematic character of language can be adequately examined only through a metalanguage capable of reflecting on language from a higher-order standpoint. It first considers formal (mathematical) logic as a candidate metalanguage: although it can capture truth relations among propositions, its restricted semantic range prevents it from serving as a metalanguage for the full spectrum of thought. It then revisits Wittgenstein’s notion of language games as an alternative metalanguage that translates meaning into a set of socially rule-governed uses. While this approach offers an external and publicly inspectable point of reference for semantics, it remains limited to reflecting on the nature of rules and does not account for language’s thought-laden dimension. The paper next turns to large language models (LLM) as a contemporary, non-traditional metalanguage. LLM operationalize a grammar of signs grounded in correlational relevance—probabilistically optimized linkages among tokens—and evolutionary updating, whereby empirical Bayesian adjustment continuously recalibrates the credibility of these correlations. On this view, LLM can process relations at scale, yet the resulting sign system remains a mapping that fails to represent the wholeness of objects and the world; it therefore lacks genuine understanding. The essence of thought lies in “selecting” a particular “possible world”. At its core, thinking is an act of “choice”: it selects and commits to a certain possible world among alternatives. Against this background, the article proposes a speculative “grammar of thought” and associated metalanguage built on negation and verbs. Negation secures the essential function of thought as selection—the capacity to choose among possible worlds—while verbs provide the generative structure through which possible worlds are constructed. The author suggests that this framework could upgrade mere mapping into a morphism oriented toward holistic intelligibility, offering a methodological route toward a next-generation of AI “world model”. Its putative advantage lies in simultaneously opening unlimited possibilities, supporting causal explanation, and enabling reflexive analysis of any language from within natural language itself, thus obtaining a better metalanguage.
  • He Hongzhi
    Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2026, 11(1): 16-16.
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  • Li Yan and He Hongzhi
    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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    ‘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.
  • Ge Zhaoyi and Li Yuming
    Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2026, 11(1): 29-41. https://doi.org/10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20260103
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    The language rehabilitation industry represents a specialised sector within both the broader language industry and the Greater Health industry. There is a need to develop a “Greater Language Rehabilitation Industry” that aligns with the principles of Greater Health, serves the entire population throughout the life span, and transcends the traditional confines of hearing and speech rehabilitation. Focusing on individuals with language disorders, the language rehabilitation industry possesses dual characteristics: it functions as both a public good and an industry, offering products and services that span language commodities and language welfare. Currently, the market size of China’s language rehabilitation industry exceeds 30 billion RMB, yet a substantial gap between supply and demand persists, indicating a significant market potential that could reach several hundred billion RMB. The industry’s current capacity falls short of meeting the rehabilitation needs of the tens of millions of people affected by language disorders. Addressing this critical issue requires dedicated efforts in three key areas: redefining industry perception, strengthening the human resource system, and enhancing welfare policies. This paper constructs an ecosystem framework for the language rehabilitation industry and argues that language health is an essential component of national health, without which individual well-being and happiness are difficult to achieve. Furthermore, the capacity to provide language rehabilitation services should be regarded as an integral aspect of a nation’s language competence. Achieving “language health for all” should be recognised as a shared goal within the broader “Healthy China” initiative.
  • Shi Jinsheng and Li Xueting
    Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2026, 11(1): 42-52. https://doi.org/10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20260104
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    Since the 1990s, the development of automated essay scoring (AES) has progressed through three major phases: feature-based statistical machine learning, neural network-based deep learning, and generative pre-trained language models. Throughout this evolution, scoring rubrics and language intelligence techniques have intertwined and advanced synergistically, driving AES toward greater efficiency and rationality through their competitive pursuit of dominance in the AES. AES research has evolved from focusing on superficial statistical linguistic features to exploring complex semantic and formal features, enabling comprehensive scoring along both formal and content-based dimensions. Research on AES for Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) has primarily focused on the MHK test and the HSK test, which are designed for domestic ethnic minorities and foreign learners of Chinese, respectively. It lacks the verification of the effects on various neural network models or large-scale datasets. Technological advances in Large Language Models suggest potential solutions to current problems concerning AES for CSL. Future AES research needs to move from resembling the outcomes of manual scoring to imitating the thinking of manual scoring, transition from holistic rating scoring to analytic rating scoring, and enhance AES model reliability and interpretability through both chain-of-thought fine-tuning and high-quality corpora.
  • Zhu Haiping and Gao Xinmin
    Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2026, 11(1): 53-63. https://doi.org/10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20260105
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    This study analyzes the development of Putonghua proficiency testing products in Hong Kong over the past three decades, focusing on testing product composition, supply entities, and demand drivers. The evolution of these products can be divided into three distinct phases: the early market exploration phase (1988–1997), the policy-led diversification phase (1997–2006), and the market-driven innovation phase (2006–present). The trajectory is marked by a unique “dual-track evolution”—on one hand, collaborative development shaped by market forces, policy interventions, and technological advancements; on the other, the emergence of a tiered development system. Currently this system is dual-tiered, comprising “foundational” and “distinctive” products that align national standards with local characteristics. Looking ahead, further progress can be achieved by advancing to a three-tiered framework: “foundational”, “distinctive”, and “international”. Through differentiated design, the interactions and resource allocations among market, policy, and technology can be dynamically adjusted for each tier. This approach allows testing products to address Putonghua learning and certification needs of various target groups, ultimately integrating foundational popularization, regional adaptability, and international compatibility.
  • Dong Ping
    Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2026, 11(1): 64-74. https://doi.org/10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20260106
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    From the perspective of actual usage shown in ancient Chinese corpora, the overlap of different first-person pronouns at various semantic levels indicates philosophically that as human beings carry out communication activities in different aspects of existence, the awareness of the self also emerges and gradually deepens in the process of interacting with others on different dimensions. In Classical Chinese, the first-person pronouns in the ordinary sense are primarily three forms: wo 我, yu予(also written 余,台), and wu吾. The pronoun wo chiefly denotes the self as externally manifested and set in contrast to others, with the meaning of the embodied “person” or “body” at its core. By contrast, yu tends to function as a more general term of self-reference, emphasizing the individual as an integrated unity of body and mind. “吾” does not truly emerged untilg the Spring and Autumn Period. It refers to the inner self and denotes the authentic subject. Its appearance marked a deepening of self-cognition and represented a new stage in the development of self-awareness.“思(sī)”(thinking, introspection) is the primordial capability of “吾” and the fundamental way for the subject to confirm the conrcete reality of its own existence, thereby restoring the wholeness of being. In this way, existence and value are rendered fully identical.  “毋我(wú wǒ)” (freedom from ego attachment) is an essential requirement for individuals to participate in experiential communication activities with the “己(jǐ)” (self) that roots in the true reality. “吾丧我(wú sàng wǒ)” (destruction of the ego with the Self) requires 吾as the subject to immune from the dualization of the “己” so that to keep the wholeness of existence of the self. The realization of “己” is not only the restoration of an individual’s reality of existence and the realization of the subjectivity, but also the realization of his value of existence in the current interreaction context, thereby unifying the existence and its value. Through the analysis of the usage of different first-person pronouns in ancient Chinese text, analyzing the function of si 思, and interpreting the meanings of wu wo 毋我and wu sang wo 吾丧我, this paper structurally reconstructs and expounds on the philosophical ideas embodied in the first-person pronouns in classical Chinese.
  • Wu Genyou
    Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2026, 11(1): 75-86. https://doi.org/10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20260107
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    Humanity has long been situated in “world history”. Contemporary and future Chinese-language philosophy should move beyond its classical and modern configurations toward a future-oriented form, one that is rooted in the lived experience of the Chinese-speaking world while also articulating the new realities of “China in the world” and “the world within China”. In the face of philosophical questions shared by humankind in the context of world history, providing philosophical responses in Chinese should be regarded as a historical mission for present and future scholars engaged in philosophical research in the Chinese-speaking world. From the perspective of the traditional debate on the correspondence between names and realities, “Chinese-language philosophy” and “Chinese philosophy” each have their own objects of reflection, yet they also significantly intersect and overlap. This article rejects the notion of a “universal philosophy” advanced by some scholars, but does not deny the existence of philosophical questions common to all humanity. From a civilizational perspective, such shared philosophical questions may take distinct philosophical forms when expressed in different national languages. Within genuine world history, in responding to humanity’s shared philosophical questions, philosophies expressed in different national languages can generate philosophical answers that embody an “overlapping consensus”. One of the historical missions of contemporary and future Chinese-language philosophy is to offer its own responses to these shared philosophical questions of humanity.
  • Cui Yingxian
    Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2026, 11(1): 87-96. https://doi.org/10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20260108
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    “Center” (中) and “loyalty” (忠) are fundamental words in the Chinese language, with the latter deriving from the former. The early cognitive mechanism of the Han people, which transitioned “from spatial orientation to temporal concepts, from the concrete to the abstract”, played a fundamental role in driving the semantic derivation of the latter. After the emergence of “loyalty”, its meaning shifted from “sincerity” to “loyalty” within a very short period. The underlying force driving this change was the political-ethical belief in the “integration of family and state”, while its solidification was achieved through habitual collocations from morphology to syntax. In this regard, the ethical propositions and linguistic applications of Confucianism and Mohism exhibit a certain degree of divergence. Regarding the concept of “loyalty to the ruler”, Confucianism, which emphasizes hierarchical order, does not reinforce it in linguistic combinations. In contrast, Mohism, which advocates “universal love” and “elevating uniformity”, frequently employs it in written works, even solidifying the term “loyal minister” (忠臣) as a fixed expression. Once a strong linguistic collocation is established, it can shape value judgments that influence social consciousness, allowing people today to perceive the epistemological significance in the philosophy of language.