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2016 Vol. 1, No. 4
Published: 2016-07-10

 
1 Language Facts from Multiple Perspectives
Xing Fuyi
2016 Vol. 1 (4): 1-1 [Abstract] ( 0 ) HTML (1 KB)  PDF  (0 KB)  ( 0 )
5 Educationalists on Language and Language Life
San Xin
2016 Vol. 1 (4): 5-11 [Abstract] ( 0 ) HTML (1 KB)  PDF  (0 KB)  ( 0 )
12 The State Council Directive on the Promotion of Putonghua (6 Feb. 1956)
2016 Vol. 1 (4): 12-13 [Abstract] ( 0 ) HTML (1 KB)  PDF  (0 KB)  ( 0 )
14 On Timing, Degree and Effi cacy of National Lingua Franca and Its Promotion
Wang Hui
 This article attempts to provide an overall evaluation of policy implementation process of the formulation and promotion of national lingua franca. The national lingua franca promotion is one of basic state policies in China. In this article, I first endeavor to redefine what is the national lingua franca (Putonghua) from three dimensions, namely, corpus planning, legal status, and academic research. Second, I investigate into the historic trajectory of the developing course of national lingua franca, a framework composing of periodization, degree and scale and efficacy is proposed. Third, through application of such a working framework, I embark upon a discussion and evaluation of the planning process, milestone events and the effectiveness in promoting national lingua franca. The article closes with an exploration of the future direction based on the previous experience of national lingua franca promotion.
2016 Vol. 1 (4): 14-24 [Abstract] ( 0 ) HTML (1 KB)  PDF  (0 KB)  ( 0 )
25 Changes in Biliteracy and Trilingualism and the Role of Putonghua in the Language Life of Hong Kong
Chan Shui Duen

Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Since then a number of social, political, and economic incidents such as the Asian fi nancial crisis and the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) have an impact on the language use and language policy in Hong Kong. Against this wider social background, this paper traces the history of the complex language situation, reviews the relationships between Chinese Putonghua, Cantonese, and English in various social contexts, and explores the future positions of the languages and language varieties in Hong Kong people’s social life. The research finds that (1) while “biliteracy and trilingualism” is considered as the language policy of Hong Kong, the exact content of the policy is subject to different interpretations, and sometimes leads to debates and dispute; (2) Hong Kong people regard English as a very useful language and believe that it is important for children to learn English from early ages; (3) most Hong Kong people use Cantonese as their everyday language; (4) Putonghua gradually gains ground, but it still takes years to become part of the “mother tongue education”.

2016 Vol. 1 (4): 25-31 [Abstract] ( 0 ) HTML (1 KB)  PDF  (0 KB)  ( 0 )
42 The Theoretic Dimensions of Chinese Language International Spread
Lu Deping
This article attempts to address the issues concerning Chinese language overseas spread from a theoretic perspective. An idealized or successful Chinese international communication ought to be taken as production and reproduction of a communicative process text, which has a complex set of meaningful layers rather than a linear mode of speech. Each textual production and reproduction is regulated or even controlled largely by its immanent consistency, coherency and unity. However, a variety of deconstructive factors can pose a threat to the formation of this consistent, coherent and unitary text of communicative process, to the extent that it may lead to an unsuccessful communication. Nonetheless, such inconsistency and incoherency of communicative text are by no means meaningless or negative. Although these deconstructive forces are barriers to a mutual understanding and for consensus to be reached between participants of a dialogue, they are bound to be necessary for overcoming the barriers, and to stimulate an urge to converse across cultures and communities. This cross-cultural communicative situation therefore has a special signifi cance different from what one may appreciate in a mother tongue setting. Carriers of Chinese as a mother tongue may face toughest barriers and lowest agreement in communicating with an alien partner, but also a tensest and most astonishing communication, which is likely to be transformed into a meaningful and attractive communication.
2016 Vol. 1 (4): 42-51 [Abstract] ( 0 ) HTML (1 KB)  PDF  (0 KB)  ( 0 )
52 The Impact of Western Missionaries on the Development of Modern Chinese
Yuan Jin
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One of the signifi cant differences between early modern and modern Chinese language is the emergence of westernization in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. The westernized linguistic expressions were rarely seen in early modern Chinese language, while in modern Chinese language they were more prevalent. The emergence of westernization in Chinese language was largely credited to the western missionaries. The earliest signs of westernization were observed in some Chinese books written by missionaries. In addition, numerous church publications, especially the Mandarin versions of The Bible, appeared at that time, featuring westernized vernacular texts which contributed to the vernacularization movement in late Qing Danasty and during the May Fourth Movement, and greatly shaped Modern Chinese. The missionaries were the earliest scholars who realized the inevitability of vernacularization movement in China, and they played an active role to promote that movement, a historical fact acknowledged by many modern Chinese writers such as Shen Congwen and Zhou Zuoren.

2016 Vol. 1 (4): 52-59 [Abstract] ( 0 ) HTML (1 KB)  PDF  (0 KB)  ( 0 )
59 Scholars on Common Language for Han Nationality
Lian Yihui
2016 Vol. 1 (4): 59-68 [Abstract] ( 0 ) HTML (1 KB)  PDF  (0 KB)  ( 0 )
69 Language Order in Contemporary World
Wang Chunhui
The world language order is a product of the world political and economic situation. We study the world language order at two levels: (1) the ecological level and (2) the socioeconomic level. The ecological level emphasizes the number of world languages, demographic features of language users, and the situation of language endangerment. The socioeconomic level focuses on the social, economic, and cultural factors. At the ecological level, two trends are observed: on the one hand, about twenty dominant languages are increasingly used more widely, and on the other hand, many languages rapidly become endangered. At the socioeconomic level, world languages are highly diversifi ed with English as a dominant language. In terms of linguistic diversity, a number of languages emerge as powerful regional languages in addition to English, and the notion of multilingualism becomes more popular. Analysis of this world language order is helpful in understanding the relationship between competing notions of “rationality/benefit/trend” and “sensation/respect/nostalgia”, the importance of cultural factors, and the global strategies in language management. This world language order is increasingly unstable and uncertain although the formation and change of this order takes a long period.
2016 Vol. 1 (4): 69-82 [Abstract] ( 0 ) HTML (1 KB)  PDF  (0 KB)  ( 0 )
83 An Economics Approach to Linguistic Landscape: Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand as a Case
Shang Guowen
Linguistic landscape study focuses on the languages/scripts displayed on signage in city space, and the language choice on signs is subject to various factors. Taking language
economics as a perspective, this paper investigates the economic motivations underlying the construction of linguistic landscape in three Southeast Asian countries: Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Characterized by multilingualism and multiculturalism, all of these countries present very different language use patterns on official and private-related linguistic landscape. Specifi cally, government signs are predominantly monolingual, asserting the supremacy of national or official language, whereas commercial signs are mainly bilingual or multilingual signs, often presenting English and the major consumer language(s). This paper uses some key concepts in language economics (e.g. cost and benefi t, effi ciency and justice, supply and demand, use value and instrumental rationality) as an analytic vehicle to expound the economic factors that contribute to the formation of linguistic landscape in these countries. It is argued that the political utility is the major concern in offi cial sectors, while economic payoff is emphasized by private proprietors, and this discrepancy results in the contrast of language use patterns in government and private signs. The analysis in this paper suggests that language economics can provide a useful tool for certain language planning and policy research.
2016 Vol. 1 (4): 83-91 [Abstract] ( 0 ) HTML (1 KB)  PDF  (0 KB)  ( 0 )
92 Expanding Descriptive Perspective and Strengthening the Guiding Role: The Nature and Functions of Dictionary of Global Chinese
Liu Xiaomei
2016 Vol. 1 (4): 92-96 [Abstract] ( 0 ) HTML (1 KB)  PDF  (0 KB)  ( 0 )
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