Language Planning in China 9781614513926, 9781614515586

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Language Planning in China Volume 4

Language Policies and Practices in China

Edited by Li Wei (李嵬)

Volume 4

Li Yuming

Language Planning in China

The Commercial Press

ISBN 978-1-61451-558-6 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-1-61451-392-6 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-1-5015-0039-8 ISSN 2195-9838 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. 6 2015 Walter de Gruyter, Inc., Berlin/Boston and the Commercial Press, Beijing, China Typesetting: RoyalStandard, Hong Kong Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck ♾ Printed on acid-free paper Printed in Germany www.degruyter.com

Preface This book, entitled Language Planning in China, contains 30 papers which were all written when I was holding office of the Director of the Department of Language Information Administration of the Ministry of Education. These papers have demonstrated dual emphasis on theory and practice, when investigating linguistic issues encountered by the Chinese society at the beginning of the 21st century. Most results of the investigation have directly informed language planning activities of China. Going over this book, the reader can basically understand the thinking behind and the progress made by the various language planning endeavours of China in the past decade. Language Life is the theoretical starting point of this book. The notion has attracted more and more attention from the academic world in the past 20 years, and is now much better understood. Language life mainly refers to different kinds of social activities that involve language use, language knowledge and language technologies, as well as the learning and study of them. It is one of the most important social activities of mankind. Thus, it is language life, instead of language per se, that a government should manage. Language life should be the basis of any language planning. Good language planning should not only reflect objectively the reality of language life, but should also guide the development of language life. The basic goal of language planning is to achieve harmony in language life, which should also be regarded as the criterion for evaluating the merits and shortcomings of any language planning endeavour. For the translated version of this book to be published, enormous effort of a whole group of people was called for. Thanks to the Editor-in-chief of the Commercial Press, Dr. Zhou Hongbo, who earnestly planned and drove for the publication of this translated version. Professor Li Wei of the University of London, a distinguished scholar who excels in both English and Chinese language studies, not only helped to line up De Gruyter, but has also provided precious suggestions in the selection of papers. I would like to thank Professor Bernard Spolsky sincerely for the Foreword he wrote, which has added much value to the book. Professor Chan Shui-duen of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University helped to organize a translation team comprising language and linguistic experts who contributed a lot of their precious time out of their busy schedules to translate my works. She also helped to proofread the entire collection, on top of translating a number of papers herself. Dr. Xu Xiaoying, Associate Professor of Beijing Normal University, helped to coordinate the different parties, while the editing work was carefully taken up by Dr. Dai Wenying, Editor of the

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Commercial Press. My colleagues at the Department of Language Information Administration and my peer scholars who regard themselves as the “Language Life party members” have enlightened me with their wisdom and practical experiences. I owe all of them my deepest gratitude! Finally, I would like to give special thanks to De Gruyter. On top of publishing this book, De Gruyter has also entered into an agreement with the Commercial Press to publish the English version of Language Situation in China series and other related works on continuous basis. This has greatly facilitated the understanding of the language planning theory and practices of contemporary China by the rest of the world. Li Yuming 15 August, 2014, Beijing

Translated by CHAN Shui Duen (陈瑞端) Department of Chinese & Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Foreword by Bernard Spolsky “It is language life, instead of language per se, that a government should manage.” —Li Yuming In a footnote in a recent paper on language management in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) (Spolsky, 2014), I predicted that the appearance in English of work by Li Yuming will provide critically important information on the topic. Three volumes of the English version of Language Situation in China, an official annual report by the State Language Commission of China and edited by Li Yuming are now out (Li Yuming and Li Wei, 2013, 2014, 2015) and their description of language management activities confirms this. The present new collection of translation of Li Yuming’s own writing provides more than just information, but by revealing the opinions of a scholar who was long involved in language management in China, forms the basis for an understanding of language management not just in the PRC but wherever it is undertaken. It is therefore a distinct pleasure and honor then to be invited to write the foreword. Li Yuming’s key contribution is made clear in the sentence I have quoted above, a recognition that the language use and users are of more central relevance to the field than the specific language itself. While it is true that Li stresses the importance of a standard variety in allowing the free flow of information, he recognizes the critical value of other varieties, the fāngyán, which he translates as “dialects”, the regional varieties or “topolects” which make up the Chinese linguistic ecology. His recognition of the importance of bilingualism and bidialectalism to a healthy language ecosystem is matched by his repeated call for the addition of international languages to Chinese language capability. In reading his work, one recognizes the full awareness that monolingualism is a limitation, a lesson that many language policy makers could well learn. Li stresses the importance of bilingualism and multilingualism, calling attention to the way in which ethnic minority languages have developed and become part of plurilingual proficiency of multilingual communities. Li lists as the “natural language resources” of China Putonghua, Chinese dialects and characters, minority national languages and dialects and writing, and foreign languages, both spoken and written. He recognizes further that these resources are not fixed, but developing and changing, and that there are important gaps requiring continued research and development. He calls especially for further efforts to raise the status of foreign languages. This open-minded receptiveness to other than the standard dominant language is rare in language activists.

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Of course, given the enormous size of China and the complexity of its ethnic and linguistic patterning, any attempt at language management poses a very serious challenge. One advantage that the PRC had when it started major language reforms was that for 2000 years there had been an effort to build on the existence of the writing system an acceptance of a standard central variety. The success of this endeavor is the popular belief that the topolects are dialects of Chinese rather than distinct language varieties. The other factor supporting PRC language management is the strong authority of the central government, more capable than most of implementing its policy. One thinks of the difficulty faced by a federal system like that of the United States, where one of the key political struggles continues to be that between the central and the state governments. At the same time, strong local loyalty as well as size and complexity work to maintain linguistic diversity even as the efficiency of a dominant standard language is recognized. Another distinctive feature of the Chinese situation is the effect of the writing system in producing the strong sense of nationhood and of having a common language. Having a single system that can be read in the various topolects is enormous support for acceptance of the notion of a common language, which is the meaning of Putonghua. But there are also costs involved, in learning the characters and in using computers. These are met in part by the managed simplification of characters and by the availability of Pinyin as an initial teaching medium and for computer input. There are other interesting special features about the Chinese situation. One that I have not seen widely discussed is the effect of the one-child policy, which one might guess contributes to language stability. When there are larger families, as soon as the oldest child goes to school, younger children too start to be exposed to the influences of community and school language; when there is only one child, presumably parental influence lasts longer. Another is the importance that the political leadership has assigned to language policy. There are similar cases of course in Turkey under Atatürk, Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew, and Malaysia where prime ministers intervened directly in language management. Under the PRC, while language management policy appears to be formulated by commissions and committees made up of linguists, information specialists, educators, and politicians, important decisions are commonly announced by national leaders. At the same time, it is important to note that there are underlying differences of opinion that need to be taken into account and that explain policy changes: such issues as simplification of the writing system, recognition of regional dialects, acceptance of minority varieties, have all led to considerable debate which has resulted in continual modification.

Foreword by Bernard Spolsky

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Another major influence on changes in the linguistic ecology of China has been the mass migration from the countryside with its normal conservatism to urban areas where diversity encourages shift towards a common variety. This process is becoming increasingly common throughout the world and the Chinese example could well be worth studying. This collection of writing by Li Yuming then goes well beyond its topic of Chinese language planning, and could well form the basis for a guide to the field of language management as a whole. It demonstrates clearly what my paper claimed, the sophistication of Chinese language management. Its publication will hopefully help build up a valuable possibility of cooperation between Chinese and Western scholars of language policy and management.

References Spolsky, Bernard. 2014. Language Management in the People’s Republic of China. Language, 90(4), e165–e175. Li, Yuming & Li, Wei (Eds.). 2013. The Language Situation in China (Vol. 1). Berlin and Beijing: De Gruyter Mouton and Commercial Press. Li, Yuming & Li, Wei (Eds.). 2014. The Language Situation in China (Vol. 2). Berlin and Beijing: De Gruyter Mouton and Commercial Press. Li, Yuming & Li, Wei (Eds.). 2015. The Language Situation in China (Vol. 3). Berlin and Beijing: De Gruyter Mouton and Commercial Press.

Table of contents Preface

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Foreword by Bernard Spolsky

Chapter 1 Three major linguistic issues of mankind in contemporary societies Chapter 2 On mother tongue

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Chapter 3 On planning of language function

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Chapter 4 Some considerations on enhancing the national language capability Chapter 5 Language is also a “hard power” Chapter 6 On levels of language life Chapter 7 On field language planning

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Chapter 8 Characteristics of language life in contemporary China Chapter 9 On foreign language planning in China

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Chapter 10 The status of authoritative dialect in language standardization Chapter 11 A supplement to The Status of Authoritative Dialects in Language 175 Standardization Chapter 12 Building up bilingual and bi-dialectical competence

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Chapter 13 On the establishment of Chinese Language Resource Audio Database Chapter 14 Some thoughts on the standardization of lexical items Chapter 15 On terminology

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Chapter 16 Reflection on the modernization of lexicography in China

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Chapter 17 On Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Lüpishu (Green Paper on the Language 263 Situation in China) Chapter 18 Issues of the Chinese language in the information age Chapter 19 Language tasks in the information age

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Chapter 20 The work of language standardization in the information age Chapter 21 Constructing the grand platform of China Character Set Chapter 22 On annotation of language knowledge in the corpus

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Chapter 23 The needs for language learning and teaching Chinese as foreign 357 language Chapter 24 The significance of a study on the history of the international dissemination of 373 Chinese Chapter 25 Contemporary China: the core of international education of the Chinese 379 language

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Chapter 26 The intension and extension of qieyinzi

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Chapter 27 The proposition of universal education in the Qieyinzi Movement Chapter 28 Late Qing script reformers’ view of dialects

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Chapter 29 Late Qing script reformers’ views on language unification

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Chapter 30 Centenary of the promulgation of the state resolution Proposal for Establishing 469 a Common National Language Index

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Three major linguistic issues of mankind in contemporary societies Abstract: In the domain of language planning, many human societies have been involved in the discussion of three major issues since ancient times: language problems, linguistic resources, and language rights. These three major issues will be expounded on in this paper against the backdrop of the language situations in China and the world today. In connection with these issues, topics related to language survey, planning of language functions in the 21st century China, as well as the duties of the State Language Commission will also be discussed. Keywords: language planning, language problems, linguistic resources, language rights

0 Introduction Language problems, linguistic resources, and language rights are the major “linguistic issues” attracting common concern by many human societies, and some of the issues have been discussed since ancient times. Understanding these three major issues is significant for formulating language plans and conducting language works. The United Nations proclaimed 2008 the International Year of Languages, calling for studies and understanding of the linguistic issues that attract most attention in contemporary human societies.

1 Language problems In the past, the main objective of language planning was to resolve various problems that languages brought to society. Language problems consist of three aspects: 1) Language communication across communities; 2) language pressures; and 3) language endangerment. Over the past century, and especially since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a great number of persons with high aspirations have done huge amount of work to resolve language problems in China, making indelible contributions to the construction and

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development of the country. That said, while we enter the new millennium, there are still language problems that need to be resolved by means of focused language planning.

1.1 Language communication Of the many functions of language, the most important and most basic one is undoubtedly to serve as an instrument of communication. Language is, at the same time, also an instrument of thought, a carrier of culture, and one of the symbols of a nation. The forming of a nation’s unified market inevitably requires the unification of a nation’s language. The formation of an international market, in particular the development of an “integrated world economy” during the process of globalization, also calls for timely communication of information on a world scale. However, dialectal divisions and language differences have severely hindered human communication. Substantial amount of work had been done in the promotion of a national common language and for foreign language education by the Chinese people in the 20th century, in order to foster language communication throughout the country. 1)

Defining and popularizing the Han nationality’s common language

Over more than a century, a great deal of work has been done to facilitate language communication, the most important of which was to define the Han nationality’s common language. Three items of work have been performed to define and popularize the common language: a) Active promotion of Putonghua; b) Simplification, sorting, and standardization of Chinese scripts; and c) Formulation and popularization of the Hanyu Pinyin ‘Chinese Phonetic Alphabet’ Scheme1. Today, the Internet has provided us a virtual space in which many of the human sensory experiences are recreated. Influenced by the virtual world, major changes have taken place in our ways of living and thinking. With the Internet 1 On January 10, 1958, Premier Zhou Enlai delivered a report entitled Current Language Reform Tasks at a meeting held by the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. In this report, he pointed out: “The Language reform tasks of our time are: simplification of Chinese characters, promotion of Putonghua, and design and implementation of Hanyu Pinyin.” These three aspects of language work is still in progress up to this day. The simplification of the Chinese characters and the related works includes the sorting and standardization of the characters as well.

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being an invention of the West, Western languages, especially the English language, is therefore predominately used on the Internet. This has, however, resulted in de facto discrimination, both linguistically and technically, against languages other than English, and has marginalized many of them. One of the major tasks of China’s language work in the new era is therefore to accelerate the pace of informatization of the Chinese language, for the purpose of seizing the virtual space. The first law that China enacted in the new century is the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language. This law stipulates Putonghua and the simplified Chinese characters as the standard spoken and written form of the Chinese language. In the wake of China’s economic advances and rising status in the international arena, the Chinese language has also become a language that people from other parts of the world are eager to learn. Since the World Chinese Conference in 2005, the spread of the Chinese language to other countries has been swifter than at any time in the past. The huge demand in learning Chinese should of course be entertained as much as possible. A Singaporean scholar has pointed out that the promotion of the Chinese language is not merely China’s business; it involves the common interests of Chinese all over the world. He even stated that it involves the core interests of Singapore, and he and his colleagues are willing to work together with their Chinese colleagues to spread the Chinese language to the world. There is reason to these statements, and China’s scholars should respond to them both academically and in action. 2)

Enhance foreign language education

Education in foreign languages is another means of facilitating linguistic communication. Education in foreign languages has a long history in China and can be traced back to the Qin and Han dynasties (221 B.C.–220 A.D.). However, foreign language education in the modern sense did not begin until the end of the Qing Dynasty (around 1906). (Gao 2006) With over a century’s development, China has now the largest population of foreign language learners, but encountering problems in both linguistic and technical aspects. In addition, foreign language education also concerns China’s “cultural sovereignty”. Foreign language ability is an important asset that the Chinese people could not afford to relinquish. They should try their very best to learn foreign languages, and learn them properly. The reasons are: a) Without foreign language ability, the Chinese will miss a lot of opportunities in the international arena.

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b) More and more world-class meetings are being held in China, such as the Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai Expo. Providing foreign language services in such kind of international events is a big challenge that China has to face. Moreover, riding on China’s rapid economic development since its opening up, people from different parts of the world are beginning to divert their attention to China in the hope of seeking opportunities and finding jobs in the country. Expatriate communities also begin to emerge in China. For instance, South Korean communities have already taken shape in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shandong. These communities need to be provided with services such as medical and health, education, post and communications, safety and security, and so forth. All of these services involve the use of foreign languages. Foreign language education has therefore been placed on the agenda of the government’s social administration. c) Increasing number of Chinese citizens travel to foreign countries to study and work. Knowledge of foreign languages is one of the attributes required for becoming a “world citizen.” A good many cities in China have begun to teach foreign languages in kindergartens and elementary schools, but China lacks an environment conducive to the learning of foreign languages, and it also does not possess sufficient number of competent foreign language teachers. Many schools adopt foreign languages as the medium of instruction for certain content courses, but often resulted in students performing poorly in both the foreign language and the content courses. (Li 2003) In recent years, China sees a trend of its people obsessed with learning one single foreign language. English seems to be the only choice whenever a foreign language is referred to, and that “connecting with the world” implies “connecting in English.” There are altogether close to two hundred countries and regions in the world, yet many of us know nothing about the languages used in these places. In the old days, our main aim of learning foreign languages was to learn the advanced cultural knowledge of the West. It now appears that such aim is much too simplistic. Well-thought-out plans regarding foreign language provision should be drawn up, by taking into consideration China’s national interests and its future development. Foreign languages, too, are national resources, and introduction of any new language to China can contribute to the building up of the country’s linguistic resources. The United States attached little importance to foreign language education in the past. Such situation is being remedied rapidly under the instruction of the U.S. government. The trend of learning one single foreign language also does not comply with the foreign language strategy for China’s future development. Gradual improvements are being made, but the measures lack vigor and the plans are ineffective.

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1.2 Language pressures Language pressures are first of all manifested by the fact that language translation and language popularization involve huge costs, as do language education and language studies. On the one hand, language education, such as bilingual or trilingual education, requires substantial amount of investment by individuals as well as the society in terms of time, energy and finance. On the other hand, language unification may trigger a series of social conflicts and bring pressure to the society. At the present state, there are three main types of linguistic relationship that require proper handling by China: a) The relationship between the native language and foreign languages. Many people expressed resentment in the preferential policies on foreign languages in areas such as tertiary education opportunities, employment and promotions, and are deeply worried about the future status of the native language. A common negligence of the importance of the native language is also observed. b) The relationship between Putonghua and other Chinese dialects: Some years ago, a number of delegates to local people’s congresses and people’s political consultative conferences held in the southern dialectal regions have expressed their concern on issues related to the use of dialects. Some districts have also proposed slogans for the protection of dialects. c) The relationships among ethnic languages: There are fifty-six ethnicities and a large number of different languages spoken in the vast territories of China. According to the latest studies, there are approximately one hundred twenty or so varieties of ethnic languages in China (the status of some of these languages have yet to be determined). (Sun et al 2007) Ethnic equality is also manifested in the equality of ethnic languages. Harmony in sociolinguistic life would be impossible if these relationships are not handled properly. It may even lead to social and cultural conflicts. The disintegration of the former Soviet Union, the secession of Pakistan, the disputes between the two major linguistic communities (Francophone and Anglophone) in Canada, the many political crises in Belgium and so forth, were all intermingled with language problems. (Zhou 2001; He and Zhou 2010)

1.3 Language endangerment There are around five thousand to six thousand languages in the world today (some people maintain that there exist approximately seven thousand spoken

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languages). The speakers of 96 percent of these languages account for only 4 percent of the world population. It is anticipated that 96 percent of the human languages may die out within this century. The Proposal on Establishment of Foundation for Endangered Languages points out that the world is facing a linguistic disaster of unprecedented proportions and we are at a critical juncture in the human linguistic history. (Xu 2001) In 1995, Endangered Languages Fund (ELF) of the United States also pointed out in its proclamation of establishment that language extinctions run through history, but there have never been largescale extinctions of the kind that we are presently encountering. A large number of endangered languages will extinguish, unrecorded and unremembered, if most of us remain indifferent to such critical situation. Language endangerment is already a major issue of world concern. (Xu 2001) Wurm (1991) points out that the main reasons for the decline and endangerment of languages are: a) the death of speakers of the language(s); b) changes in linguistic ecology (as in the decline of Manchu and Hui languages in China); c) ethnic conquests; and d) voluntary shift for different reasons. The above reasons are of course well justified. Yet we notice that informatization has become a major factor accounting for the extinction of many languages. Digitalization has brought about extreme inequity among languages, and this inequity has caused the speedy decline of increasing number of languages. Many languages and scripts that cannot be used on the Web face the possibility of dying out. China also sees the loss of some of its linguistic resources during this process. Change in living conditions of human beings is definitely an important factor leading to the decline of languages and dialects. The expansion of strong languages also poses threats to some weaker languages. One salient example is the English language which assumes the role of a world language. It is constantly increasing in strength and extent, and has accelerated the demise of many other languages. Many people are not aware of the value of language diversity. Our concern for the diversity of the world in which we live has been earlier and greater than our concern for mankind’s own diversity. Today, many people have awoken to such matters as protecting endangered species and protecting cultural heritages, but not many people show concern for preserving languages that qualify us to be the “human beings” we are. The extinction of languages will mean that many linguistic specimens will be lost irrevocably, the cultural bondage broken, and the historic memories forever gone.

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2 Linguistic resources Languages could generate “problems” that affect social communication and harmony in human relationships. They are at the same time important cultural and economic resources of the human society. In the past, we often focused on problems created by languages and divert our attention mostly to resolving the problems. Nowadays we must place more emphasis on treating languages as resources. If one sees languages as problem that adversely affect social communication and human harmony, one will direct one’s effort toward linguistic unity and shows no concern on the extinction of languages. If one sees languages as important cultural and economic resources, one will make efforts to protect and develop these resources, maintain the diversity of languages, and work hard to rescue endangered languages. (Chen 2008:7–8)

2.1 Languages are linguistic resources Languages are, first and foremost, linguistic resources. First, we should know the characteristics of languages. Every language is a special linguistic specimen with unique features that other languages are unable to replace. For example, the tonal system (the “level,” “rising,” “falling,” and “entering” tones) of the Chinese language and their modifications are rarely encountered in languages elsewhere in the world. The Kazakh language has more than 350 terms for the colors of horses, more than 100 terms to describe a fine steed, and more than 600 terms for other features of horses. Such an amazing phenomenon could hardly be found among non-equestrian peoples. (Jiang 2004: 215) Second, we should know the linguistic history, which can always be reflected in the synchronic situation of the languages concerned. For example, out of ancient Chinese emerged the Yue (Cantonese) dialect(s), the Min (Fujian) dialect(s), the Kejia dialect(s), the Gan (Jiangxi) dialect(s), the Wu (southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang) dialect(s), the Xiang (Hunan) dialect(s), the Guanhua (Mandarin) dialect, and so forth. Also for example, there are fewer tone categories in the northern Chinese dialects than in southern Chinese dialects. The ethnicities lived in northern China were speakers of the Altai language family which contains no tonal features whereas many of the southern ethnicities speak tonal languages with a fairly large number of tone categories. As a consequence of interaction and integration between the Han Chinese people and these ethnic groups, the Han Chinese language came in contact and merged

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with the languages of these ethnic groups, resulting in the northern Chinese dialects having fewer tones than the southern Chinese dialects2. Third, language (and dialectal) contacts can foster language developments. For example, the modern Chinese language, in the course of its developments over the 20th century, has been fairly heavily influenced by such languages as English, Japanese, and Russian in terms of vocabulary and grammar. During the last twenty or more years, Putonghua vocabulary has been influenced by the Yue, Wu, and Beijing dialects. Again for example, the Chinese language lost virtually all of its courtesy terms by the end of the Cultural Revolution, after which the Chinese language has been, and still is, reconstructing its system of courtesy terms. This process of reconstruction is heavily influenced by a number of foreign languages. Languages are constantly developing and evolving, and an important fact in linguistic development is the borrowing of linguistic elements and the selection and carrying forward of traditional elements. Comparisons of different linguistic specimens from different languages can help us reconstruct the history of languages and explore the various circumstances of language contacts.

2.2 Languages are cultural resources Both the spoken and written languages of an ethnicity embody the intellectual qualities of that ethnicity and often become its totemic symbols. Moreover, 80 percent of culture is passed down and retained by means of spoken and written languages. There are more ethnicities in the world that have no written language than those who do. Their cultures are carried on chiefly by means of spoken languages. Examples are ethnic groups in China, such as the Oroqen, Qiang, Dongxiang, Bonan, and She. On 20 May, 2006, the State Council of China approved the first list of state-level non-material cultural heritages containing altogether 519 items, and requested that works in protecting, managing, and rationally utilizing these non-material cultural heritages be conducted properly in accordance with the announcement of the State Council on strengthening cultural heritage protection. Every item on the list – legends, stories, work chants, ballads, traditional operas and so forth – involves both the spoken and written languages. It is worth noticing that the so-called sciences of the modern world failed to either extract or integrate the world knowledge of the various ethnic groups. 2 For detailed discussion on the interaction between the Han language and the Altaic languages, see Aisin Gyoro 2004.

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For example, traditional medicine of the Chinese, Tibetan, Mongolian, and Miao ethnic groups have not been included in the system of medical science. Some countries even regard them as witchcraft! Even the Chinese themselves argue whether these constitute science. Languages contain the genes of human cultural development. Their diversity is just as important as biodiversity. If a language becomes extinct, the cultural genres they contain can never be retrieved again.

2.3 Languages are economic resources One thing not to be ignored is the fact that a number of new linguistic professions and linguistic industries have gradually taken shape in the present era. Languages have now roles to play in the domains of economy and high-end science and technology. They have become important resources for economic development. Examples are the English teaching industry, the language translation industry3, the stenography profession4, computer character-set supply, and the language information processing software industry5. Many people in China are suffering from language disability, such as those suffering from deaf-mutism, stuttering, cleft lip, artificial larynx, aphasia and language development retardation. They all need therapeutic treatment, and a new profession – speech therapist – should be set up. The nature of language as a linguistic resource carrying economic implication will become more prominent as we make more progress in the information era.

2.4 General survey of languages in China Languages, as resources, need to be protected and developed. The “linguistic resource” concept has not found a position anywhere in the Chinese society and there is a lack of basic policy protection. Even academic research in this

3 According to the statistics of the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, the market size of the translation industry in China is around 21 billion RMB in 2005, and the output value of China’s translation market surpassed RMB 30 billion in 2006. 4 The Circular on Printing and Distributing the Seventh Batch of Standards for 14 Professionals (2003, No. 19) issued by the General Office of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, officially stated that stenographers are national professionals, whose status is to be certified by means of training. There are three levels of certification: stenographic clerk, stenographer, and senior stenographer. 5 Master of Engineering programmes in machine translation and language engineering are on offer by the School of Software & Microelectronics of the Peking University.

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area is quite scarce, especially in such aspects as the development and protection of the intellectual rights of electronic language resources. The State Language Commission of China has, in recent years, vigorously appealed for the implementation of a general survey of languages in China. The well-respected linguist Zhou Youguang has also been advocating the same. The purpose of conducting a general survey of languages is to obtain information about the language situation in China, to record and preserve China’s linguistic resources, to exploit these resources, so as to rescue and preserve China’s verbal culture. The State Language Commission began to evaluate the feasibility and validity for the survey in 2007, and started to carry out pilot study in 2008. There have been two major language surveys in the history of the PRC. The first was the 1956 survey of the Han and ethnic minority languages conducted according to the instructions of the State Council. The chief item surveyed was the language structures, with a purpose of facilitating the learning of Putonghua in dialectical and ethnic minority regions and to create writing systems for ethnic groups that lacked written languages. This survey was conducted by seven teams in 1,849 counties. It laid the foundations for our understanding of China’s ethnic minority languages and Chinese dialects. The second one took place in 1999. Eleven ministries and commissions, including the Ministry of Education, jointly conducted the survey on the use of languages and scripts in China. The main concern then was the situations of language use in the country. The survey involved 1,063 counties (cities, districts) nationwide and 470 thousand subjects. (Office of the Survey of Language Use in China 2006) Besides these surveys, many scholars and a number of governmental institutions in China have constantly conducted surveys of smaller scale and studies of present-day languages, playing a substantial role in researching and protecting China’s linguistic resources. The present general language survey should draw upon the good practices of the two previous surveys, to come up with better description of language categories, their distribution, user groups and changes in language use. Such information would be essential for the construction of a permanent multi-media linguistic data bank and for the production of detailed multi-media language maps that can be passed on to our next generations6. Human culture is recorded and transmitted in three forms: 1) that carried by material objects, such as buildings, sculptures, pictures, apparels and accessories, unearthed relics, and so forth; 2) that recorded in written documents; and 3) that contained in oral languages. The first type of culture needs to be interpreted by languages. The latter two types are both borne by language 6 For more on this survey, see Li, 2008b:5–7.

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(including scripts). Clearly, it is virtually impossible to talk about the diversity of culture without involving languages. China has a long-standing tradition of preserving, sorting, and utilizing written documents – a tradition that has always been given importance. In April 2007, the State Council of China issued the Notice on the Third National Survey of Cultural Relics, initiating a state action in the new century for collecting and sorting out cultural artifacts7. However, verbally-carried culture is often overlooked. If the general language survey could be implemented with emphasize also put on the collection of cultural elements, i.e. collection and recording linguistic materials with unique features in various localities by means of structured interviews and/or folksongs compilation, thereby increasing the cultural content of linguistic materials, then the survey could contribute substantially to the construction of an extensive data bank of China’s verbal culture. The significance of which will be profound. Languages and their dialects are precious non-material culture that cannot be renewed or fully replaced when lost. They are the precondition for achieving cultural and linguistic diversity. Setting up a linguistic data bank by conducting a general survey of languages in China would mean setting up a knowledge bank or “gene bank” for Chinese culture. This would be a major and efficacious measure for preserving and exploiting linguistic resources. China is one of the countries in the world with the most abundant linguistic resources. Proper protection of China’s linguistic resources will also mean making contribution to mankind as a whole.

3 Language rights Language rights is an ancient and yet novel topic. It involves a range of contents, yet many of them still have not come up with any conclusion. That said, the right to one’s mother tongue is a right acknowledged worldwide. It includes the right to learn the mother tongue, the right to use the mother tongue, the right to research on the mother tongue (and perhaps the right to give up one’s mother tongue?). In 1999, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated February 21st of every year as “World Mother Language Day.” China, a member state of UNESCO, has begun holding Mother

7 In 1956 and 1981, China conducted two national surveys of cultural relics. The third nationwide general survey of cultural relics started in April 2007 and will conclude in December 2011. It will be carried out in three stages. The standard reference time of the survey is December 30, 2007.

12

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Language Day activities since 2006. Some international organizations are proposing to make learning foreign languages a language right as well. Language rights, including that of the individual and of groups of people, is closely related to the right of citizens of all nations to survive and to develop. To uphold the language rights of all people is of utmost importance. Australia has experienced a grave lesson. From 1910 to 1970, it implemented a policy of assimilation with regard to its aboriginal population and some 100 thousand aboriginal children were forcibly taken from their families by the government to be educated by the white people, causing this “stolen generation” to lose their ethnic language and culture. On 12 February 2008, at the inauguration of the 42nd Australian Parliament, the newly appointed Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, offered an unreserved apology to the aborigines on behalf of the government and Parliament of Australia. Actually a mere apology was insufficient, many aborigines also demanded compensation of their loss. This was a well-known legal case involving deprivation of language rights and cultural rights. The safeguarding of language rights may, in theory and practice, be conducted at two levels: the legislative and the judiciary. The definition of language rights should of course be worked out at the legislative level, whereas the safeguarding of language right ought mostly to be done at the judiciary level. At present, work at the judiciary level should be particularly emphasized. There are many advantages of safeguarding language rights at the judiciary level. Doing so enables the individual’s language rights to receive genuine protection, thus obviates controversies and social unrest that may be triggered by individuals trying to protect their own rights. The Soviet Union resolved language problems basically at the legislative level. Its disintegration was accompanied by language conflicts and language wars. To this day, language wars have yet to end in the regions of the former Soviet Union. (“Language Situation in China” Taskforce 2007: 340–360) The United States, on the other hand, basically resolves language problems at the judicial level. There are fewer language conflicts; the conflicts that took place were of smaller scale and at relatively low level.

4 Building a harmonious language life Taking into consideration the current language situation in China, there are three basic duties of the State Language Commission: a) To ensure a smooth information flow from linguistic perspective, and to support the development of the country’s information industry for safeguarding

Three major linguistic issues of mankind in contemporary societies

13

the interest of the country in all the information domains. Of course, a number of preconditions need to be met to ensure a smooth information flow (including that flow of government decrees and military orders), but language definitely is an important condition since 80% of human information is transmitted through language. b) To safeguard the rights of the citizens of PRC in using the national language in the Chinese territories so as to obtain information and to express their ideas. At present, the most important duty is to protect the rights of Chinese citizens in the use of their mother tongue. For instance, in academic conferences held in China, Chinese scholars should have the right to present their papers in Chinese. Commodities sold in China should have labels and descriptions written in the standard language of China. Telecommunication services should firstly be provided in Putonghua. The national standard language should also be used in all sorts of facilities throughout the country. As for ethnic autonomous regions, language use should be in line with the stipulation of relevant regulations. c) Provide assistance and support to people who show interest in learning and using the Chinese language. On top of promoting the use of the national standard language in the Chinese territories, the State Language Commission also helps ethnic minorities to standardize and informaticise their languages. It is also obliged to provide support to citizens of other countries who wish to learn Chinese, including overseas Chinese and non-Chinese speakers. It should be pointed out that the national language of China is not confined to the spoken and written language of the Han nationality, it also includes the spoken and written language of other ethnicities such as the Mongolian, Tibetan, Uighur, Kazakh, Korean, Yi, Zhuang, and Dai peoples. The internationalization of the Chinese language also means the internationalization of the ethnic languages in the Chinese territories. In other words, China should also have a say in the international education of the ethnic languages. The duties mentioned above do not concern only the “linguistic problems”, but are also related to linguistic resources and language rights. They have demonstrated the characteristics of the language works for China in the era of informatisation and globalization. The fulfillment of these duties, idealized to a certain extent, will have to rely on long-term effort of the entire country. At the present stage, the main objective of the State Language Commission is to build harmonious language life for the Chinese people. (Zhao 2007) The key to achieving such goal is the adoption of a holistic linguistic view that gives dual attention to the unity and diversity of languages at the same time, and

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paying dual attention to linguistic communication needs as well as language preservation needs. We have effectively planned for the use and status of the languages in the past years. On the basis of which, we also need to properly plan for the function of the various languages in use in China. (Li 2008a)

References Asin Gyoro, Yingsheng. 2004. Manyu Zatan (Miscellaneous Insights Regarding the Manchu Language). Beijing: Xueyuan Press. Chen, Zhangtai. 2008. Woguo de Yuyan Ziyuan (China’s Linguistic Resources). Zhengzhou Daoxue Xuebao (Journal of Zhengzhou University), Vol. 1: 7–8. Dai, Qingxia and He, Junfang. 2006. Minzu he Yuyan (2) (Languages and Nationalities, II). Beijing: Central University for Nationalities Press. Gao, Xiaofang. 2006. Wan Qing Yangwu Xuetang de Waiyu Jiaoyu Yanjiu (A Study on Foreign Language Education in Foreign Affairs Schools of the Late Qing Period). Beijing: The Commercial Press. He, Junfang and Zhou, Qingsheng. 2010. Yuyan Chongtu Yanjiu (Studies of Language Conflicts). Beijing, China: Central University of Nationalities Press. Jiang, Chonglun (ed.). 2004. Yili Lishi yu Wenhua (The History and Culture of Yili). Urumchi: Xinjiang People’s Publishing House. “Language Situation in China” Taskforce (ed.). 2007. Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2006 (Language Situation in China: 2006). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Li, Yuming. 2003. Guanyu Zhongxiaoxue “Shuangyu Jiaoxue” de Sikao (Reflection on the “Bilingual Teaching” in the Middle and Primary Schools). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong Zengkan (Supplement of Applied Linguistics). Li, Yuming. 2008a. Yuyan Gongneng Guihua Chuyi (A Discussion of Language Function Planning). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Languistics), 1. Li, Yuming. 2008b. Yuyan Ziyuan Guan ji Zhongguo Yuyan Pucha (Views on Linguistic Resources and China’s General Language Survey). Zhengzhou Daxue Xuebao (Journal of Zhengzhou University), 41: 5–7. Office of the Survey of Language Use in China (ed.). 2006. Zhongguo Yuyan Wenzi Shiyong Qingkuang Diaocha Ziliao (Survey Information on the Language Use in China). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Sun, Hongkai; Hu, Zengyi; and Huang, Xing (eds.). 2007. Zhongguo de Yuyan (The Languages of China). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Wurm, Stephen. 2001. Language Death and Disappearance: Causes and Circumstances. In Zhou Qinsheng (ed.). 2011. Xu, Shixuan. 2001. Binwei Yuyan Yanjiu (A Study of Endangered Languages). Beijing: The Central University of Nationalities Press. Zhao, Qinping. 2007. Jiaqiang Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong Yanjiu, Goujian Hexie de Yuyan Shenghuo (Strengthening Applied Language Studies, Constructing Harmonious Language Life). Applied Linguistics, Vol. 1. Zhou, Enlai. 1958. Dangqian Wenzi Gaige de Renwu (Current Language Reform Tasks). Beijing: People’s Publishing House.

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Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2001. Guowai Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua Jincheng (The Progress of Language Policy and Language Planning in Foreign Countries). Beijing: Language and Culture Press.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 2008, Vol. 4.

Chapter 2

On mother tongue Abstract: The focus of this paper is on the definition of “mother tongue” and a number of related issues. Through investigation of complicated situations such as monolingual speech communities, bilingual societies, bilingual families, language shift and language death, it is concluded that the notion of “mother tongue” should be interpreted alongside the ethnic common language; and dialect should not be regarded as mother tongue but “mother speech”. The notion of “first language” intersects with that of “mother tongue”. The latter is not determined by the order of acquisition, but by linguistic identity of a nation and of an individual. Under special circumstances, there could be cases of “bi-mother-tongue” or loss of mother tongue. Mother tongue should be defined at both personal and national level. One’s right to obtain a mother tongue cannot be deprived, yet any individual or group of people have the right to give up their mother tongue or any other language. It is not necessarily true for one’s mother tongue to be the “natural instrument of thought and communication” or “the natural instrument for self-expression”. Therefore, mother tongue education should not be enforced in a simplistic and mechanical manner, and the choice of language for education should rest with the children’s parents (including their guardians). Keywords: mother tongue, first language, speech community, language shift, loss of mother tongue

0 Introduction 1)

The world’s emphasis on mother tongue issues

Mother tongue plays an essential role in the life development of an individual as well as language maintenance of a group. Therefore, during language planning or policy making processes, how a mother tongue should be treated or handled is always a question that language planners and political leaders have to answer, either directly or indirectly. In 1951, the UNESCO initiated a discussion on the role of mother tongue in education. Experts involved in the discussion came up with the following conclusion in their report: “A student should start his formal education by using his mother tongue”. (UNISCO 1953; Zhou 2001:25)

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In the past 50 years since the release of the UNESCO report, the notion of mother tongue has become a hot topic attracting a lot of attention and discussion in the international arena. Many scholars and international organizations consider that acquiring, using and developing one’s mother tongue is an important human right, and are working hard towards proclaiming a national declaration on human right in linguistic aspect. In October 1987, the International Association for the Development of Intercultural Communication co-organized an international conference on “Human Rights and Cultural Rights” with UNESCO in Recife of Brazil, and the two parties jointly issued The Declaration of Recife. The Declaration suggests that there is “the need to provide explicit legal guarantees for linguistic rights to individuals and groups by the appropriate bodies of the member states of the United Nation”, that “the United Nation [should] adopt and implement a universal declaration of linguistic rights which would require a reformulation of national, regional, and international language policies.” In the preparatory declaration Decision on Language Right, the conference declared that “each child has the right to fully acquire the language of his own community”. Follow-up meetings of the UNESCO conference were held in Paris, Portugal and Pécs in 1989, 1990 and 1991 by the International Federation of Modern Language Teachers (FIPLV). The right to acquire one’s mother tongue was mentioned in the draft Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights issued by the Federation. (Zhou 2001:303–304) The use of mother tongue in elementary education was emphasized again by the 46th International Conference on Education held by the UNESCO in Geneva in September 2001. It was considered that severe hindrance would be caused to learning if non-native language was used in education.1 2)

Traditional explanations of “mother tongue”

It is without doubt that mother tongue issues are of great importance. However, what exactly is “mother tongue”? According to the Modern Chinese Dictionary (5th edition), mother tongue is “a language that is first acquired by an individual. Under general circumstances, it is the standard language or a dialect of his nationality.”2 Mother tongue was also named as the “vernacular language” by the UNESCO in 1951. Both mother tongue and vernacular language refer to the language that 1 For details, please refer to the Secretariat of China UNESCO. (Zhou 2001:32) 2 The term “mother tongue” is a polysemy in Chinese. Its other meaning, according to the Modern Chinese Dictionary (5th edition), is “the original language that gives rise to a number of languages”. This meaning will not be included in the discussion of this paper.

On mother tongue

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is acquired by an individual in early age, and is normally used as the natural instrument of thought and communication. (UNESCO 1953:513) These two explanations reflect how the notion of “mother tongue” is understood in China. For the sake of convenience, we label this as the “traditional explanations of mother tongue”. The embedded meaning of these two explanations can be summarized as follows: i.

Mother tongue is viewed from the perspective of an individual; in other words, mother tongue belongs to an individual. ii. Mother tongue is the first language of an individual. iii. In general circumstances, mother tongue is the language of one’s nationality. iv. Mother tongue can be the standard language of a nationality or one of its dialects. v. Mother tongue normally is the natural instrument of thought and communication. When investigating the above meanings of the traditional explanations, we have the following questions to ask: a.

What is the relationship between one’s mother tongue and his national language? Can a dialect be treated as one’s mother tongue? b. Will people’s first language necessarily be their mother tongue? Is the notion of mother tongue the same as the notion of first language? c. Does mother tongue belong to an individual? d. Under what circumstances is mother tongue the natural instrument of thought and communication? Under what circumstances it is not?

This paper attempts to arrive at a more appropriate definition of “mother tongue”, and provide answers to the above questions, through the analysis of the various complicated issues related to the notion of mother tongue.

1 Language problems of mono-language speech communities 1.1 Language typology According to the Modern Chinese Dictionary, mother tongue “is the standard language or a dialect of a nationality, under general circumstances”. The term “general circumstances” here probably refers to a mono-lingual speech community in which the national language is the first language acquired by the

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Chapter 2

children. In order to investigate how children acquire their native language in a mono-lingual speech community, we need to look at the language situation of such a speech community. It should be pointed out that the notion of standard language is different from the notion of common language of a nationality. A standard language refers to a common language that has undergone relatively high degree of standardization process according to certain defined criteria. It is the high variety of a common language, as represented normally by a standardized written form. Some nationalities may have a common language but may not have a standardized language, such as Salarça ‛撒拉语’ , which is sub-divided internally into the Street vernacular ‛街子土语’ and the Mengda vernacular ‛孟德土语’. Within the Qinghai Province, the Street vernacular is used in Suzhi ‘苏只’, Jiezi ‘街子’ Qingshui ‘清水’, and Baizhuang ‘白庄’ of the Xunhua ‘循化’ County and Gandu ‘甘都’ of the Hualong ‘化隆’ County, with a larger speaking population. The Mengda vernacular is used in areas such as Mengda Da Zhuang ‘孟达大庄’, Muchang ‘木厂’, Tashapo ‘塔沙坡’ of the Xunhua County, with a smaller speaking population. These vernaculars of Salarça are mutually intelligible with not much variation. Even though the Street vernacular is usually identified by the Academia as a representation of Salarça, Salarça has never become a standard language. (Lin 1985; Institute of Ethnology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 2000:262) Owing to the different meanings embedded in these two notions, this article will use the notion “common language” in most cases, while the notion “standard language” will be mentioned only when it is necessary. Based on the different developmental situations of the common language and dialects of a nationality, a language can be further categorized into three basic types as follows: Type

Dialect

Common Language

I II III

− + +

+ − +

Type I: lack of dialectal variation, only a common language exists An example of this type is the Dongxiang language ‘东乡语’, which comprises the Suonanba vernacular ‘锁南坝土语’, Wangjiaji vernacular ‘汪家集土语’ and Sijiaji vernacular ‘四甲集土语’ which are different from each other in terms of certain pronunciation and word use. However, the differences are just minor ones insufficient to quantify dialectal differences. (Liu 1981:1–5) Some Type I languages do not have a standardized variety. Dongxiang is one of them, as

On mother tongue

21

reported by The Institute of Ethnology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. (2000:279) Other similar examples are Salarça, Mulao ‘仫佬语’ and Maonan ‘毛南语’ (Wang and Zheng 1980; Liang 1980) Contrary to the above, some Type I languages have a standardized form, such as Shui ‘水语’, which comprises the Sandong vernacular ‘三洞土语’, Yang’an vernacular ‘阳安土语’ and Pandong vernacular ‘潘洞土语’ which carry no obvious dialectal variation among them. The Shui ‘水书’ is a traditional written form of the Shui nationality, but was only used by wizards for picking auspicious days, summoning spirits, and practicing geomancy. It was not known by ordinary people, thus not considered as the written language of the Shui nationality. (Zhang 1980) By the late 50s of the 20th Century, an alphabetic writing system was devised for Shui, based on the Sandong vernacular of the Sandu Autonomous County as the standard variety. The Institute of Ethnology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2000:107) clearly stated that the Sandong vernacular is the standard variety of Shui. Another example is the Bouyei language ‘布依’. It is sub-divided into three vernaculars, namely Qiannan ‘黔南’, Qianzhong ‘黔中’, and Qianxi ‘黔西’. Yet the differences among the vernaculars are not substantial enough to quantify dialectal differences. The Bouyei did not have a written language in the past. The written form of the Bouyei language was devised in 1956, based on the pronunciation of the Yangchang variety ‘羊场话’, which was taken as the standard pronunciation, spoken in the Longli ‘龙里’ County. Since the alphabetic writing systems devised for Shui and Bouyei have not been widely used, the standard language of these two nationalities have not been developing properly. Theoretically speaking, such kind of situation could also happen in larger speech communities in which a common language has been widely promoted. Type II: dialectal variations exist, but common national language is not yet formed In areas where such language type exists, people normally speak various kinds of dialects, or a foreign language. For example, the Nanai language ‘赫哲语’ is classified into the Qile’en ‘奇勒恩’ and Hezhen ‘赫真’ dialects, and the latter is mainly spoken in Russia. The Nanai language does not have a standardized form or a written form. During the Qing Dynasty, Manchu was once used by the Nanai people. Nowadays, most of the Nanai people living in the Chinese territory adopt spoken and written Chinese as their communication tool, and seldom turn to the Nanai language. (An 1986: 1–2) Another example is the Keno language ‘基诺语’ which can be further categorized into the Youyue ‘攸乐’ dialect and Buyuan ‘补远’ dialect, which are mutually unintelligible. The Keno speakers do not

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have a common language. When speakers of different dialects communicate with each other, they tend to use Chinese3. Other examples include the Hlai ‘黎语’, the Pumi language ‘普米语’, and the Achang language ‘阿昌语’. (Ouyang and Zheng 1980; Lu 1983; Dai and Cui 1985) Certain languages within this type may have a written form for their dialect, which may eventually develop into a standard language. For example, the Yi is a nationality scattered in the provinces of Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangxi, with a population of more than 3 million people. Great differences can be observed among the different dialects of the Yi language ‘彝语’. The dialects can be classified into the northern dialect, the eastern dialect, the southern dialect, the western dialect, the south-eastern dialect and the central dialect. There is not a common language spoken by all the Yi people. A syllabic writing system (named as Cuan Wen ‘爨文’) was once used in the Yi history, but the forms of the writing system used in different areas were not the same. The writing system used in Liangshan resembles the appearance of Chinese Zhuanshu ‘篆书’, while that used in Yunnan and Guizhou appears somewhat between Zhuanshu and Lishu ‘隶书’. Besides, the number of characters is different, and ways of printing commonly used character are also different. Furthermore, the same character may carry different meanings in different dialects. It is obvious that Cuan Wen cannot be regarded as the written form of a common language adopted by the entire nationality, but written forms associated with certain dialects (Chen 1985)4. In 1980, the State Council approved the Writing Scheme of the Sichuan Yi Language, which was only implemented in Sichuan, but cannot be used by the entire nationality. Yet another example is the Miao (Hmong) language ‘苗语’. It can be classified into the Qiandong dialect ‘黔东 方言’, Xiangxi dialect ‘湘西方言’, Chuanqiandian dialect ‘川黔滇方言’, and further classified into sub-dialects and vernaculars. In the 50s of the 20th century when a written form was intended to be designed for the Miao language, an alphabetic writing system for common use of the entire nationality was considered as impossible owing to the serious differences exist among the Miao dialects. As a consequence, new writing systems or revised writing systems had to be devised for the various dialects, resulting in five different kinds of written Miao. They are: the Qiandong Miao ‘黔东苗文’, Xiangxi Miao ‘湘西苗文’, Chuanqiandian Miao ‘川黔滇苗文’, Diandongbei Miao ‘滇东北苗文’ and the 3 Details can be found in Gai (1986) and The Institute of Ethnology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2000: 176). The Government of the Keno area devised an alphabetic writing system for the Keno language, but has not been successful in promoting it for wider usage. 4 Perhaps historically speaking the Yi written form is supra-dialectal, it recorded the common Yi language, if such a common language did exist somewhere in history.

On mother tongue

23

Pollard Miao ‘柏格理苗文’. These written forms have developed to become different standard languages of the various dialects and vernaculars5. Similar cases also include the Thai language ‘傣语’ and the Tujia language ‘土家语’. (The Institute of Ethnology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 2000: 39; Tian 1986) Type III: dialectal variations exist, but there is also a common national language Under this category, there are modern languages that are more influential, such as Modern Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, etc. The classification of language typology is of course only on relative terms. There are regional variations internal to any language. Whether or not such variations constitute dialectal variation is subject to different views. For example, the Institute of Ethnology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2000:282) considers that dialectal variations exist in the Daur language ‘达斡尔语’. They are the Buteha dialect ‘布特哈方言’, the Qiqihaer dialect ‘齐齐哈尔方言’, the Hailar dialect ‘海拉尔方言’, and the Xinjiang dialect ‘新疆方言’. The Daur Common language is formed based on the Buteha dialect, and the Nawen ‘纳文’ pronunciation is taken as the standard. However, Zhong (1982:1) holds a different opinion: “Even though the Daur people are relatively scattered, their language is rather uniformed. There are not many differences in terms of phonology, morphology, and syntax of the language. People living in different areas manage to communicate with each other without much difficulty. Based on available materials, the Duar language can be classified into the Buteha vernacular and the Qiqihaer vernacular.”

1.2 Two situations in the acquisition of language With reference to the above three types of languages, the acquisition of language by a child can be in either one of the following two forms: 1)

The common language of the nationality is acquired. For Type I language, if any sort of vernacular variation is neglected, then a child can only acquire the common language. For Type III language, the common language is likely to be the language a child acquires since his early age. For example, many children living in the cities of China start their language experience with Putonghua. Such kind of phenomenon will become more common following the wider spread of Putonghua.

5 Details can be found in Wang (1985) and The Institute of Ethnology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2000: 66).

24 2)

Chapter 2

A dialect is acquired. For Type II language, owing to the lack of a common national language, the children can only acquire a dialect. This is also the case for Type III language. It is also possible that the children learn a dialect together with a common language.

Following the traditional explanations, in the former situation, what a child acquires is the common language. In the latter situation, what a child acquires is a dialect, or a dialect plus a common language.

1.3 Mother tongue and mother dialect In real life situations, when a speaker of the Hailar dialect of the Daur language is asked about his mother tongue, his answer is likely to be the “Daur language”. When a speaker of the Xiang dialect travels to the United Kingdom and asked by a British what his mother tongue is, this Hunan person will probably say that it is “Chinese”. This is a language identity phenomenon, which is difficult to interpret following the traditional explanations that treat a dialect as mother tongue. In order to give a better explanation to the above phenomenon, we need to distinguish between the words “yu” ‘语’ and “yan” ‘言’. “Yu” means types of language. It refers to the language common to a nationality. It is a word used to describe language at the national level. “Yan” means dialect. It is the regional variety a language. It is a word used to describe language at the sub-cultural community level subsume under a nation. The relationship between Yu and Yan denotes the relationship between a national language and its regional dialects. As “yu” is a constituent morpheme of the word “mother tongue” (which is constructed as “mother language” in Chinese), and “yan” a constituent morpheme of the word “dialect” (which is constructed as “regional dialect” in Chinese), following the distinction between “Yu” and “Yan”, we can further distinguish the notion of “mother tongue” into “mother tongue (language)” and “mother dialect”. When a person’s mother tongue is being discussed, very often it refers to the common national language. When a person’s mother dialect is being discussed, it normally refers to the regional variety of the national language, but it also implies that the mother tongue of that person is the common national language. For example, a child who learns the Xiang dialect since his early age will have Modern Chinese, the common language of the Han nationality, as his mother tongue. This kind of view also applies to the case of the Nanai language, the Keno language, the Yi and the Miao language. Even when the common language of a

On mother tongue

25

nationality has not yet been formed, that nationality has a common language in theory6: Reason 1: when a certain language variety is considered as a dialect of a nationality, that nationality has already had a language type in mind, since “dialect” and “common national language” are inter-dependent notions. Although a common national language may not have its linguistic reality at this stage, it has the psychological reality. Reason 2: when certain conditions are met, a common national language will be formed on the basis of a certain dialect of that nationality. For example, the Zhuang language is classified into the southern and the northern dialects. The southern dialect is further divided into the Yongnan vernacular ‘邕南土话’, Zuojiang vernacular ‘左江土话’, Dejing vernacular ‘德靖土话’’, Yanguang vernacular ‘砚广土话’ and the Wenma vernacular ‘文马土话’. The northern dialect is further divided into the Guibei vernacular ‘桂北土话’, Liujiang vernacular ‘柳江土话’, Hongshuihe vernacular ‘红水河土话’, Yongbei vernacular ‘邕北 土话’, Youjiang vernacular ‘右江土话’, Guibian vernacular ‘桂边土话’, Qiubei vernacular ‘丘北土话’ and the Lianshan vernacular ‘连山土话’. The standard for a Zhuang common language was developed on the basis of the Wuming vernacular ‘武鸣话’ of the northern dialect in the 50s of the 20th Century. An alphabetic writing system based on the common language was also designed. (Institute of Ethnology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 2000:55) Irrespective of the differences among the various Zhuang dialects and communication difficulties experienced by their speakers before the formation of a standard common language, the Zhuang people did recognize that there existed a Zhuang Language, which was regarded as the mother tongue of the Zhuang people both before and after the establishment of the standard. The high developmental stage of a common language is manifested by the presence of a standard derived from the norm of its written form. Without a written form, the spoken form of a common language is difficult to formulate. A spoken common language, if it has been formed without the back-up of a written common language, tends to be under-developed. Therefore, in a speech community where the common language is highly developed, not only is the mother tongue interpreted as the spoken language of the nationality in question, the notion should be extended to include the written language, despite the fact that the written language is often acquired through education.

6 If a nationality has two or more languages, the situation is a totally different one. This paper treats this kind of situation as a problem to be tackled in the future. Details are given in the concluding session of this paper.

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To make a distinction between the mother tongue and the mother dialect is not an academic hair-splitting work. In areas where the dialect is relatively prestigious and the dialect-speaking community enjoys higher degree of independence, the proper address of the mother tongue notion carries significant social meaning. Since mother dialect is subsumed under mother language, and is represented by mother tongue, the so-called right to a mother tongue should be understood as the right to a national language, not to a mother dialect. Mother tongue education advocated in the international arena should be clearly stated as education through the national common language, instead of through a dialect of that nationality. Take Singapore as an example, Chinese (i.e. Putonghua) is the common language of ethnic Chinese (i.e. the Han nationality) in Singapore. It should be regarded as the mother tongue of the Chinese children. In Taiwan, the Southern Min dialect (or the Heluo language) and the Hakka dialect are used to compile teaching materials for school children, subsequent to the promotion of “ethnic education” as proposed by certain people there. It is of course necessary to include local contents and vernacular culture in teaching materials, but the language used in the teaching materials should nonetheless be the common language of the nationality (i.e. the national language used in Taiwan). It is determined by the people’s right to their mother tongue. In Hong Kong, the mother dialect of most citizens is the Yue dialect, while their mother tongue should still be the common language of the Han nationality. Whether to adopt Putonghua or the Yue dialect as the medium of instruction in schools has long been the focus of dispute in Hong Kong. Although a written form of the Yue dialect exists, it is not as fully developed as some people think. Furthermore, the written form that is commonly used in Hong Kong newspapers and textbooks is the written form of the common language of the Han nationality, albeit its inclusion of some local features. The differences between using the Yue dialect and using Putonghua as the medium of instruction are mainly reflected at phonological level, whereas problems at morphological and syntactic level are much secondary. The distinction between mother tongue and mother dialect carries significant meaning as far as the discussion on the mother tongue of Hong Kong people and the adoption of medium of instruction are concerned.

2 Mother tongue problems of bilingual societies and bilingual families The relationship between language and community is a complicated one. The language life and language acquisition phenomena also contain diversified and pluralistic situations. There are loads of problems to be tackled in these areas,

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among them are the problems associated with bilingual societies and bilingual families.

2.1 Bilingual societies Bilingualism (including multilingualism) is practiced by many nationalities over the world, leading to the formation of bilingual (including multilingual) societies. For example, the She nationality ‘畲族’ has a population of 368,000 according to the 1982 statistics. (Mao and Meng 1986:1) The She language was once spoken by several hundred thousands of people in Chinese history. (Institute of Ethnology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 2000: 149–150) However, most She people choose to speak Chinese nowadays. The She language is now only used in few villages in the Huidong ‘惠东’, Haifeng ‘海丰’, Boluo ‘博罗’ and Zengcheng ‘增城’ counties of the Guangdong province. There are currently only 197 monolingual She speakers, and 722 bilinguals who speak She and Chinese. Similar situations can be found in nationalities such as Ozbek, Hoche, Yugurs, Dongs, Bouyei, Xibe, and Tu. Monolinguals can hardly be identified in those nationalities, as their populations comprise mostly bilinguals or multilinguals. (Institute of Ethnology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 2000) A detailed study on the bilingual situations of various nationalities in China was conducted by Zhou Qingsheng (2000). Based on the ratio of bilingual population, bilingualism practiced by the ethnic minorities in China is classified into the following three types: Average bilingualism – more than half of the population are bilinguals. Nationalities of this type include the Ewenki, Daur, Yugur, Jing, Bonan, Zhuang, Salar, Bouyei, Bai, Dongxiang, Naxi, Kirgiz, Mulao, and Jino. 2) Developing bilingualism – around 15%–50% of the population are bilinguals. Nationalities of this type include the Li, Korean, Tu, Qiang, Pumi, Olunchun, Tajik, Loba, Maonan, Hani, Yi, Dai, De’ang, Achang, Jingpo, Uzbek, Yao, Shui, Lahu, Blang, Mongolian, Wa, Miao, Dong, Xibe, Nu, Tatar, Monba and Lisu. 3) Contracting bilingualism – less than 15% of the population are bilinguals. It can further be distinguished into “withering bilingualism” and “sprouting bilingualism”. The former refers to a situation in which the younger generation starts to give up their native language, which is only retained by the older generation, such as the Hoche, Gelao, Tujia, She and Manchu. The latter refers to a situation in which the older generation speaks only their native language, while the younger generation comprises bilinguals, such as the Dulong, Tibetan, Uygur and Kazak.7 1)

7 “withering bilingualism” and “sprouting bilingualism” are rather different in nature. Strictly speaking, they should not be categorized as “contracting bilingualism”.

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In a bilingual society, especially in an average bilingual society and a contracting bilingual society, children normally acquire their languages through three channels: A. Acquire the native language first, then acquire the other language(s) after reaching school age or at youth time; B. Acquire two or more languages at the same time; C. Acquire only the foreign language(s) instead of one’s own native language. The mother tongue of category A children is their native language. The mother tongue of category B children, according to the traditional explanations mentioned above, will then be their native language as well as the foreign language. This implication is obviously improper. For example the She children living in the villages of the four counties in the Guangdong province acquire both Chinese and the She language since their early age, while some of them only speak Chinese. But in the eyes of both the She nationality and the Chinese, the mother tongue of those She children is the She language and nothing else. It is evidenced that mother tongue refers to the national language, instead of the language that is first acquired by a child. The mother tongue problem of category C children shall be discussed under section 3 below.

2.2 Bilingual families and bi-mother-tongue There also exists a phenomenon that can be called “bi-mother-tongue” (including “multi-mother-tongue”). Such a phenomenon is likely to appear in bilingual (including multilingual) families. In societies inhabited by several nationalities, or when immigrants make up a large proportion of the population, mixed marriages often result in the formation of bilingual (including multilingual) families. As population movement becomes more intensified in many parts of the world, the amount of bilingual families is bound to increase. In bilingual families, the children are likely to attain bilingual proficiency naturally. The case of Elaine, a four-year-old girl living in Toronto of Canada, was reported by Guangming Daily on 21 June 2002. The mother tongue of Elaine’s mother is Chinese, and that of her father is Spanish. Her parents communicate with each other in English. According to the language education plan of her family, her mother speaks to her in Chinese, and her father in Spanish. Elaine first acquires Chinese and Spanish. At the age of three, she also manages to speak English. She talks to her mother and her maternal relatives in Chinese,

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talks to her father and her paternal relatives in Spanish, and to her own friends in English. For bilingual (including multilingual) children like Elaine, the identification of their mother tongue will be determined by the national identity they adhere to in the eyes of their parents, the societies they live in, or by the national identity they associate themselves with. If they associate themselves with their father’s national identity, then their father’s language will be their mother tongue; if they associate themselves with their mother’s national identity, then their mother’s language will be their mother tongue. Under such circumstances, the children will have only one mother tongue. But it is entirely possible for the following scenario to take place: the parents of the children or the societies they live in cannot determine the national identity of the children, and the children themselves do not have a clear preference on choosing either the father’s nationality or the mother’s nationality. Consequently, both the parents’ languages are regarded as the mother tongue of the children. Elaine is possibly a bi-mothertongue (or tri-mother-tongue) acquirer. In their work Linguistic Human Rights, past and present, Skutnabb-Kangas and Phillipson (1994:307) point out that certain people can have two or more mother tongues, and that the term “mother tongue” in their paper should be interpreted as “one or several mother tongues”. The bi-mother-tongue phenomenon again shows that “mother tongue” is a notion to be understood at national level, and should not be taken as equivalent to a language that is first acquired.

3 Loss of mother tongue “Loss of mother tongue” refers to a situation in which a mother tongue cannot be acquired or used. This could be the result of some external force, leading to “expropriation of mother tongue”. Loss of mother tongue exists in different dimensions of people’s social life. For example, the Chinese language was banned in Taiwan and Taiwanese children were forbidden to receive mother-tongue education when Taiwan was put under the Japanese rule after the First SinoJapanese War. (Hirataka 1992) The Brazilian sociolinguist Eduardo HernándezCháves points out in a paper that genocidal policy against local Indians was once implemented by the American government. While the adults were being massacred, the Indian children were sent to boarding schools for the purpose of language and cultural assimilation. The children were severely punished if they used their native language in the boarding schools. (Hernández-Chávez 1994:147)

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3.1 Individual loss of mother tongue The discussion on loss of mother tongue in this paper shall confine to the dimension of language acquisition at the young age only. As far as this dimension is concerned, loss of mother tongue can be classified into two main categories: individual loss and collective loss. We shall look at individual loss first. Individual loss of mother tongue refers to a situation in which the mother tongue of a child is still being used by the speech community he belongs to, but the child fails to acquire his mother tongue owing to various reasons, or fails to acquire his mother tongue as the first language he learns. Reasons accounting for such phenomenon include: 1)

The child is raised by people of other nationality, and the care-taker/adopter is unable or unwilling to provide the child with a mother-tongue learning environment. 2) The child is grows up in an orphanage or charity organization, which is unable or unwilling to provide the child with a mother-tongue learning environment. 3) The parents or guardian of a child do not allow the child to acquire his mother tongue owing to external pressure or because of the adoption of certain language attitudes. 4) A language assimilation policy is being implemented by the government or other social organizations, depriving a child of the right and opportunity to learn his mother-tongue. The nature of each of the above reasons differs from one another. Reasons 1, 2 and 4 can all be considered as an inhuman act since they all constitute deprivation of the right of a child to a mother tongue. But it should be more acceptable if a mother tongue learning environment is not provided simply because the ability of the adopter or social organizations falls short of their wishes, even though more favourable conditions should be created as far as possible.8 When the parents or the guardian do not allow a child to acquire his mother tongue owing to their language attitude, this is regarded as abandon of mother tongue on voluntary basis and should therefore be accepted.

3.2 Language shift Collective loss of mother tongue is often caused by language shift or language death taken place in a speech community, leaving no channel for a child to acquire his mother tongue. 8 It is reported that some foster parents in America accompanied the Chinese orphans they adopted to attend local Chinese schools. Their spirit is worth esteemed.

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Language shift refers to a situation where a speech community abandons its own language and adopts another language. For example, the Manchurians used to speak Manchu as their native language. However, most Manchurians have given up their own language and speak Chinese after few hundred years of close contact with the Han nationality. Manchu-speakers, mostly elders over seventy years old, now amount to only 0.01% of the Manchu population, scattering in villages or small towns in the Heilongjiang province, such as the Sanjiazi ‘三家子’ village of the Fuyu ‘富裕’ county, Yibuqi ‘依布气’ village of the Tailai ‘泰来’ county, Aihui ‘爱辉’ town, Da Wujiazi ‘大五家子’, Lanqi ‘蓝旗’ village, and Kalunshan ‘卡伦山’ of the Heihe ‘黑河’ city, and Sijitun ‘四季屯’ of the Sunwu ‘孙吴’ county etc. Language shift of the Manchurians has basically completed. Nationalities associated with “contracted bilingualism” as mentioned by Zhou Qingsheng (2000) are mostly nationalities that are having or about to have language shift. The native languages that these nationalities originally speak are mostly endangered languages.9 In nationalities where language shifts are taking place or about to take place, the children of those nationalities normally do not acquire their native languages any more. A foreign language is learnt instead, and unless there are special needs, they will never learn their native languages again. For instance, the majority of Manchu children learn Chinese since childhood. They normally do not learn Manchu, and will never do in the future.

3.3 Language death Language death refers to the extinction of a language after being left unused for a long time. The reasons causing the death of a language include: 1) 2)

A language shift takes place for the entire nation; The extermination of a nation by genocidal policies exercised by a stronger community or by natural calamities such as war, famine, disease and flood;

9 Li (1997) points out that some vernaculars of the Chinese language and some minority languages are withering away during the process of constant language contact. The implementation of urgent measures to rescue these endangered languages and vernaculars demands immediate attention. Unlike other objects, a language, once disappears, cannot be restored or duplicated. Language loss will also result in the loss or “fossilization” of the culture and subculture embodied in it. At present, more and more people are conscious of the importance and urgency of environmental protection, species protection, water and soil conservation, and preservation of cultural relics. The resources and efforts spent in the promotion and protection procedures are greater than before. Regrettably, much fewer people are aware of the importance and urgency of language protection.

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3) Expelling of subjects of a nation out of their own territories, making the preservation of their national language impossible. Some of the languages totally disappeared from the world after their death, some exist in traces, while others are preserved in written form to be used only in special occasions such as religious ceremonies. Hebrew is a good illustrative example: Hebrew was no longer used for daily communication since 200A.D. after the Jews were expelled from their country. It was only used in the form of a written language for composing prayers and for holy book study, sometimes for composing legal, scientific, philosophy writings or folk literature. It was not until the 80s of the 19th century that Hebrew was reborn when Eliezer Ben-Yehuda advocated the revival of this language. In a long history lasted for 1,700 years, Hebrew was a dead language since the Jews scattered in different parts of the world spoke different languages. (Cooper 1985) During that 1,700 years, Jewish children acquired other languages instead of Hebrew.

3.4 Linguistic identity For children who have lost their mother tongue, is there a mother tongue for them? If a language that the children acquired since their childhood is considered as their mother tongue, the revival of Hebrew would be hard to explain. In the past century, the Jews have made unremitting efforts in reviving their native language and gained final success. To explain such a phenomenon, the notion of linguistic identity is employed. Linguistic identity means that the parents of a child identify a certain language as the mother tongue of the child, or that the child identifies a certain language to be his mother tongue when he reaches a certain age. Mother tongue identity is the same as native language identity. In the above examples, if the Manchurian children and the Jewish children treated Manchu and Hebrew as their mother tongue respectively, and their first acquired languages were not their mother tongue, it would then result in the loss of their mother tongue. People would inevitably strive for the right to their mother tongue owing to the affection attached to their mother tongue. This was precisely the driving force behind the language movement initiated by the Jews. This also explains why forced assimilation policy always results in desperate struggles from the suppressed nationalities. It is without doubt that some parents or children hold other views and treat the first language of the children as their mother tongue. By considering the lan-

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guage first acquired by the children as the national language, they are building up new kinds of linguistic identification with the language that has been shifted or the language that the nation is currently using. In either case, the notion of “mother tongue” turns out to be an ethnological notion rather than a linguistic one. The fact that loss of mother tongue do happen strongly suggests that “first language” and “mother tongue” are two different notions. While first language implies the order of acquisition, mother tongue is not entirely a matter of acquisition order, although the objects that they signified intersect or even overlap quite substantially under general circumstances. After all, first language is a linguistic concept while mother tongue has more to do with ethnological problems. Loss of mother tongue, together with other phenomena discussed above, also suggest that mother tongue does not belong to an individual, but belong to a nation. It is because, firstly, mother tongue needs to be identified with the national language. It was named as the “vernacular language” by the UNESCO in 1951. Secondly, the national language that has the flesh-and-blood ties with a nation is often considered as the mother tongue of that nation. For example, Chinese is the mother tongue of the Han nationality, Russian is the mother tongue of the Russians, etc. The preservation of a national language or the mother tongue of a nation relies on the acquisition of that mother tongue from generation to generation. Therefore, the acquisition of mother tongue is the basic human right of an individual, as well as the human right of a nation, which cannot be deprived of, unless an individual or a nation gives up their mother tongue voluntarily.

4 Concluding remarks 1)

2)

Mother tongue is an ethnological notion that reflects the ethno-cultural identity or loyalty of an individual or members of a nation in regard to their national language. Mother tongue refers directly to the common language of the nation, but not the regional variety of the common language. Dialects can only be named as mother dialect, instead of being treated as mother tongue. Mother tongue belongs both to an individual and to a nation. No one can be deprived of the right to a mother tongue, but any individual or group has the right to give up their mother tongue. First language and mother tongue are two different notions. A first language can or cannot be a mother tongue, which is not determined by the order of acquisition. Neither is it defined by the acquisition or otherwise of the native language. It is possible for the phenomenon of bi-mother-tongue to exist in

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bilingual families. It is also possible to have a loss of mother tongue in situations of language shift, language death or in other special circumstances. 3) The first language is usually the “natural instrument of thought and communication”, or the “natural instrument for self-expression”. However, this is not the case for any individual who has lost his mother tongue, or whose first language turns out to be a language other than his mother tongue. For a bilingual or multilingual, the two or more languages that he acquires can all become his “natural instrument of thought and communication” or his “natural instrument for self-expression”. Therefore, it is not appropriate to promote mother tongue education in a broad manner. The choice of medium of instruction shall rest with the parents (including guardians) of the children or with the nation. Any emphasis on mother tongue education in simplistic and mechanical way should be avoided. Two outstanding issues Issue 1, nationalities without a national language. Certain nationalities adopt the language(s) of other nationalities ever since their formation. For example the ancestors of the Hui nationality started to migrate to China from Arabia and Prussia since mid-7th century. Some 500 year later when the Mongolians conquered Central Asia, a large number of Muslim artisans and merchants also moved to China, constituting the main body of the ancient Hui nationality. Most members of this ancient Hui nationality spoke Arabian and Prussian when they first moved to China. A smaller number spoke Uighur. During the process of its formation, the Hui nationality gradually adopted Chinese as their common language, which then becomes a language spoken by the entire nation. What is the mother tone of this nation then? Is it the Hui language? But a Hui language does not exist that is different from Chinese, since the ancestors of the Hui nationality had their own native tongue and did not have a uniform language. The question that follows will then be: is Chinese the mother tongue of the Hui nationality? Issue 2, some nationalities have more than one national languages. For instance, the Yao has three national languages, namely the Mian language, the Bunu language and the Lajia language. The Jingpo nationality has the Jingpo language and the Zaiwa language as their national language. The Monba nationality has Cangluo Mamba and Cona Manba as their national languages. The Yugurs have Western Yugur and Eastern Yugur as their national languages. (Zhou 2000; Ma 1981) These nationalities have not developed a common national language. Instead, the two or more languages are used by members of the nation who belong to different branches or live in different areas. The dif-

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ferent languages used by a nation can differ from each other quite substantially at times. For example, Western Yugur belongs to Altaic Turkic family while Eastern Yugur belongs to the Altaic Mongolian family. Although both the Jingpo language and Zaiwa language belong to the Tibeto-Burman family of the SinoTibetan system, the Jingpo language belongs to the Jingpo branch while the Zaiwa language belongs to the Myanmar branch. The three languages of the Yao nationality all belong to the Sino-Tibetan system, but the Mian language belongs to the Yao branch of the Miao-Yao family, the Bunu language belongs to the Miao branch of the Miao-Yao family, the Lajia language belongs to the Shui branch of the Zhuang-Dong family. This kind of bilingualism or multilingualism differs from ordinary kind of bilingualism or multilingualism in that the languages concerned are all national languages, instead of a single national language plus a foreign language as seen in many other cases. What is worth noticing is that the co-existence of two or more national languages is not a rare phenomenon. Zhou (2000:98) points out that more than 80 languages are spoken by the 56 nationalities in China. As recorded in the 1979 census, there are 101 nationalities in Russia, and 130 languages are spoken. There are altogether 2,000 nationalities in the world, and the total number of languages used amounts to 5,000 to 6,000.10 In nationalities of this kind, what will be the mother tongue of the children? To provide an answer to the above questions, we shall perhaps consider the linguistic identity that these nationalities associate themselves with.

References An, Jun. 1986. Hezheyu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of Hezhen Language). Nationalities Publishing House. Chen, Shilin, et. al. 1985. Yiyu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of the Yi Language). Nationalities Publishing House. Chinese National Commission for UNESCO Secretariat (ed.). 2001. Woguo Canjia Lianheguo Jiaokewen Zuzhi Zhongyao Huodong Wenjian Huibian (A Collection of Documents on Important UNESCO Events Participated by China). Cooper, Robert L. 1984. A Framework for the Description of Language Spread: the Case of Modern Hebrew. International Social Science Journal, Vol. 36, No. 1, 1984, pp. 87–112. Chinese translation in International Social Science Journal (Chinese version), Vol. 2, No. 4, 1985.

10 Despite the fact that the number of nationalities and languages used in China, Russian and the whole world are recorded differently in different literatures, the number of nationalities being less than the number of languages is an undeniable fact.

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Dai, Qingxia and Cui, Zhichao. 1985. Achangyu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of the Achang Language). Nationalities Publishing House. Dictionary Compilation Office of the Institute of Linguistics of the Academy of Social Sciences. 1997. Modern Chinese Dictionary (Amended version). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Gai, Xingzhi. 1986. Jinuoyu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of the Keno Language). Nationalities Publishing House. Hernández-Chávez, Eduardo. 1994. Language Policy in the United States: A History of Cultural Genocide. Chinese translation in Zhou (ed.). 2001. Hirataka, Fumiya. 1992. “Riben de Yuyan Chuanbo Zhengce (Language Dissemination Policies in Japan)”. Chinese translation in Zhou (ed.). 2001. Institute of Ethnology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 2000. Report on World Languages (China). Li, Yuming. 1997. Yuyan Baohu Chuyi (My Humble Opinion on Language Protection). In Shenzhen Language Institute (ed.). Bilingualism and Bi-dialectism V. Sinology Press. Liang, Min. 1980. Maonanyu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of the Maonan Language). Nationalities Publishing House. Lin, Lianyun. 1985. Salayu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of the Sarah Language). Nationalities Publishing House. Liu, Zhaoxiong. 1981. Dongxiangyu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of the Dongxiang Language). Nationalities Publishing House. Lu, Shaozun. 1983. Pumiyu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of the Pumi Language). Nationalities Publishing House. Ma, Xueliang (ed.). 1981. Yuyanxue Gailun (An Introduction to Linguistics). The Central Institute of Technology Press. Mao, Zongwu and Meng, Chaoji. 1982. Yaozu Yuyan Jian Zhi (A Brief History of the Languages of the Yao Nationality). Nationalities Publishing House. Mao, Zongwu and Meng, Chaoji. 1986. Sheyu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of the She Language). Nationalities Publishing House. Ouyang, Jueya and Zheng, Yiqing. 1980. Liyu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of the Li Language). Nationalities Publishing House. Skutnabb-Kangas, T. and Phillipson, R. 1994. History and Present Situation of Linguistic Human Rights. Chinese translation in Zhou (ed.). 2001. Tian, Desheng, et. al. 1986. Tujiayu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of the Tujia Language). Nationalities Publishing House. UNESCO. 1953. The Use of Vernacular Language in Education. Chinese translation in Zhou (ed.). 2001. Wang, Fushi. 1985. Miaoyu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of Hmong Language). Nationalities Publishing House. Wang, Jun and Zheng, Guoqiao. 1980. Mulaoyu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of the Mulao Language). Nationalities Publishing House. Zhang, Junru. 1980. Shuiyu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of the Shui Language). Nationalities Publishing House. Zhong, Suchun. 1982. Dawoeryu Jian Zhi (A Brief History of the Daur Language). Nationalities Publishing House.

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Zhou, Qingsheng. 2000. Yuyan yu Renlei (Language and Mankind). Central University for Nationalities Publishing House. Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2001. Guowai Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua Jiaocheng (A Course Book on Foreign Language Policy and Language Planning). Language and Culture Press.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Chinese Teaching in the World, 2001, Vol. 1. Translated by CHAN Shui Duen (陈瑞端) Department of Chinese & Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Chapter 3

On planning of language function1 Abstract: Traditionally language planning is classified into two types: status planning and corpus planning. This paper suggests that planning on language functions should also be conducted, on the basis of the other two kinds of language planning. The content of this latter kind of language planning is to plan for the roles of language at various functional domains. In other words, to plan for the value and roles of various language forms identified at different functional domains. In this paper, functions of language are classified into 8 domains, namely national, official, education, mass media, public services, public communication, culture, and daily communication. Accordingly, language forms are classified into 5 categories, which include national common language and writing, languages of ethnic minorities, Chinese dialects, foreign languages and the traditional Chinese characters. The role of these 5 types of language forms in the 8 functional domains is discussed, and a table for planning the functions of language is proposed. Keywords: language phenomenon, language function, language function planning

0 Introduction Language planning refers to the interference, adjustment, and management of language situations and language itself by the government or by academic authorities, often for achieving specific purposes. Language planning is generally classified into two types: 1. status planning, which determines the social status of the language (including its script) and its varieties, and the allocation of functions for these varieties; and 2. corpus planning, which includes the reformation, standardization, and refinement of the spoken and written language(s), as well as the development of a writing system for unwritten languages and the development of phonetic transcription systems for certain written languages. Both types of language planning are related to functions of the languages concerned, as well as the planning of language functions. However, these kinds of planning

1 This paper is the revised version of a report delivered at the “2008 National Working Conference on Language” on 28 February 2008.

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are often careless, unsystematic, and implicit. It is therefore necessary to introduce planning with regard to language functions. Language function planning is an integration and extension of language status planning and language corpus planning, bringing in new perspectives and development to language planning, while at the same time, supplementing and enriching status planning and corpus planning.

1 Functional domain of language Language function refers to the role a language plays in social life. Social life can be divided into different domains, following certain general habits commonly found in different areas and countries, albeit in the absence of specific classification criterion. The general habits can be observed via the classification of occupations and the establishment of administrative departments for the different professions. The different domains of social life can be combined into a larger area, or be divided into more specific categories. This also applies to language functional domains. Based on the language situation and experience of language planning in China, language functions can be classified into the following eight domains: 1)

National language

The term “national language” (Guoyu) refers to a language that can represent a nation. The emergence of the notion of Guoyu (national language) in China can be traced back to the late Qing Dynasty. After the “National Language Movement” (Guoyu Yundong), the standards for a national language were gradually formed. The People’s Republic of China has not stipulated a national language, but has adopted the concept of Putonghua (the ‘Common Language’). In 2000, Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Guojia Tongyong Yuyan Wenzifa (ZRGGTYW, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language)2 was passed, and ordained that the common spoken and written language for China are represented by Putonghua and standard Chinese characters. Putonghua then possesses the status of a national language, and functions as such. Similarly, the standard Chinese characters possess the status of the national scripts, and function as such. There are countries around the

2 The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language was passed on 31 October 2000, at the 9th meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, and was implemented on 1 January 2001.

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world that do not stipulate a national language, such as the United States of America; whereas in some other countries, there are two or more national languages, such as Canada, Switzerland, and Belgium. 2)

Official language

An official language is a language that is used in central and regional government organizations as a working language (including the written language). As stipulated in the ZRGGTYW, the official language of China is Putonghua (so as the standard Chinese characters). However, in actual daily communication, Chinese dialects, and dialect-accented Putonghua are widely used. A Policy of Equality of Nationalities has been implemented in China. As stated in Article 4, Section 4 of Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Xianfa (ZRGX, The Constitution of The People’s Republic of China)3, each nationality has the freedom to use and develop its own language and writing system. It is further stated in Article 121 that self-governing bodies in autonomous regions can use one or more local common language(s) and their related writing system as stipulated in the regulations of those autonomous regions when executing their duties. Such common languages used in autonomous regions are also official working languages. For instance, in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Mongolian and Putonghua are both official working languages; whereas in Daur, Ewenki and Oroqen Autonomous County, apart from Mongolian and Putonghua, the Daur, Ewenki and Oroqen languages are also official languages. In important meetings such as the meetings of the National People’s Congress, and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, official languages also include the Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur, Kazak, Korean, Li and Zhuang languages. These languages, both written and spoken, possess the characteristics of official languages at national level. Very often, official language and national language overlap with each other. In many countries, the national language is also the official language. But it is not uncommon around the world that the official language happens to be different from, or even far apart from the national language. For example, in Singapore, 3 The Constitution of The People’s Republic of China was passed at the 5th meeting of the 5th National People’s Congress held on 4 December 1982. Four revisions were made afterwards: The Revised Version of the Constitution of The People’s Republic of China passed at the 1st meeting of the 8th National People’s Congress held on 12th April 1988, The Revised Version of the Constitution of The People’s Republic of China passed at the 1st meeting of the 8th National People’s Congress held on 29th March 1993, The Revised Version of the Constitution of The People’s Republic of China passed at the 2nd meeting of the 9th National People’s Congress held on 15th March 1999, and The Revised Version of the Constitution of The People’s Republic of China passed at the 2nd meeting of the 10th National People’s Congress held in 2004.

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Malay is the national language, whereas English is the official language. In India, Hindi is the national language; whereas English is an official working language (it is still not clear whether Hindi is the nominal or actual official working language). There are also some other official languages used in other states of India. English and French are national languages of Canada. At the national level and in English-speaking areas, these two languages also assume the role of official languages. However, only French is used as the official language in French-speaking areas in Quebec, whereas the use of English in daily life is rather restricted. 3) Education Education is a very important functional domain. Many countries have clear stipulation in the use of language in education, especially the language used in textbooks, lectures and examinations. The national common language is used as the language in education in China, whereas in areas inhibited by ethnic minorities, bilingual education is advocated for cultivation of proficiency in both Chinese and the minority languages among learners. Different models of bilingual education are adopted in the minority areas, depending on the developmental stage of the minority languages and the language situation in those areas. Foreign languages may be taught in school as separate subjects, but not as official medium of instruction (MOI). However, it is not rare for some educational departments to use foreign languages as their MOI, a phenomenon that needs to be addressed and investigated further. 4) Mass media The mass media can be classified into printed media, audiovisual media4 and net-based media, which has become an inseparable and vigorous aspect of our language life. The mass media plays an important role in spreading a nation’s common language, newly created writing styles, and new words, among others5. Language function in such a domain is very powerful, and therefore attracts much attention from language planners. While the national common language is used in the broadcasting media over the country, minority languages and writing systems are also used in minority-inhibited areas. Besides, small amount of Chinese dialects, traditional Chinese characters and foreign languages are sometimes used in the mass media. Net-based media is a new type of media with its language use similar to that used in the printed media and the audiovisual media, even though it has its own unique characteristics. 4 Audiovisual media is also called sound media. 5 Regarding the impact the mass media has on language, see detailed elaboration in Li (2002).

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5)

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Public services

When government departments, industries and the service sectors provide services to the society, language is usually the service agent. Theoretically speaking, the language used in public services should be the language commonly used by the customers, and the diversity in customer groups will result in the diversity of language use. For services that target at more general type of customers, such as making airport announcements, road signs, product instructions, museum commentaries etc., the national common language should be used. Languages and scripts of the ethnic minorities should also be used in autonomous regions alongside the national common language. 6) Public communication Within the country, the national common language is used in most cases of public communication. In minority areas and dialect regions, minority languages and Chinese dialects are also used, depending on actual situations. 7)

Culture

Culture represents the spiritual identity of a nation. An important path for contemporary culture to prosper is to inherit the traditional culture, learn from foreign cultures, and develop a modern culture. Each language and the related dialects6 have a certain kind of function to play during this process of inheriting, learning and developing. 8) Daily communication (including in-family communication) People normally use a language that is most natural to them for daily communication. The current situation is that various Chinese dialects and minority languages are used as the main means for everyday interactions, whereas there is also the use of Putonghua with various accents. Some families possibly also use foreign languages.

2 Forms of language In this paper, language forms refer to the form (spoken/written) of a language and its varieties take. China is one of the countries that have rich tradition of language representations. Five such forms will be addressed as follows:

6 This also including foreign languages.

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A. Putonghua and standardized Chinese characters The ZRGX and the ZRGGTYW both stipulate that Putonghua and standard Chinese characters are the language forms to be used throughout China. Putonghua and standard Chinese characters are widely promoted in China, and they play an essential role in domains including the public affairs, education, mass media, public services, and public communication. The acquisition and use of the national common language and its scripts concern the right of Chinese citizens in terms of personal survival and development, and is the most basic language right of each Chinese citizen. B. Minority languages Minorities are important constituents and inseparable members of the Chinese nation. Basic concepts such as national and linguistic equality are clearly presented in a series of laws and regulations in China, such as the ZRGX and the Zhonghua Remin Gongheguo Minzu Quyu Zizhifa (ZRGMQZ, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Ethnic Regional Autonomy)7. Data show that until the end of 2006, 276 articles and rules dealing with minority languages and their writing systems have been issued at the national and regional levels, with 83 articles and rules belonging to the national level, and 193 the regional level (including provinces, districts, and counties)8. These articles and rules are stipulated to protect the language rights of the ethnic minorities in every aspect. More than 80 minority languages are believed to be spoken in China9. According to current researches, the number, however, should be over one hundred. There are great differences among the minority languages in terms of the speaking population, some have more than million speakers, whereas others are left with no more than a dozen. Some minority groups have a common language and no dialects, whereas others speak different dialects but do not share a common language. Some minority languages have a traditional written form preserved in rich collection of literature, others have modern written forms with not much literary writings to record them. There are yet others that simply

7 The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Ethnic Regional Autonomy was passed at the 2nd meeting of the 6th National People’s Congress on 31st May 1984. It was revised at the 20th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 9th National People’s Congress on 28th February 2001. 8 See Propaganda Department, State Ethnic Affairs Commission Minzu Yuwen Zhengce Fagui Huibian (A Collection of National language Policies and Regulations), and Department of Language Planning and Administration Xin Shiqi Yuyan Wenzi Fagui Zhengce Wenjian Huibian (A Collection of Policies and Regulations on Language in the New Era). 9 There are only 63 minority languages as listed in the Encyclopedia of China (Language and Script) published by the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, 1988 edition.

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operate in spoken form, and those that used to have a written language now no longer existed. Some minority languages are full of vitality, others endangered10. Minority languages are valuable cultural resources of China and enjoy equal rights under legal terms. However, their functions in daily life are widely divergent. Mongolian, Tibetan, the Uygur language, Kazak language, Korean, Yi and Zhuang languages all play vital role in important national political events, and function as major languages in the respective autonomous regions. Some other minority languages are only used in daily communication, very often restricted to only family domain. Therefore, the planning of national languages (and scripts) should be administered in a progressive manner, by taking into full consideration the way of classification, the actual situations, as well as the practicality of the planning processes. C. Chinese dialects China is famous for its wealth of Chinese dialects. The Chinese language has about 10 major dialects, and countless small dialects. On 6th February 1956, the State Council issued an instruction entitled Guanyu Tuiguang Putonghua de Zhishi (GTPZ, Instructions on the Promotion of Putonghua), stating that the foundation for unifying the Chinese language had been formed, which is a common language that based on the Beijing pronunciation, the speeches of the Northern dialect, and the syntactic rules expressed in modern vernacular writings as its standards. This instruction has stipulated the formal status of the Beijing pronunciation and the Northern dialect, but has not touched upon the status of other Chinese dialects. As far as language planning is concerned, there is no specific indication as to what kind of functions these Chinese dialects should display in various kinds of social interactions. In real-life situations, Chinese dialects are commonly used in a number of functional domains. It is not rare for civil servants to use dialects in the workplace, and teachers to use dialects in the classroom. Neither is it uncommon for TV programs to be broadcasted in a dialect. In areas such as public services, public communication, the inheritance of culture, and in daily interactions, the functional role taken up by Chinese dialects are irreplaceable. Chinese dialects also provide a lot of “ingredient” for the enrichment of Putonghua, and on the basis of these dialects, numerous regional variations of Putonghua took shape. Chinese dialects carry even more important functions in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

10 See “Language Situation in China” Taskforce (2006:431–434).

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D. Foreign languages Modern foreign language education started at the end of the Qing dynasty. (Gao 2006) In the past century, with the development of foreign language education and the economic growth of China, foreign languages start to occupy an important position in the language life of Chinese people. For instance, interpretation services are constantly provided in important national press conferences. Many important documents are translated into foreign languages. Foreign language tests are mandatory components of the university entrance examination. The number of foreign language learners in China ranks first in the world. There are foreign language TV channels and foreign language programs. Foreign languages are also used in public services, public communication, science and technology, and in processes of cultural transmission. Nevertheless, there is no planning at legal level on the status and function of foreign languages. Only in areas such as teaching, examination, promotion, and employment do certain rules and regulations regarding use of foreign languages exist. E. Traditional Chinese characters Traditional Chinese characters are an invaluable treasure of the Chinese nation. They play an important role in the transmission of history and culture, in communication among overseas Chinese communities, in promotion of the art of calligraphy, and in the study of philology etc. Specialists who study and write traditional Chinese characters should be nurtured, whereas the general public should also possess some basic knowledge of and proficiency in the traditional characters. Regulations such as Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Guojia Tongyong Yuyan Wenzifa (ZRGGTYW, The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language) has stipulated the domains in which the traditional characters can be used. However, the planning on the use of traditional characters should receive more attention, when language life in contemporary society is taken into consideration.

3 Language function planning The main task of language function planning is to plan for the value and role of each language form in each functional domain. Discussions on eight functional domains and five language forms have been covered in the previous sessions. On the operational level, the planning of language functions can be expressed in the following table:

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Language function planning Functions/Forms

A. Standard spoken & written language

B. Minority languages

C. Chinese dialects

D. Foreign languages

E. Traditional Chinese characters

I. national language II. official language III. education IV. mass media V. public service VI. public communication VII. culture VIII. daily communication

+ + + + + + + +

? ± ± ± ± ± + +

– ? ? ± ± ± + +

– – ± ± ± – ± –

– – ± ± ± ± + ±

A lot of works and researches went into the completion of this table. This was done as part of the preparations for this paper. Content in this table is only indicative, an instrument in thought development and is far from conclusive. The meaning of the symbols is: “+” means that the language form can operate in this functional domain. “–” means that the language form cannot operate in this functional domain. “?” means that the function of the language form in this domain is still undetermined; it is not clear whether the language form can or should operate at that particular functional domain. For example, the status of minority languages at the national level should be further addressed. As mentioned above, there is no designated national language in China, the common language used throughout China displays de facto function as the national language. The minority languages share equal rights as the Chinese language under the law. Theoretically they should also be able to represent the nation, while in reality they do not have such a function. One example is that only the Chinese language is stipulated as one of the working languages of the United Nation. “±” carries two meanings: 1. Some language forms exert their function in this domain, while others do not. For example, in the field of mass media, some minority languages have their own publications, broadcasting station or TV station, while other minority languages have no literature or any form of publication, since there is no written language. Some may only be spoken by a very small population that can hardly support any radio or television channel. 2. The language form exerts the function in some areas, but not in other areas within that functional domain. For example, Chinese dialects

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generally do not carry much function in the mass media, but some TV channels or radio programs may be broadcasted in a dialect. Another example is the tradition Chinese characters which play no role in education under general circumstances, but they exert important function in specific education fields such as the study of ancient Chinese, dialectology and classical literature. Even though the above table is just indicative in nature, some interesting rules or tendencies can be derived from it. For example: 1)

Putonghua and the standard Chinese characters exert their function in all domains. This is the language role that a national common language should take up. This is also the outcome of the government’s active promotion of the use of Putonghua and the standard Chinese characters throughout China. 2) The minority languages exert a function that is only next to that of China’s national common language. If we take a close look, the functions of minority languages become stronger when compared across functional domains I to VIII. Of course, there are variations among the various minority languages, but they all follow the trend of increasing in function strength from level I to VIII. 3) Chinese dialects are deeply rooted in Chinese culture, and they play an important role in the language life of China. Different dialects diverge largely in their functions, but similarly, they all follow the trend of increasing in function strength from level I to VIII. 4) Foreign languages mainly cluster in the middle range of functional domains, focusing on such fields as education, mass media, public service, and culture inheritance. Of course, different languages carry different functions in the Chinese language life. The current situation is that English takes up the largest number of functions. The use of Korean is increasing rapidly, due to the frequent interaction between China and Korea, and especially as a result of the formation of Korean communities in some Chinese cities. Most foreign languages exert no function in China, and such a situation needs to be further addressed seriously. 5) The traditional Chinese characters and standard Chinese characters are mutually complementary in China’s language life. 6) The language functions decrease in strength as we move from language form A to form E. 7) Few language forms are used at the high-end functional domain. The language forms slowly increase as we move down the functional domains from I to VIII. As high-end function domain emphasizes on language con-

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formity and communicative efficiency, it is only natural that less language forms are used. The low-end functions are closely related to daily communication of the general public, so the language forms will be more diversified. This reflects that in real life situations, language use contains both the principle element and the secondary element, which are usually much diversified. The interaction between language functions and language forms also enable us to achieve language efficiency and protection of language resources at the same time.

4 Concluding remarks Language function planning, while based on language status planning and language corpus planning, is a more detailed, operational and therefore more powerful form of language planning. Even though the classification of language functional domains and the language planning operational table as presented in this paper are still rather crude, and more rigorous and scientific study is needed, the author has already identified, through this exercise, several interesting research topics and problems related to the national language policy. For example: The government should confine its management to only the social language situation, while the actual work on the use of various languages should be the responsibility of researchers. Only when there are core problems in the development of the language situation should the government try to intervene. The language situation that the government manages should be that of the higher functional domains, while help or guidance could be provided for those at the lower-end domains, with government intervention be kept to the minimal. Language planning should not merely focus on efficiency of communication, or on solving societal linguistic problems. It should also fully address issues such as retaining language resources, and managing emotional factors attached to different languages in minority areas and dialect-speaking areas. It should consider not only the promotion and development of elite culture, but also the root culture. It should also strike a balance between the idealistic situation and the reality, among others. Through rational language function planning, each language form can be given its place, each in its own domain, and exert its best function. This will result in a multilingual situation within which the various languages complement each other, and prosper side by side.

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References Center for Ethnic Studies, State Ethnic Affairs Commission of the PRC. 2006. Ou’an Zuzhi Minzu Wenti Ziliao Huibian (OSCE Compilation of Ethnic Issues). Beijing: The Ethnic Publishing House. Chen, Zhangtai. 2005. Yuyan Guihua Yanjiu (A Study of Language Planning). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Dai, Zhaoming. 1998. Guifan Yuyanxue Tansuo (An Investigation of Normalized Linguistics). Shanghai: Joint Publishing Shanghai. Department of Cultural Publicity Affairs, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of the PRC. 2006. Minzu Yuwen Zhengce Fagui Huibian (A Collection of the Laws on the Language Policy for Ethnic Minorities). Beijing: The Ethnic Publishing House. Department of Language Planning and Administration of the Ministry of Education of the PRC. 2005. Xinshiqi Yuyan Wenzi Fagui Zhengce Wenjian Huibian (A Collection of Legal Documents on Language Policies and Regulations of the New Era). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee, the National People’s Congress of the PRC and Department of Language Planning and Administration, Ministry of Education. 2001. Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Guojia Tongyong Yuyan-Wenzifa Xuexi Duben (Learning Material on the National Law of Standard Spoken and Written Language). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Fei, Jinchang (ed.). 1997. Zhongguo Yuwen Xiandaihua Bainian Jishi 1892–1995 (The Chronicle of Chinese Language Modernization in the Past Century 1892–1995). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Gao, Xiaofang. 2006. Wan Qing Yangwu Xuetang de Waiyu Jiaoyu Yanjiu (A Study on Foreign Language Education in Foreign Affairs Schools of the Late Qing Period). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Institute of Ethnology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 2000. Shijie Yuyan Baogao [A Report on World Languages (China)]. Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji (A Collection of Essays on Chinese Script Reform in the Late Qing Dynasty). Beijing: Language Reform Press. “Language Situation in China” Taskforce. 2006. Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao 2005 (Language Situation in China 2005) (Upper Volume). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Li, Jianguo. 2000. Hanyu Guifan Shilue (A Brief History of the Normalization of the Chinese Language). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Li, Yuming. 2002. Dazhong Meiti yu Yuyan (The Mass Media and Language). In Yao, Xishuang and Guo, Longsheng (eds.). Meiti yu Yuyan – Laizi Zhuanjia yu Mingxing de Shengyin (Media and Language – Voices from the Experts and the Stars). Beijing: Economic Science Press. Lü, Jiping (ed.). 2000. Dangqian Woguo Yuyan Wenzi de Guifanhua Wenti (Current Issues in Chinese Spoken and Written Language Standardization). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Press. Office of the Survey of China Language Use (ed.). 2006. Zhongguo Yuyan Wenzi Shiyong Qingkuang Diaocha Ziliao (Survey Information on the Language Use in China). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Secretariat of the Conference on Normalization of Modern Chinese. 1956. Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Wenti Xueshu Huiyi Wenjian Huibian (Collected Papers on Modern Chinese Normalization Issues). Beijing: Science Press.

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Secretariat of the National Committee on Script Reform. 1955. Quanguo Wenzi Gaige Huiyi Wenjian Huibian (A Collection of Documents of the National Committee on Script Reform). Secretariat of the National Language Working Conference. 1987. Xinshiqi de Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo – Quanguo Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo Huiyi Wenjian Huibian (Language Work in the New Era – A Collection of Official Documents of the National Language Working Conference). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. “The Comparative Study of Ethnic Minority Language Policy” Taskforce of the Institute of Ethnology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Policies and Regulations Division of the State Language Commission. 2001. Guowai Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua Jincheng (Developments of Language Policies and Language Planning Overseas). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Wang, Jun. 1995. Dangdai Zhongguo de Wenzi Gaige (Script Reforms in Contemporary China). Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House. Wu, Yuanhua. 1999. Wushi de Juece – Renmin Xingdongdang yu Zhengfu de Huawen Zhengce Yanjiu (Pragmatic Decision – A Study on the Chinese Language Policy of the People’s Action Party and the Government.). Singapore: United Press International. Xu, Daming (ed.). 2007. Zhongguo Shehui Yuyanxue Xin Shijiao – Di San Jie Zhongguo Shehui Yuyanxue Guoji Xueshu Taolunhui Lunwenji (New Perspectives in Chinese Sociolinguistics – Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Chinese Sociolinguistics). Nanjing: Nanjing University Press. Yao, Yaping. 2006. Zhongguo Yuyan Guihua Yanjiu (A Study on Language Planning in China). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Zhao, Qinping. 2007. Jiaqiang Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong Yanjiu, Goujian Hexie de Yuyan Shenghuo (Strengthening Applied Language Studies, Constructing Harmonious Language Life). Applied Linguistics, Vol. 1. Zhou, Yuzhong and Wang, Hui (eds.). 2003. Guojia, Minzu yu Yuyan – Yuyan Zhengce Guobie Yanjiu (Nation, Nationality and Language – Language Policy Study by Country). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Zhou, Yuzhong and Wang, Hui (eds.). 2004. Yuyan Guihua yu Yuyan Zhengce: Lilun yu Guobie Yanjiu (Language Planning and Language Policy: Theories and Countries). Beijing: China Social Science Press. Zhou, Yuzhong and Wang, Hui (eds.). 2005. Zhongguo Yuyan Guihua Lun (A Theory of Language Planning in China). Chuangchun: Northeast Normal University Press. Zhou, Yuzhong and Wang, Hui (eds.). 2006. Guowuyuan Fabu “Guanyu Gongbu de Jueyi” he “Guanyu Tuiguang Putonghua de Zhishi” Wushi Zhounian Jinian Wenji (Festschrift on the 50th Anniversary of the Announcement of “Decisions on the Chinese Character Simplification Plan” and “Instructions on the Promotion of Putonghua by the State Council”). Zhou, Yuzhong and Wang, Hui (eds.). 2007. Goujian Hexie de Yuyan Shenghuo (On Construction of a Harmonious Language Situation). In “Language Situation in China” Taskforce (ed.). Language Situation in China 2006 (Upper Volume). Beijing: The Commercial Press. The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Applied Linguistics, 2008, Vol. 1. Translated by CHAN Shui Duen (陈瑞端) Department of Chinese & Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

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Some considerations on enhancing the national language capability 1 Abstract: The observation analysis of this paper is based on the status quo of China’s national language capability. It proposes several initiatives to enhance the national language capability: to enact foreign language planning as soon as possible, to formulate a scientific propagation strategy of the Chinese language, to comprehensively enhance the language capability of the Chinese citizens, to develop modern language technology with enthusiasm, and to improve the standard of national language management. Keywords: national language capability, modern language technology, language life, foreign language planning, international language communications strategy planning

0 Introduction There is a huge difference in the real world situation of the language planning among different countries, but the goal is roughly the same: first, to manage language life in accordance with the nation’s will; second, to meet the language needs of the nation in carrying out affairs of its own. In China, the first goal can be specifically described as “constructing a harmonic language life”. The second goal can be described as “enhancing the national language capability”. “National language capability” is a newly proposed concept, which refers to the language capability required for a country to handle its domestic and foreign affairs, including the language capability that is required for the devel1 This paper is based on the academic reports presented in the Annual Meeting and “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” of the Tianjin Language Training and Testing Center 2010 on 15th January, 2011 and the Capital Normal University on 23rd November, 2010. Some contents of this paper have been reported in “Joint Conference of the Language Subject Twelfth Five-Year Plan for the Strategic Experts” at the Nankai University on 19th November, 2010 and the Institute of Applied Linguistics of Ministry of Education on 28th December, 2010. During the compilation of this paper, the author wishes to thank Mr. Shi Feng, Mr. Ma Qingzhu, Mr. Zhou Jianshe and Mr. Liu Xianjun for their encouragement and support. Some information and views in this paper are benefited from Mr. Zhang Xiping, Mr. Zhang Shuguang, Mr. Zhou Qingseng, Mr. Lu Ziwen, Mr. Wang Jianqin, Mr. Wen Qiufang, Mr. Wang Kefei, Mr. Zhao Ronghui and Mr. Zhang Ripei.

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opment of the country itself. The extension of the national language capability ought to be very wide, but the author finds it hard to ascertain this theory due to limitation of academic knowledge. It can, however, be outlined in five aspects: first, the language ability; second, the status of the country’s main language, both domestically and internationally; third, the citizen’s language skills; fourth, the ability of possessing modern language technologies and; fifth, the standard of the management of national language life.

1 Status quo of China’s national language capability If it is not observed from the angle of national language capability, many people would think that China is a great linguistic power: its possession of more than 100 different kinds of languages2, over 30 kinds of scripts, more than 1 billion people who spoke Chinese, which is the world’s largest language; there are approximately 300 million people in China who are learning foreign languages; and in 2010 the online population in China was 457 million, among them 303 million were connected to the Internet with their mobile phones. The Chinese language has a great impact on East and Southeast Asia, and there are over 10 million people who are learning the language around the globe. Some international organizations such as the United Nation have made Chinese a working language. However, if it is viewed from a country’s needs, China’s language capability is still somewhat inferior when compared with some developed countries. This conclusion is based on four main reasons:

1.1 Capability in limited kinds of language The language ability of a country includes how many languages it can master, how many talents there are for each language, and whether or not there is a reasonable distribution of the variety of language and their respective talents. Recently, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) claimed that there are about 7,000 kinds of languages in the world. Since a consensus has not been reached on the criterion for differentiating languages, and the boundaries of language and dialect are not very clear, the credibility of this information has yet to be tested. However, saying that there are more than 5,000 different languages in the world should be acceptable. 2 This number is just an estimation of the languages in China. The exact figure is subject to further academic discussion.

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The United States is a country of immigrants. According to the data collected in census 2000, there were 380 kinds of languages in the United States. It is said that the United States has the capacity of processing 500 kinds of languages (or dialects), and can provide 200 language courses for its citizens. As a reflection on the profound events of 9/11, the United States has proposed a “critical languages” strategy which aimed at safeguarding national security in 2006. It made Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Hindi, Japanese, Persian, Turkish, etc. the languages that are closely related to the national security of the United States. After several years of careful implementation, a large group of talents on these critical languages were trained. (Wang 2010) The United States hopes that appropriate language support is available in case of emergency no matter where it is happened in the world. China is a large nation of foreign language learning, but in terms of capability in their respective languages, it appears to be a small nation that has only utilized a small fraction of its language resources. The main characteristics are: First, only few languages are being mastered. There is no data on the number of foreign languages that are within China’s grasp, but it is estimated that it will not exceed 100 kinds, which is lesser than 1/5 of that of the United States, and lesser than 1/50 of that of the world. The number of foreign language courses that China could offer is 50 at most, and only about 10 foreign languages are among the most frequently used. Second, unreasonable distribution of foreign language talents. Among some 300 million foreign language learners in China, 99% of them learned English, the remaining learned Japanese, Russian, German, French, Spanish and Arabic, etc. It can be concluded that, apart from English language, there is a lack of language talents in all other foreign languages. China has remained a close relationship with Asia and Africa in matters related to border defense, resource strategy and counter-terrorism strategy. However, Asian and African languages have always been the shortcoming for the development of foreign language talents. On the other hand, the foreign languages taught in China are most commonly the standard language. Similar to Chinese language which has lots of dialects, many foreign languages also have varieties. For example, the varieties of English language include British English, American English, Australian English and South Asian subcontinent English, etc. Standard English alone is not enough for handling international affairs and it requires the knowledge of other English varieties. Take the Chinese Navy carrying out convoy duty at the Gulf of Aden for instance, it requires the knowledge of Arabic language that is spoken by the Somali pirates.

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Third, lack of “compound type” foreign language talents. “Compound type” foreign language talent consists of two kinds: one is “multi-language”, the other is “professional + foreign language”. China has paid handsome amount of membership fees to many international organizations, but only few Chinese citizens were able to work for any of them. The reasons are many-sided: inarticulate foreign language and lack of multilingual ability is the dominant reason. For example, in order to find a job at the UNESCO, it requires at least English and French proficiencies. For China to move towards the world, its talents in every field have got to have good foreign language skills, which would enable them to discuss matters freely and provide services in each and every aspect. This is the only path for China to achieve greater say in international affairs. However, “professional + foreign language” type of foreign language talent is seriously in short supply3

1.2 Limited international influence of the major language of China China’s major language is not only limited to its working language – Putonghua, it also include a number of ethnic minority languages, for example, Tibetan language, Mongolian language, Uighur language, Kazakh language, Korean language, Yi language, Zhuang language, Dai language, etc. First, let us take a look at the international influence of China’s national common language. It represents China and fulfills the language duties on foreign affairs, but international organizations seldom use it. Chinese language is one of the working languages of the United Nations, but in fact it is rarely used by any 3 Prof. Wen Qiufang of Beijing Foreign Studies University once told the author that in an article entitled “Shortage of Talented Personnel Obstructs Expansion of Chinese Enterprises” published in China Youth Daily, the author said that within the Chinese borders, there were only about 200 personnel who were proficient in foreign language and possessed legal knowledge that allow them to conduct business and signing contracts with foreign clients. Lawyers who had a comprehensive knowledge in international laws, international trade laws and WTO regulations were even fewer. Even in Shanghai, which is considered the forefront, only 50 in 5000 lawyers were qualified. Another article published by China News Network in May 17, which entitled “Lack of Talented Personnel Limits Expansion of Chinese Tourism”, pointed out that due to a lack of senior managerial personnel in the tourism field who speak foreign language, among the fifty thousand travel agencies in China, only 15 had managed to expand beyond Chinese borders. Phoenix Television once reported that during a joint military exercise that consisted of the Chinese and Russian, the interactions between the commanding officers on both sides could not be completed without interpreters. This difficulty in interaction had hindered the smoothness of the military operation.

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of the member states, and thus considered as only having a nominal status. The status for Chinese language is even lower in international organizations outside the United Nations, since many international conferences do not even consider it as a working language. In fields such as international trade, education, technology, the status of Chinese language is not much different. The theses published by Chinese scholars outside China have to be translated into foreign languages. Due to historical reasons, even in countries and regions with a comparatively higher cluster of Chinese nationals such as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, Chinese language is still at a disadvantage. English and Malay are the ones with advantageous positions. The international influence of a language is first observed in multilateral diplomacy, major international conferences, international trade and science education exchange, followed by means of foreign language learning, i.e. how many people regard it as a foreign language to learn. The subject of “Chinese fever” is frequently seen on the news in recent years. Several hundreds of Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms were established in the world and so Chinese international education has seen an unprecedented development. Many countries in the world are optimistic about China and started learning Chinese. However, with reference to actual data, the number of people who are learning Chinese as a second language falls far behind that of those who are learning English, German and French. Something worth mentioning is, other than the Chinese language, there are a lot of people who are willing to learn ethnic minority languages such as Tibetan language and Uighur language, but the issues related to the international education of these ethnic minority languages did not raise enough attention among the Chinese people. The general public has no say in Chinese language education as well. Language teaching should be achieved through texts, since they contain culture and concept manifested in that language. The subject of international education of ethnic minority languages is the responsibility of the Chinese people, since not only does it affect the international influence of the various Chinese languages, but also affects if the world could understand China in an appropriate and comprehensive way.

1.3 The domestic status of the Chinese language is worth consideration The domestic language life in China is generally harmonious and in synchronization with modern social development, but there are places that require improvement and considerations. First, language unification is still a formidable mission. Putonghua is the major information vessel in China, but in many places, especially in rural

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areas and ethnic minority regions, there are a lot of people who do not speak Putonghua and lack the ability to access all kinds of information in that language. The modern society has entered an era of information, and the largest inequality of this era is the inequality of information, and a portion of the people being “information marginalized”. Take education as an example, there is a huge difference between rural education and urban education. The main reason is not because rural schoolchildren are born ignorant, but because of the fact that they are not able to enjoy the quality education resources that their counterparts in urban areas do. Therefore, for the Chinese citizens, Putonghua is no longer an issue of whether it is a vessel of information or human rights, but an issue of social equality. If one could not speak Putonghua, participation in the management of national affairs in the future is not possible and would not be able to work in many fields such as broadcasting and teaching. It should also be noted that, much work is still needed to be done in the propagation of Putonghua in both Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions. Furthermore, the difference of Traditional versus Simplified Chinese characters between Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the mainland China is still in existence. Since the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese people have been promoting the language unification movement. However, despite having a history of over 100 years, the mission is still formidable. The formidability does not occur in the urban areas, or in the eastern regions in the mainland, but in some special regions. Second, China does not possess the required language capability in handling domestic affairs. Basically, civil servants and public language service personnel nowadays mostly use the national common language when dealing with domestic matters. However, dialects prevail in rural regions. Cantonese, Minnan dialect, Hakka dialect are still important instruments of communication in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Many national affairs cannot be handled if one does not speak the dialect. Furthermore, there are at least 8–10% of children in China who only spoke Putonghua but not dialect since they were born. The loss of the ability to acquire such dialect is likely to result in the crisis of lacking “bilingual talents”. In ethnic residential areas, the lack of ethnic minority language capability makes it impossible to deal with domestic matters properly. Now that there are many children from ethnic minority groups who do not speak their mother tongue, the initiative for Chinese nationals to learn ethnic minority languages is also on the decline. There is a crisis on the existence of common language-dialect bilingual talents.4 4 Zhao, Xiaomin and Zou, Yuhua “The problems in the Use of Ethnic Minority Languages in Ethnic District Court Trials” [Language Situation in China: 2009 (Upper Vol.); The Commercial Press in 2010] has pointed out that there is a serious shortage of bilingual judges and an outflow of translation talents in China. This publication can act as an endorsement.

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1.4 Serious issues of modern language technologies Humankind has been trying to extend the use of language through developing language technologies ever since language was invented. The earliest language technology was somehow placing both hands in the form of a horn in front of the mouth to act as sound amplification, known as “makeshift broadcasting”. The invention of script is the most important language technology in the history of language development. Since its invention, language technology has been developed in sets and systems. The “scholar’s four jewels” is a product of language technology and later typography was invented. Further down the road, there came all kinds of language technologies such as telegraph, telephone, recording, facsimile, broadcasting, television and communication satellite. The birth of modern language technology is built on the foundation of computer-based information technology. Computer was invented in the 1940’s with a sole purpose of calculation. By the 1950’s, people tried to use computers to solve language translation problems. In the 1960’s many scientists believed that machine translation was almost impossible, and many countries have gradually abandoned research in this field. By the 1970’s, some sources from the West said Chinese language was expected to perish, since it was difficult to process using the computer. From keyboard (input) to monitor (output), computers are not designed for Chinese characters in the first place. In comparison with the West, China has fallen behind a whole era of the keyboard. Later, we solved the problem of Chinese character input by coding techniques, and used dot matrix screen technology to solve the problem of Chinese character display. Today’s mobile phones use digital keyboards as the means of character input. Chinese has finally shown its superior status over English: a phone screen can accommodate 60–70 Chinese characters, displaying a lot more information than Western languages. Modern language technology in mobile phones has shown the superiority of the Chinese language first time in history. Modern language technology determines the standard of national informatization and national information security. It governs the national “information dividend”. The bright future of informatization in China is decided by the numbers of Internet users, mobile phones, Chinese language and words and national information processing. However, the degree of autonomy we have in this field of intellectual property rights is limited, and the standard of Chinese language technology is particularly falling behind. Before the informatization of language happens, the knowledge of language belonged to the area of humanities. Now language knowledge can be transformed into industry standards. Information exchange between computers and mobile phones would not be possible without the common standard of language technology. These include a series of standard of font files, coding schemes, transfer protocols and so on, where language

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knowledge is the foundation of these standards. In the era when there was only “interpersonal interaction”, making reference to the language standard alone is sufficient. However, after the emergence of the era of “human-machine interaction” and “inter-machine interaction”, the standardization of language must be realized. Having said that, the understanding of the standardization of Chinese language we have right now and the measures we have adopted so far to reach this goal are both far from successful. In addition, intellectual property rights in the information field are still not yet covered by any definitive and appropriate law. The system that is now in use in personnel training is not feasible, for it “restricts scholars in the scholastic field, and scientists in the scientific field indefinitely”, and computational linguistics is situated on an awkward situation. The creativity, manipulation and application of modern language technologies in China leave something to be desired.

2 Measures to enhance the national language capability of China With reference to the impromptu examples listed above, it can be concluded that the language ability of China is not commensurate with her status that has entered the center of the world stage and this cannot meet China’s new demands for development. The subject of national language capability is now a matter for discussion and a priority. To enhance the national language capability, the following aspects can be a starting point for now:

2.1 Formulate foreign language strategy as soon as possible In the 1960’s, China has formulated the “Outline of the 7-Year Plan of Foreign Language Education Program”, which was effective to a certain extent back then. However, apart from this, China has somehow neglected the development of foreign language strategies, which resulted in the serious imbalance of foreign language variety. Russian was widely taken by foreign language learners in the fifties and sixties, which was influenced by the ideology of that time. After the reform and opening of China, English has become “the only foreign language”, and there was a serious shortage of non-common language talent and that of Asian-African languages. The “Developmental Outline of the mid-to-long-term National Education Reform” has suggested a “cultivation of a variety of foreign

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language talents”. Although it only contains eight words, they were highly specific. The formulation of foreign language strategy today requires proper investigation in two aspects: the first is the demand of foreign language in China, including the life demands of both domestic and foreign languages and the demand of foreign language abroad. Perhaps it is also necessary to include the international obligation of language research for being a large nation. The second is study on the foreign language talent status quo in China, including the number of talents in all languages, level of proficiency and the role they play. It also includes the capacity of the training of foreign language talent, foreign language research, etc. It is best for these two aspects of investigation to be institutionalized, or entrust specialized agencies to conduct special foreign language investigations on a regular basis, or to include such project in a census. In order to effectively execute foreign language planning, it has to be built on the basis of demand and status quo investigation. The major areas of such planning are the kinds of languages in demand and human resources planning. The demand of different languages can be divided into four categories for consideration: the first is the working language in international affairs, also known as “lingua franca”. The second is the special language involved in a nation’s interests, such as the language of neighboring countries, language of regions with essential resources, language of the nations with a close working relationship, languages of the countries and regions of “imaginary enemy”, known as “language of special needs”. The third is the language required in times of emergency (such as counterterrorism, drug enforcement, peacekeeping, disaster relief, etc.), known as “emergency language”, the talents of which possess reserve properties. The fourth is the language required in scientific research (including linguistics research), known as “academic language”. There are overlapping areas in these four kinds of languages, but in terms of the number of language talents, where they come from, and personnel policy, they differ from each other a lot. It is necessary for the formulation of foreign language policy to make reference to the demand of such foreign languages, and to establish a database of foreign language talents. The training of foreign language talents mainly relies on the nation itself, therefore the first thing that has to be done is foreign language planning, including such planning on foreign language professionals and the foreign language capability of the citizens. Also, attention has to be paid to enhance the nation’s foreign language capability in other possible ways, such as utilizing the language resources of foreigners who come to work and study in China. There are about 30 kinds of cross-border

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languages in China. These languages, when considered in the perspective of national language capability, can bring foreign language into play. These ethnic language personnel can be transformed into foreign language talents through training. Maybe the development of human resource on foreign language talents is even worth consideration. Furthermore, there has to be planning on foreign language research. Personnel have to be employed to carry out research on any foreign language that is useful to China. In order for a nation to expand globally, it has to recognize the importance of the study of the world. Presently, we have to devote our attention on the research on the official languages of more than 200 countries and regions in the world, and the research on Asian-African languages, especially the research on the cross-border languages in China. In addition, we have to encourage scholars to conduct field investigation on languages, and to learn languages in foreign countries.

2.2 The scientific development of the international propagation strategy of Chinese language The international education of Chinese language was regarded as “teaching Chinese as a foreign language” in the past. The practice was to invite foreign friends to China to learn Chinese. However, those who need to learn the language may not necessarily possess the requirements to visit China. Therefore, we should start Chinese language teaching in their respective soils. Chinese teachers should “reach out”. What matters more in the long run than “reaching out” is the “localization” of international Chinese education, which is the training of foreign Chinese teachers, compilation of teaching and supplementary materials that are suitable for foreign Chinese language learners, and teaching local students the essential skills that are required in Chinese language social interactions and so on. To formulate the international propagation strategy of Chinese language, an understanding of the scientific rules of language propagation has to be acquired, especially in the research on the reasons for one language to be disseminated from one group to another, and from one region to another. What is the pushing force behind this language propagation? Through studying how languages such as Arabic, Latin, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc. are dispersed throughout the world, we can discover the laws of language dissemination. In the meantime, the best way to understand how Chinese language is disseminated in other countries, is to study the language policies

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of other countries, in particular foreign language policies, and to achieve an understanding of the ties and the interests of the world towards Chinese culture. Historically, the dissemination of a lot of languages was accompanied by religion, colonization, invasion and plunder. China is a peace-loving nation and an advocator of harmony. The dissemination of Chinese language was brought about by the Chinese nationals to the world with friendly gestures. It possesses the function of maintaining the diversity of human culture at the same time. Therefore, there is a huge difference between the international dissemination of Chinese language and that of other languages in history. The reason for Chinese language’s huge popularity among foreign language learners is due to the fact that “modern China” to them is an attraction. Learners are able to have an understanding of modern China through learning Chinese, and thus acquire economic and cultural benefits. “Modern China” is perhaps the most important reason for the dissemination of Chinese language. Of course, the international dissemination of the Chinese languages does not only include the national common language, but also other ethnic languages. The rules of language learning have been in the past the most studied area, the dissemination of language research being less. The question of how international language propagation strategy is to be formulated has at this stage maintained a subject full of academic challenges.

2.3 Comprehensively enhancing Chinese citizen’s language proficiencies The foundation of national language capability is the sum of the citizen’s language capabilities. There are many highlights in the “Developmental Outline of the mid-to-long-term National Education Reform”, which is being formulated and due to release soon. One of the most prominent highlights is raising the question of the development of national language capability. Language skill is one of the three basic skills of a human being. Enhancing national language capability is the crucial pathway for China to progress from a large nation of human resources towards a world power of human resources. In the past, the State Language Commission focused its work on the social aspects, but now they have penetrated deep inside the society with aims to provide a nationwide development of language proficiencies. This is a step with huge significance. The key for the development of the citizen’s language capability is to establish a standard. What language capability do our citizens need to achieve has

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yet to be specified, but we have already established a good foundation of practice. For example, taking a foreign language subject is required in the National Higher Education Entrance Examination. This indicates that high school graduates should be proficient in at least one foreign language. Putonghua is the teaching language for preschools and compulsory education stages. This means that not only do Chinese citizens have a grasp of ethnic minority language and Chinese dialects, but should also be proficient in the national common language. This education practice has included the fulfillment of the language requirements of Chinese citizens. Not only do they have to learn Putonghua on top of their own dialects, they are also encouraged to learn at least one foreign language. This, in reality, has formed the standard of “bi-dialecticism and bilingualism for Chinese nationals” and “trilingualism for ethnic minorities”. Since the curricular requirements of teaching Chinese language, ethnic language and foreign languages have in fact included these specific standards in the language requirements, therefore, it can be said that, the realization of the basic education in China has formed the factual standards of the “ability of language varieties” and the “ability of specific language proficiencies”. Under this factual standard, there is not much technical difficulty left in the formulation of the standard of language capability. If “bi-dialecticism and bilingualism for Chinese nationals” and “trilingualism for ethnic minorities”5 were to be elevated to the education standard at national level, the standard of the national language capability would be guaranteed.

2.4 Strive for the development of modern language technology The development of modern language technology is crucial to enhancing the national language capability. Now that the “Smarter Planet” initiative has been introduced, the addition of different elements of modern language technologies has resulted in a virtual language life that is content-rich, dynamic and brilliant. The Internet is now experiencing two progressions: one is “the Internet of Things”, the other is “Cloud Computing”. The Internet of Things refers to the documentation of everything in our daily lives in microchips, realizing the digi-

5 For some ethnic minorities, their mother tongues are also their dialects, since a common language between different nationalities such as Tibetan, Zhuang and Hmong, etc. has not been formed at all or has not been formed properly. What we describe here is just a rough description.

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talization and the networking of the tangible world. It is a network of physically connected things and is the foundation of the “Smarter Planet”.6 The application of the Internet of Things has resulted in an influx of information, making the computer servers at different working units obsolete in terms of computing power and storage. There is a need to establish dedicated datacenters to manage information. This kind of large scale information integration and management is known as Cloud Computing. It is a virtual computing environment with the Internet in its center. Staying ahead of the trend is important to many things. We have to take into account what new opportunities and challenges that the Internet of Things and Cloud Computing bring to language technology and language career. Of course, the question of how cloud-based computing and the Internet of Things will develop is hard to draw a conclusion, just as no one could have foreseen the Internet would develop into what it is today in the past. In earlier years, in order to prevent data loss, the United States Armed Forces stored their data in computers located in different places and linked them together, forming a small computer network. Later, the computer network developed into the Internet and began to commercialize. This took place in the 90’s of the 21th century when former US President Clinton started the development of the information freeway, which led to a global “information rush”. Back then people did not perceive what the Internet would develop into, some even considered it as on-demand television network. The greatest invention of the 20th century was “the Internet”, for not only did it genuinely make the earth become a “village”, but also connected and gathered each person’s wisdom. The Internet is not merely a technology, since it changed our lifestyle, work habits and even our means of survival. It is predictable that, with the development of the Internet of things and Cloud Computing, together with the realization of the concept of “Smarter Planet”, our lifestyle, means of survival and work habits will experience a greater change. This is an era with a lot of characteristics, the most prominent one being whoever controls information controls the world.

6 The Commercial Press has held the “2011 Young Linguists Salon” in January 18, 2011 with “Virtual Language Life” as the theme. Guest speaker Prof. Li Seng of Harbin Institute of Technology conducted an academic report on “Smarter Planet, Internet of Things and Cloud Computing”. He pointed out that many provinces were now establishing the Internet of things, such as in November 2009, the State Council approved the establishment of a National Sensor Network Innovative Demonstration District in Wuxi.

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2.5 Enhancing the management standard of the national language life The management standard of the national language life is an important assurance of the national language capability. The standard of language planning and how the language life managing authority implements it have a direct impact on the management standard of the national language life. Currently, there are three crucial concepts for the implementation of language planning: First, advocating “multilingual” life. Contemporary education in China started since late Qing Dynasty. After more than one hundred years, the education in foreign language and Putonghua (Guoyu) has finally taught the majority Chinese to speak both dialect and Putonghua. It has also taught the ethnic minorities to speak their mother tongue and the national common language. Furthermore, it has also taught many Chinese to speak their mother tongue and a foreign language. The shift from “monolingualism” to “multilingualism” is a progress of the Chinese society and its language life. Today, our nation still has quite a lot of people who are monolinguals. It is advisable to train them to become multilinguals. Second, the idea of language resource. Not only should we regard language as a tool for interaction and recognize the social problems brought about by language, but also regard it as a resource, which ought to be protected and developed. Language resources such as Putonghua, every Chinese dialect, every ethnic minority language and even foreign languages can all be developed. It is now a crucial time for many spoken languages to fight for their survival. It is estimated that more than 90% of languages will be extinct in 100 years. The crisis of extinction of human language is unprecedented. The status quo in China is not optimistic as well, especially when the urbanization rate has reached 50% and is still rapidly developing. The Language Atlas of China is about to be rewritten drastically. If effective measures are not adopted, there will be a huge loss in the national language resources. Third, harmonious language life. Language life is an important aspect of social life. Not only does it symbolize social harmony, but also an important contributing factor of social harmony. Harmonic language life is the dialectical unity of subjectivity and diversity, which is a major role played by the national common language in high level interactions. In addition, Chinese dialects, ethnic languages and foreign languages are integral elements of the Chinese

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language life, all of which play an indispensable role in it. It is through language planning that enables these elements to fulfill their roles, realize their functions, achieve their purposes and complement each other. Since language life is found in different professions and fields, it is necessary to manage it with proper planning. However, the difficulty management is facing right now is the “confusion in policies from different government departments and the lack of co-ordination”. For example, the State Language Commission is responsible for the domestic management and promotion of the national common language. The Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban) is responsible for international propaganda of Chinese language. The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council is responsible for the Chinese education of overseas Chinese nationals. Furthermore, as of the education of foreign language, the three divisions of the Ministry of Education are responsible for managing it in from the primary level to postgraduate level. The translation of scientific terms is under the management of the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies, and the Xinhua News Agency has also gained its authoritativeness in the field of foreign language translation. There is no specific department that is responsible for the management of foreign language life and the foreign language policy on a macroscopic scale, resulting in an “absence of government”. The management of ethnic minority language is divided into state and local levels. At the state level, there are the State Ethnic Affairs Commission and the State Language Commission. The standardization and informatization of language and words are co-managed by the State Language Commission, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Standardization Management Committee. Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and China National Tourism Administration are all “large departments” that deals with language related matters, and that are responsible for the implementation of national language policies in their respective fields. In order to manage language life with such complexity, it is necessary to have a managerial department that is directly under the State Council, and that does a better job in coordinating different language managerial departments, if not, the problem of “confusion in policies from different government departments and lack of co-ordination” will never change, and the management standard of language life can hardly keep up with the development pace of China.

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“National Language Capability” is not only a new concept for language planning, but also provides a new perspective in determining language in terms of its national functions, how it deals with language relationships, examining the many debates in language life, and exploring new horizons in language matters. The short term goal for enhancing national language capability has to be the “availability of proper language support to our nation in every corner of the world”. The long term goal would be maximizing the “language benefits” in the course of national development in fields including politics, economics, foreign affairs, military, culture, education and technology.

References Dai, Qingxia. 2010. Yuyan Guanxi yu Guojia Anquan (Language Relations and National Security). Journal of Yunan Normal University, 2. Guo, Xi. 2009. Huayu Guihua Lunlue (Strategies of World Chinese Language Planning). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong, 4. He, Junfang and Zhou, Qingsheng. 2010. Yuyan Chongtu Yanjiu (Studies of Language Conflicts). Beijing: Central University of Nationalities Press. Li, Sheng. 2011. Zhihui Diqiu, Wulianwang yu Yun Jisuan (Smarter Planet, Internet of Things and Cloud Computing). Academic Report presented at the “2011 Young Linguists Sharon” held by the Commercial Press. Li, Yuming. 2008. Gongmin Yuyan Nengli Shi Guojia Yuyan Ziyuan – Xu “Muyu Wenzhang Jiaoyu” (Language Capability of the Citizens Is the Language Resources of a Nation – Preface of “Mother Tongue Essay Education”). In Chen, Hong and Li, Ruishan. Muyu Wenzhang Jiaoyu –Daxu Yuwen Yanjiu Wenji (Mother Tongue Essay Education – Articles on the Study of College Chinese). Higher Education Press. Wang, Jianqin. 2010. Meiguo “Guanjian Yuyan” Zhanlue yu Woguo Guojia Anquan Yuyan Zhanlue (American “Key Language” Strategies and Chinese National Security Language Strategies). Journal of Yunnan Normal University (Humanities and Social Sciences Edition), 2. Xiong, Chengyu, et al. 2002. Xinxi Shehui 4.0 – Zhongguo Shehui Jiangou Xin Duice (Information society 4.0 – New Strategy of Chinese Societal Construction). Hunan People’s Publishing House. Zhang, Xiping and Liu, Ruomei. 2008. Shijie Zhuyao Guojia Yuyan Tuiguang Zhengce Gailan (Outline of Language Promotion Policies in Major Countries Worldwide). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Zhao, Xiaomin and Zou, Yuhua. 2010. Minzu Diqu Fating Shenpan Zhong Shaoshu Minzu Yuyan Shiyong Wenti (The Problems in the Use of Ethnic Minority Languages in Ethnic District Court Trials). Language Situation in China: 2009 (Upper Vol.). Beijing: The Commercial Press. “Language Situation in China” Taskforce. 2009. Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2008 (Language Situation in China: 2008) (Upper Vol.). Beijing: The Commercial Press.

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Zhou, Qingsheng. 2010. Yuyan Guihua Fazhan ji Weiguan Yuyan Guihua (Language Planning Development and Micro Language Planning). Journal of Beihua University (Social Sciences), 6.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Nankai Journal of Linguistics, 2011, Vol. 1. Translated by CHAN Shui Duen (陈瑞端) Department of Chinese & Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Chapter 5

Language is also a “hard power”1 Abstract: This paper discusses the relationship between language and economics and suggests that language is a “hard power”. Not only is language a source of culture, but also that of economics, which is capable of generating economic return. Hard work should be exerted to develop language industry and language professions in order to earn “language interests”. Language planning ought to be examined from an economic perspective. The economic awareness in language planning should also be enhanced, so that the “cost-return” relationship of language activities can be analyzed, and the economic contribution of language can be evaluated. It is suggested that the awareness of language resources needs to be established, and language resources and language professionals should be fairly treated, so as to improve the population’s language capability and that of the nation. Keywords: language resources, language capability, language economics

There is a consensus that “language is a soft power”, but so far, the statement of “language is a hard power” is seldom mentioned. While “soft power” is interpreted at the cultural and spiritual levels, “hard power” involves economical and physical dimensions. The subject of this paper is to call for the research on the relationship of language and economics, study the economic contribution of language to the society, facilitate the development of language industry during the process of economic planning, so that we can maximize the “language dividends” obtained.

1 Language is a resource Language is a polygonal prism; when viewed from different angles, give it different light, it produces different landscapes.

1 This paper is based on the author’s quick notes on his speech during the annual meeting of the Shanghai Association of Language Workers in 2011. In May 24, the author has adopted the same theme in his academic report presented at the Shandong University. The author wishes to extend his gratitude to Mr. He Juji for his contribution to this paper.

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Landscape 1: Language is a problem In the 20th century, the aim of China’s language planning is mainly to solve the language problems. There are at least three aspects of language problems: The problem of communication barriers – this is the largest language problem. Due to the differences between dialects and ethnic languages, the social interaction between ethnic groups within the nation is not smooth. There are six to seven thousand kinds of languages in the world, thus the worldwide interaction produces even more problems. In the 20th century, the main purpose of China’s language planning was to provide a solution to the problem of language communication. As history evolved, of the 55 ethnic minorities in China, the language used by the major nationality – Putonghua was chosen as the national language. In addition, we learn foreign languages in order to communicate with the world, and through which to facilitate worldwide interaction. Of course, people from all over the world communicate with the Chinese people and learn about China by learning Putonghua and other Chinese languages. 2) The cost of language communication. Language communication involves cost, which could be huge sometimes. Cost has to be paid when learning Putonghua or another language. 3) Language pressure. In the process of facilitating language communication, some languages gained importance in terms of usability, while that of some languages and dialects slowly shrunk, even at the brink of extinction. This may impose cultural pressure on those who spoke the particular languages or dialects, which is also a language problem. 4) Solving the language problems remains one of the most important tasks of the nation. It is also an important mission for us to step towards the world. 1)

Landscape 2: Language rights Language right is an important part of civil rights. Nowadays, the people’s awareness of human rights is increasing. For example, in what language the government uses to address the public, which voice is the television and radio stations using when broadcasting, in what kind of language does the public sector provide service to the general public. All these are related to language rights of the citizens. Sometimes minor dispute would arise due to issues related to language rights. Sometimes the issues could become major ones, such as when the Guangzhou Asian Games was in its preparation stage, some suggested

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that Putonghua broadcast be added to the public announcement. This has led to a relatively large issue in Guangzhou. Not only do the citizens have language rights, but also does the society itself. For example, the right for China to address to issues in the world is one related to social language rights. Currently, the academic research on language rights is still not adequate. How to safeguard language rights will become an important issue for contemporary China.

Landscape 3: Language is a resource The idea of language as a resource has gained awareness and wide attention in recent years. It has become one of the key ideas in the process of the formulation of language policy in China. Language resource generally includes the following three categories: 1)

Natural language resources. The natural language resource in China is divided into three categories. The first is Chinese and other dialects, including Chinese characters (Simplified characters and Traditional characters). The second is ethnic minority language. The third is foreign language.

It has to be emphasized that foreign language is our language resource as well. Foreign languages originated from foreign countries, but they are not foreign to us. Foreign language competency is not only an important personal language skill, but also an important part of the national language capability. China is a linguistic power and a great nation of foreign language learners, but it is falling behind in terms of language capability. The United States is a country of immigrants, which has more than 380 natural languages. The Armed Forces of the United States can grasp some 500 languages, and the Unites States government can provide 200 language courses for their citizens. The number of foreign languages that our nation has come to understand may only amount to a hundred or so. We are only capable of providing maybe 50 foreign language courses. Even making all of the official languages of the European Union available for learning is an uphill task. There are about a dozen foreign languages that are most commonly used in China. With the openness of China to the outside world being constantly increased, together with the acceleration of the process of globalization, China’s national interests have transcended beyond its borders. It is perhaps true to say that China’s interest exits in almost every place in the world. Therefore, there is a reason for us to master any language in the world. But now, we have not even mastered those foreign languages that are related to the lifeline of our nation’s resource. For instance, China imports large quantities of

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petroleum from Angola, but we are not familiar with the language situation in that country. The Sino-Indian border is an important strategic region, and the Qinghai-Tibet railway is being extended to this very area, but only a handful of people could speak the language in this region. Our recent establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership with Myanmar has favored us in building a new channel in energy imports, but we do not have many people who understand the Burmese language. The historical development until now has told us that we must take foreign languages as a language resource of our own, and fully develop and utilize them. 2)

Derivative language resources. These refer to the language resources derived from research on natural language and processing, including language knowledge and its application in various fields. Such resources are mainly language knowledge, language products and language technologies. The knowledge of language is a kind of language resource, such as textbooks and dictionaries. Language products refer to products such as mobile phones, online dictionaries, calligraphy art pieces and more. Language technology is a very important language resource. Thanks to the development of modern language technology, the high-tech industry of China is able to reach a high level. In the absence of modern language technology, there would not be so many Internet and mobile phone users, nor would emerging areas such as cloud computing and the Internet of Things be at the forefront of the world. 3) The citizen’s language capability. In order to utilize natural language resources and derivative language resources, the key factor is people. The citizen’s language proficiencies must be included in the field of language resources. The first being citizen’s natural language capability. Without it, it would be impossible for ethnic language inheritance to take place, and foreign language learning would not be possible. We have not reached a consensus regarding the language capability level of Chinese citizens nowadays. Some considered that the language ability of them has shown improvements. This is due to the fact that, at the beginning of China’s liberation, we were merely a country made of illiterates. Now that the illiteracy is basically wiped out, most people can read books and newspapers, hasn’t the citizen’s language capability been raised? Some said the opposite, that the people’s language standard has been dropped to a ridiculously low level and most students could not write properly. In the past, even the janitors could write decently, but now, typos can be found on souvenirs that are sent from senior cultural offices. Therefore, in order to have a clearer idea about the language capability level of the Chinese citizens, a standard of comparison is required.

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From the people’s perspective, there is no doubt that the education level of our people has increased since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The illiteracy rate is reduced and the overall standard of the people’s language standard has improved. However, the cultural standard of the elite may not be as high as their predecessors. Certain knowledge of linguistic traditions and skills that ordinary students should possess may possibly be even lower. How to improve the language capability of the Chinese citizens has now become one of the biggest topics for discussion and thinking. The Chinese citizen’s language capability has been included as a task of the State Language Commission in the upcoming publication of the National Longterm Reform and Development of Language Planning Framework. As we all know, promoting Putonghua, language reformation, development and implementation of Chinese Pinyin programming have all been its major duties in the past, but in order to keep up with the demand of the ever changing world, the State Language Commission has gradually developed into language legalization, specification, standardization and informatization, referred to as the “four modernizations” in short. By classifying “raising the Chinese citizen’s language capability” as one of the most important tasks of the State Language Commission, this decision clearly has important social significance. Of course, when discussing about the language capability of the people, it is not merely about how many words they know, how beautifully they can write, or how many poetry and prose they have memorized, but also consider how proficient they are in a particular language and the ability to apply modern language technologies in applications. Not only do we have to study how many languages should the citizens master and to which level should they achieve in each language, but also study which basic language technologies they have to acquire, such as using the keyboard to input data, sending and receiving e-mails, searching information on the Internet, etc. The addition of the language capability of the citizens together is referred to as the language capability of the nation. The “National long-term reform and development of language planning framework” has mentioned about the issue of the language capability of China. Some said that the concept of “national language capability” is hard to grasp, suggesting it be renamed as “national language strength”. It is argued that “strength” and “capability” are two different concepts. “Strength” is observable externally, which contains indications of showing off and showing strong. On the other hand, “capability” means the actual ability of handling things and problem solving, which does not imply flaunting and is a kind of self-demand. Therefore, using the phrase “national language capability” is more suitable than “national language strength”.

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What the so-called national language capability means is whether the nation can receive language support in a timely and suitable fashion when dealing with matters arising from internal and external affairs. For example, during the earthquakes in Wenchuan ‘汶川’, Sichuan Province and Yushu ‘玉树’, Qinghai Province, there were many rescue teams responded, but the language issue has hindered them from communicating effectively with the victims. China is a nation that is prone to frequent natural disasters. For the sake of disaster prevention and mitigation, we implemented many warning measures, but neglected those in language communication. When rushing to the disaster-stricken area, the relief workers, psychologists, medical personnel and volunteers were unable to get hold of a suitable dictionary or a language manual, and could not express themselves freely in local dialects on relief-related terms such as “creased legs”, “cracked scull”, “catch cold”, “what medicine to administer”, etc. Apart from disaster relief, activities such as counter-terrorism and peacekeeping also require language support. All these clearly involve the citizen’s language capability and the national language capability.

2 Language is an economic resource Resources are utilizable, valuable and are capable of generating benefits. So what value does language possess, and what benefits can it generate? 1)

2)

Language is a linguistic resource. Linguistics is the study of language. If there is no language, linguists will be unemployed and therefore it is a linguistic resource. This is a consensus in the academic community, no further explanation is required. Language is a cultural resource. Language is the most important component of a culture, and is the most important vessel of culture at the same time. Take Chinese culture as an example, it is deeply rooted in Chinese language and Chinese characters. A single word or term may be able to stir the hearts of the nation. Since Chinese characters are not just plain symbols, if Chinese culture is detached from Chinese characters, it will have no place to take root. The next question would then be: whether dialects and ethnic minority languages are regarded as our cultural resources. The answer is definitely yes. There are a lot of things about the Chinese culture that is preserved in many dialects and ethnic minority languages, especially colloquial culture. In terms of cultural vessel, culture can be divided into three categories: the first category is tangible culture, this includes architectures, clothing, sculp-

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tures, and unearthed cultural relics, and so forth. The second category is literature culture, which is the culture preserved by the vast literatures. The third category is one which is dependent on the culture preserved by spoken language. China has always valued literature culture and tangible culture, but comparatively neglected culture preserved in the spoken language, which in fact has a far more ancient history and richer content, but at the same time, the most difficult to preserve. With the disappearance of dialects and ethnic languages, these cultures will also disappear forever. The State Language Commission is now establishing the “Chinese Language Resource Audio Database” with aims to using modern language technology to preserve the authentic appearance of modern language and spoken language culture. 3) Language is an economic resource. Not only does it have the properties of a tool (communication tool), but it also possesses economic attributes. This is particularly obvious with the arrival of the information era. The higher the degree of informatization, the more economic benefit brought about by language can be reflected. Informatization has made linguistic knowledge and its applications an industry standard and language technology products, which have led to different kinds of patents. These include a variety of language standards, language knowledge-bases, computer fonts, input methods, word processing softwares, and so on. Benefits can be gained by patents. Take the case of inputting Chinese characters with software keyboards found in mobile phones as an example. Since the patent for such technology is owned by foreigners, we have to pay a few U.S. dollars to the foreign handset manufacturers as patent fees for every unit of mobile phone we buy. When language industries and language professions that are capable of earning “language dividends” achieved a certain scale, the term “language economy” is emerged. Being an emerging interdisciplinary subject, “Language economics” is now in its early stage of development, with a history of ten years or so internationally. In China, the Shandong University has started a doctoral program in this subject and has so far convened several conferences on language economics. 4) Resources should be deployed in order to tackle language problems, to protect language rights, and to preserve and develop language resources. But there are also economic problems. Solving language problems, protecting language rights, and protecting and developing language resources can also produce benefits including social benefits and economic benefits. Therefore, it appears that there is a relationship between language and economics, and that the notion of “language economics” is a valid one.

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3 Language industry Language industry is required to support the economic activities of language. Its major object of operation is language and it is an industry that mainly utilizes language to earn dividends.

3.1 The situation of language industries In December 2008, under the direction of the State Language Commission, the Commercial Press set up the “Chinese Language Resource Development and Application Center”. In September 2010, the Beijing Language Commission established the “Beijing Language Industry Research Center”. According to their research, the language industry generally includes the following fields: 1)

Language education and language testing. This is a big industry. The “New Oriental” company is an outstanding example. Money is required to enroll in language courses and sit for TOEFL exams. Language education and language examinations, etc., are the most traditional language industries. 2) Language translation. Language translation is a prospering language industry. The scale of language translation in China is enormous and is occupying the relatively large share in the worldwide translation market. 3) Language publishing. It is currently rather difficult to define what publications are regarded as such, but dictionaries definitely fall into this category. A good dictionary can bring huge profits to the publisher. Amazon Inc. claims that since April this year, the number of e-books that the company published has surpassed that of paper books, with a ratio of 105:100. The arrival of the e-book era has provided challenges and opportunities for the publishing industries in China, especially textbook publishers. It is foreseeable in the next three to five years that schoolchildren no longer need to carry heavy schoolbags to school. All of the teaching materials and supplements would be put into an e-reader. Therefore, ensuring the e-book related preparation work is done properly has become one of the most important tasks of the State Language Commission. We are looking forward to collaborating with enterprises which are interested in the e-book business, and to formulate the industry standard of the language in this field. Of course, the sanitation and health standards on the use of e-books are very important to the schoolchildren as well, and cannot be neglected.

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4) Artistic language. Like any other cultural industries, artistic languages such as calligraphy, crosstalk, television drama, radio host can all generate economic benefit and are capable of forming industries. 5) Language rehabilitation. The deaf, sufferers of senile dementia, children with delayed language development and cleft lip, patients of post vocal cord surgery and so on, all of whom require language skills rehabilitation. The demand on this field is huge. 6) Language creativity. Advertising planning and logo design are the most important examples of language creativity. Copywriting is the key to making a good advert, and has a heavy weighting in such regard. Other languagerelated creative industry includes Miss Wang Xinru of Taiwan, who successfully combines ancient Chinese characters with jewelry design. Not only does this added great value to the jewelry itself, but also propagated Chinese culture in the process. 7) Language engineering. This is an inseparable part of computer language processing. Search engines such as Baidu, Google and Sogou, and the computer fonts developed by Peking University Founder Group Corporation are examples of such. The economic benefit generated by such companies is enormous as well. 8) Language convention. Precedential instances can be found internationally which showcase language products and language technologies through expositions. Sadly China has not yet taken her first step in this area. This is because we have put many language products and language softwares to other expositions. Language convention is therefore a kind of language industry. The above eight aspects are listed solely for purpose of example. Intensive studies should be conducted in order to decide the exact number of varieties in the language industry.

3.2 The economic contribution of language What is the economic output value of the language industry? The information on such area has yet to be established. Swiss economist F. Grin recently pointed out that the language industry has contributed 10% to the GNP. The languages spoken in Switzerland include German, French, Italian and Romansh. Ordinary Swiss citizens can speak three of them. College students are required to master four languages. Switzerland is also where the headquarters for the United Nation, the European Union and many other international organizations are

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situated, allowing them to make use of many language resources. Language has a heavy weighting in Switzerland’s economic development. Whether the 10% claim is reliable or not is a question for the economists to decide, but it is certain that Switzerland’s economic development has a close relationship with its abundant language resources. What is the contribution of language to China’s economy? No one has a figure yet. Of course, there are direct and indirect language economics, but the possibility of the former is probably less. Dissemination is a characteristic of language. The economic benefit generated by language has penetrated in all walks of life. Due to this reason, we do not have a specific measurement for the contribution of language when we try to compute China’s GNP. Since language economics is hard to determine, it requires the subject of economics to achieve a certain level academically, the “language awareness” of mankind to reach a certain altitude, plus the development of the tertiary industries to a certain standard, before language economics could raise the people’s awareness and such subject could possibly be established.

4 Language and occupation Where there is an industry, there is a profession. And when there is language industry, there is language profession. The relationship between language and profession can be observed from two aspects: 1) language profession and; 2) occupational language.

4.1 Language profession Language profession is a relatively unfamiliar concept, which requires research to determine the definition of both of its meaning and extension. But speaking out of impression, the occupations engaged by the following personnel are probably referred to as language professions: computer stenographer, translator and interpreter, language engineer, broadcaster, commentator, sound operator, language teachers, dictionary editors, calligraphers, language-related program actors, voice actors, language code programmers (such as Braille, sign language, telegraph, semaphore, light language, cipher code designers) and so on. Of course language professions require the contribution of other factors – in fact any profession has the same requirements – but the important thing is, until language is the dominating element in an occupation could it become a language profession, but this requires the definition of economics.

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4.2 Occupational language Most language occupations require language skills, without such, the quality of personnel engaged in these occupations cannot reach a desired level. In terms of language skills, primary and secondary industries may require less, but this has a major role in tertiary industries. In his doctoral dissertation “Language Services and Service Languages”, Li Xianle (2011) of the Nanjing University has used great lengths to discuss consumer issues related to language, and discovered that the language factor in some occupations is playing a major role. According to our subjective perceptions, there are a lot of occupations that require relatively stronger language skills, such as: 1)

Shopping guides, tour guides, public relations at the hospitals, and any other related occupations. Mr. Qu Shaobing (2007) of the Guangdong University has a deep understanding on language services. He has discussed about the language abilities of the various “guides” in different occupations. 2) Doctors and lawyers require strong language skills. English professor Li Wei once told the author that the students of two professional majors need more time to learn applied linguistics, one is medical school, the other is law school. Doctors need to treat patients, and tell them their diagnostics. This requires good language communication skills. Law school students may become lawyers or judges. They require even better language skills. 3) For copywriters, news anchors, teachers, writers, journalists, editors, secretaries, actors and so on, language plays a very important role in their careers. 4) Civil servants perform public duties and this requires good language skills. It is observable that all public senior officials possess higher language abilities. The National Civil Service Examination has now put an emphasis on language skills testing. The recruitment departments of many companies are now putting more emphasis on testing the language skills of fresh graduate applicants, because they believe that it is even more practical than professional skills. Mr. Tung Shandong of Shenzhen is a professional in vocational education research. He has been to the recruitment market many times for his research. Through observing the requirements listed out in the job advertisements, he noticed that language skill was on the top of the requirement list. Language skills include that of native and foreign. It even includes the ability to exchange information by using a computer. It is an important factor of making great talent and is an important aspect in personnel training. China

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is now on the path of evolving from a large nation of manpower into a great nation of human resources. During this evolution process, language skills are clearly not negligible. To my knowledge, for years, the Language Commission in Shanghai and other places have been assisting the police, personnel working for judiciary, tourism, commerce and those in other fields to raise their Putonghua standards and language proficiencies. It is necessary to study the language requirements for the employees of different occupations and fields, and to formulate their own language standards with their departmental managers, so as to lay down the entry requirement for the recruitment of new employees. If the State Language Commission can help each and every industry, and everyone in different fields can get the job done, the society will support the work on language and the productivity of the society as a whole will be greatly increased. Whether or not language is a productive force, the question has raised controversy in the past, which I have no intention or the need to involve myself in. But through the above analysis, the following conclusion can be drawn: language is a hard power.

4.3 Language capability and national income Numerous domestic and foreign studies have shown that language capability and income were positively correlated. Those who can speak two languages will have a higher income than those who can only speak one, and will be easier to find a job. They will be even more competitive if they possess knowledge on computer program design. The study of the relationship between language and income is where language economics started, and it has been the main scope of interest for the subject for many years. For example, using an economic approach in the study of the relationship between the language skills of the immigrants to their income, ethnic minorities using the language of the ethnic majority, can explain how much economic benefit these measures are bringing to the population. It also explains the amount of economic return multinational corporations can gain with the language policies they adopt in the countries of their operations, as well as the economic benefits brought about by the foreign language translation work in developing countries and so on. Scholars from the Shandong University, Nanjing University, Guangzhou University and Capital Normal University are showing interests on the relationship between language skills and income, and between the language services and competitiveness of enterprises.

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5 Concluding remarks Language, when viewed from a different point of view, produces a different landscape. “Language economics” provides a new perspective on language planning. Viewing language planning from an economic perspective, we can observe at least three revelations: 1)

To fully understand the contribution of language to the national economy, action plans such as timely formulation and the introduction of the revitalization of language industries and language professions are necessary, to ensure that they can have a healthy development. 2) It is necessary to comprehensively establish the economic awareness in language planning, and have a good analysis of the related cost and benefits. For example, not only does the promotion of Putonghua created an enormous social value to the State, but also a tremendous economic value. If China did not promote Putonghua, fields such as printing, broadcasting, education and technology would use hundreds of language and dialects. Imagine how much this would have cost! Therefore, the economic benefits of the promotion of Putonghua are beyond numerical representations. 3) It is necessary to further establish the awareness of language resources. Language is a soft power, and also a hard power. We should treat with care our language resources, the common language of the Han people, as well as the languages and dialects of other ethnic groups. Language scholars and language talents should also be cherished. We should work hard to enhance the Chinese citizen’s language capability and also that of the nation.

References Bo, Shousheng. 2008. Yuyan Guihua de Jingjixue Fenxi (Economic Analysis of Language Planning). Zhidu Jingjixue Yanjiu (Research of Institutional Economics), 2. Cai, Hui. 2009. Yuyan Jingjixue: Fazhan yu Huigu (Language Economics: Development and Review). Foreign Language Studies, 4. Chen, Zhangtai. 2009. Yuyan Ziyuan yu Yuyan Wenti (Language Resources and Language Problems). Journal of Yunan Normal University, 4. Coulmas, F. 1992. Language and Economy. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Grin, F. 1994. The Economics of Language: Match or mismatch? International Political Science Review, 15: 27–44. Grin, F. 1996. The Economics of Language: Survey, Assessment, and Prospects. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 121: 17–44.

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Grin, F. 2000. European Research on the Economics of Language. Homepage of Languages and the Economy: Canada in an International Perspective, 11/13/2000. Grin, F. 2003. Language Planning and Economics. Current Issues in Language Planning, 1: 1– 66. Guo, Youxu. 2010. Yuyan Quanli de Fali (Legal Principles of Language Rights). Kunming: Yunnan University Press. Jiang, Guiying. 2010. Zhongguo Yingyu Jiaoyu: Yuyan Jingjixue de Shijiao (English Education in China: From the Perspective of Language Economics). Xiamen: Xiamen University Press. Li, Xianle. 2010. Yuyan Ziyuan yu Yuyan Jingji Yanjiu (Language Resource and the Study of Language Economy). Jingji Wenti (Economic Issues), 9. Li, Xianle. 2011. Yuyan Fuwu yu Fuwu Yuyan – Yuyan Jingji Shijiao xia de Yuyan Yingyong Yanjiu (Language Service and Service Language – A Study of Language Applications from the Perspective of Language Economy). Doctoral thesis, Nanjing University. Li, Yuming. 2008. Dangjin Renlei San Da Yuyan Huati (Three Major Contemporary Linguistic Issues of Mankind). Journal of Yunnan Normal University (Philosophy and Social Science Edition), 4. Li, Yuming. 2009a. Zhongguo Yuyan Guihua Lun (On Chinese Language Planning). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Li, Yuming. 2009b. Zhongguo Yuyan Guihua Xulun (On Chinese Language Planning Continued). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Lin, Yong and Song, Jinfang. 2004. Yuyan Jingjixue Pingshu (Comments on Language Economics). Jingjixue Dongtai (Economic News), 3. Liu, Guohui and Zhang, Weiguo. 2009. Yuyan Jingjixue zai Zhongguo de Fazhan: 2009 Zhongguo Yuyan Jingjixue Luntan Zongshu [The Development of Language Economics in China: 2009 (1st). Summary of the Chinese Language Economics Forum]. See http:// weiguozhang.blog.sohu.com/138597516.html Liu, Jianda. 1989. Shi Lun Yuyan zhong de Jingji Xianxiang (A Preliminary Study on the Economic Phenomenon Consists in Language). Shangdong Waiyu Jiaoxue (Foreign Language Teaching in Shandong), 3. Luo, Peiya. 2009. Jingji Yuyanxue Shiyu xia de Guanggao Yuyan (The Language of Advertisements from the Perspective of Economic Linguistics). Chongqing Gongxueyuan Xuebao (Journal of Chongqing Institute of Technology)(Social Science Edition), 4. Ma, Cijun. 2010. Yuyan Jingjixue Shiye xia de Daxue Yingyu Jiaoyu (College English Education from the Perspective of Language Economics). Yunnan Minzu Daxue Xuebao (Journal of Yunnan University of Nationalities) (Philosophy and Social Science Edition), 1. McManus, Walter S. 1985. Labor Market Costs of Language Disparity: An Interpretation of Hispanic Earnings Differences. The American Economic Review, 4: 818–827. Mettewie, L. and L. van Mensel. 2009. Multilingualism at All Costs: Language Use and Language Needs in Business in Brussels. Sociolinguistica, 23: 131–49. Ning, Jiming. 2006. Hanyu Guoji Tuiguang: Guanyu Kongzi Xueyuan de Jingjixue Fenxi yu Jianyi (International Propagation of the Chinese Language: Economic Analysis of the Confucius Institutes and Related Suggestions). PhD Thesis of Shangdong University. Qu, Shaobing. 2007. Yuyan Fuwu Yanjiu Lungang (A Study on Language Services). Jianghan Daxue Xuebao (Journal of Jianghan University), 6. Rubinstein, A. 2000. Economics and Language. Qian, Yong and Zhou, Yi (trans.). 2004. Jingjixue he Yuyan (Language and Economics). Shanghai: Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Press.

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Song, Jinfang and Lin, Yong. 2004. Yuyan Jingjixue de Zhengce Fenxi jiqi Jiejian (An Analysis on Language Economics Policy and the Experiences to Draw on). Hua’nan Shifan Daxue Xuebao (Journal of South China Normal University) (Social Science Edition), 6. Vaillan-court, F. 1982. The Economics of Language and Language Planning. Language Problems and Language Planning, 2: 162–178. In D. M. Lanberton (ed.). 2002. The Economics of Language (pp. 9–24). Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing. Wang, Dingding. 2001. Yuyan de Jingjixue Fenxi (Economic Analysis of Language). Shehuixue Yanjiu (Sociology Studies), 6. Wang, Shikai. 2010. Lue Lun Woguo Yuyan Ziyuan de Kaifa yu Liyong (A Brief Discussion on the Exploration and Utilization of Language Resources in China). Yunnan Shifan Daxue Xuebao (Journal of Yunnan Normal Univresity) (Philosophy and Social Science Edition), 5. Wang, Zhending. 2009. Hanyu Guoji Chuanbo de Yuyan Jingjixue Yanjiu (International Propagation of the Chinese Language: A Study of Its Language Economics). Yunnan Shifan Daxue Xuebao (Journal of Yunnan Normal Univresity) (Research and Teaching of Chinese as a Foreign Language Edition), 6. Xu, Daming. 2010. Youguan Yuyan Jingji de Qi Ge Wenti (On Seven Issues of Language Economy). Yunnan Shifan Daxue Xuebao (Journal of Yunnan Normal University) (Philosophy and Social Science Edition), 5. Xu, Qichao. 1999. Yuyan Jingjixue: Yi Men Xinxing de Bianyuan Xueke (Language Economics: An Emerging Interdisciplinary Subject). Waiguo Yu (Foreign Languages), 4. Yang, Yishan. 2007. Yuyan Jingjixue Lilun Kuangjia Chu Tan (A Preliminary Study on the Theoretical Framework of Language Economics). Shandong Shehui Kexue (Social Sciences in Shandong), 10. Yuan, Qiaoling. 2007. Yingyu Yuyan Xiaofei Tanxi (An Investigation on the Consumption of English). Waiyu yu Waiyu Jiaoxue (Foreign Language and Foreign Language Teaching), 6. Zhang, Weiguo; Liu, Guohui; and Chen, Yili. 2007. Yuyan yu Shouru Fenpei Guanxi Yanjiu Pingshu (A Study of the Relationship Between Language and Income Distribution). Jingjixue Dongtai (Economics News), 7. Zhang, Weiguo. 2008. Yuyan de Jingjixue Fenxi: Yi Ge Chubu Kuangjia (Economic Analysis of Language: A Preliminary Framework). PhD Thesis of Shandong University. Zhang, Xin. 2008. Yuyan de Jingjixue yu Daxue Yingyu Jiaoyu (Language Economics and College English Education). Zhongnan Daxue Xuebao (Journal of Central South University) (Social Science Edition), 3.

Translated by CHAN Shui Duen (陈瑞端) Department of Chinese & Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Chapter 6

On levels of language life1 Abstract: Dividing language life into macro-, meso-, and micro-levels, this article investigates language life at different levels concerning supranational, national, disciplinary, regional, individual and social aspects, and then discusses tasks, features and current situations of language planning pertinent to relevant levels, and finally points out weak points in language life management. In so doing, the article intends to offer a research framework for a full-scale and in-depth observation of language life and proposes suggestions to improve language life in China. Keywords: language life, language planning, macro-level, meso-level, micro-level

0 Introduction Effective guidance and scientific management of language life and proper language planning depend on nothing more than a subtle observation and thorough understanding of language life. Its diversity and complication, however, make it necessary to stratify language life into different levels for the convenience of observation and analysis. With regard to the state of affairs and administrative system of language life in China, a division of three levels, namely macro, meso, and micro, can serve the purpose. This article aims to analyse the features of language life at the above three levels and discuss issues related to language planning.

1 Macro language life Macro language life refers to those situations which are directly related to the whole nation and need national planning, primarily including two aspects, 1) nation-level language life and 2) supranational language life. 1 The gist of this paper was presented under the title Scientific Management of Language Life at various conferences, including the 7th National Symposium on Spoken and Written Language Applications, held in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, on 23rd October 2011; the 1st Forum of Language Management, Culture Identity and Social Order hosted by the Beijing Foreign Studies University in Beijing on 4th November 2011; the 9th International Symposium on Urban Language Survey in Xiamen on 20th December 2011; and 2012 National Conference of Language Work in Beijing on 17th February 2012.

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1.1 Nation-level language life The nation-level language life, or national language life, is the presentation of language-nation relations in reality, which also can be more concretely understood as follows:

1.1.1 Ensuring effective national language communication Language, as an important communicative means of mankind, is an indispensable component of society. National administration, civil life, education and production cannot do without effective language communication. To guarantee an effective nationwide communication, particularly high-level, cross-regional and cross-ethnic communications, it is imperative to promote and regulate the commonly used national spoken and written language. It is equally important, at the same time, to respect the population who speak no Putonghua and to preserve sufficient communication space for languages other than Putonghua by providing as various language services as possible in ethnic minority languages, regional dialects and foreign languages.

1.1.2 Enhancing national language ability National administration of internal and foreign affairs needs a variety of proficient and reliable language professionals, in other words, the country need to possess sufficient language ability. Many countries, especially those actively engaged in international affairs, give high priority to the conservation of national language ability while those countries which fail to do so have suffered damages and losses to national benefits. The language ability of the masses is the foundation of national language ability, so to enhance their language ability can benefit the latter. However, the market plays a major role in that the costeffectiveness ratio of learning a language influences the masses’ choices. The Chinese language learners generally are willing to learn the commonly used national language or a foreign language of much practical value such as English, because of the possible more beneficial rewards. Language professionals a nation needs vary greatly and personal choices cannot meet the demands. Of note, to increase national language ability needs certain “market economic” measures.

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1.1.3 Maintaining national solidarity and unification, and enhancing cultural heritage and recognition by means of language Language is no less a means of communication than a carrier of culture. Language, be it spoken or written, is as much an organic component of culture as a longstanding carrier of historical heritage and geographical expansion. In general, language is also viewed as the totem of an ethnic group, of great import to its cultural identity. Especially in multidialectal and multiracial countries, or in those countries with no territorial integrity, it is of supreme importance to well manage relations between commonly used ethnic language and dialects, between different ethnic languages, and between commonly used national language and ethnic minority languages. Evidence shows that important strategies to enhance cultural heritage and resolve language conflicts for the purpose of maintaining national solidarity and unification include training bilingual speakers, implementing bilingualism, keeping proper language order, establishing harmonious language life etc.

1.1.4 Turning language into economic profits Language and economy have a close affinity. The literacy of the workforce is directly correlated to the social productivity of a country, and as a result illiteracy demolition is among the objectives of worldwide education. Language teaching, training and translation have been early recognised as language industries, and nowadays with the development of computer and Internet technology, a variety of information-related language industries have prospered rapidly and brought huge economic merits. Language, previously viewed as national soft power, has now become part of a nation’s hard power. As such, to establish language-related economics and to enhance language professions and industries so as to maximise economic merits of language have become an important part of national langage life.

1.1.5 Providing language services to society Facilitated by drastic changes in transportation, communication and mass media, the population mobility has been increasing recently in breadth, size and frequency. The general availability of education and technology, particularly modern

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language technology, enables the masses to have more pressing and diversified demands for language services, and language education is the primary form of language service. The quality of native language teaching, bilingual education in ethnic regions and foreign language teaching closely relates to the masses’ income level and life quality. The current language services also include providing guidance to language life of communities and the masses, assistance to resolving language-related obstacles, and supports to their language skills. As primary supplier of public services, the government should take responsibility for making available language services to society. Of course, language services are not necessarily entirely provided by the government, let alone free of charge. The nation-level language life can be mainly managed threefold by means of 1) formulating language policies, 2) drafting spoken and written language norms and regulations, and 3) adopting multiple measures. 1)

Formulating language policies

Language policies can be viewed as a nation’s language awareness represented in the form of laws, statutes and regulations, which is closely related to the national ideology and historical heritage, particularly the history of language planning. The reality of language life is both the object of execution and the basis for readjustment of language policies. The development and changes in language awareness and language life can contribute to related changes happening in language policies. The core notion of China’s current language policies is “vigorously extending and regulating commonly used national language, and scientifically preserving ethnic minority languages”. The first half offers an accurate description of current language policies, and the second embodies the development of China’s language awareness in the new era. 2)

Drafting spoken and written language norms and regulations

Language regulation and standardization is the product of language research, which derives from language phenomena that comply with rules of language development and usage, and makes meticulous selections from language anomaly. Its regulation and standardization is also an important component of nominal language planning, aiming at healthy spoken and written language development as well as efficient and orderly language usage. In the past, the regulation and standardization was mainly language user oriented, but nowadays as language processing technology advances and Internet becomes more popular, it is heavily oriented towards computer technology and integrated into industrial standardization. However, how to meet the demands of the IT era still remains a brand-new research topic for China’s language planning.

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3) Adopting multiple measures Language policies and its standardization need an array of effective measures for actual execution, which include establishing language work organisations, designing work mechanism, and taking actions with intensive and extensive effects, such as mass media and press language administration, lexicography inspection, Putonghua proficiency training and testing, urban language assessment, the construction of Chinese Language Resources Audio Database etc.

1.2 Supranational language life Supranational language life, also known as international language life, largely comprises 1) language communication between international communities and 2) common language problems facing international communities. 1)

Language communication between international communities

Language communication between international communities exists not only in bilateral communications between countries, but more importantly in multilateral communications. Amongst some 6,000 languages, only a limited number of languages have been used in international organisations (including crossregional organisations) and varieties of international conferences. International organisations and conferences often nominate certain national languages as official or working languages. For example, the official languages of the United Nations are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, and the working languages for daily use in its General Secretariat are English and French. It is likewise the case with the Olympic Games, whose official working languages are English and French in addition to the official language of the host country. Some transnational organisations, however, adopt the languages of all member states as working languages, such as the European Union. The growing international exchanges and communications will engender more new international organisations and conferences in which working languages need planning from a new perspective. The Internet, noticeably as a lately developed community, needs tailor-made regulations for its language usage. 2)

Common language problems facing international communities

International communities are in need of joint efforts to resolve common language problems. The language problems under global discussion include language hegemony in globalisation, conservation of diversified language, endangered languages, language rights of immigrants and ethnic minorities etc.

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International language life has a tremendous impact on the opening China, so it should be incorporated in our national language planning. China should develop a comprehensive understanding of international language life and fulfil its duties in international language issues by offering as many language-related public products as possible and increasing its influences in international communities. There are two distinctive issues worth thinking and planning, 1)

To fulfil responsibilities and duties as language a native habitat

Chinese has already attained certain prestige in international language life, and it is on the constant increase. As the native habitat of the language, China is endowed with responsibilities and duties to provide international communities with Chinese language services, such as maintaining the Chinese language norms in international organisations and conferences, supporting international Chinese language teaching, and satisfying the increasing demand for Chinese learning all over the world. It should also conduct a favourable development planning for Chinese alongside global Chinese-speaking communities, to ensure smooth communication in Chinese communities and to coordinate the globalisation and dissemination of Chinese. In addition, Chinese characters have a special position in East Asian countries, so it is equally important to facilitate communication among these countries, which demands standardization of Chinese characters in computer coding on a global scale. Moreover, some hundreds of ethnic minority languages are spoken in China, some of which have drawn academic attention from overseas, and China should take a proactive role in meeting this demand solicited by international communities. Some ethnic minority languages, in particular, are shared and spoken by China’s neighbouring countries, so cross-national language coordination is of great necessity. 2)

To give considerable attention to common language problems facing international communities

The political and academic circles are encouraged to collaborate in in-depth research on international language life by drafting a Chinese Manifesto with balanced benefits between the world and China, and between present and future. The Chinese Manifesto should be promoted and implemented by means of international conferences, agreements and advocacy. Meantime, we should provide language benefits and services and establish relevant international research foundations and competitions so as to strengthen our influence in international communities and to gain more power of discourse globally. We also need to make our share of contributions to helping people all over the world live a better language life by establishing a sound international language order and resolving language conflicts.

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2 Meso language life Located between macro and micro language life, meso language life exists in all the industries and regions, and it can be studied both horizontally in the sense that it refers to field language life, and vertically that it is regional language life.

2.1 Field language life Field language life is represented as language life in all different social industries, where social activities are diversely conducted and different problems need to be addressed and resolved. In addition, their employees need to obtain different language proficiency levels. As a result, field language life in a specific industry has its own characteristics, which leads to different language planning strategies. Field language planning is primarily conducted by relevant competent authorities, with the government in charge of language policy guidance and supervision. Three aspects should at least be taken into account in field language planning:

2.1.1 Field language policies and development strategies The objective of field language policies and development strategies is to guarantee industry quality and to fulfil social responsibilities of contributing to the national language undertakings and to a normal social language life. Take radio and television broadcast for example. It is one of the industries that has close relationships with language, as the quality of commentator’s speech and subtitles determines the industry quality. It also serves as a guide of language usage in society.

2.1.2 Employees’ language proficiency Employees in different fields and positions need to reach different language proficiency levels. Physical labourers, such as city cleaners and construction workers, only need an average language level, while brain workers, such as teachers, writers, judges, lawyers, journalists and commentators, need a considerably higher level of language proficiency. Even among teachers, whether one is teaching language or physical education, and whether in kindergarten, elementary school or university, the language proficiency required would differ vastly in terms of spoken and written skills, and pedagogical knowledge.

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Language proficiency requirements for employees are also different in different times. Shop assistants, for example, only needed average language proficiency in the past. Nowadays, consumers expect better language consumption, so inappropriate service language could run the risk of leading to lower sales. Similarly, language in customer services of certain fields, say, home appliances, is closely correlated to customer satisfaction. As IT and cultural industries develop, a series of new language professions and services emerge quickly which greatly challenge employees’ language proficiency and knowledge. For example, a keyboard encoder needs knowledge in phonetics and philology, a computer type designer should know philology and calligraphy, and an information search engineer needs multifaceted linguistic knowledge. The training and evaluation of employee language proficiency, above all, should be preceded by formulating industry standards, which then provide guidance for the training, testing and accreditation. The latter three in China are far from the industrialisation requirements in that general proficiency certification outnumbers specific position certification. Not until this gap is filled can language proficiency be effectively converted to social productivity and service products.

2.1.3 Major field language issues Each field will face its own language issues with more or less differences and similarities as follows: – –

– – –

–

What would be the reasonable percentage of dialect-speaking programmes in radio and television broadcast; whether there must be both family name and given name in the full name of the Han people, and should there be any restrictions on the Chinese characters used for naming; what should be the standard Romanisation of the names of the Han people; how could the names of the ethnic minorities be Romanized; whether there should be any restrictions in Chinese characters used as place names, or should there be any regulations on pronunciation and on Romanisation of Chinese place names; in medical professions, how could the correspondence between the Latin names and popular names of medicine and diseases be arrived at, and how should medical specifications be translated into foreign languages.

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All the above issues normally are related to field work quality and industrial development. Important as it may be, they have been constantly neglected or placed in abeyance due to various practical difficulties. Analyses and resolutions of field language need tremendous collaborative efforts of administrators, linguists and professionals. The administration of field language life is an important component of language work in China. The State Language Commission consists of some twenty departments and units, most of them industry competent authorities, and it is also the case with language commissions at subordinate levels. Fact shows that language commissions are well-structured, and it is of supreme importance to fully mobilize each and every component department to provide supports to industry competent authorities with language planning and to well manage language life in great detail. The State Language Commission has long focused on language life in four major fields, that is, administration, education, press and publication, and service sectors. It also shows that these four major fields are indeed vital components of language life, so good management of them largely determines the whole national language life. Nowadays, language work in the four fields needs to be undertaken in greater depth and more scientifically on the basis of previous work, and meanwhile extends to other disciplines and fields. Of note, the academic circles should be encouraged to strengthen their research in language life and develop a kind of disciplinary linguistics for the purpose of providing academic supports to field language planning.

2.2 Regional language life The basic situation of China can be described as having an ancient and profound culture but an imbalanced social development. There exist a complex variety of regional dialects and ethnic minority languages, and a vast diversity in regional economic and social development, to the extent of being thousands of years apart horizontally and vertically. All lead to the variations in language life and its management among regions as follows:

2.2.1 Shanghai Shanghai, as a highly advanced metropolis in East China, ranks among the first group of cities opening up to the world. To well manage regional language relations is of great benefit to its local economic and social development. The promotion of Putonghua has been the focus of language planning in Shanghai

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over the last several decades, but not without distractions. The Shanghai dialect is of great cultural value and needs to be inherited to a reasonable extent. People from the rest of mainland China and Taiwan come to Shanghai in great numbers, who need provision of dialect services. In addition, foreign business partners and friends have flooded in, and chances are that Shanghai will become a world business center with tremendous influence, which demands great quantities of foreign language professionals to provide language services.

2.2.2 Fujian Fujian is home to the Min dialects which vary tremendously across regions and have diverse cultures. To promote Putonghua for general communicative convenience and to sustain the Min dialects and cultures are the two major tasks of language life in Fujian. Meanwhile, a vast number of Taiwan and overseas compatriots speak the southern Min dialect as native language, making it an important part of language planning in Fujian to realise national reunification.

2.2.3 The Inner Mongolia In the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, five regional languages are spoken, that is, Mongolian, Chinese, Daur, Evenki and Oroqen. In addition to the Inner Mongolia, the Mongolian language is also widely spoken in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and Hebei provinces in China, as well as in countries such as the State of Mongolia, the Republic of Buryatia (Russia), the Republic of Kalmykia (Russia), and Kazakhstan. To well manage relations and coordination between the Standard Mongolic language2 and its various dialects amongst the eight provinces and foreign countries is an important component of language planning in the Inner Mongolia. The languages of Dauer, Evenki and Oroqen, so called three minor ethnic minorities3 in the Inner Mongolia, are also spoken in various regions and countries, making their communication

2 In the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the standard pronunciation of the Mongolian language is based on the Chakhar dialect of the Plain Blue Banner, while in the State of Mongolia it is the Khalkha dialect of its capital Ulan Bator. Both Chakhar and Khalkha dialects belong to the Central Mongolic and bear much resemblance. The Republic of Buryatia adopts the Buryat dialect as standard pronunciation, one of the Northern Mongolic, and the Republic of Kalmykia takes the Kalmyk dialect of the Western Mongolic. 3 In Inner Mongolia, Dauer, Evenki and Oroqen are commonly known as such.

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and coordination another important component of local language planning. Meantime, language planning in the Inner Mongolia needs to promote Putonghua and well manage relations between Putonghua and other local languages and dialects, as required by its language planning.

2.2.4 The Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and the Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County Language life in many ethnic autonomous prefectures and counties (or banners) has displayed distinctive features, such as the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan. Since the State Council promulgated Yiwen Guifan Fang’an (Program for Standardization of Sichuan Liangshan Yi Characters) in August 1980, one task of the language life in Liangshan has been to implement the Program in language practices such as in the bilingual education. The Yi people also widely inhabit other regions in Sichuan and provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi, so to communicate with native Yi speakers in other regions should be part of language planning in Liangshan. Another example is the Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County in Xinjiang. It is the only autonomous county in China where most of the population are the Xibe people. The county government pays close attention to education in the Xibe language among young people. Native to Shenyang province in Northeast China, a group of 1,018 Xibe officers and soldiers along with 3,275 family members were resettled by the Qing government to garrison Xinjiang, where the Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County is now located.4 There is a high degree of similarity between Xibe and Manchu language, and as the population who speak and write the Manchu language decreases drastically, the Xibe language education and heritage is becoming more significant. All the above examples show that regional language life varies tremendously, and the success of language work depends on national language policies and regional language realities. The main tasks of regional language work include promoting commonly used national language, managing relations between Putonghua and regional dialects, and relations between commonly used national language and ethnic minority languages, preventing language conflicts and harmonizing language life, preserving local language resources scientifically, and providing quality language services for local economy. As for ethnic auton4 Some of this group also settled down in Huocheng, Gongliu and Tacheng counties. The population of Xibe speakers is around 30,000, and some foreign scholars think of Xibe as a Manchu dialect.

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omous regions, an additional important task is to well conduct ethnic minority language work. Most of the provinces in China have language work commissions under their jurisdiction, whose duty is to promulgate local laws and regulations on spoken and written language. In general, however, regional commissions are no good at fully managing local language life than having a thorough understanding and in-depth analysis of it, let alone conducting conscious language planning and providing language guidance and services to the masses. Despite primitive discussions on regional language planning, the academic circles so far have not produced fruitful and extensive research findings and there is still much room for progress.

3 Micro language life Individuals and terminal units in society are situated at the micro language level, of which language life is as closely related to personal life and development as to the normal operation of basic social units. As a result, micro language life deserves attention, guidance and aids.5

3.1 Individual language life Language distinguishes man from other animals, and writing brings man out of barbarism into civilisation. The importance of spoken and written language can hardly be overstated. Language life is of vital importance to personal life quality and lifelong career planning. China is now growing into a society with multiple spoken and written languages. Upon birth, an infant may be decided by parents on which language to learn, for example, Putonghua, local dialect or ethnic language, and when to learn a foreign language. Despite this hasty family language planning, few parents have enough ability to design a reasonable language plan for their children. Children themselves have to face language alternatives when reaching a certain age, such as what is the standard and elegant way of expression in language, and whether to obey or defy language norms recognised by parents,

5 Spolsky, Bernard (2011) and Zhou, Qingsheng (2010) also discussed problems concerning micro language life.

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teachers and society. Much research shows that language ability is often related to personal development and salary level, especially in the modern era of information technology and knowledge economy. Consequently, appropriate language ability is an important component of lifelong career planning. Language difficulties in daily life need timely assistance, of which no mature research findings have been produced yet, but in a broad sense, difficulties may include factors as follows: 1)

Usage. For example, when one is in a strange region speaking a different dialect or language and cannot communicate with locals; when reading difficulty arises due to low literacy level; and communicative difficulty comes in when having no knowledge of what should be said on certain occasions. 2) Knowledge. In activities such as learning, testing and teaching, one is unable to correctly understand and elaborate certain language knowledge; or unable to use radical, stroke number and order, pinyin indexing etc. when using a Chinese dictionary. Misuses of false friends, such as the misuse of 的, 地, 得; 象, 像; and 做, 作; and misusing the measurement morpheme 位 that conveys respectful meaning to identify thief or suspects. 3) Technology. One is marginalised for lack of commonly used language technology, such as word processing, emailing, texting, and other office software. 4) Policymaking. Policymaking need not be an exclusive privilege of government or any organisation, but personal life also needs language policymaking such as, whether or not a babysitter should be able to speak Putonghua, which second language to choose when one pursues postgraduate study, and whether more acronym and Internet slangs should be used. It is always the case that people encounter difficulty when making such kind of decision. In addition, there are still handicapped persons with speech and language disorders, such as the visually impaired people who find it extremely difficult in learning descriptive and modifying words. Two parallel but distinct Braille systems are currently in use in China, causing confusion to the blind people, and it is even harder for them to read Chinese in public or on the Internet. Hearing impaired people generally cannot speak, which makes them deaf-mute and almost impossible to learn written language. Sign language is only used in deaf communities, and there is normally no sign language interpreter in TV broadcast or conferences, which deprive them of information and communication. Still there are children born with delayed language development, dyslexia, stuttering, vocal cord dysfunction, cleft lip etc. resulting in various kinds of speech difficulties. General language teaching and assistance can help resolve

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language difficulties for average people, but special education, such as pathological supports and language enhancement and treatment, should be provided for those visually and hearing impaired, and language disordered persons. Some professions are in particular relation to language or dependent on language proficiency, such as translator, teacher, announcer, TV presenter, writer, poet, playwright, journalist, editor, proof-reader, advertiser, lawyer, judge, secretary, arbiter, civil mediator, doctor, psychological counsellor, speech therapist, calligrapher, artist, host, hotline operator, tourist guide, stenographer, typist, language software designer, type designer, etc. Language ability, knowledge, cultivation and proficiency are of great significance to these professionals, and they are also in great need of special education, guidance and good working environment. Individual language life is at early stage guided by teachers and parents, and later by industry standards and work peers. People with language impairments and diseases need aids from special education and language therapy organisations. In general, however, individual persons do not develop language planning awareness, nor does society provide enough guidance, because there are no designated agencies in charge, effective measures or relevant academic research.

3.2 Language life of terminal units in society Family, village, farm, factory, mine, store, hospital, train station, court, army, government department, educational institution, radio and television station, press, news agency, journal publisher, opera troupe, movie theatre etc. are defined as terminal units in society, all varying in features, which can be broadly halved to social units and industrial units.

3.2.1 Family and village Family and village are typical terminal units in society, of which language life mainly refers to daily language communication. Family is the basic building block of Chinese society. A traditional Chinese family is extended with several generations living together where adults and the elderly are dominant in language communication. However, in modern families only live parents and children. The daily communication is apparently influenced by the young school children, and Putonghua has to be spoken at home. Urban families often face language problems, for example, language requirements for babysitters, which

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language should be adopted by family members, what kind of attitude is taken toward Internet slangs, dialects and foreign languages. Family language problems are determinant to family relations, which needs to be researched and provided with language counselling. Language life in villages has always been on a long leash in the Chinese tradition. Regional languages (dialects and ethnic minority languages) are primarily spoken for daily communicative purposes, but great changes have taken place nowadays. Transportation, television and telecommunications are easily accessible, making daily language communication much faster and wider than before, making village language life susceptible to changes in urban areas. The migrant workers as well have undergone significant changes in terms of language concepts and practices, so have many countryside children who travel far away from hometown to receive education different from that of their parents, and in turn impose an overwhelming impact on their parents. All the above factors have caused village language life to deviate from the traditional path, drawn close to urban areas and communication in Putonghua. Local languages and cultures are disappearing among young generations, and also is gone culture-loaded vocabulary. The ongoing changes put national language resources in jeopardy, and influence hundreds of millions of rural migrating population, eventually reflected and felt by urban language life.

3.2.2 Industrial terminal units Industrial terminal units broadly refer to government department, educational institution, research institution, radio and television station, press, news agency, journal publisher, opera troupe, movie theatre, court, hospital, train station, store, factory, mine etc., of which language life is confined by field language planning and displays various features. Language life in industrial terminal units involves two aspects, language for daily communication and language norms at work. The latter refer to both speeches used in classroom education, broadcast and court judgment, and scripts used in press and publication, government documents and store signs. Language for daily communication and language norms at work are related with distinctions. In general, language at work more accords to industrial standards than daily communication. Putonghua should be spoken in radio and TV broadcast, but less strictly in internal conferences or casual conversations, to be replaced by dialects or non-standard Putonghua. On the other hand, language norms at work has a considerable influence over daily communication, for example spoken and written language for daily communication in radio and TV

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station, press, news agency, journal publisher and lexicography company is understandably more standard than other places. Hence, we can deduce two points. First, daily communication in industrial terminal units is still subject to supervision and management, as language norms at work are not applicable to daily language. Second, setting language norms at work can increase the language level of daily communication. Industrial terminal units can also take charge of language policymaking, if with necessary relevant guidance. For example, whether a hospital should treat a patient who needs heart operation but whose language cannot be understood, a restaurant should make foreign language its working language, a telephone company should put priority on Putonghua or foreign language in call services, or whether a store should apply boldface to highlight expiry date etc. Language life in terminal units in society is as much related to national, regional and field language planning as to the survival and development of these units themselves. Apparently, terminal units in society need to well implement its language planning, with aids of government, region and industries. In this regard, the traditional way of management should be replaced by guidance that language service organisations provide.

4 Concluding remarks The present paper stratifies language life into three levels, macro, meso and micro, each then further categorised in line with the actual situation in China. The major objective is to conduct an in-depth observation of language life, so as to set up an academic framework for language planning. The observation and analyses show that language planning in China has formed a well-founded structure after several decades’ efforts to the extent that an appropriate national language policy is made available, so are the fundamental language planning in key fields and primary social sectors nationwide. However, weaknesses and limitations in language planning remain as follows: 1)

Limited research and ineffective planning on international language life, planning and efforts. 2) Much emphasis is placed on language work in the four key fields and it yields fruitful achievements, but the language work is overall rather narrow and lacks depth. Our next step is to extend to other fields and to implement language work in all the rest fields. It is also important to define the subject of language planning in each industry, and motivate field language planning. 3) Regional language planning has been touched in a crude manner but it does not virtually initiate.

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4) Micro language planning has not been included in national language planning. It used to be uncultivated or administered in the simplest way, without forming an effective working mechanism. Social language services were not well-organised, a bottleneck of today’s language planning. Nevertheless, discovery of these problems proves effective the framework proposed in the present paper. It is advisable to apply this framework for an indepth observation of language life in China at all possible levels. In accordance with the features of each level, we can conduct reasonable language planning, and manage language life in various forms in terms of policy, guidance and service. When it comes to international language life, we can make use of international forums, conventions and aids. We should as well spare no efforts to meet all the language needs at the national, regional, industrial and individual levels, and to construct a well-formed and more effective language planning system in the new era.

References Chen, Zhangtai. 2009. Yuyan Ziyuan yu Yuyan Wenti (Language Resources and Language Problems). Journal of Yunan Normal University, 4. Chinese Institute of Worker Movements. 2011. Xinshengdai Nongmingong: Wenti, Yanpan, Duice Jianyi (New-Generation Migrant Workers: Problems, Negotiations, and Countermeasures). Beijing: Chinese Worker Press. Dai, Manchun. 2011. Guojia Yuyan Nengli, Yuyan Guihua yu Guojia Anquan (National Language Ability, Language Planning and National Security). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics), 4. Dai, Qingxia (ed.). 1993. Kuajing Yuyan Yanjiu (A Study of Cross-Border Languages). Beijing, China: Minzu University of China Press. Dai, Qingxia. 2010. Yuyan Guanxi yu Guojia Anquan (Language Relations and National Security). Journal of Yunan Normal University, 2. Du, Yongdao. 2011. Queshi de Yuwen Ke (Missing Chinese Lessons). Beijing, China: Renmin Daily Press. Guo, Longsheng. 2008. Zhongguo Dangdai Yuyan Guihua de Lilun yu Shijian (Theories and Practices of Chinese Modern Language Planning). Guangzhou: Guangdong Education Press. Guo, Xi. 2009. Huayu Guihua Lunlue (Strategies of World Chinese Language Planning). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics), 4. He, Junfang and Zhou, Qingsheng. 2010. Yuyan Chongtu Yanjiu (Studies of Language Conflicts). Beijing, China: Central University of Nationalities Press. He, Hongzhi (ed.). 2012. Yuyan Chanye Daolun (Introduction to Language Industry). Beijing, China: Capital Normal University Press. Li, Xianle. 2010. Yuyan Ziyuan he Yuyan Wenti Shijiao xia de Yuyan Fuwu Yanjiu (Studies of Language Services from the Perspectives of Language Resources and Language Problems). Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 5.

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Li, Yuming. 2003. Nuli Peiyang Shuangyan Shuangyu Ren (Fostering of Bilingual Speakers). Yangtze River Academic, 4. Li, Yuming. 2010. Lun Zhongguo Yuyan Ziliao Yousheng Shujuku de Jianshe (On the Construction of Chinese Language Resources Audio Database). Zhongguo Yuwen (Studies of the Chinese Language), 4. Li, Yuming. 2011a. Tisheng Guojia Yuyan Nengli de Ruogan Sikao (Some Thoughts on Raising National Language Ability). Journal of Nankai Linguistics, 1. Li, Yuming. 2011b. Yuyan ye Shi “Yingshili” (Language is also “Hard power”). Journal of Central China Normal University, 5. Lu, Jianming. 2011. Zai Tansuo zhong Qianjin – Ershiyi Shiji Xiandai Hanyu Benti Yanjiu he Yingyong Yanjiu (Moving Forward in Exploration: Ontological and Application Research on Modern Chinese in the 21st Century). Beijing, China: Beijing Normal University Press. Qu, Shaobing. 2010. Guanyu Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao zhong Yuyan Fuwu Wenti de Guancha yu Sikao (Observation and Thoughts on Language Service Problems in the Language Situation in China). Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 5. Spolsky, Bernard. 2011. Language Polices: Key Topics in Sociolinguistics (Zhang Zhiguo trans.). Beijing, China: Commercial Press. Wang, Jianqin. 2010. Meiguo “Guanjian Yuyan” Zhanlue yu Woguo Guojia Anquan Yuyan Zhanlue (American “Key Language” Strategies and Chinese National Security Language Strategies). Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 2. Wen, Qiufang. 2011. Guojia Waiyu Nengli de Lilun Goujian yu Yingyong Changshi (Theories and Applications of National Foreign Language Ability). Chinese Foreign Language, 3. Xie, Junying. 2011. Chengshihua Jincheng zhong de Nongmingong Yuyan Wenti (Language Problems of Migrant Workers during the Process of Urbanisation). Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 3. Zhang, Minxuan and Zhang, Ripei. 2011. Duoyang yu Hexie: Shanghai Chengshi Fazhan Zhong de Yanyu Guihua Gouxiang (Diversity and Harmony: Language Planning in Shanghai Urbanisation). Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 3. Zhang, Weiguo. 2011. Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua: Jingjixue yu Yuyanxue Bijiao de Shijiao (Language Policy and Planning: From the Comparative Perspectives of Economy and Linguistics). Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 5. Zhang, Xiping and Liu, Ruomei. 2008. Shijie Zhuyao Guojia Yuyan Tuiguang Zhengce Gailan (Outline of Language Promotion Policies in Major Worldwide Countries). Beijing, China: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2009. Zhongguo Yanyu Renleixue Bainian Wenxuan (Century Collection of Chinese Linguistic Anthropology). Beijing, China: Intellectual Property Press. Zhou, Qingsheng. 2010. Yuyan Guihua Fazhan ji Weiguan Yuyan Guihua (Language Planning Development and Micro-language Planning). Journal of Beihua University (Social Sciences), 6.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Language Teaching and Research, 2013, Issue No. 5. Translated by CHENG Meng (程萌) School of Foreign Language Studies, Ningbo Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University [email protected]

Chapter 7

On field language planning1 Abstract: Under the guideline of the concept levels of language life, this paper discusses several issues on field language planning. Reviewing the history and development of China’s language planning over the 20th century reveals that our national language planning first took root in the field of education. The work was gradually extended to fields such as administration, culture, and service sectors etc. Nowadays, it is time that all the fields take care of their own language planning. The basic contents of field language planning include 1) giving support to national language policies, 2) establishing field language norms relating to work quality, and 3) resolving field language problems. The underlying operating mechanism of field language planning should be such that competent authorities take the lead, state authorities offer guidance, and experts provide academic supports. There are currently two main problems in field language planning: 1) lack of language awareness in many fields, and 2) limited academic research concerning field language life. As an important component of national language life management, field language planning is, on the one hand linked to national language policies, and on the other hand, to language life of enterprises and institutions in each trade. A series of administrative measures are needed to develop field language research for the purpose of laying down a solid foundation for field language planning. Keywords: field language life, field language planning

0 Introduction Language life2, as a concept in language planning, has drawn increasing attention from the Chinese language planning and sociolinguistic circles over the past decade, and its contents have been gradually extended and enriched. From 2005 onward, the State Language Commission started to release the annual 1 This article is first appeared on Journal of Central China Normal University, issue 3, 2013. 2 Activities such as language use, language studies, language learning and language education are all considered as language life. It also includes all the activities that make use of the outcomes of language studies. Language life is also called life of language and literature, life of spoken and written language. The concept of language landscape used in Hong Kong is similar to that of language life.

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Report of Language Situation in China, and a more detailed and comprehensive version is simultaneously published by the Commercial Press. The concept and related ideas of language life therefore expand continuously to the society and academic circles through press conference and the published Report of Language Situation in China. The journal Yangtze River Academic published by Wuhan University has set up a special column Hotspots in Language Life since its first issue of 2006, widely acknowledged as an explicit response from the academic circles. In November 2006, the Jiangsu Education Press published the textbook Contemporary Language Life edited by Ding Fan. It is selected among Elective Readers of Chinese in general high schools, indicating that the concept of language life has entered into preliminary education. In May 2010, the Development and Application Center of Chinese Language Resources affiliated to the Commercial Press issued the e-journal Chinese Language Life, serving as an online basecamp for language life research. A number of academic conferences also place language life among topic list, and some funding agencies started to establish research projects related to language life. Recently, the Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao ‘Report of Language Situation in China’ series is being translated into English and published internationally by a prestigious German publisher, and the language life concept is well on its way to worldwide visibility. Up to the 13th February 2013, the Google search for keyword “language life” produced 158 million results, and 18 million by its Chinese counterpart Baidu3. It is evident that the made-in-China concept language life has won wide recognition and keen attention from academia and society. In order to conduct a thorough study on problems related to language life, Li (2012a) stratified language life into three levels, macro, meso and micro, with the meso-level language life further divided into field language life and regional language life. As Li pointed out, “field language life is actually realized as language life in all sectors. Different sectors undertake their own social activities and need to consider and address unique language problems. Even their employees are expected to reach different language proficiency levels. As a result, language life in different sectors has its peculiar characteristics, and so does the language planning”. Social life can also be divided into different fields, each with its own language life and its harmony dependent on field language planning. The present paper will address language planning issues from the following three perspectives: 1) historical foundation, 2) basic contents and 3) thoughts on implementation.

3 Limited by the search technique, the results of these keyword searches may not be entirely accurate, but suffice to illustrate that the concept of language life has already delivered certain social impacts.

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1 Historical foundation of field language planning The language planning in a modern sense started from qieyinzi ‘phonetic alphabet’ campaign to the end of the Qing Dynasty, and its major achievement was Tongyi Guoyu Banfa’an ‘Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language’ promulgated at the Central Education Conference, which was organized by the Ministry of Education of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. Ever since then national language planning for long has kept pace with language planning in certain fields, particularly that of education, and extended from educational institutions to illiteracy demolition campaign in society. For example, Article Five of the Proposal aforementioned asserts that “Training – The Ministry of Education commences to set up Chinese training center in the imperial capital, to which all the provinces are mandated to send trainees with high proficiency in their local dialects. Upon graduation the trainees are assigned to their original provinces, and teach as trainers in the Chinese training centers located in provincial capitals, likewise at all the subordinate administrative levels. Any trainer in the educational institutions who cannot speak standard speech should enrol in the training course in rotation leading to successful graduation. In addition to the subject of Chinese, all other subjects should gradually be taught in standard Chinese”4. In 1913, according to the spirit of the Central Interim Education Conference of the Republic of China, the Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation called a series of conferences in Beijing. The Commission inspected and approved the pronunciation of as many as over 7,100 Chinese characters, and formulated 38 zhuyin zimu ‘phonetic alphabet’ and stipulated the seven articles of Guoyin Tuixing Banfa ‘National Language Promotion Program’. The last four articles are as follows: 4. The National Literature course in primary schools should be replaced or supplemented by a National Language course. 5. The national pronunciation should be used in teaching by primary school teachers, and also by teachers of National Literature courses in middle and normal schools. 6. After the publication of Guoyin Huibian ‘Dictionary of National Pronunciation), all primary school textbooks should be annotated with national pronunciation aside Chinese characters. 7. After the publication of Guoyin Huibian, all official documents such as public notices should be annotated with national pronunciation aside Chinese characters.5

4 Cf. Language Reform Press (1958:144) 5 Cf. Su (2010:34–35)

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Three out of the four articles are concerned with education. Though Article 7 explicitly regulates public notice, a kind of government official document, it is still for the purpose of demolishing illiteracy, as a result of the fact that one of the major objectives of national language planning is to develop education, the latter providing fundamental support to national language planning and becoming a key field where national language policies are implemented. The history of China’s language planning shows that the field of administration is the second most important in terms of language planning. For example, with regard to modern punctuation marks, Wang Bingyao started advocacy in his Pinyin Zipu (Character Chart with Pinyin) as early as 1896, and the system was primitively established in 1919. In the following year, the Ministry of Education of the Beiyang Warlord Government promulgated Tongling Caiyong Xinshi Biaodian Fuhao Wen ‘Ordinance of Applying New Punctuation Marks’, simply meant to be distributed among schools for future application. In 1930 the Ministry of Education of the Nationalist Government also promulgated Huayi Jiaoyu Jiguan Gongwen Geshi Banfa ‘Proposal for Unifying Document Format in Educational Agencies’, which stipulated fourteen punctuation marks used in official documents issued by education agencies. In 1933, the Nationalist Government issued Ordinance No. 500, mandating that all the government agencies in China should use the seven punctuation marks and writing format. The new punctuation marks were advocated by non-governmental associations, then adopted by educational institutions and agencies, and eventually the administrative document system all over the nation. To ensure that government orders are carried out effectively is also a major objective of national language planning, so the administrative organs, as the brain of the government, undoubtedly should take the lead of implementing national language policies. The public cultural undertakings have also drawn early attention from language planning, particularly press and publication. As radio and television emerged and gradually won popularity, they have become the focus of attention. In 1935, the Ministry of Education of the Nationalist Government promulgated Diyipi Jiantizi Biao ‘A Table of the First Batch of Simplified Chinese Characters’ for the purpose of compulsory education and civic education; however, it went well beyond the field of education to the extent that “the Nationalist Government is advised to mandate the application in all government agencies” and “press agencies should apply accordingly”. The publication field has also been included in language planning. The People’s Republic of China promulgated Diyipi Yitizi Zhengli Biao ‘A Table of First Batch of Verified Variant Character Forms’ in 1955 and Yinshua Tongyong Hanzi Zixing Biao ‘A General List of Print Fonts of Chinese Characters’ in 1965, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and the Commission of Chinese Script Reform. In 1988, the State Language

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Commission together with the General Administration of Press and Publication published Xiandai Hanyu Tongyongzi Biao ‘A Table of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese’, and in 1985, Putonghua Yiduci Shenyinbiao ‘A List of Authorized Pronunciations for Heterophonic Words in Putonghua’ was jointly published by the State Language Commission, State Education Commission and Ministry of Radio and Television. The collaboration with relevant administrative authorities for publication of spoken and written language norms can further facilitate the implementation of national language policies in related fields. In the recent period after the Reforms and Opening up, China has also paid additional attention to spoken and written language uses in public service sectors, and subsequently four key fields of language work, particularly Putonghua promotion, have developed, namely educational institutions, party and government organizations, radio, film and television media, and public services. The report delivered by the then vice Premier Li Lanqing in 1999 was a case in point, “To promote Putonghua nationwide and perfect the work of spoken and written language standardization is a huge social project, which the entire society should actively support and participate in. It is of note that educational institutions at all levels and of all kinds should play their fundamental roles, that the administrative personnel of party and government organizations their leading roles, that radio, film and television media their exemplary roles and that public services their demonstrative roles”. (Department of Languages Planning and Administration, Ministry of Education 2005: 297) Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Guojia Tongyong Yuyan Wenzifa ‘The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language’ with effect in 2000 not only legally regulates the speeches and words used in the four key fields but also considers spoken and written language problems in other fields including public facilities, enterprise and organization names, commodity packaging and instructions, art works (for example calligraphy and seal cutting), information processing and IT products. National language planning has spread from the aforementioned four key fields to the rest of society. According to the statistics in Xinshiqi Yuyan Wenzi Fagui Zhengce Wenjian Huibian6 ‘Collected Regulations and Policies of Spoken and Written Language in Modern Era’ compiled by the Department of Languages Planning and Administration of the Ministry of Education, it is revealed that during the period of 1978– 2004, a total of 47 official documents concerning or related to spoken and 6 See Department of Language Planning and Administration, Ministry of Education (2005), not including those documents released by national administrative authorities of spoken and written language.

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written language have been promulgated, such as state laws, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council administrative ordinances and regulations, and other departmental regulations, of which 37 documents relate to specific fields. During the same period of time, the ministries and commissions under the State Council released 65 documents of the kind, altogether a total of 102 documents related to field language life, among which 47 concerns education, 9 radio, film and television, 3 party and government organizations, 8 industrial and commercial administration, 9 person and place names and 26 on other miscellaneous trades and meetings. Incomplete as they are, the statistics reveal certain information concerning field language planning. The field of education is the foundation of spoken and written language work, accounting for approximately 46% documents, with radio, film and television up to 9% as another important field. The party and government organizations appear to have released relatively fewer documents probably due to their need-to-be-improved work or their internal circulation not being reflected. As to the rest 42% these fields are mostly pertinent to public services, including industrial and commercial administration, person and place names and the like. In addition, the important position of field language work in national spoken and written language work can be reflected in view of organization structure. The State Language Commission currently consists of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Culture, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, the General Administration of Press and Publication, the General Political Department of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, the National Standardization Administration, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Central Committee of Youth League, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions etc. Language commissions at local levels also comprise relevant departments of the like, indicating that field language planning has been facilitated with organization structure. In retrospect, the century-long language planning history can offer the following primary knowledge: 1.

Language planning has extended into various fields in society, particularly those key fields related to spoken and written language such as education, public administration, mass media, public services etc. To well handle the work in the above key fields can more or less place under control the situation of language life.

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The spoken and written language work in all the fields primarily aims at implementing national language policies. As far as the current situation is concerned, it is of vital importance to “promote Putonghua and standard Chinese characters” in those major industries, particularly those “heavily involved in spoken and written language”. As society advances and culture prospers along with ongoing information technology and speeding globalization, spoken and written language has gained increasing importance in all trades and industries and started to be correlated to their service and product quality. As a result, one next major task of language planning is to give an impetus to specific language planning in every individual field.

2 Basic contents of field language planning Vertically located between national language policies and language life of enterprises and public institutions as the terminals of all industries, field language planning is largely determined by 1) national language policies and 2) the actual situation of field language life. It aims at ensuring and improving work quality of all the fields. The basic contents of field language planning involve 1) supporting national language policies, 2) establishing spoken and written language standards related to work quality, and 3) resolving field language planning problems.

2.1 Supporting national language policies National language policies are formulated on the basis of national language life and should accommodate to changes in national language life in a timely manner. As field language life is an important component of national language life, an accurate understanding and regular inspection of field language life, its development trends and changes, serve as fundamental work to scientifically formulate and timely adjust national language policies. Take person names and place names for example. Those names have certain notable features such as, 1) a vast number of Chinese characters are used, exceeding the limits of commonly used characters; 2) there is relatively high frequency of yitizi ‘heterophonic characters’; 3) many characters are exclusively used in person names and place names, which sometimes have ambiguous meanings and inconsistent pronunciations. In the past, the standardization

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work of Chinese characters used to follow the underlying principle of “reducing the total number of characters and number of strokes for individual characters”, virtually confined to commonly used characters for general purposes and irrespective of the uses required by person names and place names. Firstly, no more than 7,000 commonly used characters are regulated. The number is far less than actually needed. The insufficiency went unnoticed in the period when person names were handwritten on the first-generation national identification card, but emerges as an imminent problem nowadays for the second-generation national identification cards when GPS is widely used. Secondary, a number of characters commonly used as person names are treated as variant character forms, and as a result famous historical figures have to be renamed. For example, 魏徵 ‘Wei Zheng’, a renowned prime minister in the Tang Dynasty, changes to 魏征, and 毕昇 ‘Bi Sheng’, the inventor of the movable type printing press technology in the Song Dynasty, becomes 毕升. Even today many people still use obsolete variant characters in their names such as 喆 ‘zhe’, 淼 ‘miao’ and 犇 ‘ben’. In addition, the strokes of some place names are so complex and inconvenient that they have been replaced by ones with fewer strokes, such as 盩厔/周至 ‘Zhouzhi’ and 鄠县/户县 ‘Huxian’. When it comes to person names and place names, it is reasonable to expand the number of Chinese characters on the basis of commonly used characters, and to take a correct and scientific position to discriminate variant characters, particularly to reconsider and properly apply the variant characters in person names and place names, and to moderately adjust related language policies. Meanwhile, each field, in keeping with its own features, should actively implement national language policies, including policies on commonly used spoken and written language, ethnic languages, foreign languages etc. Of note, implementation of national language policies needs a solid down-to-earth methodology, primarily dependent on the effective implementation in each individual field where people live their language life. If all the fields, particularly those key ones, can well implement national language policies, administration of language life can be properly put into effect. Should national language policies, however, not perfectly accommodate to the actual language life in some field, they must as well be implemented while policy-changing suggestions are proposed to the government. For example, Article 17 of Guojia Tongyong Yuyan Wenzi Fa ‘Law of the National Common Spoken and Written Language’ concerns exclusion clauses for the usages of traditional characters and variant characters, stating that “variant characters in family names” are allowed. In China, with several exceptions of ethnic minorities, a person name contains family name and given name, while Article 17

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only allows variant characters in family name but not in given name, so making 喆 ‘zhe’, 淼 ‘miao’ and 犇 ‘ben’ illegitimate. Opposite to both common sense and naming conventions as it is, Article 17 should still complied with any time prior to a change of policy. The fact holds true that in several recently broadcast TV serials about 魏徵 ‘Wei Zheng’, the simplified version 魏征 ‘Wei Zheng’ is used in subtitles. The Sogou (a Chinese search engine) search for 毕升 ‘Bi Sheng’ on the 3rd February 2013 produced 18,942 results but only 1,436 by the name of 毕 昇 ‘Bi Sheng’, the latter tenfold outnumbered by its simplified version. Of course, field language planning can play a positive role in supporting national language planning only if relevant departments can construct a feedback mechanism so as to make timely modifications and adjustments to those regulations unfit for actual language life.

2.2 Establishing field spoken and written language standards Field spoken and written language standards, as an indispensable component to guarantee field work quality, can also offer opportunities for potential developments, which include three main aspects as follows:

2.2.1 Field work language Any organization needs to transmit information and coordinate work by means of spoken and written language, which can be defined as work language if officially used inside an organization. Its definition in a certain field should be principally based on ensuring optimal communication within maximal range. In China, the nationwide commonly used spoken and written language is generally considered as work language. However, in view of the actual situation of Putonghua promotion, regional Putonghua can also be accepted in certain areas, and sometimes even regional dialects, for example in the dialect areas of the Southern China. With regard to ethnic autonomous regions, bilingualism should be adopted that both the national and the regional commonly used spoken and written languages are equally treated as work language. As for special occasions and areas, foreign languages may as well be adopted, such as for foreign invested companies, overseas Chinese companies and international conferences. The current major problems in field work language include a lack of consciousness, insufficient relevant requirements in terms of conference and personnel, and unreasonable overuse of foreign languages. All these problems can impose a negative effect on work efficiency and public image of businesses.

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2.2.2 Product-related spoken and written language standards Product here is understood in its broadest sense that it refers to all kinds of services and items provided by various fields and industries to the society, including the social management services provided by administrative departments. Services more often than not are realized by means of spoken and written language, for which nowadays people have an increasing demand in terms of quantity and quality when they purchase services from managers, service personnel and manufacturers. The quality of spoken and written language often determines service satisfaction and becomes an important component of product quality in diverse varieties of fields, such as government official documents, press conferences, legal documents, mass media, textbooks, in-class teaching, public posters, road signs, commercials, product manuals, medical prescriptions, museums, tourist spots, public transportations, IT-related products etc. Products have their unique needs and standards in terms of the use of spoken and written language, due to their different purposes and packaging considerations. No matter what kind of product it is and no matter what kind of or what quantity of language is used, it is the purchasers’ needs, satisfaction and convenience that should be considered as the objective for pursuit. Insofar as spoken and written language used on products is concerned, several problems currently remain imminent. First, no consideration has been taken on the demands of product purchasers or language consumption of the masses. For example, official documents are often as heavily obscured with bureaucratic undertone as medical and diagnostic reports are loaded with professional jargons and technical symbols, which compromises patients’ right to information. In addition, English is indiscriminately used in services of hotels and telephone companies, or other unnecessary places. Even worse, medicament instructions have no Chinese at all or the Chinese instructions are unintelligible, while services and products in ethnic autonomous regions often are provided with no necessary ethnic language. Second, product quality is severely compromised by poor spoken and written language. Film and TV serial subtitles are incorrigibly troubled with wrong characters, and often violate the pinyin orthography such as errors of capitalization and hyphenation and overwhelmingly unacceptable usages of foreign language, even subject to being ridiculed. Some experts complain that even the Tibetan language used along the QinghaiTibet railway needs to be greatly improved. Third, owing to the lack of language awareness, neither national language policies nor standards have been effectively implemented. Regional dialects, traditional Chinese characters, foreign languages, and ethnic minority languages have all been misused or ignored in one

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way or another. Each field should notice its problems of these kinds and formulate spoken and written language standards in line with its actual situations.

2.2.3 Basic requirements on employee language skills Language is one of the three basic human skills. In particular, the modern era of information technology has witnessed an increasing proportion of brain workers, and even manual labourers need to do more brain work as never before. Employees in nearly all fields, so to speak, are obligated to master proper language skills which have turned into an important component of workforce. For example, department store salespersons only needed basic language skill in the past, such as oral and writing literacy for simple introduction, receipts and arithmetic, but now customers have expectations for better language service when shopping. It is also shown that insufficient language skills for product introduction lead to less successful deals. Likewise, customer services feedback in home appliances also exhibits a high correlation with service language skills. As a result, it is advisable that language skills be integrated in workforce criteria as much as spoken and written language standards in work regulations and trade codes. Employee language skill standards have started to be formulated in some professional fields, such as teachers, announcers, commentators, and public servants, all needed to meet certain Putonghua requirements or pass examinations. Generally speaking, however, all the fields concerned have an insufficient understanding of what language skills and levels their employees should have. Despite various language tests, most of them cannot necessarily test one’s overall language ability, and even worse, they are language proficiency tests rather than language skill tests for specific job positions. To formulate language skill requirements for different job positions and to perfect work language skill tests are considered as an important task in field language planning.

2.3 Resolving field language planning problems Each field has its own language life and pending language problems. If these problems are well managed, work efficiency will rise and industry prospers, in turn achieving the harmony in language life; if not well managed, they will give rise to negative impacts on industry development, and in extreme cases, to serious social consequences and language conflicts.

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There exist language problems, big or small, in a great many fields waiting to be treated carefully. For example, the proportion of radio and television programs presented in Putonghua and in regional dialects is rigorously restricted by relevant authorities, in terms of duration, channel and time allocation. However, due to various purposes, many regions and businesses attempt to somehow fine-tune the proportion and allocation, as evidenced recently by an ever increasing number of news broadcasts, talk shows and TV serials in regional dialects among local televisions stations. In 2010 when Guangzhou was preparing to host the 16th Asian Games and the 10th Asian Para-Games, suggestions were proposed to the Guangzhou Television Station to include more Putonghua programs, and unexpectedly these suggestions triggered a Supporting Cantonese campaign which eventually spread to other Cantonese-speaking regions of Hong Kong and overseas. Nowadays some 70% Chinese population can understand and speak Putonghua, and people are more conscious of the close relations between regional dialects and culture. More importantly, the 6th Session of the 17th Communist Party Conference integrated the decision to “greatly promote and regulate the commonly used spoken and written language in China, and scientifically preserve the spoken and written language of all the ethnic groups”. It has now truly become a problem as to how the radio and television properly handle the relations between Putonghua and dialects. Solutions to this problem concern not only work quality, audience rating and guidance in society, but also in a broader sense culture preservation and feelings of the masses in dialectal regions. When it comes to the sports arena, there also exist language problems worth exploring and resolving. As China’s international status and athletic competence increase, Chinese sports teams have more opportunities to attend international games and more major international games choose China as host country. To adapt to the new trend, it is necessary to improve foreign language skills of team leaders, coaches, judges, sports officials and journalists so that all the relevant personnel better understand and fit into international games to properly protect our rights, expand sports exchanges, and better participate in international sports organizations. The 2016 Olympic Games will take place in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, of which Portuguese is the official language. Portuguese speakers can more or less understand Spanish, while both Portuguese and Spanish language professionals in China are insufficient in number. In addition, other language problems also remain in sports, for example the pinyin transcription of names in terms of family and given name ordering, capitalization, acronym etc. As to international games hosted by China, the athlete parade on the opening ceremony should enter in the sequence of either phonetic or orthographic order of their country names in Chinese. Besides, sports terminology such

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as athletic events needs to be translated into English or other languages for a better introduction of indigenous Chinese sports to the international community. Field language problems, despite its close relation to work quality and industry development, are often subject to ignorance or suspension due to their insolubility. To study the existent language problems in all fields and seek proper solutions is also one of the important tasks in field language planning.

3 Some thoughts on field language planning Field language planning is of vital importance to the nation and people as much as to the administrative authorities. In view of the current development tendency of all the industries and the century-long language planning, today is the prime time for field language planning, of which the underlying operating mechanism should be that competent authorities take the lead, state authorities offer guidance, and experts provide academic supports.

3.1 Competent authorities taking the lead A Field in society conventionally has been discussed under various names, such as xitong ‘system’, zhanxian ‘battle line’, hangye ‘trade’ etc., and its administration is in reality conducted by superior industry competent authorities (or trade associations), so is the field language life. All the industries should take into account spoken and written language issues when drafting work plans, employee quality criteria and training assessment, and regulations of product quality inspection and sales services. It is both theoretically rational and practically feasible for the competent authorities to take charge of the language life in its subordinate fields. One of the major current issues is lack of language awareness and even linguistic commonsense. Many field supervisors and academic experts know no more about relations between language and society than the situation of social language life. Of note, little is known about what kinds of language professionals are needed in different fields, how spoken and written language is transformed into social and economic merits, and how language relations and conflicts can be managed well or avoided in this very era of information technology, globalisation and multiculturalism. As a result, many industry competent authorities has nearly no consciousness whatsoever of conducting language planning or integrating language in industry planning, so it is of immediate urgency to

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increase language awareness of industry competent authorities in field language planning.

3.2 State authorities offering guidance State authorities are in charge of state language life in the sense that they not only take responsibility for national language planning but also offer relevant guidance, as partly required by national language life administration and viewed as the government’s functional transformation from language administration to language service. The guidance, as it were, should on the one hand guarantee that field language planning satisfies national merits and executes national language policies, and on the other hand encourage each individual field to creatively conduct its own language planning in keeping with its actual language life, particularly to transform spoken and written language into productivity by means of language planning. The execution of field language planning, particularly in terms of national language policies, should be taken as responsibility of the state authorities. It is of special importance to develop a supervision system, formulate specific supervision procedures, and properly provide feedback to supervision results so much so that supervision can be effectively conducted. During the process of guidance and supervision, state authorities can also develop a deeper understanding of the language life in all fields so as to make timely adjustments to national language policies and prevent them from deviating from actual language life. We will also step by step formulate all kinds of field regulations for implementing national language policies, to ensure that national language policies can be more effectively executed. Of note, national language policies can be developed into automatic industry requirements and an organic component for making progress in each field.

3.3 Conducting academic research on field language life The formulation of language planning involves a high degree of professionalism, which demands a wide range of experts and scholars to participate and provide solid academic supports. As applied linguistics and sociolinguistics develop over the last thirty years, experts have started to look into language life in certain fields. Language teaching is the traditional territory of linguistic research, in addition to laws, press, advertising, media, medicine, and police, and a number of other cross-disciplinary branches related to language planning have

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gradually emerged and developed, such as forensic linguistics, media linguistics, advertising linguistics etc. From 2005 onward, the State Language Commission annually published Language Situation in China based on its studies on language life in various fields. Journals such as Journal of Jianghan University and Journal of Yunnan Normal University ran special columns to promote field language research, and publishing houses also put out books on field language life, such as Series of Field Language Studies by the Chinese Academy of Social Science, among others. The Putonghua proficiency training and testing also attempts to take into account the features of language application in certain fields. In general, however, language life research in China is shadowed by narrow coverage and unexplored territories. Research in specific fields is also in great need of in-depth exemplary cases, and methodology is noticeably old-fashioned with no reference to database. Even worse, research is mostly on a case-by-case pattern deprived of theorization and implications. China, as it were, currently remains in the primitive stage of academic preparation for field language planning. The underdeveloped research in field language life is mainly attributed to the following reasons. First, the linguistic circle as always is more concerned about ontological research and language teaching, occasionally relating to other fields only with limited interest in peculiar language phenomena such as idiosyncratic word usages. The research itself narrowly aims to correct mistakes and break bad habits and fails to realise the necessity of panoramic observations and exhaustive analyses, let alone a systematic language planning for a field. Second, research in field language life demands comprehensive knowledge of linguistics and related disciplines, and intensive collaboration between linguists and experts in relevant fields. Cross-disciplinary knowledge and research teams are fundamental to scientific research in field language life. Generally speaking, however, research used to be conducted by linguists, its objective mainly on linguistic and philological matters. Though the work of pioneering scholars deserves much applause, this one-person combat mode could produce no more in-depth research than integration of research findings and application in relevant disciplines. Third, national language planning displays a spiralling development with constant updating and expansion. Due to historical limits of development, China paid no attention to promoting field language planning, and few fields proposed demands for their own language planning. Academics is preceded by social demands so much so that before society develops to a certain historical stage, it does not impose demands on linguistic studies, nor can the academic circles have the motivation and consciousness of studying field language life.

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Nowadays, we have seen a strong social demand. Scholars in every corner of the academic circles should be mobilized to develop a deep understanding of language life in all industries, and their requests and problems in terms of spoken and written language so that proper solutions can be proposed. While conducting research in field language life, we should remain in the forefront of the times to overlook and design from the perspective of the entire situation, particularly to take notice of the new requirements of employee language skills in the new era. It is of equal importance to keep an eye on the emerging language-related careers and industries and related language planning, such as language skills of stenographer, keyboard compiler, computer font designer, information search technician etc., and language planning in language therapy, information processing and online new media. It is self-evident that building professional teams is a vital component of academic development. We should take proper measures to foster cross-disciplinary professionals and to encourage research teams involving multiple disciplines. It is also important that multidisciplinary key funding projects be set up to study field language life and resolve field language problems. The projects not only can produce applicable academic achievements for society but also benefit research teams and professionals for the purpose of accumulating scientific data and developing field language studies. Of course, it is equally important to pay attention to the application of modern scientific research methodologies. Nowadays, both scientific research and social development have entered into the big data era. Field language life has a keener need for big data supports as well as a new-generation Internet-oriented data consciousness, to explore the function of data to the extreme by gathering and processing data with the guiding concepts of sharing and crowdsourcing. In conclusion, the construction and development of field language studies are no less significant to the overall progression of linguistics. Various fields have different language demands and different problems to be addressed. Some fields even need specified language policies. As a result, fields differ in terms of language life. To analyse the different language needs and the characteristics of language life in all individual fields, as well as the language problems and policies in specific fields are necessary to create a harmonious overall language life and to resolve language-related social problems, in addition to developing multiple language-related disciplines and promoting the development of linguistic disciplinary structure. It also reflects the fact that language studies should be based on language problems in society, and linguists should update academic orientation and focus on language life in society in order to fulfil their inescapable social responsibilities.

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Li, Yuming. 2012b. Dangdai Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo zhong de Wenti (Problems in Chinese Contemporary Language Life). Chinese Social Sciences, 9. Lu, Ziwen. 2012. Waiyu Zhengce Yanjiu (Studies on Foreign Language Policy). Beijing, China: Peking University Press. Lu, Jianming; Su, Peicheng; et al. (eds.). 2004. Yuwen Xiandaihua he Hanyu Pinyin Fang’an (Language Modernization and Chinese Pinyin Schemes). Beijing, China: Language and Culture Press. Lü, Jiping (ed.). 2000. Dangqian Woguo Yuyan Wenzi de Guifanhua Wenti (Current Issues in Chinese Spoken and Written Language Standardization). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Press. Secretariat of the National Language Working Conference. 1987. Xinshiqi de Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo – Quanguo Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo Huiyi Wenjian Huibian (Language Work in the New Era – A Collection of Official Documents of the National Language Working Conference). Beijing, China: Language and Culture Press. Spolsky, Bernard. 2011. Language Policies: Key Topics in Sociolinguistics (Zhang, Zhiguo trans.). Beijing, China: Commercial Press. Su, Peicheng (ed.). 2010. Dangdai Zhongguo de Yuwen Gaige he Yuwen Guifan (Language Reform and Regulation of the Spoken and Written In Contemporary China). Beijing, China: Commercial Press. Su, Xinchun and Su, Baorong (eds.). 2004. Cihuixue Lilun yu Yingyong (Theories and Applications of Lexicography). Beijing, China: Commercial Press. Wang, Bingyao. 1896. Pinyin Zipu (Character Chart with Pinyin) (1956 ed.). Beijing, China: Language Reform Press. Wang, Hui. 2011. Aodaliya Yuyan Zhengce Yanjiu (Research on Australian Language Policy). Beijing, China: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Press. Wang, Jun. 1995. Dangdai Zhongguo de Wenzi Gaige (Script Reform of Contemporary China). Beijing, China: Contemporary China Publishing House. Xia, Zhonghua, et al. 2012. Yingyong Yuyanxue Fanchou yu Xianzhuang (Fields and Situations of Applied Linguistics) (volumes I and II). Beijing, China: Xuelin Press. Xu, Daming (ed.). 2010. Shehui Yuyanxue Shiyan Jiaocheng (An Experimental Course of Sociolinguistics). Beijing, China: Peking University Press. Yao, Xiaoping. 2011. Xifang Yuyanxue Shi (History of Western Linguistics). Beijing, China: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Zhang, Xiping and Liu, Ruomei. 2008. Shijie Zhuyao Guojia Yuyan Tuiguang Zhengce Gailan (Outline of Language Promotion Policies in Major Countries Worldwide). Beijing, China: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

Translated by CHENG Meng (程萌) School of Foreign Language Studies, Ningbo Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University [email protected]

Chapter 8

Characteristics of language life in contemporary China Abstract: Contemporary language life of the Chinese is characterized by the following features: the gradual formation of “bilingualism and bi-dialecticism”, the fast development of virtual language life, the fast change in China’s “language map”, the urgent need for language planning as a result of fast urbanization and the necessity for coordinating the domestic-international overall language situations. The language planning in contemporary China include such important tasks as an accurate and deep understanding of Chinese language conditions, the proper handling of the relations between languages, the management of language life, the enhancement of citizens’ language competence and of the national overall language competence, maximization of the “language bonus”, and the fulfillment of our international language responsibilities, etc. They also give rise to many new research topics. Keywords: language life, characteristics of the times, language planning

0 Introduction China’s modernization can be traced back to the late Qing dynasty. Despite the ups and downs during the process, the modernization of the Chinese language has been a continual movement. Language planning has also been developed at different periods, contributing to the gradual modernization of the Chinese language life. One of the duties of the government is the proper management of language life, which must be based on a comprehensive and deep understanding of current language conditions and an accurate recognition of the features of language life, so that scientific language planning as well as dialectical policies can be developed. Entering into the 21st century, current language planning must address the following questions: What are the basic conditions of China’s language life? At what stage is the Chinese language life? What are the basic characteristics and features of the time? There are still many questions awaiting further discussion concerning language life. Many aspects of the language conditions in the country are still

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unknown to us. It is still hard to obtain a comprehensive and accurate understanding of contemporary language life in China. Based on the knowledge acquired, the present paper argues that China’s language life is characterized primarily by four features.

1 Initial formation of “bilingualism and bi-dialecticism” (including “multilingualism and multi-dialecticism”)1 1.1 “Monolingualism and mono-dialecticism” in ancient China Language life in ancient China is “monolingual and mono-dialectal” on the whole. The common written language for the Han nationality was formed very early in ancient China, with yayan ‘literary language’ and tongyu ‘common language’ appearing in Qin and Han dynasties, followed by guanhua ‘official language’ serving as the national common language. Nonetheless, the spoken variety of the people was basically the local dialects, the variety spoken within a particular region. Even though some similar reading tones and official tones existed in the whole country, they did not have a large impact on the whole population, since they did not have a widespread use. Ancient China was an agricultural country, where the public were happy to confine themselves to the same piece of land and were resistant to relocation. This was coupled with the underdevelopment of transportation and communication. On the whole, the

1 This paper makes a distinction between “yu” and “yan”. “yu” refers to language, while “yan” refers to the different varieties of a language, including the “regional dialects” and the common language. Dialects refer to the geographical varieties of a language, and the common language is a high variety of a language. Based on the number of languages and dialects a person can use, a distinction is made between mono-dialectals, multi-dialectals, mono-linguals, bilinguals, and multilinguals. However, we do not make a strict distinction between bi-dialectals and multi-dialectals, and between bilinguals and multilinguals, because “bi-dialectals” often include “multi-dialectals”, and “bilinguals” often include “multilinguals”. Based on the number of languages and dialects used in a society, a further distinction is made between mono-dialecticism, bi-dialecticism, multi-dialecticism, monolingualism, bilingualism, and multilingualism. Likewise, for the convenience of discussion, we normally do not make a strict distinction between bilingualism and multilingualism, and between bi-dialecticism and multi-dialecticism: “bidailecticalism” often includes “multi-dialecticism”, and “bilingualism” often includes “multilingualism”.

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entire population was characterized by its limited volume and frequency of mobility. Not many people could use two languages and dialects, and consequently, monolingualism and mono-dialecticism were the characteristics of the Han nationality in ancient China. Even fewer achievements have been made in the study of the language life of the minority groups in ancient China. There are many questions still unclear to us: Which language manifested dialectal differences? To what extent did their dialects vary? What were the exact situations of their using single dialect or two dialects? However, judging from the pattern of population mobility, the language life of ethnic groups was basically mono-dialectal. China has been a multi-ethnic country. People who were capable of using two or more dialects or foreign languages can be identified in the border areas with mixed ethnic communities, in the political center or some institutions specialized in minority or foreign affairs as well as the governmental offices for the ethnic minorities. However, bilinguals (or multilinguals) used to account for a small share of the total population, and bilingualism existed in only few areas and domains. Therefore, ancient China was basically characterized by “monolingualism and mono-dialecticism”. It can be concluded that ancient China was a “monolingual and monodialectal” country, in spite of the existence of bilinguals and bi-dialectals as well as bilingualism and bi-dialecticism in some areas and domains.

1.2 Achievements in national language planning over the 20th century National language planning in the modern time was marked by the passing of the National Language Act 2 by the Ministry of Education of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. Following the Phoneticization (Pinyin) Movement, the Act kick-started the national spoken language movement with far-reaching impact. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the new China continued to promote Putonghua. The popularization of the national language in Taiwan after its recovery from the Japanese rule and the relocation of Kuomintang in Taiwan, the promotion of Putonghua in Hong Kong and Macao after the return of their sovereignty to China, and the continuous popularization of Huayu (the Chinese language) in Singapore for over 30 years since 1979 can all be regarded as the repercussions of the national language planning and movement. 2 See Language Reform Press (ed.) (1958).

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Great achievements have been made during the past 100 years of national language planning and movement, which can be witnessed in the following aspects: First, the establishment of the common language of Han nationality, with the phonology of Beijing dialect as the standard and the northern dialects as the foundation, and the modern vernacular written Chinese as the norms for Chinese grammar. Both legally and practically, Putonghua/Mandarin has become the national official language and the lingua franca across the nation. Second, the establishment and implementation of the phonetic alphabets and the Hanyu Pinyin system, which played an indispensable role in the promotion of the standard pronunciation of the common language in the age when broadcast media such as radios, TV, and movies were still underdeveloped. They continue to play a significant role even in present time when the broadcast media are highly popular. Third, the cultivation of a large population of bilinguals and bi-dialectals, contributing to the construction of bi-dialectal and bilingual-society in some areas. Statistics shows that only 53.06% of the total population in mainland China was capable of using Putonghua by the end of 20th century (Office of Leading Group of the Chinese Spoken and Written Language Use Survey 2006), but this figure has risen to 70% now3. A comparatively high percentage of people in Taiwan are capable of speaking Mandarin, and the number of those in Hong Kong and Macao is also increasing. However, the appearance of a group of mono-dialectals who can speak only Mandarin rather than other dialects also merits our attention and further study. Putonghua and other Chinese dialects now co-exist in the whole country. As the national common language, Putonghua is widely used at high-level, crossregional, and inter-ethnic communications and in domains such as education, business, news media, and public services. The regional dialects are mainly used in domains such as family, community communication, and local cultural activities. Due to various historical reasons, some ethnic groups such as Hui and Man have given up their own languages and turned to Chinese. They often choose the Chinese dialect of their residence, so bi-dialecticism appears with the promotion of Putonghua in their residential regions. Some ethnic groups speak Chinese 3 According to Xie’s (2011: 6) report, the same method in “survey of language use” (from August of 1999 to September of 2001) was used by The Institute of Applied Linguistics to investigate the use of Putonhua in Hebei, Jiangsu, and Guangxi, and found that about 70%–80% people in the three areas could speak Putonghua.

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while preserving their own languages. The Chinese that they speak is often one of the dialects of the Han nationality, so the promotion of Putonghua has turns them into bilingual and bi-dialectal ethnic groups, who can speak both the local dialect and Putonghua. Some mono-lingual ethnic groups have also become bilingual, as a result of the promotion of Putonghua. In summary, the promotion of Putonghua has transformed monolingual Han and some ethnic groups who learnt Putonghua from monolinguals into bi-dialectals, transformed the monolingual ethnic communities into bi-dialectal communities, and the bilingual ethnic communities into bilingual and bi-dialectal ethnic communities. One thing worth our attention is that the minority languages also have their own varieties. In the last decades, great changes have taken place to these languages and their varieties, e.g., phonological standards have been established for the common language of Mongolian and Zhuang ethnic groups, and subsequently the implementation of standard assessment methods. With the implementation of school education and standard assessment, etc., an increasing number of people in these ethnic groups are capable of using their ethnic common language and dialects, and bi-dialecticism has also appeared and continued to develop in some regions and domains.

1.3 Influences of foreign language education over the 20th century Foreign language education in the modern time can be traced at least to the establishment of the Imperial Tung Wen College (Jingshi Tung Wen Guan) in 1862 and Shanghai Guangdong Dialects College (Shanghai Guang Fangyan Guan) in 1863 and the teaching of foreign language courses in Westernization Colleges at the end of the Qing Dynasty. (Gao 2006) Later, modern school system was established in China, with some institutions specialized in foreign language education. Foreign languages were taken as the medium of instruction in some missionary schools. Foreign languages were taught in various foreign language training schools, preparatory classes, as well as in other forms. It is reported that now there are more than 300 million foreign language learners in China. Resulting from the implementation of foreign language education in the last 100 years, a large number of foreign language talents have been nurtured, and many educated people have acquired certain level of foreign language proficiencies to become bilinguals or even multilinguals. Nonetheless, despite China’s extensive foreign language education and the production of a certain number of bilinguals, foreign language life did not appear due to special socio-historical environment of China. It is anticipated that the use of foreign languages and the proficiency

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levels of foreign language learners will be increasing steadily in the long run, but foreign language life will still be lacking in China. The situation in China is very different from those countries and regions which used to be colonies of Western countries, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Pakistan and some Arabian and African countries, where the languages of their colonizers continue to be used, serving as the official language or as the language for education and businesses.

1.4 Language issues in bilingual and bi-dialectal society Issues related to individual and societal bilingualism and bi-dialecticism are significant research topics of our age. The following aspects merit our attention: 1)

2)

A positive attitude towards “bilingualism and bi-dialecticism” in the society should be taken. The phenomena of individuals turning from “being monolinguals and/or mono-dialectals” into “being bilinguals and/or bi-dialectals” (including “multilinguals and/or multi-dialectals”) and of the development of a language life from “monolingualism and mono-dialecticism” to “bilingualism and bi-dialecticism” (including “multilingualism and multidialecticism”) should be viewed as developments of a society, of education and of language life. Appropriate evaluation, positive facilitation and continual improvement of such situations should be exercised. We are so accustomed to our convention of “monolingualism and mono-dialecticism” that there is a common lack of understanding about bilingualism and bidialecticism, leading to different kind of problems and difficulties during the process of practicing bilingualism and bi-dialecticism. Therefore, there is a need of building up new ways of thinking, and a need to gradually introduce “bilingual and bi-dialectal” language planning policies that suit China’s unique context. A series of new measures should be taken. A need for proper handling of “language relations”. The main problem with a “monolingual and mono-dialectal” society is how to overcome the barriers in communication, while the main problem with a “bilingual and bi-dialectal” society is the proper handling of language relations, in particular the relations between different languages and different dialects as well as the relations between the mother tongue and other foreign languages. On the one hand, the use of national language in high-level education should be secured; on the other hand, the role of other languages and the dialects of Chinese should be given full play in order to construct a harmonious language life.

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3) A need to study the criteria for assessing the linguistic competence of Chinese citizens. China’s education and personnel selection practices have initially posed certain requirements on citizens’ linguistic competence in a bilingual and bi-dialectal society. They include: a) “Bilingual and bi-dialectal” competence is required for Han and the ethnic minority nationalities who have chosen Putonghua for their daily communication. They are expected to have a good command of Putonghua alongside a Chinese dialect, and the knowledge of a foreign language as well; b) Members of those ethnic groups without turning to Chinese must master “three languages”, i.e., their mother tongue, the national lingua franca, and a foreign language. c) Elites who have received postgraduate education must master two foreign languages. These requirements should be “materialized” to become educational criteria, and later to become the criteria for the citizens’ linguistic competence. Bilingual or multilingual competence of the citizens is the international trend and has already become the educational criterion for many countries.

2 Mutual reinforcement of virtual and real language life 2.1 The appearance and development of virtual language life During the long course of human history, there was only real language life that existed between human beings, i.e. “person-person interaction”. Although audio language, special signs, or body language are also used to interact with animals by some people such as herdsmen, peasants, hunters, animal tamers, or cavalrymen, they are not language communication in the real sense, because signs are at work rather than meanings. (Li 1989) However, the advent of computers in the first half of the 20th century inspired a new endeavor towards machine translation and started a difficult but engaging journey of language processing, which gave rise to the interaction between human beings and machine, i.e., “person-machine interaction”. “Person-machine interaction” has been gradually realized with continuous development and popularity of computer language processing technology and the invention and popularity of language processing products. It has developed

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from sign interaction to speech and character communication, from the interaction between technicians and computers to the interaction between common people and computers. Especially after the invention and commercialization of the Internet, information transmission between machines (i.e., “machine-machine interaction”) began to appear and develop at a fast speed. A virtual world has been built on a real world, and a virtual language life has developed from a real language life.

2.2 Great impact of virtual language life The impact of virtual language life is huge and far-reaching. First, great changes have taken place in the forms of language-mediated communication of human beings. Virtual language life is supported by modern language technology, which is based on computer language processing. The fast development and widespread use of modern language technology has turned communication from “person-person interaction” to “person-machine interaction” and “machine-machine interaction”. Nowadays, “person-person interaction” has become increasingly reliant on the use of machines, thus giving rise to the mixed forms of “person-machine-person interaction” (including “personmachine-machine-person interaction”). In the past, writing literacy is the necessary requirement for citizens in a civil society, but now it should include computer literacy. Second, language has become the “hard power” of a country. The development of modern information technology relies to a large extent on the knowledge about language and scripts, some of which have even become the criteria for development of modern information industry. Even though modern language technology has only a short history of several decades, it has given birth to some new language careers, such as stenographers, language engineers, and fonts designers, and some new language industries, including language information input and recognition, computer fonts programming, language information transmission and output, machine translation, information retrieval and processing, electronic reading, and other industries of advanced and new technology. With the formation of grand and prosperous language economy, some traditional language careers and industries (such as typist, fonts die casting, paper-media communication, and telegram) are disappearing gradually, which have brought great changes to the socio-economic structures of human societies. It has been widely acknowledged that language constitutes the “soft power” of a country, but this recognition is not yet sufficient, since language also constitutes the “hard power” of a country. (Li 2011)

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Third, virtual language life has exerted ever growing influences on real language life. Virtual language life develops from real language life, but it also affects the latter in turn. The ever growing influences can be witnessed in the following aspects: a) Many new linguistic phenomena represented by news words first appear in virtual language life before entering into real language life. Virtual space has become a breeding ground for new linguistic phenomena like new words; b) Many new ways of distributing information have appeared, such as email, BBS, QQ, blog, and micro-blog. The Internet has gradually become the distribution center and the “reactor” of information and exerted great influences on our life as new media. c) Many activities in real life have been conducted on the Internet, such as e-government, e-business, e-learning, e-press, and e-entertainment. They constitute current virtual life, which have come along with the development of modern language technologies and become part of virtual language life; d) The Internet has become the largest and the most updated information storage center of human beings, which has gradually taken the place of many functions of paper media (including dictionaries), libraries, archives, and museums. However, much information on the Internet awaits further filtering, mining and sorting, so an effective and efficient use of network information requires a proper understanding of the role of the Internet in information storage, and a fast development of network information mining technologies. The concepts of cloud computing and IOT have become a reality, and qualitative transformations are taking place with the Internet, which will become more powerful and intertwined with real life. Correspondingly, virtual language life will become more advanced, and its influences on real language life will be stronger, deeper, and more comprehensive than ever before.

2.3 Language planning in the context of virtual language life Language planning used to address primarily the relations between language and human beings. Now it has to handle the relations between language, human beings, and machines. While it used to deal with only real language life, it has to take into account language life in both virtual and real spaces. Due to the short history of virtual language life, the studies about it still are at a superficial level. It is rarely considered in language planning which is

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certainly lagging behind the development of the society. The following issues are worthy of our attention in view of the co-existence of virtual and real language life. First, language planning should facilitate the healthy development of virtual language life. We should take a positive attitude towards virtual language life, the existence of which can neither be ignored, nor treated light-heartedly. To view it as a mere dependency of real language life, treat it and manage it in the same way as real language life, or to restrict its development in order to adapt it to real language life are all inappropriate ways of coping with it. Instead, the fast-growing and healthy development of virtual language life should be facilitated in language planning. The cyberspace of Chinese virtual language life should be developed to accommodate the lifestyle of the Chinese people, especially to the conventions of Chinese language use. It involves hardware and software development, as well as various language information technologies. On the one hand, we should own more patents on information technologies; on the other hand, we should pay special attention to the details in software design so that they can accommodate the cultures and conventions of the Chinese language and be more “user-friendly”. Viewed from a long-term perspective, virtual language life does not merely belong to a few people or a specific, minority group of people, but belongs to the majority of the whole population. By the end of September 2011, Chinese netizen population has reached 500,000,000, which accounts for almost 40% of the total population. We should therefore foster the engagement of more people in virtual language life and help reducing the size of population who are being information-marginalized. We should be sufficiently open-minded to environ possible life in virtual spaces and take strategic moves to cultivate and develop it. Special attention should also be paid to the design of the operational rules in virtual language life in order to maintain a reasonable order and enhance the quality of virtual language life. We as Chinese can also make our contribution to the virtual language life globally by expanding the order and its corresponding rules to other areas. Second, virtual and real language life can supplement and promote each other. Studies should be conducted on the influences of virtual language life on real language life. For example, will the use of computers cause the deterioration of writing skills? How to view the deterioration of writing skills? Since the root cause for the evolution of Chinese characters is writing, how the changes in “writing” will affect the evolution of the Chinese script? What changes will happen to the habits of our reading, information collection, and expression? Based on these studies, effective measures can be taken to minimize its negative

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impact and to maximize its positive impact. Meanwhile, the communication between virtual and real language life should also be strengthened so that they can supplement and promote each other, thus ensuring the harmony of language life. Third, we should also stress the concept of “language resources”, which views language not only as “problems” but also as cultural and economic resources. This concept has been highlighted and reinterpreted due to the fast development of modern language technology. The preservation and exploration of these language resources should be emphasized in contemporary language planning, with the support of language economics. Only in this way can we promote the development of modern language technology, careers and industries, maximize the contribution of languages to the society, and benefit from the “bonus” thus generated.

3 Great changes in urban and rural language life 3.1 Fast urbanization process The most prominent change that characterizes contemporary China is its fast urbanization process (or “Cheng Zhen Hua”). The early stage of the People’s Republic of China was known for the low rate of urbanization. For a long period, urbanization rate remained stagnant, at 11.2% in 1950, 17.92% in 1978, and an annual growth rate of 0.23%. After the introduction of China’s economic reform, China’s urbanization rate grew rapidly, with its rate increased to 19.4% in 1980, 30.42% in 1998, 45.68% in 2008, and an annual growth rate of 13%. (Fan 2009) The urbanization rate of the world in 2000 is 48%, and it is estimated at about 50% now. It means that China’s urbanization is almost comparable to that of the international norm. The Central Economic Working Conference held at the end of 2009 required further facilitation of the coordinated development of towns and large, mediumsized and small cities and further loosening of the restrictions of household registration system in towns and medium-sized and small cities. As endorsed by the State Council, an official document entitled Opinions on Key Tasks for Deepening the Economic System Reform 2010 was issued by the National Development and Reform Commission. It requires “deepening the reform of household registration system, speeding up the relaxation of restrictions on permanent residence registration in towns and small and medium-sized cities, especially counties and central towns. It also requires further pushing forward the temporary residence certificate system, and the gradual implementation of the residence

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permit system nation-wide”. This will further facilitate the movement of rural labor to towns and cities. The draft of “the 12th Five-Year Plan” issued on 5 March 2011 states that during the “12th Five-Year Period”, urbanization will continue to be actively and prudently promoted, with an aim of raising urbanization rate to 51.5% in 2015. It is anticipated that China’s urbanization will continue to proceed at a fast speed. The rate will surpass 70% before 2050, which will be close to the urbanization rate of the developed countries. Urbanization turns peasants into “migrant workers”, many villages into towns, small cities into large cities, and large cities into even larger cities, thus trigger their ambitions to become metropolitans, and contribute to the formation of metropolitan clusters. These changes will greatly altered China’s “language maps”, and bring unprecedented great changes to Chinese language life.

3.2 Language planning in urban areas Not only construction planning but also language planning is required for urban areas. In fact, urban language planning can be regarded as an integral part of urban city planning. It consists of the following aspects. First, about the dominant spoken and written languages for urban language life. Dominant spoken and written languages refer to those that are used in such domains as government and official businesses, education, press, and other public services. According to The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Language, the spoken and written languages that are used in urban areas should be the standard spoken and written languages used nation-wide. In autonomous areas of ethnic minorities, the dominant languages and scripts can also include the minority language and script. Second, about language training and guidance for new and old urban citizens as well as migrant workers. Due to the differences between urban and rural language life, guidance and training concerning the languages or dialects in use as well as the content and forms of communication must be provided to new urban citizens and migrant workers in order to help them adapt to urban language life quickly. Owing to change of the societies, the movement of suburban citizens to city centers, and the flooding of new citizens and migrant workers to cities, old urban citizens are also confronted with new language life, resulting in possible anxiety among them. Sometimes, it may lead to language or even social conflicts between the old and new groups of people. Specific plans should be made to help these old citizens to adapt to new language life in some cities that are developing rapidly.

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Third, about social language services. As an important part of information services in urban areas, social language services should be emphasized in urban language planning. They cover a wide range of areas, including language use of signs and plaques in streets, lanes and public facilities, and language use in the domains of business and trade, tourism, transport, post service, finance, healthcare and entertainment. Special attention should be paid to some special language services, such as those for disabled people, and foreigners who encounter communication difficulties (including foreign language services). Fourth, about the display of urban cultural outlook through languages. Each city should have its own cultural characteristics, which is demonstrated not only in its buildings but also its culture. Language as a carrier of cultures and arts is an invaluable resource for displaying the cultural outlook of a city. For example, newspapers, broadcasting, and TV are some of the media in revealing the local language and cultures. Museums of local language and cultures, folk art forms, folk songs, and folklore can be further synthesized to better exhibit and extend the local cultures.

3.3 The preservation of current “language maps” With fast changes in urban and rural maps, China’s “language maps” will change dramatically soon. Even though this is an irreversible trend, the current state of modern languages should be recorded with multi-media technologies so that audio data can be kept, and the general picture of current language maps can be preserved. This is an effective measure of “scientific preservation of the spoken and written languages of different ethnic groups”. In the panel discussion dedicated to the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History held on 6 September 2011, Feng Jicai pointed out that the various ancient villages left by the five millennium’ s history of China have come to a critical moment of life or death. Each ancient village is a thick and heavy volume of history and culture. Before we have time to have a close reading of them, they may disappear in no time during the wave of urbanization. So are languages and dialects, which are in a situation no better than those ancient villages described by Feng Jicai. Yet they receive even less attention. The endangering and extinction of these languages and dialects mean huge and irrecoverable losses of national language resources as well as of the Chinese culture. The promotion of “bilingualism and bi-dialecticism” is not only an acknowledgement of the initial development of the “bilingual and bi-dialectal” life in

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China, but also a fundamental solution to the conflict between language communication and language maintenance. A good command of the standard spoken and written language used nation-wide can contribute to the successful interregional and inter-ethnic communications, and inheriting and extending the existing ethnic languages and dialects can promote cultural diversity. It was the primary task of national language planning to promote Putonghua when urbanization was at a low level and progressed at a low rate, and when the national spoken and written languages were still not commonly used. However, at present, while we continue our efforts to promote and regulate a standard, common spoken and written languages nation-wide, we should also take into account various issues concerning language maintenance in contemporary China. In other words, we must “walk on two legs”, without neglecting either of them. There are of course still other ways of preserving “language maps”, for example, through the establishment of “language reserves” under possible conditions in order to preserve endangered languages and dialects in their life state. We can also seek to protect some languages and dialects related to intangible cultural heritage through the protection of the latter. Some resourceful local governments can be encouraged to establish language and culture museums, or exhibition rooms for language and cultures in some museums and galleries. The development of the Internet also provides new tools for language maintenance, such as the establishment of virtual language and culture museums, and the collection, storage, exhibition and exploration of language cultures with modern information technology. During the fast urbanization process, some new language conflicts and problems are bound to appear. Some questions are worthy of our serious reflections: How will urbanization affect China’s language picture? How many new language problems are waiting to be solved? What special groups of people need special language services? How to guarantee the smooth progress of urbanization and safeguard the harmony of urban and rural language life?

4 Coordinating the domestic and international situations of language The opening up of China has ushered a new stage of China’s internationalization. After over 30 years’ development, more demands for international language life and the use of foreign languages have been posed, and with China’s globalization, Chinese has been spread to other parts of the world at a fast

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speed. This gives birth to two situations – domestic and international – in language life. Language planning in contemporary China must strive for an optimal balance between domestic and international situations.

4.1 Promoting the international dissemination of Chinese Subsequent to China’s opening up and the rise of China’s status in the international arena, Chinese has spread to other parts of the world at an ever increasing pace. A large number of foreigners have taken Chinese as the second business language after English. The following issues merit our attention in speeding up the international dissemination of Chinese. First, it must be disseminated in a scientific way. Here are some criteria: a) Whether it can meet the demands for Chinese learning in each country; b) Whether it can bring practical benefits for Chinese learners; c) Whether Chinese teaching can catch up with the teaching of other welldisseminated languages in such aspects as teaching criteria, teaching and supplementary materials, teaching methods, testing, teaching staff, and reputation building; d) Whether China has received due “bonus for disseminating the language”, including economic and cultural benefits; e) Whether the efforts of disseminating Chinese are sustainable. These criteria represent the ideal state of disseminating Chinese internationally, the achievement of which requires the analysis of language communication phenomena both inside and outside China, in ancient times as well as in contemporary times, and the study of the rules in language communication, the planning of Chinese international communication, as well as the optimization of these plans in practices. Second, coordinating the relations between Putonghua and other varieties of the Chinese language overseas. Different varieties of Chinese used in overseas countries have been the pioneer in globalizing Chinese, and their present situation and characteristics should be taken into account in our design of the promotion of Putonghua and of the criteria of teaching Chinese as a second language. This will maximize the communication between the domestic and the overseas Chinese and to foster the notion of “Greater Chinese” (Da Huayu), i.e., the Putonghua-based common language of all Chinese in the world4. The coordination of the relations between Putonghua and other varieties of the 4 See Li (ed.) (2010). Foreword of The Global Chinese Dictionary.

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Chinese language overseas can be extended to the coordination of the Chinese teaching institutes among them. It is hoped that alliance can be formed between them, so that they can contribute to a sound development of Chinese learning and teaching by jointly developing teaching standards, compiling teaching and supplementary materials, discussing teaching methods, coordinating testing methods, and recognizing each other’s assessments. Third, relating and coordinating the research developments in language learning and teaching between the domestic and the international. As the base for Chinese studies, for learning and teaching Chinese, and for promoting Putonghua, the domestic realm has rich human and intellectual resources, which can be turned into inexhaustible and sustainable resources for developing learning and teaching Chinese internationally. Such combined efforts from the domestic and the international should be one of the important realizations of coordinating the domestic and the international overall situations of language. Meanwhile, the international promotion of Chinese should also be integrated with the international promotion of minority languages. Many minority languages of China such as Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur, Yi, Dai, and Manchu have their own learners and researchers in the world. The international promotion of Chinese and of the other minority languages of China can be coordinated, so that they can develop together, forming a tremendous platform for the international promotion of the Chinese languages. The international promotion of the minority languages is not only the duty of China in accordance with the international demands but also is related to our national security.

4.2 Enhancing foreign language competence in China Appropriate language support is required for a country to handle its internal and external affairs, but whether or not such kind of support can be provided depends on a country’s language capability, including foreign language capability. Apart from the demands in diplomacy, foreign languages taught in China in the past years were mainly targeting at learning advanced science and cultures from the Western countries. Therefore, only few languages were taught, primarily focusing on the standard written variety of the foreign languages. Researches on foreign language were also confined to foreign language teaching. Although this could meet China’s demands during the closed-door period, it lags far behind the national demands in the current stage when the country is opening up and is heading towards different kinds of long-term development.

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With the rise of China’s status in the international arena, the number of foreigners coming to China for work, study, conferences, and travelling increases every day, so as the number of large-scale sports events, fairs, business talks, and academic conferences held in China. Some basic foreign language services must be provided for them. They cover a range of issues, including the production of signs and introductory notes in public service domains using the foreign languages, and spoken language services in exhibitions, important international conventions and in the public spheres. The cultivation of talents and social workers in mastering less-commonly used foreign languages are also necessary for providing appropriate services for the related communities. There is a continuous growth of foreign affairs in China, such as the engagement in international organizations, international peacekeeping, anti-terrorist activities, humanitarian support like disaster relief, labor export, activities concerning international businesses and trade, science and technology, and cultures, building national images, and making our voices heard internationally. Today, national interests have already gone beyond the national boundaries, and how to introduce a real China to people all around the world in their languages in order to reduce misunderstandings and conflicts, and how to use languages to protect national interests and overseas Chinese are important national issues we have to consider. They require us to have a comprehensive understanding and close study of the world and to learn how to play the “international games”. More foreign language talents are thus required, especially those who have a good command of several foreign languages or talented foreign language personnel with multi-abilities. Enhancing national foreign language competence has become a major program of lasting importance to China. An investigation should be conducted quickly to have a basic understanding of foreign language demands in different professions and the current status of foreign language personnel in China. Foreign language management agencies with coordinating abilities can also be established to develop appropriate strategic plans for foreign language education. More effective measures are required for enriching the varieties of foreign languages taught and the abilities of foreign language personnel.

4.3 Solving cross-border language issues Cross-border language issues can be both domestic and international. Solving cross-border language issues is not only a requirement for good neighborly relations and national defense but also an important component of national

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language capability. There are more than 30 cross-border languages (including dialects) in China. A proper solution of these issues can contribute to good neighborly relations and peace across the borders, and the natural expansion of Chinese cultures, science and technology. Otherwise, it will render the loss of language resources, the weakening of language capability as well as the rise of various language conflicts. It may even lead to cultural destruction, which may bring a series of risks to national security. Due to the lack of attention paid to cross-border language issues, we still lack sufficient knowledge about their actual situations and state of affairs, especially their uses in the neighboring countries. Multiple means of investigating and researching the cross-border languages should be developed and scientific policies for cross-border languages should be introduced, together with plans for cultivating talented personnel in the relevant languages. The development of proper solution for tackling cross-border language issues is equal to the drawing of a new safety line for national borders and to the building of bridges of friendship for our neighbors.

4.4 Fulfilling language duties and responsibilities internationally As a large and responsible country in the world, China must fulfill a series of duties and responsibilities, including those in language. The duties and responsibilities in the language areas include the proper study, evaluation, and solution of the relevant language issues of human beings, and the establishment of international language order in order to reduce language conflicts, provide consultations and suggestions for language planning in relevant countries, and to contribute to a better language life for the people in the world. Special attention should be paid to the following three aspects. First, protecting language rights. Language rights are an important component of human rights. All nations, ethnic groups, and individuals own a variety of language rights, such as language rights of migrants, of non-powerful ethnic groups, and of developing countries. They can be protected through various means like international treaties or initiatives. Second, safeguarding language communication. Exchanges are required for international communities, so the working languages of international multilateral organizations and transnational organizations need scientific planning. Language transmission on the Internet should also be safeguarded by fair inter-

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national criteria. Communication not only enhances mutual understanding and trust but also reduces misunderstandings. Third, protecting endangered languages. Languages are important carriers of cultures, and their extinction is an irrevocable loss of human cultures. It is estimated that currently there are all together about 6000 languages, but 90% of them may disappear in this century. Effective measures must be taken to prevent this “cultural disaster”, to defer their extinction, or to preserve them in their life sate, or to record the materials of these languages with modern information technologies.

5 Concluding remarks The gradual formation of bilingual and bi-dialectal society, the division and link of virtual and real language life, the issues of language planning in urban and rural areas with the fast transformations of the “language map”, and the coordination of the domestic versus the international situations constitute the language situations of contemporary China. A recognition and proper understanding of these language situations serve as the primary basis for the national language planning, generating many new research topics for further investigation. These new situations have called for an enhanced view of the relations between the language(s) and the country. The relationships between language and national identity, between language and ethnic identity, regional identity, national security, national creativity, national information development. They, together with the contributions of languages to a society, have become frequent discussion topics among government officials and academics. Language conflicts tend to be intensified and aggravated, and many social and cultural conflicts are accompanied and represented via language conflicts. Such phenomena are also taking place in many other countries of the world, which have even led to governmental crisis and “language wars” in some countries. Besides, the different demands of language life also pose urgent needs for various language services. This requires the soonest possible establishment of a social language service system that features government guidance, societal participation, and the co-existence of multiple mechanisms. Language planning should address the various language problems that occur during the process of national and human societal development. In contemporary times, we must address China’s language life from an international

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perspective, position China’s language life in the information age, and develop language plans from the standpoint of a large country in the world. Great efforts should be made to the enhancement of citizens’ and national language competence, to the fulfillment of China’s language responsibilities in the international arena, and to the construction of a harmonious language life in China as well as the world.

References Spolsky, B. 2011. Language Polices: Key Topics in Sociolinguistics (Zhang, Zhiguo trans.). Beijing: Commercial Press. Chen, Zhangtai. 2009. Yuyan Ziyuan yu Yuyan Wenti (Language Resources and Language Problems). Journal of Yunan Normal University, 4. Dai, Qingxia (ed.). 1993. Kuajing Yuyan Yanjiu (A Study of Cross-Border Languages). Beijing: Minzu University of China Press. Dai, Qingxia. 2010. Yuyan Guanxi yu Guojia Anquan (Language Relations and National Security). Journal of Yunan Normal University, 2. Fan, Hengshan, et al. 2009. Zhongguo Chengshihua Jincheng (The Urbanization Progress of China). The People’s Publishing House. Gao, Xiaofang. 2006. Wan Qing Yangwu Xuetang de Waiyu Jiaoyu Yanjiu (A Study on Foreign Language Education in Foreign Affairs Schools of the Late Qing Period). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Guo, Longsheng. 2008. Zhongguo Dangdai Yuyan Guihua de Lilun yu Shijian (Theories and Practices of Chinese Modern Language Planning). Guangzhou: Guangdong Education Press. He, Junfang and Zhou, Qingsheng. 2010. Yuyan Chongtu Yanjiu (Studies of Language Conflicts). Beijing: Central University of Nationalities Press. Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji (A Collection of Essays on Chinese Script Reform in the Late Qing Dynasty). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Li, Xianle. 2010. Yuyan Ziyuan he Yuyan Wenti Shijiao xia de Yuyan Fuwu Yanjiu (Studies of Language Services from the Perspectives of Language Resources and Language Problems). Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 5. Li, Yuming. 1989. Ren dui Dongwu Yuyan Jiaoji de Tedian (Characteristics of Man to Animal Communication). Linguistics Bulletin (Central China Normal University), 2. Li, Yuming (ed.). 2010. Quanqiu Huayu Cidian (Global Chinese Dictionary). The Commercial Press. Li, Yuming. 2011. Yuyan ye Shi “Yingshili” (Language is also a “Hard Power”). Journal of Central China Normal University, 5. Office of the Survey of China Language Use (ed.). 2006. Zhongguo Yuyan Wenzi Shiyong Qingkuang Diaocha Ziliao (Survey Information on the Language Use in China). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Qu, Shaobing. 2010. Guanyu Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao zhong Yuyan Fuwu Wenti de Guancha yu Sikao (Observation and Thoughts on Language Service Problems in the Report on Chinese Language Life). Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 5.

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Wang, Jianqin. 2010. Meiguo “Guanjian Yuyan” Zhanlue yu Woguo Guojia Anquan Yuyan Zhanlue (American “Key Language” Strategies and Chinese National Security Language Strategies). Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 2. Wen, Qiufang. 2011. Guojia Waiyu Nengli de Lilun Goujian yu Yingyong Changshi (Theories and Applications of National Foreign Language Ability). Chinese Foreign Language, 3. Xie, Junying. 2011. Chengshihua Jincheng zhong de Nongmingong Yuyan Wenti (Language Problems of Migrant Workers during the Process of Urbanisation). Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 3. Zhao, Ronghui. 2010. Guojia Anquan Shiyu de Zhongguo Waiyu Guihua (China’s Foreign Language Planning – A National Security Perspective). Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 2.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Zhongguo Yuwen, 2012, Vol. 4. Translated by WU Dongying, Doreen (吴东英) Department of Chinese & Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Chapter 9

On foreign language planning in China Abstract: Turning from a domestic-based country to a country with international perspective, China is confronting new foreign languages demands. In the new era of foreign language development, to plan it scientifically is urgently needed. State development and informatization are two main factors to consider; other factors like non-common foreign languages, foreign language literatures translated into Chinese and vice versa, foreign language application in public service domain, foreign language services in communities, foreign language demands in special domains like military, frontier defense and national defense, and citizen’s foreign language literacy shall be paid close attention to. It is necessary to set up a government institution to manage and coordinate foreign language development in the future. Foreign language legal status is to be studied as well. Keywords: China, foreign languages, foreign language planning

0 Introduction Modern foreign language education in China has undergone more than one hundred years’ history starting from foreign language courses offered by the Westernization School and the Shanghai Tongwen Guan ‘The Imperial Translation Training Agency of Universal Languages’ in the late Qing Dynasty. Foreign language education put forward education transformation from private schooling to modern education, which made irreplaceable contributions to realizing modernization of the country. Over more than one hundred years, Chinese foreign language careers have been concentrating on foreign language teaching. When it comes to the new era of reform and opening up, foreign language gradually evolves from a symbol of elite education into a constituent part of popular education. Changes in student scale, learning motivation and educational method exemplify an unprecedented important role of foreign language education in primary schools, middle schools and universities. Moreover, private foreign language training institutions in addition to the national educational system grow vigorously, making China the largest country of learning foreign languages. With further progress of China’s reform and opening up in the 21st century, foreign language services demand grows. There even emerge communities or groups of which

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members speak foreign languages with each other. The communities and groups put forward new demand for foreign language education and promote great development of foreign language careers. Future prediction and social planning are projects conducted by mankind from time immemorial. This rational social manipulation based on virtual reality is now known as development strategy or development planning, which becomes an indispensable part of modern social management. Therefore, as foreign language demand at the national level reaches a new stage, and foreign language career is about to enter into the golden time, it is necessary to systematize concepts on foreign languages, and to plan foreign language in an all-around way according to the characteristics and requirements of the new era.

1 Major factors affecting foreign language planning: opening up to the outside world Over 30 years’ opening-up to the outside world, China is in the process of turning from a domestic-based country to a country with international perspective. The domestic-based country needs primarily senior foreign language professionals in limited fields: military, security, translation; while a country with international perspective requires foreign language services available in various domains, and there are even people who live a foreign language speaking life. With China’s further opening up policy, the country will undertake more international responsibilities. China and the world will deepen mutual understanding. As such, impact brought by opening up policy shall be considered high priority in language planning.

1.1 China reaches out to the world Language is the advance team of a nation making first move in foreign exchange. In the past, China mainly used internationally common languages in foreign exchanges; however this is far from adequate. China needs more professionals knowing different foreign languages in different fields: international cooperation and exchange, overseas education, exporting labor services, international trade and tourism. Language diversity is crucial in introducing modern China to the world, in enhancing mutual understanding with other countries and reducing chances of misunderstanding and conflict. There are 224 countries and regions in the world, and China shall have personnel mastering their official languages, as well as their other languages.

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1.2 The world comes to China China is becoming more and more internationalized, its increasing job opportunities, science and education development attracting more foreign nationals to come to China. Major sports events, expositions, trade fairs and academic conferences choose to be held in China too. There even gradually form communities that foreigners live in aggregation. Foreign language services in China mainly are signs provided in public places, like directions, maps and introductions in postal business, catering, medical, financial, cultural, educational, and security domains. It is also necessary to provide all-around language services in communities that foreigners live in aggregation. Major sports events, expositions, trade fairs and academic conferences requires only temporary foreign language services, but foreign citizens speaking various languages working or living long-term in China call for a full range of language services, and the subsequent demand on language training in the abovementioned fields. China is a big country in terms of learning foreign languages. The number of the people who have learned and who are learning foreign languages exceeds 300 million. However, there is no foreign language speaking life in China. Most Chinese learning foreign languages aim to learn advanced science, technology and managerial experiences, which is self-oriented. On the contrary, learning languages aiming at providing services turns out to be others-oriented. Selforiented foreign language learners might be elites of the society, and the languages they learn and use are common languages in the world; while othersoriented foreign language learners are jobholders speaking various languages in different fields. It is the latter type of language learning that gradually establishes the important status of languages spoken by neighboring countries, which greatly affect foreign language education as well as foreign language planning.

1.3 Undertaking international responsibilities as a big country A country with international vision must shoulder international responsibilities, which are, first of all, to participate in activities held by international and regional organizations, such as disaster relief, peacekeeping, medication, election and observation. The power of making rules in international affairs is even more important than mere participation, which equips the country with more discursive capacities. In so doing, Chinese philosophies would popularize and humankind would benefit from the Chinese way of thinking.

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International responsibility is also carried out in cultural and language causes. Culture is the residence that accommodates human spirit. Cultural diversity shall be jointly preserved by every member of humankind. Language is the foundation of culture, so cultural diversity depends on language diversity. Researching international ancient languages (for example, ancient Egyptian, Sanskrit, Latin etc.), studying worldwide languages and dialects, preserving endangered languages shall be international responsibilities of Chinese linguists. Turning from domestic-based country to a country with international perspectives, China stands with much broader horizon. Foreign language research and services shall correspond to the scope of communication target, so finally all the foreign languages will ultimately be incorporated into Chinese foreign language planning.

2 Informationization Informationization is not only a technological concept but also a symbol of information age which could be counted as a new era following agricultural and industrial age. Information technology constructs a virtual space using digital technology, moving life in the real space massively to virtual space. Administration development in electronic government affairs, educational affairs, commerce and entertainment in recent 20 year demonstrate how fast real space moves towards virtual space and how powerful its impact is. 80% of human being’s information is conveyed by languages. Virtual life builds upon languages; therefore, level of language informationization marks the level of informationization of human being. On the one hand, virtual space gathers human’s wisdom, bringing changes in the nuclear fission manner to human’s knowledge and ideology. On the other hand, informationization generates gap marginalizing certain groups of people, creating even greater inequality among different communities. Besides hardware and technological factors, language barrier is the main cause of information gap. Foreign language and its informationization help significantly in overcoming language barrier in virtual space and eliminating network gap. As Chinese network develops fast, it might constitute 1/3 of the world network, and China would have unprecedented discursive power in the world, and Chinese would become a language much more worthwhile to learn. Nevertheless, China would lose 2/3 of the virtual world which is using foreign languages, so Chinese foreign language planning must fully consider language situation in virtual space.

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Machine translation is the greatest contribution to foreign language career. It not only increases translation efficiency and quality, but also fundamentally changes the situation that learning foreign language as a national movement. It therefore thoroughly resolves the conflict between capability of learning and the fact of languages diversity. Machine translation quality greatly depends on foreign language research and applicability of research findings. The prospect of machine translation urges researchers to pay closer attention to the development and application of language informationization.

3 Issues in foreign language planning 3.1 National foreign language situation Prediction on application and demand of foreign language shall be the bases of foreign language planning. Articles published in Language Situation in China: 2005–2008 cover the topics like English fever, transliteration of place names and traffic signs, language usage situation in product manuals, language situation of medical document and medicine packaging, language situation of the Beijing Olympic Games, language situation of civil aviation, language situation of Qinghai-Tibet Railway, language situation of Shanghai Expo, language situation of foreign bazaars in Beijing, non-common language fever in foreign language education, multilingualism in Beijing Olympic Games, language situations in workplaces of foreign companies, English translation of Chinese menus. The above articles report foreign language situations in various industries in recent years, unfolding new perspectives in foreign language studies. After five years of investigation, the research team found that foreign language situation and foreign language demand are not well understood by the public. It is imperative to conduct in-depth investigation on foreign language situation on a national level. Since foreign languages situations differentiate in industries, the investigation shall be conducted on industrial basis, for example, how many foreign languages are used in one industry, how many foreign language professionals are there in the industry, what is their foreign language proficiency and their knowledge structure, and what are problems concerning foreign language usages. Predictions on foreign language, such as what language service is needed, what are the new demands of foreign language talents, how to cope with existing foreign language problems, and how to meet the needs of foreign language services in the future, shall be made based on the investigation. The above conditions constitute foreign language situations in China, which are

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the foundation of making foreign language policies, the footstone to meet the requirement of national development, and the guarantee of healthy development of the foreign languages professions.

3.2 Non-common foreign languages Non-common foreign language (known as minor languages) is a big issue in foreign language education and foreign language speaking life. Development of non-common foreign languages is crucial to communication at the national level. Recent years witness improvement in non-common foreign language student enrollment, major construction, and personnel fostering, but the following issues on non-common foreign languages still remain to be resolved: a) There are over one thousand non-common foreign languages. What languages are urgently needed in China, and what are the ones that shall stay in language lab, the ones that need setting up new majors, and what is the order to set up new majors? b) How many teachers are needed for a non-common foreign language major? How to integrate teaching and research, and how to integrate linguistic studies with other disciplines and services? c) How frequently shall a school enroll students? How many students should be enrolled? How to integrate common and non-common foreign language studies so as to foster foreign language professionals mastering one and knowing several foreign languages? How to foster language professionals with other skills in order to produce multi-skilled professionals? d) Studying and researching non-common foreign languages is to reserve resources for a country. Unlike common foreign language majors set up by market-driven forces, non-common foreign language major development depends upon government policies. What policies shall government adopt to arouse learning enthusiasm and interest in order to achieve its sustainable development? e) All sectors of society must pay attention to the application of non-common foreign languages. Using English language alone is not a standard of internationalization. The concept of foreign language shall not be restrained to English. It is encouraged to use foreign languages in external exchanges, for example, scientists and engineers working in Pakistan shall understand Urdu or other Pakistan languages; teachers working for Confucius Institute in Tanzania or other countries shall understand Swahili; those who do business in Brazil shall know some Portuguese. Public service institutes in China

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shall understand languages used by their service clients. For example, in tourist industry, tour guides in Northeast China shall know Russian, and more services in Japanese and Korean shall be provided in Shanghai airport.

3.3 Translations The major objective of learning foreign languages is to translate, which is the most important foreign language career. Although an increasing number of people are learning foreign languages, the translation career remains to be the most significant. Chinese translation of foreign literatures, a necessity of a country with international perspective, is principal translation work. Foreign concepts, proposition and method of deduction can be better accepted and incorporated to become our own ethnic spiritual wealth through translation. For more than one hundred years, Chinese acquired many new concepts and ideas through translating foreign literatures, which exemplifies the importance of translation for a nation. Chinese open-up policy also calls for literatures not only in Chinese but also other languages used by Chinese ethnic minorities to be translated to foreign languages, which deserve greater efforts and meticulous orchestration. Through translation to other languages, Chinese science, technology and education will have chances to participate in international exchanges. Chinese culture and values could then be understood and adopted by people around the world. Therefore, translation of Chinese literatures to foreign languages shall be planned as a national strategy. Developing foreign language channels on television and broadcasting, publishing more foreign language journals and books, translating Chinese laws, science and technologies, cultural product, and writing in foreign languages about Chinese politics and current affairs are missions of modern translation career. Translation and interpreting shall earn respect for their contributions to our country. Translation as research achievement shall have a more important role in appraising academic promotion, payment and counting of research outputs. Machine translation research and application shall be given great impetus. We should aim at putting machine translation into practical use after several years’ research.

3.4 Foreign language public services The standard of foreign language public services improves greatly in large and medium-sized cities in the recent ten to twenty years, yet its development

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lacks planning and normative standard. The present foreign language public service is more for the image of the city than practical purpose. For example, there is no standard for the transliteration of place names, bilingual signs in public places, or translation criterion on labels or product specifications. Target readers in many cases are ignored and international practice is not conformed with. The present foreign language services are neither practical nor satisfactory. The services were to fulfill the need of setting up the image of a state of ceremonies, and the services are what we think necessary without beforehand survey. To establish foreign language service industrial standard, we need to know what foreign languages are demanded, whether the service is satisfactory, how to improve services etc. While preparing for hosting Olympic Games and Expo, Beijing, Qingdao, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Hangzhou formulated and released local translation standard of public services. Following the above practice, translation standard at the national level on transportation, tourism, catering, culture, sports, medical treatment and public health, finance, postal service, telecommunications shall be formulated to facilitate standardization of foreign language in public places. Besides English services, Russian, Japanese and Korean services are also needed. Translation strategies balancing between foreignisation and domestication in public services shall be carefully considered.

3.5 Foreign language services in communities There emerge an increasing number of communities that foreigners live in aggregation, but the language services for them are a neglected topic. Language planning shall take into consideration the locality and languages spoken of these communities in order to secure foreigners’ life quality and Chinese national security. Foreign language services for communities are quite different from that for conference or in public domains. The languages spoken in these communities are usually non-common languages to the world, and foreigners living there need all-around information, but administrative staffs or service providers are normally social workers instead of language professionals, therefore administrative work becomes harder due to communication difficulties. However, the difficulties could not be resolved in one action, so a long term project is much needed.

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3.6 Foreign language services in special domains Special domains like military, frontier defense and national security need both language experts and practitioners with foreign language skills. It is necessary to set up a foreign language talent pool to cope with emergent situation involving non-common languages. Language experts could be either fostered by military universities or public security colleges, or recruited from other universities. The foreign languages involved in the special domains are mainly languages spoken in the neighboring counties: Korean, Mongol, Hezhen, Evenki, Tuvan, Kazak, Kyrgyz, Jingpo, Lisu, Dulong, Thai, Nu, and Jing, so bilinguals living near national borders are considerable source of foreign language professionals. Key languages shall be listed according to demand of military affairs, frontier defense or national security. The United States sets a good example in foreign language strategies, so learning from their experiences, we shall set up key language expert talent pool, organize key language civil assistant team, set up standard and compile textbooks of key languages, and formulate policies encouraging key language learning.

3.7 Citizen’s foreign language literacy Language is a kind of resource to a nation, but it is more of capital to a person. EU requires citizens in its member states to master three languages which are their native language, one foreign language and one second foreign language or another native language. The requirement of mastering three languages is practiced in many countries, thus language capacity has become an important part of talent competition. China has not formulated a citizen language capacity standard, but it is obvious from the design of educational system and current situation that multilingualism is advocated. To be specific, the Han nationality is encouraged to know two languages: Putonghua and one foreign language; ethnic minority citizens are encouraged to know three languages: their mother tongue, the commonly used national language and one foreign language. A rich country stores wealth among the people; a sagacious country accumulates talents among citizens. The issue of foreign language literacy shall be explicitly put forward in the national development blueprint, and language requirements shall be formulated too, for example: the citizens are required to know one foreign language; bilingualism shall be encouraged.

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Cultivating foreign language literacy shall be completed during compulsory education. It is admitted that China is lacking in foreign language speaking environment, so it is hard to achieve this goal in every school at this stage; however, we shall stick to this goal. It is undisputable that national educational system is the primary part of foreign language education, while the non-national educational system shall be brought to its full play to build up a lifelong foreign language education system. We shall in the future normalize foreign language training, develop foreign language training business, offer various foreign language courses, and encourage foreign language learning, especially non-common foreign language learning through government policies. Language training provided by non-national educational system will enrich the foreign language repository, and provide adequate resources for foreign language learning in special domains, special careers and people with special need.

4 Concluding remarks China is a big country in terms of learning foreign languages, but a country that makes less use of foreign language resources. There are altogether five thousand to six thousand languages in the world, among which only about one hundred languages are generally introduced to China. There are about fifty to sixty languages taught in schools and dozens of languages spoken in China, but only more than ten languages are used in China. National development and security are in need of many non-common language professionals, and they are scarce resources. Neither are adequate valuable literatures in other languages translated into Chinese in time, nor does China have enough journals published in foreign languages, not to mention Chinese literature translated into other languages. This situation does not match with national going-out strategy. Lack of a unified administrative institution in charge of foreign language planning accounts for the present language situation. There should be a national organization to administrate and coordinate foreign language careers. It could either be a foreign language bureau inside the State Council, or just promoting the status of the State Language Commission by granting it administrative power on national language affairs and foreign language affairs. At the same time, research on legal status of foreign languages shall be conducted which helps promote foreign language development and makes full use of national language resources.

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References Chen, Zhangtai. 2005. Yuyan Guihua Yanjiu (The Study of Language Planning). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Fu, Ke. 1986. Zhongguo Waiyu Jiaoyu Shi (The History of Foreign Language Education in China). Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Gao, Xiaofang. 2006. Wan Qing Yangwu Xuetang de Waiyu Jiaoyu Yanjiu (A Study on Foreign Language Education in Foreign Affairs Schools of the Late Qing Period). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Li, Yuming. 2009a. Zhongguo Yuyan Guihua Lun (On Chinese Language Planning). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Li, Yuming. 2009b. Zhongguo Yuyan Guihua Xulun (On Chinese Language Planning Continued). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Shu, Dingfang and Hua, Weifen. 2009. Zhongguo Waiyu Jiaoxue Lilun Yanjiu (1949–2009) [Theories of Chinese Foreign Language Teaching (1949–2009)]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Shu, Dingfang, Liu, Zhengguang and Xu, Shenghuan. 2009. Zhongguo Guowai Yuyanxue Yanjiu (1949–2009) [China’s Foreign Linguistics Research (1949–2009)]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. “Language Situation in China” Taskforce. 2006. Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 (Language Situation in China: 2005, Volume 1). Beijing: The Commercial Press. “Language Situation in China” Taskforce. 2007. Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2006 (Language Situation in China: 2006). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Language Situation in China Taskforce. 2008. Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2007 (Language Situation in China: 2007). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Language Situation in China Taskforce. 2009. Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2008 (Language Situation in China: 2008). Beijing: The Commercial Press.

Translated by WEI Heng (魏蘅) School of Foreign Languages, China University of Political Science and Law

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The status of authoritative dialect in language standardization1 Abstract: The authoritative dialect (both regional and social) provides the foundation for language standardization and determines the basic outlook of the lingua franca in a country. In the ancient times, language standardization made reference to both authoritative regional dialect and authoritative social dialect. Nowadays in standardising the lingua franca of the Han people, the role of authoritative dialect has gradually been realised, and yet authoritative social dialect has not gained adequate recognition. In the new era, it is as important to fully acknowledge the role of authoritative social dialects in language standardization as to establish the exemplary of contemporary authoritative social dialect. Keywords: regional dialect, social dialect, authoritative dialect, language standardization

0 Introduction The survey of theories and practices applied in Chinese language standardization, especially during the last 100-odd years after the Qing Dynasty, shows that much attention has been paid to authoritative regional dialect, but the recognition of authoritative social dialect is superficial and incomplete. Consequently, a gap has been identified between theories and practices as far as language standardization is concerned, so that during the process of standardising specific language phenomena, it is often the case that we encounter problems and even misconducts of various kinds. The present article places special focus on the status of authoritative social dialect in language standardization, seeking 1 This article was presented in the Press Conference of the Linguistics Publication Foundation of the Commercial Press and the Young Linguistic Scholar Forum (Beijing, 17th–18th January 2002), and later after undergoing major additions it was collected in the forum Proceedings titled Chinese Linguistics in the 21st Century (Volume 1) published by the Commercial Press in 2004. Parts of the article were incorporated in lectures delivered in the Chinese University of Hong Kong in February 2004, Bohai University on 12th October 2004, and Nation-level Putonghua Tester Training Course on 18th October 2004.

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to construct a compound frame of reference for language standardization incorporating both regional dialect and social dialect with authoritative status, and ultimately advocating an authoritative example of modern Chinese.

1 Authoritative dialect and its duality 1.1 Development of the meaning of fangyan ‘dialect’ According to Lu Guoyao (1991:4), as far as the extant literature is concerned the term fangyan ‘dialect’ first appeared in the preface of Fengsu Tongyi ‘Chronicle of Customs’ composed by Ying Shao in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, “in the Zhou and Qin Dynasty, envoys would be dispatched each August to seek and record dialects, and upon their return they would compile books which were to be stored in secret chambers”. Though it remains questionable whether Youxuan Shizhe Juedai Yushi Bieguo Fangyan ‘Dialects of Other States Transcribed by Envoys’ was composed by Yang Xiong or not, Chronicle of Customs at least attests that fangyan had been used as an academic term as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty. Chao Yuen-ren (1980:98) and Zhang Qingchang (1990:39) both asserted that fangyan in the ancient times not only referred to Chinese dialects but also the languages of neighbouring ethnic minorities and foreign countries. Lu Guoyao (1991:4–5) also provided a stronger testimony with his exceptional academic acuity and rigor. Fangyan in the archaic times literally means “languages spoken in all the lands”, and in contrast there existed common speech of the Han people (differing from general lingua franca) such as yayan ‘elegant speech’ of the Qin Dynasty, and tongyu ‘general speech’ of the Han Dynasty etc. The various meanings of fangyan is perplexingly related to modern terms language, speech, dialect, national language, and foreign language etc., but never indiscriminately identical, making it of extreme difficulty to find an equivalent in modern linguistic studies. The ancient definition of fangyan and related classifications distinct from nowadays are deeply rooted in the ancient Chinese notion of Sino-egoism and the consequent peculiar viewpoint of treating society and tribes. In accordance with this notion and viewpoint, the way fangyan is defined is easy to understand and follows naturally. Ever since the Han Dynasty, the Chinese people have had increasing contacts with various tribal and foreign languages, such as those multiple languages pertinent to different language families in Xiyu ‘Western Regions’, languages in East and Southeast Asian countries, and western languages brought by missionaries etc. which at the same time produced opportunities of conducting

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contrastive analyses of languages in the process of translation, and yielded a language-oriented view broader than in the Han Dynasty. However Li Yuming (2002) found that the ancient definition of fangyan had persisted unchanged till the transition from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, for example the qieyinzi ‘phonetic alphabet’ campaign in the late Qing Dynasty and Mashi Wentong ‘Ma’s Grammar’ published in 1989 both used fangyan in such an ancient sense. In the late 19th century, German scholar Georg Wenker surveyed German variations in the country, and Swiss scholar Jules Gilliéron investigated French variations spoken in both France and its neighbouring regions. The two surveys have laid the foundation for the tradition of dialect geography in the West and symbolised the establishment of modern dialectology (cf. Ji 1988:80). At the beginning of the 20th century, modern dialectology was introduced to China and the term dialect in English or dialecte in French was translated into Chinese fangyan whereby the denotation of fangyan reduced to regional variations of a national lingua franca, such as the Northern, Xiang, Wu, Gan, Hakka, Yue and Min dialects of the Chinese language. Consequently, fangyan is positioned in contrast to the national lingua franca (other than the lingua franca of the Han people), which is the first great shift in history concerning the definition of fangyan. In 1964 sociologists and linguists in the United States held a joint academic symposium which symbolised the birth of sociolinguistics. From then onward, the second great shift of the definition of fangyan took place. In the framework of sociolinguistics, fangyan is twofold, regional dialect and social dialect (sociolect).2 Insofar as the social properties of gender, profession, age and education, social members can be grouped into different social fields, in which language users manifest distinctive features. Sociolinguistics terms these language variations spoken in different social fields with unique features as social dialects. The concept of fangyan under discussion in the present article as a sociolinguistic term encompasses both regional and social dialect.

1.2 Relation of prestige In theory all the dialects whether regional or social share equal social status no less than all the ethnic languages. However, on account of multiple political, economic, cultural and religious factors, it is often the case that there exists no 2 Some even proposed the notion of temporal dialect, defined as language variant in a certain period of time in history.

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equal social status in reality among the dialects. The inequality is explicated in terms of prestige in sociolinguistics, where positive prestige is associated with upper-class dialects and negative prestige the lower-class dialects. The scale of prestige forms a continuum with the highest one referred to as authoritative dialect. The relation of prestige among dialects has taken shape gradually in the course of history. For example the Northern dialect gained its positive prestige through the fact that the political and cultural center of China has been located in this dialect region for thousands of years. However, the relation of prestige in language may vary from time to time. For example Cantonese was a lower-class dialect in history, but its social status has been increasing constantly over the past twenty years due to the fact that the status of the Guangdong province prevails in the process of China’s opening up and reform, and Hong Kong has imposed a profound influence over mainland China. It is also the case with social dialect. In ancient China high prestige came along with the Classical Chinese used by officialdom and literates, and the language used by the general populace was considered to be of low prestige. This kind of social dialect prestige was likewise determined by the then political, economic and cultural factors. However, at the end of the Qing Dynasty and especially in the aftermath of the May Fourth Movement, the society underwent a series of revolutionary campaigns such as casting aside Confucianism, promoting vernacular Chinese, advocating science and democracy etc., so the Classical Chinese used by archaic officialdom and literates lost its prestige while the vernacular Chinese used by the general populace rapidly moved to the high end of the prestige continuum, even learned by literates in a fairly extended period of time. In the studies of prestige in dialects what should be borne in mind is the duality of authoritative dialect, which refers to the reality that the authoritative dialect as the foundation of the national lingua franca is often both regional and social. For example, in ancient China the language standard was defined as being elegant and correct. (Dai 1998:74–74) How was it like to be elegant and correct? The pronunciation of the imperial capital was considered to be the most correct. The national lingua franca or quasi lingua franca of the ancient Han people was by and large the dialects spoken in and around the imperial capital. Since the Zhou and the Qin Dynasty, the capital was usually the center of politics, economy and culture, making the capital’s language a national standard. The pre-Qin yayan ‘elegant speech’ was developed on the basis of the dialect in Chengzhou (current Luoyang in Henan province) where the capital was located. Another case in point is tongyu ‘general speech’ of the Qin and the Western Han Dynasty developed on the basis of qinyu ‘the Qin speech’ in Guanzhong area (now central Shaanxi province). The later Luoyang dialect in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Chang’an dialect in the Tang Dynasty, Bianliang

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dialect in the Song Dynasty and Mandarin in the contemporary time have all become the lingua franca of the Han people or been adopted as the lingua franca of all the nations. (Wang 1995:48; Li 2000:7) Of note, the capital dialect is normally the language of officialdom and education. In addition, the ancient Chinese studied mostly for the purpose of becoming government officials, and all the government compiled rhyme books, dictionaries and classical literatures were taken as the language norm for the literates. On the other hand, the government officials generally read nothing but the official literature. As a result, the language of officialdom and that of literates were innately the same. Hence the capital dialect in ancient China was both authoritative regional dialect and authoritative social dialect, as defined by its property of duality. The standard languages formed in today’s countries are mostly based upon the capital dialect or a dialect with the capital speech as representative. For example, the underlying dialect of French is the dialect of Île-de-France where Paris is located and that of Russian is the Kursk-Oryol dialect of which the Moscow dialect is the representative. (Hu 1999:23) But there also exist less simple cases. For example the dialectal base of Italian is not the one spoken in Rome but the dialect in Tuscany. Long before the unification of the Italian Peninsula, the Renaissance literary masters such as Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio had produced copious volumes of influential literary works in vernacular Italian. (Xing 2000:388) To be designated as the authoritative social dialect, the Tuscan dialect has been rendered an authoritative regional dialect. Another example is English, as pointed out in Hu Mingyang (1999:36–37), “historically the standard English is developed on the basis of the southern speech (southern dialect), but nowadays the Received Pronunciation does not belong to any specific dialect (apparently distinct from the London Cockney); rather it is the pronunciation of a social dialect prevalent in the formally educated upper class”. Despite Hu’s description of the standard English today as a social dialect, his remark in fact shows that the foundation of the standard English is both an authoritative social dialect and an authoritative regional dialect (the southern dialect including London Cockney). This is another proof of the duality of authoritative dialect.3 3 It is more interesting in German, as Chao Yuen-ren (1980:109–110) noted that “Germany is also a country that abounds in dialects, so it is necessary to specify a standard national pronunciation which is not called standard national pronunciation but Bühnenaussprache (stage speech), because pronunciation on the stage is properly emphasized, similar to the central German dialect.” “The standard German pronunciation is spoken somewhere to the south of Central Germany, approximately taken as the average German pronunciation (not exactly the pronunciation in Berlin, for the genuine Berlin dialect is also strange.” Bühnenaussprache is the authoritative social dialect, and the region where it is spoken is also a geographical delineation. Does it mean that the base dialect of German standard pronunciation also has the duality of authoritative dialect?

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As far as the base dialect of the national lingua franca is concerned, some have been endowed with the duality of authoritative dialect from the very beginning, while some may have one first and then develop the other. It is of great significance to realise the duality of authoritative dialect. First, in the process of national standard language planning, it is advisable to select as foundation a dialect of authoritative duality. If the base dialect selected has only one aspect of the authoritative duality, then certain language policies and effective measures should be adopted to endow it with the other aspect. Second, standardising the lingua franca should make reference to both regional and social dialect, forming a regulated compound frame of reference. Third, in the process of standardising the lingua franca, what should also be taken into account is the duality of authoritative regional dialect and authoritative social dialect.

2 Issues in the authoritative regional dialect of modern Chinese 2.1 Shifts of authoritative regional dialect in language life In the process of the development from Early Mandarin to modern Chinese, the rise of the Beijing dialect led to the disintegration of the compound frame of reference which had been adopted by the ancient language standards of being elegant and correct. Beijing, called Jicheng in ancient times, was the administrative center of the Guangyang prefecture, one of the 36 prefectures of the Qin State. In 938, it was selected as the secondary capital during the Liao Dynasty, renamed as Nanjing or Yanjing. When the Jin Dynasty relocated its capital here in 1153, it was changed into Zhongdu ‘Central Capital’ and then renamed Dadu ‘Grand Capital’ by the Yuan Dynasty as its capital. (Hu 1999:4) Through those dynasties of Liao, Jin and Yuan, the political position of Beijing gave rise to the prominence of its local dialect, splitting the official speech into two camps, namely North and South, and they constantly underwent rivalry for prestige. The hundreds of years’ rivalry resulted in the shift of authoritative dialect so much so that the prestige of Beijing dialect was consolidated while the southern dialects with the Nanjing dialect as representative have deteriorated. The Southern official language represented by the Nanjing dialect used to have a high level of prestige due to its close association with yayan ‘elegant speech’, tongyu ‘general speech’ and yayin ‘elegant pronunciation’ in the Central Plain in history. In addition the northern dynasties moved down to south and eventually the Ming Dynasty built its capital in Nanjing, making the Nanjing

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dialect orthodox official speech. (Zhang 2003) The northern Mandarin Chinese represented by the Beijing dialect grew dramatically, especially after the Yongle Emperor relocated the capital to Beijing. The political shift led to the tremendous increase in prestige of the northern Mandarin Chinese represented by the Beijing dialect. After the Manchurians dominated China, though they designated the Manchurian language as the national language, the lingua franca all over the country was actually Chinese. In the sixth year of the Yongzheng regime (1728 AD), the Yongzheng Emperor mandated that Mandarin Chinese should be taught and learned in Fujian and Guangdong province, where language institutes were set up and manned with Manchu people stationed in the local places. (Lü 2000:46–47; Ling 1995:6–7) On account of the imperial mandate, the Beijing dialect was granted an increasingly prestigious status and finally became the authoritative regional dialect in the mid- and late-Qing Dynasty. During the Daoguang and Xianfeng regimes, the imperial court also made attempts to adopt the Beijing dialect as official speech. (Zhang 2003:96) The southern dialect gradually lost its position as authoritative regional dialect, and despite its once relatively authoritative status, it has become much less prestigious.

2.2 The position of the Beijing dialect in language planning Language planning normally lags behind what it is in language life. As early as the mid- and late-Qing Dynasty the Beijing dialect had become the authoritative dialect in actual language life, but it took a prolonged and spiral process in history for the reality to be reflected in the language planning. China’s language planning in a modern sense claims to have started from the Qieyinzi Movement in the late-Qing Dynasty. Zhongguo Diyi Kuai Qieyin Xinzi ‘China’s Easiest Modern Phonetic Alphabets’ developed by Lu Zhuangzhang in 1892 marked the beginning of Chinese Romanisation which was characterised with fewer strokes, character-pronunciation consistency, and language uniformity. In 1911, the last year of the Qing Dynasty, the Central Education Conference organized by the Ministry of Education released Tongyi Guoyu Banfa’an ‘Proposal for Unifying a Common National Language’, stipulating that “regional dialects differ vastly and it is advised to take the capital speech as of prominence. The fourth tone in the capital speech, namely entering tone, has yet to be determined and is pending for immediate revision, but it is recommended not to be obliterated. The speech should be appropriate, elegant and smooth, which should maintain in accord with logic, advisably on the basis of the official speech”. (Language Reform Press 1958:143) The Proposal was not put into implementation due to the downfall of the Qing Dynasty, but what is of great value is

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that it recognised the prestige status of the authoritative regional dialect (Beijing dialect) in Chinese language standardization. Of course, the recognition was far from complete, leaving unsolved the big issue regarding Mandarin. Nevertheless, even this incomplete recognition was difficult to be accepted within a short time. In the early years of the Republic of China, some proposals still advocated the Southern Min, Nanjing and Hubei dialect as standard pronunciation of national language. (Yu 1996:68) For example Hu Yilu, who was strongly influenced by Zhang Taiyan, exerted his efforts to advocate the Hubei dialect as standard pronunciation for two reasons, for one thing the Hubei dialect retains “ancient pronunciation of the Xia Dynasty” and for another Hubei is geographically located in Central China. (Wang 2003:54) In May 1913, Duyin Tongyi Hui ‘Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation’ chaired by Wu Zhihui, held a conference and proposed the Old National Pronunciation which was basically in line with the 1911 Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language, retaining the Beijing dialect as the base dialect but opposing the practice of “selecting one dialect from a city or a region as authoritative dialect”. (Lü 2000:54) Consequently, the entering tone and voiced initials were preserved, sharp and rounded sounds were distinguished, and the Proposal turned out to be a blend of regional and diachronic variations. The Commission inspected and approved the standard national pronunciation of over 6,500 Chinese characters, and another 600 so-called suzi ‘vernacular characters’ and newly loaned academic characters which were not included in Li Guangdi’s Yinyun Chanwei ‘An Exploration into Chinese Prosody’. Interestingly, the inspection and approval did not take into account the actual pronunciation of those characters in Beijing but were the outcome of one-province-one-vote practice. (Fei 1997:24; Ni 1948:67) The entering tone in the Beijing dialect disappeared long ago while other dialects which have the entering tone differ much in terms of manners of articulation. The Old National Pronunciation retained the entering tone but was unable to set the tone value, and the actual pronunciation was at random, which was apparently incomplete according to the principle of characterpronunciation consistency in promoting the national language. In 1920, Zhang Shiyi, English Department Director of Nanjing Higher Normal School, clearly specified in his Issues of Unifying National Language that the pronunciation of national language should be “at least based upon the speech of those modestly educated Beijing natives” as posing challenges to the Old National Pronunciation, which signalled the start of the disputes between the Beijing pronunciation and the national pronunciation, a significant and long-debated issue in the history of China’s language planning. In 1924 Guoyu Tongyi Choubeihui ‘Prepara-

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tory Committee for the Unification of the National Language’ decided to “adopt the graceful Beijing dialect as the standard pronunciation” and in the year that followed a subcommittee consisting of Wang Pu, Chao Yuen-Ren, Qian Xuantong, Li Jinxi, Wang Yi, Bai Zhenying (Bai Dizhou) were elected to append and amend Guoyin Zidian ‘Dictionary of National Pronunciation’, which symbolised “in theory and in practice the official establishment of the New National Pronunciation based upon the standard of the Beijing dialect”. (Li 1933:26–36; Wang 2003:27–28) On 15–23 October 1955, the Ministry of Education and the Committee for Language Reform of China jointly convened the National Conference for Script Reform, promoting Putonghua as one of the two topics on top of the agenda. (Guo 1955:6; Wu 1955:11) On 19th October, Zhang Xiruo, Minister of Education gave the speech Dali Tuiguang yi Beijing Yuyin wei Biaozhunyin de Putonghua ‘Promoting Putonghua Based upon the Standard Pronunciation of the Beijing Dialect’, for the first time providing an official description on Putonghua, “What exactly is the lingua franca of the Han people which is taking shape in reality? The answer is Putonghua, which takes the northern dialect as base dialect and the Beijing dialect as the standard pronunciation”. (Zhang 1955:277) In the following days from 25th to 31st, the Chinese Academy of Sciences organized the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese, and made similar comments on Putonghua. (Chen 1955:219) Insofar as the frame of reference of language standardization, these two successive conferences are of great significance to the delineation of Putonghua in two senses: first, they consolidated what had been achieved since the dispute between the Beijing pronunciation and the national pronunciation; second, they illuminated the concept of base dialect, which in theory expanded the role of authoritative regional dialect from the field of phonetics to that of vocabulary and grammar. The base dialect is not only the foundation of pronunciation but also the foundation of vocabulary and grammar.4 This expanded scope enables the frame of reference adopted by the lingua franca of the Han people to rid of its shackles of Mandarin Chinese. 4 Zhang Xiruo (1955:277): “The issue of Chinese standardization have been undergoing indepth discussions and repeated debates in the science and education circles. Myriads of papers and comments have been produced, in addition to the relevant conferences organised by the Language Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Chinese Script Reform Committee, and the Ministry of Education. Up to now, the majority have reached a consensus, that is, as for the whole system of the Chinese language (including grammar and vocabulary), its standards should be based upon literary refined (written form) northern dialect, and its standard pronunciation should be the pronunciation of the Beijing dialect. The above two points are consequences of historical development.”

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The selection of modern standard Chinese pronunciation comes along with the recognition of authoritative regional dialect and its role in language standardization. Even in the aftermath of dispute between the Beijing pronunciation and the national pronunciation, doubts of different kind have never ceased. In the 1930s, Hu Yilu opposed the convention of “taking as base dialect the capital dialect as do other countries” and insisted on the Hubei dialect as standard. In the meantime, Shanghai responded by a volley of debates about vernacular speeches, and the widespread campaign of Ladinhua Xin Wenzi ‘Romanisation of New Chinse’, both proclaiming that “no regional dialect should be designated as national pronunciation. (Wang 2003:55) The academic circle was stirred up with incessant debates even when the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese was convened in 1955. Luo Changpei and Lü Shuxiang (1955:10– 11) pointed out that “After the establishment of New China, call for a national lingua franca comes high on the agenda, and linguists have started debates . . . comrades who support the selection of the Beijing dialect as standard assert that not many people can speak the Beijing dialect but far larger a number can speak Putonghua. It is appropriate to take into account the majority’s benefits, and deemed nonsensical to force the majority to cater for the minority. In addition, the written form of literary works is baihuawen ‘vernacular written Chinese’, only a small portion of literary works are written purely in the Beijing dialect”5. The conference brought a consensus to the arguing opinions6 and debates then vanished. The only academic work casting doubt on the definition of Putonghua with much weight might be Hu Mingyang’s An Exploration into the Beijing Dialect.

5 The Putonghua under discussion here apparently does not refer to the Putonghua the speech of which is restricted to the Beijing pronunciation. Hu Mingyang (1999:18–19) posited that in effect it equalled to Mandarin Chinese. But taken into account the development of national language movement and vernacular written Chinese movement, Putonghua in this context may not be in equivalence to old Mandarin Chinese, but it refers to either the Chinese with old national pronunciation, or even the Chinese with an underdeveloped Beijing pronunciation (similar to today’s regional Putonghua), or a combination of all of them . 6 The Minutes of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese noted that “with regard to the regulation of adopting the Beijing pronunciation as the standard pronunciation, all the participants voiced their unanimous support” (Secretariat of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese 1956:227).

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3 Issues in the authoritative social dialect of modern Chinese 3.1 Grammar standard of Putonghua Shortly after the 1955 Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese, the State Council released Guanyu Tuiguang Putonghua de Zhishi ‘Directive of the State Council on Promoting Putonghua’ which read, “The foundation of a unified Chinese already exists, that is Putonghua, of which the norm of pronunciation is based on the Beijing phonological system, the base dialect is based on the northern dialects, and the grammatical norms are modelled after the vernacular used in exemplary modern Chinese literary works”7. In comparison to the previous two conferences in 1955, the only difference is the addition of grammar norms. The grammar norms of the lingua franca were brought forth as early as the late Qing Dynasty when the national language was proposed. For example in 1910, Jiang Qian, member of the Advisory Council of the Qing Dynasty, in his Zhiwen Xuebu Fennian Chouban Guoyu Jiaoyu Shuotie ‘Inquiries about the Annual Planning of National Language Education Organised by the Ministry of Education’, remarked that “all the national languages in the world have a system of grammar as function of articulating expressions. Though grammar originates from habitual usage, its orders and regulations are contained in textbooks. In compiling textbooks, does the Ministry of Education take into account the regulation of grammar?” (Language Reform Press 1958:117) In 1911, the Central Education Conference organized by the Ministry of Education put forth the Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language, in which grammar was considered in the survey and compilation. (Language Reform Press 1958:143) On 6th June 1951 the People’s Daily ran an editorial Use Correctly the Language of our Motherland and Fight for its Purity and Well-being! The editorial remarked, “the modern language of our country has preserved all the innate good qualities of the Chinese language, and absorbed necessary vocabulary and grammar from abroad. As a result, the modern language of our country is a language more rigorous and expressive than those in the old times. Comrade Mao Zedong and Mr. Lu Xun have set role models for modern Chinese with their works”. In this People’s Daily editorial, the works of Mao Zedong and Lu Xun were applauded as exemplary modern Chinese,8 in which more or less is palpable the vague 7 cf. Secretariat of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese (1956:249). 8 The original words in the editorial read, “Comrade Mao Zedong and Mr. Lu Xun are both masters in creating sentences. Each sentence written by their hands is well-wrought and each word is unsusceptible to any alteration”. The statement may seem close to hyperbole.

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idea of “modelling after the vernacular used in exemplary modern Chinese literary works”. In October 1955 the National Conference on Script Reform and the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese though did not literally illuminate the grammar norms of Putonghua, but in theory they had grown a clear understanding, “the standard of modern Chinese consists in the common examples in representative contemporary literary works. Why do we not simply refer to common examples but to those in contemporary representative literary works? It is because there exist a wide diversity of works, some read and tossed away but some long remembered and often recited, and undoubtedly the latter ones play a decisive role in consolidating and developing language standards. Then why not simply examples in representative works, but instead common examples? It is because even in the representative works, different authors or even the same author does not necessarily give ubiquitously uniform and uncontroversial examples. As a result, we have to abandon those comparatively peculiar ones and accept the common ones. As far as the contemporary works are concerned, it is equally apparent that because language is in constant change, early works i.e. Shuihu ‘Outlaws of the Marsh’ and Hongloumeng ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ no matter how elegant their language is, more often than not the examples are likely to be found unfitting for modern usage.” (Luo and Lü 1955:13) On the basis of recognition of this kind, it is nothing but natural that “modelling after the vernacular used in exemplary modern Chinese literary works” was added to the delineation of Putonghua.

3.2 The compound frame of reference of language standards At face value the release of the Directive of the State Council on Promoting Putonghua is to supplement a definitive grammar standard to the original definition of Putonghua, or to put it another way, it is the definitive pronunciation and grammar standards that make the “the Northern dialect as base dialect” nothing more than a restriction on vocabulary. (Hu 1999:23–35) However, from the perspective of the frame of reference, what is of greater value is that it introduces an authoritative social dialect as a new reference point for language standards. “Exemplary modern Chinese literary works” obviously refer to the written literary works produced by highly literate and well-educated social members. These works have a high degree of authority and is termed authoritative social dialect. A vast stride forward took place in the theory of Chinese language standardization from 1925 when the status of authoritative regional dialect was established in language standardization to 1956 when authoritative social dialect was introduced into language standardization.

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If the definition of Putonghua in 1956 was extended one step further, it could be a compound frame of reference involving authoritative regional dialect and authoritative social dialect as coordinates in the sense that the standards of pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar should be considered both regionally and socially.9 As such, the base dialect of Putonghua can be idealised through the duality of authoritative dialect. It is also of great practical significance to adopt the compound frame of reference. The vocabulary and grammar of the Beijing pronunciation and the Northern dialect usually include many slangs or idiosyncrasies, making it of apparent necessity to make reference to the language used among the highliteracy and well-educated social groups when it comes to eliminating those slangs and normalising idiosyncrasies. Meanwhile, the robustness of Putonghua is attributed to the fact that it constantly absorbs useful elements from ancient Chinese, various dialects and other languages of ethnic groups and foreign countries, as well as creates new language elements, i.e., new word coinages and grammatical structures, so standardization in this regard must take into account the habitual language usage of the authoritative social groups. The basic principle of language standardization is conventionalisation, but when it comes to practical operation we should have the awareness of authoritative dialect. For example, in constructing language standards it is often the case nowadays to use corpora to survey the frequencies of certain language phenomena so as to determine the degree of conventionalisation, a much more scientific approach than linguistic introspection, but its scientificity still depends on the selection of language data in corpora. From the perspective of authoritative dialect, language data in corpora should be constructed upon, rather than arbitrarily, the authoritative regional dialect used by authoritative 9 In language standardization, authoritative social dialect has been noticed for long. Zhang Shiyi asserted in 1920 that “the national language should be based upon the dialect spoken by, at minimum, ‘modestly educated Beijing natives’, who in effect refer to the social groups speaking authoritative social dialect of the time”. The minutes of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese offered an account of the discussion on pronunciation in 1955. Cen Qixiang stated that it was the consequence of historical development that the Beijing pronunciation should be adopt as the standard pronunciation of Putonghua. There were disagreeing voices in this regard, that the pronunciation of intellectuals should be adopted instead. Serdyuchenko said that when the Soviet Union selected the Moscow dialect as standard pronunciation, which was not based upon all that were spoken in Moscow, but the languages of the writers and workers in Moscow as well as the most celebrated actors and actresses in the Soviet Union, so to speak, the pronunciation which was worth modelling after in the language. (Secretariat of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese 1956:227–228) All the above-mentioned discussions illustrated the importance of authoritative social dialect in language standardization.

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social dialect speaking groups. This kind of corpus data consisting of authoritative dialect is of supreme significance to language standardization. Hu Mingyang (1999) conducted an in-depth thinking of the definition of Putonghua and stated, “the base dialect of Putonghua is by no means a dialect spoken in a specific region, neither the loosely claimed Northern dialect, but a social dialect used by intellectuals prevalent in the Beijing region which is under the influence of exemplary modern Chinese literary works” (p. 15). “Putonghua is, as a matter of fact, not exactly based on the standard of the Beijing pronunciation . . . its pronunciation standard is actually a mixture of the Beijing pronunciation and Mandarin pronunciation, and has never been the genuine Beijing pronunciation. During the process of pronunciation inspection, many Chinese characters have substituted Mandarin pronunciation with Beijing pronunciation . . . but still quite a number of Chinese characters have retained Mandarin pronunciation . . .” (p. 26). To understand Hu’s opinions from another perspective, we will find how important it is to adopt a compound frame of reference to describe Putonghua. We will also find that the practice of standardising Putonghua has in effect made reference to authoritative social dialect, i.e. adopting a compound frame of reference.

3.3 Reconstruction of authoritative social dialect To reconstruct authoritative social dialect, first and foremost, is to set up the notion of authoritative social dialect in language standardization. The evolution from Mandarin Chinese through old national pronunciation and new national pronunciation to Putonghua can be viewed as the rivalry between new and old authoritative regional dialects, during the process of which the new one prevails, enabling the modern lingua franca of the Han people to break free of the shackles of the concept of being correct and elegant (the then Southern Mandarin represented by the Nanjing dialect). But in another way, authoritative social dialect as frame of reference was lost in language standardization. Through reviewing the current concepts of language standardization, whether at the level of society, government or language experts, one would discover that there is a relatively full-grown understanding of authoritative regional dialect, but much less in terms of authoritative social dialect. In recent years, most discussions are concerned with how to deal with authoritative social dialect, i.e., the relation between conventionalisation and epistemology, and the unsatisfactory language work in the past as mentioned by the academic circles. The authoritative social dialect, as it was, should be introduced to the frame of reference for language standardization, which is of benefit to the Chinese

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language dissemination, Chinese culture promotion, modern Chinese standardization, language aesthetics, and the formation of new language concept of correctness and elegance. The reconstruction of authoritative social dialect also relies on the reconstruction of its exemplary works in language practice. Since the late Qing Dynasty, especially after the May Fourth Movement, the traditional authoritative social dialect has always been placed at the position of being revolutionised in language standardization, i.e., vernacular Chinese replacing classical Chinese to become the accepted written style. Undoubtedly the decline of the traditional authoritative social dialect denoted historic legitimacy, since the new one can facilitate the establishment of modern culture and the development of the modern lingua franca of the Han people. The recent century witnessed the grand progress of constructing the Chinese lingua franca, from which emerged copious Chinese classic works written in modern Chinese, such as works of Mao Zedong, Lu Xun, Lao She, Mao Dun and Ba Jin. These classic works are valued as representatives of authoritative dialect of modern Chinese and serve as the cornerstone of modern Chinese standards. Since the 1980s, as a result of China’s introduction of the opening up policy, the advance of science and technology, and the spread of education and mass media, in particular the accelerating development of the Internet, the Chinese language has undergone dramatic changes. Loan words and new coinages in vocabulary, flooding influx of dialects from the South and overseas Chinese communities, youth’s language and Internet slangs, popular as they are, have a profound influence on the mass’s language life. Some ideological trends in society bred the concept of de-authorisation in certain language communities. All these newly-emerging situations reduced the longstanding exemplary role set by modern Chinese classics, and the authoritative social dialect is susceptible to losing its status. Luo Changpei and Lü Shuxiang (1955:14) noted that “the language standards must be incarnated in tangible matters, first of all, in all the works created by the people, especially literary works. It is by means of these works that language standards can be disseminated . . . Thus the authors should exercise their extreme discretion when using language”. Since the works of authoritative social dialect have such an important role to play, the quick-paced language life today demands new language masterpieces to emerge. They can be found in the works of good writers, government language (including works of distinguished leaders) and authoritative media. The outstanding ones are likely to become the representatives of authoritative social dialect in the new era. To set up authoritative examples in modern Chinese, all the language users in different fields need to whole-heartedly pursue the language arts, and all the language

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professionals, instructors and mass media need to discover and foster the language arts. The era is summoning new language masters.

References Chao Yuen-ren. 1980. Yuyan Wenti (Language Issues). Beijing: Commercial Press. Chen, Wangdao. 1995. Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Wenti Xueshu Huiyi Zongjie (Summary of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese). In Secretariat of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese (ed.). 1956. Dai, Zhaoming. 1998. Guifan Yuyanxue Tansuo (An Investigation of Normalized Linguistics). Shanghai, China: Joint Publishing Shanghai. Fei, Jinchang (ed.). 1997. Zhongguo Yuwen Xiandaihua Bainian Jishi (1892–1995) [The Chronicle of Chinese Language Modernization in the Past Century (1892–1995)]. Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Guo, Moruo. 1955. Wei Zhongguo Wenzi de Genben Gaige Pu Ping Daolu (Paving the Road for the Fundamental Reform of Chinese Script). In Secretariat of the National Conference on Script Reform (ed.). Quanguo Wenzi Gaige Huiyi Wenjia Huibian (Collected Documents of the National Conference on Script Reform). Guo, Xi. 1999. Zhongguo Shehui Yuyanxue (Chinese Sociolinguistics). Nanjing, China: Nanjing University Press. Hu, Mingyang. 1985. Yuyan yu Yuyanxue (Language and Linguistics). Wuhan, China: Hubei Education Press. Hu, Mingyang. 1999. Beijinghua Chutan (An Exploration into the Beijing Dialect). Beijing: Commercial Press. Ji, Xianlin, et al. 1988. Zhongguo Dabaike Quanshu: Yuyan Wenzi (Encyclopaedia of China: Language). Beijing: Encyclopaedia of China Publishing House. Language Reform Press. 1958. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Lunji (Collected Papers on the Late-Qing Language Reform). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Li, Jinxi. 1933. Guoyu Yundong (National Language Movement). Beijing: Commercial Press. Li, Jianguo. 2000. Hanyu Guifan Shilue (A Brief History of Chinese Standardization). Beijing: Language and Literature Press. Li, Yuming. 2002. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaigejia de Fangyan Guan (Opinions of the Late-Qing Script Reformers on Dialects). Fangyan, 3 Ling, Yuanzheng. 1995. Xin Yuwen Jianshe Shihua (A History of New Chinese Language Construction). Kaifeng, China: Henan University Press. Lu, Guoyao. 1991. “Fangyan” he (“Dialect” and ). In Lu, Guoyao (ed.). 2003. Lu Guoyao Yuyanxue Lunwen Ji (Collected Linguistic Papers of Lu Guoyao). Nanjing, China: Jiangsu Education Press. Lü, Jiping (ed.). 2000. Dangqian Woguo Yuyan Wenzi de Guifanhua Wenti (Current Issues in Chinese Spoken and Written Language Standardization). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Publishing House. Luo, Changpei and Lü, Shuxiang. 1955. Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Wenti (Issues in Modern Chinese Standardization). In Secretariat of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese (ed.). 1956.

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Ni, Haishu. 1948. Zhongguo Pinyin Wenzi Yundong Biannianshi [An Annal of the Phonetic Script Movement of China (abridged)]. Shanghai: Shidai Shubao Press. People’s Daily. 1951. Zhengque de Shiyong Zuguo de Yuyan (Use Correctly the Language of our Motherland and Fight for its Purity and Soundness!). July 6th. Secretariat of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese (ed.). 1956. Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Wenti Xueshu Huiyi Wenjian Huibian (Collected Papers of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese). Beijing: Science Press. Wang, Jun. 1995. Dangdai Zhongguo de Wenzi Gaige (Script Reform of Contemporary China). Contemporary China Publishing House. Wang Lijia. 2003. Hanyu Pinyin Yundong Yu Han Minzu Biaozhunyu (The Hanyu Pinyin Movement and the Standard Language of the Han People). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Wu, Yuzhang. 1955. Wenzi Bixu zai Yiding Tiaojian xia Jiayi Gaige (Language Must Be Reformed on Certain Conditions). In the Secretariat of the National Conference on Script Reform (ed.). Quanguo Wenzi Gaige Huiyi Wenjia Huibian (Collected Documents of the National Conference on Script Reform). Xing, Fuyi (ed.). 2000. Wenhua Yuyanxue (Cultural Linguistics) (revised). Wuhan, China: Hubei Education Press. Yu, Genyuan. 1990. Xinshiqi de Tuiguang Putonghua Gongzuo (The Work of Promoting Putonghua in the New Era). Beijing: Language and Literature Press. Yu, Genyuan. 1996. Ershi Shiji de Zhongguo Yuyan Yingyong Yanjiu (Studies on Chinese Language and Applications in the 20th Century). Taiyuan, China: Shuhai Press. Zhang, Qingchang. 1990. Hutong ji Qita (Hutong and Others). Beijing: Beijing Language Institute Press. Zhang, Weidong. 2003. Jindai Hanyu Yuyin Shi Yanjiu de Xianzhuang yu Zhanwang (The Current Situation and Prospect of the Study of the History of Modern Chinese Phonetics). Yuyan Kexue (Linguistic Sciences), 2. Zhang, Xiruo. 1955. Dali Tuiguang yi Beijing Yuyin wei Biaozhun Yin de Putonghua (Promoting Putonghua Based upon the Standard Pronunciation of the Beijing Dialect). In Secretariat of the National Conference on Script Reform (ed.). Quanguo Wenzi Gaige Huiyi Wenjian Huibian (Collected Documents of the National Conference on Script Reform).

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Journal of Tsinghua University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), 2004, Issue No. 5. Translated by CHENG Meng (程萌) School of Foreign Language Studies, Ningbo Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University [email protected]

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A supplement to The Status of Authoritative Dialects in Language Standardization Abstract: This article is meant to be a supplement to The Status of Authoritative Dialect in Language Standardization published in Issue 5 of Journal of Tsinghua University. More illustrations of language planning in China and abroad are supplied to further demonstrate the important role of both authoritative regional dialect and authoritative social dialect in language standardization. Keywords: authoritative dialect, language standardization, Chinese

0 Introduction On 15–23 October 1955 the Ministry of Education in collaboration with Zhongguo Wenzi Gaige Weiyuanhui ‘Committee for Language Reform of China’ held the National Language Reform Conference, and days later on 25–31 the Chinese Academy of Sciences organised the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese. The two conferences established the plans and missions of Chinese character reform, defining that “Putonghua is based on the northern dialects, and the standard pronunciation of Putonghua is based on the Beijing dialect”1. The guiding principles were also discussed, such as the formation of the national lingua franca and its relations to dialects, objects and criteria of language standardization, language standardization in relation to language development and personal idiosyncrasies. Works also were deployed with respect to promoting Putonghua and advancing Chinese standardization, especially advocating the entire linguistic community to unitedly conduct concrete language projects, including Putonghua speech survey, grammar, rhetoric and logic, lexicography, dialect survey, Chinese language historical studies, textbook and pedagogy, and other fine-grained studies on certain literary works and authors’

1 Zhang, Xiruo. 1955. Promoting Putonghua with the Beijing Dialect as the Standard Pronunciation. In Secretariat of the National Language Reform Conference (ed.). Collected Documents of the National Language Reform Conference. Chen, Wangdao. 1956. Summary of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese. In Secretariat of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese (ed.). All the paginations without citation refer to the Collected Documents of the National Language Reform Conference.

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language style.2 The two historic conferences laid the foundation for our country’s language policies and specified the fundamental objectives for our national language reform, which had made a great contribution to China’s development in politics, culture, education and economics, as well as achieved tremendously in terms of China’s well-developing language life and linguistic studies. A retrospect fifty years later into the historic events will reinforce the historical significance of the two conferences. In order to advance the nowadays language work, it is advisable to take an in-depth and all-round investigation of the accomplishments resulting from the two conferences, especially the two important documents which were composed on the basis of the two conferences. On the 28th January 1956, the 23rd plenary meeting of the State Council unanimously passed Guanyu Gongbu “Hanzi Jianhua Fang’an” de Jueyi ‘Resolution on Releasing the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme’ and on the 6th February was released Guowuyuan Guanyu Tuiguang Putonghua de Zhishi ‘Directive of the State Council on Promoting Putonghua’. In recent years, a review of Diyici Quanguo Wenzi Gaige Huiyi Wenjian Huibian ‘Collected Documents of the First National Language Reform Conference’ and Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Wenti Xueshu Huiyi Wenjian Huibian ‘Collected Documents of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese’, among other things, has aroused various reflections and yielded numerous achievements. What follows will discuss issues only in relation to authoritative social dialect and language standardization and aims to elicit feedback from all sides. The topics of discussions are associated with authoritative social dialect and language standardization. On 17–18 January 2002 the Press Conference of the Linguistics Publication Foundation of the Commercial Press and the Young Linguistic Scholar Forum was held in Beijing, on the occasion of which I presented the article The Status of Authoritative Dialect in Language Standardization. To some extent, it discussed the relation between authoritative social dialect and language standardization, following which this present article is named as a supplement.

1 Illustrations of the status of authoritative social dialect in language standardization The national lingua franca is generally based on a certain underlying dialect, and the latter is commonly the authoritative regional dialect spoken within the nation. As a matter of fact, the national lingua franca established only on 2 Luo, Changpei and Lü, Shuxiang. 1955. Issues in Modern Chinese Standardization, 8–22.

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the basis of authoritative regional dialect is inadequate in most cases, but the element of authoritative social dialect also needs to be taken into account by making reference to the speech spoken by an influential social class in the nation. Consequently, what is basically adopted in language standardization is the dual frame of reference integrating authoritative regional dialect and authoritative social dialect. In what follows, we will illustrate the status of authoritative social dialect in standardization with examples in Russian, French, German, English and Korean etc. The underlying Russian dialect is the Kursk-Oryol dialect with the Moscow dialect as representative. However, its standard pronunciation is not the Moscow dialect as commonly thought of, but instead the pronunciation in those influential Small Theatres in Moscow. Invited to the 1955 Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese, Serdyuchenko, USSR advisor of the Language Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in the paper Hanyu Biaozhunyu yu Guifanhua de Zhongyaoxing he Yixie Yuanze ‘Significance and Some Principles of Chinese Standard Language and Standardisation’, pointed out, So to speak, it is the southern dialect in Russia that plays an important role in the formation of the Russian national lingua franca, its Kursk-Oryol dialect, while it is the various minor dialects in Central Russia which spread over a vast area that underlie the Russian standard language. However, the Russian standard pronunciation is based on the dialects of a relatively confined area, namely the Moscow dialect. In the meanwhile, the pronunciation in several Academy Theatres in Moscow has long been taken as the epitome of the Russian standard pronunciation, first and foremost the pronunciation spoken in the Малый театр ‘Maly Theatre’ which have played a special role throughout the development of social thoughts and cultural history in Russia as a result of the advancing Russian social consciousness.3

The dialect spoken in the region of Île-de-France with the Paris dialect as representative serves as the underlying dialect of French. Its standard pronunciation is not what is spoken by average Parisians but a kind of socially authoritative Paris pronunciation. Serdyuchenko remarked, “Nevertheless, the French standard pronunciation is the Paris pronunciation cultivated among the universities in Paris, grand theatres and other distinguished culture agencies”. (1956:41) Likewise, German also adopts the stage pronunciation as its standard pronunciation4. In the eighth lecture What is Ortheopy of his The Problems of Chinese Language, Chao Yuen-ren (1980:109) remarked, 3 Diao Guangtan also commented that “the stage language in the Maly Theatres in Moscow imposes a great influence on Russian” (1956:148). 4 The stage pronunciation, namely the pronunciation of prestigious actors and actresses, has played an important role in the formation of standard pronunciation of Russian, French and

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Germany is also a country that abounds in dialects, so it is necessary to specify a standard national pronunciation which is not called standard national pronunciation but Bühnenaussprache (stage speech), because pronunciation on the stage is properly emphasized, similar to the central German dialect.

The English standard pronunciation is also the authoritative social dialect. Hu Mingyang (1999:36–37) remarked, “The Standard English historically develops on the basis of the southern speech (southern dialect), but today’s Received Pronunciation is not the pronunciation of any specific dialect (sharply distinct from the London Cockney pronunciation), but the pronunciation of the social dialect exclusively popular among the well-educated upper class”. The standard pronunciation of the above listed national lingua franca derives either from the pronunciation of the prestigious actors and actresses, the well-educated upper class, or universities and other distinguished culture agencies, even a combination of the factors. Different nations, due to differences in history and culture, have vastly different preferences in terms of standard pronunciation criteria. But in general, as Serdyuchenko pointed out, all take as criterion the exemplary pronunciation5, or put it in another way, the authoritative social dialect. The authoritative social dialect plays a role not only in specifying the standard pronunciation of national lingua franca but also in other aspects concerning standard language. Xing Fuyi (2000:388) remarked, “After the bourgeois Third Estate got hold of social power, the Paris dialect they spoke was accepted by the royalty who were Franks and spoke Romance Frank. Revised and refined by the aristocrats and intellectuals, this dialect has become the true lingua franca”. In his work, Xing also pointed out that the underlying dialect of Italian German, as is the case nowadays that the pronunciation of radio and TV announcers is often considered as pronunciation template. During the formation of the Chinese standard pronunciation, the stage pronunciation seemingly has not played such a role, probably for lack of well-grown theatres and drama tradition, in addition to social discrimination against play actors and actresses. In a word, the stage pronunciation in the Chinese history had no social authoritative status. 5 According to The Minutes of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese, Serdyuchenko said “. . . When the USSR selected the Moscow dialect as standard pronunciation, it was not the case that all the dialects in Moscow were considered, but the pronunciation used by the Moscow writers, workers, and the most accomplished actors and actresses, namely the pronunciation that could be used as exemplary (1956:227–228). In the article Several Supplements to the Significance and Some Principles of Chinese Standard Language and Standardization, Serdyuchenko also stated, “It is well known that language is the cultural embodiment of a nation. Hence, naturally, the standard pronunciation, as aforementioned, is founded on the broadest social politics and culture, on the people’s intellectuals for they represent the most advanced thoughts in their activities, they serve the people, and they express the best spirits and intentions of the people” (45).

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is not the language spoken in Rome but the dialect in Tuscany. Long before the unification of the Italian Peninsula, the Renaissance literary masters such as Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio had produced copious volumes of influential literary works in vernacular Italian. Thanks to their initiative and practice, Italian yielded a unified language gradually.6 In 1955 Yoo Yeol, linguist of the People’s Republic of Korea who was then teaching in Peking University, presented an article Some Experiences in the Work of the Korean Language Standardization at the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese. In 1921 the Korean Language Research Committee was founded and in 1931 it was renamed Korean Language Society. Upon completion of Zhengyifa Tongyi Fang’an ‘Unifying Plan of Orthography’, Korean Language Society specifically set up the Inspection Commission of Korean Standard Language, responsible for designing the Korean standard language with respect to pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar etc. The principle of inspection is generally “first selecting from modern Korean, followed by the Seoul dialect, and finally the ‘middle-class social dialect’, in addition to referring to the constituents with universal features in all the dialects. Here the middle-class society, according to Yoo Yeol, seems to include common citizens and bourgeois. To select from their dialect as part of the standard pronunciation intends to dispense with the slangs in the Seoul dialect and the aristocratic “class-specific habitual language uses” (1956:133–135). It indicates that throughout the Korean language standardization, the Inspection Commission takes into consideration the issue of social dialect in a conscious manner. What is unclear at present is whether the middle-class social dialect is an authoritative social dialect. Or, did the Inspection Commission think of it as authoritative in that contemporary historical background.

2 Authoritative social dialect and language standardization of Chinese The ancient China paid much heed to written language, and the so-called language standardization was largely intended for the standardization of written language. The notion of standardization is to be elegant and correct7. What is considered as the criterion of being elegant and correct is the exemplary written language composed by the contemporary intellectuals according to the speech spoken in the capital city as well as other influential dialects. Albeit the specific 6 Serdyuchenko also discussed the underlying dialect of Italian (1956:41). 7 cf. Dai Zhaoming (1998:74–75).

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criterion of elegance and correctness varied in different dynasties, its notion had at least persisted up to the late-Qing dynasty. In 1911, the last year of the Qing Dynasty, the Central Education Conference organised by the Ministry of Education released Tongyi Guoyu Banfa’an ‘Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language’, in which Article Three To Inspect and Define the Speech Standards stipulated that “regional dialects differ vastly and it is advised to take the capital speech as of prominence. The fourth tone in the capital speech, namely entering tone, has yet to be determined and is pending for immediate revision, but it is recommended not to be obliterated. The speech should be appropriate, elegant and smooth, which should maintain in accord with logic, advisably on the basis of the official speech”8. This is in fact a discussion about the criteria of the common language of the modern Han people. It had been widely accepted that the Beijing dialect was adopted as the standard pronunciation of the lingua franca, but the Central Education Conference of the Ministry of Education still retained the notion of “being appropriate, elegant and smooth” and “in accord with logic”. From the perspective of modern Chinese standardization, the Proposal apparently was evidently imperfect, in which however could be found the influence authoritative social dialect imposed on language standardization. At that time, the authoritative status of the official speech is, if not stronger, not much weaker than the Beijing dialect, in light of which it is now understandable why both capital speech and official speech had been equally supported. In 1920, Zhang Shiyi, English Department Director of Nanjing Higher Normal School, clearly specified in his Issues of Unifying National Language that the pronunciation of national language should be “at least based upon the speech of the Beijing natives who have received intermediate education”9. His remark triggered the renowned disputes with respect to the Beijing pronunciation and the state pronunciation. At the 1955 Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese, Cen Linxiang pointed out “it is the historical consequence that the Beijing dialect has been selected as the standard of Putonghua pronunciation, and because of the disparities within, the Beijing dialect spoken by intellectuals should be adopted” (1956:227–228). Serdyuchenko also posited “. . . the northern dialect (Mandarin dialect) is the foundation of the common language of all the Han people, and the Beijing dialect should be assigned to underlie the establishment of ortheopy and correct standard pronunciation. At the same time, according to all the materials available, the standard pronunciation is the exemplary pronunciation which develops among the common intel8 cf. Language Reform Press (ed.) (1958:143). 9 cf. Wang Lijia (2003:18).

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lectuals (prominent scientists, writers, actors and other culture practitioners).” (1956:41) From the late Qing-dynasty when the discussions started about the standard pronunciation of the common speech spoken by the modern Han people to 1955 when the common spoken language was eventually established, although the most concerned issue is the authoritative regional dialect, all the cases above mentioned indicate that authoritative social dialect remains in the people’s frame of reference, whether consciously or unconsciously. Certainly, authoritative social dialect imposes an influence on the lingua franca of the Han people not only in terms of standard pronunciation but also in terms of vocabulary and grammar etc. Luo Changpei and Lv Shuxiang made it clear in The Issues of Modern Chinese Standardization, keynote address of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese, that “what kinds of words (their forms and usages) and what kinds of grammar (grammatical regulations and usages) should be acknowledged as the examples of modern Chinese? As we know, language standards are gradually forming with the development of literary language, so it is the modern literary works that we can resort to for standards. To put it more definite, the standards of modern Chinese are the common examples extracted from contemporary exemplary literary works” (1956:13). As a matter of fact, as early as 6th June 1951 People’s Daily published an editorial Use Correctly the Language of our Motherland and Fight for its Purity and Soundness!, in which the works of Mao Zedong and Lu Xun were hailed as standards of modern Chinese10, in terms of vocabulary and grammar. The Directive of the State Council on Promoting Putonghua describes the standard of Putonghua as “the standard pronunciation of Putonghua is based on the Beijing dialect, Putonghua is based on the Northern dialects, and the grammar policy is modelled after the vernacular used in modern Chinese literary classics” (1956:249). This description has been used ever since. At face value, this description is different from the original version by nothing more than an additional portion “the grammar policy is modelled after the vernacular used in modern Chinese literary classics”, but this inclusion of grammar standard makes reference to authoritative social dialect. Consequently, what is of more significance is that in the definition of Putonghua the element of authoritative social dialect is explicitly introduced, which symbolises the dual frame of reference namely

10 The editorial goes, “the modern language of our country retains all the intrinsic advantages of our language, and it also absorbs necessary new vocabulary and grammar. As a consequence, the modern language of our country is more rigorous and expressive than in the past. Comrade Mao Zedong and Mr. Lu Xun are the models who use this kind of lively, rich and elegant language.” (People’s Daily 1951:256)

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authoritative regional dialect and authoritative social dialect, which keeps in accord with the general rules of language standardization and provide a scientific summarisation of the millennia-long Chinese language planning practice. Since 1956 when the definition of Putonghua was stated, it was always the case that only the role of the underlying dialect and its representative the Beijing dialect were taken notice of, rarely was mentioned the issue of authoritative social dialect. The reason is that language standardization theories did not develop a conscious and adequate recognition of authoritative social dialect, and also it certainly related to the statement of Putonghua in which authoritative social dialect was underestimated as nothing more than grammar norms. It is the inadequate conscious recognition of the status of authoritative social dialect in language standardization that gave rise to the later fact that “to follow the general trend” had become the most important principle when regulating concrete standards of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and characters, and more often than not the element of scientificity had been ignored. To follow the general trend was plausible in its own right but doing so blindly was also unacceptable. Apparently, to fully value the role of authoritative social dialect, to carefully study how the subsystems of a language is standardised with respect to authoritative social dialect, and to well handle the relation between authoritative social dialect and authoritative regional dialect are still important programmes in language planning, and of important theoretical significance and practical value. Last but not least, the best way to commemorate a historic event is to place them for reflection and research. Research should focus on its success and weaknesses as well as learn experience and lessons, more than just oversimplified praise or criticism. In research, it is no less important to investigate at the point of the happing event than retrospect from today’s higher perspective. Into the past we can impartially evaluate the history taking an attitude of historical materialism, and evade concluding the false inferiority of our precursors. A today’s standpoint is to learn the experiences and lessons from our precursors and making nowadays people smarter.

References Chao Yuen-ren. 1980. The Problems of Chinese Language. Beijing, China: Commercial Press. Dai, Zhaoming. 1998. An Exploration into Language Standardization. Shanghai, China: Sanlian Bookstore. Hu, Mingyang. 1999. An Exploration into the Beijing Dialect. Beijing, China: Commercial Press. Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Collected Papers on the Late-Qing Language Reform. Beijing: Language Reform Press.

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Li, Yuming. 2004. The Status of Authoritative Dialect in Language Standardization. Journal of Tsinghua University, 5. Secretariat of the National Language Reform Conference. 1956. Collected Documents of the First National Language Reform Conference. Beijing: Language Reform Press. Secretariat of the Symposium on the Standardization of Modern Chinese (ed.). 1956. Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Wenti Xueshu Huiyi Wenjian Huibian (Collected Papers on Modern Chinese Normalization Issues). Beijing: Science Press. Wang, Lijia. 2003. Chinese Pinyin Movement and Standard Language of the Han People. Beijing: Language and Literature Press. Xing, Fuyi (ed.). 2000. Cultural Linguistics (revised). Wuhan, China: Hubei Education Press.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics), 2005, Issue No. 3. Translated by CHENG Meng (程萌) School of Foreign Language Studies, Ningbo Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University [email protected]

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Building up bilingual and bi-dialectical competence Abstract: Striking an optimal balance between language maintenance and language communication lies at the core of national language planning. Development of a sizable pool of people with bilingual and bidialectical competence, a strong contingent of bilingual and bidialectical talent in particular, is critical to achieving this goal. Currently, challenges confronting China in this regard are many. On the one hand, its population by and large remains monolingual and monodialectical. Even among those who are bilingual and/or bidialectical, a relatively large percentage is restricted to non-powerful languages and dialects. On the other hand, systematic training in Putonghua and foreign languages does not start at a young age as it should. Additionally, improved research into and better planning for bilingual training are required in the nation’s ethnic minority areas. Keywords: language maintenance, language communication, bilingualism, bidialecticalism

0 Introduction Language maintenance and language communication are two primary concerns in contemporary language life, impacting to a great extent the national policies on languages. Hence a holistic and coordinated approach is requisite to avoid one-sided views being derived from a single perspective of either language maintenance or language communication. Departure from such an approach will result in a unilateral and isolated solution leading to social instabilities and unrests. As a large developing country with multiple dialects, multiple languages and multiple ethnic cultures, China is noted for its rich language resources but meanwhile is confronted with complex language issues, which underscores the eminence and the urgency in finding an optimum solution conducive to both language maintenance and language communication. This paper argues that the key to simultaneously addressing these two issues lies in a significant build-up of talent with higher levels of bilingual and bidialectical competence.

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1 Two outstanding issues in language life in China Language life is a concept that has been used with ever increasing frequency. Li (1997) pointed out, “All activities that relate to study, application of and research into language and words as well as application in various forms into practices of findings from the research conducted in this area fall into the category of language life.” Viewed from this perspective, language life covers a wide spectrum of areas and plays a very vital role in social life and societal development. From the perspective of language planning, language maintenance and language communication are two issues of primary importance.

1.1 Language maintenance Languages have long been recognized as valuable social resources and China is a country with an abundance of such resources. First and foremost, the Han Chinese is a language having been ramified to such a diversity and complexity of dialects that the same is rarely seen in languages of other countries. From a historical point of view, dialects are “a warehouse of fossils” of ancient languages and cultures, preserving a large quantity of elements and essence of the ancient languages. Systematic comparisons and studies of different dialects will help us delineate the general pictures of ancient languages and uncover the trajectory of the language developments and transformations. Dialects are also crucial carriers of the local cultures in particular regions. A national culture is not an abstraction but a composite of a rich variety of regional or local cultures. The local dialects and the local cultures, mingled and embedded with elements of the national cultures from ancient times, are irreplaceable in terms of cultural values. Viewed from the current and future perspectives, dialects represent the “nutrient pad” for the growth of common national language. The foundational dialects determine the basic features of the common language to the nation and drive its development. The non-foundational dialects, on the other hand, also contribute significantly to the development of the common language. Since the 1980s, contemporary Han Chinese has witnessed considerable changes in which dialects such as Yue, Min, Wu and other dialects in southern China – including Huayu – the Chinese language widely used by overseas Chinese communities – and the “localised Mandarin” synthesized from Standard Chinese language and the dialects all contribute significantly to

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the progress of contemporary Han Chinese language as a whole, to the proliferation of new words and new phrases, to the translation and borrowing of foreign words and expressions, to the creation of new grammatical structures in Han Chinese, and to the transmutation of its language styles. Therefore, the multitude of Chinese dialects has been and will remain our language and cultural wealth in the past, at present and in the future, constituting rare language and cultural resources to be tapped for utilization. There are five principle language families in China: Sino-Tibetan, Altic, Indo-European, and Malay-Polynesian. Zhou (2000:98) suggests that there are over 80 languages in China. Due to the lack of a clear distinction between languages and dialects, some others even argue that there are more than 100 languages in China. The exact number of languages in China remains a question awaiting further studies, but these languages are no wonder the invaluable treasures of linguistics, which provide the unparalleled bases for the comparative study of Sino-Tibetan language families as well as these studies concerning language typologies and language unions. A national language is one of the principal symbols of the attributes that a nation has inherited and is closely associated with the sentiments of that nation. Generally speaking, the status and the destiny of a national language represent and impact the status and the destiny of that nation. A national language is also an important carrier of the culture for that particular nation and the different cultures in the nation, which, many as they are, represent different cultures in various forms. The contact and convergence of different cultures can be a powerful driver to rapid development of cultures and in some cases create new cultures. Therefore, the large variety of languages as well as rich cultures they represent, therefore, are invaluable treasures awaiting for further exploration and utilisation. However, it has to be noted that the various dialects of Chinese and plentiful ethnic languages in China are undergoing dramatic changes, as a result of the increasing exchanges between people from different territories and across nations and with the widespread use of the Internet. Some of the indigenous languages and ethnic languages are gradually dying out. However, the extinction of dialects and languages in the process of social advancement, although some of them are inevitable, does not mean that nothing else can be done but to watch helplessly or indifferently all the endangered languages vanishing. Unlike other things, languages, once lost, are difficult to be recovered (Hebrew probably is one of the few exceptions in this regard) and difficult to replicate. The extinction of a language will bring with it the termination or “fossilisation” of a culture and its subcultures. Therefore the urgency in preserving languages can never be overemphasised.

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At present, more and more people have realised the importance and the urgency of environmental protection, protection of endangered species, conservation of water and soil, and protection of cultural relics. Recent years have seen intensified media promotions, improved protection mechanism and increased input of human and material resources. Regrettably, only few people place the same priority in language maintenance and treat it with the same sense of urgency.

1.2 Language communication Living in a new world of peace and development and an information age that changes rapidly with each passing day, no people or nation can shut itself behind closed doors. No nation or people can survive and develop without staying in constant contact and mutual learning and understanding. Only through exchanges and cooperation can differences, misunderstandings and disputes be reduced, and common progress and joint development be achieved. None of these can take place without languages, so language communication (or “language-mediated cultural communication”) plays an indispensible role. Currently, dialects throughout China have been reducing at an unprecedented rate their differences from Putonghua and converging toward it, just like what is described in a Chinese metaphor “the stars are gathering around the moon”. The contacts and two-way penetration among languages of different nations are on the increase. So is the language-mediated communication among different regions, different ethnic groups in China and the language communication between China and other countries, which has been facilitated by China’s rigorous reforms and opening-up. At present, the alienation among the dialects and the gull between different languages, however, are to a great extent hampering the language communication and the cultural exchanges. Conflicts of languages and cultures, big or small, implicit or explicit, direct or indirect, domestic or international, have never ceased. For this reason, consideration should be rendered to the resolution of these issues with language communication and language maintenance in the contemporary language life in China, in order to protect and utilise the existing language and cultural resources, to pass on our own languages and cultures including sub-cultures from generation to generation, and to preserve the uniqueness of the regions and the attributes of the Chinese nation.

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1.3 Bilingual and bidialetical people in China In a sense, language communication and language maintenance are paradoxical. Language communication usually has an adverse impact on maintenance of another language. Conversely, inappropriate and excessive protection of a language will impede language communication. Reconciliation of such a contradiction, however, can be achieved by maintaining a balanced view of language maintenance and language communication, which takes into consideration both language maintenance and language communication – an important mission for macro-sociolinguistics. In my view, building up a strong contingent of talent with bilingual and bidialectical competence including talent with competence in multiple languages and multiple dialects represents an optimal resolution to the contradiction between language communication and language maintenance. A bidialectical person is one who can use two or more dialectics, among which one is his or her native dialect. A bilingual person is one who can use two or more languages, among which one is his or her mother tongue. In acquiring and using their native dialect and mother tongue, on the one hand, bidialectical and bilingual people inherit and carry on the dialects and languages as well as the cultures in which the dialects and languages are rooted, thereby preserving the languages and the cultures in their own way. In acquiring anther dialect and/or language, on the other hand, the bidialectical and bilingual people come to understand another dialect and/or language as well as the cultures in which these dialects and languages are embedded, and acquire the capability of communicating with people of another dialectical region and/or linguistic community in their dialects and/or languages, thus making possible language communication from one to the other. Bilingualism and bidialecticalism are characterised by persistency and stability, evidenced by its continued existence among some ethnic groups over the past hundred or even thousands of years, demonstrating that a build-up of a large number of bidialectical and bilingual people will contribute to both language maintenance and language communication.

2 Problems with bi-dialectical and bilingual training in China The phenomena of bilingualism and bi-dialecticalism can be traced back to ancient times. Studies on the Book of Songs and the rhymes of the Eastern and

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Western Zhou dynasties have revealed that dialects of Chinese appeared as early as in Western Zhou dynasty. (Wang 1992; Yu 1993; Jin 1993) As long as there are communications between dialects, there are bi-dialectical people. The communications between the Han nationality and other ethnic groups in surrounding areas began as early as in the oracle time. Since language is the precursor of exchanges between ethnic groups, it can be deduced that there were bilingual people as early as in Yin and Shang dynasty. They never ceased to exist in the following dynasties, and their contributions to the exchanges between different regions and ethnic groups cannot be neglected. In the process, education is one of the important means of cultivating bilingual and bi-dialectical people. During the Westernization Movement (also known as the Self-Strengthening Movement in 1861–1895) in Qing dynasty, foreign language schools like “Guangdong Dialects School” and “Tong Wen Guan” were established. The late Qing dynasty saw the rise of the national language movement, which ushered in a new historical stage of bilingual and bi-dialectical training. Over the last 100 years, a large population of bilinguals and bi-dialecticals has been cultivated through various means of language education. Since the 1950s, tremendous efforts have been made in mainland China to promote Putonghua or Standard Chinese and training in foreign languages, bringing up hundreds and millions of bilingual and bidialectical people. These achievements have already been reported in many government documents, research papers and books. Hence this chapter will only discuss the problems existing in the field and it is argued that the key issues calling for consideration and attention include the following.

2.1 Mono-lingualism and mono-dialecticalism in China A mono-lingual person refers to one who uses only one language, and a monodialectical person is one who uses only one dialect. Generally speaking, a monodialectical person is without exception mono-lingual but not the other way round. At present, the majority of the Chinese population are still leading a mono-dialectical and mono-lingual language life. Geographically, the monolingual and mono-dialectical population are mostly concentrated in regions where transport and communication are least developed – with the exception of regions populated by mixed ethnic groups. Demographically, the elderly and people with lower levels of education have a higher concentration of monolingual and mono-dialectical people. What merits our special attention is a percentage of young adults who remain illiterate or semi-illiterate despite the

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miraculous efforts China has made in human history of education in successfully implementing the nine-year compulsory education. In regions struck by poverty and backwardness, children dropping out from school are not uncommon, and the number of new illiterate and semi-illiterate people is on the rise. These illiterate and semi-illiterate people are in most cases mono-lingual or monodialectical, which indicates that China’s mono-lingual and mono-dialectical population is still increasing in large quantity. The strong presence of monolingual and mono-dialectical people is no doubt hindering the language communication among the different regions and the different ethnic groups within the nation as well as the communication with other countries.

2.2 High percentage of non-powerful bi-dialectical and bilingual population In theory, all languages and dialects are equal in terms of legal status and social morality. None is supposed to hold supremacy and higher status over the others. In reality, however, the differences in history, culture, politics, economic developments and manpower contribute to the distinction between powerful and nonpowerful languages and dialects. Generally speaking, the powerful languages and dialects are those which have been valued and used extensively in communication among the people. The non-powerful languages and dialects are those which are limited in use and hence have a lower value in communication. In the language life in China, Putonghua is the most powerful dialect (Putonghua is considered as a dialect from the sociolinguistic perspective). Nationwide, the Han Chinese people are the core ethnic group in China and Mandarin, the Chinese language used by the Han, is widely used including in the domains of science and technology, and thus has enjoyed the legal status of “a national lingua franca” in China and is the most powerful language in the country. Worldwide, major languages such as English have been widely used with higher value of communication and are regarded also as the powerful languages. Bilingual and bidialectical people with a good command and fluent use of these powerful languages and dialects are therefore regarded as the “powerful bilingual/ bidialectical population”, whereas those who only have a good command of the non-powerful languages and/or dialects or who cannot have a good command of the powerful languages and dialects are considered the “non-powerful bilingual/bidialectical population. The non-powerful bilingual/bidialectical population have some advantages over their mono-dialectical and mono-lingual peers in communication with other groups but will perform far behind the powerful bilingual/bidialectical population.

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In China, the percentage of the non-powerful bilingual/bidialectical people is excessively high. In many cases, they do not speak powerful dialects such as Putonghua or even if they do, the Putonghua they speak is at best a localised version with a strong local accent. In regions mainly populated by ethnic minorities, many bilingual or bidialectical people either do not speak any Han Chinese dialect, or only speak a non-powerful Han Chinese dialect or localised Putonghua. Most Chinese people do not speak foreign languages. Even among those who do, the standards are relatively low. Many of them cannot use foreign languages to communicate fluently in various situations. These bilingual peoples are categorised as non-powerful bilinguals too. There are two root causes for the existing high percentage of non-powerful bilingual and bidialectical people in China. Firstly, the scope and the quality of language training in China are far from being as ideal as expected. Despite the on-going promotion of Putonhua over the past decades in China, the people who have a good command of the language are still concentrated in certain industries, certain regions and certain age groups, due to a number of factors: China’s huge population with a complex mix of dialects, the impact of the Cultural Revolution, the influence of “Cantonese expanding to the North”, and the interference from other social factors. The situation with foreign language is even worse both in terms of scope and conditions. Secondly, most of the bilingual or bidialectical people are so called “naturally bilingual’ or “naturally dialectical” people because they pick up the languages or dialects naturally thanks to relocation, migration, living in a mixed community or in a mixed language environment rather than acquisition via education or training. Due to the current language distribution in China, natural acquisition of Putonghua is rare because the ethnic minority groups in the North-East, North-West and South-West, even if they use Mandarin, only speak their local dialects in the areas rather than Putonghua. In the South, the second dialect that most people pick up naturally probably is one of the southern dialects or localised Putonghua with a strong southern accent.

2.3 Late start in foreign language and Putonghua learning and teaching Needless to say, China has set great store by the education and training in Putonghua and foreign languages, particularly after the reforms and openingup, but the outcomes are far from satisfactory. The inputs from the society for language teaching and from the individuals for language learning are huge but the outputs do not match the efforts. The reasons are many but it is believed that

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the starting age for school children to learn languages is the one of the root causes. Research conducted by Lenneberg, Penfield and others reveal that for language learning there are a best period and a critical period in age. (Li, 1995) In his Dialect Acquisition, Chambers divided learners of languages into “early learners” and “late learners”, putting forward an insight that the “early learners” (aged seven and under) can learn a language smoothly while the “late learners” (aged 14 and over) cannot. Learners between 7 and 14 fall into the two groups – some are “early learners” and the others are “late learners”. Although views vary on how to define the ages for “early learners” and for “late learners” in the academic circle, the majority tend to regard seven as the “best period” and 13 as the “critical period”. Children at or under seven can pick up a language very quickly and speak it fluently while those who start learning a language after the critical period will find it difficult to achieve the same. In schools located in metropolitan areas of the country which are betterresourced, the majority of primary school students start learning foreign languages when they move to higher grades. In township schools which are under-resourced, foreign languages are only taught in secondary schools. As the students by the time have already reached or passed the critical period and additionally the scores of foreign languages do not have much impact on the university enrolment, foreign language training doesn’t seem to make much progress. In most cases, people learn foreign languages in universities and other higher educational institutions specialised in foreign languages training. Recent years have seen greater efforts being made to reinforce foreign language training in primary, secondary schools and universities. In some universities, courses are required to be conducted in foreign languages. In some primary schools, “bilingual teaching” schemes are piloted where classes are conducted in both Chinese and foreign languages. However, these schemes are still in the experimental stage and many issues arise in terms of policies and academics. Hence the outcomes are yet to be verified by practices. In comparison, the situation in Putonghua training is proceeding slightly better than that of the foreign language training. However, using the local dialect and localised Putonghua as the medium of instruction in educational institutions is not uncommon, particularly among universities (the situation in teacher training institutions is slightly better) and township schools in southern China where the tendency to speak the local dialects are strong. Many students in these institutions have not had a good command of Putonghua before they reach the “critical period” for language learning. Apparently, the late start of learning Putonghua and foreign languages has led to the high-input versus low-output in language teaching and learning. As

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a result, the quality of Putonghua training is far from satisfactory and that of foreign language learning is very poor. In part, the deprived conditions in education (e.g. insufficiency in qualified teachers) contribute to the late start of language training. The key factor, however, lies in overlooking the natural law and regulations of language learning in guiding our practices in language teaching, and in lack of awareness of the significance of building a population of “powerful bilinguals and bidialecticals”.

2.4 Issues with bilingual education in ethnic minority areas China is a country with a great many ethnic groups. Language education therefore is a very sensitive issue in the ethnic minority areas. Many experts have proposed that using the mother tongue as a medium of instruction in schools can give full play to the individual potentials of the ethnic groups as well as maintaining and extending their languages and cultures. On the other hand, learning the core national language is not only conducive to the understanding, exchanges and unity among all ethnic groups but also conducive to the development of the ethnic minority groups themselves. Therefore, implementing bilingualism and bilingual education in the ethnic minority areas are in all ways correct and necessary. It goes without saying that bilingual education in the ethnic minority areas should fully respect the desires of the ethnic minority people and respect the wishes of the students and their parents. Nevertheless, issues worth further consideration and research regarding bilingual education with minority ethnic groups include, 1)

At what age or what stage of development in their mother tongue is best for ethnic minority children to start learning the Mandarin (the Han Chinese language)? 2) Is it possible for them to complete the basic bilingual education during or around the critical period, the spoken form of the second language in particular? 3) What is the optimum combination of allocation and cooperation between the first and the second language education? For example, what subjects are best conducted in the mother tongue and what subjects are best conducted in Mandarin? 4) How to increase the content of modern science and technology, and of the contemporary cultural practice, in such a process of bilingual education, and to provide the ethnic minority students with a greater variety of extracurricular reading materials?

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3 Concluding remarks Be it from the perspective of the era we are or from the perspective of Chinese politics, culture, and economy, active and effective measures must be taken towards the above issues, and particular attention should be paid to studies on bilingualism and bi-dialecticalism, bilingual and dialectical education as well as bilinguals and bi-dialecticals. It should be admitted that we still have very limited knowledge about bilingualism and bi-dialecticalism. The launching of any significant socio-cultural campaign should be based on solid scientific knowledge rather than mere enthusiasm and passion. Topics of further study should at least include: 1)

Historical investigation of Chinese bilingualism and bi-dialecticalism, so that clear knowledge can be acquired about the phenomenon in China. 2) The current state and problems of Chinese bilingualism and bi-dialecticalism and the formulation of corresponding measures. This requires field work and empirical studies. Measures should be formulated under the guidance of theories in macro-sociolinguistics and applied linguistics, in accordance with China’s basic conditions as well as from a long-term point of view. 3) The natural laws of bilingual and bi-dialectical education as well as education reform. Bilingual and bi-dialectical education should respect the natural law of language learning, which, however, is a comparatively underresearched field in the Chinese academic studies. Among all types of language acquisition and learning, first language is always the most successfully acquired by children, and useful insights can be drawn through further investigation into the process of first language acquisition. 4) The mentality and advantages of bilinguals and bi-dialecticals. 5) Strategies and measures in massive production of bilinguals and bi-dialecticals, which should be both feasible in operation and legally binding. Another issue worthy of our special attention is that the promotion of Putonghua throughout the country may lead to a new generation of monolingual and mono-dialectical people. In some cases, children stop learning their own dialects when they have started to learn Putonghua and become newly mono-lingual/mono-dialectical. In some ethnic minority areas, children only learn Mandarin but not their own language. Some of them use their own language as a “walking stick” and will discard it when they have become good at Mandarin. As a result, they become monolingual too. This phenomenon warrants great attention.

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To sum up, language is the “gene” for the inheritance of cultures and subcultures from generation to generation, and the “bridges and ferries” for the spread and exchange of cultures and sub-cultures across different regions. The preservation and exploration of language resources, to a certain extent, is even more important than the preservation and exploration of the resources of species and cultural relics. Further studies are required for the study of languages and dialects in China, and an archive should be established for preserving the original pictures of these dialects and languages, with a view to creating a good eco-environment for these languages. Meanwhile, in the context of modern science and technology, politics and economy, strategic plans for language communication can also be developed for the cultivation of a large group of dominant bilinguals and bi-dialecticals within a limited period of time, which can facilitate the exchanges and cooperation at both international and national levels and speed up China’s modernization process.

References Chen, Enqian, et al. 1994. Shuangyu Shuang Fangyan (III) [Bilingualism & Bi-dialectalism (III)]. Hanxue Publishing House. Chen, Qianrui. 1994. Fangyan Xide de Ba Tiao Yuanze – Jieshao J.K. Chambers de “Fangyan Xide” (Eight Principles of Dialect Acquisition – An Introduction to J.K. Chambers’ Dialect Acquisition). Guowai Yuyanxue (Linguistics Overseas), Vol. 3. China National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language. 1990. Ge Guo Tuiguang Benzu Yu Qingkuang Huibian (Situations of National Language Promotion in Different Countries). Beijing Language Institute Press. Institute of Ethnology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 2000. Report on World Languages (China). Jin, Ruo. 1993. “Shijing” Yun Xi de Shidai Fenye (Temporal Dividing Line of the Rhyming System of “Shijing”). Gu Hanyu Yanjiu (Studies on Ancient Chinese), Vol. 4. Language and Culture Press (ed.). 1993. Yuyan Wenzi Guifan Shouce (Zengdingben) [The Handbook on the Standardization of the Chinese Language (Extended Edition)]. Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Li, Yuming. 1995. Ertong Yuyan de Fazhan (Development of Child Language). Central China Normal University Press. Li, Yuming. 1997. Yuyan Baohu Chuyi (My Humble Opinion on Language Protection). In Shenzhen Language Institute (ed.). Bilingualism and Bi-dialectism V. Sinology Press. Mou, Zi. 1997. Yuyan Shenghuo yu Jingshen Wenming (Language Life and Spiritual Culture). Yuwen Jianshe (Language Construction), Vol. 1. Office of Legislation, State Language Commission. 1995. Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo Bai Ti (Language Work Issues). Language and Culture Press. Sun, Hongkai. 1983. Shi Lun Wo Guo de Shuangyu Xianxiang (Preliminary Study on Bilingualism in China). Minzu Yanjiu (Study on Ethnicity), Vol. 6.

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Wang, Jian’an. 1992. “Shijing” Yong Yun de Liang Da Fangyan Yunxi (Two Major Dialectal Rhyming Systems Found in the Rhyming Practices of Shijing). Zhongguo Yuwen (Chinese Language), Vol. 3. Xing, Fuyi (ed.). 1990. Cultural Linguistics. Wuhan: Hubei Education Press. Xu, Jialu, et al. 1996. Zhongguo Yuyanxue Xiangzhuang yu Zhanwang (Current Situation and Prospect of Chinese Linguistics). Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Yan, Xuejun. 1985. Zhongguo Duibi Yuyanxue Qian Shuo (A Brief Introduction on Contrastive Linguistics in China). Central China Technical Institute Press. Yu, Suisheng. 1993. Liang Zhou Jinwen Yunwe he Xianqin “Chu Yin” (Verses in Bronze Inscription of the Zhou Dynasties and the “Chu Pronunciation” of the Pre-Qin Period). Journal of North-west University, Vol. 2. Zhou, Qingsheng. 2000. Yuyan yu Renlei (Language and Mankind). Central University for Nationalities Publishing House. Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2001. Waiguo Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua Jiaocheng (A Course Book on Foreign Language Policy and Language Planning). Language and Culture Press. Zhou, Youguang. 1992. Xin Yuwen de Jianshe (Construction of the New Language). Language and Culture Press.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Yangtze River Academic, 2003, 4. Translated by WU Dongying, Doreen (吴东英) Department of Chinese & Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Chapter 13

On the establishment of Chinese Language Resource Audio Database1 Abstract: Chinese Language Resource Audio Database (CLRAD) is one of the language projects being implemented by the State Language Commission. The aim of the project is to record the language situation (including dialects and local Putonghua) of each county and region of China and compile them into a database for permanent preservation through the use of modern information technology and unified working and technical standards. With the academic and administrative development of such database, we can comprehensively understand the national conditions of the languages in China, scientifically formulate national language planning, scientifically preserve and develop national language resources, facilitate the promotion of Putonghua, expedite the informatization of the spoken and written languages and promote the development of language sciences. Keywords: Chinese language, audio, database

1 Introduction This project, which utilizes modern information technology to record the language situation of China and establishes an audio database with the capability of continuous update so as to satisfy various demands of the society, shall benefit both current and future generations. China’s linguistic research has the history of more than a hundred years, dialectologists and ethnic linguists have achieved fruitful research results. The standard of modern information tech-

1 This article was written for the 60th anniversary of the Institute of Linguistics under Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. For the past 60 years, the Institute of Linguistics has made a great contribution to the work related to the spoken and written languages of China. The academic conference on the Issues of the Standardization of Modern Chinese Language held in 1955 laid down the theoretical foundation in the standardization of the Chinese language. Xiandai Hanyu Cidian (Modern Chinese Dictionary), which serves as the role of “a teacher” in our language life, was then compiled in accordance with the spirit of the conference. The conference also commenced the research on dialects that brought fruitful results to the promotion of Putonghua and development of dialectology. The Seminar on Ethnic Language Science jointly held with Minzu University of China in 1955 set the milestone of the work related to ethnic languages. The establishment of the journals, such as Zhongguo Yuwen (Chinese Language), Fangyan (Dialects), has already nurtured several generations of scholars and brought momentum to the

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nology and the economic strength of China have reached a satisfactory level. All these conditions have made the establishment of Chinese Language Resource Audio Database (CLRAD) realistically possible. The State Language Commission has been in preparation for the establishment of CLRAD for years, already set up several monographic studies for its argumentation2, formulated a series of working and technical standards and implemented a pilot study of more than a year in five cities in Jiangsu. This article will talk about the basic status, features and functions of CLRAD based on the preparations, studies and pilot study conducted by the State Language Commission. Undoubtedly, the establishment of CLRAD has not yet been fully in operation, certain technical standards (for example, standards concerning the use of dialectal characters, the survey scheme for minority ethnic languages, etc.) are in the course of further improvement. The aim of this article is to arouse the attention of academic circles and the society with the hope that more comments and assistance could be provided.

2 Basic status of CLRAD CLRAD is one of the national language resource projects implemented using modern information technology to record language data. The language data will be converted and tagged. The processed data will be organized and stored in the database together with relevant text documents, audio files and video files. The data will be available for use by academic circles and the society through databases, Internet, museums and language laboratories. The basic status of CLRAD is summarized as follows based on Zhongguo Yuyan Ziyuan Yousheng Shujuku Diaocha Shouce ‘Survey Handbook for Chinese Language Resource Audio Database’ 3:

academic development. We would like to take this opportunity to show our utmost respect to the Institute of Linguistics and wish the Institute make even greater contribution to the work related to the spoken and written languages and language sciences of China. This paper was originally published in Zhongguo Yuwen, Issue No. 4, 2010. 2 Scholars-in-charge of these projects mainly include: Cao Zhiyun, Dai Qingxia, Guo Longsheng, He Rui, Huang Xing, Li Rulong, Liu Danqing, Pan Wuyun, Qiao Quansheng, Wei Hui, Xie Junying, Xu Daming and Zhang Zhenxing. Main staff members responsible for the coordination of these projects include Li Yuming, Wang Tiekun and Chen Min. 3 The Handbook was compiled by the Office of the Leadership Team for Chinese Language Resource Audio Database. The section of the Handbook concerning Chinese dialects (written by Cao Zhiyun) was published by the Commercial Press. In addition to the scholars-in-charge and project co-ordinators, the following persons also contributed a lot in the compilation of the Handbook and the formulation of working standards: Gu Qian, Hou Jingyi, Liu Lili, Sun Maosong, Wang Ping, Yang Erhong and Zhao Xiaoqun.

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2.1. Languages and dialects survey 2.1.1 Survey points Survey points will be set up based on county-level administrative units, which in principle should be “one county one survey point”. Survey points can be added or reduced if special situation occurs. The survey focuses on reflecting the actual language situation, which is the reason why counties with greater influence will be selected.

2.1.2 Survey respondents Four representative informants for each survey point will be selected in accordance with gender and age: two males and two females, two elders and two youngsters.

2.1.3 Survey content The content of the survey is divided into two main parts: linguistic structure surveys and discourse surveys. Linguistic structure surveys are the foundation which includes using 1,000 characters to study the phonetic system, using 1,200 words to investigate the basic lexical system and using 50 sentences to examine main syntactic phenomena. Discourse surveys are the focus of the survey, which are divided into speaking and conversation. Speaking includes “an assigned story” and “free topics”. The assigned story is Niu Lang he Zhi Nu ‘The Cowherd and the Girl Weaver’4 which possesses Chinese cultural characteristics and spreads across wider geographical regions. Free topics should be the ones that can reflect local cultural characteristics, for instance: orally inherited local folk tales; local nursery rhymes, local proverbs, local two-part allegorical sayings, local jingle rhymes; local scenic spots and specialties; local customs and traditional festivals; individual and family status; current affairs and hot topic commentaries. Informants will choose several of these topics for speaking. Conversation is conducted among the four informants on the topics selected by themselves from the above-mentioned topics.

4 The text of the story Niu Lang he Zhi Nu (The Cowherd and the Girl Weaver) was organized mainly by Wang Ping.

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2.1.4 Survey methodology Specified audio recording equipment and software are used for audio recording together with video recording and photography. In addition, survey content will be transcribed with International Phonetic Alphabet and Chinese characters in accordance with specific requirements. At last, all survey information and electronic files of a survey point will be named, categorized and filed.

2.1.5 Database establishment and development Dedicated personnel as organized by the State will proceed with the acceptance procedures and the survey information will be filed and compiled into the database in a unified manner. Experts will be convened to commence the development of the database in a timely manner, for instance: the compilation of Zhongguo Yuyan Guoqing Baogao ‘Report on the National Conditions of the Chinese Language’ which includes basic data of the Chinese languages, dialects and local Putonghua, a table of contents of languages and dialects which are urgently in need of protection, and a table of contents of “critical languages” and “critical dialects” that are related to the stability of the society and the security of the State. The data will be available for public use through websites, open laboratories and museums so as to benefit the State and academic circles as much as possible.

2.2 “Local Putonghua” survey Local Putonghua is a variety of inter-languages developed from dialects towards Putonghua, which plays an important role in cross-region communication and serves as significant language information. To understand the status of local Putonghua, to explore the regularities of local Putonghua in its development from a low variety to a high variety and to conclude the consolidation features of local Putonghua would be definitely meaningful in the promotion of Putonghua and the study of the regularities of language acquisition. Local Putonghua Survey is conducted together with Languages and Dialects Survey at the same time. The requirements of the selection of survey points are the same as the ones specified in Languages and Dialects Survey, which in principle should be “one county one survey point”. Three informants will be selected for each survey point. The three informants should possess different levels of Putonghua proficiency: one of them should possess at least Grade A

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of Third Class Level of Putonghua Shuiping Ceshi Dengji Biaozhun ‘Standards of Levels of the National Putonghua Proficiency Test’ (Putonghua Proficiency Training and Testing Centre of the State Language Commission 2008), one of them should possess just below Grade B of Third Class Level, and one of them should possess the worst Putonghua level which means his or her language proficiency is closest to dialects. The content of Local Putonghua Survey includes: 1. to narrate the assigned story Nu Liang he Zhi Nu in Putonghua; 2. to read two pieces of short essays, Chengshi yu Xinren ‘Honesty and Trust’ and Daxuesheng Cunguan ‘Graduate Students as Village Officials’, aloud in Putonghua. The audio files created during the survey will be organized and undergone the acceptance procedures. Then they will be filed and compiled into the database to form Local Putonghua Corpus which is a sub-database of CLRAD.

3 Some features of CLRAD The research on languages and dialects of China has achieved many remarkable and fruitful results, for example, Zhongguo Yuyan Ditu ji ‘Language Atlas of China’, Xiandai Hanyu Fangyan Dacidian ‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects’, Putonghua Jichu Fangyan Jiben Cihuiji ‘Basic Vocabulary of Putonghua Dialects’, Xiandai Hanyu Fangyan Yinku ‘Sound Archives of Modern Chinese Dialects’, Hanyu Fangyan Dituji ‘Language Atlas of Chinese Dialects’, Zhongguo Xinfaxian Yuyan Yanjiu Congshu ‘Newly Found Minority Languages in China Series’, etc. CLRAD fully utilizes the past linguistic survey methodology and research results, and forms its own design features.

3.1 Possess the characteristics of language census The emphasis on linguistic fieldwork has been our tradition in modern dialectology and ethnolinguistic studies. However, “typicality” was focused in the past studies when survey points were selected so that representative points of ethnic languages and Chinese dialects were preferred. Using the feature of “typicality” as a criterion of survey point selection is appropriate for understanding the basic situation of a language or dialect. Nonetheless, in most cases it is inadequate in acquiring the whole picture of the language situation of China. Nowadays, there are still languages of many counties and regions in which no or incomplete survey has been conducted. Chinese dialects of many

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ethnic regions have not been properly investigated. Due to the lack of typicality, in-depth studies have not been carried out for Chinese dialects of the Northeastern region and Inner Mongolia. The language situation of counties near the border has not been clearly known as well. Obviously, the focus of the representative points of ethnic languages and Chinese dialects is not beneficial to the in-depth understanding of a language or dialect, nor is it favourable to the accurate understanding of the regional changes of a language or dialect, and as a result no detailed language atlas at the county level can possibly be produced. Data collection and recording of CLRAD are conducted based on the principle of “one county one survey point”. It is estimated that there are actually more than 4,000 survey points selected, which bears the nature of language census. It is believed that this kind of “census” would discover a lot of new phenomena with new clues to languages and dialects that have never been noticed before. Zhongguo de Yuyan ‘The Languages of China’, as chiefly compiled by Sun Hongkai, Hu Zengyi and Huang Xing, recorded many newly discovered languages which were mostly found because of not following the principle of “typicality” in survey point selection. In addition, survey point selection in the form of census can preserve a copy of language information of early 21st century for each county administrative unit. This sets an eternal measurement reference point for the study of national language situation in the future.

3.2 Emphasize on the factors of age and gender Age and gender are two factors most relevant to language and language activities. People of different age and gender show different variations in the aspects of pronunciation, lexical choice, syntax and pragmatic usage, in which linguistic variations between old school and new school derived from the difference in age, very often, can also predict the direction of language development. Traditional language surveys usually select older males as informants so as to obtain the “purest” and age-old aspect of the language, which is an academic objective. CLRAD emphasizes the collection of language data from older males, and at the same time it also collects the language data from older females, young males and young females. These data can be processed into different databases in future research, which can facilitate the linguistic study of gender and age. With the accumulation of data in the long run, the study of linguistic variations in various ages can also engage in scientific deduction of the direction of language development.

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3.3 Emphasize on syntax Efforts of traditional research on Chinese dialects mainly are concentrated on pronunciation and lexical items. In recent years, there has been an increase in the interest on the study of dialectal syntax, even to the extent that there are cross-dialects monographic studies. CLRAD’s survey on syntax is conducted in accordance with the research results of typology and the actual language situation of China by designing 50 sentences to investigate several important syntactic features of the Chinese language and ethnic languages. Since these data implicitly include the typological element, therefore comparative studies can be conducted with each Chinese dialect and language. Comparison with many languages in the world can also be administered by using these data in order to obtain research results in the field of typology. This kind of syntactic studies in the field of typology conveys positive meaning in the development of syntax in China.5

3.4 Rely on discourse Traditional language surveys are basically linguistic structure surveys in which discourse is not much involved. Even if discourse surveys have been conducted, they are just an appendage to linguistic structure surveys. CLRAD treats discourse as basic data for recording as the rationale behind is to preserve the actual current language situation. Discourse is a linguistic component which can reflect the actual language situation to the maximum. The best way to preserve language samples is to preserve discourse. Discourse is the “real samples” of language which include various ingredients of linguistic structures and also cover various linguistic structural elements of speech stream changes, including sandhi. Discourse contains relevant pragmatic content, such as differences 5 The survey design of the section related to syntax was mainly produced by Liu Danqing. The 50 sample sentences were formulated with reference to his book Yufa Diaocha Yanjiu Shouce (A Handbook for Grammatical Investigation and Research), 2008. The Handbook uses The Lingua Descriptive Studies Questionnaire written by Bernard Comrie and Norval Smith as an outline, provides detailed annotations, examples, supplementary explanation and analysis concerning the content of questionnaires, and points out the aspects which are inadequate or inappropriate when The Lingua Descriptive Studies Questionnaire is used for Chinese language studies. It is claimed that The Lingua Descriptive Studies Questionnaire provides a thorough and comprehensive syntactic framework which is as objective as possible for the research description of human languages all over the world, with the hope that investigators and researchers can be free from the limitations arising from language typology and bias derived from different schools of thought, so that the research can be based on syntactic facts to the maximum.

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between monologues and dialogues turn taking, topic links, specific realizations of the cooperative principle and politeness principle, etc. Discourse also embodies social life, customs and culture and the whole gamut of human emotions of local inhabitants. These oral cultures, which are vital components of the culture of the Chinese nation, are less investigated before and not easy to be preserved. The emphasis of language surveys on discourse is a meaningful attempt so far as the above-mentioned aspects are concerned.

3.5 Launch local Putonghua survey Local Putonghua is a real state of the language situation in real life as well as a modality arising from language learning. In recent years, though some discussions of local Putonghua have been included in the scope of research, the overall study of this area is still insufficient. The linguistic nature and status of local Putonghua have not yet been confirmed, its survey methodology has not yet been explored, its overall picture has not yet been fully described, and even the term “local Putonghua” has not yet been finalized. Local Putonghua Survey is a task to fill in all these gaps.

3.6 Fully utilize the results of informatization Using audio recording as a means to support the operation of language surveys is not a new idea; some pioneers already used this method to create sound files for some dialects and languages. Generally speaking, however, most of the language surveys are still basically conducted by using written means, where sound recording is just used as a kind of “memorandum”. The data collection of CLRAD is mainly implemented in the form of sound recording which is supplemented by photography and video recording. Written means has become a kind of “memorandum” instead. The quality of sound recording is the core technical indicator which is a cause for concern in CLRAD. In order to ensure the quality of sound recording, standardized requirements are stipulated for the equipment, software and environment of recording. At the same time, a series of working software has also been specially designed so as to facilitate the tasks of investigation, acceptance and database building. Each staff member participating in the survey tasks of CLRAD needs to attend special training on information technology. All these measures aim to give impetus to the advancement of language surveys to the new platform of informatization.

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3.7 Unified standards The establishment of CLRAD emphasizes on unified standards. In order to achieve this objective, tremendous efforts have been made concerning the formulation of working and technical standards which are continuously tested for further improvement. Working standards include a series of standards concerning survey point selection, informant selection, academic qualities of field workers, survey procedures, data recording environment, acceptance and database building. Technical standards mainly cover a series of standards concerning character lists, word lists, syntactic lists and discourse patterns used in the surveys; topics and discourse materials used in discourse surveys; the application of International Phonetic Alphabet; the use of dialectal characters; sound recording techniques; and database building techniques. By adopting identical working and technical standards, the quality of work can be guaranteed, the data collected in each survey point can be matched with subsequent processes, further statistical analysis can be conducted with the data, and the survey results of each point can be shared to the maximum. In addition, once these working and technical standards are put to use in other research projects, the language data of these research projects can then be integrated into CLRAD so as to fulfil the expansion and updating of CLRAD. Undoubtedly, these standards are the national standards for the audio database. There is a guarantee that each place uses unified standards to complete the task of data collection of the national database, and at the same time more content related to language and culture of each place can be augmented in accordance with its own circumstances so as to constitute a language database with local characteristics.

4 Functions of CLRAD Using modern information technology to collect Chinese language data on a large scale and establish CLRAD will generate remarkably important influence on the language life planning and language science research of China. Several functions of CLRAD will be summarized in the following section.

4.1 Full knowledge of the national language situation and scientific formulation of language planning Language life is an important aspect of social life. Language situation contributes to the basic national condition. Language is the most significant semiotic system

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used in human communication and thinking as well as a vital resource of the State, which is a crucial factor in affecting social stability and national security. The following tasks and factors have to be taken into consideration in relation to the language planning of China in the 21st century: facilitate the promotion of the national lingua franca within the State and internationally; be consciously aware of protecting and fully utilizing national language resources; properly manage the complex relationships among various languages (or dialects) in China; safeguard the language rights of citizens; provide the society with language services with high quality and efficiency; and establish a harmonic language life. In order to devise language planning which is appropriate to the national situation, it is necessary to understand comprehensively and thoroughly the language conditions of China. China had conducted several language and dialect surveys of various scale over the past 50 years or so. These surveys played an important role in the scientific formulation of national language policies and their implementation. In 1956, a language census for the Chinese language and ethnic languages were commenced in accordance with the directives from the State Council. The language census covered Chinese dialects of 1,849 counties and cities. Seven ethnical language survey teams were organized to investigate the languages of major ethnic regions. The language census was crucial to the promotion of Putonghua and the standardization of the Chinese language, the reform and creation of ethnic minorities’ characters, and the recognition of ethnic identity. In 1999, 11 ministries and commissions, including the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission, jointly initiated the Survey of Chinese Language Usage, employing the survey format of household questionnaires. 1,063 counties, cities and districts were involved in the survey with more than 470,000 persons being interviewed directly.6 Basic data of language use in China were collected in this survey, which served as vital support for the decisionmaking of language matters at the present time. In addition to the two largescale language surveys, enormous research results were obtained by scholars in China on the investigations and studies of Chinese dialects, ethnic languages and overseas Chinese language. However, language life is complicated and ever-changing. Due to the constraints arising from the length of time since the data collected, the change of survey rationale, the alteration of survey objectives, the advancement of survey methodology (including survey techniques), or the shift of survey areas, various language surveys conducted in the past 50 years or so may no longer reflect the true state of the national language situation. It can be said that the national 6 For details, see Office of the Survey of Chinese Language Usage (ed.) (2006).

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language situation is in the state of rough sketches and many aspects are still not clear. Under the condition of unclear national language situation, decisionmaking concerning language matters would have to rely much on historical inertia, decisions on related areas, and the deduction miracle of the “brain laboratory”. This practice is definitely not appropriate for a country where development is so rapid, and it certainly cannot master the complicated and everchanging language life. With the speedy economic development of China’s society and the drastic changes of language situation, the survey of the national language conditions has become an urgent task. CLRAD adopts the method of “one county one survey point” in recording census data and investigating the status of various languages, dialects and local Putonghua in China, hoping that basic data concerning the national language conditions which serve as effective support for language planning of the State can be acquired.

4.2 Promotion of Putonghua in a scientific manner Since the promotion of the unification of national language started from late Qing period (Wu 1958), a lingua franca of modern Han nationality has gradually been formed and promoted as the universal language of the State. Nowadays, more than 60% of the population of the country can speak Putonghua7; the proportion of teenagers who can speak Putonghua is even greater. In the new era where Putonghua is prevailing, the promotion of Putonghua needs a new strategy. The new strategy is: to adjust the focus of the task and to raise the efficiency of the promotion of Putonghua. Firstly, more emphasis should be placed in certain special regions and communities, for instance, rural areas and Western regions, and preschool children and primary students. Little efforts have been made in the promotion of Putonghua in rural areas and Western regions. However, mastering Putonghua as the universal language of the country is essential to rural area advancement and Western Region Development. In accordance with the regularities of language acquisition, the time span between preschool period and primary school period is crucial to the learning of Putonghua. Once a sound foundation of Putonghua

7 In accordance with the statistical figures obtained at the end of the 20th century, 53.06% of the population of the country could speak Putonghua (see Zhongguo Yuyan Wenzi Shiyong Qingkuang Diaocha Ziliao ‘Survey Information on the Language Use in China’). Ten years have passed, it is expected that people who can speak Putonghua should be more than 60% of the population.

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(especially Putonghua pronunciation) has been established during this period, there will be no need to incur high social costs in promoting Putonghua in adult period. Secondly, there is a need to enhance the efficiency of Putonghua learning, including the speed and quality of Putonghua learning. CLRAD can assist the understanding of the characteristics of various Chinese dialects and ethnic languages, and enhance the knowledge of the features of “local Putonghua” and the regularities of learning Putonghua from a dialectal perspective. All these can undoubtedly increase the efficiency of Putonghua promotion and the quality of its learning.

4.3 Preservation of the actual state of languages Languages and dialects are an important vehicle as well as a significant component of cultures. Chinese languages and the culture loaded in these languages are the foundation of Chinese culture. CLRAD records the actual state of contemporary language and serves as a copy of digitized spoken language samples which can be permanently preserved for the Chinese nation. CLRAD is also a “Chinese language atlas” in which further processing is allowed. In the era when modern information technology had not yet been properly developed, researchers could only use written means to record languages and dialects. Hence enormous amount of language information was omitted and the actual state of the languages could not be preserved. Today, modern information technology and database technology, which have been remarkably developed, are ready to be used in language surveys and make possible the permanent preservation of the pronunciation of languages in their “original form”. The characteristics of spoken languages are that they retain a lot of age-old linguistic elements and cultural content. However, spoken languages develop and change rapidly when they are being passed on from generation to generation. During the rapid development and change of spoken languages, linguistic elements and cultural content will be lost in a relatively short period of time. Judging from this nature, the preservation of spoken languages is in essence a “rescue” task. Especially in the recent several decades, the ethnic minorities’ languages and the Chinese language have changed drastically with the speedy progression in the aspects of political and economic affairs, cultural and education affairs, mass media, communication and transportation: the changes in structural elements (especially in lexical items), the changes in functional usage and the changes in language users. Particularly, hundreds of millions of farmers went to cities to look for jobs. The progress of urbanization in China has been

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accelerated in great speed. “The language atlas” of China will be strikingly modified, causing many minor languages and minor dialects to shrink, or even die out. There is a danger of drastic loss of Chinese language resources. Endangered languages have aroused widespread concern in the international society. Due to the issue of endangered languages, the diversification of human cultures has faced the threat which has never occurred before. Some warned that 90% of the languages would cease to exist by the end of this century! (Xu 2001) Under this international and national circumstance, the establishment of CLRAD apparently plays a role in rescuing and preserving language information, and protecting the heritage of Chinese linguistic culture.

4.4 Advancement of the development of language sciences in China The establishment of CLRAD will bring momentum to the development of language sciences in China. As far as language surveys are concerned, the CLRAD project lays emphasis on the influence of the factors of age and gender, specifying the age and gender of informants as basic requirements. This practice views language not as a homogeneous system, but as a heterogeneous system which develops and changes at all times. This method consummates linguistic structure surveys, puts the collection of syntactic data in an appropriate position, and supplements the former practice of only stressing pronunciation and lexical items. In addition, these syntactic items were designed based on the guidance from the parameters of linguistic typology which ensure the systematicness and comparability of the syntactic data. The CLRAD project focuses on discourse surveys together with the consideration of monologues and dialogues as well as language and culture so as to allow language surveys to explore from the aspect of abstract structural elements into the dimension of specific discourse reality. Modern information technology is applied to the CLRAD project as the basic means of data collection, processing and storage. By using such technology, a series of hardware and software are selected and developed for the language survey. As a result, language survey techniques have reached a new stage. Although the staff members participating in the survey are required to have competent capability in differentiating and memorizing pronunciations, it is even more essential for them to master modern information technology. With the establishment of CLRAD, a new breed of academic teams has been fostered for academic circles.

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CLRAD has stored enormous capacity of raw data, which saves academic circles the trouble of conducting their own field surveys. Academic circles that jointly develop and utilize the database for various researches in the long term will definitely yield numerous direct and indirect results. To a very large extent, the development of linguistics relies on the collection and processing of linguistic facts. As far as the collection of language data is concerned, CLRAD is at the forefront of the era. If the database can be developed and utilized to the maximum based on the principle of data sharing, it would become academic treasures. With the advancement of language surveys from structure to discourse and from written means to modern information technology, the collection of mass capacity of raw data available for long-term academic development and research, and the fostering of a new breed of academic teams during the implementation of the project, CLRAD certainly brings momentum to the progression of language sciences in China.

4.5 Other functions CLRAD is not only useful to academic research, it is also valuable to administrative development. It is not only essential to linguistics related works, it is also beneficial to other areas. The database is available for use for the benefit of the whole society. For instance, the audio database can be used to train machines to recognize various dialects, languages and local Putonghua, which can enhance the level of language informatization. The results of language informatization can further be utilized in various areas, such as speech recognition, speech synthesis, human-machine speech interface, etc., so as to facilitate the informatization of production and daily life. The results of language informatization can also be used in military, public safety and border defence for the benefits of crime detection and national security. In addition, there are more than 30 cross-border languages, such as Korean, Hezhen, Oreqen, Evenkie, Daur, Mongolian, Uyghur, Kazak, Kirgiz, Tajik, Tatar, Uzbek, Russian, Tibetan, Monba, Lhoba, Jingpo, Dai, Buyei, Hani, Lisu, Wa, Lahu, Nu, Derung, De’ang, Zhuang, Yao, Gin, etc. Until now the cross-border distribution and usage status of each of these languages have not been fully known. In-depth understanding and scientific use of these languages are crucial to the establishment of a harmonious relation with neighbouring countries, which also serves as a new safety line along the border. CLRAD can assist the understanding of these cross-border languages. Furthermore, the collection of discourse data of CLRAD is based on certain discourse topics which can also be regarded as cultural materials. Hence, CLRAD can be considered as a database of Chinese spoken language culture

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which can be utilized for cultural development. For instance, if the discourse materials related to the realities of life (such as birth, old age, sickness and death) of each place are marked, local customs of each place concerning this aspect can be obtained; and if the discourse materials related to agricultural activities of each place are tagged, a picture concerning agriculture of each place can be realized. Starting from this basis, further research on local oral culture (such as traditional operas, ballads, folklore, special historical relics, etc.) can be conducted for places of interest if certain conditions can be met. Together with visual materials, such as pictures and videos, these local oral cultural materials can be compiled into a database of local language culture. This database can use the local language as the core, discourse as the skeleton and local culture as the skin, which will serve as an important cultural establishment task in cultural protection and museum exhibition implemented by local areas.

References Bo, Shoushen and Lai, Huiling. 2009. Dangdai Zhongguo Yuyan Guihua Yanjiu (A Contemporary Study of Language Planning in China). Beijing: China Social Sciences Press. Cao, Zhiyun (ed.). 2009. Hanyu Fangyan Dituji (Language Atlas of Chinese Dialects). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Chen, Zhangtai and Li, Xianjian (eds.). 1996. Putonghua Jichu Fangyan Jiben Cihuiji (Basic Vocabulary of Putonghua Dialects). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Chen, Zhangtai. 2008. Lun Yuyan Ziyuan (On Language Resources). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics), Issue No. 1. Beijing: Institute of Applied Linguistics (Ministry of Education). Da, Bateer. 2007. Lun Yuyan Ziyuan Baohu (On Language Resource Protection). Neimenggu Shehui Kexue (Inner Mongolia Social Science), Issue No. 6. Hohhot: Inner Mongolia Academy of Social Science Press. Dai, Qingxia (ed.). 1993. Kuajing Yuyan Yanjiu (A Study of Cross-Border Languages). Beijing: Minzu University of China Press. Dai, Qingxia (ed.). 2009. Zhongguo Shaoshu Minzu Yuyan Yanjiu Liushinian (The Sixty Years of Chinese Ethnic Language Studies). Beijing: Minzu University of China Press. Deng, Xiaohua and Wang, Shiyuan. 2009. Zhongguo de Yuyan ji Fangyan de Fenlei (Categorization of Chinese Languages and Dialects). Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. Fan, Junjun and Xiao, Zihui. 2010. Guojia Yuyan Pucha Chuyi (A Preliminary Discussion on National Language Census). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics), Issue No. 1. Beijing: Institute of Applied Linguistics (Ministry of Education). Hou, Jingyi (ed.). 1994–1999. Xiandai Hanyu Fangyan Yinku (Sound Archives of Modern Chinese Dialects). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Publishing House. Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji (Collection of Essays on Language Reform in Late Qing Dynasty). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Li, Rong; Xiong, Zhenghui and Zhang, Zhenxing (eds.). 1987, 1990. Zhongguo Yuyan Ditu Ji (Language Atlas of China) (jointly compiled by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Australian Academy of Humanities). Hong Kong: Longman Group (Far East).

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Li, Rulong. 2008. Hanyu Fangyan Ziyuan jiqi Kaifa Liyong (Chinese Dialect Resources and their Development and Utilization). Journal of Zhengzhou University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), Issue No.1. Zhengzhou: Zhengzhou University. Li, Yuming. 2009a. Zhongguo Yuyan Guihua Lun (On Chinese Language Planning). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Li, Yuming. 2009b. Zhongguo Yuyan Guihua Xulun (On Chinese Language Planning Continued). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Liu, Danqing. 2008. Yufa Diaocha Yanjiu Shouce (A Handbook for Grammatical Investigation and Research). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Publishing House. Office of the Leadership Team for Chinese Language Resource Audio Database (ed.). 2010. Zhongguo Yuyan Ziyuan Yousheng Shujuku Diaocha Shouce (Hanyu Fangyan) [Survey Handbook for Chinese Language Resource Audio Database (Chinese Dialects)]. Beijing: The Commercial Press. Office of the Survey of Chinese Language Usage (ed.). 2006. Zhongguo Yuyan Wenzi Shiyong Qingkuang Diaocha Ziliao (Survey Information on the Language Use in China). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Putonghua Proficiency Training and Testing Center of the State Language Commission. 2008. Putonghua Shuiping Ceshi Shishi Gangyao (The Outline Plan for Putonghua Proficiency Test). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Sun, Hongkai; Hu, Zengyi and Huang, Xing (eds.). 2007. Zhongguo de Yuyan (The Languages of China). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Wang, Hui. 2007. Yuyan Guihua de Ziyuan Guan (Language Planning from the Perspective of Resources). Journal of Beihua University (Social Sciences Edition), Issue No.4. Jinlin: Beihua University. Wang, Shikai. 2009. Yuyan Ziyuan yu Yuyan Yanjiu (Language Resources and Language Research). Shanghai: Academia Press. Wu, Rulun. 1958. Dongyou Conglu (Notes on Travel to the East) and Xuebu Zhongyang Jiaoyu Huiyi Yijue Tongyi Guoyu Banfa An (Resolutions of Central Education Conference of the Imperial Educational Ministry on the Bill Concerning the Measures of Establishing the National Language). In Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji (Collection of Essays on Language Reform in Late Qing Dynasty). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Xu, Daming. 2008. Yuyan Ziyuan Guanli Guihua ji Yuyan Ziyuan Yiti (Language Resource Management Planning and Language Resource Discussion Topics). Journal of Zhengzhou University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), Issue No. 1. Zhengzhou: Zhengzhou University. Xu, Shixuan. 2001. Binwei Yuyan Yanjiu (A Study of Endangered Languages). Beijing: The Central University of Nationalities Press. Zhang, Pu and Wang, Tiekun (eds.). 2009. Zhongguo Yuyan Ziyuan Luncong (Studies on Chinese Language Resources Series). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Zhou, Hongbo. 2007. Jiada Yuyan Ziyuan de Kaifa Lidu (More Emphasis on Language Resource Development). Changjiang Xueshu (Yangtze River Academic), Issue No. 1. Wuhan: Wuhan University. Translated by CHAN Man Ho, Benny (陈文浩) (Freelance translator) [email protected]

Chapter 14

Some thoughts on the standardization of lexical items1 Abstract: The standardization of lexical items is an important task in the standardization of language. The social functions of language should be taken into full account in the standardization of lexical items. Consideration should be given to various different characteristics of different fields of lexical items. The systematicness of language and standards should also be considered. The relationship between academic theories and reality should be tackled with care so that sufficient space would be left for language development. Keywords: spoken and written language, lexical items, standards

0 Introduction Lexical items are the most important and active components of language. They are also the object of language standardization. The reasons are: first, disregarding the factor of dialectal pronunciation, the obstacle for communication within the same language community mainly is the discrepancy in the use of lexical items, for example, dialectal words, foreign words, technical terms, jargons, etc.; second, new words arise as the society develops. These new words often go beyond the normal standards with their word formation opposite to existing rules, or with their system violating the commonly known one. For instance: dădī (打的, meaning ‘take a taxi’), dàgēdà (大哥大, meaning ‘mobile phone’), yóubiān (邮编, meaning ‘postal code’), kălāOK (卡拉 OK, meaning ‘karaoke’ ), VCD. . .

1 This paper was submitted to the “National Conference on the Issues of the Standardization of Chinese Lexical Items” which was held in Xiamen in December 2001. The Conference was hosted by Xiamen University with the co-organization of the Institute of Applied Linguistics of the Ministry of Education, Beijing Broadcasting Institute, the Commercial Press and the Xiamen Municipal Language Commission. Some of the paragraphs in the original paper were trimmed due to the limitation of space when it was published. Some of these paragraphs were restored when the paper was included in this collection. This paper was originally published in Journal of Xiamen University (Arts and Social Sciences), 2002, Issue No. 2.

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At first, it would be an eyesore to look at these words. It is already quite strange to say chūzūchē (出租车, meaning ‘taxi’) as díshì (的士, meaning ‘taxi’), let alone to abbreviate díshì into dí (的) and make it as the objective case of the verb dă (打, meaning ‘fetch’) to form a new word dădī (打的). The structure of dàgēdà (大哥大) is “adjectival element + nominal element + adjectival element” which did not exist in Putonghua before. Yóubiān (邮编) is an abbreviation of yóuzhèngbiānmă (邮政编码) by using the first syllable of the two words yóuzhèng (邮政, meaning ‘postal’) and biānmă (编码, meaning ‘code’). However, in the word biānmă, the character mă (码, meaning ‘code’) is in fact more meaningful than the character biān (编, meaning ‘to compile’). Therefore, it is said that the abbreviation of yóuzhèngbiānmă should be yóumă (邮码) which is better than yóubiān (邮编). In the word kălā OK (卡拉OK), Latin letters are placed beside Chinese characters. All Latin letters are used in the word “VCD”. All these new words go beyond the common practice and have become the topics of discussions for the standardization of lexical items for many years. However, there is extreme difficulty in the standardization of lexical items. It is not only because of the complexity of existing lexical items themselves and their proliferation, but also due to the fact that so far there is still insufficient understanding of the regularities concerning the standardization of lexical items. Quite often, lexical items that are regarded as non-standard are the ones that have great vitality, such as dădī, dàgēdà, yóubiān, kălāOK and VCD mentioned above. These lexical items, though being criticized seriously, are still actively used in our language life. Nevertheless, it is possible and necessary to standardize lexical items. This paper discusses some thoughts concerning the standardization of lexical items as a means to seek advice from linguistic experts.

1 Standardization should thoroughly take the functions of language into account Language is the most important semiotic system of communication, thought, and cultural propagation and inheritance of humans. This definition may not be accepted by academic circles, but it rather comprehensively summarizes human understanding of language, especially the understanding of the three social functions of language (communication, thought, and cultural propagation and inheritance). As an important sub-system of language, lexical items should be standardized in a way where the three social functions should be taken into

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full account. For a long period of time in the past, people only consider the communication function of language when it comes to the standardization of lexical items. Such practice is obviously inadequate. There is a great inertia in communication and thought. This inertia forms a basis for language acquisition since we were young. Our language capacity is then gradually developed in full through practice. The word “inertia” here means the habit of language usage cultivated on the basis of language instinct. It is extremely difficult to change the habit of language usage. There needs to be an environment to facilitate such change with a relatively long period of time required for such process. Hence, the habit of language usage should be taken into consideration thoroughly so far as the standardization of lexical items is concerned. In December 2001, the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission (2002) released Diyipi Yixingci Zhenglibiao (DYZ, A Table of the First Batch of Verified Variant Word Forms) with full consideration of the habit of language usage. First, there were 388 groups of verified form words selected from more than 1500 groups of variant form words collected. There was a quite obvious tendency of social usage of the majority of these 388 groups. The verified variant forms recommended in these 388 groups in accordance with the tendency of social usage were in fact to affirm the habit of language usage by means of standardization. Second, the verified variant forms were only recommended for trial use. One form in each group of variant forms was recommended as a verified form for trial use and at the same time it was not meant to annul other corresponding forms. By doing so, a standard was provided for the society to follow and it also served as a guiding function without posing a psychological pressure on language users. Undoubtedly, this also left sufficient time for the revision and updating of the publications and corpora so as to reduce the economic losses incurred. Language is not only a tool of communication and thought for humans, it is also an important vehicle for cultural propagation and inheritance. Contemporary languages are the result of tens of thousands years of historical accumulation. The standardization of lexical items needs to consider fully the historical continuity of language. Again, variant form words are used as an example. If we are concerned only about the communicative function of a language, one form is sufficient for each group of variant forms. However, DYZ did not annul other corresponding forms, in which the cultural and linguistic historical continuity were taken into consideration. Each variant form is a historical product. The formation of each of these variant forms embodies a “language story”. These variant forms may be created with different word-formation rules, or may be a

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result of interchangeability of Chinese characters, or may possess a slight contrast between formal and informal style, or may even have a minor difference in meaning. For instance: –

–

–

–

鬓角 and 鬓脚 (both pronounced as bìnjiăo, meaning ‘sideburns’) have different word-formation rules. The word 鬓角 focuses on the shape of an acute angle of the sides, while the word 鬓脚 was created by describing the “foot of the sides”. In 百废俱兴 and 百废具兴 (both pronounced as băifèijùxīng, meaning ‘all neglected tasks are being undertaken’), 俱 and 具 are interchangeable characters. In 淡泊 and 澹泊 (both pronounced as dànbó, meaning ‘without seeking fame and wealth’), the former is more informal and spoken in style and the latter is more formal and written in style.2 In 人才 and 人材 (both pronounced as réncái, meaning ‘talent’), there is a slight difference in meaning after careful deliberation. The second one embodies a metaphorical factor.

These discrepancies could be ignored when the variant form table was devised, however, these forms do record “historical stories” of the language which are valuable to the study of the development of the Chinese language and useful to the reading of ancient texts. This is also an important reason why DYZ provided one recommended form for each group of variant forms without annulling other forms.

2 Standardization should take the characteristics of lexical items in various fields into account Lexical items in various different areas possess shared features as well as their own characteristics. The standardization of lexical items should consider the characteristics of these items in various fields. Lexical items are generally divided into universal lexical items and special terms. Universal lexical items are those lexical items commonly used by the whole race in communication. Special terms are those lexical items commonly used in a certain field or profession. Universal lexical items contain more synonyms and polysemic words. Since uniqueness of the signified is required for proper nouns and technical jargon, 2 These examples are quoted from Variant Forms Standardization Team of the State Language Commission (2001).

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synonyms and polysemic words are objects of standardization. So far as this aspect is concerned, universal lexical items are different from proper names and technical jargon. Proper names and technical jargon too have their own characteristics. For instance, place names under proper names possess strong ethnically cultural characteristics. Many place names are “living fossils” of ancient cultures and languages, for example, place names as “Xiangcheng (项城), Xixian (息县), Dengzhou (邓州), Gongxian (巩县), Qixian (杞县), Wenxian (温县), Mixian (密县), Xuchang (许昌), Yuzhou (禹州), Shangcai (上蔡), Xincai (新蔡) and Yucheng (虞城)” were all originated from the ancient state names of Xia Dynasty to Spring and Autumn Period. These place names retain the history of enormous number of ancient states existing in Central Plains. Handan (邯郸) of Hebei (河北) was the capital of the ancient state Zhao. Some place names such as “Huichexiang (回车巷), Chajianlin (插箭岭), Zhujianlu (铸箭炉), Shuzhuanglou (梳妆楼) and Zhaomeichi (照眉池)” in Handan are the records of many stories happened in the ancient state Zhao. (Li 1998:107–108) In her study of the place names of Hainan, Zhang Huiying (2001: 230–237) pointed out that the word měilán (美兰) of the Meilan Airport of Haikou is in fact a refinement of the word mŭlán (母栏, meaning ‘the home of the maternal side’). Using the word mŭ (母) as a naming custom can be traced back to the ancient eras of oracle-bone inscriptions (甲骨文) and bronze inscriptions (金文). This practice is also common in some regions of Southeast Asia. The word měilán (美兰) and other relevant place names of Hainan retain plenty of linguistic information, revealing some traces of ancient civilizations. The standardization of place names should take into full consideration of “the reasons of having such a name” and the psychology of refinement. The focus of the standardization should not be solely on the issue of orthodox or simplified characters with a solution of simply replacing the character with a homonym. The pronunciation of place names very often retains an ancient pronunciation or a dialectal pronunciation. The standardization of the pronunciation of place names is also a valuable topic to study. Technical jargon emphasizes more on the accurate representation of concepts when compared with ordinary lexical items. It is because the system of technical jargon is in essence a system of concepts. Hence, the standardization of technical jargon is in fact an organization of the concept system of various subjects. (Feng 1997) It is necessary to organize technical jargon in the past, however, the work related to technical jargon should focus more on the present and future. Undoubtedly, contemporary Western world has technological advantage. Rapid and accurate translation of technical jargon in foreign languages into Chinese has become an important task related to the work of contemporary

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terminology in China. Technical jargon should be localized into Chinese in accordance with the Chinese word-formation rules. The ideal is certainly the achievement of “fidelity, fluency and elegance”. However, the translation of technical jargon often emphasizes on timeliness without too much time for detailed deliberation. The result is that the original form is copied or slightly modified to form acronyms in Chinese3, such as “IT hángyè (IT行业, meaning ‘Information Technology industry’), E shídài (E时代, meaning ‘electronic era’), NT jìshù (NT技术, meaning ‘NT technology’), DVD and ISO”. One of the most important features of contemporary scientific technological development is the rapid shortening of its horizontal transmission cycle. The swift infiltration of the scientific technology of one field into other subjects, has resulted in a shift of area of use of its technical jargons, followed by the semantic shift of the jargon as well. Consequently, many technical jargons have changed from monosemies to polysemies. Nowadays, as technology is heavily emphasized in China and it pervades promptly every part of our social life, technical jargon has more opportunities to enter into ordinary social life to become universal lexical items. As technical jargon enters into our daily life, or as it is changed into common use, popular names of the technical jargon occur. For instance, jìsuànjī (计算机, meaning ‘computer’) is commonly known as diànnăo (电脑) and wúxiàn yídòng diànhuà (无线移动电话, meaning ‘mobile phone’) is commonly referred as shŏujī (手机). This causes the phenomenon of “one object with several names”. In addition, Chinese communities spread across overseas with each of them having their own interpretation of technical jargon. This also results in the production of several translation versions of the same technical term, for example, ruănjiàn (软件, meaning ‘software’) and xìnxī (信息, meaning ‘information’) are used in Mainland China, while ruăntĭ (软体) and zīxùn (资讯) are used in Taiwan respectively. Obviously, the standardization of technical jargon has its own characteristics which should be considered thoroughly when it is implemented.

3 Standardization should tackle the relationship between academic theories and reality with care Academic theories of the standardization of lexical items refer to the reasons of the formation of lexical items, the systematicness of lexical items and the dia-

3 Of course, there are other reasons for the occurrence of acronyms in Chinese.

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chronic developmental regularities of lexical items. The reality of lexical items means the actual usage of lexical items in the society. Overall, academic theories and reality are consistent in the sense that for one thing, academic theories are derived from the study of linguistic facts and the analysis and conclusion of several thousand years of language in reality; for another, language has its own self-adjusting function in accordance with the language regularities (academic theories) and that means the development of lexical items has its own regularities as well. However, there are divergences between academic theories and reality. It is because: first, there is a limitation of understanding of the object of study. The academic theories learnt are not comprehensive; second, language is dynamic and it is always in the state of changing. Discrepancies inconsistent with regularities occur inevitably for any language that is used by thousands of millions of people. The discrepancies which are inconsistent with regularities may form new regularities, or may need to be conformed to the regularities through the means of standardization. Language is not a pure and ideal logical structure, which is why the discrepancies between academic theories and reality are normal and natural. To tackle these discrepancies is an issue that needs to be faced and solved in the process of standardization. In the course of dealing with the relationship between academic theories and reality, the first thing is to have a sensible mind so as to avoid the state of being contracted “linguistic mysophobia” which exaggerates the consequence of having phenomena in reality inconsistent with regularities as if there will be great chaos in language use. The second thing is that linguists do not only describe linguistic facts and can do nothing about the discrepancies with their academic authority. Linguists definitely can use their academic authority to perform an active guiding function. Undoubtedly, linguists are neither “language police” nor doctors specially diagnosing “linguistic diseases”. However, when dealing with the discrepancies between academic theories and reality, linguists should hold a positive attitude to discover new theories in reality or to take a sound and effective measure in standardization. The treatment of the relationship between academic theories and reality also involves a list of issues of theory and practice.4 It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss these issues comprehensively, only the issue concerning the reference point of standardization will be explored. It is crucial to select a correct reference point of standardization when the task of standardization is conducted. The reference point of the standardization of lexical items should be an authoritative regional or social dialect. The authoritative regional dialect 4 See also Yuan (2001) and Li (2001) for the discussion of this topic.

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is the Northern dialects as represented by Beijing dialect. The authoritative social dialect is the social language used by more educated class of the society. By including an authoritative social dialect as well in the standardization of lexical items, it is essentially valuable in theory and meaningful in practice. In the past, standardization was implemented by adopting “the rule established by popular usage” as the ultimate criterion. When there is a contradiction between academic theories and reality, very often the former has to be subordinated to the later. If an authoritative social dialect is used as a reference point, the view that “the rule established by popular usage” as the ultimate criterion would deserve to be reconsidered totally. In addition, by utilizing the data of usage frequency of lexical items from linguistic corpora, the degree of “popular usage” of certain lexical items can further be confirmed and proved. The use of reference data in this way for the standardization of lexical items has become a significant methodology in standardization in modern era. To a large extent, the scientificity of this methodology depends on the selection of language materials of the corpora. From the point of view of social dialects, the selection of language materials of the corpora should not be performed randomly. The corpora should be built by incorporating the language materials of an authoritative social dialect. Only by doing so will the standardization of lexical items using the analysis of such corpora be most meaningful. An authoritative social dialect is in essence closest to academic theories. It is advantageous to take the issue of social dialects into consideration when dealing with the disagreement between academic theories and reality.

4 Standardization should leave sufficient space for language development In ancient times, language standardization carried a heavy flavour of “rectifying errors and breaking bad habits”.5 The influence of this view still exists nowadays. Many people treat the issue from the point of view of “rectifying errors and breaking bad habits”, regardless of whether they support or oppose the implementation of language standardization. Admittedly, language standardization possesses the function of “rectifying errors and breaking bad habits”, which in itself is not a bad thing. However, in addition to this function, language standardization is more vital in enhancing communication, facilitating language development,

5 See the discussion of Xu (2000), Yu (1996) and Lü (2000).

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maintaining cultural continuity and upholding national image. This paper focuses on the discussion of the point of facilitating language development. Language standardization and language development are in essence complementary to each other. Theoretically speaking, appropriate language standardization is advantageous to the healthy development of language which in turn can facilitate the standardization of language and is beneficial to the work related. Nonetheless, language standardization most probably may contradict language development during the actual implementation of the former. The objects of the standardization of lexical items are mainly variations such as those items with the same form but different pronunciations, variant form words of the same word, synonyms, parasynonyms, loanwords, abbreviations, new words and words with new usage, that includes all the phenomena that are not conformed with the current language standards. It just so happens that these phenomena are the new growing points of language development. When language standardization is implemented at the growing points of language development, the points can be damaged with just one faulty step in the process of such standardization. Hence, extreme caution is required in this standardization process so as to differentiate which phenomena should be standardized and which ones should be preserved. For those phenomena that are not clear at a certain point in time, no conclusion should be reached rashly. During the formulation of the standards, it would be better to take into consideration of dissenting views, especially opposing opinions, in order to avoid basing on only the likes and dislikes of the personnel in charge of the project. More guidance should be provided when the standards are released so as to leave more space for language development. In fact, standards are not static as unchanging infallible laws. On the contrary, standards should be dynamic in the sense that continuous revision, maintenance and upgrading of the existing standards should be conducted in accordance with the development of language in order to better serve the needs of the language life.

5 Standardization should possess systematic concepts When specific standardization is implemented, it needs to have corresponding systematic concepts. Systematic concepts include systematic concepts of language and standards. First, we will discuss the issue of systematic concepts of language.

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Lexical items have their own system in which various items interact with each other in diverse ways. Language standardization should take the systematicness of the standardization of lexical items into account. For instance, 象 (xiàng, meaning ‘appearance, shape, image’) and 像 (xiàng, meaning ‘likeness, image, portrait, picture, statue’) are words as well as word-formation morphemes. During the language standardization process in 1950s and 1960s, 像 which was treated as the orthodox form of 象 was annulled, although it was specified in a footnote of Jianhuazi Zongbiao (A General Table of Simplified Chinese Characters) released in 1964 that 像 was still allowed to be used if the two characters caused confusion. The status of 像 as a standardized character was resumed when Jianhuazi Zongbiao was re-published in 1986. However, there were still some confusions on the aspect of word-formation of the two characters. In order to standardize the usage of the two characters, the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies published Guanyu Keji Shuyu zhong 象 (xiàng) yu 像 (xiàng) Yongfa de Yijian (Opinion concerning the Usage of 象 (xiàng) and 像 (xiàng) in Technical Terms) in 1990. On 18th October 2001, the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies and the State Language Commission jointly held a conference to examine over 140 related technical terms item by item and confirmed the following: 象 is used to signify the states and forms in nature, of humans or objects. 像 is used to signify the images of humans or objects produced using the methods of an imitation, a model or similar ways, which also include the pictures identical or similar to the original and formed using reflection and refraction of light. The conference also pointed out that the implementation of Guanyu Keji Shuyu zhong 象 (xiàng) yu 像 (xiàng) Yongfa de Yijian (Opinion concerning the Usage of 象 (xiàng) and 像 (xiàng) in Technical Terms) released by the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies in 1990 should be terminated.6 The treatment of the standardization of the word-formation issue of 象 and 像 should not be dealt solely for one or two words. It should be tackled systematically within the same group of words. Undoubtedly, in accordance with the stipulation of the usage of 像, the relationship between 像 and 相 (xiàng, meaning ‘looks, appearance, posture, photograph’) also needs to be clarified. Other similar cases include: –

订单—定单 (dìngdān, meaning ‘order form’) 订户—定户 (dìnghù, meaning ‘subscriber’) 订婚—定婚 (dìnghūn, meaning ‘engaged to be married’) 订货— 定货 (dìnghuò, meaning ‘order goods’) 修订—修定 (xiūdìng, meaning ‘revise’) 制订—制定 (zhìdìng, meaning ‘formulate’)

6 For details, see the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies and the State Language Commission (2001).

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分量—份量 ( fènliàng, meaning ‘weight’) 分内—份内 (fènnèi, meaning ‘one’s duty’) 分外—份外 (fènwài, meaning ‘especially, not one’s job’) 身分—身份 (shēnfèn, meaning ‘identity’) 辈分—辈份 (bèifen, meaning ‘seniority in the family or clan’) 成分—成份 (chéngfèn, meaning ‘ingredient’)

There are slight differences in meaning between 订 and 定 as well as 分 and 份. The words formed by these pairs need to be standardized on the basis of the lexical system in order to enlarge the differences between the morpheme in each pair and achieve systematic division of labour in their usage. Pronunciation and written forms (for written language) serve as the physical shells of lexical items. Lexical items then combine with other items in actual usage in accordance with certain grammatical rules. When systematic concepts of language is considered, the implementation of the standardization of lexical items cannot be solely based on the items themselves, the relationship of related aspects, such as their pronunciation, grammar and writing forms, with the lexical items also needs to be fully contemplated. For instance: –

树阴—树荫 (shùyīn, meaning ‘shade’) 柳阴—柳荫 (liŭyīn, meaning ‘shade of a willow tree’)

There is little difference between 阴 and 荫 in the above two words as if the two characters can be combined into one as perhaps 阴. However, 阴 can easily be associated with 阴间 (yīnjiān, meaning ‘nether world, Hades’) and 阴曹地府 (yīncáodìfŭ, meaning ‘nether world, Hades’). There is a place in Beijing called 柳荫街 (liŭyīnjiē, meaning ‘Willow Tree Shade Street’). If the street name is changed into 柳阴街, it would sound a bit awkward for people living in that neighbourhood. The Chinese translation of the personal names of other ethnic groups also needs to be managed carefully. The standardization of lexical items needs to consider the relationship of various aspects, such as written forms and pronunciation, of these items. Next, we come to the issue of systematic concepts of standards. Standards should not be formulated in isolation. The matters in relation to the standards already published and to those issues in formulating relevant standards should be deliberated carefully in the course of standardizing lexical items. All these are systematic concepts of standards. Again, using DYZ as an illustrative example. During the course of verifying variant forms, it was discovered that the following phenomena existed in the social language life: – –

抵触—*牴触 (dĭchù, meaning ‘contradict’) 家伙—*傢伙 (jiāhuo, meaning ‘fellow, tool’) 氛围—*雰围 (fēnwéi, meaning ‘atmosphere’) 纨绔—纨*袴 (wánkù, meaning ‘silk trousers, sons of the rich’) 札记—*劄记 (zhájì, meaning ‘reading notes’)

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Characters with the sign “*” in the front are those variant forms already discarded or those orthodox characters already having a simplified counterpart. These non-standard phenomena need to be pointed out when verifying variant forms. However, if these characters are placed in the main text of the Table, they will be contradictory to the standardized simplified characters published before. These characters were listed in the Appendix7 of DYZ, which served as a guiding function and avoided the contradiction with the existing standards. Although 338 groups of variant forms were verified in the Table, some variant forms with relatively high frequency had not been standardized, for example, 交代 and 交待 ( jiāodài, meaning ‘explain, transfer’). DYZ specially emphasized on overall principles so as to provide theoretical preparation for the verification of the next batches of variant forms. Furthermore, the formulation of Guifan Hanzi Biao (GHB, A Table of Standard Chinese Characters) is in process and variant forms had not been fully verified so as to leave some room to manoeuvre for the production of GHB. At the beginning when the People’s Republic of China was founded, the work related to the spoken and written languages as a cultural engineering project was highly regarded by various bodies and people and great achievements were acquired. As the society is progressing, the work related to the spoken and written languages needs to advance accordingly. For the past several decades, the reform and opening up as the fundamental national policy of China contributed to the rapid development of the economy. After a certain period of economic development, a new upsurge of cultural progress will inevitably appear. Language is always the foundation of culture. It is expected that with the development of economy and culture, there will be a great progress in the work related to language. In the new century, how to update the concept of standardization and how to better proceed and promote language standardization deserve a serious study.

References China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies and the State Language Commission. 2001. 象 (xiàng) he 像 (xiàng) zai Mingciyi shang de Yongfa you Xinjieding – Guanyu 象 (xiàng) yu 像 (xiàng) Yongfa Yantaohui Huiyi Jiyao [New Stipulations on the Nominal Usage of 象 (xiàng) and 像 (xiàng) – Minutes of the Conference on the Usage of 象 (xiàng) and像 (xiàng)]. Chinese Science and Technology Terms Journal, Issue No. 4.

7 For details, see PRC Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission (2002).

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Feng, Zhiwei. 1997. Xiandai Shuyuxue Yinlun (An Introduction to Modern Terminology). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Li, Rulong. 1998. Hanyu Dimingxue Lungao (Discussions on Chinese Toponyms). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Publishing House. Li, Yuming. 2001. Tongyong Yuyan Wenzi Guifan he Biaozhun de Jianshe (The Formulation of the Norms and Standards of Universal Spoken and Written Languages). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics), Issue No. 2. Lu, Jianming. 2000. Kuaru Xinshiji hou Woguo Hanyu Yingyong Yanjiu de Sange Zhuyao Fangmian (Three Major Aspects of Applied Study of the Chinese Language in China Towards the New Era). Zhongguo Yuwen, Issue No. 6. Lü, Jiping (ed.). 2000. Dangqian Woguo Yuyan Wenzi de Guifanhua Wenti (Current Issues in Chinese Spoken and Written Language Standardization). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Publishing House. PRC Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission. 2002. Diyipi Yixingci Zhenglibiao (A Table of the First Batch of Verified Variant Word Forms). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Variant Forms Standardization Team of the State Language Commission. 2001. Diyipi Yixingci Zhenglibiao (caoan) Shuoming [An Exposition of A Table of the First Batch of Verified Variant Word Forms (draft)]. Yuwen Jianshe, Issue No.11. Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Wang, Jitong. 1999. Wang Jitong Diming Lungao (Discussions on Toponyms by Wang Jitong). Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press (China). Xu, Jialu. 2000. Weichengji – Lun Xinshiqi Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo (Unfinished Collection – Discussion on the Work Related to Spoken and Written Languages in New Era). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Yu, Genyuan. 1996. Ershi Shiji de Zhongguo Yuyan Yingyong Yanjiu (Applied Linguistics Studies in China in the 20th Century). Shanxi: Shuhai Publishing House. Yuan, Guiren. 2001. Yi Guifan Biaozhun Jianshe wei Hexin, Kaichuang Yuyan Weizi Yingyong Yanjiu Xinjumian (Initiating a New Trend in Applied Research of Language with Focus on Standardization Criteria). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics), Issue No. 3. Zhang, Huiying. 2001. Hanyu Fangyin Daici Yanjiu (A Study on Dialectal Pronouns in Chinese). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Translated by CHAN Man Ho, Benny (陈文浩) (Freelance translator) [email protected]

Chapter 15

On terminology1 Abstract: The main tasks of terminology focus on the localization, standardization, and internationalization of terms. The localization of terms refers to the introduction of foreign technical terms to one’s native language by means of liberal translation, transliteration, pictographic translation and the corresponding variants, with preference for liberal translation. The standardization of terms undertakes three missions: systematic analysis of terms, standardization of ambiguous terms, and terminology correlation. The internationalization of terms refers to the export and coherence of terms. The former relies on technological innovation as well as spontaneous strategic planning. The terms in Chinese should be both consonant with the international community and aware of the multicultural factors. The article also highlights the importance of social science terms, minority group terms, and the modernization of terms. Keywords: term, localization, standardization, internationalization

0 Introduction Terminology study has long been conducted in China. Since the first terminology dictionary Er Ya (尔雅) from Han dynasty, as pointed out by Feng Zhiwei (1997a: 8–10), a great number of ancient literature has contributed tremendously to the creation and consolidation of technical terms, for instance, Baopuzi (抱朴子) from Ge Hong, Zhui Shu (缀术), Shui Jing Zhu (水经注) by Li Daoyuan, The Dream Pool Essays (梦溪笔谈) from Shen Kuo, Complete Treatise on Agriculture (农政全书) by Xu Guangqi, Song Yingxing’s Exploitation of the Works of Nature (天工开物), and Li Shizhen’s Bencao Gangmu (本草纲目). Terminology tasks, in the contemporary sense, began in late Qing dynasty. The first organization for compiling scientific terms is the Scientific Term Institute (科学名词编定馆) headed by Yan Fu, which was established in 1909 by the Qing government. The compiling of scientific terms became an undertaking of the country since then. In 1919, Committee for Scientific Terms (科学名词审定委 员会) has been set up after the 1911 Revolution. The National Government insti-

1 The paper was adapted from the presentation at the 2nd Election Conference of China Terminology network (Beijing, 6th December, 2001).

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tuted the Translation Standardization Committee (译名统一委员会) in 1928 and the National Institute for Compilation and Translation (国立编译馆) in 1932 for the compilation of scientific terms. The terminology tasks continued occupying a high place since the founding of New China. The government established the Working Committee for Scientific Term Standardization (学术名词统一工作委员会) in 1950. Soon afterwards, China National Committee for Terms in Science and Technologies (全国科学技术 名词审定委员会) and National Standardization Technical Committees for Terminology (TC62) (全国术语标准化技术委员会) were set up in April and October of 1985 as the times required. For more than a century, especially since New China, thousands of experts have been engaging in the compilation of terminologies in more than 20 disciplines, and a Chinese characteristic has gradually developed during the process. Terminology is the language projection of human scientific knowledge. The study and dissemination of terminology systematically assorts and diffuses human scientific knowledge; meanwhile, the standardization of terminology promotes the development of science and technology, unifies the specification of technological products, and advances scientific and technological exchanges. The great importance of terminology tasks makes it the groundwork of the strategy of “revitalizing China through science and education”.

1 The localization of terms Different countries and nationalities, due to their uneven development, contribute diversely to science and technology. Be that as it may, the development of science and technology is driven by all nations via learning and meriting from each other. During this process, the exchange of terminology is indispensable. Technical terms of each nation are expressed and stored via its own language, which renders three issues to the terminology tasks of all nations, namely the localization, the standardization, and the internationalization of terms. We will start our discussion with the localization of terms.

1.1 The nature of localization The localization of terms refers to introducing foreign technical terms into one’s native language by means of translation, which is a converting process of language forms. Computer, for instance, is an English term first used in the

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States, which is localized as 计算机/电脑 once introduced into China; Radar, an English acronym for Radio Detection and Ranging, is translated as 雷达 in Chinese. Only language forms are changed, while the original senses of these words are retained. The development of modern science and technology mainly took place in western countries. Therefore, the main terminology task of China, since the Westernization Movement, has been focusing on the localization of terms.

1.2 Liberal translation, transliteration, and pictographic translation Localization changes a foreign term into one’s native language, which relies a lot on the method of translation. Basic methods of translation adopted in the 20th century are liberal translation (意译), transliteration (音译), and pictographic translation (形译), based on which three variants, namely transliteration and liberal translation, partial transliteration-partial liberal translation, and partial pictographic-partial liberal translation, are developed. 1)

Basic methods of translation

a.

Liberal translation

Liberal translation conveys the meaning of a foreign term with one’s native language, for instance, translating computer as 计算机/电脑. This process amounts to creating new words, which calls for a fairly high level of knowledge regarding both source language and target language. Difficult as it is, liberal translated terms are much more comprehensible. Moreover, it widens the applicable range of the Chinese language to science and technology – the translation of each term adds a new technical element into the language inventory. b. Transliteration Transliteration maps the letters of the source script to letters pronounced similarly in the target script. For instance, 克拉利翁 is a transliterated term of the English clarion, and 马赛克 is from the English mosaic (the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials). One-to-one correspondence is not likely to be observed between two languages, meaning that transliteration is always accompanied by some slight changes of the source term by adding or reducing some phonemics. The Chinese characters adopted in transliteration only marks the pronunciation, and the choice of these characters often follows certain standard rules. Chinese people,

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who do not like meaningless characters, endow these sound-marking characters, in a way, with meanings. For example e-mail is transliterated as 伊妹儿, and mini as 迷你/米尔. Note that these far-fetched meanings have no bearing on the source terms, so they are still categorized as transliteration, instead of liberal translation. Convenient as transliteration may be, it is still unfavorable for people to grasp. c.

Pictographic translation

Pictographic translation refers to entirely copying the written form of certain term from a foreign language. This means of introduction is still treated as “translation” since this process is often accompanied by phonological changes to conform to the target language. Terms translated to Chinese, for instance, no longer have the inflectional/morphological changes of gender, number and case; they also need to abide by the combination rules of Chinese. Pictographic translation used to be widely adopted in translating Japanese terms, due to the fact that Japanese words are Chinese in origin. A considerable number of terms are directly copied from Japanese: 标本 (sample), 低能 (dysnusia), 地下水 (groundwater), 电报 (telegram), 动脉 (artery), 反射 (reflex), 方程式 (equation), 高射炮 (anti-aircraft gun), 火成岩 (igneous rock), 金刚石 (carbite), 静脉 (vein), 领空 (territorial air space), 上水道 (water-supply line), 退化 (degenerate), 温床 (hotbed), 血栓 (thrombus), 液体 (fluid), 因子营养 (molecular nutrition), 游离 (dissociation), 元素 (element), and 原子 (atom) (cf. Liu, et al. 1984). Some of the aforementioned terms are translated from other languages to Japanese, which functions as a way station from foreign languages to Chinese. In recent years, there has been an outpouring of translating from western languages. For instance, ASCII, CAD, CD, CPU, CT, DNA, DOS, DVD, E-mail, E-book, ISO, MTV, SOS, UFO, VCD, WTO, and so forth. Pictographic translation is also convenient and efficient. Specifically, pictographic translation from Japanese is more accessible to Chinese people, and that from western language advances the internationalization of terms. But less than that, the compatibility between Chinese language and pictographically translated western terms is fairly limited, and it is time-consuming for Chinese-speaking people to use freely. 2)

Corresponding variants

The above three methods of translation can be applied in combination with each other, generating three variants. a.

Transliteration and liberal translation

Translating radar into 雷达 is an instantiation of transliteration. Moreover, the meaning of the two characters 雷达 in Chinese is related to the English term

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radar in certain degree. This kind of translation is regarded as transliteration and liberal translation, which is different from the aforementioned 伊妹儿 or 迷你. The meanings of the latter ones are not associated with their English counterparts. b. Partial transliteration-partial liberal translation

斯柯达炮 (Skoda gun) and 啤酒 (beer) are two instances of partial transliteration-partial liberal translation, in which 斯柯达 and 啤 are the transliteration part, whereas 炮 and 酒 specify the natures of the terms. In the former case, the meaning part specifying the category of the term is a result of liberal translation, i.e. from gun to 炮; while the translation of the latter one adds a suffix 酒 to indicate the category of the term. c.

Partial pictographic-partial liberal translation

In terms such as B超 (type-B ultrasonic), X射线 (X-ray), B and X are pictographically translated; whereas 超 and 射线 are liberally translated. All of these three variants counterbalance the shortages of transliteration and pictographic translation with liberal translation.

1.3 A preference for liberal translation As has been pointed out, the translated terms are added into the inventory of the target language, which requires the translation to take the linguistic features and existing terminological system of the target language into consideration. The linguistic features of Chinese favor liberal translation and its variants, and its terminological system is a tree structure as illustrated below:

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This structure can be further extended into multiple layers, and it bears two features. First, terms follow a superordination-subordination relationship; and second, the word formation of the terms on each layer is regular and conformable, which would be violated were we to transliterate 语法 as 葛郎玛, or pictographic translate as Grammar. The linguistic foundation of Chinese terminological system is morpheme, which determines the preference of the language for liberal translation.

2 The standardization of terms The standardization of terms is a twofold task consisting of the standardization of the autochthonous terms and that of those introduced ones. The standardization of terms undertakes three missions: systematic analysis of terms, standardization of ambiguous terms and terminology correlation.

2.1 Systematic analysis The primary task for the standardization of terms is to classify and categorize terms from a macro perspective on the basis of each disciplinary system. This is the aim of terminology analysis; furthermore, it observes and in turn solves problems regarding certain terms in this process, which grants great importance to such systematic analysis.

2.2 Standardizing ambiguous terms Ambiguous term is an important yet challenging issue for terminology standardization. Homonyms and synonyms are two major manifestations of ambiguous terms. Theoretically, there should be a one-to-one correspondence between a term and the concept it refers to. That is to say, one term can refer to only one concept, and one concept could be conveyed through only one term. It is apparent that ambiguous terms should always be avoided in any terminological system. However, specific cases demand more detailed and concrete discussion. 1)

Homonyms

Ambiguous terms should be defined in specific application fields. Homonyms are allowed in different disciplines. In other words, one term could refer to different concepts from different disciplines. For instance:

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铁塔 (Tower): ① (architecture) a tall, narrow building, which either stands alone or forms part of another building such as a church or castle. ② (power transmission) a tall structure that is used for sending radio or television signals. 同化 (Assimilation): ① (biology) the conversion of nutrient into the fluid or solid substance of the body, by the processes of digestion and absorption ② (linguistics) a linguistic process by which a sound becomes similar to an adjacent sound. 透视 (perspective/fluoroscopy): ① (painting) Perspective is the formation of an image in a picture plane of a scene viewed from a fixed point, and its modelization in geometry ② (medical) Fluoroscopy is an imaging technique that uses X-rays to obtain real-time moving images of the internal structures of a patient through the use of a fluoroscope. 温床 (hotbed): ① (agriculture) a bed of earth covered with glass and heated by rotting manure to promote the growth of plants. ② (daily) a situation that is ideal for rapid development (especially of something bad). Homonyms are also found within one academic realm. Li Yuming (2002) discusses about the phenomenon of expressing both whole and parts with one term. For example:

足球 (football): ① (sports) a kind of ballgames that involve kicking balls with the foot. ② (balls) balls that are used in the football game. 小麦 (wheat): ① annual or biennial grass having erect flower spikes and light brown grains ② grains of common wheat According to Li, such phenomenon has two subcategories: ballgames and plants. Almost all terms of ballgames express a part-whole relation, for instance, 棒球 (baseball), 冰球 (ice hockey), 橄榄球 (rugby), 高尔夫球 (golf ball), 篮球 (basketball), 垒球 (softball), 乒乓球 (Ping-Pong ball), 排球 (volley ball), 台球 (billiard ball), 网球 (tennis), 羽毛球 (badminton), etc. Part-whole terms could also be found in terms of agricultural crops, vegetables, fruitwood, flowering

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wood, and medical herbs, for example, 高粱 (sorghum), 芝麻 (sesame), 棉花 (cotton), 番茄 (tomato), 萝卜 (turnip), 南瓜 (cashew), 橄榄 (olive), 苹果 (apple), 桃 (peach), 牡丹, 芍药 (peony), 天麻 (rhizome gastrodiae), and so forth. It is noted recently that gymnastics also witness such kind of phenomenon:

跳箱 (vaulting box): ① (gymnastic apparatus) a box-shaped, trapezoid gymnastic apparatus, height adjustable. ② (gymnastic event) jumping over the apparatus by different postures. The same is the case for 鞍马 (pommel horse), 单杠 (horizontal bar), 吊环 (hand ring), 高低杠 (uneven bars), 双杠 (parallel bars), and 跳马 (vaulting horse), etc.2 The meanings of these terms must be distinguished and differentiated whilst the standardization of sports science and botany terms. Take the term 桃 for instance, its plant could be further specified as 桃树 (peach tree), and its fructification as 桃子 (peach fruit). Similarly, the sporting event of 排球 (volleyball) could be termed as 排球运动/排球比赛 (volleyball game), and the sports ball as 排球. 2)

Synonyms

Synonymous terms are widely observed across-disciplines in different periods and at different regions due to the divergence in means of term construction and term introduction. Synonym is another focus of the standardization of terms, which demands solid analysis concerning concrete terms. Some terms have contracted forms. 微机 (microcomputer), for instance, is the contracted form of 微型计算机. Theoretically, full terms and their contracted forms are synonyms and their coexistence is allowed. Generally, the full term is regarded as the main form and the contracted term as a supplement; however, if the contracted forms are more commonly adopted, it could also be treated as the main form of the term. For instance, 高中 (high school) is the contracted form of 高级中学, the former is more commonly used in everyday life and thus becomes the main term of this concept. Some academic terms are endowed with common names in everyday communication. 电脑 (computer), for instance, is the common name for 计算机; and 微电脑 (micro-computer) for 微型计算机/微机. Formal terms and common names are also allowed to coexist, since it is both inconvenient and unnecessary to employ the formal academic term in daily use. 2 Synonyms are also observed in martial arts or acrobatics. For instance, 单刀: ① (singlebroadsword) a kind of broadsword with short shank. ② (single-broadsword event), an event of martial arts played by using single-broadsword.

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Terms are supposed to be unified among different regions. However, synonyms widely exist among the Chinese communities at home and abroad due to complex history and realities. One study from Zhou Qihuan (2001) systematically analyzes the divergence in aviation terms between mainland China and Taiwan. Below are some examples: English terms

Mainland China

Taiwan

Airship Communication Data Fighter General aviation Information laser Memory Network Robot

飞艇 通信 数据 歼击机 通用航空 信息 激光 存储器 网络 机器人

飞船 通讯 资料 战斗机 普通航空 资讯 镭射 记忆体 网路 机械人

Standardizing these terms would be difficult in short terms, but different communities are beginning to make some inroads into term standardization by compiling dictionaries and leading active interactions. All Chinese communities should take active part in work on this concern.

2.3 Terminology correlation Terminology correlation refers to building relations among terms via various means. Systematic analysis as talked about at the beginning of this section could be regarded as terminology correlation in the broad sense, beside which the following three aspects should also be taken into consideration: 1)

Building correlation among interrelated terms cross disciplines. Study object, methodologies as well as equipment may overlap among different fields, which allow the adoption of the same term by multiple subjects. Take the aviation terms listed above for instance, communication, data, information, laser, memory, network, robot, etc. are interdisciplinary. Such correlation facilitates the communication among subjects, and helps in the standardization of terms by discovering the difference of the same term cross disciplines. As pointed out by Zhang Yanyan (2001), robust is transliterated as 鲁棒 in the field of automation and navigation. The same term is adopted by topography at first, which was re-translated as 稳健 in the 1950s, and 抗差 in the 1980s. Another example is root-mean-square. It

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is translated as 方均差 in physics and electrotechnics, and as 均方差 in mathematics. Such discrepancy could only be observed via terminology correlation, based on which further negotiation can be carried out so as to unify these terms. 2) Building correlation between formal terms and common name; among terms of different regions; and among related languages. 3) Building correlation between formal terms and the discarded ones. The task of terminology correlation is indispensable in that it increases the quantity of information, facilitates inter-disciplinary communication, provides the base to standardize ambiguous terms, and reflects the progress of term standardization. It might also be noted that, the standardization task would be rather difficult once the terms are widely used. For example, between 选单 and 菜单 (menu), 光碟 and 光盘 (compact disc), 因特网 and 互联网 (Internet), the former ones are the standard forms according to the government; however, the latter ones are still extensively used nowadays. To avoid such kind of passive situation, the guiding principle should be “mainly to recommendation before used as a supplement to standardization afterward”. As mentioned, the terminology task of our country has mainly been focused on the introduction of terms which, unfortunately, will continue long. That being the case, the main task of terminology should concentrate on tracking the international terminology development, translating and introducing the important terms, and setting standards for the newly introduced terms. The China National Committee for Terms in Science and Technologies and National Standardization Technical Committees for Terminology (TC62) are now making considerable effort to enhance the policy of “recommendation before used”, which should be promoted.

3 The internationalization of terms The meaning of term internationalization consists of term export and terminology coherence. The former refers to exporting our own terms to foreign countries, and the latter advocates coherent forms of terms from domestic and abroad.

3.1 The export of terms The export of terms is the reverse course of term localization, which shows the national strength and international influence of a country. Moreover, term export

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contributes to the development of science and technology, and it depends on the advanced degree in science and technology of the exporting country. Countries differ in the fields of science that they take leading position. Most of the geographical terms, for instance, are from German; while astronautic terms are mainly from English and Russian. English is also the main source for terms of modern information technology and computer science. These facts demonstrates that Germany used to take a leading position in geography, America and Russian lead world in aerospace technology, and America also predominates in modern information technology and computer science. Ancient China used to be a major term exporter. The traditional “sinophere” has assimilated a great deal of technical terms from our country and this influence even rippled through the western world. As shown by Wu Tieping (1982), the term expressing the concept of 书 (book) in many countries situated above the 35th degree of Northern Latitude were borrowed from the Chinese character 经. This character, taking Old Turkish as medium, has been borrowed by all the Slavic languages, and then Armenian, Lithuanian, and Hungarian. Wu Shusheng and Tian Zibing (1986) points out that China used to be called Serica by many ancient western countries, and Serica is a transliterated term of 丝 in Ancient Chinese. The same is the case for 茶. As pointed out by Zhou Zhenhe and You Rujie (1986), the term expressing tea in many countries are transliterated from 茶, for instance thee in Dutch, tea in English, tee in German, thé in French, chai in Russian, shai in Arabic, chay in Farsi, and ceai in Romanian, etc. China still is a term exporter to certain extent. Traditional science and technology with unique ethnic features, such as traditional Chinese medicine, Tibetan medicine and pharmacology, martial arts, and traditional linguistics, continue to play a role in nowadays and gain widely attention all over the world. As for modern science, we are not as competitive; however, we are developing steadily and approaching or even reaching the advanced global levels. The export of terms depends not only on the development of science and technology, but also on our strategic planning. Firstly, our Chinese scholars should recognize the importance of term export, and create terms by using Chinese morphemes (including pinyin) in their works and papers, as well as in their discoveries and technical inventions owning independent intellectual properties, so as to increasing the proportion of “Sinoxenic terms”. Secondly, we should employ various measures to escalate the presence of “Sinoxenic terms”: 1)

Scientists should follow the development of domestic science and technology, adopt more Sinoxenic terms, and build up the presence of Sinoxenic terms.

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2)

By translating more Chinese literatures, and publishing more magazines and books in foreign languages, we can introduce our achievements in traditional and modern science and technology, increase our impact on international science and technology, and accelerate the popularization of Sinoxenic terms. 3) Translators and scholars writing in foreign languages should unify the translation of Chinese terms, which caters to the language habits of the target language on the one hand, and retains Chinese characteristics on the other. 4) Compile bilingual dictionaries of Chinese terminology. In doing so, a panorama of the Sinoxenic terms in our leading or featured fields could be comprehensively displayed. 5) Consolidate the foundation of global popularization by coordinating the scientific work of global Chinese people as well as establishing the prestige of Sinoxenic terms among them. The traditional “Sinoshperic regions” also deserves special attention due to the fact that we share similarities in cultures and that we have long been borrowing terms from each other.

3.2 Terminology coherence Science and technology is developing and spreading at an unprecedented rate. The forming cycle of scientific terms is getting shorter, and the quantity increases in an explosive pattern. The internationalization of terms has always been advocated to meet the globalization in the information era. It is proposed that scientific terms worldwide should adopt identical or similar written forms. The written form of ISO (International Organization for Standardization), for instance, is identical among all the western languages. Term, according to Feng Zhiwei (1997a: 1), is also a highly internationalized term: Term Terme Termi Termin Tèrmine Término Terminus

English, Dutch, Swedish, Welsh French Finnish Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Slovak, Czech, Polish Italian Spanish German

It is natural for the Indo-European languages to adopt identical or similar terms given that they are cognate languages, and they all adopt alphabetic writing system. Chinese, however, differs from the Indo-European languages greatly in

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that it does not use alphabetic writing system. Hence, the internationalization of terms would be rather difficult due to the limitation of pictographic translation of terms from western languages. Similarly, borrowing terms carried by Chinese characters are also restricted. In spite of that, ignoring the trend of terminology internationalization is never a choice. China should keep pace with the world on this concern in a broader sense by 1) building a terminology system on the basis of international academic standardization and system; 2) using “loan translation” as often as possible, i.e., translating terms in accordance with the language structure of the source language, for instance, equivalent term as 等价术语, online as 在线 (的), E-book as 电子图书, etc.; 3) adopting variants of transliteration and pictographic translation; 4) creating the abbreviation form of Sinoxenic terms by using pinyin, for example the abbreviation of 汉语水平考试 is HSK and that of 普通话水平测试 is PSC; and 5) establishing a multi-lingual terminology system to facilitate the communication with foreign countries. Culture diversity is another issue under consideration besides globalization. Confronting the trend of mono-market, mono-language, and mono-culture of the information era, UNESCO adopted the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity3 in its 31st session of General Conference held in Paris, October, 2001. The internationalization of terms is also obliged to take culture diversity into consideration.

4 Other terminology tasks related issues Having seen the much of terminological localization, standardization, and internationalization, three more issues, namely the importance of social science terms, minority group terms, and the modernization of terms, require the same attention.

4.1 Social science terms Terminology task also lays more stress on science than arts. For the 20th century, terminology task in our country has been concentrated on the fields of natural science and technology, while neglecting social science. Terminology task of social science should also be emphasized given the follow reasons:

3 cf. Secretariat of China National Commission for UNESCO (2001: 47–48).

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Firstly, social science is a component part of science, which is as important as natural science. Terminology task promotes the development of social science, and untangles the present confusions of terminology in this field. Secondly, the emergence and development of interdisciplinary subjects is a new trend, which brood many new branches of science, and advance many important technologies that are closely related to economic and social development. For instance, linguistics, as social science, intersects with mathematics and computer science forms computational linguistics, which is the academic foundation of Natural Language Processing. Psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics, as the interdiscipline of linguistics with psychology and neurology, are key subjects of studying human information processing and cognitive laws. The intersection of phonetics with acoustics and computer science plays an indispensable role in speech synthesis, speech recognition, and computer speech processing. The many interdisciplinary subjects of linguistics and law, such as “soundprint identification”, play a prominent part in crime investigation. Thirdly, China is a nation with long history of culture. Various unique categories of social science carry their own weight in the world, such as ethnology, literature, historiography, linguistics, etc. Hence, intensive research on social science advances the international spread of our social science and relevant terms. Fourthly, the formation and application of social science terms is not exactly the same as that of natural science. The difference can be summarized as follows: (1) social science terms are highly “sinicized” – borrowed terms are far outnumbered by coined terms; (2) high accuracy of terms is not required in social science – extended and metaphoric meanings are allowed; (3) terms from social sciences are more closely related to everyday life – it is quite possible for these terms and everyday language to convert mutually. Research on the formation and application of social science terms provides a comprehensive picture of the characteristics of terms in general, enriches the theoretical system of terminology, and refines our methods of terminology study. The standardization of terms in social science promotes the development of social science, conduces to multi-disciplinary intersection between social and natural science, advances the development of terminology, accelerates the export of Sinoxenic terms, and extends the international influence of Chinese culture and social science. The China National Committee for Terms in Science and Technologies is now working with Chinese Academy of Social Science in the standardization of linguistic terms, which is quite a farsighted act. At present, how to conduct efficient standardization of terms in social science is still a pressing research topic due to our lack of practice in the regard.

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4.2 Minority group terms There are 55 minority groups in our country. They distribute throughout the country and boast long histories and splendid cultures. More than 100 languages or dialects and about ten written languages are still in use among these people. Firstly, the terminology tasks of minority languages play an important part in the Development of Western Regions. The development of minority regions relies on the promotion of literacy and the popularization of science and technology, both of which demand adaptable terminology systems for different minority groups. Secondly, extending and standardizing technical terms is also essential to the development of minority languages and cultures. A language with few scientific and technical terms is neither complete nor dynamic, so terminology task is indispensable for the development of minority languages and cultures. Thirdly, minority groups possess a wide variety of unique traditional science and technology. Exploring and internationalizing the terminology system of these traditional science and technology is both propitious to the preservation of tradition and beneficial to the development of science and society of our age. Terminology tasks in minority regions also focus on the localization, standardization, and internationalization of terms. Both the localization and internationalization of minority terms take Chinese as its medium. To accelerate the minority terminology task, establishing bi-lingual or even multi-lingual terminology system, by translating minority terms into Mandarin, is a solid move. Such system facilitates the domestic communication of terminology, shares researches of Chinese terminology with minority groups, and speeds up the pace of minority terminology tasks. China has a large number of minority languages, some minority groups is now adopting Chinese language, and some written systems are not well preserved. In view of the current circumstance, terminology tasks of minority languages should start with the languages that are widely used and with wellpreserved written systems. We can take textbooks and publications as entry point and further generalize to other fields.

4.3 The modernization of terms Internet, developed in the late 1990s, is now influencing our life on every side. It also is the foundation of the modernization of terms. Internet should be fully used and adapted in all aspects of terminology tasks, such as term collection,

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classification, compilation, consultation, recommendation, publication, database construction, database query, and database upgrading, etc. The coverage of these tasks may include building a digital, real-time updated massive database of scientific and technological literature via Internet and timely retrieving new terms and raw terms from the database. Moreover, the terms can be classified and compiled through contexts and various defining methods, with extensive consultations from experts and the community via Internet and other media. Tentative terms can then be recommended to the community and published, with an Internet-based multi-lingual terminology database established for query and communication. Network sharing is the key idea of cyber society. In regard of terminology tasks, sharing refers to the share of achievement and intelligence. To make it happen, we should 1) convert and upload terms onto online database in good time, improve the database by conform standards or interchangeable methods, and open to the public as far as possible. In doing so, we share achievements. 2) promote academic democracy by adopting an open attitude to the public during the whole process of terminology task so as to mustering the wisdom from the entire society. In this way, terminology task conquers the limitation of a few experts, and grows into a public event, and intelligence sharing is thus achieved.

5 Concluding remarks The terminology task in China is both onerous and difficult. First, terminology task is closely related to spoken and written language, and the status of the latter is complicated in our country given a multitude of minority languages and dialects and the discrepancy of language between mainland China and Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Secondly, the standardization of terms is bound up with the development of education, economy, and science and technology. China, a vast country, witnesses an uneven development in these aspects between eastern and western regions, as well as between mainland and Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Thirdly, as the intersection of interdisciplinary subject, and the implement of the strategy of “revitalizing China through science and education”, more and more terms are spreading from one subject to another and from academia to the daily life in a rapid rate. Under these complex circumstances, the harmonization of terms among different minority groups, different communities, and different technology categories demands more effort and financial resources. As the acceleration of the process of global economic integration and China’s joining WTO, the harmonization of terms between China and the

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other countries becomes more urgent, and the requirements for the internationalization of terms becomes more exigent. From an academic perspective, the complexity of research objects is proportionate to the difficulty of research work, and the more complex the object is, the greater the academic achievement is. In the process of terminology localization, standardization, and internationalization, we should carry on the tradition of Chinese terminology. Meanwhile we should also learn from the main schools of modern western terminology, such as the German-Austria school, the Russian school, the Czechoslovakia school, and the Canada-Quebec school, etc. In doing so, China is on its way to make its impact on the international terminology, and create our own terminology school.

References Feng, Zhiwei. 1997a. Xiandai Shuyuxue Yinlun (An Introduction to Modern Terminology). Yuwen Chubanshe (Language and Culture Press). Feng, Zhiwei. 1997b. Xinxi Shidai zhong Hanzi de Biaozhunhua he Gongtonghua (Standardization and Unification of Chinese Characters in Information Era). Shuyu Biaozhunhua yu Xinxi Jishu (Terminology Standardization and Information Technology), No. 1–3. Feng, Zhiwei. 1998. Zimuci de Shiyong Yao Kan Duixiang (The Usage of Foreign Alphabetic Words in Chinese Must Be in Connection with Objects). Shuyu Biaozhunhua yu Xinxi Jishu (Terminology Standardization and Information Technology), No. 3. Hu, Tan. 2001. Shuyu Minzuhua Wenti – Zangyu Keji Shuyu de Fazhan (On the Localization of Terminology – Development of Tibetan Terminology in Sciences and Technologies). Shuyu Biaozhunhua yu Xinxi Jishu (Terminology Standardization and Information Technology), No.3. Li, Yuming. 2002. Zhengti yu Bufen Tongci Xianxiang jiqi Renzhi Liju (Expressing Parts and Whole with One Term and Its Cognitive Motivation). Hanyu Xuexi (Chinese Language Learning), No. 2. Liu, Qing. 2002. Kexue Shuyu Guifanhua zai Xinxi Chuanbo zhong de Zhongyao Zuoyong (The Importance of Science Terminology Standardization in Information Dissemination). Keji Shuyu Yanjiu (Chinese Science and Technology Terms Journal), No. 1. Liu, Zhengtan, et al. 1984. Hanyu Wailaici Cidian (Dictionary of Loanwords in Chinese). Shanghai Cishu Chubanshe. Su, Wubin. 1998. Shuyuxue – Bendihua Buke Queshao de Lilun Jichu (Terminology – Basic Theory of the Localization). Shuyu Biaozhunhua yu Xinxi Jishu (Terminology Standardization and Information Technology), No. 1. Wright, S. E. and Budin, G. 1996. Shuyu Guanli Shouce (Diyi Juan), Shuyu Guanli de Jiben Fangmian (Terminology Management Manual (Volume I) – The Foundation of Terminology Management) (Translated by Yu, Xinli and Zhou, Changqing). Zhongguo Biaozhun Chubanshe (Standards Press of China).

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Wang, Mengben. 2001. Shengming Kexue ge Xueke Mingci de Yiyiduoci Wenti (The Synonymous Phenomenon in Life Science Terms). Keji Shuyu Yanjiu (Chinese Science and Technology Terms Journal), No. 3. Wang, Yuli. 1999. Woguo Shuyu Shujuku de Jianshe jiqi Fazhan Qushi (The Trends of the Establishment and Development of Terminology Data Banks in China). Shuyu Biaozhunhua yu Xinxi Jishu (Terminology Standardization and Information Technology), No. 1. Wu, Shusheng and Tian, Zibing. 1986. Zhongguo Ranzhi Shi (Chinese History of Dyeing and Weaving). Shanghai Renmin Chubanshe (Shanghai People’s Publishing House). Wu, Tieping. 1982. Lun Yuyan de Leixing Duibi (Typological Comparison of Language). Huazhong Technical Institute (now Huazhong University of Science and Technology), Institute of Chinese Linguistics “Textbook of Linguistic Program (Yuyanxue Jinxiuban Jiaoxue Cankao Ziliao)” (mimeograph). Zhang, Yanyan. 2001. Ye Tan Butong Xueke jian de Mingci Guifan (On Inter-disciplinary Term Standardization). Keji Shuyu Yanjiu (Chinese Science and Technology Terms Journal), No. 3. Zhou, Qihuan. 2001. Qiantan Haixia Liang’an Hangkong Mingci Chayi (On the Divergence in aviation terms Between Mainland and Taiwan). Keji Shuyu Yanjiu (Chinese Science and Technology Terms Journal), No. 4. Zhou, Xiling. 2002. Shuyu Fanyi Wenti ji Duice Guanjian (Discussing Translation and Countermeasure). Shuyu Biaozhunhua yu Xinxi Jishu (Terminology Standardization and Information Technology), No. 1. Zhou, Zhenhe and You, Rujie. 1986. Fangyan yu Zhongguo Wenhua (Dialects and Chinese Culture). Shanghai Renmin Chubanshe (Shanghai People’s Publishing House). Zhou, Zhiyou. 2001. Shujuku Fuwu Chanye de Fazhan Gaikuang (Recent Development of Database Service Industry). Shuyu Biaozhunhua yu Xinxi Jishu (Terminology Standardization and Information Technology), No. 1.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Linguistic Sciences, 2002, No. 2. Translated by LEE Po Lun, Peppina (李宝伦) Department of Linguistics & Translation, City University of Hong Kong [email protected] WUYUN Saina (乌云赛娜) Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

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Reflection on the modernization of lexicography in China Abstract: China boasts a long history of lexicography with a large amount of dictionaries of all sorts, but it is yet among the top countries that excel in this field. The modernization of lexicography in China is slow and in great need of strategic planning at the macro level, practices and collaboration at the world level, as well as globally renowned works with long-term impact. Endeavor should be put to modernize the means of dictionary compilation, to develop large-sized corpora, databases, and software, and to promote publication of electronic dictionaries such as on CDs or on the Internet. Only comprehensive measures incorporating traditional and virtual media could ensure China of the path to a leading position in modern lexicography. Keywords: electronic dictionary, dictionary compilation, modernization of lexicography

0 Introduction China is among the first countries that started compiling dictionaries since ancient times. Cao Xianzhuo (1986) stated that rudiment of lexicography emerged before the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD). For example, the ancient Chinese classics from the Spring and Autumn Periods (770–476 BC) had included books on exegesis. Chinese Primers such as Shi Zhou Pian of the Zhou and Qin Dynasties (Zhou, 11 century BC–256 BC; Qin, 221–207 BC), and Cang Jie Pian, Yuan Li Pian, Bo Xue Pian of the Qin Dynasty, marked the beginning of lexicography with early attempts in compilation of Chinese characters. Er Ya, Fang Yan, Shuo Wen Jie Zi ‘Etymological Dictionary by Xu Shen’ written in the West Han Dynasty (202 BC–9 AD) laid the foundation of Chinese lexicography that finds heroic achievements in times from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty (1636–1912) including YongLe DaDian ‘the Great Encyclopedia of the Emperor Yong Le’, Gujin Tushu Jicheng ‘the Collection of Books from the Past and Present Days’, Kangxi Zidian ‘Kangxi Dictionary’. The years from the end of the Qing Dynasty to before the establishment of new China (1912–1949) recorded the emerging of modern Chinese lexicography, which was pioneered by the Shanghai Guoxue Fulunshe ‘Rotary Club for National

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Learning’ who published the Dictionary of Liberal Arts in 19111. Earlier works of great significance also include Zhonghua Da Zidian ‘The Great Character Dictionary of China’ in 1915, and later, Ci Yuan, Ci Hai, and GuoYu Cidian. Despite these important achievements then, China had been lagged far behind by Western countries considering developments of modern lexicography. In the past 50 years since 1949, great development has been recorded in the field of lexicography with a number of excellent dictionaries such as Xinhua Dictionary, Xiandai Hanyu Cidian ‘Modern Chinese Dictionary’, Hanyu Da Zidian ‘Dictionary of Chinese Characters’, Hanyu Da Cidian ‘Dictionary of Chinese Words’, Zhongguo Da Baike Quanshu ‘Encyclopedia of China’, Xiandai Hanyu Fangyan Da Cidian ‘Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects’, Putonghua Jichu Fangyan Jiben Cihuiji ‘Collection of Basic Vocabulary of Base Dialects for Putonghua’, Guxun Huizuan ‘The Comprehensive Collection of Exegesis’. In regions of Hong Kong and Taiwan, dictionaries of significant merits have also been published. In other words, half-a-century’s effort has brought about huge progress in lexicography in terms of types, circulation sizes, and numbers of household copies. A leading country in the quantity of dictionaries as it is, China does not yet excel in the quality, with only a few dictionaries that are highly recognized worldwide. There is much room between China and the countries that are leading the field, considering means and concepts of dictionary compilation. To keep up with leaders in the world, lexicography in China must accelerate its modernization process.

1 To modernize the means of dictionary compilation The age of information is characterized by digital technology for information processing and corpus as the main media of information. So, the modernization of lexicography means an embrace of digital technology and corpus in every stage of dictionary compilation. Specifically, it requires large corpus and database, and powerful software for dictionary compilation.

1.1 Corpus Li Yuming (2004) defined a modern corpus as a sizable and organized collection of transcribed and tagged natural discourse. Thus, the first modern corpus in the 1 The article by Li and Guo (2002) referred to the Rotary Club as the publisher of A New Popular Encyclopedia. They did not mention Zuo Xin She in their discussion of the dictionary.

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world is the Brown Corpus established by the Brown University in 1964, following which a series of corpora were build up, e.g., a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h)

LOB Corpus, which was initiated in 1970 and finished in 1978; The American Heritage Intermediate Corpus, built in 1971; London-Lund Corpus, built in 1973 Kolhapur Corpus of Indian English, built in 1978 The Cornell Corpus, build in 1980 Corpus of English-Canadian Writing, built in 1984 Wellington Corpus of Written New Zealand English, built in 1986 Australian Corpus of English, built in 1986

Corpora listed above with a size of at least 100,000 words or over 1,000,000 words are considered as the first-generation corpus2. The second generation started in the 1980s with a size of more than 10,000,000 words, and later in the 1990s, corpora with over 100,000,000 words appeared. Recent decades have seen many more and larger-sized corpora with diverse functions and fine taggings for all purposes3. Corpora vary in their purposes, but may share an important one in common, i.e., to compile dictionaries. Following this direction, excellent outcome based on corpora could be found in dictionaries such as the Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary (Harper Collins Publishers, 1987) that was based on the COBUILD corpus run by the same company since 1980. The corpus was renamed as Bank of English in 1991 and has been extending ever since to have included more than 450,000,000 words by January, 2002. The COBUILD corpus had inaugurated a reform in lexicography, and become exemplary practice for publishing houses including Oxford University Press, Longman, Cambridge University Press, and MacMillan Publishers. (Tseng 2005: 83; Zhang Y. 2004: 65–66) Corpus-assisted compilation of dictionaries is a breakthrough in lexicography. Previous literature (Cheng 1997: 48–56; Xie 1997: 57–64; Wang 2001: 15–21; Qian 2002: 58–68; Zhang Y. 2004) has reviewed roles of corpora in dictionary compilation, which can be summarized in the following aspects: 1.

To facilitate the discovery of new words, new meanings and new usage of existing words. People differ in their life experience, which affects their knowledge in language, which in turn determines their language awareness. As an epitome of language practices and an extension of language experience, a corpus can contribute to enhance people’s language awareness. A

2 A corpus is classified according to the number of words it includes, for example, 100,000 words, 1,000,000 words, and so on. 3 For a more detailed review on the development of corpora, refer to Zhang (2004:61–79).

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wordlist generated by a corpus helps discover new words, which improves the comprehensiveness and up-to-datedness of a dictionary. A corpus is also helpful in discovering new collocation. New meaning or new usage of words identified in this way will add to the full explanation of words. 2. To calculate statistics of frequency and distribution of words, meanings, and usage (both grammatical and pragmatic). Frequency calculation is an advantage of corpora, and is useful in determining the size of a dictionary. For example, small to medium-sized dictionaries may include words of higher frequencies only. Statistics of frequency and distribution of meanings and usages are helpful in determining the need of explanation and the order of lemmas. 3. To select and prune example sentences. Sentences to illustrate the usage and meaning are important, the selection and pruning of which exemplifies the quality of a dictionary. A corpus is a large collection of authentic usage of languages. To select sentences from a corpus or to revise based on such sentences is not for convenience but more importantly to enhance the authenticity of examples. 4. To carry out knowledge mining. Language is the fruit of human knowledge and experience. Linguistics is therefore not only a study on the language but also on the expression of such knowledge. The discipline has thus made significant contribution to information processing and data mining. The interrelationship between language and knowledge determines that a corpus is not only a collection of language practices but also one of knowledge. So, a corpus is for language studies and for knowledge mining as well. The realm of knowledge mining is wide and diverse, covering the denotation and connotation of words, and (dis)similarities between words. Following this direction, a corpus is useful in defining inter-word relations including synonym, antonym, hyponym, and related words. Corpora play a significant role in lemma selection, word collation and explanation, example selection and pruning. A high-quality corpus is therefore key to a high-quality dictionary4. Tseng (2005) emphasized that corpus development is

4 Wang and Ma (2003, 5:20–28) discussed differences between corpus and language usage in real life, arguing that the incomprehensive representativeness of corpora affects the scientific merits of dictionaries that are based on them. Their argument reminds researchers that corpora are powerful but should remain a tool of assistance in dictionary compilation. On the other hand, the importance of corpora in lexicography shall not be underestimated or dismissed due to its incompleteness. It is only appropriate to speed up the development of corpora and minimize its distance from language in life.

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crucial, in that the thriving of corpora will soon obsolete those who cannot keep up. In this sense, building excellent corpora suitable for compiling dictionaries should be the top priority for lexicographers in China. In lieu of the abundant literature on corpus development, the paper will not discuss this topic, but still finds it necessary to reiterate the following points: 1)

To select materials in a scientific way and update them constantly. There are huge amount of materials on the Internet for search and download. (Zhang 2004: 56–61) Due to quality and authenticity reasons, cautions must be taken in selecting materials for dictionaries, especially those that aim high. To purchase corpora of authority may be a safer approach. 2) To increase sizes of corpora. Quantities are essential to quality. 3) To improve corpora per lexicographic needs. Basically, taggings are needed for all materials to be added to a corpus, for example, meta-information regarding copyright, publication, and data sampling, transcription and others. The strength of a corpus is determined by the width and depth of its tagging5. 4) To promote the idea and practice of co-building and sharing corpora.

1.2 Knowledge database Dictionaries are databases of human knowledge; hence, lexicography is the grooming of culture accumulated through human history and can only be accomplished with the aid of dictionaries. Using dictionaries from the past warrants heritage of traditional knowledge; whereas using contemporary ones facilitates integration of modern knowledge. The explosion of information and burgeoning of knowledge accretion make it impossible to read through dictionaries with mega data, and it is therefore essential that corpora suitable for lexicography should be established. Building up a knowledge database requires accumulation and effort in a long term. The first step is to set up the thematic framework and entry lists that are based on scientific classification of knowledge systems. Second, data could be collected, then categorized and tagged before included in a corpus. The current means to knowledge retrieval in China is still mainly indexing; and that to knowledge accumulation is information collection. It means, to lexicographers’ regret, that knowledge database is yet at its initial stage, which should prompt lexicographers to take up the initiatives in this field.

5 See Li Yuming (2004) for more discussion on tagging in corpora.

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1.3 Lexicographic software In addition to corpora and knowledge databases, lexicographers need software suitable for dictionary compilation. (Cheng 1997: 48–56) Lin Shenqing (1997b: 38–47) listed ten functions that software should have for compiling electronic dictionaries6. Ma Jing (1998: 26–33) reported the roles of computational lexicographic editing system developed in 1995, in the compilation of the Dictionary of Chinese Books. In general, such software should contain the following basic functions: 1.

2.

To help lexicographers to use corpora and knowledge databases. Corpora and databases are large collections of information, so their developers usually design software to assist users for their various purposes. Software of such kind must accommodate the actual needs of lexicography. For example, lexicographers can find with ease explanations to a word entry in a certain dictionary, or even compare explanations across dictionaries. Lexicographers are not all computer experts, which should be taken into consideration in software development. Good software should pay attention to help lexicographers who lack computing skills realize seemingly small functions, such as frequent download, and information export to certain folders. To provide symbols and special characters for easy export and revision of dictionary entries. Symbols are often used in lexicography to mark content in entries, for brevity and ease in reading. For example, in Modern Chinese Dictionary (5th Ed.), a) word types are marked with the simplified type name in square brackets; b) examples following a definition are listed in SimSun fonts; c) self-reference in examples are substituted with the wavy line “～”; d) multiple examples are separated by a vertical line “|”; and e) metaphoric usage are led by a diamond-shaped symbol ‘◇’7.

There are also in the Dictionary, phonetic markers, IPA symbols, traditional Chinese characters, Japanese Kanji, and so on. All the above-mentioned symbols and special characters require specific support in the input system for convenience in use.

6 The ten functions are: to input and revise data, to output data, to sort data, to generate permutation index of entries, to retrieve data, to automatically classify, merge, and proofread entries, to provide statistical analysis, to generate automatic reference and transcription to assist searching, to process audio and video, to recognize keywords and theme words and substitute one with another automatically. 7 Refer to the Guide of the Contemporary Chinese Dictionary (5th Ed).

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To allow metalanguage functions. Metalanguage refers to the language used in defining words in a dictionary. It is a language with restrictions in choices of words, means of explanation, and grammar forms, and dictionaries vary in their degree of restrictions. According to Jiang Lan and Zhang Zhiyi (2004): a) Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English: English-English (1988) uses 2,182 words to define and explain 55,000 entries of words; b) Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English uses about 2,000 words to define and explain 56,000 entries of words; c) The New Method English Dictionary (4th Ed.) by West and Endicott uses 1,490 words to define and explain 24,000 entries of words.

The restricted vocabulary and grammar enable lexicographers of a definite collection of expressions to deal with a wide range of contents in a dictionary. There has been little research on metalanguage and lexicographers mainly rely on their experience to handle issues relating its usage, which resulted in the fact that the metalanguage of most dictionaries has been left to its natural state. (Jiang and Zhang 2004:1–10) To promote the awareness and software-assisted usage of metalanguage is without doubt beneficial to the improvement of dictionary quality. 4. To manage editing and proofreading. Lexicography requires team effort and coordination between scholars, to ensure consistence in formatting. Moreover, rounds of revision and proofreading in drafting and editing all involve meticulous work on a large amount of details, during which errors are inevitable. Good software should provide effective ways to manage different processes in editing and proofreading.

2 To promote the development of electronic dictionaries It was predicted in the 1980s that we were heading fast into a paperless era8, and electronic dictionaries are an example. Electronic dictionaries use computer and relevant technology to present information on the screen of a device9. The concept was first proposed in research on machine translation in the United 8 Lancaster, Information Retrieval System, National Library of China Publishing House, 1984, as cited in Wang Shiwei (1996). 9 In strict sense, there are two kinds of electronic dictionaries depending on the reader, i.e., by people or by machines. The paper discusses the former kind.

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States in the 1940s, and developed in great steps in the 1980s to form the new discipline of Electronic Lexicography or Computational Lexicography. (Zhang and Huang 1996: 67–82) The first electronic dictionary, Academic American Encyclopedia, produced on CD-ROMs by Grolier in the 1980s in the United States, signaled the division of medium of lexicographic publication10. The recent two decades have seen the rapid expansion of all sorts of electronic dictionaries, such as dictionaries on CD-ROMs, mini-electronic dictionaries (also called palm dictionary, or dictionaries run by microchips), and online dictionaries. In a word, electronic dictionaries, especially online dictionaries, mark the beginning of a new era in lexicography.

2.1 Advantages of electronic dictionaries Electronic dictionaries surpass the print ones in the following aspects: 1.

2.

Powerful retrieval functions. Dictionaries are mainly to search for information, and electronic dictionaries excel in this function. They allow searching for word entries, or words used in the explanation of an entry, thus enabling a more comprehensive search outcome. Multiple retrieval means also increase accuracy. Moreover, it is much faster to search in electronic dictionaries than browsing through printed pages. Wang Shiwei (1996: 1–11) pointed out that the print Ci Hai was considered as a dictionary that was easy to use, as it provides 5 ways of retrieval including character radicals, number of strokes, pinyin, four-corner coding, and entries in foreign languages. The CD-ROM version of the Shanghai Dictionary (1996) allows 12 ways to retrieve an entry: fuzzy search, search with conditions, logic search, graded search, classified search, regional search, associating search, located search, indexing search, search for full text, distance search, and code search. Zhang Guoqiang (1999) reported a more detailed comparison of the traditional indexing used in Ci Hai and the efficient and lost-cost means by computing technology. The rapid development of information retrieval technology has indeed changed the way of information searching, allowing all possible perspectives to searching that a reader can imagine11. Resources efficient. Electronic dictionaries take fewer spaces. An encyclopedia in print takes more than twenty volumes, which can all be stored in just a couple of CD-ROMs. The electronic version only uses some space on a

10 See Ma Gonglan (2001) on a brief discussion on the development of electronic dictionaries domestically and overseas. 11 For more information on retrieval in electronic dictionaries, refer to Lin Shenqing (1997b).

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computer hard disk. Online encyclopedia is even more space-efficient. (Jin 2001: 14–22) Electronic dictionaries also save considerable cost on printing and circulation; and online ones save on storage, transportation and sales. Saving on cost lowers the price, which benefits both the publisher and the reader. Bill Gates in his book The Road Ahead claimed that “When you buy a paper book, a good part of your money goes for the cost of producing and distributing the book rather than for the author’s work”12. Actually, with less than 20% of the price for a dictionary in print, one can buy or download the electronic version of the book or one that is even bigger and better. (Zhang G. 2001: 20–28) 3. Greater portability. Dictionaries on CD-ROMs and mini-dictionaries are much smaller than those in print. Electronic ones can be embedded through software or hardware into other appliances, whereas online dictionaries are always accessible wherever there is Internet connection13. Dictionaries are not books for regular or essential reading, so it is very possible that electronic dictionaries will eventually replace their print counterparts. 4. Ease in revision and update. Any revision and update of print dictionaries require re-composition and re-print, which demands large amount of paper and time. It does not only increase cost, but also fails to satisfy the everchanging needs of the reader as the most efficient update may take years to complete. Therefore, some researchers even suggested that lexicography and publication should be “stabilized”. (Yu 1996: 56–66) For electronic dictionaries, re-composition is easier and the reader can access latest editions through upgrade. Online dictionaries do not even require re-composition, as revision is update. Many electronic dictionaries guarantee monthly update. (Jin 2001: 35–41) Updates and revision in time are also evidence to the quality of a dictionary. 5. Multimedia presentation of content. Sounds, pictures, and videos, all add to the richness and attractiveness of the content of a dictionary. Multimedia makes it possible to display information in ways that the traditional printing find difficult to realize. For example, in the Microsoft Encarta Multimedia Encyclopedia 1998 developed by Microsoft USA on the basis of Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, there are over 110,000 entries with 1,223 of

12 As cited in Zhang Guoqiang (2001). 13 Yu Jian (1996) reported more than hundreds of online dictionaries of all sorts in 1996, including bilingual ones, of new words, of slangs and idioms, and so on. Zhang Jinwen (2001) cited statistics from yourDictionary.com that by Sep. 2000, the website has set up indexing for more than 1,500 online dictionaries covering 230 languages.

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them containing sounds and videos. There are also 11,605 pictures, 590 maps, 232 tables, 341 figures, 725 tif pictures, 78 cartoons, 22 interactive demonstrations, and brain teasers and so on (Jin 1998: 83–88), which turn the dictionary into a pop-up multimedia gallery and has become a standard in CD-ROM publication. (Jin 2000: 14–22) Sounds in the multimedia presentation deserve special attention as it enables a reader to read and listen at the same time. Audio application with machine translation technology can instantly translate one language into another, so that a dictionary in one language can be changed into another in various types of other languages. Audio application can also serve as a tool to learning pronunciation. Last, it is a new retrieval means, search by sounds.

2.2 Reform of lexicography led by electronic dictionaries Electronic dictionaries play a significant role in the development of lexicography. Such a role may lead to reform in means and functions of compilation. Some of the above-mentioned advantages of electronic dictionaries have already brought forward changes to dictionary compilation, two points of which worth more discussion here: 1.

Open compilation. Online dictionaries may adopt an open compilation, i.e., readers (Internet users) may also provide entries, edit examples and contribute to writing content, or comment on needs for revision. The open-to-public mode creates a new interactive relation between offline editors and online users, or even result in a switch between editor and user. This is clearly very different from the traditional way of interaction between readers and editors, such as letters from the reader or soliciting suggestions by editors.

What also deserves our attention is that some online dictionaries, especially those that involve readers in editing, may often times become a public asset that allows free use by all. There have been quite a number of websites nowadays that provide free online dictionaries. This is a new type of supplyneed relationship. 2.

Comprehensiveness. People vary in their needs of a dictionary. Lexicographers traditionally would accommodate such specialized needs by providing dictionaries for specialized fields and for different literacy levels. Dictionaries of specializations have replaced dictionaries for general purposes and become the main trend in contemporary dictionaries in print.

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Due to its large storage capacity, electronic dictionaries allow various settings of searching conditions to satisfy different needs. Therefore, comprehensiveness should be the goal of electronic dictionaries that are collections of many dictionaries integrated systematically with the assistant of software. For example, Microsoft developed Bookshelf 2000, which is representative work of the latest lexicographic integration. Bookshelf 2000 is indeed a mini-library by incorporating the American Heritage Dictionary (3rd Ed.), Microsoft Press: Computer and Internet Dictionary, the Original Roger’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, the Encarta Desk Encyclopedia, the Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, the Encarta World Atlas, the Encarta 2000 New World Almanac, the Encarta 2000 New World Timeline, the Encarta Manual of Stylistics and Usage, and Web Links14. Large integrated dictionaries are powerful knowledge databases with information retrieval systems, which allow readers to create new knowledge and to explore uncharted areas. Acquisition of new information and creation of new knowledge may in turn become a new function of dictionaries.

3 Concluding remarks In China, the attempt on electronic dictionaries dated back to 1970s. (Zhang and Huang 1996: 67–82) Introduction of automatic lexicography in the West started in 1979 and more up-to-date follow-ups were seen ever since then, which all contribute to the modernization of lexicography. For example, Instant-Dict EC1000 “Kuai Yi Tong” in 1989 marked the beginning of rapid development in the market of electronic dictionaries. There had been over 20 products by different companies such as Besta “Hao Yi Tong”, Wen Qu Xing, Shang Wu Tong15. The development of Encyclopedia of China began in 1992 and accomplished in 1997, which aimed at a database of Chinese terminology. (Wang 1998: 18–22) The CONULEXII jointly developed by the Commercial Press and Nanjing University was completed in November, 1997 (Sun and Ye 1999: 81–86). In the same year, two dictionaries on CD-ROMs, the Hanyu Da Cidian and Kingsoft Powerword, were published. A couple of years later, Learners’ Dictionary of Chinese Characters CD-ROM was published and followed by Zhaomi Ciwang 2001 pub-

14 Luo Yi (2000) and Jin Liping (2000) in their discussion of dictionary integration, refer to this as trends of integration and Omnipedia. 15 Refer to Zhang Yihua (2004: 356–401) for more discussion on mini electronic dictionaries.

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lished by Joint Publishing Company16. In April 2001, the Lexicographical Society of China was set up. (Shuang 2001:10–14) On March 7, 2004, the Lexicography and Corpus Research Center, the first lexicographic organization in Taiwan was established. In the same year, the website offering free access to online dictionaries, the web of the Chinese language and characters, http://www. china-language.gov.cn/, was launched with the joint-effort of lexicographers and publishers. In sum, China’s lexicography is in general slow in modernization. It lacks strategic planning at macro-levels, and insists on too much attention to traditional dictionaries. There is also a great need of copyright legislation, the lack of which prevents the electronic publication of well-known dictionaries. There are still obstacles facing lexicographers of Chinese electronic dictionaries, though they have realized the significance. (Liu 2005:110–118) Corpora, knowledge databases and supporting software are all in need of development. Reluctance in sharing compilation outcomes results in repeated works. Lack of awareness in dictionary integration prevents modernization of concepts as well. It is pressing that theories in words be applied into practice. A leader in lexicography requires publication of world-renowned dictionaries and influential research works. Lexicography in China must be equipped with modern ideas and methods so that it will become among the top in the field worldwide in the future.

References Bai, Chongyuan and Chang, Aidong. 2001. Zhongmei Dianzi Baike Quanshu Duibi Fenxi (An Analytical Comparison of Electronic Encyclopedia in China and in the U.S.A.). Lexicographical Studies, 6: 68–75. Cao, Xianzhuo. 1986. Zhongwen Cishu Fazhan Shulue (A Brief Overview of the Development of Chinese Dictionaries: the First Part). ZhongguoYuwen Tiandi, 1: 31. Cheng, Rong. 1997. Cidian Gongzuo de Kexuehua Qidai Lixiang de Jisuanji Ruanjian (Development of Lexicography Requires Computer Software). Lexicographical Studies, 5: 48–56. Diaocha Keti Zu. 1999. Yuwen Cishu Shiyong Qingkuang Diaocha Baogao (A Survey of the Use of Chinese Dictionaries). Lexicographical Studies, 5: 140–148. Huang, Changning and Li, Juanzi. 2002. Yuliaoku Yuyanxue (Corpus Linguistics). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Jiang, Lan and Zhang, Zhiyi. 2004. Yuwen Cishu Yuanyuyan de Guize (Principles of Metalanguage in Chinese Dictionaries). Lexicographical Studies, 5: 1–10.

16 Refer to Zhang Yihua (2004: 294–317) for more discussion on dictionaries on CD-ROMS.

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Jin, Changzheng. 1998. Duomeiti Baike Quanshu Zongheng Tan (An Overview of Multimedia Encyclopedia). Lexicographical Studies, 6: 83–88. Jin, Liping. 2000. Tan Yingwen Dianziban Baike Quanshu de Fazhan ji Cunzai Wenti (Development of English Electronic Encyclopedia and Related Issues). Lexicographical Studies, 5: 14–22. Jin, Liping. 2001. Shixi Dianziban Baike Quanshu nengfou Qudai Yinshuaban Baike Quanshu (Will Electronic Encyclopedia Replace the Print Version). Lexicographical Studies, 3: 35–41. Jin, Liping. 2002. Yingwen Wangluoban Baike Quanshu Shulue (An Overview of English Online Encyclopedia). Lexicographical Studies, 2: 54–63. Li, Di and Guo, Shirong. 2002. Zhongguo Xiandai Diyibu Baike Quanshu: Putong Baike Xin Dacidian (The First Modern Encyclopedia in China – the New Dictionary of the Common Encyclopedia). Lexicographical Studies, 3: 122–126. Li, Yuming. 2004. Yuliaoku zhong Yuyan Zhishi de Biaoji Wenti (Tagging of Language Knowledge in Corpora). In: Miao, Chuanjiang and Du, Yanling (eds.). Dierjie HNC yu Yuyanxue Yantaohui Lunwenji (The Proceedings of the 2nd HNC and Linguistics Symposium). Beijing: China Ocean Press. Lin, Shenqing. 1997a. Riben Dianzi Cishu Shulue (An Overview of Japanese Electronic Dictionaries). Lexicographical Studies, 3: 120–129. Lin, Shenqing. 1997b. Dianzi Cishude Gongneng Kaifa yu Liyong (Development and Use of Electronic Dictionaries). Lexicographical Studies, 5: 38–47. Lin, Yushan. 1996. Mingqing Shiqi: Zhongguo Cishu Bianzuan Jinyibu Fazhanqi (Further Development of Chinese Lexicography in the Ming and Qing Dynasties). Lexicographical Studies, 2: 133–140. Liu, Qiti. 2005. Hanyu Wangluo Gongjushu de Xianzhuang yu Qianjin (The Current State and Perspective of Chinese Online Dictionaries). Lexicographical Studies, 4: 110–118. Luo, Yi. 2000. 21 Shiji de Weixing Tushuguan: Weiruan Bookshelf 2000 Nian Ban Pingjie (MiniLibraries of the 21st Century – Introducing MS Bookshelf 2000). Lexicographical Studies, 6: 127–135. Ma, Gonglan. 2001. Dianzi Cishu Sanlun (On Electronic Dictionaries). Lexicographical Studies, 4: 30–36. Mai, Zhiqiang. 1994. Duomeiti Jishu yu Cishu Bianzuan (Multimedia and Lexicography). Lexicographical Studies, 6: 121–128. Ma, Jing. 1998. Jisuanji Cidian Bianji Xitong zai “Zhongguo Tushu Da Cidian” Bianji Gongzuo zhong de Yingyong (Roles of “Computerized Editing System for Dictionaries” in the Editing of “Dictionary of Chinese Books”). Lexicographical Studies, 4: 26–33. Qian, Housheng. 2002. Yuliaoku Jianshe yu Cidian Bianzuan (Corpora and Lexicography). Lexicographical Studies, 1: 58–68. Shuang, Ren. 2001. Cishu Xiandaihua de Xinjinzhan: Zhongguo Cishu Xuehui Cishu Bianzuan Xiandaihua Jishu Zhuanye Weiyuanhui Chengli ji Dierjie Quanguo Zhongqingnian Cishu Gongzuozhe Xueshu Yantaohui Zongshu (New Development in the Modernization of Lexicography – An Overview of the Inauguration Meeting of the Technical Committee of the Modernization of China’s Lexicography and the 2nd National Symposium for Young Lexicographers). Lexicographical Studies, 4: 10–14. Su, Xinchun. 2004. Hanyu Shiyi Yuanyuyan de Gongneng Tezheng yu Fengge Tezheng (Functions and Styles of Chinese Metalanguage). Lexicographical Studies, 5: 11–21.

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Zhang, Tiewen. 2004. Cidian Bianzuan de Liqi: Hulianwang (A Powerful Tool to Lexicography – the WWW). Lexicographical Studies, 1: 56–61. Zhang, Yihua. 2004. Jisuan Cidianxue yu Xinxing Cidian (Computational Lexicography and Dictionaries of New Types). Shanghai: Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House. Zhang, Yihua and Huang, Jianhua. 1996. Dianzi Cidian de Xianzhuang yu Fazhan Qushi (Current State and Development of Electronic Dictionaries). Lexicographical Studies, 6: 67–82.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Linguistic Research, 2006 (the Centennial Issue), Issue No. 3. Translated by LI Bin (李彬) Department of Linguistics & Translation, City University of Hong Kong [email protected]

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On Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Lüpishu (Green Paper on the Language Situation in China)1 Abstract: Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Lüpishu ‘Green Paper on the Language Situation in China’ is a series of publications concerning language situation in China, encompassing two different categories in accordance with the content. Category A promulgates the soft norms of the language while Category B investigates and analyzes the language situation. The Green Paper released by the State Language Commission is a specific measure of language planning in modern China, embodying new concepts of the state language management and new developments in linguistic research in China. The purposes of compiling and publishing Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Lüpishu are to serve as reference for the government’s decision-making in related matters, to offer services for linguistic researchers, language product researchers and manufacturers and other stakeholders, and to guide the social language life towards harmony. This article is intended to introduce the design, operation process and basic content of Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Lüpishu so as to enhance a comprehensive understanding of it and to expect more supports from the academic circle and the society with the better utilization of it. Keywords: language situation, green paper (Lüpishu), soft norms, language data

0 Introduction The publication of Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 ‘Language Situation in China: 2005’ (hereafter ‘Zhuangkuang Baogao’) marked the coming of Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Lüpishu ‘Green Paper on the Language 1 Thanks to Zhou Qingsheng, Yu Guilin and Zheng Mengjuan for providing valuable materials during the process of the compilation and publication of Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 (Language Situation in China: 2005). And thanks to the work of my colleagues Wang Tiekun and Chen Min. Also thanks to all the experts and writers of Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005. Last but not least, thanks to Wang Tiekun, Guo Xi, Su Xinchun and Ji Chuanbo for their comments on the amendment of the text. This article was originally published in Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics), Issue No. 1, 2007.

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Situation in China’ (hereafter ‘Lüpishu’). Lüpishu is a series of publications released by the State Language Commission concerning language situation in China, encompassing two different categories in accordance with the content. Category A promulgates the soft norms of the language while Category B investigates and analyzes the language situation. With their content divided into Category A and B and assigned with serial numbers, various volumes of Lüpishu are published every year based on the situation of the year. This article is intended to introduce the design, operation process and basic content of Lüpishu and its relation with Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 so as to enhance a comprehensive understanding of it and to expect more supports from the academic circle and the society with the better utilization of it.

1 Genesis of Lüpishu In January 1986, the State Language Commission convened the National Conference on Language Work, advancing the realization of language standardization and expressly treating Chinese language information processing as a task in a new era of national language work.2 At the beginning of 1995, the State Language Commission set up the Chinese Information Department. In 1998, the State Language Commission was merged into the Ministry of Education with the Chinese Information Department being restructured into the Department of Language Information Management of the Ministry of Education. Having more than a decade of practical working experience, the State Language Commission has gradually developed the basic rationale for the administration of language information: “The formulation of language norms as the core of the work, the informatization as the main line of the work, with evaluation and certification as the grip, and the language engineering development and scientific research as the foundation”.3 The compilation and publication of Lüpishu is one of the important measures to achieve the basic rationale mentioned above. 2 “The Party and the State Council promulgate the direction of language work in the new era in a timely manner as: . . . enhancing the normalization and standardization of spoken and written language. . . . The major task at the moment is: . . . to investigate the issues on information processing of Chinese language and characters and to participate in the review of research findings. . .” The Secretariat of the National Conference on Language Work (1987), Minutes of the National Conference on Language Work, p. 3. 3 This rationale was officially proposed in 2001, which was stated as: “The formulation of language norms as the core of the work, the informatization of language as the leading task, with scientific research as the foundation, and evaluation and certification as the grip”. There was a minor amendment of the wording in 2003: “The formulation of language norms as the

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There are regularities in the structure, usage, development and changes of language. Hence, theoretically speaking, it is possible to formulate language norms. However, on the other hand, it is extremely difficult to formulate such language norms. One of the difficulties lies in the complexity of language per se. The regularities in the structure, usage, development and changes of language are peculiarly complex. Current linguistics only unveil a shallow bit of language. Another difficulty concerns the diversity of social norms. There are different attitudes towards different views of standardizations for the same language phenomenon. For instance, until recently there still exist various different views concerning the work of the simplification of Chinese characters after the release of Hanzi Jianhua Fangan (A Scheme for the Simplification of Chinese Characters) in 1956. Some of the views are even mutually exclusive. The release of Diyipi Yixingci Zhengli Biao ‘A Table for the First Batch of Standardized Variant Forms of Chinese Characters’ (hereafter ‘Variant Forms Table’) further showed the level of difficulty in formulating language norms in a new era. In the written language of Putonghua there exists a set of Chinese characters with the same pronunciation and meaning, but in different forms. These characters are called “variants”, for example: (1) 侈靡／侈糜 (chĭmí, meaning ‘extravagant and wasteful’) (2) 恍惚／恍忽 (huănghū, meaning ‘absent-minded’) (3) 影像／影象 (yĭngxiàng, meaning ‘image’) As early as 1966, Gao Gengsheng wrote an article to the journal Zhongguo Yuwen to point out the issue of systematizing Chinese variant forms.4 After that, papers related to this issue were published from time to time. Chinese language reference books contributed enormously in providing solutions to this issue. On the basis of years of research, Variant Forms Table was published in the capacity of

core of the work, the informatization as the main line of the work with scientific research as the foundation, and evaluation and certification as the grip”. In 2004, the concept of “language engineering” was introduced and the ordering of “evaluation and certification as the grip” was revised with some wording being polished. The description was then finalized as “The formulation of language norms as the core of the work, the informatization as the main line of the work, with evaluation and certification as the grip, and the language engineering development and scientific research as the foundation”. The changes of the description in some places are a matter of wording, while in other places are related to the deepening of the understanding of the subject matter. Many thanks to the Consultative Committee of the State Language Commission which offered tremendous support and valuable advice during the formation of the rationale and its description. We are also extremely grateful to Vice Chairman Zhu Xinjun of his enormous help in the deliberation and refinement of the wording. 4 Gao called Chinese variant forms as “yìtǐcí” (not “yìxíngcí”). See Gao (2000: 331–337).

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the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission on 19th December 2001 after the examination and approval of the Evaluation Committee for Language Standards of the State Language Commission and put into trial implementation on 31st March 2002. After the release of Variant Forms Table, related news and commentaries spread across various newspapers and networks and the full text of Variant Forms Table was reprinted in various media nationwide. Many publishing units immediately reproduced Variant Forms Table and distributed it to their editorial staff for study and reference. These phenomena showed that there was a genuine need and concern of language norms. The Department of Language Information Management collected various opinions from different channels after the release of Variant Forms Table. The negative comments gathered for Variant Forms Table were mainly as follows: Some people thought that the term yìxíngcí ‘variant form words’ was not scientific. They thought that only written characters have xíng ‘forms’. Cí ‘words’, which are under the category of spoken language, do not have forms. Therefore, it should not be termed as yìxíngcí ‘variant form words’, at best it should be called yìxiěcí ‘variant written words’. 2) Some people thought that some words in Variant Forms Table were not variant forms, they were just near synonyms, such as 定金／订金 (dìng jīn, the former meaning ‘earnest money’, the latter meaning ‘deposit put down for future purchase’). 3) There were 3 major principles proposed by Variant Forms Table in standardizing variant forms: (1) principle of universality; (2) principle of reasonableness; and (3) principle of systematicness. Some people considered that the principle of universality was in fact the so-called “follow the crowd and conform to the custom” which should not be used as one of the major principles, or even it should not be regarded as a principle. The principle of reasonableness should come first. Some people even proposed that we should follow ancient usage instead of current one. For instance, the Chinese idiom 必恭必敬 (bì gōng bì jìng, meaning ‘reverent and respectful’) was originated from the poem Xiăobiàn under the section Xiăoyă of Shījīng. And 毕恭毕敬 (bì gōng bì jìng), which appeared at a later stage, should not be used as the main entry. This view did not only concern the issue of standardizing variant forms, it also involved the treatment of the relationship between “practice in reality” and “academic theories” which came across in every aspect of language related matters. As to how to deal with this relationship, it essentially depended on our understanding of the developmental regularities of language.

1)

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4) Variant Forms Table made use of corpus statistical technique and fully utilized the linguistic data of several corpora available at the time. Word frequency statistics were conducted for variant forms and this was used as important reference to screen the variant forms. However, some viewed that the word frequency in the corpora should not be over-weighted: 1) Currently, the corpus technology had not reached a satisfactory level. The sampling might not reflect the reality of the language situation in China; 2) The text in newspapers and magazines had been edited by editors who followed the established standards. Therefore, the language data which came from these sources were in some ways blemished as they had been altered; 3) There was a sharp decline in education standard of the people in modern age. High word frequency did not necessarily mean that it was reasonable and scientific. 5) Variant forms in Putonghua might not be regarded as variant forms in ancient text and dialects. Accordingly, some thought that the standardization of variant forms might affect the publication and reading of ancient classics, or this might also increase the difficulty of those dialect-speakers in learning Putonghua. 6) The treatment in Variant Forms Table was not consistent with the ones in popular dictionaries. Some would worry that there would be “two sets of standards” in the society and this would pose much problems in language usage. 7) The Chinese people in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and other overseas Chinese communities also used Putonghua (also called guó yǔ ‘national language’, or huá yǔ ‘Chinese’). Some would worry that there was a possibility of enlarging the language discrepancies among the Chinese language communities if the standards were solely formulated by Mainland China. 8) Standards in Variant Forms Table were recommendation standards, not mandatory ones. Some would worry that teachers in primary and secondary schools might teach these standards in class, or even use them to set examination questions. This might increase the workload of primary and secondary students. People did have very different views concerning the comments listed above. This article does not intend to analyze and discuss these comments. The aim of citing these comments is to illustrate the degree of difficulty in formulating language standards. Perhaps some would say that since it is so difficult to formulate language standards, it would be better to leave the language system to adjust itself, or to ask scholars to standardize the language through dictionaries and textbooks. It should not be a task for the government to formulate such standards for the language.

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In ancient times the scope of using language to communicate was small. There were not many literate people. With just few character dictionaries, rhyming dictionaries, selected works and readers, the demand of standardizing language could easily be satisfied. However, nowadays, education is universal and mass media are highly developed. In addition to the functions of dictionaries and textbooks, the government needs to standardize the language by promulgating certain language norms through some standardization documents. Especially in an era where the development of information technology is impressively rapid, the standardization of language is not only for humans, it is also for machines. The language standards for machines are somewhat like industrial standards in nature with heavy emphasis on timeliness. The formulation of language standards has become the core task of the work related to the Chinese language in a new era. In 2001, Wang Zhan, Chairman of the State Language Commission at the time, addressed in the National Language Commission Office Directors’ Meeting as well as Putonghua Proficiency Test Working Report Meeting: “The specific tasks of the work related to the Chinese language can be summarized into two categories which are the formulation and promotion of language standards. The formulation of language standards is of core importance which is regarded as the foundation of all other work. The normalization and standardization of the language should be conducted scientifically and realistically in accordance with the development and needs of the language situation so as to provide a basis for the promotion of standards and the progression of other standardization work.” Undoubtedly, there are difficulties in formulating language standards. In an era of frequent language communication and rapid development of information technology, there is a need to promptly formulate various language standards to meet various demands. Using Lüpishu as a means to promulgate the soft norms of the language may be one of the ways to solve the issue raised in an era. Hence, it can be said that Lüpishu is a product of the practice of the Chinese language in a new era.

2 Lüpishu and its operating process Originally, Lüpishu was designed as a means to promulgate some soft norms for the language. The rationale behind is to recognize that there is more flexibility in the nature of language than rigidity. First, various different characteristics exist in each subsystem of language and their different areas of usage. These characteristics contribute to the difference between flexible and rigid language

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standards.5 For instance, the standards for the aspects of pronunciation, characters and punctuations can be more rigid, then the standards for lexicon can be a little bit less rigid and this goes lesser to syntax and semantics with the pragmatics of the language being further less rigid. Second, the study and research of different aspects of the Chinese language is not balanced. For those areas where the study is more matured with greater social needs, the standards devised can be more rigid. On the contrary, for those areas where the study is less matured with less social needs, the standards can be more flexible. Third, the language standards for machines can be more rigid, while the ones for social needs can be more flexible. The rigid and more matured language standards can be promulgated through national standards (Guóbiāo, GB) and the State Language Commission standards (Guīfàn) with other ones to be published in Lüpishu. The language standards published in Lüpishu do not possess the legal status as those specified in the Biaozhunfa (Standardization Law of the People’s Republic of China). In other words, these language standards are not mandatory. They are just recommendations for those in the society who need to have such reference. This realizes the notion of “language services” and the standards serve as a guiding function to the language situation in the society. The absence of legal status of the language standards published in Lüpishu allows a longer trial period for these newly devised standards for further improvement. Some of these standards could be upgraded into official standards entering into Guóbiāo ‘national standards’ or the State Language Commission Guīfàn ‘standards’. Lüpishu bears the characteristic of openness. Standards entering into Lüpishu are not merely those studied in the research projects conducted by the State Language Commission. Research findings of other fund organizations, even of enterprises or personal endeavour can be included in Lüpishu, provided that they meet the requirements specified. In addition, the publication of Lüpishu is not restricted to a certain publishing company. All publishing units with relevant qualifications can participate in the publication of Lüpishu through negotiation. The content of Lüpishu for publication is selected together with the publishing unit in accordance with particular selection procedures. The openness of Lüpishu is aimed to bring the initiative of the society into full play and gather the language wisdom of the society. The idea of compiling the Lüpishu6 series was deliberated since 2003. On 3rd January 2004, the Sub-committee for Applied Foreign Languages of the National 5 Li, Yuming (2001) discussed the issue of flexible and rigid language standards. 6 Initially, Lüpishu was once called Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Baipishu (White Paper on Language Situation in China).

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Technical Committee of Language Standardization of the State Language Commission was established. The news of publishing Lüpishu series was announced to the society during the inauguration of the Sub-Committee. In the course of the actual preparation of the publication, the research achievements of the State Language Commission under the Tenth Five-Year Language Research Plan were further enhanced and the State Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center started to operate. It was gradually recognized that the release of actual research data and the research findings related to the language situation could serve as a guiding function to the language life and as a complement to the soft norms promulgated. On the basis of this understanding, the content of Lüpishu is formally divided into Category A and Category B. Category A promulgates the soft norms of the language while Category B investigates and analyzes the language situation. By releasing the language data and research findings, the aim is to serve as reference for the government’s decision-making in related matters and to offer services for linguistic researchers, language product researchers and manufacturers and other stakeholders. After around six months of preparation, the list of the first batch of the Lüpishu series for publication was drafted: publications for Category A included Xinxi Chuli Xiandai Hanyu Fenci Cibiao ‘Word List for Chinese Word Segmentation in Information Processing’, Putonghua Tongyong Cibiao ‘Putonghua Universal Word List’7, etc. and publications for Category B included Zhongguo Yuyan Wenzi Guoqing Diaocha ‘A Research Study of the National Conditions of the Chinese Language’, Zhongguo de Yuyan ‘The Languages of China’8, Zhongguo Shaoshuminzu Wenzi Zifu Zongji ‘The Character Sets of Ethnic Minorities’ Writing System in China’, etc. The proposed publications were then put out to tender with the exposition of the intentions of the publications as well as the duties and obligations of various parties involved in the publication project. Publishing companies were invited to bid for the tender. The Commercial Press, Language and Culture Press and Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press showed interest in the publication projects. During the two weeks’ time from 27th August to 11th September 2004, three editorial and publishing working meetings were held consecutively, in which experts and representatives from the publishing companies of the Lüpishu project

7 This title was later called Xiandai Hanyu Changyong Cibiao (Modern Standard Chinese Common Word List) when it was formally published. 8 After repeated study and deliberation by several experts, it was decided that Zhongguo de Yuyan (The Languages of China) would not be included in Lüpishu. However, some important language data were included in the Appendix of Volume 1 of Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005.

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attended. The work of Lüpishu was finally initiated. At that time, it was planned that there should be a Lüpishu editorial board with consultants, chairman, vicechairman and various members. However, later it was agreed that it would be better not to create such editorial organization. Instead, editorial and reviewing staff should be hired in accordance with the actual situation of each publication. Hence, though the name list of the editorial board of Lüpishu had been drafted and even actual meetings had been held, the editorial board was not established at last. After two years of effort, Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 was finally published, representing the coming of Lüpishu. The planning of Lüpishu realizes the understanding of the work related to the language in a new era: the emphasis of the work should be put on guidance and service. It also realizes the functional transfer of language departments: the transfer from management-oriented to guidance- and service-oriented. The Vice-Chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee of the PRC, Xu Jialu and the Chairman of the State Language Commission Zhao Qinping were invited as the consultants of the project. The Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Education, Yuan Guiren and the Vice-Chairman of the Consultative Committee of the State Language Commission, Zhu Xinjun followed closely the progress of the project. Vice-Chairman Xu Jialu also inscribed the title of the book in calligraphy. All these meant that Lüpishu was highly regarded by the leaders.

3 Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao ‘Language Situation in China’ is a series of annual reports of the language situation under Category B of Lüpishu. It is published annually and divided into Volume 1 and 2. Volume 1 is written by the Topic Team of Zhuangkuang Baogao. It mainly concerns various aspects of the language life of the society. Volume 2 is written by the State Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center. It mainly publishes various language data analyzed by using corpus statistical analysis. Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao is the earliest title published in the series of Lüpishu. Interestingly, it was not originally included when Lüpishu was designed. On 3rd September 2004, when the Department of Language Information Management convened a meeting with experts to discuss the editorial matters of Lüpishu, Zhou Qingsheng proposed the compilation of an annual report of the language situation. It immediately aroused the interest of the

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participants of the meeting. On 11th September 2004, relevant personnel were invited by the Department of Language Information Management for another meeting and specific work of the editorial and publication of Lüpishu was then confirmed. After the meeting, Wang Tiekun, Zhou Qingsheng, Guo Xi, Zhou Hongbo and Li Yuming discussed the initiation of the project Zhongguo Yuyan Guoqing Baogao ‘Report on the National Conditions of the Chinese Language’ (later known as Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao ‘Language Situation in China’) which was included under Category B of Lüpishu. The aim was to publish the first annual report in 2005. If resources allowed, the annual report would also review the historical language life of the past 100 or 50 years. The Fourth National Conference on Sociolinguistics was held in Beijing from 16th to 17th October 2004. At the night of the close of the conference, Li Yuming, Zhou Qingsheng, Guo Xi and some PhD students in Beijing gathered together to discuss the issues concerning the initiation of Zhuangkuang Baogao. By then the first batch of editorial staff of Zhuangkuang Baogao was formed to start the work. In January 2005, Zhuangkuang Baogao was officially accepted as a project under the State Language Commission. During a period of more than a year’s time, the Topic Team conducted a research on various “coloured” papers published in China and overseas. Based on the result of the research, they devised a style guide for Zhuangkuang Baogao. With the use of newspapers and the Internet for collecting materials, they drafted the contents and outline of each article. After five editorial meetings (including online meetings), the first draft of more than 500,000 characters was completed. The first expert review meeting was held in Badaling Manor Hotel during 23rd and 24th February 2006 and the title of the book was officially named as Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005. In accordance with the “coloured” papers published in China and overseas, there are two types of year numbering systems: one is numbered based on the year of publication, which is referred to as “publication year”; another is numbered based on the year of the content, which is referred to as “content year”. It was decided that Zhuangkuang Baogao would use the year numbering system based on the year of the content, which meant Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 reported the language situation of the year 2005 in China. With the aim of completing the reviewing task as soon as possible, Guo Xi and Feng Xuefeng had to stay in Badaling for a week to revise each article in accordance with the comments collected from the first expert review meeting so as to produce the second draft. In the meantime, the Commercial Press sent the revised draft to more than 20 relevant experts across the country in a timely manner so as to produce the third draft.

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During the long holiday of 1st May 2006, Chen Zhangtai, Wang Tiekun, Zhou Hongbo, Chen Min and Li Yuming gathered together to conduct “negative” editing for the third draft of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005, in which the main tasks were to deal with politically sensitive issues and modulate the overall structure of the book in order to produce the fourth draft. In addition, three items were confirmed: 1) Relevant content of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 would be sent to related government departments for examination and approval; 2) Chen Zhangtai, Dai Qingxia, Lu Jianming and Xing Fuyi were invited as revisers9 so as to guarantee the academic quality; and 3) If the language data of 2005 collected by the State Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center were ready, they could be incorporated into Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 which could be divided into Volume 1 and 2 for publication. The reason for discussing the three items mentioned above was that the statistical work conducted by the State Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center was in process and the time to announce the data had already been set. The State Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center consists of Sub-Center for Graphic Media Language, Sub-Center for Audio Media Language, Sub-Center for Network Media Language, Sub-Center for Education Teaching Materials and Overseas Chinese Languages Research Center which were established in succession and came into operation during the period of June 2004 and September 2005. The first working meeting of the State Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center was held from 9th to 12th October 2005 in Wuhan. It was proposed that some of the results of the statistical work of character frequency, word frequency and new words should be announced to the society in a timely manner and these data could be published as the content of Category B of Lüpishu. Two sessions of meetings were held during mid-March and mid-April 2006 to investigate the issues of releasing the language data of 2005. After the 1st May editorial review meeting, the fourth draft of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 was sent to the revisers Chen, Dai, Lu and Xing for revision. On 9th May, based on the editorial spirit of the 1st May meeting, the experts from the State Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center were invited to study the issues concerning the release of statistical data of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005. It was agreed that Chinese characters, punctuations and symbols (including punctuations, numbers, letters and symbols) and the language situa-

9 At that time, it was decided that there were five revisers in total.

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tion of BBS could be regarded as the content of release.10 Zhou Hongbo and Yu Guilin of the Commercial Press had been working on the project. Furthermore, Wei Li and Liu Yiling joined in to deal with the issues concerning Chinese characters and punctuation marks. Su Xinchun and Li Jinxia participated in working on the issues concerning the statistical work of vocabulary. Wang Lei and He Tingting jointly worked on the issues concerning BBS language. A meeting was held on 10th May 2006 to discuss the matters related to the press conference for the publication of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005. In order to ensure that Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 could be ready when the press conference was held, Hou Min, Yang Erhong, Wang Lei, Zhou Hongbo, Chen Min, Wei Li and Yu Guilin revised the content of Volume 1 starting at 9 am, 18th May based on the feedback from various parties. Later, the comments from Li Yuming and Wang Tiekun were added and the fifth draft of Volume 1 was completed. The revision of Volume 2 was then followed. The work continued overnight until 9 am, 19th May. Editors from the Commercial Press also worked round-the-clock to edit and proofread the galleys until 21st May. 150 copies of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 was printed as the first preliminary edition for comments on the basis of the third galleys. On 22nd May, the press conference for the publication of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 was held in Beijing. The Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Education as well as the Chairman of the State Language Commission, Zhao Qinping gave a written speech with the title “Pay Attention to the Language Situation, Establish a Harmonious Language Life”. The press conference, which attracted various feedback, were seated with full house of reporters and a live broadcast was conducted through the Internet. On 5th June 2006, the Department of Language Information Management held a meeting to discuss the feedback received after the press conference and deployed the publication of the finalized edition of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005. The Commercial Press hired Huang Youyuan and Shi Guangan to carefully examine the preliminary edition of Volume 1. The third editorial meeting was held on 25th June with various staff, including revisers, editor-in-chief and assistant editor-in-chief of Volume 1 and 2. The second preliminary edition of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 was distributed for comments during the end-of-term conference of the State Language Commission which was held in the Ministry of Education on 26th June. The sixth draft of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 was then produced. 10 At that time, it was also originally prepared to release the language data related to the teaching materials in the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language. However, it was decided that such language data would serve as a focus for the year 2006. Therefore, such language data were not covered in the 2005 report.

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The fourth editorial meeting as well as Language Situation and Language Policy Conference were held in Bohai University from 1st to 4th July 2006. With the attendance of some of the members of the revision and topic team, crossediting was conducted for the overall content of the title in order to produce the seventh draft. On 28th August, the Vice-Chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee of the PRC, Xu Jialu inscribed the title of the book Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Lüpishu ‘Green Paper on the Language Situation in China’ in calligraphy. During the period from July to September, Chen Zhangtai, Zhou Qingsheng, Wang Tiekun, Guo Xi and Li Yuming further polished and revised the seventh draft and finally produced the eighth draft (the finalized version). On 18th September 2006, Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 was officially published. Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 was the first annual report of the language situation in China released in the name of the government, which was rare in the world. The experience and inadequacy of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 should be reviewed. A review meeting was convened by the Department of Language Information Management on 4th to 30th September 2006 and the experts and writers of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 were invited. An annual working conference of the State Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center was held in Xiamen on 25th to 27th August 2006. The topic team meeting of “Language Situation in China” was held in Beijing to prepare for the compilation of Volume 1 and 2 of Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2006. During these meetings and conferences, various feedback and comments were gathered for Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005. Main comments were as follows: 1)

2)

Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 was a serious publication. In total there were more than ten rounds of revision meetings and four editorial meetings with the participation of nearly one hundred writers and experts and more than twenty government departments. There were eight drafts, five galleys and two preliminary prints for Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005, in which two years were spent on its completion. Though a serious publication may not always be an excellent one, an excellent publication must always be a serious one. Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 received the support and cooperation of various parties. The compilation of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 was guided by the government with the experts as the foundation and the young scholars as the main writers. This could be termed as “1 + 1 + 1” model. Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 was published in the name of the government, which meant it represented the attitude of the government. The government is the main guiding force of the language life of the people and the major holder of the language information; hence it is natural that the government plays a

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leading role. During the editing and examination process of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005, various government departments and units (including the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the State Administration of Radio, Films and Television, the General Administration of Press and Publication, and the Department of Language Planning and Administration, the Higher Education Department, Hanban and the Ethnical Education Department under the Ministry of Education) either provided personnel to assist the writing of relevant chapters and sections or supplied relevant data, or even conducted enormous amount of revision and supplementary work. The publication of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 owed the personnel, departments and units of the government a great debt of gratitude. The experts and scholars worked selflessly irrespective of their own rewards. For instance, Chen Zhangtai revised Volume 1 not less than five times. He even continued his revision work when he was ill. The group of young scholars, who was swift in response and proficient in modern information technology, used the Internet to collect materials and perform academic exchanges. Their manuscripts had been greatly revised without any complaint, which expressed their broad-mindedness. Their academic quality grew rapidly with their working in this publication project and they would certainly become experts in various fields in the future. 3) Modern information technology was fully utilized in this publication project. The compilation of Volume 2 of this publication made use of the large capacity real text corpus of 900 million characters for statistical analysis. Together with the downloading and conversion of electronic text, the establishment of language data corpus and the software for linguistic unit segmentation, all these tasks could only be made possible with the latest language information processing technology. During the course of acquiring specific data, new issues were encountered and some of them were solved. The newly found issues would become new topics for language information processing and the solution to these issues would further advance the development of language information processing. 4) The issues covered and data released in Volume 1 and 2 of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 revealed the situation in reality. The correctness of these issues and data needs to be examined and explanation to be provided. Their value in actual application also needs to be further explored by academics so as to contribute a series of theories and applicable research findings. 5) More attention should be given to language life in reality. What impressed the compilers of Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 the most is that people do not understand much about the language life in reality. In the past, more attention was paid to the areas of the language life of education, press and

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publication, radio and television broadcasting and legislation in which the concerns tended to be emotional and lacking in research data. The language situation of the areas related to transportation, industries and commerce, tourism, medical and health work, personal and place names, etc. and of the communities concerning farmers and workers, large construction project migrants, the blind, the deaf and the dumb are rarely known. Measures should be taken to strengthen the linguistic research of these areas and communities.

4 Concluding remarks Lüpishu is an important measure of language planning of contemporary China and an exploration of the solution to the new issues raised during the work related to the spoken and written language of a new era. The design, editing and publication of Lüpishu, which realize some new ideas of the language work of China in the new century and new development of Chinese linguistic research, is a product under the cooperation of the government, academics and commercial organizations. Starting from the proposal to its official publication, Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 had been permeated with romantic enthusiasm in which the spirit of hard struggle and creativity was demonstrated. It also showed the power of cooperation and team work, and the practice of meticulous and precise academic discipline. In November 2006, Language and Culture Press published Zhongguo Yuyan Wenzi Shiyong Qingkuang Diaocha Ziliao ‘Information on the Survey of Chinese Language Usage’11 which came as the second publication of the Lüpishu series. On 6th January 1997, the 134th session of the Premier Working Meeting of the State Council approved the first survey on the language use in China. The preparation work of the survey started in 1998. The survey was implemented in 1999 with the stage of organization and statistical work of the data commenced in 2000. In December 2004, the research data were officially released to the society. Zhongguo Yuyan Wenzi Shiyong Qingkuang Diaocha Ziliao added further value to the Lüpishu series as it represented the major result of the effort of thousands of research personnel participating in the first survey on the language use in China over a span of six years.

11 This was also known as Zhongguo Yuyan Wenzi Guoqing Diaocha (A Research Study of Language Conditions in China) as included in ZYSL at the early stage of the publication plan.

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Furthermore, it is known that a large scale field study of ethnic languages is being organized and it is expected that the research findings of that study will be included in Lüpishu. Some scholars who were inspired by Lüpishu proposed to publish Zhongguo Yuyan Wenti Lanpishu ‘Blue Paper on the Language Issues in China’ using academic perspectives to review the issues in the language life in China and provided various constructive opinion. In the afternoon of 11th November 2006, a group of scholars gathered together at the Commercial Press and discussed the publication of Lanpishu ‘Blue Paper’. It was said that some other scholars proposed that a systematic study on foreign language policy and language situation should be conducted so as to provide reference to the formulation of the language policy of China. They intended to name that publication as Yuyan Huangpishu ‘Yellow Paper on Language’. If this can be materialized as one of the publications in the series on the language life of China and foreign countries, the perspectives of Chinese people in the knowledge concerning language life would be greatly widened.

References Chen, Yuan (ed.). 1993. Xiandai Hanyu Yongzi Xinxi Fenxi (Modern Standard Chinese Word Usage Information Analysis). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Publishing House. Chen, Zhangtai. 2005. Yuyan Guihua Yanjiu (A Study of Language Planning). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Department of Cultural Publicity Affairs, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of the PRC. 2006. Minzu Yuwen Zhengce Fagui Huibian (A Collection of the Laws on the Language Policy for Ethnic Minorities). Beijing: The Ethnic Publishing House. Department of Language Planning and Administration of the Ministry of Education of the PRC. 2005. Xinshiqi Yuyan Wenzi Fagui Zhengce Wenjian Huibian (A Collection of Legal Documents on Language Policies and Regulations of the New Era). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Gao, Gengsheng. 2000. Hanzi Yanjiu (A Study of Chinese Characters). Shandong: Shandong Education Press. Language and Culture Press (ed.). 1993. Yuyan Wenzi Guifan Shouce (Zengdingben) [The Handbook on the Standardization of the Chinese Language (Extended Edition)]. Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Language Teaching Research Institute of Beijing Language Institute. 1986. Xiandai Hanyu Pinlü Cidian (A Dictionary of Modern Standard Chinese Word Frequency). Beijing: Beijing Language Institute Press. Li, Yuming. 2001. Tongyong Yuyan Wenzi Guifan he Biaozhun de Jianshe (The Formulation of the Norms and Standards of Universal Spoken and Written Language). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics), Issue No. 2. Beijing: Institute of Applied Linguistics (Ministry of Education).

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Li, Yuming. 2005. Zhongguo Yuyan Guihua Lun (A Theory of Language Planning in China). Changchun: Northeast Normal University Press. Li, Yuming (ed.). 2006. Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 (Language Situation in China: 2005). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Office of the Survey of Chinese Language Usage (ed.). 2006. Zhongguo Yuyan Wenzi Shiyong Qingkuang Diaocha Ziliao (Survey Information on the Language Use in China). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Secretariat of the National Conference on Language Work. 1987. Xinshiqi de Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo – Quanguo Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo Huiyi Wenjian Huibian (Language Work in a New Era – Papers from National Conference on Language Work). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. State Language Commission of the PRC and the Standardization Administration of the PRC. 1992. Xiandai Hanyu Zipin Tongjibiao (A Dictionary of Modern Standard Chinese Word Frequency). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Variant Forms Research Team. 2002. Diyipi Yixingci Zhenglibiao Shuoming (An Exposition of the First Batch of Standardized Variant Forms). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2001. Guowai Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua Jincheng (The Progress of Language Policy and Language Planning in Foreign Countries). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2003. Guojia, Minzu yu Yuyan – Yuyan Zhengce Guobie Yanjiu (Nation, Nationality and Language – Language Policy Study by Country). Beijing: Language and Culture Press.

Translated by CHAN Man Ho, Benny (陈文浩) (Freelance translator) [email protected]

Chapter 18

Issues of the Chinese language in the information age1 Abstract: The rapid development of information technology has caused the formation of the digital gap in the modern world, which in turn has led to greater imbalance among languages, and threatened the sustainability of a vast number of languages. The Chinese language has its competitive advantages as well as disadvantages in the information age. The Chinese government should adopt a clear language policy with viable measures to reinforce the Chinese language by promoting Putonghua, enhancing the standardization of Chinese scripts, enhancing and implementing the Hanyu Pinyin ‘Chinese Phonetic Alphabet’ System. It should also strive for a competitive status for the Chinese language in the cyberspace through the use of language information processing and rapid construction of online databases, and allow the Chinese language to play a more important role in the global context by means of promoting its use in the international community. Keywords: information age, digital gap, language issues in formation age, language policies

1 Digital gaps in the information age 1.1 The information age We, human beings, are now entering the information age, which can be described or defined from different points of view. It can be defined as an age where digital technology is used for processing information. “Digital technology” refers to the 1 As the Chair of the Conference Steering Committee, I gave a presentation on “Issues of Language in the Information Age” at the opening ceremony of the 1st Student Workshop on Computational Linguistics (SWCL-2002), organized by the Chinese Information Processing Society of China and held at the Institute of Computational Linguistics, Peking University, on August 20, 2002. The presentation was then published as the preface to the conference proceedings. The same article was also presented at “China’s Construction of Language Standards in the Information Age” Working Conference, organized by the Department of Language Information Management under the Ministry of Education in Wuhan during September 23–25, 2002. Thereafter, the content of the article has been repeatedly reported in different cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Yunnan, Jiangsu, Hubei, Heilongjiang, Guangdong and Hong Kong. In 2004, I was invited by Guangming Daily to contribute, on the basis of the aforementioned presentation, another article “The Languages of World Powers and Language Power”,

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use of computers and the Internet to collect, collate, store, exchange, search, and retrieve as well as process information. The history of mankind has been closely related to the invention and improvements of information processing technology. Each stage of development of such technology has led to further progress or even ground-breaking changes in human society. New findings have shown that language did not come into being concurrently with human beings who had lived in a very long “prelanguage” stage prior to the creation of language. During the pre-language stage, human beings communicated with each other merely by body signs and cries, somewhat similar to what chimpanzees and other apes use to communicate.2 As human beings evolved, human language was created around 40,000–50,000 years ago. (Hu 1985: 17–23) There emanated a genuine qualitative change in human beings’ ability to exchange and process information. Such ability separated human beings from other fauna and allowed human beings to dominate the globe. The emergence of writing systems helped language break the constraints of time and space. It facilitated the preciseness of information processing and the efficiency of information exchange, paving the road for human beings to enter a new era of civilization. In addition, subsequent developments of written languages, printing technology, communication technology, analog signal systems for telephone and television have caused a series of information revolutions and enabled human beings to walk into modernization. The emergence and development of digital technology has made information processing in large volume, at high speed and with good quality possible. Information will play an unprecedentedly important role in the lives and production activities of human beings. It has become the very foundation of life as well as the capital for production. Information technology is also the prominent realization of technology advancement. Therefore, the information age can also be described as the digital age due to the involvement of information processing by computers and the Internet. In the digital age, the level of information processing in a nation usually reflects its level of economic development. The information industry is the most representative of the high-tech industry, and is the top priority of a national economy.

1.2 Digital gap For various historical reasons, there is an imbalance among the world’s nations in terms of politics, economy, science and education. Such a serious inequality which was published on July 28, 2004. This was subsequently reported in Dalian, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. An abridged version of the article was published in Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics). The full version of the article is now presented in this work. 2 For the discussion of the communication strategy used by chimpanzees, see Li (2000:191–192).

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has brought about a large number of international social problems that threaten the world order and even human survival. In the information age, the unbalanced developments of different countries in the world have constituted an everwidening digital gap. In September 1993, the U.S. government headed by Bill Clinton announced that it would implement an information superhighway program. On January 25, 1994, President Clinton further ambitiously announced in his State of the Union Address that all classrooms, hospitals and clinics as well as libraries in the U.S. would be connected to the Internet before 2000. In February 1994, the European Commission, following Clinton’s ambitious plan, also announced the construction of an information superhighway. It was followed by a successive wave of construction of information superhighways all over the globe. (Yao 1997:34–35) In 1995, the Internet became an international commodity. On February 26, 1998, President Clinton made a formal announcement of his “New Network Policy.” In December 1999, the European Commission initiated the political agenda of e-Europe. In 2000, the Japanese Prime Minister Mori Yoshiro introduced the idea of e-Japan to create an “IT-based society” for Japan. (Hu and Zhou 2002:34) The digital gap reflects the imbalance in the development of information technology, especially in the uneven distribution of Internet users. As pointed out by Hu and Zhou (2002), 20% of the population of the highest income countries owns 93% of the Internet users while 20% of the lowest income countries in the world owns only 0.2% of the Internet users. In August 2000, there were 168.68 Internet hosts per thousand people in North America against only 0.31 Internet host per thousand people in Africa, which is 1/540 of that of North America. In October 2000, countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) had 95.6% of the total Internet hosts, while those not in the OECD had only 4.4%. These figures clearly show that some countries or regions were digitally wealthy, or digitally privileged, whereas other countries or regions were digitally impoverished. The digital gap is much more than just an issue concerning the great disparity in the number of Internet users or Internet access. In the new order of the information age, the digital gap will bring about gaps in social, economical, technological, educational and perhaps other aspects. The digital gap implies a serious imbalance in the allocation of knowledge and resources. Those countries or people with limited access to information networks will be living in the margins of economic globalization and information revolution. Thus, the digital gap indeed brought about social gaps. The information industry is currently the key to a country’s economic growth worldwide. The digital gap will naturally cause an economic gap. Information technology has also become the cuttingedge technology and an indispensable modern tool for scientific research. Likewise the digital gap has brought about technological gap. According to the

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United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), new information technology could provide greater potential to improve teaching and learning, increase learning opportunities, improve the quality as well as management of education. The digital gap is contributing to a wider knowledge gap. (Chinese National Commission for UNESCO Secretariat 2001:33) In this regard, the digital gap should be defined as the huge disparity in various aspects of society as a result of the unbalanced development of information technology. The digital gap was first reported by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The agency released four reports, between July 1995 and October 2000, on the issues of the nationwide digital gap, naming it the number-one economic and human rights issue in the United States. It proposed that all Americans be integrated into a network society. (Hu and Zhou 2002:35) In recent years, the international community is extremely concerned about the problems created by the digital gap. For instance, on August 23, 2001, the 4th E-9 Ministerial Review Meeting adopted the Beijing Declaration that proposed to achieve the potential of EFA (education-for-all) to narrow the digital gap through data mining and further development in information and communication technologies. (Chinese National Commission for UNESCO Secretariat 2001:23) The Beijing Declaration was incorporated into the UNESCO documents at the 46th UNESCO International Conference on Education held between September 5 and 8, 2001 in Geneva. Furthermore, the issues concerning the digital gap as well as possible ways to narrow the digital gap in the education sector were also discussed.3

2 Linguistic effects of the digital gap The digital gap has not only affected politics, science, technology, economy and education, but has also constituted the most serious impact on languages and the way we use language in our daily lives, which are mainly manifested in the following two aspects:

2.1 Widening language inequality All languages are supposedly equal. However, a de facto language inequality has emerged due to the uneven demographic, economic, cultural and military

3 See Chinese National Commission for UNESCO Secretariat (2001: 33, 40).

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developments of different people speaking different languages. The majority of languages merely play a minor role to serve a small number of people in their everyday communication whereas some languages have emerged as the mutual communication tool of a country, a region and even the world, standing tall over other languages. For instance, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic and other dozens of languages are more frequently used across the modern international communities, whereas English is the super-language above all others. English was only a minority language around 1600. Latin was the superlanguage of the Western World in ancient times, being the lingua franca of Western Europe until the medieval times. It was then replaced by French as the diplomatic language in the 17th century. It was not until the end of the First World War that English was poised to challenge the status of French. (Liberson 2001:608–609) The United States became the world leader in terms of military power and technological development after the Second World War, making English, rather than French, the prevailing language in diplomacy, trade, technology and education. The United States and Great Britain have taken each and every effort to promote English as the lingua franca of the world after the 1950s. The rapid expansion of the dominance of English has eventually made it the super-language of our time. (Phillipson 2001) The United States leads other countries by a long way in the area of new information technology. In July 1998, there were more than 179 Internet hosts per thousand people in the United States whereas there was only an average of 62 Internet hosts in OECD countries. In July 2000, the figures were 230, 88 and 42 Internet hosts per thousand people in the United States, OECD countries and EU (the European Union) countries respectively. (Hu and Zhou 2002:39) The rapid development of information technology in the United States lends more power to English to become the most dominant language in the Internet. According to the statistics released in 2001, 78% of the languages used in the cyberspace was English, leaving a mere 22% share for other languages. There has always been inequality among languages. However, at the end of the 20th century, the situation became that there was even a wide disparity among the international major languages. The inequality of languages is bound to bring about language discrimination, with some languages being esteemed and some being disparaged. It follows that language discrimination would inevitably give rise to ethnic and cultural discriminations. Therefore, in UNESCO’s 46th session of the International Conference on Education, it was agreed that World Culture is a continuous process of construction and renewal, not to be monopolized by certain countries or certain cultures of some particular regions. All cultures from different regions and people should be integrated into the

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World Culture and, through such a process, maintain their very vitality. (Chinese National Commission for UNESCO Secretariat 2001:31) Language is wealth, and language inequality virtually means an uneven distribution of wealth. The non-English speaking countries and ethnic groups will need to spend a great deal of time and money on acquiring this language of power. If one has to spend CNY20,000 to learn to understand, speak, read and write 5,000 English words, then each word will cost CNY4. Also, the standards of the equipment for modern information technology, such as computers and networks, have to be in compliance with English or the standards in the English-speaking countries. These are only a few examples. The cash spent on acquiring English as well as the investment in technical equipment also constitute a considerable outflow of funds in favour of the English-speaking countries, which, in turn further widens the economic gap.

2.2 Threat to the survival of a majority of languages There exist or have existed 5,000 to 6,000 languages in the world, of which hundreds have been extinct, especially those aboriginal languages of America and Australia. In the recent two centuries, language extinction has clearly taken a more rapid pace, thanks to industrialization as well as the formation of regional and international markets. Currently, hundreds of languages are on the brink of extinction. Zhou (2000:86) has pointed out that among the minority nationalities of China such as the Hezhen, the Gelao, the Tujia, the She and the Manchu, only 14.78%, 10.36%, 5.27% , 0.11% and 0.01% of the respective minority nationality population are able to speak their own aboriginal languages. These are all endangered languages. According to a study by Wurm (2001), the reasons for language extinction are mainly the extinction of the language groups, changes of the ecological environment of the languages, language contacts and cultural clashes, political influence and conquests, among others. In the information age, the digitalization of language causes extreme inequalities among languages, accelerates the speed of language extinction, and increases the number of endangered languages. Thus, in this new era, information technology has become a cause, or even a major cause, for the demise of languages. We live between two spaces, the real space we live in physically and the virtual space created by the Internet. With the development of information technology, virtual space has become increasingly important. Visionary leaders in society predict that in future we will be living in a network-oriented society. The

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languages being used in the real space are the results of natural development in human history whereas the languages used in the virtual space have been dictated by language hegemony from the onset. They are in the tight control of those countries with more advanced information technology development, which in turn reinforces such language hegemony in the virtual space. The vast majority of the world’s languages have no chance of becoming a language in the Internet. Some languages might have stood a chance, but also fail in the competition because they are unable to join the club of language hegemony. They can only play a minor role in the Internet. Russian, French, German, Spanish and other major languages are also experiencing a sense of crisis in the virtual space. The virtual space and the real space are not separated from each other; rather, they are constantly linked to each other in their developments. On the one hand, the development of the virtual space relies on economic development, and the level of development and penetration of information technology. On the other hand, the actual operations in the real space are increasingly dependent on the virtual space. The real space, therefore, becomes more constrained by the development of virtual space. As a result, the development of information technology not only threatens the survival of languages in the real space, but also exerts tremendous impact on the language situation in the real space through the language situation that it has constructed in the virtual space. Those languages that cannot become a language in the Internet will lose their vitality; those languages that are at a disadvantage position in the Internet will fall into decline, or even face extinction. Wurm (2001:89) agrees with his peer linguists that language is an intrinsic part of culture and society. It reflects the way how people look at the physical and the spiritual world. The language of each speech community also reflects the way how its people solve worldly problems, form their own thoughts and philosophical systems as well as understand the world around them. If such language becomes dead, the knowledge of how its users think and view the world will be irreplaceably and irrevocably lost forever. The international community was extremely concerned about the trend towards “a single market, a single language, a single culture” in the information age. Many countries have put in place strategic plans for their language development to cope with the challenges posed by the information age. Such concern was reflected in the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity adopted at the 31st session of the General Conference of UNESCO held in Paris in October 2001. (Chinese National Commission for UNESCO Secretariat 2001:47–48)

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3 China’s language strategy in the information age 3.1 Development of information technology in China China has been paying close attention to the development of information technology worldwide and actively promoting its own information technology nationwide. In the following, we use the Internet as an example to illustrate the development of information technology in China. The prelude to China’s Internet era was officially announced when Professor Qian Tianbai sent the country’s first email on September 20, 1987, with the following message: “Over the Great Wall, we can reach the world”. On March 2, 1993, the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) rented a 64K dedicated line from AT&T which connected an international satellite communication channel to the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), which was China’s first dedicated line partly connecting the Internet. China was thus officially recognized as an Internet country when the National Computing and Networking Facility of China (NCFC), located in the Zhongguancun area, accessed the Internet through the Sprint Corporation in the United States on April 20, 1994. As mentioned above, the Clinton administration announced that it would implement the “information superhighway” program in September, 1993. On March 12, 1993, China’s Vice-premier Zhu Rongji proposed the construction and deployment of a national public economic information network (known as the “Golden Bridge Project”). On August 27 1993, the government authorized US$3 million from the reserve fund to finance the preparation stage of the project. On June 8, 1994, the preparation works of the Golden Bridge Project started full swing. On February 11, 1996, the State Council issued Decree No. 195 of the Computer Information Network and Internet Management Interim Provisions of the People’s Republic of China to promote the orderly development of the Internet in China.4 A strategy was further formulated in the National Economic and Social Development Tenth Five-Year Plan of the People’s Republic of China to “accelerate the development of information industry and vigorously promote information technology”. (Zhu 2001) Beijing, Shanghai and other cities soon responded by putting forth their proposals for the construction of a digital city.

4 This is based on the online data from China Internet Network Information Center (http:// www.cnnic.net.cn/).

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From October 1997 to July 2002, China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), in collaboration with four network companies, has published semiannual Statistical Report on Internet Development in China, the latest one being the tenth report. The table below shows the numbers of Internet-connected computers and Internet users:

Year Month A B

1996 Oct 29.9 62

1998 June 54.2 117.5

1998 Dec 74.7 210

1999 June 146 400

1999 Dec 350 890

2000 June 650 1690

2000 Dec 892 2250

2001 June 1002 2650

2001 Dec 1254 3370

2002 June 1613 4580

Notes: 1. The years and months above represent the cut-off time for statistical data collection. 2. “A” and “B” (both in ten-thousands) represent the number of online computers and the number of Internet users respectively.5 As could be seen from the above table, the development of the Internet was taking a fast pace in China. In terms of absolute numbers, both of Internetconnected computers and Internet users were approaching the level of developed countries. The rapid development of the Internet and other aspects of information technology are conducive to the development of the use of Chinese in the virtual space, which is growing year after year. China’s information technology is catching up at a galloping speed with the world’s advanced levels.

3.2 Advantages and disadvantages of the Chinese language The Chinese language is having an ever-increasing influence on the world. In the information age, Chinese has its advantages, but at the same time there is also a crisis lying within.

5 The following table shows the latest data on Internet users in China since June 2002. The data is based on the online data from China Internet Network Information Center’s (http://www. cnnic.net.cn/). Year Month A B

2002 Dec 2083 5910

2003 June 2572 6800

2003 Dec 3089 7950

2004 June 3630 8700

2004 Dec 4160 9400

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First of all, the Chinese language has its primary advantage in terms of its number of speakers. A statistical report has estimated that there are about 1.3 billion speakers who use the Chinese language as their first language, making it one of the world’s most popular languages. Secondly, it also has an advantage in culture. The Chinese language carries with it a culture inherited from China’s long history, with which the world is fascinated. Thirdly, it also has a potential economic advantage. In recent years, China’s economy continues to grow at a rapid speed, which is significantly conducive to raising China’s international status. The United States, South Korea, Japan and other countries have already incorporated the Chinese language as a major foreign language in their educational system. The disadvantages of the Chinese language can be seen in the following aspects. Despite the large number of speakers, the Chinese language lacks a good internal consistency. There are significant differences in the dialects spoken in China, not to mention the differences between simplified characters and traditional characters. There has been a significant progress in promoting Putonghua, the official tongue, and standardized Chinese characters in recent years. However, the current situation is still far from being satisfactory. It is not uncommon that dialects and non-standardized characters, instead of Putonghua and standardized characters, are being used in official occasions, teaching activities and communication in public places. Many surveys have shown that the level of Chinese proficiency of the younger generations of the majority Han ethnic group is declining drastically. In those regions populated by the various ethnic nationalities, the country’s official language and standardized Chinese characters are not widely spoken or used. In fact, there exist policies and regulations or a socio-psychological propensity to put more weight on a candidate’s fluency in foreign languages (mainly English) rather than his or her Chinese proficiency when it comes to admittance into higher education, recruitment, and promotion in workplaces, etc. There is little awareness of the use of the nation’s standardized language in society. It is also common to see that the mass media use non-standardized language in a casual manner. There is still room to improve in three areas of education, namely the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language, the teaching of Chinese to the minority ethnic groups and the teaching of the mother language to the majority native speakers. The truth, however, is that not only the educational theories and teaching methodologies are not yet full-developed, but also an organic and efficient mechanism has to be in place for coordinating the management and research methods in these areas of education.

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Research on modern Chinese characters is not profound enough, and there is still no research center specialized in Putonghua or modern Chinese characters. Budget allocated for the research on the Chinese language including Chinese characters is extremely limited. The standardization of the Chinese language and characters has still left much to be desired. For instance, there is no full table of Chinese syllables or full-length and comprehensive grammatical rules for the Chinese language commensurate with the status of the language. There are only a few standardized rules for some commonly-used Chinese characters for printing and publishing. There is still a huge gap between Chinese information technology and those of developed countries, especially in terms of proprietary intellectual property rights which Chinese core information technologies have managed to acquire. It is still rare to find in the Internet Chinese corpora or multilingual databases including the Chinese language that are open to the public, which makes both the utilization rate and the practical value of the Internet fairly low. In terms of daily uses in an international context, Chinese does not stand an advantage either. Few countries and regions in the world have made Chinese a national common language or working language; although the United Nations has adopted Chinese as one of its working languages, it is seldom used in meetings of regional or international organizations. Regionally and internationally, the use of the Chinese language as a communication tool is very limited in important areas, such as diplomacy, trade, technology and education. It is rather difficult for the offspring of overseas Chinese living in non-Chinese speaking environments to keep using Chinese, and thus a great number of them have given it up. The number of foreigners learning Chinese is rising, but few could really manage to master it or use it practically in their daily lives. These aforementioned factors are not conducive to the consolidation and optimization of the Chinese language, the promotion of the common national language in China or the dissemination of Chinese internationally. Needless to say, they do not help enhance the prestige or status of the Chinese language at home or abroad.

3.3 Measures for promoting the Chinese language In order to accelerate the dissemination of the Chinese language and enhance its functions and status in the information age, the following measures should be adopted.

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3.3.1 Promoting Putonghua Back in the late Qing dynasty, it was suggested that a unified language should be seen as “the fundamental element of statehood”. (Qing et al 1910/1958) It was also believed that a unified language could “unite people from all parts (of China) together and create one single spirit” (Lin, 1898/1958), “enhance the consolidation of all groups and raise the sense of patriotism” (Wu 1902/1958), and “preserve the quintessence of Chinese culture” (Lu 1906/1958). The primary purpose of having a unified language is to facilitate communication, but it is also indeed an important factor in enhancing national cohesion. Today, it is also seen as an indispensable foundation for promoting the development of information technology, and leading the Chinese language to the world. It is top priority to raise the public’s awareness in the national language, and to foster a sense of identity with Putonghua and a sense of pride in speaking Putonghua, thereby enhancing the reputation of Putonghua as a language. To reach this goal, it requires people working in education and radio and television broadcasting as well as government officials to take the lead to use and speak proper Putonghua and set good examples for the public to follow. It is also imperative to enrich the language skills of the speakers so that more and more of them will be able to freely use Putonghua in all occasions. Currently, in addition to promoting Putonghua in the public services industry (a.k.a. “window industry”), the government should also a) improve the training and assessment of Putonghua proficiency in the public services industry through a market-oriented vocational certification system; b) study the language issues concerning people in the small-towns and villages as well as migrant peasants working in cities; c) put efforts in promoting Putonghua in the regions populated by the minority ethnic groups; d) enhance the social communication within and between overseas Chinese communication and; e) support overseas Chinese as well as their offspring to learn the Chinese language so that the language will sustain.

3.3.2 Accelerating the standardization of Chinese characters A mature, outstanding and influential language should have a series of scientific and effective norms and standards in its language structure, writing system and applications in society so as to facilitate its use in language education and daily communication, information processing and help improve its reputation. Apart from the basic norms and standards of the Chinese language such as compiling standardized Chinese character lists, special attention should also be

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paid to the standardization of various uses and applications of language in daily communication in order to create a healthy and orderly language environment. For instance, there should be standards to regulate the proper use of Chinese characters and words in different types of education (literacy education, national language education in schools, teaching of national language to minority ethnic groups, teaching Chinese as a foreign language) and different levels of education (kindergartens, primary schools, junior secondary schools, etc.), as well as standards for proper nouns such as names for people and places and their translations, contraction and simplification of low dot matrix Chinese characters on screens, computer fonts, structures for constructing corpora, standards for language used in cyberspace and acronyms of jargons in the Internet, etc.

3.3.3 Role of the Hanyu Pinyin ‘Chinese Phonetic Alphabet’ System The Hanyu Pinyin system or simply pinyin is the product of more than a hundred years of social practice6 and the statutory system selected from thousands of proposals, which makes use of Romanization to write out the Chinese language and transliterate Chinese characters. This is especially useful in situations where writing Chinese characters is not possible or convenient. Pinyin acts as an excellent assistant to Chinese characters, particularly in learning Chinese characters and promoting Putonghua. It plays another important and indispensable role in communication with people from other countries and between human and machine. The Hanyu Pinyin system is basically capable of representing the pronunciation of Chinese characters. However, if it has to be fully effective in writing out Chinese characters and in situations where the use of Chinese characters is not possible or convenient, further research and improvement are still needed. Apart from those traditional research areas such as the distinction of homophonous Chinese characters, rules for using upper case and lower case and for pinyin representation of segmented words, there are still many issues which require more efforts to solve, particularly in the education, information processing and international exchange aspects. Very little research has been done on the applications of the Hanyu Pinyin system. Currently, there is a tendency to play down the importance of teaching

6 The historical roots of the pinyin system could be traced back to the various Romanization systems devised by early missionaries such as Matteo Ricci in the Ming dynasty. Chinese pinyin, thus, actually has a history of social practice longer than a hundred years.

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pinyin in primary schools. The proficiency level in using pinyin among adults is also low. The general public are still rather confused in terms of understanding and applying pinyin. These issues have restrained pinyin from fully performing its functions. These issues should be taken up seriously.

3.3.4 Promoting research on Chinese information processing Information processing of the Chinese language and characters presents a bottle neck to China’s development of information technology. It is a decisive battle that China must face and win in order to further develop its information technology. The information processing of Chinese is switching its focus from processing individual characters and words and terms towards sentences and discourse, and from written texts towards speech. Meanwhile, the foremost priority is to implement strategic plans to assemble a pool of talents from different disciplines such as linguistics and information technologists to conduct joint researches with an aim to cultivate leaders in the field. Secondly, there should be strategic plans for the allocation of key resources to the development of a variety of language and software resources with proprietary intellectual property rights, such as corpora of written language and spoken language with syntactic and semantic tagging and various kinds of information and knowledge dictionaries. The sharing and complementariness of resources will be enhanced through clear definition of intellectual property rights and implementation of uniform standards and protocols. Thirdly, a development strategy should be implemented, which will convert research results into commercial products in a timely manner and rapidly capture market shares. It will create both social and economic returns, which can be reinvested into new technological researches. The goal is that China’s language information processing will be able to take a giant leap onto a new stage in five to ten years.

3.3.5 Constructing online databases Networks are “roads”; web-pages are “vehicles”; databases are “cargo” carried by vehicles. Insufficient “cargo” is the biggest problem causing a low efficiency in networks. Without sufficient databases, especially those publicly open databases, services such as e-government, e-commerce, e-education, and e-entertainment cannot be smoothly provided. The Chinese language should be basically used for these databases, which will not only allow our nationals to use them with ease, thus attracting many more users, but also help increase the relative share

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of the Chinese language in the virtual space quickly. At the same time, multilingual databases should also be developed with the Chinese language as the core language so that foreign users may visit web-pages in Chinese easily. The operations in the virtual space follow an axiom: “whoever owns also possesses”. Therefore, building a leading database with powerful functions would amount to occupying a domain or an academic field in the virtual space. The partition of the cyber world has just begun. To occupy more domain and space in the cyber world, various kinds of databases will be needed. Chinese culture is a precious wealth of humanity. The construction of databases for Chinese culture, such as digital libraries, digital museums, etc., will allow Chinese culture to preserve permanently through the new digital media, and researchers across the globe to dig into the treasures of Chinese culture by using these databases. The construction of databases for Chinese culture requires a comprehensive set of ancient and modern Chinese characters, a full set of characters and words used by minority ethnic groups from the past to the present, and all the useful symbols to be stored in ISO space.7 This is the only way to ensure that Chinese culture will be preserved and developed as it originally is, and there will not be any barrier for communication in the Internet.

3.3.6 Strategies for the international dissemination of the Chinese language For a long time, the United States, Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Japan and other countries (Ammon 1992; Hirataka 1992) all have strategic plans to globally disseminate English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese. The United States and Britain have been promoting English globally mainly by way of trade, media, education, culture among other means. (Phillipson 1992) France has tried hard to coordinate the issues concerning French in thirty-four countries where French enjoys a privileged status and the Francophonie regions in three other countries, and has even appointed a government minister to specially deal with language issues in these regions. (Clainéden 2001) Spain has been using a concept known as Hispanidad to promote and spread its language to the world. (Sanchez 1992/2001) In the information age, the international dissemination of the Chinese language should deserve great attention. There should be a clear line of thoughts and effective measures to achieve that. For instance, based on people and 7 These words and symbols can be collectively named “the Collection of Chinese Characters.” Its construction has already started and is now in the stage of collecting character types and designing subsets.

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regions using Chinese, three strategic areas could be identified: the overseas Chinese communities, the traditional cultural circle of Chinese characters (North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, etc.) and the radiated circle (other countries and regions). China should first strengthen the communication and coordination between home and overseas Chinese communities. After that, it should form language coalition with those countries in the traditional cultural circle of Chinese characters based on a common culture foundation, and try to radiate the effects of such coalition to the radiated circle. For instance, it may consider the following steps: First, China should fight for the status of the Chinese language in international conferences; second, it should gradually fight for the working language status for the Chinese language in international organizations, and then the status as a primary foreign language in countries in the traditional cultural circle of Chinese characters and the radiated circle. Currently, the major means of dissemination can be education, trade and large-scale international events held in China (e.g. the 2008 Olympics and 2010 World Expo). In terms of organization, it can mainly rely on non-government organizations for the international dissemination of the Chinese language, supplemented by a highly efficient government authority for coordination. Such strategies, together with various practical implementations, should facilitate the Chinese language to enter the world stage in a speedy manner.

4 Concluding remarks The phenomenal development of new information technologies has formed digital gap in the world which consequently leads to gaps in social, economical, technological, knowledge and many other aspects of society. At the same time, it has created greater inequality among languages and even threatens the survival of many languages. In the competition among languages in the information age, the Chinese language has many inherent advantages such as demographics, culture, etc. Furthermore, due to the economic growth, China has been on its rise in the international context. The Chinese language has become more popular, and is now widely accepted as one of the foreign languages to be included in the curricula of education in some countries. On the other hand, the Chinese language also has some obvious disadvantages. For instance, there are significant differences among its dialects, inconsistencies in its writing systems as well as Chinese characters; language standards are much less than perfect; the nation-wide promotion of Putonghua has become a challenging task; the Chinese language is not widely used in the cyberspace and it thus could only play a limited role as an international language.

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Faced with the challenges of the digital gap, China should have a clear language policy: to promote Putonghua nationally and internationally; to enhance the language standards for the standardization of the Chinese language, especially the Chinese characters; to promote, perfect and implement the Hanyu Pinyin system. All these measures are meant to revamp the status of the Chinese language as a preferred language in the information age. The Chinese language should compete for a reputable status in virtual space through the rapid development of Chinese information processing and online databases. This series of strategies to disseminating the Chinese language could help the Chinese language maximize its function and influence as an international language.

References Ammon, Ulrich. 1992. Lianbang Deguo Chuanbo Deyu de Zhengce (Policies of Disseminating German in West Germany). In Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2001. Guowai Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua Jincheng (The Progress of Language Policy and Language Planning in Foreign Countries). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Chinese National Commission for UNESCO Secretariat (ed.). 2001. Woguo Canjia Lianheguo Jiaokewen Zuzhi Zhongyao Huodong Wenjian Huibian (A Collection of Documents on Important UNESCO Events Participated by China). Clainéden, Armi. 1992. Yuyan Chuanbo Zhengce he Fayu Qu: Faguo Caiqu de Yuyan Huodong (Language Dissemination Policies and Francophonie Regions). In Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2001. Guowai Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua Jincheng (The Progress of Language Policy and Language Planning in Foreign Countries). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Hirataka, Fumiya. 1992. Riben de Yuyan Chuanbo Zhengce (Language Dissemination Policies in Japan). In Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2001. Guowai Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua Jincheng (The Progress of Language Policy and Language Planning in Foreign Countries). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Hu, Angang and Zhou, Shaojie. 2002. Xin de Quanqiu Pinfu Chaju: Riyi Kuoda de Shuzi Honggou (A New Global Gap between the Wealth and the Poor: An Expanding Digital Gap). Zhongguo Shehui Kexu (Social Sciences in China), 3. Hu, Mingyang. 1985. Yuyan yu Yuyanxue (Language and Linguistics). Wuhan: Hubei Education Press. Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji (A Collection of Essays on Chinese Script Reform in the Late Qing Dynasty). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Li, Yuming. (ed.). 2000. Yuyanxue Gailun (Introduction to Linguistics). Beijing: High Education Press. Liberson, Stanley. 1982. Yuyan Chuanbo Mianmianguan (On Language Dissemination). In Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2001. Guowai Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua Jincheng (The Progress of Language Policy and Language Planning in Foreign Countries). Beijing: Language and Culture Press.

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Lin, Lucun. 1898. Shang Duchayuan Shu (Letter to the Censorate). Reprinted in Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Qingmo Wenzi Gaige Wenji (Collection of Essays on Language Reform in Late Qing Dynasty). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Lu, Ganzhang. 1906. Banxing Qieyin Zishu Zhi Yi (Merits of Compiling Books with Romanized Characters). Reprinted in Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji (Collection of Essays on Language Reform in Late Qing Dynasty). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Phillipson, Robert. 1992. Linguistic Imperialism (Chinese version). Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2000. Phillipson, Robert. 1994. Yingyu Chuanbo Zhengce (Policy of Disseminating English). In Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2001. Guowai Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua Jincheng (The Progress of Language Policy and Language Planning in Foreign Countries). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Qing, Fu, et al. 1910. Chenqing Zizhengyuan Banxing Guanghua Jianzi Shuotie (Statement Pleading the Government to Implement Mandarin and Simplified Characters). Reprinted in Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji (Collection of Essays on Chinese Script Reform in the Late Qing Dynasty). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Sanchez, Aquilino. 1992. Xibanyayu de Chuanbo Zhengce (Policies on Disseminating Spanish). In Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2001. Guowai Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua Jincheng (The Progress of Language Policy and Language Planning in Foreign Countries). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Wu, Rulun. 1902. Dong You Cong Lun: Yu Yizexiuer Tanhua (Notes on Travel to the East: A Dialogue with Isawa Shuji). Reprinted in Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji (Collection of Essays on Chinese Script Reform in the Late Qing Dynasty). Beijing: Language Reform Publisher. Wurm, Stephen. 1991. Yuyan de Xiaowang yu Xiaoshi: Yuanyin yu Huanjing (The Death and Disappearance of Language: Cause and Context). In Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2001. Guowai Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua Jincheng (The Progress of Language Policy and Language Planning in Foreign Countries). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Yao, Yaping. 1997. Zhongguo Jisuan-Yuyanxue (China’s Computational Linguistics). Jiangxi: Science Technology Press. Zhou, Qingsheng. 2000. Yuyan yu Renlei (Language and Mankind). Central University for Nationalities Publishing House. Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2001. Guowai Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua Jincheng (The Progress of Language Policy and Language Planning in Foreign Countries). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Zhu, Rongji. 2001. Guanyu Guomin Jingji he Shehui Fazhan Di Shi Ge Wunianjihua Gangyao de Baogao (A Report on the Outline of the National Economy and Social Development Under the 10th 5–Year Plan). Beijing: People Publisher. The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Applied Linguistics, 2003, Vol. 1. Translated by CHIN Chi On, Andy (钱志安) Department of Linguistics and Modern Language Studies, Hong Kong Institute of Education [email protected]

Chapter 19

Language tasks in the information age1 Abstract: There are two new language tasks in the information age: 1. language information processing; 2. healthy language activities in the Internet world. The three traditional language tasks of Putonghua promotion, Chinese character standardization and Hanyu Pinyin implementation should also be completed on an informatized platform. The key to successfully completing these tasks is a new understanding of language. Keywords: information age, language, language work, tasks

0 Introduction As early as the 50s and 60s of the 20th century, forward-looking scholars were already studying problems of the future information society. In 1959, the American sociologist Daniel Bell introduced the concept of post-industrial society. In 1962, the American scholar Fritz Machlup introduced the concept of “knowledge society” in his book Knowledge Industry. The Japanese scholar Tadao Umesao introduced the concept of “information society”, in Information Industry Theory: Dawn of the Coming Era of the Ectodermal Industry. Attention began to be paid to the role of knowledge or information in the future society, and it was gradually realized that in the information society, among the three kinds of resources usable by human beings – material resources, energy resources and information resources – information resources would be the most important one. The past half century has seen some characteristics of the information society gradually emerge as a result of the development of the information industry. In particular, since the coming of the information superhighway initiatives and their implementation in many countries and regions of the world in the early 1990’s, and since the beginning of the commercialization of the Internet in 1995, suddenly, man has taken a big stride forward in the information age. 1 Presented at National Conference on the Informatization of Language and Writing, Department of Language Information Administration, Ministry of Education, Changsha, 4th–6th November, 2013. Also presented at 3rd Annual Conference of the Applied Linguistics Society, Hangzhou, 8th–10th November and published in the proceedings. (Hong Kong Joint Scientific Publisher, 2004)

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The 2nd July 2001 issue of U.S. News and World Report pointed out that the proportion of manufacturing production in the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States of America had fallen from 28.7% (in 1960) to 17%. For many years, information industry production in China has been growing at an average rate of more than 25% per year, three times the growth rate of our total domestic production. At present, the total number of telephones installed in our country has reached 490 million, including 245 million fixed-line installations and 245 million mobile phone installations, ranking first in the world. On 30th June 2003, the number of computers connected directly to the Internet in our country had reached 25.72 million and the number of our Internet users had reached 68 million. E-commerce, E-administration and E-education have now become a part of our life, having great influence on our life-style and life attitudes. With the arrival of the information age, language workers must keep abreast of the times by critically reviewing the nature of our language work, which should address the needs of the time.

1 New language tasks in the information age 1.1 Three important formulations of national language tasks Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China more than half a century ago, timely progress in national language work has played an irreplaceable role in the cultural development and modernization of our country. During this period, our national language tasks had been formulated and re-formulated three times to address the needs of the times. The first time took place in the 60s. Premier Zhou Enlai (1958: 1) pointed out: “The Language reform tasks of our time include simplification of Chinese characters, promotion of Putonghua, and design and implementation of Hanyu Pinyin.” These were the three major language tasks of our country in the 50s and 60s of 20th century. The second time took was kicked off by a national conference on language work held on 6th January 1986. Our country entered a new era of social development in the 80s of the 20th century. In accordance with the new social situations, five major national language tasks were formulated during the conference, they are (Liu 1986:23–24): 1)

standardization of modern Chinese; promotion and popularization of Putonghua.

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2)

research on standardization of Chinese scripts for the formulation of related standards. 3) continued implementation of Hanyu Pinyin; studying and finding solutions for problems arising in its actual use. 4) research on information processing issues concerning the Chinese language and Chinese scripts; participation in assessment of such research results. 5) strengthening fundamental and applied research on language; conducting social surveys and consultations; providing social services. The third time was kicked start by another national conference on language work held on 23rd December 1997. Four language tasks were identified for the new era (Xu 1997a: 442–445): 1) 2)

upholding the legal role of Putonghua, and pushing for its promotion. upholding the direction of Chinese script simplification, enforcing the use of standardized scripts in the whole society. 3) strengthening macro-management of Chinese information processing, gradually realizing quality enhancement and standardization of Chinese information technology products. 4) implementing Hanyu Pinyin while at the same time expanding its scope of use. Two remarks can be made on these three formulations of national language tasks: First, promoting Putonghua, standardizing Chinese scripts and implementing Hanyu Pinyin have always been major national language tasks for more than half a century, although they have been formulated differently, understood differently and given different emphases in different periods. For the sake of convenience, we can refer to these three as “traditional tasks” in our national language work. Second, in the new era, language information processing has been recognized as a national language task.

1.2 Language information processing Recognition of language (including writing) information processing as a national language task is based on two considerations: (1) the tremendous influence of informatization on society; (2) the close relationship between language and informatization. In fact, our country has long been paying close attention to information technology development. Since long time ago, we have had a good understanding of the close relationship between language and informatization.

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In the 80s of the 20th century, language information processing had just started to take up momentum. Research results had not yet been applied on a big scale to society at large. Wan Li, Vice Premier of the State Council, pointed out at the opening ceremony of the 1986 National Language Work Conference: “Widely using computers to process different kinds of information is an important aspect of the new technological revolution. To make it possible for computers to carry out orders of humans, we must conduct research on how language is used and understood. There is now great interest in and a lot of research on computer input methods, which are highly relevant to our work on language.” (Wan 1986: 13–14) The report of the National Conference on Language Work gave a depiction of the scenario of informatization and began to study the role of language work in the information age: “Now, the world is in an era of rapid informatization. Using computers to process information, automate library information work, modernize printing and document formatting, automate production management and automate office administration are important objectives in modernization and development. In view of this, strengthening research on language and putting more efforts in language standardization are now more important than any time in the past.” At that time, the State Language Commission had already come to realize that “Achievements made in the area of language have indeed played a definite role in research on Chinese information processing technology”. It was pointed out that “More and more use of Hanyu Pinyin has been made in Chinese information processing. The development of automatic Hanyu Pinyin-to-Chinese character conversion computer systems has increased information processing capabilities and created good conditions for popularizing and developing computers in our country.” (Liu 1986: 21–22) This was an understanding that kept abreast of the time. It was indeed remarkable that we were able, then, to identify “research on information processing issues concerning Chinese language and Chinese scripts and participation in assessment of research results” as language tasks. When another National Language Work Conference was held ten years later, big achievements had been made in information technology and language processing. Some characteristics of information society had already emerged. Xu Jialu, head of the State Language Commission, said clearly at the closing ceremony of the conference, “A big difference between today’s economic development from that of the 50s and 60s is that a higher degree of informatization has been achieved. Language standards have become increasingly important in information processing. Language used in publications, video screens and public places are relying more and more on computers. On the other hand, the popularization and internetization of computers have brought about more re-

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quirements on language standardization. While promotion of Putonghua will still be the first language task of the 21st century, Chinese information processing will be the force that takes our language work forward. Failing to see this, we will not be able to have a full understanding of the characteristics of the language work in front of us. We will not be able to correctly serve and contribute to the economic development of our country.” (Xu 1997b: 452) From the point of view of language information processing, the 1997 National Language Work Conference had two achievements. First, it was realized that the role of the government in language information processing should be on the macro-management level, and that objectives of its work should be “quality enhancement and standardization of Chinese information technology products”. Second, it was stated clearly that these objectives were to be achieved by efforts in four directions: “First, accelerate the pace in establishing standards for use in Chinese information processing, e.g. standardized character sets in different professional domains, new character font and glyph standards for use in printing, standardized integrated assessment criteria for Chinese keyboard input methods, and standards for Chinese character sorting. Second, strengthen fundamental theoretical and applied research. Organize information processingoriented research on modern Chinese words in accordance with the urgent needs of Chinese word processing, and solve “bottle-neck” problems in the area. Third, engage in foundational language engineering and construction activities that support Chinese information processing, especially in the compilation of modern Chinese corpora, in language corpora processing and in corpus-based applied developmental work. Fourth, gradually establish a coordinated management mechanism to supervise and assess the implementation of national standards in Chinese language information technology products.” (Xu 1997a: 444) Since then, formulation of standards, carrying out of scientific research, construction of foundational engineering, supervision and assessment have always been four important aspects of our work in national language information management. Following the fast development of information technology, the rapid formation of the information society, and the initiation of language information management, languages used in information processing have now included most major languages in China as well as foreign languages like English. Language information processing is developing rapidly in terms of both breadth and depth. Recent developments indicate that informatization of language is the basis of informatization. Without the former, the latter is impossible. The level achieved in informatization of language also determines the level of informatization. Therefore, language workers must not fail in their historical duty to strive for the informatization of language.

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1.3 Healthy language activities in the Internet world The Internet is the greatest invention of the 20th century. The information age is formed based on its use and propagation. The Internet has created for us a virtual space, which is an ingenious product of information technology, as well as the most important locus for information processing. Language activities in this virtual space have already become an important part of human language activities. At present, it is still impossible to accurately depict the scenarios of language activities in this virtual space. Actual applications of the Internet that are already in use include digital governments, electronic commerce, distance education and remote scientific research, and Internet games. These four will become the main human activities in the virtual space. All of these activities rely heavily on different kinds of digitalized databases. Because of this, the compilation of digitalized databases (like digitalized libraries, digitalized museums and digitalized record archives) and their transmission over the Internet, adequate sharing and exploitation, etc., are now issues of the information age that must be seriously considered and competently dealt with. Since language is the carrier of information, the compilation, transmission and use of digitized databases are now the new contents of man’s language activities. Language workers should take the initiative to be involved, to conduct research and to guarantee the healthy development of the language activities in the Internet world, which should be an important language task in the information age. There are many things to be done. For example: 1)

Collect and compile scripts, including all characters and symbols (i.e. the China Character Set) that carry elements of the Chinese civilization, find solutions for problems in storing, inputting, outputting, indexing and retrieving these characters; create character sets to support the compilation of all kinds of databases; participate in works related to the establishment of national and international standards; establish national and international encoding standards for the Chinese character sets to ensure that databases will function without problems on the Internet. (Li 2003b) 2) Work with other countries to establish convention(s) on language in the virtual space; so as to gradually remove language barriers in Internet communication, and to guarantee the stability and inter-operability of information transmission from the linguistic-philological perspective. 3) Pay close attention to the life and development of our native languages (Chinese and minority languages of our country) in the virtual space, so as to ensure their vitality and efficiency, and to safeguard linguistic and cultural multiplicity in the virtual space, in order that the safety of Internet language information can be guaranteed.

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2 Up-lifting traditional language tasks to the level of informatization The “traditional language tasks”, such as the promotion of Putonghua, the standardization of Chinese scripts, and the implementation of Hanyu Pinyin, should also be implemented from the perspective of informatization. There are two meanings in this: first, the promotion of informatization should be added to the traditional language tasks as a new substance so that language work can support the informatization of our country; second, we should use informatization techniques and results to help achieving the language tasks. Xu Jialu (1995: 164) says clearly: “The State Language Commission is also in charge of promoting Putonghua and managing the use of scripts in the society (in movie and television subtitles, in published and printed materials, and in public venues). Although these two tasks are listed side by side with that of Chinese information processing, both the content and format of the former are affected by the latter. For example, in the task of Putonghua promotion, computers are now important teaching and assessment tools. Continued growth in the popularity of computers will provide driving force for the promotion of Putonghua. Progress in the promotion of Putonghua, on the other hand, will also make computers more popular and push forward computer technology developments. For example again, except in hand-written texts, nearly all characters used in our daily life are now produced by character production machines and sub-title production machines. On the other hand, language and writing standards in Chinese information processing must also take into account the needs of Putonghua promotion and daily script use. In my opinion, in this age of economic reform and rapid development of science and technology, especially electronic technology, success in the language work of our country can only be achieved through Chinese information processing.” Computers, multimedia and the Internet are now rapidly growing and becoming increasingly popular. Enormous amounts of real-life text data are being worked on by language-processing facilities of the computers. With the increased use of information products, language data produced by language users is becoming more and more likely to be turned into real-life text data processed by computers. Computers are made to serve people. They should provide support for people’s language activities. The problem is: using computers to process real-life text is very difficult. In order to facilitate the development of language information processing, and to enable members of the society to effectively use information products, we should speed up the standardization of language activities in our daily life, so that various kinds of text data that need

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to be processed by computers will become more standardized and the process of informatization of our country will be speeded up. Standardizing the use of language through promoting Putonghua and standardized Chinese scripts is a need of the information age. This is also an important way in which language work contributes to informatization. For example again, the enormous contribution of Hanyu Pinyin to information processing has been verified. Now, when we design standards on the use of Hanyu Pinyin, promote its role, investigate the scope of its use and look for solutions for residual problems of Hanyu Pinyin, we must adopt the perspective of informatization and consider problems in the context of the information age. Arguments that have been plaguing us and issues that have been puzzling us may become much clearer when viewed in the perspective of informatization. Professor Yuan Guiren (2001), Head of the State Language Commission, has identified six major functions of the Chinese Language Net: “First, making known the direction and policy of our national language work. Second, providing the society with information and advice on language work. Third, implementing online distance language education, including Putonghua training and assessment, language proficiency assessment, etc. Fourth, implementing Internet-based national language work and scientific research management. Fifth, providing a platform for publishing standards and collecting opinions from the society; providing channels for discussing language issues. Sixth, providing a bridge to link up academic research on language in our nation with those in overseas countries.” Professor Yuan Guiren’s remarks show that language work needs to use the techniques and results of informatization: Doing language work on the Internet is a way of using informatization techniques. Language information processing is an indispensible component of informatization. Language work and language workers should also become path-breakers for making use of informatization techniques.

3 Examples of a renewed understanding of language In order to accomplish new language administration tasks in the information age, such as the facilitation of language information processing and Internet language activities, we must realign traditional language administration work with informatization. The most important thing is to develop a new understanding of language (including writing). With such a new understanding, we can

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treat language from a different angle. For example, a different understanding of language will give us a new view of Hanyu Pinyin and its functions, a new view of simplified Chinese characters and traditional Chinese characters, a new view of language in overseas Chinese communities, and a new view of dialectal variation, etc. The importance of having a new understanding of language is illustrated below by examples in language standards and attitudes towards language resources.

3.1 Language standards Although language standardization has been around for so long, many people may still be uncomfortable about establishing language standards.2 Language standards are extensions of language standardization. Higher requirements are set for them than for other more ordinary standardization tasks. In 1986, the State Language Commission, in response to the need of language informatization, proposed that Chinese characters should be standardized “so that modern Chinese characters will be standardized in terms of quantity, written forms, pronunciations and ordering.” (Liu 1986: 27) In 2001, Wang Zhan, then Head of the State Language Commission, considered that the establishment of language standards plays a core and foundation role in language work. “Language tasks can be divided into two categories: establishing standards and implementing standards. The establishment of standards has a core and foundational role to play. We must establish good, scientific, practical language norms and standards to provide the necessary basis for implementing standards and standardization.” (Wang 2001) In the information age, standards are needed for language. Without standards, we will not be able to satisfy the needs of information processing; we will not be able to satisfy the commercialization needs of language information products. The establishment of language standards will make it possible for applied linguistics research to be applied more directly to the economic development of the society, especially to the development of the IT economy. Thus, in the information age, we should be aware that language contains more than a cultural aspect. Language work is not mere cultural work. In the past, language standardization was mainly carried out for meeting the needs of societal communication and language teaching. Nowadays, language standardization (often taking the form of various language standards) caters 2 In the past, people talked about “standard language” and “standard pronunciation”. For example, Putonghua as “modern standard language of the Han nationality”; “pronunciations in Beijing being adopted as the standard pronunciation of Putonghua”.

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more for the needs of the information domain. Because of this, the establishment of language standards should be carried out and developed with informatization as the main line. As information technology is advancing rapidly every day, language standards related to information technology must also be established and revised timely at a rapid pace. Under such circumstances, it will not be practical to aim at producing perfect standards. With this understanding in mind, designers of standards will be able to produce standards more quickly, and users will also be more ready to accept standards that are less perfect. Commercial and industrial enterprises are the main embodiment and agents of market economies. They should play an important role during the establishment of language standards for the consumption of the information industry. Agents that establish language standards also need to be diversified. Other than the state, academic institutions and standardization committees, enterprises and individuals should be encouraged to propose standards. Besides, standards should not be implemented solely through the means of administrative orders. There should be mechanisms for proposed standards to be introduced to the market and to be subjected to evaluation and verification procedures. In the new age, exploration of a market-directed and enterprise-led mechanism for the development of language standards should be constructed.

3.2 Language is a state resource From the point of view of language communication, dialectal variations will adversely affect communication among members of a nationality. If a number of languages are used in a country, communication among its citizens will also be affected. In the 20th century, generations of Chinese people have worked hard to make it easy for members of the Han nationality and members of the whole nation to communicate effectively. (Wang 2003) Putonghua and standardized Chinese characters are not only a common language for members the Han nationality. They are also, by law, the national language of the whole country. It is the duty of our generation to continue our ancestors’ efforts in this cause. However, working on language communication is only one aspect of national language planning. From the point of view of culture and informatization, linguistic plurality and dialectal plurality are also a form of wealth and resource. As many scholars have said in the past, language is a kind of cultural resource. People have also come to realize that language is also a resource for the information industry and the Internet world. Competitions in the information industry and in the Internet world are not just technological competitions. They are also competitions between cultures and competitions between carriers of cultures – i.e. competitions between languages. We should therefore protect

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and develop local language resources to preserve their vitality in the information age, and to prevent local languages or dialects from losing out. While promoting the use of some languages for facilitation of communication, we must also protect other languages in a reasonable manner. For the same token, when we promote foreign language learning for the sake of international communication and interchange, we must also pay attention to protecting and developing mother languages and local languages. The state must work hard to develop language resources, compile national-level language corpora and linguistic knowledge bases, etc. Endangered languages should also be protected, and strategy for the international propagation of languages be formulated. Normalization and standardization of languages should be accompanied with measures to ensure language vitality. In the human history, economically powerful nations have always been powerful in terms of their languages. On the other hand, powerful national languages have always given birth to economic powers. A powerful language does not come to be recognized as such just because it is spoken by a huge population. It is also determined by the number of learners of this language as a second language, by the number of books and documents published in it, and how big a role it plays in the international community and on the Internet. Our nation is becoming an economic power in the world. We should also work hard to make it a nation with a powerful language.

4 Concluding remarks It is strategically important for linguistic research to adapt to the information age, by developing applied linguistics, especially computational linguistics, which is most relevant to language informatization. There is a need to digitalize existing linguistic research results for enhancing the capability of our computers. The use of modern techniques in linguistic research should be promoted, so that future research results can all be digitalized. To nurture linguistic research talents who are well-adapted to informatization is therefore an urgent mission to be accomplished. Language work must also adapt to the information age. Strategies for language work in the information age and relevant language policies should be formulated. Not only should traditional language work be conducted on an informatization platform, new language tasks for the information age should also be considered, so as to facilitate processing of language information, and the healthy development of language activities in the Internet world, so that our language work will be able to keep up with the strides of the time.

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References Li, Yuming. 2003a. Xinxi Shidai de Zhongguo Yuyan Wenti (Language Issues in China in the Information Age). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics), 1. Li, Yuming. 2003b. Dajian Zhonghua Zifuji Da Pingtai (Building a Big Platform for Chinese Character Set). Zhongwen Xinxi Xuebao (Journal of Chinese Information Processing), 2. Liu, Daosheng. 1986. Xin Shiqi de Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo (Language Work in the New Era). In Secretariat of National Conference on Language Work (eds.). Xin Shiqi De Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo – Quanguo Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo Huiyi Wenjian Huibian (Language Work in a New Era – Collected Papers from National Conference on Language Work). Language and Culture Press. Wan, Li. 1986. Wan Li Tongzhi Zai Quanguo Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo Huiyi Kaimushi shang De Jianghua (Wan Li’s Opening Address at the National Conference on Language Work). In Secretariat of National Conference on Language Planning (eds.). Xin Shiqi De Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo – Quanguo Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo Huiyi Wenjian Huibian (Language Work in a New Era – Collected Papers from National Conference on Language Work). Language and Culture Press. Wang, Lijia. 2003. Hanyu Pinyin Yundong yu Han Minzu Biaozhunyu (The Hanyu Pinyin Movement and the Standard Language of the Han People). Language and Culture Press. Wang, Zhan. 2001. Renqing Xingshi, Zhen Zhua Shigan, Kaichuang Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo Xin Jumian – Zai 2001 Niandu Quanguo Yuweiban Zhuren Huiyi ji Putonghua Shuiping Ceshi Gongzuo Huibaohui shang De Jianghua (Have a Clear Understanding of the Situation, Striving for Turning a New Page on Language Work – Address at the 2001 National Conference of Language Commission Directors cum Work Report Meeting of the Putonghua Proficiency Test). Webpage of the Mininstry of Education, PRC. Xiong, Chengyu, et al. 2002. Xinxi Shehui 4.0 – Zhongguo Shehui Jiangou Xin Duice (Information society 4.0 – New Strategy of Chinese Societal Construction). Hunan People’s Publishing House. Xu, Jialu. 1995. Zhongwen Xinxi Chuli de Xianzhuang he Fazhan Fangxiang (Current Situation and Development Direction of Chinese Information Processing). In Weichengji – Lun Xin Shiqi Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo (Unfinished Collection – Discussion on the Work Related to Spoken and Written Languages in New Era). 2000. Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Xu, Jialu. 1997a. Kaituo Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo Xin Jumian – Wei Ba Shehui Zhuyi Xiandaihua Jianshe Shiye Quanmian Tuixiang 21 Shiji Fuwu (Turning a New Page for Language Work – For Socialist Modernization Developments in the 21st Century). In Weichengji – Lun Xin Shiqi Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo (Unfinished Collection – Discussion on the Work Related to Spoken and Written Languages in New Era). 2000. Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Xu, Jialu. 1997b. Shehui Zhuyi Chuji Jieduan de Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo (Language Work in the Initial Stage of Socialism). In Weichengji – Lun Xin Shiqi Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo (Unfinished Collection – Discussion on the Work Related to Spoken and Written Languages in New Era). 2000. Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Yu, Shiwen (ed.). 2003. Jisuan Yuyanxue Gailun (Computational Linguistics). Beijing: Commercial Press. Yuan, Guiren. 2001. Yi Guifan Biaozhun Jianshe wei Hexin, Kaichuang Yuyan Weizi Yingyong Yanjiu Xin Jumian (Initiating a New Trend in Applied Research of Language with Focus on Standardization Criteria). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics), Issue No. 3.

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Zhou, Enlai. 1958. Dangqian Wenzi Gaige de Renwu (Current Language Reform Tasks). Beijing: People’s Publishing House. Zhou, Guangzhao. 2003. Xinxi Jishu de Fazhan Qushi jiqi dui Shehui de Yingxiang (Development Trends and Social Influences of Information Technology). In Xinhua Wenzhai (New China Digest), 9.

Translated by LAI Bong Yeung, Tom (黎邦洋) Department of Linguistics & Translation, City University of Hong Kong [email protected]

Chapter 20

The work of language standardization in the information age Abstract: As education, mass media and IT products are widely popularized in China today, it is a must to establish, as early as possible, a system of standards for the Chinese language to suit our social needs. In the information age, language standards have acquired the features of industrial products. The work of language standardization is, therefore, part of the national standardization strategy as well as the basis of our language work. The current epoch requires us strongly to manage wisely the macro system of language normalization, to establish a new perspective of language normalization, and to coordinate the work of standardization well. Keywords: information age, language and writing, standardization, perspective of normalization

0 Introduction Recently, the Ministry of Education, the State Language Commission (SLC) has held several meetings related to language standardization work, to investigate into the situation, to discuss its mechanism, and to deploy relevant tasks. From 23rd–25th September, 2002, the China Information Age Language Standardization Construction Working Conference was held in Wuhan; from 26th–28th July, 2004, the China Language Standardization Working Conference was held in Qingdao; on 11th May, 2005, the Language Standardization Technical Committee Working Conference was held in Beijing; from 26th–27th July, 2005, the Chinese National Language Normalization, Standardization and Informatization Working Conference was held in Urumchi; from 1st–2nd December, 2007, the Chinese Minorities Language Standardization Work and Exchange Meeting was held in Kunming; from 10th–11th October, 2008, the China Language Standardization Working Conference was held in Beijing. In order to satisfy the needs of language standardization, a team was formed. Within one year (November, 2003–November, 2004), six subcommittees of the National Language and Script Standardization Technical Committee were set up, namely, the Subcommittee of Chinese Pronunciation and Phonetic Alphabet,

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the Subcommittee of Chinese Vocabulary, the Subcommittee of Chinese Grammar and Discourse, the Subcommittee of Chinese Character, the Subcommittee of Minorities’ Language, the Subcommittee of Foreign Language Application, covering basically the normal areas of languages and writing systems. In July 2003, as the government cut down items requiring administrative approval, in order to enhance language standardization, the Certification Center for Language Standards of the State Language Commission was approved to be set up. In order to enhance minorities’ language standardization and normalization work, in 2004, the China National Technical Committee for Terminology Standardization Minorities Special Sub-technical Committee was formally set up, under which Tibetan, Languages in Xinjiang (Uygur language, Kazakh, Kirghiz), Mongolian, Korean Working Groups were set up in succession. Recently, Yi Working Group has also been planned. In view of the theoretical thinking and concrete practice of language standardization and informatization, SLC gradually came up with the working idea which takes informatization as the principle line, and formulation of language standards as the focus, verification and certification as the starting point, and language engineering construction and scientific research as the basis. On top of the above work, the future work of standardization should be considered seriously from the panoramic perspective of national development. In this paper, three areas will be discussed, 1. Systematic language and writing standards in the information age; 2. The macro system of normalization; 3. Establishment of a new perspective of normalization.

1 Systematic language and writing standardization in the information age We are now in a passionate age full of creativity. It has already become a social norm that new thinking, new concepts and new things occur incessantly. Drastic changes have occurred in the theoretical conceptions and social conditions guiding the language work in the past, not to mention the technical means, and national and international situations we are confronting. These new changes create new demands to our work, which requires a full-fledged discussion. However, that is beyond the scope of this paper and also my capability. As a result, only two areas concerning the imminent needs of our time towards language standardization will be expounded.

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1.1 The popularization of education, mass media and IT products The most obvious achievements of education in China for the past three decades: universal nine-year compulsory education, tertiary education transformed from elite education to mass education. The former eliminated illiterates among the young and middle aged people basically, and the latter brought forth the popularization of science and culture. The two combined brought the popularization of education, realizing the 100 years’ Chinese dream of strengthening the country through education, elevating the big populous country to a big human resource country and laying the foundation for its realization. The basic method to implement education is through language and writing, and to popularize education, we need to set up necessary standards for the pedagogical language, such as the status of mother tongue, foreign languages, etc. in teaching; the Putonghua standard of teachers, the number of characters students need to master at different levels in compulsory education; the normalization of scientific terms in textbooks; the standardization of language and writing in the information education; and so on. Rising up in the international world, China has been promoting the internationalization of its language at an unprecedented speed, which requires standardization norms for the international education of the Chinese language for purposes of language assessment and teacher training. The recent 50 years have witnessed the development of the mass media, bidding farewell to typesetting and ushering the unprecedented booming of the print media. Meanwhile, the audio media including radio and television have covered all rural areas, offering plenty of channels and diverse programs. In more recent years, the Internet due to its advantages and features, since its debut has soon secured its share of the mass media and already grown rapidly in to all-in-one media surpassing the other two types. In this wave of new media, mobile phones have also transformed from a simple communicative device into a new type of media, promising great prospects in text messages and phone broadcasting. Good development of the mass media is ensured by a standard system of language, its fundamental carrier. The language used by the mass media is the model for the society, and thus it should conform to norms of language and writing. In the years of few types of media and works, basic standardizing rules and one advisory committee of linguists would suffice. However, the increasing booming of media necessitates much work in the standardizing of language and writing. For instance, normalization and standardization of variant forms of Chinese characters, of the pronunciation of characters with neutral tones and retroflex suffixes, of characters with alternative pronunciations, of the translation and transliteration of foreign words, of new words, of font display on phone screens, etc.

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IT products have had profound influence on our ways of living, manufacturing, and studying, although they have only been widely applied into our society in the past dozen years in China. The development of computer and the Internet, in particular, has created a virtual world that begets linguistic life in the virtual society. Information technology is fruits of efforts endorsed by language standards, which also become industrial standards, e.g., the international code standards of Chinese and minority languages, computer character codes, keyboard input of Chinese and minority languages, dictionaries targeting information processing, norms of corpus annotation, and so on. Information technology allows the transfer of language and linguistic knowledge into productive forces, and turns standards of language and writing into productive tools. Languages are the essential medium of education, the major carrier of information, and the key subject of information technology. The popularity and development of education, media, and IT products demand the warrant of language standardization at a massive scale. Meanwhile, the mass popularization of the three areas has brought about the industrialization and internationalization of rules regulating language standardization, bestowing features of economic resources on languages. This new situation also prompts reflection on the traditional view of language and the “descriptive yet inactive” attitude towards language standardization, as linguistics should play an active role in the process of informatization of the nation.

1.2 National strategies of standardization Facing the trend of a global economy and the fact that China is a member of WTO, national standards have acquired the role of a “third customs”. The first customs is the physical customs in the real world. In those ancient years when China was closed up from the outside world, the first customs protected national trades and other national interests. Since the start of the reform and opening-up and China’s entrance into WTO, however, this protective role, though indispensable, is receding. The second customs is the quality assessment, protecting the national and individual rightful interests by checking on the quality of imported goods. The assessment requires standards, especially those of our own, without which assessment can only follow the rules set up by the club of rich countries. This would mean opening up the gates of our customs. Therefore, it is of critical significance that all sorts of standards be established and take effect, which are abided by “international game rules” yet are able to protect our own rights and interests. This will be our third customs.

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Language standards are related with industrial and service products. Product manuals and text logos concern the functioning of products and consumer rights. IT products usually dealing with languages involve conformity with policies of language and writing in China, with the norms of Chinese and minority languages, and with the conventions of language use by Chinese people. The national strategic demand of standardization states that standardization regulations of language and writing should be set up following international norms, and also China’s own language policies, language norms, and conventional use of language, so as to protect our markets, products, and national interests as well as to promote language-related national industries and products. The user of language standards has been human being, and now it includes machines too. Standards targeting at the use by people usually focus on sounds and texts, thus they are fewer in number and more stable once set up, but allow lenience in enforcement. On the other hand, standards targeting at the use by machines are more specific and cover a wider range of contents, allowing little flexibility in effect and demanding constant upgrade and maintenance to keep up with the development of technology. Such divergences are natural results of the differences between human beings and machines. Before the wide application of information technology in the society, standards targeting at use by human beings and machines were established independently. With the increased popularity of information technology, standards for machines inevitably influence users of products and the general public. In this sense, standards for machines must take human beings into consideration and seek the largest common grounds between machines and people. For example, codes for decomposing Chinese characters used in software for IT skills education for elementary schools should fit for teaching Chinese characters at the elementary level. This raises the difficult level of standards of language and writing, raising new questions for linguists and information scholars.

2 The macro system of standards for language and writing The standardization of language and writing need overall planning and coordination, which are the basis and provide macro understanding of the standard system of language and writing. Knowledge of the system helps clarify the status of standards in the system and also facilitates the overall standardization of language and writing.

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2.1 Statute conventions and written regulations In theory, standards of language and writing are the embodiment of rules of language and writing. Setting up standards is to use language to describe the rules discovered. Standardization of language and writing, thus, prompts the social application of rules of language and writing. These rules can be classified in three groups: a) rules of language structures, such as speech sounds, vocabulary, grammar, and writing; b) rules of language use, such as the writing of numerals, proper names and generic names of places in translation; c) rules of language change. When these rules are perceived and recognized, they become norms. Some are conventions that are not written down, and others are written down as regulations. Most norms are unwritten conventions, which are “acquired” naturally in language use. For example, the four ways of collocation of two characters “读” of the word “阅读” ‘reading’ and “报” of the word “报纸” ‘newspaper’. i) 阅读报纸; ii) 读报纸; iii) 读报;

iv) *阅读报

In the above four combinations, the first three are grammatical but iv) is not. The item of iv) violates the prosodic rule but not the semantic rule. In Chinese, it is not preferred that a disyllabic verb should take a monosyllabic object. This rule, however, was not taught in school or written in books, but rather picked up from the nursery rhymes hummed by our parents: “小老鼠, 爬灯台, 偷油吃, 下不来” (Xiao Laoshu, Pa Dengtai, Tou You Chi, Xia bu lai). The influence from childhood limericks is implicit in the process of language acquisition and use; and the rule is not written down nor taught explicitly. Rules that are written down are not fruits of natural processes, but rather the results of social planning of languages. They are the efforts of social intervention of language and healthy language life. In the ancient times, rules were not written down. They were only recorded in more recent human history. The earlier rules were mainly in forms of dictionaries and textbooks, which were closely related with events concerning education, language and culture, such as Li Si’s Cang Jie Pian in the Qin Dynasty (221 BC–207 BC), children’s reading books including Zhao Gao’s Yuan Li Pian and Hu Wu Jing’s Bo Xue Pian, Xu Shen’s Shuo Wen Jie Zi ‘Etymological Dictionary’ in the Han Dynasty (202 BC–9 AD), and other rhyming books and character books. Only until the 1980s did we see a boom of standards on records. In the past two decades, computers have been widely used in almost all areas,

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which necessitates the establishment of standards for information technology and IT products. In a certain sense, the increase in the amount of standards is related to the introduction of language and writing in industries. In this era, many set-up norms are regarded as standards, and this pushes the standardization of language and writing into schedule. In January 1986, The National Language Work Conference proposed four criteria in language standardization: quantification [regulate the amount of frequently-used modern characters, commonly-used characters, specific characters (for personal names, place names, entity names, classical Chinese characters)], formalization (regulate the printed and hand-written forms of modern characters (including the xingshu script and caoshu script, i.e. cursory style), confirmation of the standard fonts, elimination of the complex fonts and variant fonts, standardization of pronunciation (regulate the Putonghua standard pronunciation of modern characters, determine the standard pronunciation, eliminate unnecessary pronunciations of characters and variant pronunciations), standardization of the sorting order (regulate several unified indexing methods and sorting orders for modern characters). Since then, the ideas of standards and language standardization have been gradually accepted by the society. Distributional features of written and unwritten norms can be revealed with more in-depth observation. For example, there are more written norms regarding language itself than those governing its applications. In sub-systems of language, such as orthography and pronunciation, it is relatively easier to set up norms; then follows vocabulary and other subsystems. In fact, only for orthography and pronunciation, are “hard” norms found. Secondly, in education, mass media, printing, and information communications, there are more writtendown norms than other areas. For example, in education, there is the List of Frequently Used Characters in Modern Chinese, textbooks of Chinese, and copybooks for calligraphy. In printing, there are the General List of Print Fonts of Chinese Characters, a Table of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese and the Administrative Regulations of Chinese Characters in Publications and so on. In information communications especially, there are lots of gentleman’s agreements and the area is in urgent needs of standards. At present, most of the 150 pieces of standards of language and writing are in the area of information communications.

2.2 Norms to be written down What should be written into the norms and in what kind of macro-systems are issues to explore further. In the beginning, an attitude that allows certain flexi-

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bility is more desirable, which can include all written materials that bear some nature of language standardization. Norms to be written down can, hence, be classified in four groups: a) Official documents on norms. These documents are the core of the written norms. (i) The national policy of language and writing, and all sorts of government enacted regulations. For example, Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language, Regulations on the Study, Use and Development of the Tibetan Language in the Tibet Autonomous, Temporary Administrative Regulations of the Language and Writing in Advertising and so on. (ii) National, regional, and industrial norms on language standardization, such as a Table of the First Batch of Verified Variant Word Forms, the Radical Table of Chinese Characters, Rules of Transliteration of Personal Names from Uygur into Chinese, and so on. (iii) Government issued advisory guidelines on language and writing (so called soft norms), and explanatory and supplementary notes on those mentioned in (i) and (ii). For example, Table of Frequently-used Modern Chinese Words (draft) in Volume A of The Green Paper on Language Situation in China, the Reading Text of Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language, and so on. Strictly speaking, the norms for language and writing are mainly seen in the second group of documents. The first group provides guides, bases, and fundamental frameworks, and the third for the interpretation of norms. The governing effects of norm documents are in three folds: effect range, time span, and degree of force. Some norms are widely applicable in the society, such as general rules for punctuation, Hanyu Pinyin orthography. Some are targeted at certain areas such as the Keyboard Representation Norms for Hanyu Pinyin issued in February 2001. A standard’s degree of forces can also be examined based on what norm it is. Some standards are compulsory and must be followed; while some are advisory and the enactment is voluntary. Standards of language and writing are mainly advisory. Their degrees of force may vary according to official documents by certain authority. For example, if an advisory standard of such kind is chosen as the assurance standard of products, then this standard changes to compulsory in the manufacture of this product. So, the effects of a standard may be determined by its nature and also by the decision of an authority unit.

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b) Dictionaries. Dictionaries in ancient times are the most important statute norms of language and writing, and most of them were issued by the imperial courts or the feudal authorities. For example, Gu Yewang’s Yu Pian was compiled under the order of Emperor Taizong of Liang in Southern and Northern Dynasties, AD 420–589; Yan Shigu’s Yanshi Ziyang was compiled under the order of Emperor Taizong in the Zhenguan Period of Tang, AD 627–649; Yan Yuansun’s Ganlu Zishu was compiled on the basis of Yanshi Ziyang for the purpose of helping officials then to write government documents in orthodox Chinese characters; Chen Pengnian, Qiu Yong’s Guangyun was compiled by revising a series of rhyme books such as Qieyun by the imperial order in early Song Dynasty (AD 960–1279); Ding Du, Li Shu’s Jiyun, an official rhyme book, was compiled on the basis of Guangyun, by the order of Emperor Renzong of Song. There was also the Libu Yunlüe to be used in imperial examinations in early Song Dynasty; Yue Shaofeng, Song Lian, Wang Zhuan et al’s Hongwu Zhengyun compiled by the imperial order in the early Ming Dynasty (AD 1368–1644); Zhang Yushu, Chen Tingjing’s Kangxi Dictionary by the order of the Emperor of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1616–1911). In the modern age, there are more kinds of dictionaries and more press houses of such kinds. Dictionaries, especially Chinese dictionaries, are like the “silent teachers”, playing an enormous role in language standardization in the society. Dictionaries encode the written norms and deliver in their own forms to the readers. Those unwritten norms are also encoded in dictionaries as advice from academic authorities on the standardized use of language and writing, thus exerting its influence in areas with no written norms or where written norms may not reach. There are, of course, some dictionaries that are merely descriptive and documentary, such as dictionaries on new words, classical Chinese dictionaries, and dialect dictionaries, and so on. These ones are in general not playing any role of regulation. c)

Language textbooks. These textbooks include those on mother tongues and foreign languages, providing systematic knowledge of language and language rules. Textbooks of such for elementary and middle schools concern the literacy of the public, the language standards of the society, and the quality of the language life. Textbooks for higher education concern the training of language experts and in-depth exploration of language standards. The ancient reading books for children are components of the written norms, and the contemporary language textbooks should also take up such roles.

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d) Classic works in contemporary languages. Putonghua as the standard written Chinese has always been used in those classic works used for language learning. The ancient classics were exemplars that students modeled. For example, Xiping Stone Classics in the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), were the stone inscriptions of proofread classics, namely the Book of Songs, Book of Documents, Book of Rites, Book of Changes, Spring and Autumn Annals, Gongyang Zhuan, the Analects of Confucius, set up in front of the Luoyang Imperial University as a model for all intellectuals then. Works by Mao Zedong, Lu Xun, Lao She, and so on are models of modern Chinese, and are irreplaceable in the standardization of modern Chinese. Similarly, exemplary roles can be found in Shakespeare’s works for English, Dante’s Divine Comedy for Italian, and Pushkin’s works for Russian. The above discussed are the macro system of language standardization. In actual work currently, some of the components in the macro system have yet to be included in the consideration or are ignored. These facts have turned the language work single-dimensioned, which is lacking in depth and width. With a macro system in mind, we could take a more comprehensive perspective to language standardization. But, of course, the roles of components of the system differ from one another, and so are those of the four kinds of norms. Documents of norms set up rules of language standardization policies, principles, and specifications. The scopes are clear and so is the range of effects. Therefore, these documents are the core of standardization. Dictionaries and textbooks interpret these norms in their own ways, spread knowledge of standardization, and guide language life through academic authorities. In areas where unwritten norms are applicable, they serve as supplements. Model works in written standard languages encoding written and non-written norms are implicit examples of standard language use. Each norm can be further classified into smaller groups, which are also characterized with unique features and regulating roles that warrant further discussion.

3 Setting up the perspective of language standardization for the new century The key to language standardization is to promote the standards of language and language use. The critical question at present is to set up a perspective towards language standardization suitable for the new century. Works of language and writing in modern senses can be dated back to 100 years ago; or at

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least 60 years ago, since the year of 1949. We should show respect to the history which laid the foundation of contemporary language standardization. Language work in China is as reformed and developed as work in other areas in China. It is paramount that we set up a goal of constructing harmonious language life. Though it is yet unclear to us what the new perspective should be towards language standardization of the 21st century, there are some major issues that deserve our consideration.

3.1 Appropriate handling of four relationships regarding language and writing 21st century standards of language and writing should guide the public to handle the relationships regarding language and writing scientifically. Currently, we are faced with four important relationships of such: i) between the mother tongue and foreign languages; ii) between ethnic languages including the relationships between these languages and the national standard language; iii) between Putonghua and dialects; iv) between the simplified and traditional Chinese scripts. Proper handling of the relationships mentioned above requires a multi-dimensional perspective, and never a “take either-this-or-that” attitude. All languages and their varieties are linguistic resources of China. We need to guarantee the status of the national standard language and writing system, as well as that of the ethnic languages and their writing systems. We also need to pay equal attention to dialects, the traditional Chinese script, and foreign languages, creating a harmonious situation where all languages and writing systems can coexist.

3.2 The need of informatization 21st century norms require proper dealing with issues brought about with the process of informatization, little consideration of which will be harmful for effective work. Our work in this area should be focusing on two aspects: First, to establish a steady language platform for national informatization. In addition to hardware, informatization also needs a three-layered construct: its bottom is composed of the norms of language standardization, codes, font types, word corpus, and word processing software; the mid-layer contains soft-

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ware for processing textual, audio and visual input; and the top layer integrates all contents. Of three layers, the language and writing platform is the foundation, which determines the level of informatization. Our current platform of this kind is not strong enough yet, as our proprietary intellectual property rights are rather limited in number. This affects adversely our country’s economic benefits generated through high technology, the process of informatization, as well as the national information security. It is of principal importance that China’s own standards of language and writing, and those of language processing, should be established, thus providing a firm language platform for nation-wide informatization. Second, proper handling of language life in the virtual world. Informatization has created a virtual world for people, where languages suitable for the world are used. We have accumulated plenty experience in managing our real language life, but still lack an understanding of that in the virtual world. For example, we know little of the so-called Martian language used in the Internet, new words, new expressions, and so on. As the virtual language life would influence that in the real world with an ever increasing speed and strength, the Internet language has become a main source of new Chinese words; whereas in the past, classical Chinese, dialects, and foreign languages had been the main sources. Some Internet vocabulary, at first look, may not appear attractive. But actually, all new words may seem the same in the beginning. Language use in the virtual world is a new topic that requires an open mind and tolerance. The new thing should be dealt with in a way that is different from languages in the real world. Moreover, language work in the information age should also consider the improvement of work efficiency and quality through the use of IT products, which is an issue of an e-government.

3.3 Culture inheritance and innovation A 21st century perspective to language standardization should be beneficial to culture inheritance and innovation. Language is an integral part of culture and also its carrier. Language work is also major components of our national cultural construction. Ever since the spreading of the idea of “soft power”, culture has enjoyed an unprecedented prestigious status. Decades ago, the traditional culture was considered as a feudal burden that we were eager to shake off. Today, culture is part of the comprehensive national power. To inherit our culture, to learn it, to create new culture, and to maintain it, become popular topics in our

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society. Language work incorporated with culture will introduce charm and vibe, which will be welcomed by the public. Recently, there is increasing attention on the traditional Chinese script and dialects, which has invited diverse opinion academic or not on related topics. These discussions require profound understanding in Chinese and its culture. The State Language Commission has called on “cherishing Chinese language resources”, and planned to establish audio corpora of these resources. The first trial was started on Oct. 10th, 2008 in Jiangsu Province, receiving attention and support from all areas. “Language resources” have become an important concept in modern language planning, which is significant to the creation of a harmonious language life.

3.4 To promote the Chinese languages globally 21st century perspectives of language standardization must incorporate the world view of Chinese languages. To promote our languages we must take three issues into consideration: First, the relationship between Putonghua in the mainland, the so-called “national language” of Taiwan, and Huayu spoken overseas. People overseas used to think that Putonghua was the only standard and the Mandarin they speak was not. This affects the linguistic confidence of the expatriates, and the mother tongue heritage. Now, a concept of “greater Huayu” is proposed to refer to a common language (a lingua franca) based on Putonghua that is spoken by the Chinese all over the world. This concept then gives linguistic status to Cantonese in Hong Kong and Macau, Mandarin in Taiwan, and Chinese overseas, providing a theoretic foundation to mutual benefits. Putonghua has benefited from communicating with others, and so have others from Putonghua. Chinese overseas was the earlier attempt of globalization of Chinese languages, revealing patterns of language spreading for further research. Meanwhile, Chinese overseas is a powerful drive in the current efforts in promoting the globalization of Chinese languages. Second, the international education of Chinese languages. The term of “Chinese as a foreign language” has been transformed into the “international education of Chinese languages”, which symbolizes the fast development of the field. There are more and more people in the world staring to learn Chinese, and more people coming to China to learn it. It is estimated that the number of foreign students increased by 20% annually from 2002 to 2007. There were about 200 thousand foreign students in China in 2007, in 15 majors, including 120

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thousand (61% of the total) devoting to learning Chinese. Students in other majors also needed to learn Chinese, which accounted for about 14%. Altogether, there were 75% of foreign students in 2007 that needed to learn Chinese. This necessitates more attention to the teaching quality that can only be guaranteed by language standards, pedagogical standards, which contribute to improving learning efficiency, thus promoting the education of the Chinese language globally, and fulfilling the duties of a country of the target language. Thirdly, the international education of ethnic minority languages. The globalization of Chinese languages does not only refer to the Chinese language, but also those of ethnic minority groups such as Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur, and Manchurian languages, which share some educational demand in the world. We need to realize the meaning of the international education of these languages in China. We need to train language experts and teachers, compile teaching materials, schedule courses, and launch international cooperation, taking up the leading role in the international education of ethnic minority languages as a country of these target languages.

4 Concluding remarks The State Language Commission is compiling the mid- and long-term planning of language and writing for the year of 2020, including those for language standardization. Language plans take into consideration the current state and capability but also the developmental needs of the country. We need to discuss setting up new systems and mechanisms, such as turning establishment of standards from government-enacted into government-guided, encouraging enterprises to take up the lead in establishing standards for their industries. We need further foster the disciplinary development and expert training, and introduce standard language and writing into classrooms such as in Modern Chinese, General Linguistics, and Applied Linguistics. Standards are the basis of work concerning language and writing. Local Language Commissions should pay attention to such standards. All regions should focus on cultivating the proper perspective towards language standardization, and the implementation of the standards. We need to learn to make good use of the standards in all walks of life, for example, some regional authorities have issued or are preparing to issue regulations of language in local places, including the English translation of Chinese cuisines and menus, use of foreign words in road signs, use of foreign letters in public. In theory, there should not be too many regional regulations and they must be made with the national standards in mind, so that the regional regulations can later be trans-

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formed into national ones without turning into railways of different sizes. The standardization of ethnic minority languages and its implementation will be taken up mainly by the local ethnic authorities, so that Minority Language Committees have a great responsibility on their shoulder. Work concerning language and writing has always focused on the language issues encountered in the country’s development. In different ages, our nation is faced with different issues and problems of languages. In the 21st century, we are entering an age of economic integration, Internet-based informatization, and cultural diversity. China has risen as the third economic power in the world. The popularization of education, media, and IT products have revamped the social landscape of language work. The standards of language and writing have acquired the properties of industrial standards. Thus, embracing the historical change, linguists and language experts should examine the new situation, understand the key language issues affecting national development, set up new perspective towards language and language standards, and make greater contribution to a better and more harmonious language life and a stronger China in the Information Age!

References Bai, Dianyi. 2006. Biaozhunhua Jichu Zhishi Wenda (Basic Knowledge in Standardization). Beijing: Standards Press of China. Chen, Zhangtai. 2005. Yuyan Guihua Yanjiu (A Study of Language Planning). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Department of Language Planning and Administration of the Ministry of Education of the PRC. 2005. Xinshiqi Yuyan Wenzi Fagui Zhengce Wenjian Huibian (A Collection of Legal Documents on Language Policies and Regulations of the New Era). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Department of Political Education, State Bureau of Technical Supervision. 1997. Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Jishu Jiandu Fagui Quanshu 1981–1996 (People’s Republic of China Quality and Technical Supervision Regulations 1981–1996). Beijing: Standards Press of China. Department of Cultural Publicity Affairs, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of the PRC. 2006. Minzu Yuwen Zhengce Fagui Huibian (A Collection of the Laws on the Language Policy for Ethnic Minorities). Beijing: The Ethnic Publishing House. Division of Policies and Legal Affairs, Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China. 2002. Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Renzheng Renke Fagui Huibian (1) [People’s Republic of China Certification and Accreditation Laws and Regulations (I)]. Beijing: Standards Press of China. Department of Standardization, National Quality and Technical Supervision. 2000. Biaozhunhua Gongzuo Wenjian Huibian 1988–2000 (Compilation of Documents on Standardization Works) 1988–2000. Beijing: China Metrology Publishing House.

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Li, Hongjie and Ya, Mali (eds.). 2008. Shaoshu Minzu Yuyan Shiyong yu Wenhua Fazhan: Zhengce he Falü de Guoji Bijiao (Minority Language Use and Cultural Development – International Comparison of Policy and Law). Beijing: Central University of Nationalities Publishing House. Li, Yuming. 2005. Zhongguo Yuyan Guihua Lun (A Theory of Language Planning in China). Changchun: Northeast Normal University Press. Li Yuming. 2008a. Yuyan Gongneng Guihua Chuyi (A Discussion of Language Function Planning). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics), 1. Li, Yuming. 2008b. Dangjin Renlei San Da Yuyan Huati (Three Major Linguistic Issues of Mankind in Contemporary Societies). Journal of Yunnan Normal University (Philosophy and Social Science Edition), 4. Qian, Zengyi and Liu, Lüxin. 1991. Zhongguo Yuyanxue Yaoji Jieti (On Essential Chinese Linguistic Books). Ji’nan: Qilu Shushe. Wu, Yuanhua. 2008. Wushi de Juece – Xinjiapo Zhengfu Hua Yuwen Zhengci Yanjiu (Pragmatic Decision – Research on Chinese Language Policy of Singapore). Beijing: The Contemporary World Press. Yao, Yaping. 2006. Zhongguo Yuyan Guihua Yanjiu (A Study on Language Planning in China). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Yong, Heming, et al. 2006. Zhongguo Cidian Shi Lun (A Historical Review of Chinese Dictionaries). Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. Zhao, Qinping. 2007. Jiaqiang Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong Yanjiu, Goujian Hexie de Yuyan Shenghuo (Strengthening Applied Language Studies, Constructing Harmonious Language Life). Applied Linguistics, Vol. 1.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Applied Linguistics, 2009, Vol. 2. Translated by LI Bin (李彬) Department of Linguistics & Translation, City University of Hong Kong [email protected] Translated by LUN Suen, Caesar (蔺荪) Department of Linguistics & Translation, City University of Hong Kong [email protected]

Chapter 21

Constructing the grand platform of China Character Set1 Abstract: In order to have permanent exact representations of Chinese texts that lend themselves to text processing, to meet the needs for digital libraries, museums and archives, to step up the construction of databases for knowledge mining, and to ensure the unobstructed conveyance of Chinese cultural information on the Internet, the China Character Set must be constructed as soon as possible. The thrust of this paper is to discuss the content of this character set and the technical problems that need to be solved. Keywords: China Character Set, literature preservation, digitizing, knowledge discovery, knowledge mining; Internet

1 A brief review of character processing in China Computer processing of language covers a huge area, in which Han character processing is an important aspect. In the 1950s there were forerunners in China who began to tackle the issue of Russian-Chinese machine translation, when the Telegraphic Code or the 4-corner Code was utilized as the Chinese character code. (Fu 1999:51) In the 1970s the issue of computer processing of Chinese characters began to attract people’s attention. Keyboard coding, dot-matrix specification and character output became must-tackle issues. (Shi 1986) In January 1986, the State Language Commission convened a national level conference. It was at that time that the nation, sensitive to frontier technological developments, incorporated information processing of the Chinese language into the national language developmental work-plan as a key aspect of the latter. (Liu 1986:12)

1 This paper was read to the Second Kent Ridge International Roundtable Conference on Chinese Linguistics (26–29 November 2002, Singapore) and benefitted from the comments by Li Bing, Zhang Shuyan and Chen Shuangxin there. It has been updated before it is published here. The content of this paper was also presented in the form of invited academic report to Zhejiang University (9 Nov. 2003) and Huadong Normal University (17 Nov. 2003). The CCS is now a formally instituted project. Such works as data collection, tasks coordination and registration as international standards are all underway in an orderly manner.

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In the past 30 years, computer processing of Han characters (or “ideographs”) has made great strides.2 The various keyboard inputting methods for Han characters that were developed over the years solved the once intractable problem of computer Han character inputting. Han character output has realized font multiplicity3 and size multiplicity. Specification for Han characters font production has advanced from dot-matrix to vector to curve outline. Automatic recognition technology for Han characters stands at an advanced level by international standard, spinning off commercialized products in the market. The CJK character set of ISO/IEC106464 was developed from the 6763 commonly used characters in the early days. Extension A and Extension B of the CJK set are now completed. At present Extension C1 is being discussed. After the completion of Extension C1, the number of coded CJK characters will be over 70,000.5 These achievements have fuelled the spread of computers in China and paved the way for the development of applied computer technology and digitization. In the realm of computer processing of Han characters, there exist, however, some problems that require fixing. For example: 1)

The existence of innumerable coding systems for inputting worries the industry. Following the advancement of computer language processing from “characters and words” to in-depth understanding of language, enhancement of the quality of keyboard inputting is determined not by character encoding per se but rather predominately by the building up of various resources in connection with language understanding, e.g. highly developed databases and the compilation of electronic dictionaries and syntax dictionaries. Only when keyboard inputting comes to be supported by such resources can there be breakthroughs in its development. 2) How can the quality of Han character recognition be enhanced, especially for handwritten characters in the off-line context? 3) Automatic conversion between voice and text, including text display of speech input and speech output of text, has a promising arena of application, and yet there are numerous technological difficulties awaiting breakthrough. Conversion from Han characters to Pinyin and to IPA (or annotation of the former with the latters) should not be difficult technologically speaking but has not attracted the attention of software developers.

2 For details see Ministry of Education, the PRC (2002: 254–259), Xu (1999: 117–130, 202–237), Feng (1999: 150–172) and Fu (1999). 3 There now exist over 120 different fonts for the computer. 4 “C” stands for China, “J” for Japan and “K” for Korea. 5 70 205 characters for the latest draft submitted.

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4) Conversion between Simplified and Traditional characters has not reached full automation. In particular, conversion from simplified to traditional characters requires quite a bit of human intervention. 5) The delineation of various relationships among the characters considered to have variant-form relation. 6) The character shape standards of the four common print fonts Song, Fangsong, Kai and Hei should be extended to cover a larger character set, while other fonts should have their norms or norm-principles established. In this connection lesser norms for low-resolution dot matrix character shapes should be established for use on palm computers or similar mobile devices. Apart from all this, how handwritten styles and calligraphic styles should be treated on computers is worth studying. Apart from those issues, Han character processing consideration should also include the issue of constructing the China Character Set. The current paper discusses the content of this very character set, the significance of its construction and the technical problems to be solved. It is hoped that the discussion serves to attract the attention towards and win the support for such a grandiose project which bears on the development of Chinese culture in the information era.

2 The China Character Set and its significance The 20th century saw the advancement of technology with great strides. The computer and the Internet were two of the most important inventions of the century. In particular, the Internet has fabricated for human beings a brand new virtual space, presenting a bright scenario in the information era. However, the advent of the computer and the Internet has also brought about huge “digital gaps” throughout the world, coupled with various new social problems on the international arena. When a modern nation institutes its language planning, it cannot afford not to take into consideration the questions of computer processing of language, verbal communication on the Internet and how digital gaps can be reduced by means of informatization of speech and writing. The Internet is an entity that is not only technological but also cultural. It follows that bridging of digital gaps requires not just the right technology but also the right culture. Culture is the accumulation and precipitation of human civilization and the very basis of human life. The continuation and development of culture are important aspects of human living and development. In a digitized information era with the computer and the Internet as the two underlying technologies, continuation and development of culture become even more important.

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The Chinese culture is a time-honoured, many-splendoured culture built up from a multitude of different nationalities. As such it has irreplaceable significance in the development of the culture of the world. It is thus our responsibility, in a historical sense, to strive for the Chinese culture to contribute even more in the information era. The character set that represents the repertoire of characters as carriers of Chinese culture is to be called “the China Character Set”, which covers the following nine areas: 1)

The modern-day Han characters as a carrier of mainstream Chinese culture since the inception of the Lishu style, including the simplified characters, complex characters, stable characters, and variant characters.6 2) Non-standard Han characters, including dialect characters, folk characters, inscriptional variant characters and erroneous characters throughout history. 3) Pre-Lishu Han scripts, including oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, Warring States period scripts, bamboo-and-silk and seal scripts, Small Zhuan scripts, and any other scripts or individual characters before the Lishu transformation. 4) The scripts of ethnic minorities throughout history that were or are somehow attached to the Han character set, including, among others, the ancient Zhuang script, the Buyei script, the Dong script, the Maonan script, the Mulao script, the old Miao script, the Yao (Mien) script, the Bai script, the Hani script, the Tangut script, the Jurchen script, the Khitan large and small scripts.7 5) The ideographic scripts of ethnic minorities throughout history not attached to the Han character set, e.g. the Dongba (also Tomba or Tompa) script of the Nakhi (Naxi) tribe, the Sui script and the Ersu-Shaba script.8 6) The phonetic scripts of ethnic minorities throughout history, e.g. the Mongolian script, the Tibetan script, the Uyghur script, the Kazakh script, the Korean script, the Yi script, the Dai scripts, the Manchu script, the Pollard Miao script, the ’Phags-pa script, the Kharoṣṭhī script, the Uyghur Khaganate script, the Chagatai script, the Old Turkic script, the Saka script, the Tocharian script and the Sogdiana script.

6 It should also include the 248 characters in the Second Chinese Character Simplification Scheme (Draft), put on trial use in 1977, put on hold in 1978 and officially rescinded in 1986. 7 The Nüshu script and Lisu script could belong here. There are about 25 000 characters of this kind. 8 There are about 17 000 characters of this kind.

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7)

The IPA and other phonetic symbols needed for the transcription of all languages and dialects of China throughout history.9 8) The components (including radicals) and strokes of characters of China (chiefly Han characters). 9) All kinds of symbols with cultural significance, such as the porcelain symbols unearthed at Banpo of Xi’an, the 64 hexagrams, Daoist symbols and the symbols used in traditional Chinese mathematics and music. Establishing the China Character Set is of extremely important significance for the preservation and development of Chinese culture in the information era. First, this character set can serve as a platform to produce permanent, faithful versions of all Chinese texts extent that lend themselves to text processing in the electronic world. Without such a character set, Chinese texts (especially ancient writings) can only be kept as image defying text processing. Or else they may be transliterated by means of whatever character set at our disposal (e.g. the set of some 70,000 characters after the completion of Extension C1), when certain original shapes of character will inevitably be lost, which in turn implies the loss of a lot of linguistic and cultural information. Second, it paves the way for establishing digital libraries, museums and archives. Ever since the 1990s, close to 20 countries, including the USA, the UK, France, Germany, Japan and Russia, have invested, one after another, huge amounts to start the research on digital libraries. It is reported that the amount of investment on digital library research by the USA has exceeded US$800M; even though Russian economy has yet to fully recover, the Russian Government plans to spend 200M Rubles per year from 1999 to 2004 to support the research on digital libraries; Japan not only has injected 1500M Japanese Yen to develop a Japanese text database but will also inject US$400M to the Kansai Electronic Library (now being built as a branch of the Library of Congress), with a view to turning it into a center of documents for the entire Asia. Following the development of electronic public administration, electronic business and distance education, work on the establishment of digitized libraries, museums and archives has already begun and Phase One of Construction Work for the Digital Library of China (2000–2005) has been formulated.10 However, the nature of Han characters dictates that the establishment of high-end digitized libraries, museums and archives cannot be realized unless and until the China Character Set is in place. 9 Including the symbols used in Hanyu Pinyin, Bopomofo and the main phonetic scripts or phonetic transcription schemes since Late Qing. 10 Information by courtesy of the Digital Library of CHINA (d-library.com.cn).

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Third, it provides a firm platform for building up databases for knowledge mining. The development of smart computers depends on all kinds of databases capable of knowledge mining. The intelligence of smart computers can be enhanced through database knowledge mining. In order for computers to be “conversant” in Chinese culture, large-scale Chinese culture databases that are “learnable” by computers must be established. In the realm of research, especially in the humanities area, databases will gradually become a predominate means. Thus, people using bibliographic databases to search for bibliographic information and use other databases for statistical analysis, knowledge mining, pattern extraction and results examination. The China Character Set will make possible the establishment of Chinese culture databases for knowledge mining and development.

3 The realization of China Character Set The China Character Set (CCS hereinafter) will be largest character set since the computer processing of text began. In the course of its realization there are bound to be technical barriers waiting to be properly overcome after earnest research. First, the selection of graphemes. Here “graphemes” include both script characters and non-script symbols that need to be part of the CCS. The graphemes of the CCS involve the study of Han scripts throughout history, the study of ethnic minority scripts throughout history, phonetics, dialectology, folklore, textual criticism and a host of other disciplines. As such, the project calls for the mobilization of the scholars of all the involved disciplines to collect comprehensively and exhaustively all the graphemes in use. In the course of grapheme collection, existing dictionaries of various kinds, the results of related studies, existing archives of ancient texts and area-specific corpora all have to be adequately utilized and assimilated. At the same time, folk characters and certain ethnic minority characters that scatter among various communities call for fieldwork to be done with a view to maximally collecting graphemes in use. On the basis of such extensive collection, experts should be organized to do discrimination, duplicate-check, screening and the final selection. Second, grapheme shape standardization. Of the ultimate set of graphemes, a grapheme shape standard should be established for every subset of the graphemes, on the basis of which typical or standard grapheme shapes can be provided for the graphemes. Perceivably of the ultimate set of graphemes there will be those that do not have an existing print style, e.g. folk characters, inscriptional variant characters, erroneous characters, variant characters used in

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the Bianwen literature of Dunhuang, bamboo-and-silk characters unearthed, ancient characters of ethnic minorities, etc. For these scripts, there is the need for devising a print style for them on the basis of the hand-written form. For the pre-Lishu Han scripts (oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, Zhuan scripts, etc.), not only will we need to provide the various grapheme shape norms for them but there is also the need for mapping such graphemes to the Kaishu script in accordance with some Lishu-transformational algorithm. Third, font production. In accordance with the grapheme shape norms established, fonts should be produced for use by and input into computers. If circumstances warrant, even different font styles can be gradually produced. In view of the enormous scale of the character set and the complexity of the technology involved, software should be developed for producing fonts for the computer so that font production can be carried out with a lot of work relegated to the computer. Fourth, storage. The CCS has the characteristics of huge in quantity and non-homogeneity. Non-homogeneity of the CCS is apparent in the following two points: 1. It incorporates a number of different scripts and symbolic systems; it is non-homogeneous in terms of the nature of the symbols used. 2. The domain and frequency of use differ vastly among different members of the set: some are a must in modern life and yet some are used only in very specific domains; the set is non-homogeneous in terms of domain and frequency of use of its members. Because of the vastness of the set, all the existing sorting principles, be it alphabetical or shape-oriented, fail to apply. According to what principle will the graphemes be ordered or storage is an issue that needs to be resolved. Because of the non-homogeneity of the CCS, we must consider dividing the set into a number of subsets so as to fulfil the needs of different domains and different communities. The following three principles can be considered in subset division: 1)

2)

Principle of ethnicity. The script of an ethnic group and related scripts should be placed in the same subset as far as possible. For example, the Tibetan script should be a subset by itself; the Uyghur script, the Kazakh script and the Kirgiz (Kyrgyz) script, being cognates, should belong to the same subset; Han scripts and the closely related scripts of other languages should belong to the same subset; etc. Ancient characters and current characters differ greatly in terms of usage. For example, the ancient Han scripts before the Lishu Transformation are used mainly by experts only while the ordinary people seldom have anything to do with them. For the modern script developed after the Lishu-

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Transformation, there still exist some characters that are used entirely in ancient texts and are never or rarely used in present-day communication. Therefore, in addition to the division by ethnicity principle, the ancient vs current divide is needed for further division. Nevertheless, for scripts that are no longer used in present-day communication, e.g. the Tangut script, the Jurchen script and the Khitan large and small scripts, such further division is not necessary. 3) Frequency principle. Frequency of use should be a factor in subset division. Accordingly to a study done by a research center of the Huadong Normal University, within the set of bronze inscriptions of the Western Zhou dynasty, there are 612 characters with frequency counts of 10 or above. While the figure 612 stands for just 19% of all the characters in that set, the total frequency count of these 612 characters is as high as 65 792, or 92% of the grand total frequency count. Then, of the commoner characters in this set, ones that have frequency count of 100 or above, 99.2% are the deciphered characters. The deciphered characters were used more frequently than the undeciphered ones. These two cases show that ancient scripts should be subjected to the consideration of frequency of use. As for the modern scripts, especially for non-alphabetic scripts, some graphemes have dropped out of use in present-day communication. If at all they function only as reserves, having very low frequency of use. A reserve subset is where they should belong. The graphemes that are actually used in presentday communication, e.g. the Han characters for modern linguistic life, can still be further divided according to frequency of use. These subsets, some parallel with others, some being subdivisions of other subsets, and some cross-cutting with certain others on different strata, depict an intricate internal structure of the CCS. It would benefit the future application of the CCS if issues of storage could be handled in accordance with its internal structure. Fifth, retrieval and inputting. The traditional retrieval and inputting systems ill-apply to the CCS. These traditional systems are mainly pronunciation or character-shape oriented. Pronunciation oriented systems fail to apply to the CCS because: 1) there are too many homophones in the set; 2) there are more than one sound systems operating; 3) there are symbols without any pronunciation. Character-shape oriented systems are also faced with insurmountable problems because:

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1) 2)

the CCS has graphemes with vastly different graphical principles; there does not exist a set of principles of character component extraction that applies to the entire set; 3) the radical system fails to serve as the overarching principle. Retrieval and inputting are the two most important operations that underpin the working of any character set. We therefore must invest intense effort to work out some accurate and quick ways of retrieval and handy ways of inputting.

4 The China Character Set and international standards Internet is the most advanced means of human information interchange. The virtual world that it has constructed will be a very important novel communication space for mankind. Internet communication activities include real-time interactive communication of various kinds, web publication, etc. Today when Internet has linked up the entire world, the establishment of the CCS must take Internet communication into consideration. To be more exact we should first and foremost consider the issue of Internet communication. If Internet communication is not considered, then the CCS can have more than one set of internal codes, allowing different corporations to have their own coding system for their products, or different countries or regions to use different coding systems. The inevitable result of such a technological approach would be as follows. Any electronic product that involves the CCS must carry with it a special-purpose character set of very huge size; a user who uses such a product must download the special-purpose character set, or establish some mapping relation between different character sets. With the sharp increase of storage space and the rapid increase of operating speed of computers, such a technological approach is not impossible. However, the drawback of this approach is very obvious: 1) 2)

It increases product development costs; It increases the trouble on the part of the user to download a character set or travel to and fro between different coding systems; 3) The information interchanged through the web is far from reliable, as the user often encounters disruptions caused by coding-related errors. In order to overcome coding error induced problems in web communication, to ensure the reliability in information transmission, to realize barrier-free communication on the web, to spare the troubles of bringing one’s own character set and of travelling between different coding systems, to reduce development cost and to increase convenience, the CCS must embrace the technological approach

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of internationalization in setting its internal codes, namely adopt the internally unified coding system. An internationally unified coding system bestows on the CSS two major attributes: 1. the code-point for every grapheme in the CSS is unique; 2. there is only one coding system for the CSS and it is universal. ISO and IEC have created a sufficiently roomy 125 x 256 x 65 536 character space for scripts and symbols. The space consists of 128 groups (groups 0–127), each consisting of 256 planes (planes 0–255), each capable of placing 65 536 characters. At present, 17 planes (planes 0–16) of group 0 have been defined, of which planes 0–14 are for placing characters while planes 15 and 16 are reserved for special purposes. Plane 0 of Group 0 is the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP). As this plane is basically completely filled already11, extension of character sets needs to resort to other planes. The ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2/IRG Ideographic Rapporteur Group is responsible for the international encoding of the Han characters (referred to as “ideographs”) used in China, Japan and Korea. As mentioned above, the number of coded Han characters is to exceed 70 000 very soon. In addition, ISO/IEC 10646 has established the international standards for Tibetan script, the Uyghur script, the Korean script and the Yi script of Sichuan and will soon establish those for the Mongolian script and the Dai scripts. The some 70 000 Han characters and the characters for the ethnic scripts of Tibet, Uyghur and Yi and for the Korean script can already fulfil the needs for daily verbal communication and the publication of ancient texts in the Han script. The achievement of ISO/IEC 10646 is commendable. (Zhang 2002) However, a lot needs to be done to go from this basis to the goal of completing the international encoding of the CCS and making the encoding an international standard.

5 Other remarks The Department of Language Information Management of the Ministry of Education of China threw out the idea of establishing the CCS in accordance with the suggestions of many experts. The idea won the supports of linguists and ICT experts and scholars and relevant government departments, industries and corporations in society at large. On 15 March 2002 the Department of Language Information Management convened a conference on ISO “Information technology – Universal multiple-octet coded character set”, soliciting “extra-set” characters from certain government departments and industries. On 13–16 July of the same year the Seminar on the Comprehensive Han Character Set and the IPA was convened in Harbin, in which the necessity, urgency and feasibility of constructing 11 With about 1000 or more code-points left unfilled at present.

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the CCS and the approaches of its operation were studied. On 26 July and 2 September, two rounds of roundtable discussion were convened for experts on ethnic minority languages and scripts to study the issue of incorporating ethnic minority scripts into the CCS. On 30 and 31 October, experts and government officials from the four regions on both sides of the straight, namely the inland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan were invited to a meeting convened in Fuzhou to compare notes. In addition to further discussing issues related to Extension C1, the meeting also had a preliminary discussion on problems concerning the subsets of the CCS and the future coordination among the four areas. Certain commonalities were reached, including the birth of the Chinese Digitization Forum or CDF. Construction work for the CCS has already begun. We are now at the stage of collecting graphemes and devising subset divisions. A memorandum of intention and a general design of the entire scheme have been submitted to international meetings concerned. Apart from the above, the State Language Commission instituted the project on the development of the Standardized Chinese Character List 12 in May 2001 and it is hoped that the first draft will be ready for submission to the authority for comment. In the course of the development of the List, the project team has convened four rounds of specialized academic seminar, with location in Shanghai, Jinggangshan, Hefei and Yantai respectively.13 On 26 December 2002, the project team gathered relevant experts in Beijing and listened to their views. The Standardized Chinese Character List includes the characters for Modern Standard Chinese, for proper names and for science and technology. It should be able to fulfill the basic needs for communication with Chinese characters in language use in modern life, whereby solving the fundamental question in modern life involving Chinese characters. The List will need to be internally stratified with respect to frequency of use and domain. It will also need to undergo pronunciation standardization and character shape standardization. The List can be regarded as the one most fundamental set within the CCS.14 For the ordinary user of Chinese characters, using the built-in character set of the List in the computer suffices. Specialized users can append to the built-in set of the CCS or some subset of it. As such, this suggests a “1 + X” approach to character set use. 12 The project has been listed by the Ministry of Education as a major work. See China Education Journal, p. 2, 2 Jan. 2003. 13 The Seminar on Chinese character norms was convened in Shanghai on 21–22 Dec 2001; the Seminar on Variant Characters was convened in Jinggangshan on 16–17 May 2002; the Seminar on Simplified Characters was convened in Hefei on 22–23 Jun 2002; the Seminar on the Character Shape for Print Fonts was convened in Yantai on 22–23 Aug 2002. 14 This fundamental subset of the CCS will need to be supplemented with Han characters frequently used in Japanese and Korean on top of the Standardized Chinese Character List.

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The scale of the CCS is so huge we are not expected to solve all problems at one go. There are many issues that can only be solved in phases and need the participation of and support from various sectors. I hope people from within the country and without can pay their fair share of attention to the issue and offer their wisdom and labour to the realization of the CCS.

References Feng, Zhiwei. 1999. Yingyong Yuyanxue Zunglun (Applied Linguistics: An Overview). Guangdong Education Press. Fu, Yonghe. 1999. Zhongwen Xinxi Chuli (Chinese Information Processing). Guangdong Education Press. Hu, Angan and Zhou, Shaojie. 2002. Xinde Quanqiu Pinfu Chaju: Riyi Kuoda de Shuju Honggou (The New Global Divide between Rich and Poor: the Widening Digital Gap). Chinese Social Science, 3. Li, Yuming. 2001. Xinxi Shidai Xuyao Genggao Shuiping de Yuyan Wenzi Guifan (The Information Era Calls for a Higher Level of Language Standardization). Terminology Standardization and Information Technology, 3. Li, Yuming. 2003. Xinxi Shidai de Zhongguo Yuyan Wenti (Chinese Language Issues in the Information Era). Applied Linguistics, 1. Liu, Daosheng. 1986. Xin Shiqi de Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo (Language Work in the New Era). Yuwen Jianshe (Language Planning), 1–2. Ministry of Education, the PRC. 2002. Kua-shiji de Zhongguo Jiaoyu (Education in China at Century-turn). Shi, Yuncheng. 1986. Yuyan Xinxi Chuli de Xin Renwu (New Tasks for Language Information Processing). Yuwen Jianshe (Language Planning), 1–2. Xu, Jialu. 1999. Yuyan Wenzixue jiqi Yingyong Yanjiu (Chinese Philology and Related Applied Research). Guangdong Education Press. Yao, Yaping. 1997. Zhongguo Jisuan-Yuyanxue (China’s Computational Linguistics). Jiangxi: Science Technology Press. Zhang, Zhoucai. 2002. The Development of ISO Coded Character Sets and the CJK set. Presentation in the Working Conference on the Development of Standards for the Normalization of Language and Script in the Information Era, 23 Sep 2002, Wuhan. Zhou, Qingsheng (ed.). 2001. Guowai Yuyan Zhengce yu Yuyan Guihua Jincheng (The Progress of Language Policy and Language Planning in Foreign Countries). Beijing: Language and Culture Press.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Journal of Chinese Information Processing, 2003, Vol. 2. Translated by CHEUNG Kwan Hin (张群显) Department of Chinese & Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Chapter 22

On annotation of language knowledge in the corpus1 Abstract: In this paper, we define modern linguistic corpus as a “sizable, machine-readable database of natural language with a certain structure and annotation of knowledge.” This definition reflects the five most important features of modern corpus: 1) capable of being processed by computers, 2) containing natural language data, 3) a sizable scale, 4) a principled structure, and 5) knowledge annotation. Knowledge annotation refers to the meaningful, machine-readable tags marked on language fragments. Depending on the content of the tags, annotation can be divided into raw data annotation, linguistic annotation, annotation of other types of knowledge etc. Annotation is the core issue of corpus construction, because the type, accuracy and depth of annotation determine the function and value of a corpus. At the end of this paper, we also discuss the corpus-based approaches of obtaining linguistic annotation as well as the importance of corpus-based linguistic research. Keywords: corpus, linguistic knowledge, annotation, standard

0 Introduction In the era of information technology, it is important to understand that corpus is an indispensable foundation for natural language processing, a crucial platform for linguistic and applied linguistic research, and a necessary tool for extracting linguistic knowledge and other types of knowledge. Over the years, corpus-related issues have enjoyed wide attention, with new plans of corpus construction launched incessantly and existing corpora put into use and further development. Corpus linguistics becomes an increasingly researched area. Ph.D. dissertations have been published on specific corpusrelated topics; the State Language Commission (SLC) has an ongoing project on corpus standardization. Despite these efforts, corpus construction in China is

1 This paper is based on my invited talk titled In-depth Development of Linguistic Corpora at the 2nd HNC and Linguistics Conference held at the Institute of Acoustics, Chinese Academy of Sciences on September 20–22, 2003. HNC refers to the Hierarchical Network of Concepts proposed by Huang, Zengyang (1998).

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still in an early stage, both in theory and in practice. There are many questions that are yet to be addressed. For example, what types of corpora need to be built for academic purposes and actual application? How to create the necessary conditions of building special-purpose corpora (e.g. corpora of ancient Chinese or corpora of ethnic minority languages, etc.)? How to conduct in-depth processing of the language data in corpora? How to standardize corpus construction and annotation? How to maximally share corpus data? How to deal with copyright issues? In this paper, we will discuss three issues: the nature of corpus, the role of linguistic annotation in corpus construction, and the acquisition of linguistic knowledge. All three issues are related to the in-depth processing of corpus data.

1 Nature of corpus In order to recognize the role of linguistic annotation in corpus construction, we must first define corpus. According to previous literature (see the references list), a corpus can be defined as a sizable collection of machine-readable natural language data with a certain structure and annotation. This definition describes corpus from five aspects, which may also be viewed as the five characteristics of modern corpus.

1.1 A corpus can be processed by computers The word “process” may have three meanings here: 1) using computers to manage corpora; 2) using computers to index and survey the language data; 3) using computers to process the language data automatically or semi-automatically. There has been a long-existing tradition of indexing books and creating index card databases in lexicography and language research, but the results of such practice cannot be processed by computers, and therefore are not considered as modern corpora. Some scholars essentially summarize this feature of modern corpora as “machine-readable”, focusing on the second meaning of “process” stated above. This is indeed what mainly distinguishes modern corpora from the “index card systems”, and automatic indexing and surveying language data is truly the main function of modern corpora. However, from a general perspective of corpus management and given the current development in machine learning systems and automatic corpus annotation, we think that the extension from “machine-

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readable” to “machine-processable” as well as the three meanings of “process” as listed above has some value.

1.2. A corpus contains natural language data Natural language refers to the language data produced by humans in natural contexts as they have actually occurred, as opposed to artificial languages (e.g. computer programming languages such as C++, BASIC) or language data that have been revised or edited by the data collector. Natural language is real, therefore a corpus includes not only language production that conforms to various linguistic rules, but also mistakes or errors in language use. Authenticity is the spirit and the very value of a corpus. Revision and editing of the raw language data, even for the purpose of correcting errors, will harm the authenticity of the data and hence lower the value of the corpus. For example, during the construction of a certain large-scale corpus, all traditional Chinese characters in the raw data were converted to simplified characters due to the limit of the character database that was used for the corpus. Because of this technical revision, the corpus has lost a potential function, that is, to be used for studying the usage patterns of traditional and simplified Chinese characters in the 20th century. The conversion may also affect the calculation of character frequency and word frequency in this corpus. Consider another example. It is now convenient to download hundreds of millions of words of language data from the World Wide Web (WWW). Some of these data are first published online, in the form of online news reports, novels, messages and posts on discussion forums, but in most cases, the data are first published on traditional printed press and “transferred” to the WWW later. In reality, transferred content often lacks careful proofreading, resulting in error rates that exceed the relevant standards in the country. Corpora based on such “unauthentic” materials may be useful for rough investigation, but are not suitable for fine-grained linguistic research. Language is always used in a certain social context and therefore carries features of the context. Using language data from different domains with different features, one can construct corpora for different purposes. A written corpus comprises of data from the written language, while a spoken corpus contains the spoken language. Language data from a specific domain will help form a specialized corpus, while language data from a balanced variety of domains will form a balanced corpus. One may also construct a synchronic corpus or a diachronic corpus, depending on when the language data have occurred. Thus, the usage domain, usage feature and occurring time of language data can all be used to define subcategories of corpora.

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1.3 A corpus has a sizable scale The scale of a corpus refers to the amount of language data in the corpus. A key function of corpora is to calculate the statistics of language use. If a corpus is not big enough, it will not have enough data for statistical analysis and therefore will fail to function as a corpus in a major way. Of course, the scale of a corpus does not have absolute standards, since the standards vary with time and technical conditions. Generally speaking, the scale of a corpus depends on three factors – or put it another way – the harmony of the following three aspects: 1)

The difficulty and cost of obtaining language data. With the abundance of online resources, the difficulty and cost of obtaining language data have been greatly reduced. However, as mentioned before, due to the loss of authenticity during data transfer, downloading language data from the WWW cannot completely replace other approaches of language data collection. In addition, since the copyright issue of corpus data is still unclear, it remains a question how to properly pay for the production and transfer of the original language data. The cost of a corpus will surely increase if the expenses regarding copyright issues are also considered. 2) The storage and processing power of computers and network costs. The rapid development of information technology, as well as the advancement of computer storage and processing powers, has overcome most technical challenges in corpus construction. However, to realize the value of a corpus in use, the WWW has become an important medium for providing corpusbased services in the Internet era. Therefore, the conditions and cost of network services cannot be ignored in corpus construction. 3) The applications of different types of corpora. Corpora of different types often show different relations between scale and functional uses. For example, corpora used for surveying high-frequency words, common words or general grammatical phenomena do not need to be particularly large in size. By contrast, those that are used for surveying infrequent words or characters or rare grammatical phenomena must be large, due to data scarcity.

1.4 A corpus must have a principled structure There are three types of corpus structure: 1) storage structure, 2) content structure, and 3) physical structure. Language data in a corpus must be stored in a principled way, which forms the storage structure of the corpus. Besides, there must be some relation (in terms of time, domain of usage, authorship, theme,

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etc.) among the language data in the same corpus. The general link among the language data is the content structure of a corpus. In the most general sense, the structure of a corpus must also include the physical and software system that processes the language data. Both the storage structure and physical structure of a corpus depend on its content structure. Corpora with different functions also differ in the complexity of the content. Generally speaking, the more complex the content structure is, the greater its function or potential value.

1.5 A corpus is tagged with annotation Annotation refers to the machine-readable tags on segments of language data in the corpus. These tags are corpus-internal symbols for computers to recognize and process. There are three types of annotation distinguished by the content of the tags: a) Raw data annotation, which refers to the annotation of metadata such as copyright information, medium and sampling information. Raw data annotation is often related to the content and structure of the corpus, and can affect how the corpus may be used. Sometimes, information about the collector and proofreader of the language data will also be recorded and tagged. Such tags may also be considered as raw data annotation. b) Linguistic annotation. Linguistic annotation is the general term for the annotation of features of different linguistic units, the syntactic and semantic relations among the units, the pragmatic labels of language fragments, etc. The term “linguistic unit” has a wide definition, which may refer to character, word, phrase, sentence, discourse and so on, with their orthographic (for characters), phonetic (or prosodic), semantic, syntactic and pragmatic properties and the mutual relationship among the units. Of course, the depth and scope of linguistic annotation may vary widely depending on the time of corpus development, the purpose of the corpus and the view of linguistic annotation held by the corpus developers. Linguistic annotation of a corpus is often a gigantic project that demands continuous contribution from several generations of developers. c) Other annotation (or Type C annotation). The relationship between language and knowledge has two sides. On one hand, language is the most important medium of human knowledge; on the other hand, the use of language requires other human knowledge, such as common sense and specialized knowledge required in the communication. Therefore, for computers to process language, knowing only the linguistic information is not enough –

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it is also important to know other common sense and specialized knowledge. Liu (2000:1) pointed out, “more than 80% of the knowledge in the field of information technology is carried by the medium of language”. That is to say, corpus is also a database of human knowledge and furthermore an important source for knowledge acquisition. It is because of this reason that corpora also need the Type C annotation. However, since the research on knowledge retrieval from corpora has just started, the technology for Type C annotation has not matured yet.

2 Role of linguistic annotation in corpus development Knowledge annotation is one of the five features of a corpus, but it is an important indicator for the depth of corpus development and the applied values of the corpus. The in-depth development of a corpus is mainly reflected by the various types of knowledge annotation on the corpus. The type of annotation determines the potential use of the corpus. For example, raw data annotation is external to the language data in the corpus. A corpus that only contains raw data annotation is a “raw” corpus, which may be used for simple search and statistics counting based on linguistic units. The actual usage of a raw corpus depends on the amount of raw data annotation in the corpus. Different from raw data annotation, linguistic annotation is internal to the language data and represents what computer programmes may know about the language data. A corpus with linguistic annotation is a “processed” corpus, which allows for complex search and statistics counting based on various linguistic aspects. Computers installed with such processed corpora will have a certain degree of language intelligence. Type C annotation may also be language-internal annotation, which, when combined with linguistic annotation, will greatly increase the value of the corpus and empower the computer with more language intelligence and other types of intelligence. It is fair to say that the amount of different types of annotation a corpus has as well as the depth and accuracy of the annotation determines the usability and the value of the corpus. Therefore, knowledge annotation has always been a core issue in corpus development. Although all sorts of knowledge annotation have some significance for the value of the corpus, linguistic annotation is still the most important issue given the current situation of corpus construction and academic development. This is because:

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Raw data annotation represents the basic standard of corpus construction. A widespread problem in present-day corpus construction is the ignorance or lack of standard in the annotation of raw language data, which has resulted in low reusability and inter-operability. The issue does not involve technical difficulty – it only depends on how much effort the corpus developers devote to raw data annotation, whether the design of data types is comprehensive, whether the plan for data collection is well-implemented, what symbols are chosen for annotation and whether the forms of annotation are reusable, etc. However, linguistic annotation may be extremely hard, and the difficulty lies in the principal scientific approach as opposed to actual techniques or cost effectiveness.

The scientific difficulty of linguistic annotation lies in two aspects: First, current linguistic research, especially the research on semantics and pragmatics, cannot fully satisfy the need for language comprehension by computers; second, the annotation of linguistic information is still under investigation. For example, several English corpora have been annotated for the syntactic tree structure, e.g. the Penn Treebank. There have been some similar trials on Chinese data, including the testing Chinese Treebank (ThTree) by Tsinghua University in China, the Penn Chinese Treebank by the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S. and the Treebank project by the Academia Sinica in Taiwan. However, does treebank annotation work equally well for Chinese and English? This is still a question. In addition, semantic features and semantic relations can be highly complicated and there are many different theoretical frameworks and perspectives (e.g. traditional semantics, valency grammar, case grammar, semantic feature analysis, semantic orientation analysis, etc.). How should we integrate these different streams of studies in the annotation of semantic meanings? Furthermore, there is even less exploration and understanding of pragmatic annotation in the corpus. 2)

Being a type of database, corpus is different from other types of database. A corpus with only raw data annotation and Type C annotation is not a real corpus. Only when a corpus has linguistic annotation will it allow extraction of linguistic information, which may enable computers to understand human language. Linguistic annotation is thus the center of a corpus. 3) Corpus development in our country is currently in a critical stage in terms of linguistic annotation. Great progress has been made in word segmentation, with a consensus achieved in the field; several electronic dictionaries with practical values have been compiled; segmented language data have been tagged with part of speech according to certain grammatical systems; issues

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regarding semantic disambiguation have been discussed; an annotation system for Chinese has been proposed, etc. Thus, given the practical situation of corpus construction and academic development, linguistic annotation is the most important pending problem in the field.

3 Acquisition of linguistic information 3.1 Two approaches of acquiring linguistic information Linguistic annotation ultimately relies on the linguistic knowledge of the annotator, therefore, the acquisition of linguistic knowledge is the origin of the problem. After corpora came into being, there are two basic approaches of acquiring linguistic knowledge: a) corpus-based and b) non-corpus-based. The classification of these approaches based on the use of corpora or otherwise is due to the fact that corpus-based acquisition of linguistic knowledge has important features and great potential. Firstly, the A approach employs statistical analysis as its basic processing method, and is therefore referred to as the “statistical-based” approach. Strictly speaking, statistical analysis is not separable from linguistic analysis. The design of statistical analysis needs to be supported by linguistic knowledge, and the results of statistical analysis must be integrated with linguistic analysis. Furthermore, statistical methods are also used in the B approach and are definitely not exclusive to the A approach. However, the use of statistical methods is extremely widespread in the A approach, to the degree that basically all findings from the A approach are supported by statistical data. Secondly, language data processed with the A approach are not only huge in data size but also include examples of non-standard language use due to the authenticity of corpus data. The annotation obtained from such large-scale authentic language data through statistical methods must bear some differences from the annotation obtained from the B approach. Not only does the B approach draw conclusion from much smaller datasets, its source data are also pre-selected and only contain examples of standard language use. Thirdly, linguistic annotation generated by the A approach is more easily readable by machines. The B approach acquires linguistic rules by careful observation of linguistic phenomenon, relying more on qualitative analysis than quantitative analysis. Compared with the statistical-based A approach, the B approach is considered as “rule-based” or “reflection-based”. The non-corpus-based B approach enjoys a long history of at least thousands of years and has contributed to numerous

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important results in humanities research, which lay the foundation of today’s language processing techniques. Unfortunately, linguistic knowledge acquired with this approach has not been fully utilized in the construction of linguistic corpus in our country, due to the following reasons: 1)

Linguistic knowledge acquired with the B approach is scattered and lacks integration. For example, the major findings regarding modern Chinese grammar are represented in different linguistic dissertations, but so far there has not been a single work that gives a comprehensive account of the research on modern Chinese syntax. Most current linguistic books and textbooks on this topic only provide an overview of the syntactic system or the general framework of Chinese syntax, without detailed syntactic analysis, which makes it impossible for anyone to collect all the theoretical linguistic findings, let alone use these findings in linguistic annotation. 2) The traditional way of representing linguistic findings is appropriate for human reading but not for machine reading. Converting linguistic rules written for human reading to rules for machine reading requires creative work from scholars who have expertise in both linguistics and computer science. There are currently few such dual-expertise scholars, and even fewer are willing to take up the conversion work. 3) Some corpus developers do not consider linguistic knowledge acquired through the B approach as important, because they believe that one can acquire enough linguistic knowledge by just using statistical-based methods and therefore rule-based research is not needed (at least for now). This view may stand by itself, but it is most likely biased. The two approaches of acquiring linguistic knowledge, as well as the linguistic knowledge acquired through these approaches, should complement each other and benefit each other.

3.2 Computerization of existing linguistic knowledge Linguistic annotation ultimately relies on the linguistic knowledge of the annotator, but it is also limited by the degree of computerizability of the knowledge. In my point of view, the most important strategy of in-depth corpus annotation (i.e. linguistic annotation) is to organize and computerize the numerous theoretical linguistic findings generated by the B approach. The key of this strategy is to build a database of linguistic knowledge, which will probably include the following tasks:

350 1) 2) 3)

4)

5)

6) 7)

8) 9)

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Search all relevant linguistic literature. Classify the literature by subfield and input into the computer in order to make a bibliography database. Properly handle the copyright issues of the collected literature in accordance with national and international law and common practice. Digitize the collected linguistic literature, converting print media to digital media that can be processed by computers. The process of conversion needs to maximally utilize the power of computers while also ensuring converting quality by careful proofreading. Compile a database of digitized linguistic literature and build appropriate data managing software. This will result in a digital linguistic bibliography database. Design an appropriate theoretical linguistic framework, in preparation for organizing linguistic knowledge. It is crucial for the general framework to be accommodating, so that all the knowledge in the literature can find a place in it. Based on the linguistic framework, compile a catalogue of knowledge points and the corresponding list of annotation symbols. Annotate all the knowledge points in the linguistic bibliography database using the designated symbol set. The annotation process should be maximally computerized, which, with the aid of specialized computer software, can be either computer-assisted manual processing or human-assisted machine processing. Organize the annotated knowledge points into a linguistic knowledge database. Fully computerize the knowledge points in the linguistic knowledge database, in order to achieve machine-readable linguistic knowledge. Integrate the computerized linguistic knowledge with corpora, and form corpus-based annotated linguistic knowledge, which will become the artificial language intelligence.

We believe that the establishment of a computerized linguistic knowledge database which includes a linguistic literature catalogue, a linguistic bibliography digital database and a linguistic knowledge set will significantly improve the linguistic annotation of corpus and therefore lead automatic language processing techniques into a new era. Of course, linguistic knowledge database is not only useful for the annotation of corpus, it will also stimulate theoretical linguistic research. The establishment of such a database will effectively combine and integrate the various findings of linguistic research that used to be scattered around, and thus provide a

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solid basis for future linguistic research and the training of future scholars. The fact that the database is fully computerized makes it easier for researchers to access and utilize this platform.

3.3 Promoting corpus-based linguistic research Both approaches of acquiring linguistic knowledge will be used for a period of time in the foreseeable future. However, with the continuous improvement of corpora and the development of corpus-based linguistic research software, more and more people will start to use corpora for linguistic research, due to the following reasons. Firstly, corpus makes it easier to gather language data and make linguistic observation. Corpus provides a large amount of authentic language data, which are easier to search than manually collected data and more comprehensive than language data generated by self-reflection. Furthermore, corpus data can be easily analyzed with statistical methods. Secondly, linguistic research not only needs qualitative description of the rules. Quantitative description, which is based on statistical data of the distribution and combination of different language units, is also important for studying the use of a language. Corpus is the most ideal tool for conducting quantitative linguistic analysis and for gathering various statistical information about language use. Thirdly, linguistic research has multiple purposes. One of the most important purposes is to digitize language information, which also needs the help from corpus, especially linguistically annotated corpus. Fourthly, corpus-based linguistic research may lead to discoveries of new features and rules of language and furthermore, the development of novel linguistic theories and research methodology. Undoubtedly, the advantages of corpus as stated above will attract more linguistic scholars to use corpus. In order to make corpus-based linguistic research more convenient for scholars, it is important to develop more computer-assisted linguistic analysis software, including language data search engine, language data downloading and cataloging programmes, statistical analysis programmes and result evaluation programmes, etc. Linguistic knowledge database, linguistically-annotated corpus and linguistic analysis software should be considered as the three magic tools for modernizing linguistic research methodology. Scholars who have access to these tools will be able to make profound contribution to linguistics research. Corpus-based linguistic research will gradually become the

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mainstream approach for acquiring linguistic knowledge, and the results can be easily computerized. The so-called statistical-based and rule-based methods will also become more and more similar and integrated in the future, through complementing and benefiting each other.

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Zhou, Qiang; Zhan, Weidong; and Ren, Haibo. 2001. Goujian Daguimo de Hanyu Yukuaiku (On the Construction of Large-scale Chinese Linguistic Chunk Database). In Huang, Changning and Zhang, Pu (eds.). 2001. Zhou, Qiang. 2001. Hanyu Jufa Zhishi de Zidong Huoqu Yanjiu (Research on the Automatic Extraction of Chinese Syntactic Knowledge). In Cao, Youqi. 2001.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Miao, Chuanjiang and Du, Yanling (eds.). 2004. Proceedings of the 2nd HNC and Linguistics Conference. China Ocean Press. Translated by YAO Yao (姚瑶) Department of Chinese & Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

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The needs for language learning and teaching Chinese as foreign language Abstract: This paper takes that the needs of foreigners for learning Chinese as second/foreign language nowadays come from six causes of different arrays for acquiring three levels of proficiency as expected outcomes. These are the primary considerations on which all syllabus design and assessment are based. Further to these, this paper holds that in the development of L2 Chinese, in addition to the above-mentioned objectives, what is most important is to highlight the value of the Chinese language, to enlarge the scope of needs for learning, to strive for the status of Chinese to be used in the domains of economics, tourism, oversea studies, diplomacy, and international conferences. Keywords: language learning needs

0 Introduction The teaching of Chinese to foreign people in a systematic manner can be dated back to the Han Dynasty. Fu Ke (1986:3) points out that in the 9th Year of the Yong Ping era (66 B.C.) of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Ming established a school for the youngsters of four families of merited officials, namely Fan, Guo, Yin, and Ma, known as “Si Xing XiaoHou Xue” (School for Young Nobles of Four Families). As the school became famous, the nomadic Xiongnu located north of China also sent their children for schooling. Fostering Xiongnu children’s the Chinese language and culture implies an implementation of foreign the Chinese language teaching (FCLT). As Yang Xuanzhi recorded in Volume 3 of Luoyang Jialanji, at the time of Northern Wei Dynasty (386–535 A.D.), in the capital city Luoyang, alongside the high street of the city, there were schools for learners from all places of “lower cultivated societies”. And, stretching from the west of Cong Ling (now Pamirs) to Da Qian (Ancient Rome), people of numerous foreign empires and cities were eager to migrate to the central cities of China. Those merchants and business dealers who shuttled between inner cities and outskirts, knew very well about the good and bad of all places. They loved the Chinese culture and custom, and chose to dwell there. As a result, there had been millions of such migrated families being settled in these preferred central cities. Although there

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is no mentioning of actually in what ways these migrated families and people studied Chinese, or how their children acquired the language, it is almost certain that there must be some pedagogical enterprises focusing on these foreigners’ the Chinese language education. However, it was not unusual in the Chinese history for a government to restrict the teaching of the Chinese language to foreigners, for fear of unveiling the people’s daily life to other nations. For instance, near the end of 16th Century, when Matteo Ricci came to Xiang Shan via Macau, he saw an official public notice with a big seal by the Governor, saying that teaching Chinese to foreigners was a crime that carried death penalty1. This referred, in the Ming Dynasty, to the realization of the national closing-up policy both by land and by sea. On the whole, throughout the history of nearly two thousand years, from the Eastern Han Dynasty, across the peak of Tang, through Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, to Min Guo (the Republican period), despite various ups and downs, the foreign the Chinese language teaching enterprise had continued persistently.2 Nevertheless, the real development of FCLT, as a contemporary academic subject, and a major national establishment, can only be regarded within two decades from 1978.3 During this period, there have been rapid growth in the number of foreign students to China, curriculum development, teacher training, overseas exchanges and collaborations and the like, a scale of flourishing in “Foreign Chinese Teaching” that has gone far beyond the coverage of the notion connotatively.4 There have been brilliant ideas in academic circle about where to move on for further development, for example, associating the functions of FCLT with the inter1 See Limadou Zhongguo Zhaji (Lettere dalla Cina 1584–1608). 1983. Chung Hwa Book Company, pp. 156–7, cited by Yuan Weishi. 2003. 9–10. 2 For the history of Foreign the Chinese language teaching, refer to Lu Jianqi (1998), Zhang Yajun (1990). 3 For the development of Foreign the Chinese language Teaching in the 20th Century, in particular since 1950, refer to Lü Bisong (1990), Liu Xun (2000:37–56), Zhao Jinming (1989), Zhang Dexin (2000). 4 Subsequent to the advances in career development and in research, people of concern feel discontented with the term “teaching Chinese as second/foreign language” for several reasons. First, to teach a person to learn Chinese involves not merely a set of teaching activities, but justify a subject in its own right, which, in addition to teaching, includes a series of “educational” components. As such, some people propose to use “the education of Chinese as second/foreign language”. Second, it seems that the title of teaching Chinese as second/foreign language is applicable to the national development in this aspect, but its implication does not cover the educational activities of Chinese as second/foreign language in oversea countries. Third, it is a tradition for overseas Chinese to develop Chinese education in which teaching Chinese is one of the essential activities. Although descendants of overseas Chinese are holders

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national promotion of Chinese, and for a harmonious national development; as a channel to observe the communications amongst Chinese communities, to properly address the issue of simplified vs complex scripts of Chinese characters, and to form a unified strength in Chinese for international promotion etc. The ideas from political sector are even more ambitious as to build the “Chinese Bridge” engineering, to expand the development of the “Confucius Institute”, to recruit volunteers in FCLT, and to organize international conferences on the Chinese language etc. Being moderate, I would also like to make an intellectual contribution to the “Heat of FCLT”. This paper is to discuss the development of FCLT from the perspectives of needs for language learning.

1 Needs for learning Chinese and levels of Chinese proficiency 1.1 Needs for Learning Chinese Language learning is driven by the need of the learners to learn a language. Whenever there are needs, there is a demand for meeting those needs. The activities that are organized to satisfy the needs will then become language learning activities. From a learner’s perspective, the need for learning a language will turn into his learning motivation. From a language educator’s perspective, the major learning objective will be to satisfy learners’ learning needs. Therefore, it is of primary importance in the development of FCLT to clarify the needs for of foreign passports, they are different from other foreigners in that, the Chinese language naturally becomes their mother tongue. Therefore, to them Chinese education is not the same as teaching Chinese as second/foreign language. From this point of view, their dissatisfaction is fully understandable. However, the term “teaching Chinese as second/foreign” is still employed in this paper based on two considerations: In the first place, even though this paper regards Chinese education from a global point of view, including those teaching of Chinese as foreign language, and teaching of Chinese in overseas countries. The theme of discussion refers back to the teaching of Chinese to foreigners in China; secondly, in the ideal situation, the act of naming can represent the underlying concept. But the name in use is only a symbol of the referred concept. In many cases, a name is unable to reflect the embedded concept satisfactorily, and it is improper to interpret the underlying concept just from the language expression on the surface. For example, the semantic interpretation of “subject” in linguistics does not necessarily imply “active” or “main”; “literary language” if used as a linguistic term, directs to standardized code (with emphasis on written language), and does not associate with the language in literary works. Besides, it is difficult to make any alternation to a commonly used name for which, it is perfectly alright to keep its original appearance, if there is nothing particularly wrong with it.

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language learning. Even though foreigners’ needs for learning Chinese has already been addressed by a number of academics, such topic, being closely connected with the development planning of FCLT, has not received sufficient attention, nor being supported by sound and workable scientific research findings. The needs of foreigners for learning the Chinese language differ in different periods of time in terms of nature and degrees. Conclusively, a contemporary account on such needs could be understood from six aspects as follows. A. To keep abreast of new happenings In the eyes of foreigners, ever since the visit of Marco Polo, China, as manifested in the Chinese characters and its cultural heritage, has been a mysterious and charming country to them. It is not surprising that some westerners want to learn Chinese in order to know more about China. B. To tour around in China Tourism has been an important consumer activity at our present time. Many foreigners are interested in having a tour in China. In recent decades, increasing number of international events, games and expos are being held in China. They serve as major highlights and attractions for tourists. It is always useful to learn some Chinese for such journeys. C. For employment The Reform of China and her opening up to the world has enabled our economy, culture to attract world-wide attention and considerable foreign investments with related business to the China market. There is then a great demand for talents who know Chinese and China, and thus creates considerable new jobs that are the Chinese language related. To apply for job opportunities, one needs to learn the Chinese language. D. For study in China Chinese medicine, Chinese philosophy, Chinese history, the Chinese language, Chinese literature, martial arts, and Chinese operas are unique to many other cultures in the world, thus attracting generations and generations of foreign students to study in China. Alongside with rapid developments in science, education and culture in the modern time, China also shows excellence in certain non-traditional-Chinese academic and cultural areas, which also become abstractions to foreign students. To study in China, students need to learn the Chinese language.

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E. For study of China China is one of the big countries with long history. It is not only a mission for the Chinese people to have a better understanding of our own country, but is also a duty for international scholars to fulfill. As China is getting stronger, scholars and those in politics, economics, and diplomacy should join the team to study the country. In the past century, there have been schools of Sinology and China Studies in Japan and certain western countries, creating noticeable impact. Over the recent decades, the study of Chinese economy, Chinese political system, population system and ethnic issues etc. have also become hot topics. To become a China expert, one needs to know the Chinese language. F.

Appreciation and promotion of the Chinese language and culture

Many westerners are highly interested in the Chinese language and culture, and are devoted to learn and to spread the Chinese language and culture to the world. They are a group of people who recognize the value of Chinese culture, and some of them shall become Sinologists of the contemporary era. Cultural recognition is the biggest source of learning need, which is also long-lasting. These people do not only learn the Chinese language, very often, they make contributions in the areas of the Chinese language study and the Chinese language teaching.

1.2 Levels of Chinese proficiency These different arrays of needs for learning Chinese determine the expectations of the learners whereby learning objectives can be formed. In accordance with various expectations or objectives as described above, there are 3 levels of mastery of the Chinese language, namely (a) rudimentary Chinese, (b) intermediate Chinese, and (c) advanced Chinese. A. Rudimentary Chinese The level of proficiency for the needs in A (to keep abreast of new happenings) and B (to tour around in China) of 1.1, is not high. It only requires a mastery of simple exchanges in basic Chinese. Up until now, not much effective planning or researches have been done regarding this level of learning. In fact, a large number of learners belong to this “rudimentary level”, which is likely to become an important departure point for the enterprise of foreign Chinese teaching. After passing this level, a lot of people would also feel interested to continue their learning, who, if properly guided, may then become the endless reserve forces for promoting to the steady learners of Chinese.

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While learning Chinese for the first time, many learners find Chinese interesting, easy to pick up and practical. For this particular period of learning, course providers should consider giving up the boundary of college-style teaching, but design effective textbooks that are of interest, making good uses of Hanyu Pinyin and the learners’ native languages. Teaching plans could be designed for various span of learning, and more Chinese schools in the learners’ own countries could be established. Rudimentary Chinese classes could be offered during major international events, such as international games expos. There should be multiple ways of motivating learners to learn Chinese, from the point of view that they are the breeding ground of foreign Chinese teaching. B. normal/Intermediate Chinese Those learners who fall into the needs of C (for employment) and D (to study in China) of 1.1, form the major layer of foreign Chinese teaching. In the past, many foreign students learned Chinese in order to study in China. This was the departure point of teaching Chinese as foreign language in China where we have accumulated experience and have achieved remarkable success. From another point of view, most of those foreign students in the past aimed at grasping the knowledge and art of traditional Chinese culture, whereas for the increasing number of students coming to China nowadays, their targets are knowledge and art of the contemporary era. What level of Chinese proficiency should those new students achieve becomes a question that deserves in-depth investigation. At the same time, there was no much planning or attention paid to the requirement of the Chinese language for employment. The required Chinese standards such as language usages and skills of communication for different posts vary in accordance with various job nature. This is an unexplored area in teaching Chinese as foreign language, an urging task for the development of professional oriented Chinese teaching for different posts in the job market. C. Advanced Chinese To fulfill the goal of E (the study of China) and F (appreciation and promotion of the Chinese language and culture), one needs a higher level of Chinese proficiency. There are only a few learners who adopt such goal in their study of the Chinese language, but it carries significance. It is worth making great effort to cultivate a Chinese philologist, or a Sinologist who are the fountainheads for spreading the Chinese language and culture. In history, there had been scholars of this type in Japan and the western academic circle. In recent decades, some foreign scholars who studied in China have become Sinologists. On the whole, nevertheless, we do not have enough experience, or any useful establishments,

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or even the awareness of fostering Sinologists. In view of the fact that foreign Sinologists of former generations had either passed away or retired, the mission of nurturing Sinologists appears to be more important and pressing. It is a conceptual distinction in drawing the lines for three levels of Chinese proficiency according to different needs of acquisition. Each of these levels may embed a number of practical issues which, in turn, imply various demands on teaching as well as on Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (Chinese Proficiency Test, in short, HSK). It is necessary to diversify the design of our teaching, textbooks, and methods of assessment according to the different demands. To foster development in the teaching of foreign Chinese means to have a rigorous analysis of the needs of the Chinese language learning throughout the world, from which new aspects of growth and levels of requirement could be identified.

2 Promoting the value of the Chinese language for extending the needs of learning the language 2.1 Major efforts to promote the value of the Chinese language The purpose of teaching Chinese as a foreign language is to satisfy foreigners’ needs of learning it, and the development of this enterprise depends on how to create international needs for learning the Chinese language. Whether or not there are needs for learning a language up to a certain level of achievement depends on the needs of learning it in society. On the other hand, the social needs come from the social value of that language. All living languages learned by people, including those languages not really in use such as Latin, Sanskrit, must still bear some kinds of value in society. Such value may refer to material value, scientific value, or spiritual value of a nation. To create the needs for learning Chinese means to promote and to elevate the values of the Chinese language. The ups and downs of a language’s value are associated with the international status of that particular nation to which the language belongs. In the flourishing period of the Tang Dynasty, when China was a powerful country, people came to China from all Asian countries to learn Chinese, resulting in the first peak of teaching Chinese as a foreign language in the Chinese history. In contrast, from mid 19th century to early 20th century, when China was weak

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and being invaded by big powers of the world, foreign learners of the Chinese language were scarce. Liu Xun (2000:37) points out that there were records showing that during the 40’s, Yenching University could only appoint aged scholars who were good in classical Chinese, but had no knowledge in linguistics nor competence in any foreign language to teach the foreign students who requested to study Chinese. The lack of L2/FL Chinese teacher at that time was owing to the fact that many foreigners considered Chinese, being the language of a poor country, a worthless language, and there was hardly anybody who might need to learn it. The value of a language may increase in accordance with the growth of a nation and country. However, this is not the whole story. The superior status of English as a world language in the contemporary era has been achieved not only by the power of the then British Empire and the modern day America, but also by their joint efforts in promoting the English language. For the prosperity of our country, as well as for developing the Chinese language, it is necessary to consciously create the needs of learning Chinese, to adopt a scientific perspective in promoting the Chinese language internationally, and to elevate the international status of the Chinese language. Such language planning is far beyond the capacity of any single department, but is a national strategy which requires close collaborations among all departments, and the participation of scholars and non-governmental associations.

2.2 Aspects of extending the needs of learning the Chinese language In order to enhance the value of the Chinese language and to extend the needs of learning Chinese, there are things achievable in a number of aspects as follows. For example: A. Trading and business China is a lasting world class market, and all imported commercial products should be subject to the requirement of using the Chinese language in their advertisement, product details and explanations, for satisfying the consumers’ right to know about the product they purchase5. China is a very active “product processing factory of the world”. The products for export should use or be 5 It is estimated that this item alone could generate a lot of Chinese language related positions, which would drastically increase the needs for learning Chinese, and would also provide Chinese language experts with enormous job opportunities.

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attached with the Chinese language for advertisements, product explanation and product markers, so that the Chinese language could spread to the world together with the products made in China. From the perspective of promoting equality and cultural diversity between countries, requirements should be set to protect the status of the Chinese language in world trade. For instance, Chinese should be adequately used for commercial negotiation, setting rules for trading, and in making and signing contracts. Another step to be taken is to strive for the legal equivalence of documents written in Chinese and in English. Trading and business have been importance forces for promoting language. The space and force are tremendous for promoting the Chinese language and extending the needs of learning through the activities in this aspect. B. Travel China possesses very rich and charming travel resources to people all over the world. Big events such as the 2008 Olympus and the 2010 World Expo will help to attract even more tourists to China. In order to show our hospitality to travelers from overseas, it is useful for the Chinese people to learn some foreign languages in order to promote tourism and to provide tourist guiding. However, it is equally important that we should make use of such opportunities to promote the Chinese culture. For instance, it is possible to trigger foreign guests’ interest in the Chinese language through the distribution of Chinese-foreign languages bilingual travelling guides or handbooks; or, to offer some short courses on Chinese during their visits. On occasions when China may conduct major international events, some sorts of pre-training courses on Chinese culture could be organized, and materials such as 900 Chinese sentences could be compiled, etc. Making use of tourism to promote the Chinese language is likely to create positive international atmosphere, and the effects obtained may go beyond one’s expectations. C. Study abroad Since the 80s of the twentieth century, there has been rapid increase in the number of foreign students coming to China for study. The fields of study extend from the Chinese language and Chinese specific scholarship and arts, to exploring more other subjects with educational qualifications. This is a designated result of education development in China. To attract more foreign students to come to China, the required standard of Chinese proficiency to these students could be a bit lenient, but on the other hand, to promote the Chinese language through education is as well a big business that needed to be plan as early as possible. First, attention should be paid to the teaching of Chinese for preparing the learners to study in China, so as to solve the medium-of-instruction problem

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and to guarantee the quality of teaching. Second, during the courses, effort should be made constantly to enhance foreign students’ level of Chinese proficiency, and to cultivate them with Chinese culture. Third, there must be a requirement on the Chinese language standard of degree dissertation and viva. Such requirement should not be played down. The requirement is not only an international practice, but is also the realization of education standard, the symbol of education ownership, a major commanding baton for promoting Chinese culture, and an important move to establish the international status of academic literature written in the Chinese language. In theory, any attempt to acquire an academic degree from China must include certain level of ability to use either the Standard Chinese (Putonghua, standardized Chinese characters), or languages of the nationalities concerned in both spoken and written forms. The actualization of this is to use the Chinese language to write the thesis and to conduct oral examinations. In view of the fact that the education of China has just been introduced to the outside world, there could be some adjustment in the requirement of writing thesis in Chinese and of the oral examination. For instance, some prescriptions could be set as follows: (a) For those who study Chinese specific knowledge and art such as the Chinese language, Chinese literature, Chinese history, traditional Chinese philosophy, Chinese medicine and pharmacy, Chinese painting, ancient Chinese architecture, traditional Chinese music and opera, Chinese physical education etc., Chinese must be used for writing thesis and for taking oral examination. (b) For those who study issues about modern China (can be classified and entitled as “Modern China Study”), such as economic management in China, political system of China, trends of mass media in China, population issue in China, strategic development of rural area or villages in China, education policy in China, and history of China diplomacy etc., permission could be given to them to use foreign language for thesis writing at this stage, but an abstract of the thesis written in Chinese should be provided, and spoken Chinese should be used for oral examination, and a Chinese copy of the thesis should be submitted. (c) For those who study in other areas such as mathematics, physic, chemistry, biology, geology, computer science, medicine, agriculture etc. foreign languages can be used for writing the thesis and for defending in oral examination at this stage, but a Chinese abstract of the thesis, and a Chinese copy of the thesis should be submitted. D. Diplomacy and international conference The language for diplomacy is abided by international conventions. In the past, Latin and French had been the languages of diplomacy in Europe. Similarly, Hanyu (the Chinese language) had been used for diplomatic relations across

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countries in eastern Asia. Today, those major types of language, English in particular, are playing the role of common languages for diplomacy. The diplomacy of China must follow the contemporary conventions. This does not prevent the Chinese language from being used as a working vehicle in the organizations of United Nations. Besides, it has been an international rule that it is a symbol for a self-governing state to use her own language in diplomatic contexts. Therefore, it is necessary to expand the functions of the Chinese language in subordinate bodies, to strive for higher status of the language in other international associations, and to use the Chinese language as far as possible during formal diplomatic conferences and bilateral talks. It is laudable that the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China uses Chinese for making announcement and for answering questions. In addition, we must strive for using the Chinese language as official language in all kinds of international conferences. It is particularly necessary for those conferences in which participants are mostly Chinese, with themes on Chinese philology, Chinese art, Chinese history or other Chinese issues. In the international interaction and trading exchanges, we should learn to make such requests as “I need a Chinese edition”, “I would like to use Chinese for my speech”, “I need Chinese translation”.

3 Other related issues 3.1 “Consolidating” the value of the Chinese language There seems to be a need to “consolidate” the value of the Chinese language through various ways. Certification is one of the important initiatives. A certificate can be obtained through examination, so the first thing to do is to develop different kinds of examination to cater for the various needs of test takers. Apart from those major examinations such as HSK, the national team of teaching Chinese as second language is taking the lead to develop measurement tools on Chinese proficiency for commerce, tourism, secretarial work, and nursery, all of which are done in line with the direction as mentioned above. The issuance of proficiency certificates should be able to meet the manifold needs of the job market and professional positions associated with the Chinese language. That is to say, the value of the Chinese language is to be consolidated by means of the act of issuing certificates. Laws and regulations refer to another important formal device. For example, the Chinese language requirements for foreigners who want to acquire academic qualifications in Chinese, once put in black and white, its implication and the impact would be massive and profound.

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In using certification and regulations to consolidate the value of the Chinese language, one should also pay attention to the possibility of bringing foreign companies and associations’ internal forces into play. For example, it would be constructive to support foreign countries to include the Chinese language as a subject in their education system, to encourage foreign countries to conduct or, through collaboration with us, to develop educational organizations, to establish qualification pegging mechanisms between HSK and foreign examinations, through which, HSK could be hooked with activities of recruitment, promotion, salary adjustment etc. of labour markets in foreign countries.

3.2 The functions of the Chinese language in overseas countries In stressing the value of the Chinese language and creating the needs of learning it, it is also important to think highly of the roles played by overseas Chinese. With the rising of status of the Chinese language in foreign countries, the needs of Chinese language learning will also increase. The development of the Chinese language in foreign countries is the forerunner of internationalization of FCLT, and Chinese education in overseas countries is the “base camp” for globalizing Chinese language education.

3.3 Issues related to Putonghua and simplified characters In the process of developing FCLT, it is necessary to address the issue of inconsistencies between the spoken and written forms of Chinese. The former refers to the difference between Putonghua and other Chinese dialects, and the latter refers to the contrast between the complex characters and the simplified characters. Theoretically speaking, all the varieties, be them Putonghua or dialects, complex or simplified characters, all are important means of communication and cultural heritage preservation. They are the treasures of Chinese culture deserved to be valued and inherited. Nevertheless, in FCLT, Putonghua and simplified characters should be adopted, for the following reasons: (a) As indicated in Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language, Putonghua and simplified are the official forms of spoken and written Chinese. For Chinese pedagogy to overseas learners, standardized Chinese should be the target form for teaching.

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(b) In the long run, for those foreigners who want to interact with the People’s Republic of China, it is a must for them to use Putonghua and simplified characters. The uses of dialects and complex characters are confined to the communication in specific regions, and to specific fields of study. It is only for some foreigners who want to go into those areas or places that they would have to learn the dialects and complex characters. (c) The teaching and learning of Chinese as a second/foreign language is as well an important economic enterprise. The teaching materials and supplementary materials produced in Putonghua and simplified characters would collectively bring the economic advantages back to our country. (d) More importantly, to create the needs for learning, and to elevate the value of the Chinese language in a situation when different linguistic varieties exit, is in fact to create the needs for, and to enhance the value of Putonghua and simplified characters. This is seen from the perspective of national benefit. In the past, complex characters were used in the overseas edition of “People’s Daily”. Simplified characters were used later, which is a move with foresight and sagacity.6

4 Concluding remarks The needs of foreigners to learn Chinese is the basis for developing the enterprise of teaching Chinese as a foreign language, which deserves serious attention. At present, the foreigners’ needs for learning Chinese can be classified into six aspects: A. to know about the exotic things and knowledge, B. to tour around in China, C. to seek employment, D. to study in China, E. to study about China, and F. to appreciate and to promote the Chinese language and culture. These learners expect to reach certain standard of Chinese proficiency that can be described in three levels: rudimentary Chinese, intermediate/normal Chinese, and advanced Chinese. It is necessary to consider their needs and the respective required levels to come up with appropriate and diversified curriculum, text-

6 However, this has not been commonly noticed. For example, Air China uses complex characters in the electronic display timetable during aircrafts takeoff and landing. Many manufacturing companies (including exported products) in mainland China use complex characters for product description. Many people (including government officials and teachers) use complex character for their name card. From the view point of promoting Putonghua and simplified characters, there is still much room for improvement.

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books, teaching methods and assessment tools, so that FCLT could be adequately developed. In addition to the pedagogical considerations in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, more effort should be made in creating the new demand for learning Chinese, and in promoting the international status and values of the Chinese language, which is the ground work of FCLT. At present, the vast areas of development are in the sectors of commerce, tourism, study abroad, diplomacy, and international conferences. Furthermore, the idea of issuing certificates and adopting laws and regulations, in order to “consolidate” the international values of the Chinese language, should be taken seriously. The goal is to establish the reputation of the Chinese language (Putonghau and simplified characters) to be one of the languages for international communication.

References Chen, Zhangtai. 2005. Yuyan Guihua Yanjiu (The Study of Language Planning). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Chew, Cheng-hai. 2002. Xinjiapo Huayu Cihui yu Yufa (The Vocabulary and Grammar of Singapore Chinese). Singapore: Lingzi Media. Fan, Xiangyong. 1978. Luoyang Jialanji Jiaozhu (Annotation of Luoyang Jialanji). Shanghai: Shanghai Classics Publishing House. Fu, Ke. 1986. Zhongguo Waiyu Jiaoyushi (The History of Foreign Language Education in China). Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Gao, Xiaofang. 2006. Wan Qing Yangwu Xuetang de Waiyu Jiaoyu Yanjiu (A Study on Foreign Language Education in Foreign Affairs Schools of the Late Qing Period). Beijing: The Commercial Press. China National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language. 1990. Ge Guo Tuiguang Benzu Yu Qingkuang Huibian (Situations of National Language Promotion in Different Countries). Beijing Language Institute Press. Li, Rulong (ed.). 2000. Dongnanya Huaren Yuyan Yanjiu (A Study on the Language of Southeast Asian Chinese). Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press. Li, Xiaoqi. 1999. Jiaqiang Yuyan Xuexi Lilun Yanjiu, Shenhua Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue Xueke Jianshe (Strengthening Theoretical Investigation in Language Learning, Enforcing Academic Construction in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). In Lü, Bisong (ed.). Yuyan Jiaoyu Wenti Yanjiu Lunwenji (A Collection of Papers on Language Education Issues). Beijing: Sinolingua. Li, Yuming. 2003a. Xinxi Shidai de Zhongguo Yuyan Wenti (Language Issues in China in the Information Age). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics), 1. Li, Yuming. 2003b. Lun Muyu (On Mother Tongue). Shijie Hanyu Jiaoxue (Chinese Teaching in the World), Vol. 1. Liu, Xun. 2000. Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoyuxue Yinlun (An Introduction to Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press.

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Liu, Xun (ed.). 1997. Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue Gailun (An Introduction to the Pedagogy of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press. Liu, Yinglü and Jin, Jishi (eds.). 1997. Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue de Lilun yu Shijian (Theories and Practices of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). Jilin: Yanbian University Press. Lu, Jianji. 1998. Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue Xueke Jianshe de Yi Ge Zhongyao Keti – Tan Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue Lishi de Yanjiu (On the Historical Study of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language – An Important Issue in the Discipline Construction of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (Applied Linguistics), Vol. 4. Lü, Bisong. 1990. Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue Fazhan Gaiyao (A Brief Account of the Development of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). Beijing: Beijing Language Institute Press. Meng, Changyong. 1999. Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue Yanjiu Ying Jiaqiang Diaocha Tongji he Shuju Fenxi (Survey and Data Analysis should be Strengthened in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). In Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue Yanjiu Lunwenji 1997 (A Collection of Papers on Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language 1997). Tianjin People’s Publishing House. Qiu, Shusen (ed.). 1996. Zhongguo Huizu Shi (History of Chinese Muslim) (Vol. I, II). Yinchuan: Ningxia People’s Publishing House. Xu, Jialu. 1999. Guanyu ‘Hanyu Re’ de Yidian Xiangfa (Some Thoughts on the ‘Chinese Fever’). In Lü, Bisong (ed.). Yuyan Jiaoyu Wenti Yanjiu Lunwenji (A Collection of Papers on Language Education Issues). Beijing: Sinolingua. Xu, Jialu. 2000. Weichengji – Lun Xinshiqi Yuyan Wenzi Gongzuo (Unfinished Collection – Discussion on the Work Related to Spoken and Written Languages in New Era). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Yuan, Weishi. 2003. Diguo Luori – Wan Qing Da Bianju (Decline of the Empire – Great Changes of the Late Qing Dynasty). Nanchang: Jiangxi People’s Publishing House. Zhang, Dexin. 1997. Cong ‘Yayan’ Dao ‘Huayu’ – Xungen Tanyuan Hua Minghao (From ‘the elegant speech’ to ‘Chinese’ – Tracing the Origins of Names). In Liu, Yinglü and Jin, Jishi (eds.). 1997. Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue de Lilun yu Shijian (Theories and Practices of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). Jilin: Yanbian University Press. Zhang, Dexin. 2000. Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue 50 Nian – Shiji Zhijiao de Huimou yu Sikao (Fifty Years of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language – Thoughts and Review at the Turn of the Century). In Di Liu Jie Guoji Hanyu Jiaoxue Taolunhui Lunwenji (Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Chinese Language Teaching). Beijing: Peking University Press. Zhang, Guogang. 1994. Deguo de Hanxue Yanjiu (A Study on German Sinology). Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. Zhang, Yajun. 1990. Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxuefa (Pedagogy of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). Beijing: Modern Press Co. Ltd. Zhao, Jinming. 1989. Jin Shi Nian Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue Yanjiu Shuping (Commentary on the Study of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language in the Recent Decade). Yuyan Jiaoxue yu Yanjiu (Language Teaching and Research), Vol. 1. Zhao, Jinming. 1997. Hanyu Yanjiu yu Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue (Chinese Language Study and Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Zhao, Jinming (ed.). 2004. Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue Gailun (An Introduction to Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Zhou, Xiaobing. 1996. Di Er Yuyan Jiaoxue Lun (Pedagogy of Second Language Teaching). Shijiazhuang: Hebei Education Press.

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Zou, Jiayan and You, Rujie. 2001. Hanyu yu Huaren Shehui (The Chinese Language and the Chinese Community). Fudan University Press and the City University of Hong Kong Press. The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in The Journal of the Chinese Language Teaching, 2005, No. 1, Beijing University Press. Translated by CHAN Wing Sat (陈荣石) Department of Chinese & Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Chapter 24

The significance of a study on the history of the international dissemination of Chinese Abstract: Language dissemination is an important phenomenon in human history and the development of culture. The Chinese language and Chinese culture had spread eastward, westward, and southward in ancient and modern times, contributing significantly to the cultural development of neighboring regions and of the world. Recent years have seen another surge of Chinese dissemination worldwide. A study on the history of the internationalization of Chinese would shed light on the direction of development in the current trend. Keywords: Chinese, Sinology, international dissemination, history

0 Introduction The dawn of the new century witnessed rapid dissemination of the Chinese language around the world, which is one of the most exciting events in the new era. To enhance such dissemination, it is necessary to review the relevant history in the following aspects: the dissemination of Sinology in the East and the West; language maintenance and development by overseas Chinese; and Chinese pedagogy overseas in the past 50 years.

1 The early dissemination of Sinology in the East and the West The dissemination of the Chinese language traces back to the early Qin Dynasty (before 221 BC). The process culminated in Han (202 BC–220 AD) and Tang Dynasties (618–907 AD), eventually resulting in the formation of Sinospheric regions including Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. The dissemination of Chinese in Asian regions was characterized by domestication of Chinese writing system, starting with an introduction of Chinese classics and teaching Chinese as a second language. The higher social class and the intellectual community studied Chinese classics, writing in Chinese and transcribing official documents into Chinese. These groups also used Chinese to record their native languages, with

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changes in functions of some Chinese characters and coinage of new Chinese characters to meet the indigenous need. The Vietnamese Chữ Nôm and the Japanese Kokuji are examples of such domestication of Chinese. Later on, various Asian countries designed their native writing systems by adopting features of the Chinese language, e.g., Japanese Kana and Korean Hangeul which have been in use with Chinese hand-in-hand for a long time. Till today, there are still in use, 1945 Chinese characters in Japanese and 1800 or so in Korean. Moreover, there are lots of Chinese loan words in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, though Vietnam and North Korea have both abandoned the Chinese system. Domestication of Chinese results in the indispensability of Chinese characters in life in those Asian countries. In Japan, 2/3 of about 8 million mobile phones can send Chinese messages. Chinese fonts produced by Japanese IT companies contain more than 2,900 types of Chinese characters. Some Japanese elementary schools promote reading of the Analects of Confucius. In South Korea, Chinese characters were once abandoned as were in the North Korea. But having recognized and rationalized the importance of Chinese characters, the former President, Mr. Kim Dae-Jung said that as Korean classics and historical documents are written in Chinese, ignoring Chinese characters will make it difficult to understand Koreans’ own classic literature and traditions. On 9th February 2005, the Korean Government announced a full resume of using Chinese characters in all government documents and transportation signs and so on, marking the re-introduction of the parallel usage of two languages in then Korean-only official documents1. In Vietnam, a well-known jurist, Pham Duy Nghia, and a dozen scholars wrote to the Ministry of Education, proposing the offering of Chinese as a core subject in elementary and secondary schools. This proposal is the outcome of long-time reflection on the heritage of the Vietnamese history and culture. In sum, it is a modest saying that Chinese characters are foundation to these cultures and an indispensable component of their languages.2 The Chinese language reached Central Asia in the Han Dynasty, continued its route westward along the Silk Road to West Asia, and eventually reached Europe. Sinology in the West, however, did not start until after the time of Marco Polo, when news and reports of China and the Chinese language poured in with returns of missionaries and introduction of Chinese documents. Sinology in the West was formed with a boom of studies on Chinese and Chinese documents, especially after the latter half of the mid of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD), by missionaries and scholars such as Michele Ruggieri, Matteo Ricci, Nicolas 1 See Global Times, 7 June 2007, P.11. 2 See http://blog.phoenixtv.com/user3/phoenixok/archives/2007/675825.html

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Trigault, Varro, Joseph de Premare, Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat, Robert Morrison, Joshua Marshman, Joseph Edkins, Thomas Francis Wade, Georg von der Gabelentz, Samuel Wells Williams, Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin, and Benjamin Hobson. Sinology of the West differs from the Sinospheric Regions in that the former was founded through scholarly works on missionaries, languages and cultures. Some of its representative figures were old China hand, who spoke Chinese or studied Chinese dialects. There were also some who did not understand Chinese or never went to China. These people studied China with the help of literature and documents written in Chinese or those translated from Chinese. Little or no knowledge in spoken Chinese characterized Sinology of the West at that time. Sinology of current days has undergone significant changes including an increase in the population of learners of spoken and written Chinese. Traditional Sinology however, can still find traces and impact in Chinese pedagogy and studies of China nowadays.

2 Maintenance and development of Chinese in oversea regions The past centuries recorded migration of Chinese people for business or as labor workers to Southeast Asia or as far as to the Americas. Chinese migrants brought their native language, or more accurately, Chinese dialects other than the Mandarin Chinese to their new habitats. Later on, to communicate with Chinese communities speaking different dialects and to educate the next generation, the Mandarin Chinese was introduced into Chinese education, thus marking the dissemination of Mandarin abroad. Cross-dialect communication and Chinese education overseas were both influenced by the many language reforms taking place at home, such as the Mandarin Campaign, the Vernacular Movement, and the Chinese Script Reform. In the second half of the 20th century, there emerged an ethnic family called the “Hua Nationality” in Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Malaysia. The Hua people promote learning their language – Huayu, a term for the common language shared by Hua people around the world. The standard variety of Huayu is actually Putonghua in the Mainland or Mandarin (the national language) in Taiwan. In China towns in Europe, Americas, and Africa, both Putonghua and Chinese dialects are used side by side as a result of communicative needs and influence of new immigrants from the Mainland. The coinage of the term “Huayu” could be dated back to the time of Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty. (Guo 2004) The term means the same as Chinese,

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but is used in particular to contrast with “Yiyin” or “Yiyu”3 at that time. Undergoing gradual changes till the end of the 20th century, the term of Huayu has become a reference of the common language shared by overseas Chinese, and is used to distinguish it from Chinese dialects. Originating from the same source as Chinese dialects in China, those dialects spoken in oversea Chinese communities have developed in their unique ways to meet local needs and as a result of influence from local languages and from each other as well. So, though Huayu recognizes Putonghua as its standard form, its varieties vary from places to places and carry non-Chinese characteristics in their systems. Overseas Huayu and Chinese dialects are spearheads of the international dissemination of the Chinese language and have had great impacts on local languages and communities. The 50-million Chinese expatriates are all pioneers in Chinese internationalization and conservation, which merits supports from their mother land. Studies on Chinese in recent years have recorded proposals from scholars such as Lu Jianming, Guo Xi, Wang Huidi, and Zhang Congxing, on a new term of Greater Huayu for better liaison among domestic and overseas varieties of Chinese. Greater Huayu is defined as “the common language with Putonghua as its core and used by Chinese people all over the world”. Their proposal aims at promoting mutual respect, enhancing cross-community interaction, and fostering tolerance of linguistic differences. One of my work in progress, QuanQiu Huayu Cidian (Global Chinese Dictionary), is also an attempt of such spirits. Moreover, there have been appeals for tolerance and appreciation of the traditional and the simplified Chinese systems, suggesting that both are heritage of the Chinese people and deserve mutual understanding of each other by people who use them. Communities using the simplified Chinese could learn to read the traditional one, and vice versa. Whether to use one over the other or both should be at the discretion of the communities themselves. Discrepancy in opinions could be solved through communication and by resorting to real practice for guidance.

3 Teaching and learning of Chinese as a foreign language in the past five decades The pedagogy of Chinese-as-a-foreign-language (CFL) traces back to the early Qin Dynasty. Then, in the Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian found the road to the West, 3 The language used in the Wu Kingdom (in the Zhou Dynasty, BC 1046-BC 256), founded to the south of the Yangtze River, is called Yiyu.

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which allowed traders and monks to come to the East from places as far as Persia. Many of these early visitors to China learned to use Chinese well. According to Luoyang Jialanji ‘A Record of Buddhist Monasteries in Lo-yang’ by Yang Xuanzhi (translated by Yi-t’ung Wang, published by Princeton University Press 1984), as early as in the Northern Wei Period (386–534 AD) founded by the Xianbei Ethnic Group, there was Siyi Guan in the Capital City of Lo-yang (currently called Luoyang), to provide accommodation to traders from foreign places such as the ancient Rome. Lots of these foreign visitors could use Chinese. Decades later, the Imperial Academy of the Sui Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty enrolled a number of foreign students and offered Chinese courses for them, recording the official standardization of CFL teaching and learning, which since then has carried on through ups and downs and through the modern times. In modern China since 1949, the recruitment of 33 East-European students to learn Chinese by the Tsinghua University marked the revival of CFL pedagogy. The following 50 years since then recorded the establishment, the development, and new rises of the discipline of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (Cheng 2005): publication of hundreds of textbooks and dictionaries; training of language teachers; formation of overseeing government units, establishment of institutions, branches, and organizations, founding of research journals, and training of foreign students. Fifty years of experience and success have attracted endeavor at the national level, laid out the foundation for an academic area, and paved the road for the future international dissemination of the Chinese language.

4 Future direction The 21st century has been recording unprecedented enthusiasm in learning Chinese throughout the world, with the development and the rise of China in global affairs. To accommodate the global request, it is paramount that we should do more than inviting foreign students to learn Chinese in China. A strategic change following this direction was noted in the World Chinese Conference held in July 2005 in China. It is resolved that we will continue welcoming foreign learners to come, and that at the same time we will promote learning Chinese in local schools in foreign regions. In other words, teaching and learning Chinese must thrive at home and abroad, which is beyond the traditional understanding of CFL teaching and learning. Practices in the past couple of years have shown that going abroad demands significant changes to pedagogical concepts, management, assessment,

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and methodologies. It is the responsibility and obligation of the motherland of Chinese to accommodate the global need in learning its language. It should also be the mission of teachers and administrators and all people related that we keep abreast with and adapt to the development of the international dissemination of Chinese. Successful adaption to latest development requires more than a willingness to embrace any changing situation. It necessitates a review of the past for the benefit of future growth. What the previous sections have discussed is not only a subject of historical reviews, but also issues of current significance. Good use of these resources in history is an important topic in discussing the sustainability of the international dissemination of Chinese, and it should be a subject for in-depth research as well.

References Cheng, Yuzhen. 2005. Xin Zhongguo Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue Fazhanshi (A History on the Development of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language in New China). Beijing: Beijing University Press. Guo, Xi. 2004. Shehui Yuyanxue (Sociolinguistics). Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press. Liu, Xun. 2000. Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoyuxue Yinlun (An Introduction on Teaching and Learning of Chinese). Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press. Lu, Jianji. 1999. Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue Sikao Ji (Some Thoughts on Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press. Lu, Jianming. 2005. Guanyu Jianli “Da Huayu” Gainian de Jianyi (Proposal of the Term of “the Greater Huayu”). Hanyu Jiaoxue Xuekan, 1. Beijing University Press. Rokkaku Tsunehiro. 1992. A Study on the History of Chinese Education in Japan (Translated by Wang Shunhong). Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Journal of Yunnan Normal University (Teaching and Research on Chinese as a Foreign Language), 2007, Vol. 5. Translated by LI Bin (李彬) Department of Linguistics & Translation, City University of Hong Kong [email protected]

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Contemporary China: the core of international education of the Chinese language1 Abstract: Learning Chinese as a foreign language is mainly to prepare for Chinarelated activities, and it requires good understanding of the contemporary China. The government of China supports teaching and learning Chinese in the world, aiming at promoting a more objective and all-around perspective to today’s China and Chinese people. Therefore, the contemporary China should be the fundamental and the most significant to the international education of the Chinese language. As the concept of the contemporary China consists a series of components that update consistently, an effective approach would rely on systematic and strong support to both teaching and learning. Keywords: Chinese, international education, contemporary China

0 Introduction The subject content is the fundamental and the core to any pedagogy. For the international education of the Chinese language (IEC), the Chinese language seems its natural core, which is, however, not entirely correct for the following reasons. First, a language is the essential element and medium of its culture. Learning a language entails learning the culture and learning to use the language to talk about the culture. Second, language education is through means of text and discourse, which are rich in cultural elements. So, learning a language is also to learn the culture depicted in texts. Following this line of thinking, the IEC should focus on both the Chinese language and the Chinese culture. These two aspects are inseparable in pedagogical practices, but can be, or necessarily, independently studied in research. The former has received extensive attention in previous literature, so the paper will focus on the latter, the cultural aspect of the IEC.

1 This paper is an extended version of the presentation at the International Symposium of innovation in the teaching and learning of Chinese, held in Xiamen on Nov. 12–14, 2010.

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1 The contemporary China should be the fundamental content of IEC Language learning requires investment in time, effort, and money. Yet the outcome may only manifest itself in a long term. A learner would, therefore, need strong motivation to begin learning a new language and even stronger persistence to carry on. It is particularly true for learning Chinese, which is linguistically very different from the major world languages (especially those that had played an important role in the world history, such as Latin, Spanish, French, German, English, Russian, Arabic, and so on). Chinese is distantly related and has little contact with these languages; so is true for the Chinese culture. All these would require greater effort and stronger motivation for learners who are from a non-Chinese-related background. Learners are all motivated in various ways, yet no comprehensive or in-depth study has been carried out on motivation types of Chinese-as-a-foreign-language (CFL) learners. No matter what motivates them to learn Chinese, CFL learners should share one in common: to acquire information of China by learning its language. Rich literature in language pedagogy has suggested a close correlation between economy and enthusiasm in language learning. Before the WWII, especially before the WWI, there was not a big population of learners of English, which did not become a global language until after the WWII. The British English was the standard variety for learners, but had been gradually replaced by the American English in recent decades. The widespread of the English language and the recent popularity of the American English were both triggered and reinforced by a strong economy of the countries where these varieties of English are spoken. Currently, learning Chinese has become a trend in the world. The popularity is not entirely because of the amazing Chinese characters or the fascinating Chinese culture, as both have been in existence for thousands of years. The Chinese language appears attractive today mainly because of China’s economic boom and of the confidence in China’s future. Stronger economy in China means more possibilities and opportunities for people who understand the country and its language. Getting to know the contemporary China, thus, is the most important for CFL learners nowadays. The Chinese government endeavors to promote the Chinese language internationally, not aiming at the globalization of Chinese or the Chinese culture, but at a faithful presentation of the contemporary China. Introducing China to the world through the Chinese language contributes to reduce misconception and

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to foster trust, which eventually helps the world understand China and befriend China. The contemporary China is the first and foremost topic that learners of Chinese should know, and it is also what China aims at promoting globally. If this is correct, then a good understanding of the contemporary China should be the mutual motivation shared by learners and teachers of Chinese, which determines the contemporary China as the fundamental content of the IEC. In fact, some universities overseas have already started offering China-related courses, which were reported popular among students who are Chinese majors and also those from other disciplines. Collection and analysis of such courses should be carried out for enhancement and promotion of the IEC.

2 Systematic support to teaching and learning The contemporary China is a wide and dynamic topic that entails subtopics of various aspects that are developing rapidly, such as politics, economy, the law, fine arts, education, technology, the medical system, news broadcast, publishing, transportations, communication, trade, tourism, sports, the military, diplomacy, and so on.

2.1 Establishing a strong support system to teaching It is a formidable task, and even mission impossible, for a teacher or a smallsized team to work alone on a topic as comprehensive and dynamic as the contemporary China. So, it is only reasonable to achieve this goal by first establishing a system to provide teaching support. The first step would be to orchestra researchers into teams of expertise who would write on basics and latest developments in each field. Their research outputs must be translated into pedagogical materials to use in teaching and learning. So, a team consisting educators must work hand-in-hand with the researcher team, to transfer expertise materials into those suitable for education purposes. The pedagogical materials are for developing textbooks and learning-aid books, and for providing support to classroom teaching and learning. The “expertise” materials are authentic description and analysis of the contemporary China, including characteristics of its current state and predictions of its developmental trends. The pedagogical materials are synthesized and selected

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“expertise” materials for applied purposes, featuring the use of the common language and careful choice of vocabulary that are more accessible to teachers. The pedagogical materials of the contemporary China can be published in a variety of media formats. The basic content for compiling textbooks, teachingaid, and teacher’s books can be printed in the traditional means; whereas more emphasis should be put on publication on the Internet considering the rapid development of information dissemination. Internet release is more advantageous in the following aspects: Greater flexibility in the use and adoption of materials according to different teaching and learning objectives; 2) Content update that keeps up with the latest development of China; 3) Discussion between teachers and textbook writers, as well as interaction with providers of the pedagogical materials; 4) Greater application of the outcome by the general public, which may promote social benefit of the materials and may lead to interaction with a bigger population. 1)

2.2 Establishing a strong support system to learning Successful language learning requires work inside the classroom as well as beyond the wall. Extra-curricular learning can be even more important in a certain sense, as LU You, a great poet of the Song Dynasty, once said that to learn to compose a poem, one needs effort outside poems ( Jian Nan Poetry, Vol. 78). Similar to poem writing, language learning also requires strong support to help learners learn outside a classroom. One of the important means to learning languages and acquire knowledge is to read. So, I think it important to provide graded reading materials of the contemporary China, to accommodate various needs of learners at different proficiency levels. For example, 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

Audio materials, Materials with Pinyin transcription Materials with a 500-word vocabulary Materials with a 800-word vocabulary Materials with a vocabulary of more than 1000 words

Audio materials are for naïve learners of Chinese who want to learn and improve their listening skills. Materials with Pinyin transcription are for those who do not read Chinese scripts but Pinyin.

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Materials with vocabularies of 500, 800, and 1000 words correspond with three levels of the Chinese proficiency based on Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao ‘Language Situation in China’ over the years: A. A vocabulary size of less-than-600 words that covers 80% of the written Chinese; B. A vocabulary size of less-than-1000 words that covers 90% of the written Chinese; the number of word combination is no more than 13000. The materials of 500 words are roughly comparable to Case A, and those of 800 words to Case B. The latter can be supplemented with addition of types of word combination. Thus, there could be three levels of graded reading considering the vocabulary sizes: 500 words, 800 words and more-than-1000 words. Mr. Zhou Youguang proposed that “Dictionary of Basic Chinese” and “Encyclopedia of the Greater China Culture” be compiled using a vocabulary of 1000 words, for overseas Chinese to learn Chinese and the Chinese culture. His proposal is of scientific merit and also practical, with which my paper is in conformity in nature. Graded reading materials of the contemporary China should be suitable for CFL learners of different proficiency levels, and be classified into volumes according to the content. Binders with detachable pages or newsletters are good ways to provide updates abreast with the rapid developments in China. This echoes the newspaper reading method in the Chinese pedagogy as exemplified in Wu Chengnian’s Baozhi Xue Zhongwen—Zhongji Hanyu Baokan Yuedu (《报纸学中文—中级汉语报刊阅读（上、下）》 ‘To Learn Chinese from Newspaper: Intermediate Chinese Newspaper Reading (I, II)’) published by Peking University Press. Wu’s work reports a teaching method that garners materials from articles in Chinese newspapers, magazines, and Internets, and features trendy topics that can also stand the test of time. Its vocabulary is explained in Chinese and translated into English, Japanese, and Korean. Wu’s book also comes with complementary teacher’s handbook and CD-ROMS containing reading-out of the texts. Learning-aid materials should enable learners to learn the language in reading and at the same time acquire knowledge of the contemporary China. Their experience in Chinese and in China is thus enriched simultaneously, which will increase interest and efficiency in learning. Such materials in formats of binders and newsletters should also be suitable for reading by foreign people to improve their Chinese in a long run and to keep up with the latest development of China. This learning mode is beneficial to self-initiated follow-up learning, which in turn will attract more people to learn Chinese when they see their skills in

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Chinese guarantee a life-long access to knowledge of the culture and of the country. This is analogous to life-long growing interest out of an initial investment. Of course, a newspaper of the contemporary China published in Pinyin or in certain Chinese fonts is by itself of cultural merits. It is beneficial to learning Chinese and is of great market potentials that worth intellectual and financial investment.

3 The contemporary China: topics in pedagogical discussion Discussion between students and that between students and teachers are important components in teaching and learning: students practice their spoken Chinese and exchange ideas of issues. As the contemporary China is the main content of teaching and learning, it should also be the main topic of discussion. In fact, it has always been a topic of discussion in classes among learners and teachers, and among learners and other Chinese people. CFL learners are from diversified cultural backgrounds and they vary in their prior knowledge of China. It is only reasonable that they have different understanding or even misconception of the contemporary China when they start learning Chinese. Learner’s discussion with their fellows and with teachers may nurture an objective viewpoint to China, while allowing themselves an access to different opinions from Chinese people towards certain issues. Veteran teachers of Chinese and those who embarked the career in recent years have all accumulated topics that CFL learners are most interested in. Teachers of varying experience also have all had been in delicate situations where learners are keen on questions on “sensitive” issues or questions that they wish are not asked. A country that is determined to embrace internationalization should not be afraid of or in denial of questions by learners. A humble and positive attitude is most desirable, which helps us welcome opinions from around the world on the contemporary China and fosters exchange of ideas on related issues. It is more desirable if we can identify questions that most learners find interest in and then do research in order to develop relevant pedagogical materials. This will provide guidance to teachers in helping learners in search of answers to their questions. Comments and feedback by foreign learners, including their criticism, are valuable information. Efforts should be put in collecting and classifying such information for the benefit of China. We should encourage learners to write it up for publication, or carry out in-depth investigation in thesis or dissertation.

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Such effort would have significant social impact if we could transfer foreign learners’ discussion into constructive opinions, for example, publication of a series of Pieces of Advice to China from Foreign Students, which will be of some positive influence on the development of China.

4 Concluding remarks The significance of the international education of the Chinese language is of wide range and of long term. One of its roles is in training China-related skills, including cultivating the ability to study China issues. We need train students to develop skills that enable them to work at Chinese companies or in China, and also try to create and provide opportunities for them to practice these skills. This will add value to learning Chinese, and will promote the internationalization of the Chinese language. Recent years have seen great development of internationalizing the Chinese language, or the boom of teaching and learning Chinese around the world, with lots of Chinese teachers being sent out abroad. Meanwhile, we need also invite foreign learners to China, and to enroll and study in institutions of higher education. Institutes of Chinese in oversea regions are not only language schools, but also a window through which foreign people get a glimpse of the contemporary China. So, in addition to regular classes, these institutes should also hold seminars on the contemporary China that are open to the public. As far as I know, the Confucius Institute in Singapore has been a pioneer in this area, and their efforts have been well received and recognized by the community. Research provides the underlying framework to language pedagogy. There is Sinology in world academia, and domestically we have a field of studies on Chinese classics. Should we consider the possibility of a discipline of China or of the contemporary China? It would be a sturdy foundation to the international education of the Chinese language, and also to the scientific development of China in the future.

References Li, Yuming (ed.). 2006. Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2005 (Language Situation in China: 2005). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Li, Yuming (ed.). 2007. Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2006 (Language Situation in China: 2006). Beijing: The Commercial Press.

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Li, Yuming (ed.). 2008. Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2007 (Language Situation in China: 2007). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Li, Yuming (ed.). 2009. Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2008 (Language Situation in China: 2008). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Li, Yuming (ed.). 2010. Zhongguo Yuyan Shenghuo Zhuangkuang Baogao: 2009 (Language Situation in China: 2009). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Lu, Jianming. 2004. Zengqiang Xueke Yishi, Fazhan Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue (To Enhance the Scientific Understanding in the Development of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). Chinese Teaching in the World, Vol. 1: 5–10. Lu, Jianming. 2005. Hanyu Zouxiang Shijie de Yixie Sikao (Some Reflection on Letting the Chinese Language Reach the World). Journal of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics 7: 69–74. Wu, Yingcheng. 2010. Hanyu Guoji Chuanbo: Xinjiapo Shijiao (The Internationalization of the Chinese Language – from a Singapore Perspective). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Wu, Yinghui. 2011. Guojia Yingshili Shi Yuyan Chuanbo de Juedingxing Yinsu: Lianheguo Wu Zhong Gongzuo Yuyan de Guojihua Licheng dui Hanyu Guoji Chuanbo de Qishi (The Essential Role of a Nation’s Hard Power in the Globalization of its Language: Inspiration from the Globalization of Five UN’s Working Languages). Studies of Chinese Language Globalization, Volume 1: 1–14. Beijing: The Commercial Press. Zhang, Xiping. 2011. Zou Xiang Shijie de Hanyu suo Mianlin de Ruogan Zhanlue Wenti Sikao (Some Thoughts on Promotional Strategies of Chinese Internationalization). Studies of Chinese Language Globalization, Volume 1:26–34. Beijing: The Commercial Press. Zhang, Xiping and Liu, Ruomei. 2008. Shijie Zhuyao Guojia Yuyan Tuiguang Zhengce Gailan (Outline of Language Promotion Policies in Major Countries Worldwide). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Zhao, Jinming. 2007. Hanyu Zuowei Waiyu Jiaoxue Nengli Biaozhun Shishuo (A Commentary on Capacity Standards for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies, 2:1–10.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Proceedings of the 7th International Symponium of Chinese-as-a-foreign-language Teaching and Learning, 2011, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Translated by LI Bin (李彬) Department of Linguistics & Translation, City University of Hong Kong [email protected]

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The intension and extension of qieyinzi Abstract: The word qieyin has two meanings: “fanqie” and “pinyin ‘phoneticize’”. The “phoneticize” meaning occurred in early Qing Dynasty and became popular along with the rise of the Qieyinzi Movement in late Qing, resulting in the replacement of the “fanqie” meaning. The term qieyinzi occurred around the late Qing Dynasty, referring to all kinds of phonetic alphabets worldwide (including phonetic schemes not being used as writing systems). This is its general meaning in an early stage. Later, owing to the narrowing down of the extension of qieyinzi, qieyinzi referred particularly to various phonetic schemes for Chinese (including writing systems designed for Chinese on phonetic basis, shorthand symbols and phonetic alphabets for recording Chinese) proposed during the late Qing period and early years of the Republic of China. This is the specific meaning of qieyinzi, and this specific meaning eventually replaced the general meaning. While there are different opinions among scholars on the time period of the Qieyinzi Movement, in this paper the author regards the publication of Qieyin Xinzi by Lu Ganzhang in 1892 as its starting point, and the fall of the Qing Empire in 1911 the ending point. Therefore, the Qieyinzi Movement can be defined as “a movement to promote phonetic alphabets happening between 1892 and 1911”. Keywords: qieyin, phoneticize, fanqie, qieyinzi, Qieyinzi Movement

0 Introduction The dramatic change of language life in China in the past century was benefited from the language modernization promoted by the Qieyinzi Movement in the late Qing Dynasty. “Qieyinzi” and “Qieyinzi Movement” are no doubt important terms in the history of modern Chinese linguistics. However, these terms are seldom included in dictionaries for general purposes. They may not be included, nor explained, even in linguistics dictionaries. Even if explanations are given, they are often too rough or inconsistent. This paper aims to define “qieyinzi” in terms of two logical perspectives, namely, intension and extension. During the discussion, questions such as the definition of “Qinyinzi Movement”, the rationale behind the name “qieyinzi”, etc, will also be referred to.

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1 The general meaning of qieyinzi Qieyinzi has general and specific meanings. As a term, qieyinzi occurred around the late Qing Dynasty, referring to all kinds of phonetic alphabets worldwide (including phonetic schemes not being used as writing systems). This is its general meaning. Later, owing to the narrowing down of the extension of qieyinzi, qieyinzi referred particularly to various phonetic schemes for Chinese (including writing systems designed for Chinese on phonetic basis, shorthand symbols and phonetic alphabets for recording Chinese) proposed during the late Qing period and early years of the Republic of China. This is the specific meaning of qieyinzi. In this section, I will first talk about its general meaning.

1.1 Qieyinzi referring to all kinds of phonetic alphabets In the late Qing Dynasty, qieyinzi referred to all kinds of phonetic alphabets worldwide. The extension of this general meaning of qieyinzi included: (i) existing phonetic writing systems, such as Western Romanized alphabets, kana in Japan, hangul in Korea, Manchu alphabet of Qing, etc; (ii) various phonetic schemes for Chinese proposed by that time. Here are some concrete examples of this usage: 1)

2)

Lu Ganzhang, Zhongguo Diyikuai Qieyin Xinzi-Yuanxu ‘Original Preface of The Quickest Phonic Script in China’: “Other than China, most of the countries around the world use qieyinzi composed of 20–30 alphabets. There are 26 alphabets for Britain and America, 25 for Germany, France and Netherland, 36 for Xilu and Burma, and 22 for Italy and six to seven countries in West Asia. . . . Japan used to use Chinese characters, but recently there were men of insight using 47 alphabets made up of simple strokes as qieyinzi, resulting in Japan’s prosperity in culture and education”1 (p. 2) Shen Xue, Shengshi Yuanyin – Zixu ‘Author’s Preface, Pronunciation of a Prosperous Age’: “The prosperity of [European] countries is due to Romanized qieyinzi. . . . [America] being able to compete with Europe is also benefitted from qieyinzi. . . . The reason for the rising of the two countries [i.e. Russia and Japan] was that they used qieyinzi of their own to translate Western books on fortune and asked their people to study about them.” (p. 10)

1 The reference of “Xilu” is unknown. This example is from Language Reform Press (1958). For other quotations below from the same book, only page numbers will be indicated.

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3) Xuebu Zi Waiwubu Wen ‘Message to the Foreign Ministry from the Department of Education’: “It is said that there are two major kinds of writing systems in the present world: hieroglyph and qieyinzi. Other than China which uses hieroglyph, other cases such as the National Script and alphabets of Western countries are all qieyinzi. Although Japan and Korea use Chinese characters as well, Japan has kana and Korea has hangul to complement the inadequacy of Chinese characters, and both are qieyinzi indeed.”2 (p. 68) 4) Xuebu Zi Waiwubu Wen ‘Message to the Foreign Ministry from the Department of Education’: “It is common for qieyinzi in various countries for the initials to come before finals.” (p. 71) The above examples reveal that in the late Qing period, people from nongovernmental to governmental (as represented by the Ministry of Education) levels used qieyinzi to refer to Western Romanized alphabets, Japanese kana, Korean hangul, etc. By that time, there were dozens of Chinese phonetic schemes designed by people based on the principle of Phonetic, being used as formal writing systems, as shorthand symbols, or for indicating pronunciations such as Zhang Binlin’s “Yinbiao” ‘Phonetic Table’, and these schemes were also called qieyinzi. Lu Ganzhang and Zheng Donghu named their newly invented phonetic schemes as “qieyin xinzi” ‘new qieyinzi’ and “qieyinzi”, while although Shen Xue called his as “shengshi yuanyin” ‘pronunciation of a prosperous age’ or “tianxia gongzi” ‘universal characters’, people still regarded it as a kind of qieyinzi. Here are some examples: 5)

Zhu Wenxiong, Jiangsu Xin Zimu–Zixu ‘Author’s Preface to Jiangsu New Alphabet’: “Reading qieyin xinzi by Mr. Shen from Shanghai and guanhua zimu ‘Mandarin Alphabet’ by Mr. Wang from Zhili, I admired them very much.” (p. 60)

The Ministry of Education in the late Qing Dynasty also called this kind of new phonetic schemes as “qieyinzi” or “qieyin zimu ‘phonetic alphabet’”. The following are some examples: 6) Xuebu Zi Waiwubu Wen ‘Message to the Foreign Ministry from the Department of Education’: “There is no other alternative than to design a kind of qieyinzi, following the instances of the National Script and Western writing systems, to supplement the existing hieroglyphs. ” (p. 68) 7) Xuebu Zi Waiwubu Wen ‘Message to the Foreign Ministry from the Department of Education’: “Now if we would like to invert qieyin zimu for Chinese to

2 In Qing dynasty, the Manchu script was called “National Script”.

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complement the inadequacy of hieroglyphs, we should examine the original sounds of the traditional 36 initials, take away those that are hard to distinguish, and turn the rest into to a number of standard initials. Second, follow the principle of four medials and four codas in reference to rhyme books in the past and in the present, then choose a number of standard finals. Having confirmed the inventory of initials and finals, one may make new characters by using radicals of the original characters, following the example of Japanese katakana, or by borrowing Roman alphabets from Western countries. Upon the establishment of the new characters, they will be put side-by-side with the traditional fanqie taken from rhyme books such as Yupian, Guangyun, etc. They will be announced as a national standard, admitting no accommodation to and modification for dialectal accents. The goal is to make them easy for both writing and recognizing as well as suitable for both formal and informal usage, then they can be used to unify dialects of different provinces and to promote universal education.” (p. 69–70) By that time, people used different names for various phonetic schemes designed for Chinese on phonetic basis, e.g. Cai Xiyong’s “Chuanyin Kuaizi” ‘Shorthand symbols for transmitting sounds’, Li Jiesan’s “Minqiang Kuaizi” ‘Shorthand symbols for Min accent’, Wang Bingyao’s “Pinyin Zi” ‘Pinyin characters’, Wang Zhao’s “Guanhua Hesheng Zimu” ‘Mandarin phonetic alphabet’, Lao Naixuan’s “Hesheng Jianzi” ‘phonetic simplified characters’ or “Jianzi” ‘Simplified character’, Liu Mengyang’s “Yinbiaozi” ‘Phonetic symbol’, Ma Tiqian’s “Chuanyin Zibiao” ‘Symbols connecting sounds’, Liu Shi’en’s “Yinyun Jihao” ‘Phonological symbols’, etc. Despite the differences in names, they were called qieyinzi in general. The above examples are self-explanatory. In the late Qing period, qieyinzi may refer generally to all kind of phonetic alphabets in China or in foreign countries.

1.2 Qieyin and fanqie “Qieyin” by that time is equivalent to “pinyin” in the modern use. Ji Xianlin, et. al. (1988: 315) and Dai Zhaoming (1992: 12) had also pointed out this clearly. In other words, the intension of qieyinzi is “pinyin alphabet”. Etymologically speaking, “qie” in “qieyin” is indeed from “qie” in “fanqie”. The original meaning of qieyin is fanqie. The explanation of “qieyin” given by Hanyu Da Cidian ‘The Comprehensive Dictionary of Chinese’ has proven that qieyin has the meaning of fanqie:

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8) Luo Zhufeng (ed.) (1997: 975): “[Qie4yin] A traditional method of phonetic transcription. ‘Fan’ was used in rhyme books before Tang dynasty. However, when Yuan Du of Tang dynasty was writing Jiujing Ziyang, there were rebellions of the military governors, therefore the word ‘fan’ ‘to rebel’ was avoided and ‘qie’ was used instead, and the practice was preserved in the Song Dynasty. ‘Fanqie’ is a combination of the two names, which means transcribing the pronunciation of a word with two other words. Zhang Binlin’s Qiu Shu·Ding Wen·Fu Zhengming Zayi: ‘seven to eight out of ten Chinese characters belong to the radical-phonetic category of the Six principles of Scripts. Beginning from Shuran and Hongsi, there is qieyin.’” Theoretically speaking, the “phoneticize” meaning of qieyin was evolved from its “fanqie” meaning. Even though the concrete evolution process from the “fanqie” meaning to the “phoneticize” meaning is not yet clear, the conditions triggered such a process are quite certain, and they can be explicated from three aspects: Firstly, in order to overcome the weaknesses of traditional fanqie, scholars in the Ming and Qing dynasties such as Lü Kun ( Jiao Tai Yun), Pan Lei (Lei Yin), Yang Xuanqi (Shengyun Tongran Ji), Li Guangdi (Yinyun Chanwei), Liu Xizai (Si Sheng Ding Qie), etc., made effort to study and reform on the selection of words used in fanqie so that they became more suitable for indicating pronunciations. (Ji, et.al. 1988:73) These reformation works to a certain extent were very close to the design of qieyinzi in the late Qing period.3 Secondly, the method of qieyin and the word “qieyin” had been used for phonetic writing systems before. As pointed out by Ji Xianlin, et.al. (1988: 45), Dahai, a Manchurian philologist in the Qing Dynasty, was instructed by the Qing emperor Huang Taiji in the 6th year of Tiancong era (1632) to improve old Manchu script and he created “qieyin method”, using two syllables to transcribe loan sounds in Manchu4. Ji Xianlin, et.al. (1988: 412) further pointed out that 3 Example (7) can be regarded as the standard procedure to design qieyinzi. Comparing this procedure with the ideal result of fanqie reformation, the difference between the two is at most difference in the selection of symbols. Fanqie is to search for ideal fanqie upper words and lower words, while qieyinzi for ideal symbols. 4 Qing Shigao (Draft History of Qing), vol. 228 has a record of this as well, and claims that the Dahai method, which is called “duiyin” in the book, is more accurate than fanqie in Chinese: “Da Hai conducted the study by the order, putting punctuations alongside words. He used the National Script and Chinese characters for duiyin, supplementing what is inadequate. He said, ‘there used to be 12 alphabets in the orthography, and I supplemented new alphabets for loanwords; when new alphabets are not enough, I use two alphabets to denote the pronunciation of one word, which is more accurate than fanqie in Chinese.’ There must be another source supporting Ji Xianlin, et. al. (1988: 45)’s notion that Da Hai invented ‘qieyin method’.”

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there was a book called Wuti Qingwen Jian written in about 1790, which was a contrasting glossary of five scripts: Manchu, Tibetan, Mongolian, Uygur and Chinese. Under the Mongolian column, there are two kinds of Manchu transcription: “qieyin”, using Manchu alphabets to transliterate Mongolian ones, and “duiyin”, using Manchu alphabets to show the pronunciations of words. If Dahai’s “qieyin method” is deemed close to the traditional fanqie, the kind of “qieyin” used in Wuti Qingwen Jian is different from fanqie, whose result is very similar to phonetic scripts. Thirdly, as philological theory by that time was yet to be developed, the differences in nature between phonetic notations and writing systems and that between traditional qieyin and phonetic scripts were not recognized. As a result, people by that time often placed traditional fanqie, existing phonetic scripts, newly designed pinyin for Chinese, etc. on a par. Here are some examples: 9) Lu Ganzhang, the “Original Preface” of Zhongguo Diyikuai Qieyin Xinzi ‘The Quickest Phonic Script in China’: “there has been qieyinzi in China as well, using merely a rhyme and an alphabet to denote the pronunciation of a syllable, which is the simplest kind of qieyin in the world. . . . In other words, the method of using two Chinese characters jointly to denote a pronunciation is for the purpose of illustrating a word’s proper pronunciation, which is different from using simple alphabets to make up qieyinzi.”5 (p. 2) 10) Lin Lucun, Shang Duchayuan Shu ‘Letter to the Censorate’: “Upon the rise of the Empire from Liao-Shen (Liaoning and Shenyang), the Qing script is used as well, and in the official Kangxi Dictionary, qieyin method is adopted.” (p. 17) 11) Zizhengyuan Teren Guyuanhui GuyuanZhang Yan Fu Shencha Caiyong Yinbiao Shiban Guoyu Jiaoyu An Baogao Shu ‘Report Submitted by Yan Fu, Chairman of Special Committee of the Political Advisory Council, on the Review of the Bill of the Use of Phonetic Symbols to Establish Pilot National Language Education’: “Pinyin Jianzi has the same function as the fanqie method we have been using since Wei-Jin Period, and the only difference is in the degree of complexity. Fanqie is complicated and difficult, therefore not many people can handle it. On the contrary, Jianzi is quick and easy, therefore it is popular among lay people.” (p. 134) 12) Lao Naixuan, Jiangning Jianzi Banri Xuetang Shifanban Kaixue Yanshuo Wen ‘Term-commencement Speech for Teachers Training Class of Jiangning Simplified Characters Half-Day School’: “Jianzi is merely the simplification of 36 initials and fanqie…To understand fanqie, one has to be familiar with a 5 In this example, “rhyme” is usually called “initial” and “alphabet” called “final” in general.

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number of rules, while Jianzi is ‘what you see is what you get’, being consistent with the example of combined sounds in Yinyun Chanwei.” (p. 56) 13) Shen Fenglou, Jiangning Jianzi Banri Xuetang Shifanban Kaixue Yanshuo Wen ‘Term-commencement Speech for Teachers Training Class of Jiangning Simplified Characters Half-Day School’: “A traditional Chinese character often has several pronunciations or several meanings, which are complicated and difficult, even learned scholars cannot fully understand. Now using two phonetic alphabets to compose a character is the simplest method, and it is similar to the traditional fanqie, e.g. using ‘de’ and ‘hong’ to denote ‘dong’. By learning only 69 alphabets, one can compose 3000 words and more. Even the most ignorant people can learn it without difficulty, showing how easy it is.” (p. 53) 14) Tian Tingjun, Pinyin Dai Zi Jue – Zixu ‘Author’s preface, Rhymed Formula of Phonetic Alphabet Substitutions of Chinese Characters’: “Writing systems around the world are made of alphabets, while our country is the only exception. Although every word has its fanqie, in reality word is one thing and fanqie is another. People are reluctant to learn fanqie because of its difficulty, and for those who have learned, few of them have a comprehensive understanding of it.” (p. 61) Furthermore, when designing qieyinzi for Chinese, quite a number of people indeed drew on the results of fanqie.6 For example: 15) Zhu Wenxiong, Jiangsu Xin Zimu–Zixu ‘Author’s Preface, Jiangsu New Alphabet’: “This is a new alphabet based on dengyun, fanqie as well as Roman and English spelling, which is for the vernacular language. Since it was first tried in Jiangsu, it is called Jiangsu New Alphabet.” (p. 60) 16) Wang Rongbao, et. al., “Jianzi Yanjiu Hui” Qi Bing Zhangcheng ‘The Announcement and Articles of The Jianzi Soceity’: “Jianzi is made up of initials, finals and tones, and is an application of fanqie.” (p. 111) 6 And it should be noted that there are opinions that connect qieyinzi with traditional “xiesheng”. For example: (1) Tang Jinming, Chuanyin Kuaizi, Shuhou (Postscript, Shorthand Symbols for Transmitting Sounds): “Xiesheng is one of the Six Principles of Scripts, and most of Chinese characters are of this type. Furthermore, characters created in late ages are often of this type as well. This is due to its easiness in recognition. . . This book is mainly about qieyin, fitting with the modern pronunciations and not being confined by traditional phonology. It provides a careful examination on the articulation of sounds, which is actually a promotion of the essence of xiesheng.” (pp. 5–6) (2) Lai Hongkui, Pinyin Zipu, Zaiban Xu (Preface of 2nd edition, Character Table with Pinyin): “The Mongol script started from Yuan Shizu, which was based on the Xiesheng principle.

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Owing to the advancement of fanqie, the “qieyin” application in the phonetic scripts, the ambiguity of the nature between the phonetic notations and the phonetic scripts, as well as the borrowings of fanqie’s principles and achievements to qieyinzi, it is quite natural to denote “qieyinzi” as pinyinzi. As such, the “qieyin” has acquired the “phonetic” meanings. It is also worth to remark that, in the late Qing period, people noticed some differences between fanqie and pinyin: (i) Fanqie uses two Chinese characters, but not alphabets, to pronounce a syllable. The result is that “word is one thing and fanqie is another thing”. Fanqie can only indicate the pronunciation of a word but cannot become a writing system. In fact, fanqie and pinyin cannot be compared on the same theoretical dimension. (ii) Fanqie is complicated and difficult. Unless one is proficient in using fanqie, it would be difficult to derive the pronunciation. Regarding “the simplest kind of qieyin in the world” by Lu Ganzhang in example 9), this conclusion might be derived from the perspective of using initials and finals for pinyin. Considering various pinyin methods around the world, it seems fair to say that fanqie is a relatively inconvenient method.

1.3 Other terms for expressing “phonetic” meanings In the late Qing period, apart from “qieyin”, there were also terms to express “phonetic” meanings, such as “hesheng” ‘combined sounds’, “pinyin”, etc. Wang Zhao’s and Lao Naixuan’s qieyinzi were called “Guanhua Hesheng Zimu” and “Hesheng Jianzi” respectively. The followings are some authentic examples of “hesheng”: 17) Wang Zhao, Guanhua Hesheng Zimu-Yuanxu Er ‘Original Preface 2 of Mandarin Phonetic Alphabet’: “The hesheng method for the National Script is unprecedented and unknown to the antecedents.”7 (p. 23) Now the new characters made by Mr. Wang Yuchu are based on the Xiesheng principle as well. They cover all possible sounds, which would be of infinite benefits if they are promoted by people of the country.” (p. 16) Xiesheng is what normally called “xingsheng” method of character construction. The phonetic radical of a xingsheng character functions to denote pronunciation, which is the closest counterpart of phonetic scripts in comparison with xiangxing, zhishi and huiyi. They are, nevertheless, different kinds of writing system. From the perspective of traditional philology, it is fine to regard phonetic scripts like Mongolian, qieyinxinze, etc as being “based on the Xiesheng principle”. However, from the perspectives of the evolution of the meaning of “qieyin” as well as the developing processes of many qieyinzi, the relationship between qieyinzi and fanqie is indeed closer than that between qieyinzi and xiesheng. 7 The “National Script” here refers to the Manchu script. The Manchu script is a phonetic script.

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18) Qing Fu, et. al., Chenqing Zizhengyuan Banxing Guanghua Jianzi Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Political Consultative Council concerning the Promulgation of Mandarin Simplified Characters’: “In my humble opinion, Guanhua Jianzi, previously named as Guansheng Zimu, is based on the hesheng system for the National Script. It adopts Beijing dialect as standard in pronunciation. It was composed in Tianjin and tested in different regions in China. Since the pinyin of a Chinese word consists only of two alphabets, it is easier to learn and remember than that of other countries. Since the four divisions are not distinguished by the finals, this method is more straightforward than the traditional one.” (p. 125) The most attention should be paid on the usage of the term “pinyin”. Wang Bingyao had written “Pinyin Zipu” ‘Character Table with Pinyin’ and Tian Tingjun had written “Pinyin Dai Zi Jue” ‘Rhymed Formula of Phonetic Alphabet Substitutions of Chinese Characters’. There were also Pinyin Shubaoshe ‘The Press for Pinyin Newspaper’ and the Education Association of Guanhua Pinyin at that time. The followings are some authentic examples: 19) Wang Bingyao, Pinyin Zipu-Zixu ‘Author’s Preface of Character Table with Pinyin’: “It is regrettable that people nowadays scorn the colloquial language. Only focusing on writing pastoral essays, they do not engage in practical affairs. It is far more practical to build an invisible basis for a strong China through adding pinyinzi besides the Chinese characters and using it to transcribe the pronunciation of dialects so that everyone can easily learn to read. . . Writing systems in western countries might begin with hieroglyphs but they were eventually transformed into pinyin. Over three millenniums ago, a Phoenician named Morse had originated a new pinyin method which uses 26 alphabets to transcribe the pronunciation. Starting from Ancient Greece, then to Roma, this new method has spread through Europe. Since it has facilitated people to learn the pronunciation, everyone use it. This is the reason of its rise.” (p. 12) 20) Wang Zhao, Guanhua Hesheng Zimu-Yuanxu Yi ‘Original Preface 1 of Mandarin Phonetic Alphabet’: “One day, when I sat down and began to work on the pronunciation analysis, Mr. Yan Fansun came. He showed me a book and said, “I have heard that you are creating pinyinzi. I am afraid that you will be condemned. Why don’t you use this imperial approved Yinyun Chanwei as reference for safety sake?” (p. 20) 21) Yan Yisheng, Shang Zhili Zongdu Yuan Shikai Shu ‘Official Letter Submitted to the Viceroy of Zhili Yuan Shikai’: “I have bought and read publications of guanhua pinyin. I am glad to know that it is easy for teaching. People can learn to read pinyin books after receiving verbal instructions for about ten

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days. Just right, Li naigeng, the candidate of magistrate of county, is proficient in pinyin and arithmetic. He is willing to voluntarily teach these skills to the people. I am going to establish a school of guanhua pinyin in the newspapers-reading office and it will provide teaching on simple arithmetic too.” (p. 45) 22) Tian Tingjun, Pinyin Dai Zi Jue – Zixu ‘Author’s Preface to Rhymed Formula of Phonetic Alphabet Substitutions of Chinese Characters’: “If teachers teach about it, their students will be able to express all sounds and words in pinyin alphabets freely in a month, without any restrictions and limitations. If people still want to learn the Chinese characters, they can annotate the pinyin beside the characters like what Japanese beginners do. Those who have learnt pinyin alphabets will immediately recognize the meanings of the words. Thus, how wouldn’t everyone in the country become literate in the future by using this short cut?” (p. 61) 23) Zheng Donghu, “Qieyinzi” zhi Shuomingshu ‘Manual of Qieyinzi’: “All western countries use phonetic scripts. Every child in the countries learns the scripts enjoyably and uses them comfortably. The scripts are easy and they do not encounter any difficulty. Besides, our pinyin method is easier than that of the western countries (In those western countries, their pinyin methods consists of three to more than ten alphabets. However, our pinyin method consists only of two alphabets, no more and no less.) and Chinese is distinguished for their cleverness over the world. How can we lag behind only because we can’t learn this trifling pinyin method?” (p. 137) Besides, there are terms such as “qie, pin, pinqie, pinhe,” etc. They are variants of “qieyin, pinyin and hesheng” and there are also variations on their parts of speech. For examples: 24) Zhili Xuewuchu Fuwen ‘Official Reply from the Education Affairs Office of Zhili’; “Tianlai Hen submitted by Liu Mengyang appears to be more complete than this method. However, when examining Liu’s method carefully, it is found that its transcription may cause confusion in fast speaking context. After tests, it is confirmed that accusations in the report submitted by Wang Jinshou, et.al. on this method are valid. Liu’s notion that the pronunciation of western languages can be transcribed by his method is also specious. Since using one language to transcribe the other languages is never precise, just like using Japanese scripts to transcribe English and English to transcribe Chinese, the pronunciation is always strange!” (p. 44) 25) Lin Lucun, Shang Duchayuan Shu ‘Letter to the Censorate’: “Western countries having myriad of talented people is indeed due to the ease of becoming

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literates. By examining their methods, it is known that the sound of a word is formed by combining alphabets so there are no difficulties in teaching and learning. With elementary knowledge in the alphabets, people can rapidly learn the pronunciation on their own.” (p. 17) 26) Liu Mengyang, Zhongguo Yinbiao Zishu-Bianyan ‘Preface to Transcription Alphabets of China’: “The writing systems in western countries are simple and easy to understand. Their scripts only comprise around twenty alphabets. Any word can be composed by these twenty or so alphabets. If someone is familiar with their usages, it will not be difficult for him to learn every word.” (p. 84) It is often the case that several terms which express the same meaning will compete with each other. This competition will lead to the standardization of the technical terms. Considering the usages of these terms, the word “pinyin” is predominant: Firstly, “pinyin” not only carries variants such as “pin, pinqie and pinhe”, but also appears in other compound words, like “pinyinzi, pinyin wenzi ‘phonetic scripts’, Pinyin Jianzi, pinyin zimu ‘pinyin alphabets’, pinyinfa ‘pinyin method’, Pinyin Xinfa ‘new pinyin method’, pinyin shu ‘books of pinyin’, pinyin shubao ‘publications of pinyin’, pinyin xuetang ‘schools of pinyin’”, etc. That makes the word family of “pinyin” prosperous. Secondly, “pinyin” and its word family have been used increasingly and were employed by most advocators of qieyinzi at that time. For example, Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji ‘A Collection of Essays on Chinese Script Reform in Late Qing Dynasty’ collects 67 articles (excluding appendix), 48 if counting articles from the same author as one. Among them, “pinyin” or its word family had been employed in 34 articles, which is about 70% of the total. The predominance of “pinyin” not only vanquishes other terms to make it become the most basic term in expressing “phoneticize” meaning, but also speeds up the formation of qieyinzi’s specific meaning.

2 The specific meaning of qieyinzi 2.1 Some definitions related to qieyinzi After the fall of the Qing Empire, people gradually stopped using the general meaning of qieyinzi. Qieyinzi has no longer been used to call all sorts of pinyin scripts. Qieyinzi was later referred specifically to phonetic schemes for Chinese in a certain period. That means they only used the specific meaning of qieyinzi. The followings are some major definitions of qieyinzi the author has found:

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27) Ji Xianlin, et.al. (1988: 315): “Qieyinzi ‘Phonetic Chinese Alphabet’ refers to the various phonetic schemes for Chinese produced and promoted by the public in the last twenty years of the late Qing period.” 28) Cai Fuyou and Guo Longsheng (2001: 215): “Qieyinzi ‘Phonetic Chinese Alphabet’ refers to the various phonetic schemes for Chinese produced and promoted by the public in the late Qing period.” 29) Dai Zhaoming (1992: 12): “Qieyinzi Movement is a movement initiated by the reform-minded Chinese intellectuals in the late Qing period and early years of the Republic of China for advocating phonetic Chinese. . . ‘Qieyinzi’ is a general term referred to all kinds of pinyin scripts proposed in this movement.” 30) Yi Zhi (1995: 83): “Qieyinzi Movement is a movement initiated by the reformminded Chinese intellectuals from the late Qing period to the first 20 years of the Republic of China, for advocating phoneticization of Chinese. . . ‘Qieyinzi’ is a general term referred to all kinds of phonetic scripts proposed in this movement.” The professional dictionary of Cai Fuyou and Guo Longsheng (2001) followed the definition in the encyclopedia compiled by Ji Xianlin, et. al. (1988) while the summary of Yi Zhi (1995) adopted the definition in Dai Zhaoming (1992). Hence, the four definitions above can only be considered as two factions and they are actually quite similar. The difference in intension is that one defines qieyinzi as “phonetic schemes” and one defines them as “phonetic scripts”. Historically speaking, most qieyinzi at that time were writing systems and people did not specifically differentiate between writing systems and phonetic schemes. As a result, there was not a large discrepancy between two factions in intension.8 From today’s perspective, it is certainly more suitable to define qieyinzi as “phonetic schemes” since “phonetic schemes” include writing systems and non-writing systems. The difference in extension of the two factions is that one restricted qieyinzi to the schemes proposed in the “late Qing period” and the other one restrict qieyinzi to the schemes in the “late Qing period and early years of the Republic of China”. Nevertheless, both factions emphasized “the twenty years”, showing that “early years of the Republic of China” in their definitions are merely one or two years. There were not many discrepancies on time.

8 Although Dai Zhaoming (1992: 12) defined qieyinzi as “phonetic scripts” there was another expression on the same page: “During the twenty years after the announcement of Lu’s scheme, totally 27 phonetic schemes had been proposed and these proposals had created the first climax in Chinese pinyin research.” It is noticed that he did not specifically differentiate between “phonetic scripts” and “phonetic schemes”.

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Even though Ni Haishu (1948) did not explained qieyinzi directly, “Qieyin xinzi” ‘new phonetic alphabets’ issued by Lu Ganzhang in 1892 was first introduced in its chapter Qieyinzi Yundong ‘Qieyinzi Movement’. Under the topic Qing Mo Min Chu de Qita Qieyinzi Fang’an ‘Other Qieyinzi Schemes in the Late Qing Period and Early Years of the Republic of China’, the last qieyinzi scheme introduced was Hainan(dao) Tuyin Zimu ‘The Dialectal Accents in Hainan’ by Rev. Alfred E. Street in 1919. Moreover, Pingmin Guanghua Zimu ‘The Cantonese Alphabet for Civilians’ and Pingmin Guanhua Zimu ‘The Mandarin Alphabet for Civilians’ written by Rev. Alfred E. Street in 1921 were mentioned in the brackets. “The early years of the Republic of China” in Ni Haishu (1948) was extended to the 8th year of the Republic of China or even the 10th. Ji Xianlin, et.al. (1988: 315), Dai Zhaoming (1992) and other related researchers thought that there were 20 or more kinds of qieyinzi schemes9 but Ni Haishu (1948) unexpectedly included up to 50 kinds of qieyinzi schemes. Regarding the understanding on the extension of qieyinzi with its specific meaning, the discrepancy cannot be granted as small. This discrepancy mainly comes from the cognitions on the time period of Qieyinzi Movement. The explanation of qieyinzi mostly attached to the explanation of Qieyinzi Movement. They believed the extension was large if the Qieyinzi Movement lasted for a long period. Otherwise, the extension was small. Therefore, to solve the problem on qieyinzi extension, the time period of Qieyinzi Movement and the relationship between qieyinzi and Qieyinzi Movement must be discussed.

2.2 Qieyinzi and Qieyinzi Movement Apart from (29) and (30), the followings are some description and definitions related to Qieyinzi Movement: 31) Wang Jun, et.al. (1995: 5): “Qieyinzi Movement was a movement for pinyin alphabets from 1892 to 1911.”

9 Zhou Youguang (1979: 27), Zhang Yuquan (1992: 26), Dai Zhaoming (1992: 12), Yi Zhi (1995: 83), Wang Jun, et. al. (1995: 6), Chen Yongshun (1995: 44), Cai Fuyou and Guo Longsheng (2001: 215), etc. had remarked that there were 28 qieyinzi schemes. Many people considered that this datum was derived from page 30 of Ni Haishu’s Qing Mo Hanyu Pinyin Yundong Biannianshi (A Chronicle for Movement of Advocating Phoneticization of Chinese in the Late Qing Period). Besides, Dai Zhaoming (1992: 12) claimed that some schemes had combined several dialectal accents. Hence, if we count the qieyinzi schemes according to the pronunciations, there should be around 30 kinds of qieyinzi schemes.

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32) Zhang Yuquan (1992: 26): “In 1892, the Fujian scholar Lu Ganzhang originated “qieyin xinzi” ‘new phonetic alphabets’ and published Yimu Liaoran Chujie ‘Elementary Phonetic Characters in the Blink of an Eye’ . . . During the following 20 years, a variety of pinyin schemes were continuously generated up to 28 kinds in total . . . Designers of the schemes and some enthusiastic people also suggested many views and opinions relevant to universal basic education and languages reformation. This was the movement for phonetic Chinese (also called “Qieyinzi Movement”) in the late Qing period.” 33) Gao Tianru (1992: 15): “In 1892, Lu Ganzhang’s Yimu Liaoran Chujie (Zhongguo Qieyinzi Xiaqiang) (Zhongguo Diyikuai Qieyin Xinzi) ‘Elementary Phonetic Characters in the Blink of an Eye (The New Phonetic Alphabets in China with Xiamen Accents) (The Quickest Phonic Script in China)’ was published . . . Within nearly 20 years before Xinhai Revolution, these Phonetic schemes for Chinese which were personally developed amounted to more than 20 kinds. They were mostly promoted by individuals and organizations to the public. A new trend was given rise and hence was called ‘Qieyinzi Movement’.” 34) Xu Chang’an (2000: 124): “Qieyinzi Movement in the late Qing period referred to the language modernization movement happened in the last 21 years of the Qing Dynasty which was from 1891 to 1911.” 35) Zhou Youguang (1992: 34): “From the publication of Zhongguo Qieyin Xinzi ‘The New Phonetic Alphabets in China’ to the announcement of ‘zhuyin alphabet’ (1918), the movement for phoneticization of Chinese in this stage was called ‘Qieyinzi Movement’.” Scholars hold the same views on the origin of Qieyinzi Movement, which was on 1892 when Lu Ganzhang’s Yimu Liaoran Chujie (Zhongguo Qieyin Xinzi Xiaqiang) (Zhongguo Diyikuai Qieyin Xinzi) ‘Elementary Phonetic Characters in the Blink of an Eye (The New Phonetic Alphabets in China in Xiamen Accents) (The Quickest Phonic Script in China)’ was published. Qieyin xinzi by Lu Ganzhang was the first Phonetic scheme designed for Chinese and it caused a magnificent impact upon Qing government. The stands like “Ease of writing”, “alignment of written and spoken language” and “languages unity” proposed in the “Original Preface” of Zhongguo Diyikuai Qieyin Xinzi [The Quickest Phonic Script in China] (p. 2–3) were actually the main stands for the whole Qieyinzi Movement. These stands have a significant effect on the hundred-year language modernization movement in China. In fact, a lot of scholars thought that naming of Qieyinzi Movement and popularity of Qieyinzi Movement were related to Lu Ganzhang’s qieyin xinzi. For examples:

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36) Zhou Youguang (1979: 26): “He (Lu Ganzhang) named this pinyin design as ‘Zhongguo qieyin xinzi’ ‘The new phonetic alphabets in China’, therefore people called the movement of reforming Chinese script as ‘Qieyinzi Movement’.” 37) Ji Xianlin, et.al. (1988: 403): “In 1892, Lu Ganzhang from Xiamen published ‘qieyin xinzi’ (in Xiamen accents) which was a Phonetic scheme designed by him . . . According to ‘qieyin xinzi’, the movement for phoneticization of Chinese in the late Qing period was called ‘Qieyinzi Movement’.” 38) Cai Fuyou and Guo Longsheng (2001: 215): “After his (Lu Ganzhang’s) promotion, many people started to follow him and drafted various kinds of Phonetic schemes. These had led to the Qieyinzi Movement.” Xu Chang’an (2000) regarded 1891 as the beginning of “Qieyinzi Movement in the late Qing period” probably because Song Shu brought up the idea of “creating qieyinzi” in Liuzhai Bei Yi this year. The ability of proposing this idea by that time was really amazing. Nonetheless, Lu Ganzhang “abandoned all his external affairs from day to night for over ten years” (p. 1) to invent qieyin xinzi. Thus, the beginning of the theories and applications related to qieyinzi should be earlier than 1891. In 1896, Cai Xiyong mentioned in the Author’s Preface to Chuanyin Kuaizi, Zixu” ‘Shorthand Symbols for Transmitting Sounds’ that: “I have imitated its method for a long time and merged it with the standardized pronunciation to write a book for teaching. However, I am busy with my job so I do not have leisure time. After procrastinating over ten years, the manuscript was still not completed.” (p. 4–5) It seems that Cai Xiyong designed the Kuaizi much earlier than 1891. In fact, the exact beginning date of a relatively large movement is difficult to state. People just choose the events with huge effects for representation. On the perspective of effects, the coming out of Lu Ganzhang’s qieyin xinzi is definitely more influential than bringing up the idea of “creating qieyinzi” by Song. As a result, it is more suitable to regard 1892 as the beginning of Qieyinzi Movement. It may also be the reason why most people regard 1892 as the start of Qieyinzi Movement. Nevertheless, scholars have discrepancy on the ending point of Qieyinzi Movement. The main opinions can be concluded into 4 types: 1)

2)

Wang Jun, et. al. (1995), Zhang Yuquan (1992), Gao Tianru (1992), Xu Chang’an (2000), Cai Fuyou and Guo Longsheng (2001), etc. considered 1911, the last year of the Qing Dynasty, as the ending point of Qieyinzi Movement. Dai Zhaoming (1992), Yi Zhi (1995), etc. considered “the early years of the Republic of China” as the ending point of Qieyinzi Movement.

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3) Zhou Youguang (1992) considered 1918 which “zhuyin alphabet” was announced as the ending point of Qieyinzi Movement. 4) The chapter “Qieyinzi Movement” in Ni Haishu (1948), as stated before, stating all along to 1919 when Rev. Alfred E. Street published Hainan(dao) Tuyin Zimu ‘The Dialectal Accents in Hainan’, he perhaps considered 1919 as the ending point of Qieyinzi Movement. Ni Haishu (1948: 66–67) and Wang Jun, et.al. (1995: 15) pointed out: On 10th July of the first year of the Republic of China (1912), “The Central Temporary Educational Conference” was convened and there was “Caiyong Zhuyin Zimu An” ‘A Proposal on Adopting Zhuyin Alphabets’ in their 23 motions for resolution. In December, the Ministry of Education set up “The constitutions for the Bureau of Unified Pronunciation” and stipulated the missions for “The Bureau of Unified Pronunciation” to convene conferences: “i) examines and approves the standardized pronunciations of all Chinese characters; ii) analyses all the standardized pronunciations and divides them into the simplest and purest phonemes for determining the total number of phonemes; c) select the alphabets where each alphabet represents one phoneme.” On 25th February of the second year of the Republic of China (1913), “The Bureau of Unified Pronunciation” was convoked in Beijing. It had produced zhuyin alphabets scheme and resolved the Guoyin Tuixing Banfa ‘Methods for Promoting National Pronunciations’. Although numerous new schemes were also proposed in this conference and some schemes were gradually published afterwards, from the record of Ni Haishu (1948), it is observed that many schemes in the earlier years of the Republic of China had adopted zhuyin alphabets. “‘Qieyinzi’ in the late Qing period had suddenly changed into ‘zhuyin alphabets’ in the Republic of China.” These historical events reveal that, once entering the period of Republic of China, zhuyin alphabets movement was initiated by the government and it had replaced the position of Qieyinzi Movement. Although zhuyin alphabet is certainly one of the direct products of Qieyinzi Movement, Qieyinzi Movement and zhuyin alphabets movement are having great differences. Despite the facts that people joining “The Bureau of Unified Pronunciation” were generally followers of Qieyinzi Movement, some qieyinzi schemes were still published or promoted in the early years of the Republic of China, as well as zhuyin alphabets was officially announced until 1918, it is more appropriate to consider 1911 as the ending point of Qieyinzi Movement from the perspective of historical tendency. Li Jinxi (1933) has divided the National Language Movement into 4 phases: The first phase is Qieyinzi Movement (from 1898 to 1907); the second phase is jianzi movement (from 1908 to 1917); the third phase is the united movement of zhuyin alphabets and new literature (from 1918 to 1927) and the fourth phase

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is the united movement of Romanized Mandarin and zhuyin symbols (from 1928 to ? ). The phases were divided based on several official events: On 28th July, 1898, the Grand Minister of State who received official command obtained publications from scholars like Lu Ganzhang and submitted them to the Emperor. On 14th July, 1908, Lao Naixuan submitted Jianzi Pu Lu ‘A Table of Simplified Characters’ to the Emperor and made a request for enforcement after imperial compilation. The Imperial Educational Ministry was instructed by the Emperor to confer on it. On 23rd November, 1918, the Ministry of Education announced the zhuyin alphabets and on 26th September, 1928, the Council of Universities of the Republic of China announced the Guoyu Luomazi ‘Romanized Mandarin’. Despite the fact that it might not be suitable to divide the National Language Movement according to these official events, what this paper cared about is whether his “qieyin movement” is equal to the “Qieyinzi Movement” people mentioned later. If they were the same, then the Qieyinzi Movement would only last for 10 years where the Jianzi activities of Wang Zhao, Lao Naixuan, etc. were excluded. Then, it has been too far from today’s views. Although considering 1892 to 1911 as the period of Qieyinzi Movement is more suitable, it does not mean that there were no qieyinzi beyond these 20 years. The influential qieyinzi schemes were mainly produced in Qieyinzi Movement but the aftermath still existed after the movement. The qieyinzi schemes produced in the early years of the Republic of China are the aftermath of Qieyinzi Movement. There was also a peak in the aftermath. In the 2nd year of the Republic of China, a batch of qieyinzi schemes were produced because of the convocation of “The Bureau of Unified Pronunciation”. After that, there were very few produced and they could be neglected.

2.3 Formation of the specific meaning of qieyinzi The occurrence of the specific meaning of qieyinzi is a result from reduced extension of the general meaning of qieyinzi. The general meaning of qieyinzi denotes all pinyin characters and the specific meaning of qieyinzi only denotes phonetic schemes for Chinese in the late Qing period and the early years of the Republic of China. The extension is greatly reduced. The phonetic schemes for Chinese are a small part in the worldwide phonetic scripts while the phonetic schemes for Chinese in the late Qing period and the early years of the Republic of China are a small part in abundant phonetic schemes for Chinese. Many schemes, such as zhuyin alphabets, Romanized Mandarin, Latinized New Scripts and those phonetic schemes for Chinese announced after 1958, were no longer called qieyinzi by posterity.

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There are many factors for the reduction of extended qieyinzi. Firstly, as discussed above, the word “pinyin” is predominant in the vocabulary competition. It gradually becomes the first choice for expressing the meaning of “pinyin”. For example, phonetic scripts in western countries, kana and hangul in eastern countries use “pinyin” instead of “qieyin”. Secondly, even though the usage of expressing “pinyin” in “qieyin” is progressively replaced and discarded in the end, phonetic schemes for Chinese in that period was used to be called as “qieyinzi” by people in the late Qing period and the early years of the Republic of China. This tendency of usual practices prevents those schemes to be renamed easily. Thirdly, zhuyin alphabets movement became thriving along with the beginning of the Republic of China. The objective of zhuyin alphabet movement is quite different from that of the Qieyinzi Movement. Nobody would call zhuyin alphabets as qieyinzi since it is only a zhuyin scheme. The schemes after that, like Romanized Mandarin, Latinized New Scripts and phonetic schemes in new China, were not named as qieyinzi either. The zhuyin alphabets movement has hindered the extension of “qieyinzi” to all phonetic schemes for Chinese. It is certainly the interaction of these three factors that has reduced the extension of “qieyinzi” to the extent nowadays. The reduced extension brings about the formation of specific meaning of qieyinzi and turns its general meaning to become a “historical meaning”.

3 Concluding remarks (a) Qieyinzi has general and specific meanings. The general meaning of qieyinzi referred to all phonetic scripts in the world and this meaning is mainly used in the late Qing period. The specific meaning of qieyinzi referred to various phonetic schemes for Chinese produced in the late Qing period and the early years of the Republic of China. This meaning is the meaning of qieyinzi nowadays. The general meaning of qieyinzi is related to the acquisition of “phonetic” meaning while the specific meaning is resulted from the reduced extension. There are plenty of factors for qieyinzi to reduce its extension, such as the defeat of “qieyin” by “pinyin” in the vocabulary competition, as well as the rapid growth of zhuyin alphabets movement after the end of Qieyinzi Movement in the late Qing period. (b) Qieyin also has two meanings. The first one means “fanqie” and the second one means “pinyin”. The “phonetic” meaning of qieyin germinated in the early Qing period and matured in the late Qing period. Along with the disappearance of general meaning of qieyinzi and formation of specific meaning, the “phonetic” meaning of qieyin also become a “historical meaning”.

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However, it still exists in the technical term “qieyinzi” as a word-building component. The destiny of qieyinzi is confined with the rise and decline of the word “qieyin”. (c) The Qieyinzi Movement took place at the last 20 years of the late Qing period. It rose at 1892 when Lu Ganzhang published qieyin xinzi and declined at 1911 when the Qing Dynasty collapsed. After Qieyinzi Movement, there was a repercussion where some more qieyinzi schemes were proposed. (d) The meanings of qieyin and qieyinzi in modern dictionaries are incomplete and the explanations of Qieyinzi Movement are not consistent. Myriad of modern dictionaries have this kind of problems as the researches to the vocabularies (including scientific and technological terms) produced since the Qing Dynasty are inadequate. Modern Chinese was indeed formed and developed during this period and the vocabulary system of modern science and technology was also generated and improved continuously throughout this period. The vocabularies in this period have a high research value. Topics of this sort should be brought to the attention of the realms of lexicology, lexicography, history of science and technology, history of terminology, and the like.

References Cai, Fuyou and Guo, Lungsheng. 2001. Yuyan Wenzi Changyong Cidian (Dictionary of Common Usage of Spoken and Written Language). Beijing: Beijing Education Press. Chen, Yongshun. 1995. Hanzi Gaige Shi Gang [A History of Chinese Script Reform (Revised Edition)]. Changchun: Jilin University Press. Dai, Zhaoming. 1992. Qieyinzi Yundong Shimo (The Beginning and Ending of Qieyinzi Movement). Yuwen Jianshe, Vol. 12. Ding, Fanghao. 1992. Lu Ganzhang zai Qieyinzi Zhengcifa Fangmian de Gongxian – Jinian Woguo Qieyinzi Yundong Yibai Nian (The Contribution of Lu Ganzhang to the Orthography of Qieyinzi – In Commemoration of the Centennial Anniversary of the National Qieyinzi Movement). Yuwen Jianshe, Vol. 4. Gao, Gengsheng. 1992. Zi Ti Dai Bian, Qu Nan Bu Yi – Du Yimu Liaoren Chujie Yougan (The Writing System Changes Constantly from Difficult to Easier: On Reading Elementary Phonetic Characters in the Blink of an Eye). Yuwen Jianshe, Vol. 12. Gao, Tianru. 1992. Zhongguo Yuyanxue de Faduan – Qing Mo Qieyinzi Yundong de Lishi Diwei (The Beginning of Chinese Linguistics: The Historical Status of Qieyinzi Movement in the Late Qing). Yuwen Jianshe, Vol. 12. Hu, Mingyang. 1987. Beijinghua Chutan (An Exploration into the Beijing Dialect). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Ji, Xianlin, et. al. 1988. Zhongguo Da Baike Quanshu: Yuyan Wenzi (Encyclopedia of China: Language and Writing System). Encyclopedia of China Publishing House.

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Li, Jinxi. 1933. Guoyu Yundong (National Language Movement). Shanghai: The Commercial Press. Luo, Zhufeng (ed.). 1997. Hanyu Da Cidian (The Comprehensive Dictionary of Chinese), Vol. 1 (Compact Edition). Hanyu Da Cidian Publishing House. Ni, Haishu. 1948. Zhongguo Pinyin Wenzi Yundong Biannianshi [An Annal of the Phonetic Script Movement of China (abridged)]. Shanghai: Shidai Shubao Press. Su, Peicheng. 2000. Hanzi Bainian Fuchen Lu (The Rise and Fall of Chinese Characters in the Past Century). In Su, Peicheng (ed.). Yuwen Xiandaihua Luncong (Essays on Language Modernization), Vol. 4. Peking University Press. Wang, Jun. 1995. Dangdai Zhongguo de Wenzi Gaige (Script Reform of Contemporary China). Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House. Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji (A Collection of Essays on Chinese Script Reform in the Late Qing Dynasty). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Xu, Chang’an. 2000. Yuwen Xiandaihua Xianqu Lu Ganzhang (Lu Ganzhang – the Forerunner of Language Modernization). Xiamen: Xiamen University Press. Yi, Zhi. 1995. Yuwen Xiandaihua Yundong 100 Zhounian Jinian Wenzhang Zongshu (A Summary of Essays Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Movement of Language Modernization). In Wang, Jun (ed.). Yuwen Xiandaihua Luncong (Essays on Language Modernization). Shandong Education Press. Zhang, Yuquan. 1992. Xiang Hanyu Pinyin Yundong Kaichuangzhe Xuexi – Du Wenzi Gaige Shi Zhaji (Learning from Pioneers of the Movement of Chinese Pinyin: Notes on Reading the History of the Reformation of Writing System). Yuwen Jianshe, Vol. 2. Zhao, Erxun, et al. 1977 [1928]. Qing Shi Gao (Draft History of Qing). Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. Zhou, Youguang. 1979. Hanzi Gaige Gailun (Di San Ban) [An Introduction to the Reform of Chinese Characters (Third edition)]. Beijing: Language Reform Press. Zhou, Youguang. 1992. Qieyinzi Yundong Bainianji (A Centenary Celebration for the Qieyinzi Movement). Yuwen Jianshe, Vol. 5.

The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Journal of Fujian Normal University, 2005, Vol. 3. Translated by CHENG Siu Kei, Ken (郑绍基) Department of Chinese & Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Chapter 27

The proposition of universal education in the Qieyinzi Movement1 Abstract: Although the two-decade long Qieyinzi ‘phonetic characters’ Movement in the late Qing Dynasty was a language modernization movement, its aim was in fact to educate the people and strengthen the country. The rationale behind the Qieyinzi Movement was: if a country wants to be rich and strong, it needs technological advancement and intelligent people; if it needs technological advancement and intelligent people, the availability of elite education is not sufficient. Universal education is essential to this aim and common people should be educated to read and write; Chinese characters which are complicated are only suitable for elite education; in order to popularize education, there needs to have characters which are easy to learn, just like qieyin characters. Hence, the creation and promotion of qieyin characters became the foremost essentials of popularizing education and saving the country. The proposition of universal education might perhaps be biased and imprecise, it nevertheless shone with historical radiance. Even today, the theoretical essence of the proposition is still valid. Particularly, the discussion of such proposition and the actual practice of the Qieyinzi Movement demonstrated an intense sense of patriotism and enthusiasm which still holds a strong influence to motivate people for progression nowadays. Keywords: Qieyinzi Movement, universal education

0 Introduction Various foreign language schools and industrial schools were set up during the period of Westernization Movement, which was the rudimentary stage of modern education in China. In 1904, the Qing government promulgated Zou Ding Xuetang Zhangcheng ‘Imperial Order on School Regulations’. In 1905, impe-

1 This article was originally published in Hanyu Yanjiu yu Yingyong (Chinese Language Research and Application (Volume 4), 2007, edited by School of Teaching Chinese as Foreign Language of Renmin University of China and published by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Press.

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rial examination system was abolished and the Imperial Educational Ministry was established, which marked the preliminary formation of modern education in China. During the last 50 years or so of the Qing Dynasty, due to frequent intellectual contact and military incidents between China and western countries as well as the emergence of Japan and Russia and their bullying behaviour towards China, men of insight would like to seek the reasons of the decline of this country which possessed an ancient civilization of several thousand years and to search for effective remedies to save the country. Universal education was one of the remedies that could save the country. From 1892 to 1911, a group of patriots deeply believed that the largest obstacle in implementing universal education in China was the difficulty of learning Chinese characters which were deemed to be complicated. Therefore they proposed that new type of Chinese phonetic characters should be created by imitating the practice of Western languages or the Japanese kana. Lu Ganzhang, Cai Xiyong, Shen Xue, Wang Zhao, Lao Naixuan, Zhu Wenxiong and Wu Zhihui all contributed their wisdom by designing up to 30 phonetic schemes. In addition, a group of government officials, gentlemen and celebrities, such as Liang Qichao, Yuan Shikai, Wu Rulun, Yan Xiu, Zhou Fu, Duan Fang, Zhao Erxun, Jiang Qian and Lin Lucun, also participated in this proposal. Some of them wrote prefaces and commentaries for the proposal, while others assisted in promoting the proposal. Some of them wrote persuasion letters to the Imperial Court and some submitted recommendations to the government. All these activities endowed qieyin characters and their designers a higher social reputation. Other enthusiastic advocates of the new characters used the new schemes to compile elementary readers and popular literature, and established reading clubs and schools, which created an atmosphere in the society. This was the Qieyinzi Movement which initiated the modernization of the Chinese language. The prime mover of the Qieyinzi Movement was universal education with the objective of educating the people and strengthening the country. The opinion and practice of universal education in the Qieyinzi Movement, to a certain extent, had some effects on the transition of the feudal education system to a new education system, which were regarded as an organic component of the early stage of modern education in China. However, when studying the literature related to education at this stage, little research has been undertaken concerning the Qieyinzi Movement. This paper aims to organize the literature related to the Qieyinzi Movement from the perspective of education and to investigate the proposition of universal education in the Qieyinzi Movement. It is hoped that this paper may benefit the research on the late Qing Dynasty education, and even may offer some inspiration or reference for today’s education.

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1 Universal education – educating the people and strengthening the country The modern concept of universal education was initiated in Europe. In 1619, Prussia Weimar promulgated compulsory education law which marked the beginning of the legislation of the concept of universal education. (Tian and Xiao 2000:4) After that, other countries in Europe and America followed this example with the promulgation of related laws and the establishment of schools. These practices developed a fervent atmosphere of universal education which was described as “wúdìwúxué, wúshìfēixué, wúrénwúxué” ‘schools are built in every place, everything can be learnt and everyone can attend schools’2. The Meiji Reformation of Japan learnt from the practice of Western countries on the promotion of education which led to the revitalization of its national power. After the introduction and commentaries of the progress of universal education in Europe, America and Japan as delivered by the following persons, universal education was gradually known and valued by Chinese people: Wei Yuan (Haiguo Tuzhi ‘Illustrated Treatise on Maritime Countries’ in 1842), Feng Guifen ( Jiaobinlu Kangyi ‘The Protest of Jiaobinlu’ in 1861), Ernest Faber (Deguo Xuexiao Lunlue ‘A Brief Study of German Schools’ in 1873), Zheng Guanying [Yi Yan ‘On Change’, Shengshi Weiyan ‘Words of Warning to a Prosperous Age’, Shengshi Weiyan Houbian ‘Words of Warning to a Prosperous Age II’], American missionary W. A. P. Martin (Xixue Kaolue ‘A Brief Outline of Western Learning’ in 1882), Huang Zunxian (Riben Guozhi ‘The Annals of Japan’ in 1890), Xue Fucheng (Chushi Ying Fa Yi Bi Siguo Riji ‘A Journal of An Ambassador to Britain, France, Italy and Belgium’ in 1891), British missionary T. Richard (Qiguo Xinxue Beiyao ‘A Summary of New Learning in Seven Western Countries’ in 1892), American missionary Y. J. Allen (Wenxue Xingguo Ce3 ‘A Strategy to Develop the Country through Literature’ in 1896). Compulsory education was included in both Qinding Xiaoxuetang

2 These words were cited from Li Shanlan’s Preface of Deguo Xuexiao Lunlue (A Brief Study of German Schools), a book written by a German missionary Ernest Faber in 1873. See Qu and Tong (1997: 38). 3 Wenxue Xingguo Ce (A Strategy to Develop the Country through Literature) was a translation of Mori Arinori’s Education in Japan. In 1871, Mori Arinori took up the post of Japanese ambassador to the United States. He wrote letters to celebrities and scholars of various fields in the United States to consult them about the experience of the United States in the establishment of education. He compiled their feedback into a book and submitted to the Japanese government, which had profound influence on education in Japan.

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Zhangcheng ‘Imperial Order on Primary School Regulations’ in 1903 and Zouding Xuetang Zhangcheng ‘Imperial Order on School Regulations’ in 1904. This means that the concept and system of universal education in Western countries finally became the content of education system in China after 60 years of introduction and recommendation, even though compulsory education is only part of universal education and it was too difficult for the two sets of regulations to be implemented effectively when Qing Dynasty was on the verge of its fall. With the outbreak of the Opium Wars and several military incidents afterwards between China and Western countries, Chinese people had already deeply realized the strength of Western powers and the frailty of China. They gradually learnt that universal education was essential to the strengthening of the country. Participants of the Qieyinzi Movement were proponents of universal education. Their opinions were as follows: 1)

2)

Lu Ganzhang’s Zhongguo Diyi Kuaiqieyin Xinzi – Yuanxu ‘Original Preface of The Quickest Phonic Script in China’ in 1892: “In my humble opinion, whether a country is prosperous and powerful or not, it depends on its development of natural sciences. The vigorous development of natural sciences depends on whether everyone in the country is enthusiastic about learning and knowledge. . . Hence, in civilized countries in Europe and America, though in remote and backward places, children over the age of ten all go to school. According to the figures published by a foreign newspaper last year, out of 100 Germans, only one person is illiterate; in Switzerland, two out of 100 persons are illiterate; in Scotland, seven out of 100 persons are illiterate; in America, eight out of 100 persons are illiterate; in Holland, ten out of 100 persons are illiterate; in England, 13 out of 100 persons are illiterate; in Belgium, 15 out of 100 persons are illiterate; in Ireland, 21 out of 100 persons are illiterate; in Australia, 30 out of 100 persons are illiterate. . . According to the list provided by the Ministry of Education of Japan, last year there were 10,862 private schools in Japan, with 62,372 teachers and around 2.8 million students in total. In addition, in the tenth year of Guangxu Dynasty there were around 3.19 million male students and 2.96 million female students.” (Language Reform Press 1958:2) Liang Qichao’s Shenshi Yinshu Xu ‘Preface, Shen’s Book of Pronunciation’ in 1896: “How could a country be strong? A strong country must have intelligent people. How could people be intelligent? If everyone of the country could be literate, the people would be intelligent. In Germany and the United States, 96 to 97 out 100 persons are literate. This is the same in Europe. In Japan, more than 80 out 100 persons are literate. China is

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renowned for its civilization among the five continents, nevertheless, less than 30 out of 100 persons are literate.”4 3) Cai Xiyong’s Chuanyin Kuaizi – Zixu ‘Author’s Preface, Shorthand Symbols for Transmitting Sounds’: “(In the West) From country leaders to common people, men and women, everything can be learnt and everyone can go to school. I have never met a person who is illiterate.” (Cai 1896: 3) 4) Wang Bingyao’s Pinyin Zipu – Zixu ‘Author’s Preface, Character Table with Pinyin’: “Now, if China wants to prosper by solely depending on the railways, machines, skills, mining, commerce, banking, postal service, military equipment and warships of Europe and America, without learning the ways of identifying falsehood, the methods of guiding people to be good and the techniques of educating people, there would be no foundation for prosperity. Instead, China would have even greater frailty. The lessons drawn from previous mistakes have not yet been forgotten. The strength of the West originates from the fact that all their people are sincere and educated, regardless of whether one is male or female. If China does not seek this foundation, but only imitates external matters, it would be no different from cutting a flower with its stem and placing it in a vase that only instant beauty could be appreciated.” (Wang 1897: 12–13) 5) Shang Zhilizongdu Yuan Shikai Shu ‘Official Letter Submitted to the Viceroy of Zhili Yuan Shikai)’ by Wang Yongzhou, He Fenghua et al: “In my humble opinion, whether a country is strong or not depends on whether its people are intelligent or not; whether the people are intelligent or not depends on whether the country’s education is popularized or not. . . . Nowadays, though the victory or defeat of a country is definitely judged by it military strength, the survival of a country in fact depends on the education of its people. . . . A country cannot be a country without soldiers, educated soldiers are more powerful. Everyone knows that Germany’s ground force is renowned as the most powerful army in the world who can surmount all sorts of difficulties. But people seldom know that German soldiers are all literate, which is why Germany is so prosperous today. This day eight to nine out of ten soldiers of our country are illiterate. They are mostly timid and overcautious, and ignorant but self-important. Even though there are generals

4 See Shen (1896: 1–2). The Preface was also included in Language Reform Press (ed.) (1958: 7), however, in “China is renowned for its civilization among the five continents, nevertheless, less than 30 out of 100 persons are literate”, “30” was printed as “20”. It is strange to have different figures for different versions of the same text published by the same publisher and it is unclear that which figure is correct.

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who are intelligent, trustworthy, benevolent and brave, how could they inspire those soldiers to ignite the patriotism to protect our country from our enemies?” (Language Reform Press 1958:35–37) 6) Chen Qiu’s Xinzi Ouwen Xuetang Kaixue Yanshuo ‘Term-commencement Speech for Xinzi Ouwen School’: “In foreign countries, such as Britain, the United States, Germany, France and Japan, children who reach the age of eight must go to school. For those who do not obey the law, their father and elder brothers shall be punished. Hence, there are schools everywhere. In these countries, more than 90 out of 100 persons are literate. In China, except in large cities and towns, not one out of ten persons can read and write even simple words. This is far more inferior to the foreign countries. There are many literate people in foreign countries, and everyone can read books and newspapers by themselves. No matter whether they are government officials or mechanics, they all can read and write. Even most of the farmers, masons and carpenters can publish newspapers and write books. This is why they can produce so many things and the production is getting better every day. The sales are getting larger every year and the profit is then increasing. It is thus reasonable to say that there is no country which is not strong if it is rich.” (Chen 1903: 9–10) 7) Shen Fenglou’s Jiangning Jianzi Banri Xuetang Shifanban Kaixue Yanshuo Wen ‘Term-commencement Speech for Teachers Training Class of Jiangning Simplified Characters Half-Day School’ in 1905: “Looking to the East, we have Japan. Looking to the West, we have Europe. Their children starting from the age of six have to learn reading and writing. For those who do not go to schools, their parents shall be punished. This is called compulsory education. Schools are built everywhere. Initially, these schools were sponsored by the government, hence it is easy for them to get funded. Compulsory education is new in China where there are many poor people, it is understandable that it is difficult to set up such schools. As it is difficult to set up schools, there would not be many schools; as there are not many schools, there would not be many literate people; as there are not many literate people, would it be possible to have a prosperous and strong country?” (Language Reform Press 1958:53) 8) Wang Rongbao, Zhao Bingling and Lao Naixuan’s Jianzi Yanjiuhui Qi bing Zhangcheng ‘The Announcement and Articles of the Jianzi Soceity’ in 1910: “Nowadays, it is a world of competition. Countries compete with each other in military, commerce and even academic studies. The fittest will survive, even though the losers will obviously have a bad mood. China’s military strength is inferior to others, its commerce is inferior to others and even its academic studies are inferior to others. What could China depend on if it has

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to stand up confidently between heaven and earth? There is only one thing that China has advantage over others that other countries are incapable of. It is the population of China which accounts for the largest in the world. A country is an aggregation of its people. According to common sense, a country with a huge population should be better than a country with a small population. However, nowadays this is not the case. Most of the Chinese people are not educated. There are only one or two intelligent people with hundreds and thousands of ignorant ones. Although ignorant people are many, they are in fact just equivalent to few. This is why China’s many are no match for a few of other countries. If ignorant people can be turned into intelligent ones, even if one enlightened ignorant person cannot be equivalent to one intelligent person, several enlightened persons can be equivalent to one intelligent person. There are hundreds of millions of people in China. By collecting their wisdoms, which countries can be a match for China? This is why universal education for the Chinese people is today’s foremost essentials of rescuing the country.” (Language Reform Press 1958:111) The opinions cited above represent the earliest “theory of revitalizing the country through science and education”. The logic behind their arguments is: the prosperity of the country is built on the basis of technological advancement and people’s intelligence. And technological advancement and intelligence enhancement can only be achieved through universal education where everyone can learn to read and write. The facts they listed were: “compulsory education” was implemented in both the East and the West, schools were built everywhere and eight to nine out of ten persons were literate; China, as renowned by its long history of civilization among the five continents, did not have many schools and more than 80 out 100 persons were illiterate. By contrast, the source of strength and weakness was obvious. Hence, universal education to enlighten the Chinese people naturally became “the foremost essentials” in the issue of rescuing the country.

2 Educating “common people” is more important than educating “elite people” The politics in late Qing period were constantly changing with political reforms and modernization as the vogue of the day. After the Reform Movement of 1898, Qing government had promised to implement constitutional government and even formulated the schedule for such implementation. The leading figures of

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the Qieyinzi Movement, such as Wang Zhao and Lao Naixuan, who had been in significant official positions, were very concerned about and even personally participated in the political reforms at the time. Their special experience also led them to view universal education from a political perspective. For instance: (9) Wang Zhao’s Guanhua Hesheng Zimu – Yuanxu (1) ‘Original Preface (1), Mandarin Phonetic Alphabet’ in 1900: “Every language in the world is known by its native people. This is because its spoken language is consistent with its written one and their phonetic transcription is easy. Hence, when children reach the age of speaking, they may not be smart though, they can start to read. They can get to know the reasoning recorded in written materials in their life and make progress gradually. Even though there are different level of difficulty in these written materials, they can learn difficult reasoning once they make progress in their study. Whether they are smart or not, rich or poor, old or young and men or women, they all can unravel problems by using certain principles. Drivers and hawkers can read newspapers when they are taking a rest along the roads. With this foundation, politics and education can be merged together in a natural way. The court and the commons can work together easily. In our country not even one out of a hundred persons is proficient in our language. . . As from the point of view of an individual to a society, to a country or to the world, it would be empty talk for politicians to promote education if there is no teaching and learning of necessary knowledge of daily life.” (Language Reform Press 1958:19) (10) Wang Zhao’s Wan Wu Zhifu Xiansheng Lianyu bing Xu ‘A Eulogy and Preface for Mr. Wu Zhifu’: “When the government of each country issues an order in the morning, it will be read by women and children of the whole country in the evening. They know what the order means. This is the same for the matters concerning academic studies, industries and commerce which can be rapidly spread across the whole country. Today the proposals of the people who called themselves New Party often appear in various printed media and they claim that 400 million people are enthusiastic about this. In fact, only one educated person in a thousand illiterate is talking about this, and also only one educated person in a thousand illiterate understands and knows what it is talking about. 400 million people indeed do not know what is going on. Today, Chinese official documents often mention about feeding people and educating people. The fact is that those who issue these documents are government officials and those who receive these documents are also government officials. Those who understand and know these documents are all government officials, common people do not

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understand a word. Hence, this is only paper politics. They are only talking and explaining to themselves with other officials singing in the same tune. In the documents, the government officials blame the people for their misbehaviour, but the people indeed do not know what the document means!. . . The people do not know politics and education is not related to the people.” (Wang 1903: 37–39) (11) Lao Naixuan’s Jincheng Jianzi Pulu Zhe ‘Official Document Presented to the Emperor concerning A Table of Simplified Characters’ in 1908: “In constitutional countries, only literate people are eligible to be its rightful citizens. In the rural areas in China, there are cases where there is not even one literate person in a whole village. Or there are just one or two literate persons, but it happens that they are the villains of the village. No good villagers are literate. In those cases, there is not even one person who is qualified to be a citizen, how could we build a constitutional foundation?” (Language Reform Press 1958: 79) (12) Lao Naixuan’s Zouqing yu Jianyishizi Xueshu nei Fushe Jianzi Yi Ke bing Biantong Difang Zizhi Xuanmin Zige Zhe ‘Official Document Presented to the Emperor concerning the Setting up of the Subject of Simplified Characters in Jianyishizi School and the Adjustment of the Qualification of Electors in Local Autonomous Regions’ in 1909: “In my humble opinion, the responsibility of the preparation of the establishment of the constitution is definitely on the part of government officials. However, the basis for the implementation of the constitution is, in fact, on the part of the people. The meaning of the establishment of the constitution is to muster the wisdom of all people to govern the country. If the people are not educated and they cannot selfgovern, what wisdom can we muster even though there exist appropriate laws and good intentions? This is why universal education and local selfgovernment are the foremost essentials in the preparation of the establishment of the constitution. . . . In the regulations concerning the qualifications of electors in local autonomous regions in cities, towns and villages drafted and submitted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and verified by the Commission for Regulations Formulation for Constitutional Government, it is stipulated that males at the age of 25 are qualified to be electors and illiterate persons are not eligible to be electors. . . . In the year when local self-government commences, eligible electors must be at the age of 25 or above and literate. At present there are few literate villagers in each province. Very often, there is not even one person who is eligible to become an elector in a whole village. How can local self-government be achieved?. . . Local self-government is the foundation of constitutional government. If the implementation of self-government is hindered because there are insuffi-

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cient literate people, there would be a lack of foundation for constitutional government and the progress of the establishment of the constitution would be hampered.” (Language Reform Press 1958: 103–105) (13) Lao Naixuan’s Zhi Tang Shangshu Han ‘Letter to Minister Tang’ in 1910: “In my humble opinion, it is heard that there are two functions of education: one is to nurture talents and the other one is to enlighten people. To nurture talents is to educate elite people and to enlighten people is to educate common people. In our country, there are few elite people and many common people. Elite people are mostly educated and common people are largely uneducated. There are few educated people and many uneducated people. With hundreds of millions of uneducated people in a country, it would be extremely difficult to govern such country. In addition, in the current trend of the world countries compete with each other in terms of intelligence, not physical strength. They compete in terms of gathering the wisdom of common people, not the wisdom of elite ones. The extraordinary wisdom of one or two persons is no match for the common sense of tens of millions of common people. This is why the education of common people is particularly more important than that of elite people.” (Language Reform Press 1958: 113) Wang Zhao thought that universal education could lead to the result of politics and education being merged together in a natural way. The court and the commons could work together easily. Hence, progress could be achieved gradually. At that time, due to the fact that most of the people were illiterate, the so-called politics was only “paper politics” in which officials were only talking and explaining to themselves with other officials singing in the same tune. He, in turn, put forward a statement that “the people do not know politics and education is not related to the people”, which brought tremendous enlightenment to others. Lao Naixuan viewed universal education as “the foremost essentials” of achieving citizenship and implementing constitutional government. He also categorized education into “education of elite people” and “education of common people” and deeply recognized that education of common people was more important than that of elite people. This can be regarded as the first signs of “mass education”.

3 Easily recognized characters are essential to universal education In accordance with the Qieyinzi Movement, the success of the popularization of education in the West and Japan was because they used phonetic characters

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which were simple and easy to learn and their spoken language was consistent with their written language; and the main reason for China not being capable of popularizing education was due to the difficulty and complexity of Chinese characters and the Chinese spoken language was not in agreement with its written counterpart. In order to popularize education, enlighten people and strengthen the country, it was crucial to be equipped with phonetic characters, just like the cases in the Western countries and Japan. Hence, to achieve the aim of universal education through the promotion of qieyin characters became the center of public opinion of the time and was even regarded as “the foremost essentials of rescuing the country”. For instance: (14) Wang Bingkun’s Pinyin Zipu Xu ‘Preface, Character Table with Pinyin’: “For China being China is because of its written language, and for China being merely as China is also because of its written language. The difficulty and complexity of Chinese written characters are the cause of China’s frailty. Egypt is not prosperous for a long time. And in recent years China has been encroached by foreign countries. What are the reasons behind all these? The selection of government officials is based on the proficiency of language and ancient classical works of scholars as tested in provinciallevel, metropolitan-level and imperial court-level examinations. However, with only one missing dot stroke or a mistaken half stroke, it will be totally regarded as an error. This shows how complicated it is in learning Chinese characters. Scholars5 had to spend their whole life to study Chinese characters, how can they have time to learn other things? When being asked about current affairs, scholars of advance age in rural areas know nothing about them besides the knowledge of eight-legged essays. They do not know in which continent Britain or the United States is situated. Neither do they know what treaties were signed between China and foreign countries. With such talents, how can a country be strengthened? Countries in the West are flourishing every day. Those who do not know the truth would think that this is because of the wealth and military power of these countries. In fact, their prosperity lies on the ease of learning of their written languages. They use 26 letters to generate infinite number of words. Persons in these countries with medium intelligence are able to read and write after several school years. This is why illiterate people are rare in these countries. When there are numerous schools, there will be many talents.

5 In the original text, the character 士 (“scholar”) is printed as 十 (the number “ten”). Now it is corrected into 士 (“scholar”) in accordance with the edition of Language Reform Press (ed.) (1958: 13).

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When there are many talents, a country can be prosperous. This is just an irresistible trend.” (Wang 1897: 7–8) (15) Tian Tingjun’s Shumu Dai Zi Jue – Xu ‘Preface, Rhymed Formula of Numeric Substitutions of Chinese Characters’: “Talking about the difficulty and complexity of various written languages, the written language of China must be the most difficult one among all! Children studying at school for three to four years can only draw Chinese characters by imitation. If you ask them to try to write an essay, they do not know what to do and will sit all day long in front of a blank paper. In accordance with the statistical figures of 400 million population of China, only few persons out of 100 are literate; for persons who are proficient in the Chinese language, there are less than 100 out of 1,000 persons. Therefore, it comes to no surprise to learn that people are foolish and poor. When looking at foreign countries in Europe and America, no matter whether they are children or women, they all know how to read and write. Why? It is because their written languages are easy to learn. Their written languages on books are consistent with their spoken languages. This is why they are more civilized and prosperous than our country. Nowadays, our government has just started reformation regarding the nurturing of talents as the top priority and hoping that everyone can be able to read and write and proficient in our language. However, everyone is endowed with a different level of intelligence and the financial status of each household is different too. If appropriate adjustments are not made, intelligent people can be able to learn reading and writing, while foolish people still cannot be able to do so; the rich can be able to learn reading and writing, while the poor still cannot be able to do so. If foolish people and the poor have to be educated, there is a need to devise an easy way to achieve this aim.” (Tian 1901:1–4) (16) Shang Zhilizongdu Yuan Shikai Shu ‘Official Letter Submitted to the Viceroy of Zhili Yuan Shikai’ by Wang Yongzhou, He Fenghua et al in 1903: “Unless our country does not want to be prosperous and our people do not want to be educated, it is definitely essential for everyone to be able to read books and newspapers, to write and to understand the meaning of imperial notices. However, it is difficult to do so nowadays. The only way is to have a simplified alphabet scheme to make the written language consistent with the spoken one. Though the prosperity of the countries in Europe and American is not due to one single factor, the consistency between their written and spoken languages and the ease of use of their languages are in fact the essence of such prosperity. Currently, the spoken Chinese language is one thing and the written one is another. There is nothing that can make these two consistent with each other. In addition, there are

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more than 40,000 Chinese characters in total and they are extremely difficult to learn if there are no letters to be used to master those characters. In that case, only very intelligent and rich people can learn how to read and write the Chinese language. The result is that hundreds of millions of women and the poor are dismissed from education and the country is worsening.” (Language Reform Press 1958:35) (17) Tian Zhen’s Pinyin Dai Zi Jue Xuyan ‘Preface, Rhymed Formula of Phonetic Alphabet Substitutions of Chinese Characters’: “The forms and pronunciations of Chinese characters are particularly complex and difficult to understand. . . . Even if a person studies the language very hard from his youth, very often he still cannot access to the essence of it. There may only be one or two persons who can be proficient in the language. With that in mind, it would be extremely difficult to popularize education with the aim that every household in a county as well as every child in a household is literate. The written languages of the countries in Europe and America are basically phonetic. Children attending primary schools for a few months with the knowledge of just some basic phonetic rules would be able to compose a piece of common writing. This is why no one is illiterate and there are many well-educated people in these countries.” (Tian 1906: 19–20) (18) Lao Naixuan’s Jincheng Jianzi Pulu Zhe ‘Official Document Presented to the Emperor concerning A Table of Simplified Characters’ in 1908: “The Chinese language is difficult to learn and the total number of characters reaches several tens of thousands, even though professional scholars cannot know them all. Even just for daily use, people need to know several thousands of Chinese characters. Children have to study five to seven years at school in order to have a basic knowledge of reading and writing. How can children in poor families afford this? Hence, the hope of everyone to be able to read and write and everyone to be educated is doomed to failure. . . . 26 letters in languages of Europe and America and 50 kana characters in Japanese kana can form all words in their languages. Learning these several tens of characters and letters and their phonetic schemes are sufficient to write what one pronounces and read books and newspapers so as to comprehend argumentation and understand current affairs. In Britain, more than 90 out of 100 persons are literate. This is why their people are enlightened and their country is proud of their own prosperity. Japan is flourishing and any knowledgeable person knows that this is due to the contribution of its schools and the ease of learning of Japanese kana. Hence, nowadays if we would like to save our country, the only way is to popularize education; if we would like to popularize education, the only way is to have easily learnt

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characters; if we would like to have easily learnt characters, the only way is to use phonetic schemes.” (Language Reform Press 1958: 79–80) (19) Duan Fang’s Jiangning Jianzi Xuetang Gaodeng Xiaoxue Kaixue Yanshuo Wen ‘Term-commencement Speech for Jiangning Simplified Characters Upper Primary School’ in 1908: “Whether the people of a country are civilized or not, it depends on the level of literacy of them. The language of our country is difficult to learn. In former times when Wu Rulun was in a trip to the East, many Japanese education experts often said so. This is why there are less literate people and the general mood of the country is not enlightened. There are appropriate laws from the government but not easy to be implemented, there are official messages from government officials but cannot be promulgated, and there are teachers to teach but education is not popularized. If the schemes of simplified characters are published, everyone can be literate and there are no words that cannot be communicated. Where Chinese characters cannot perform the task of communication, simplified characters can do the job. In case there happens to be multiple meanings for the same pronunciation, Chinese characters can be used as complementation and the meaning can still be accurate. Some day when everyone in our country is literate, do we still need to worry about not having the foundation of universal education?” (Language Reform Press 1958: 83) (20) Ma Tiqian’s Tan Wenzi ‘On Characters’ in 1908: “When talking about why education in our country cannot be popularized, most people would blame the inability of those who run schools. However, there are less people who would mention that those who run schools in fact do not have the appropriate tools of teaching and learning. . . . Currently, six categories of Chinese characters are hard to identify, memorize, understand and use; words are difficult to comprehend, pronunciations (of various dialects) are rarely the same, and characters are difficult to be pronounced and written. The difference is huge when contrasted with phonetic alphabet which is far easier to be learnt and used.” (Language Reform Press 1958: 87–88) (21) Lao Naixuan’s Shang Xuebu Shu ‘Letter to the Imperial Educational Ministry’ in 1910: “Everyone knows the dangerous situation of China and everyone is thinking about ways to save the country. Are there really ways to save the country? China’s military and financial strength are inferior to other countries. Our only strength lies on the huge number of population which outweighs the others. In accordance with common sense, a country with a large population should be better than a country with a small population as people are the foundation of a country. However, nowadays this is not the case. Most of the Chinese people are not educated. There are only one or two intelligent people with hundreds and thousands of ignorant ones.

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Although ignorant people are many, they are in fact just equivalent to few. This is why China’s many are no match for a few of other countries. If ignorant people can be turned into educated ones, undoubtedly hundreds of millions of educated China people must be invincible anywhere in the world. This is why universal education is the foremost essentials of rescuing the country. However, education is easily popularized in other countries, but not in China. Why? It is because the characters in other countries are easier to learn and it is difficult to learn Chinese characters. This is why the creation of easily learnt characters is the foremost essentials of both popularizing education and rescuing the country. . . . Today, the way of rescuing the country is to teach people how to read and write in order to popularize education. There is no other option. This is indeed generally agreed by the public already.” (Language Reform Press 1958: 109–110) Proponents of qieyin characters said that Chinese characters were difficult and complex, but seldom did they advocate the total abolition of Chinese characters. The basic proposition of the Qieyinzi Movement was to teach “elite people” with Chinese characters and “common people” with qieyin characters. If the common people could manage qieyin characters well, then they could learn Chinese characters through qieyin characters. For instance: (22) Lu Ganzhang’s Zhongguo Diyi Kuaiqieyin Xinzi – Yuanxu ‘Original Preface, The Quickest Phonic Script in China’ in 1892: “Textbooks can be compiled by juxtaposing qieyin characters against Chinese characters according to local dialectal pronunciation. If such kind of textbooks can be circulated among the people in various villages, towns and cities in those 19 provinces, not only qieyin characters can be learnt and even Chinese characters can be acquired without being taught. People will be able to exchange correspondence written in qieyin characters, record numbers, write books and translate classical works of sages and Chinese and foreign publications. In just a matter of few months, various people, including men and women, elders and youngsters, will all be literate and China will become a great civilized country since ancient times.” (Language Reform Press 1958:2–3) (23) Shang Zhilizongdu Yuan Shikai Shu ‘Official Letter Submitted to the Viceroy of Zhili Yuan Shikai’ by Wang Yongzhou, He Fenghua et al in 1903: “As far as the nature is concerned, elite people should be taught with higher education, while common people should be taught with general education. Both of them are essential. Acclaimed scholars and prominent intellectuals have been discussing the government issues at the royal court. There is no need to worry about not having higher education for few elite people. The worry is that there is a lack of general education for many common people! What is higher education for few elite people? It is the teaching of Chinese

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language and foreign languages. What is general education for many common people? It is the use of spoken language to replace written language, and the use of phonetic characters to transcribe language.” (Language Reform Press 1958:35–36) (24) Lu Ganzhang’s Banxing Er Yi ‘Two Merits of the Promulgation (of the Use of Qieyin Characters)’: “The profundity and beauty of the Chinese language are the most difficult thing to learn. Only rich and intelligent youngsters can master it. Hundreds of millions of women and poor people are excluded from education. This is why the country is weak and bullied by foreigners. If qieyin characters are used to translate Beijing dialect with the upper part being listed as Chinese characters and the lower part being qieyin characters, then people can learn Chinese characters through qieyin. By using this scheme, not only everyone can read qieyin characters, they can also learn Chinese characters without being taught. Everyone in the country can learn to read and reason, there will be no further reason for it to be weak and bullied by others anymore.” (Lu 1906: 2) (25) Wang Zhao’s Zimu Shu – Xu ‘Preface, Book of Alphabet’ in 1903: “Book of Alphabet is compiled for teaching poor women and children who are not able to read Chinese characters. Several Chinese characters are listed on the header of each chapter with phonetic characters, intelligent people can then learn Chinese characters at the same time without being taught.” (Language Reform Press 1958:33) (26) Wang Zhao’s Chu “Zimu Shu” de Yuangu ‘Origin of the Publication of Book of Alphabet’ in 1903: “Books compiled by our free school are useful. Phonetic characters are printed on the side of Chinese characters for all books, such as Baijiaxing ‘Book of Family Names’, Sanzijing ‘Three-Character Scripture’, Qianziwen ‘Thousand-Character Text’, Sishu ‘Four Books’ and Wujing ‘Five Classics’. Chinese characters can then be recognized with the help of phonetic characters. Gradually, more Chinese characters can be learnt and students can even read books without phonetic transcription. In future, Chinese people can read books, gain more knowledge and broaden their horizon. This is the aim of publishing Zimu Shu.” (Language Reform Press 1958:33) All these opinions showed that proponents of the Qieyinzi Movement treated qieyin characters as an assistant to Chinese characters, not as an opponent to them. The difficulty and complexity of Chinese characters as an obstacle to education was the viewpoint of the Qieyinzi Movement, while the ideas of total abolition of Chinese characters and even the full romanization of the Chinese language were just proposed by people of later generations.

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4 Concluding remarks Although 20 years of the Qieyinzi Movement in late Qing Dynasty was a language modernization movement of the Chinese language, its noble aim was in fact to educate the people and strengthen the country. In order to have a prosperous country and a well-regulated government, there needed to have educated and civilized people. In the course of educating the people and strengthening the country, though education for elite people was essential, education for common people was even more important. If the popularization of education for common people was to be realized, it was necessary to have easily recognized characters, just like qieyin characters. The implementation of the use of qieyin characters was the basis of education for common people, and the popularization of education for common people was the foundation of educating the people and strengthening the country. These were the basic rationale of the Qieyinzi Movement. Proponents of the Qieyinzi Movement did not only propose a theoretical view of strengthening and rescuing the country, they also “enthusiastically” put this view into practice. They did not only try to persuade “the upper hierarchy of the society” by writing letters to the Qing government and the Emperor and submitting official documents to the Advisory Council, they also emphasized on the promotion of the view in the society with their time, efforts, money and even their lives. Here are three illustrative examples: In order to create “qieyin new characters”, Lu Ganzhang, the pioneer of the Qieyinzi Movement, “declined all other external affairs and concentrated on the creation of qieyin characters through night and day for more than ten years”6. From the time he created qieyin characters till his death of illness in 1928, he had been adhering to this cause for around 40 years. “Most of the books are hand-written. Once the manuscripts have just sent to print, he would worry about not having enough copies so as to limit the scope of promotion. Then he would reprint and reprint. He spent all his hard-earned money in this cause. Whenever there are people who come to ask about qieyin characters, he would put a lot of effort to teach them.”7

6 See Lu Ganzhang’s Zhongguo Diyi Kuaiqieyin Xinzi – Yuanxu ‘Original Preface, The Quickest Phonic Script in China’ in Lu (1892: 1). 7 See Lu Tiande’s Zhonghua Shouchang Yinzi zhi Yuanzu Lu Ganzhang Xiansheng (Mr. Lu Ganzhang, the First Forerunner of the Creation of Phonetic Characters in China), cited from Xu (2000: 79).

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19 year old Shen Xue, a medical student of St. John School at Fanwangdu of Shanghai, spent five years to write Shengshi Yuanyin ‘Pronunciation of a Prosperous Age’ in English. He went to Yilinchun Restaurant every Sunday to teach phonetic characters. However, at last he was utterly destitute that he sank to being a beggar and died of hunger and illness. (Li 1933: 12; Ni 1948: 40–41) Wang Zhao was originally one of the members of the camp of the Reform Movement of 1898 and a candidate for Grade Four senior officials. After the failure of the Reform Movement, he fled to Japan and produced the scheme of Guanhua Zimu ‘Mandarin Alphabet’ by imitating Japanese kana. In 1900, Wang secretly returned China and risked his life by promoting his scheme in Tianjin, Baoding and Beijing. He voluntarily surrendered himself and was jailed for the first time in 1904. After he was released in 1905, he continued to promote his scheme until old age. Wang’s mandarin alphabet exerted huge influence. The implementation of the scheme lasted ten years and was spread across 13 provinces. More than 60,000 books were compiled and printed using the scheme. Several tens of organizations were established for the promotion of the scheme. (Li 1933: 15–18; Ni 1948: 42–47; Zhou and Liu 1996: 202, 206, 207) The world has entered the 21st century and the social conditions of education in China have changed drastically. By 2004, the basic universal education of 9-year compulsory education and the basic literacy of young adults had covered 93.6% of the population of China. The illiterate rate of young adults is around 4%. The literacy rate of adults is the highest among large developing countries.8 Particularly during the period of the “11th Five-Year Plan”, the State proposed that there should be full popularization of 9-year compulsory education aiming at covering 100% of the population.9 Today, revisiting the proposition of universal education in the Qieyinzi Movement 90 years ago can still illuminate us with its theoretical insight and provide us with lessons to learn. The enthusiastic spirit and practice of the proponents in patriotism and ideals in education can still exert tremendous influence on the people engaging in the field of education nowadays.

8 See Luoshi Kexue Fazhanguan Jiakuai Jiaoyu Shiye Fazhan – “Shiwu” Qijian Jiaoyu Shiye Fazhan he Gaige de Zhuyao Chengjiu ‘Implementation of the View of Scientific Development, Acceleration of Education Development – Main Achievements in the Development and Reform of Education during the Period of the ‘11th Five-Year Plan’’ in Zhongguo Jiaoyu Bao (Chinese Education News), front page, 12th October, 2005. 9 See the speech delivered by Zhou Ji, Minister of Education (PRC) in the press release conference on 28th February, 2006.

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References Cai, Xiyong. 1956 [1896]. Chuanyin Kuaizi (Shorthand Symbols for Transmitting Sounds). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Chen, Qiu. 1958 [1903]. Xinzi Ouwen Qiyinduo (Phonological Rules on Phonetic Characters for Ou Dialect). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji (A Collection of Essays on Chinese Script Reform in the Late Qing Dynasty). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Li, Jinxi. 1933. Guoyu Yundong (National Language Movement). Shanghai: The Commercial Press. Lu, Ganzhang. 1956 [1892]. Yimuliaoran Chujie (Elementary Phonetic Characters in the Blink of an Eye). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Lu, Ganzhang. 1957 [1906]. Beijing Qieyin Jiaokeshu (Textbook on Beijing Phonetic Characters). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Ni, Haishu. 1948. Zhongguo Pinyin Wenzi Yundong Shi (Jianbian) [An Annal of the Phonetic Script Movement of China (abridged)]. Shanghai: Shidai Shubao Publishing House. Qu, Xingui and Tong, Fuyong. 1997. Zhongguo Jindai Jiaoyushi Ziliao Huibian – Jiaoyu Sixiang (Chinese Education History Archive Collection – Ideology of Education). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Publishing House. Shen, Xue. 1956 [1896]. Shengshi Yuanyin (Pronunciation of a Prosperous Age). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Tian, Tingjun. 1901. Shumu Dai Zi Jue (Rhymed Formula of Numeric Substitutions of Chinese Characters). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Tian, Tingjun. 1906. Pinyin Dai Zi Jue (Rhymed Formula of Phonetic Alphabet Substitutions of Chinese Characters). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Tian, Zhengping and Xiao, Lang. 2000. Shiji zhi Lixiang – Zhongguo Jindai Yiwu Jiaoyu Yanjiu (Ideal of the Century – A Study of Compulsory Education in Modern China). Zhejiang: Zhejiang Education Publishing House. Wang, Bingyao. 1956 [1897]. Pinyin Zipu (Character Table with Pinyin). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Wang, Zhao. 1957 [1903]. Guanhua Hesheng Zimu (Chongkanban) [Mandarin Phonetic Alphabet (Re-published Edition)]. Beijing: Language Reform Press. Xiong, Xianjun. 1998. Qianqiujiye – Zhongguo Jindai Yiwu Jiaoyu Yanjiu (Foundation of Thousand Years – Study of Compulsory Education in Modern China). Wuhan: Huazhong Normal University Press. Xu, Chang’an. 2000. Yuwen Xiandaihua Xianqu Lu Ganzhang (Lu Ganzhang – the Forerunner of Language Modernization). Xiamen: Xiamen University Press. Zhao, Erxun, et al. 1977 [1928]. Qing Shi Gao (Draft History of Qing). Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. Zhou, Guangqing and Liu, Wei. 1996. Hanyu yu Zhongguo Xin Wenhua Qimeng (Chinese Language and New Culture Enlightenment in China). Taipei: Dongda Publishing Company.

Translated by CHAN Man Ho, Benny (陈文浩) (Freelance translator) [email protected]

Chapter 28

Late Qing script reformers’ view of dialects Abstract: This paper studies the understanding of dialects during the late Qing period, making use of Qieyinzi Movement. 1) The concept of dialect was basically established but the boundary of dialect and language was not clear yet since the nature of dialect was not grasped properly. 2) Mandarin was still divided between the south and the north and the southern Mandarin enjoyed rather high prestige. Late Qing period was a time when there occurred drastic changes in the power relationship, and the status of northern Mandarin was surpassing the southern Mandarin. 3) It was clearly recognized that dialectal differences hindered communication, education and national unity so language should be unified so as to eliminate dialectal differences. The Qieyinzi Movement was a summit for the knowledge of dialects, since the study of dialects by Yang Xiong. The Movement advocated the adoption and development of the Beijing dialect, the representative of northern Mandarin, as the national standard and the modern lingua franca of Han Chinese, the result of which is recorded in history forever. Keywords: Qieyinzi Movement, late Qing Dynasty, script reformers, view of dialects

0 Introduction During the late Qing Dynasty, China suffered from internal problems and external oppression, Chinese with high ideals would like to seek ways to reform China and make the country prosperous and people economically well-off. Among them was a batch of script reformers who strongly recognized that a strong country required general intellect, which required education, which in turn required an easy to learn writing system and a unified national language. Therefore, starting from 1892 with Lu Ganzhang’s publishing of Yimu Liaoran Chujie (Zhongguo Qieyin Xinzi Xiaqiang) ‘Elementary Phonetic Characters in the Blink of an Eye (The New Phonetic Alphabets in China in Xiamen Accents)’ up to 1911 when the Central Education Meeting of the Education Ministry proclaimed the Tongyi Guoyu Banfa An (Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language), during the last 20 years of Qing Dynasty saw the wide-spread and influential script reform, so-called the Qieyinzi Movement in the vast territory of China.

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Although this batch of script reformers took design and promotion of new writing system as their major mission, doing so definitely involved directly or indirectly the issues of dialect. In their writings and speeches, not only were there macroscopic views towards dialects, thus forming a view of dialects for a certain period, but also direct and indirect description of the contemporary dialect situation. This view of dialect as well as the description of contemporary dialect situation, were not just the succession and conclusion of traditional Chinese dialectal studies, but also contained observation and contemplation of these scholars. Although our modern dialectology was established under the direct influence of western dialectology, it also absorbed its essence from the traditional language studies in China. Although it is not yet clear whether the scholarly activities and the results of these late Qing script reformers had any impact on the conception of Chinese dialectology in the modern sense, the last twenty years of the Qing Dynasty marked a transitional period from traditional philology to modern linguistics. Consequently, studying the works about dialects of these reformers should be very valuable in terms of history of linguistics. This paper primarily studies the view of dialects of late Qing script reformers. The literature review is mainly based on Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji ‘A Collection of Essays on Chinese Script Reform in the Late Qing Dynasty’, supplemented by 26 volumes from Pinyin Wenzi Shiliao Congshu ‘A Collection of Historical Data of Phonetic Writing’. Essays on Chinese Script Reform in the Late Qing Dynasty collected around 60 essays, prefaces and postscripts, letters, speeches, memorials to the throne, meeting proposals, official documents, thus including the major viewpoints of contemporary reformers. For the sake of simplicity, only page numbers will be noted for quotations from this book, whereas for those from A Collection of Historical Data of Phonetic Writing, CHD will be noted.

1 The meaning of “dialect” and its relevant concepts Lu Guoyao (1991) pointed out, “The word ‘dialect’ was found first in Fengsu Tongyi Xu ‘Preface, Principals of Customs’ by Ying Shao in Han Dynasty. Since then, ‘dialect’ was used in all dynasties but the frequency of use was not high. In the Qing Dynasty, there was new development in dialectal studies. According to literature, this concept of ‘dialect’ was used rather commonly by script reformers, for example,

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Wang Bingyao (1897: 12–13) in Pinyin Zipu – Zixu ‘Author’s Preface, Character Table with Pinyin’ said, “It is a pity that people nowadays use slangy language, play with words, play with scenery, with no substance in mind. So why not add phonetic alphabets to regular characters, spell different dialects, so as to make them easy to learn by people, and lay the form-less yet solid foundation using phonetic alphabets. . . . Since most dialects have no dialectal characters to represent them, and so people remain ignorant as before. I worry about this situation and try to come up with a way to cope with this by inventing a new writing system that can be used to spell dialects. While the letters of the alphabet are modeled upon those of the west, calligraphy is still based on our own tradition. For slow learners, 10 days will suffice to master the system and it cannot be simpler. 2) Wen Hao (1956: 14) in Pinyin Zipu Xu ‘Preface, Character Table with Pinyin’ mentioned, “Now Mr. Wang Yuchu worked exhaustively to collect different dialects and created the pinyin character list.” 3) Chen Qiu in Xinzi Ouwen Qiyinduo ‘Phonological Rules on Phonetic Characters for Ou Dialect’ said, “This book was written for different dialects. We talk about sounds, not rhymes, and those sounds which are close can be used interchangeably.” (CHD: 58)

1)

Some people even took ‘dialect’ as a discipline similar to arithmetic, and science, for instance, 4) Sun Jinming (1957: 66) in Pinyin Dai Zi Jue Xu ‘Preface, Rhymed Formula of Phonetic Alphabet Substitutions of Chinese Characters’ said, “Master Tian Junting predicted that civil examination would cease, so he was absorbed in current affairs. For disciplines like arithmetic, science and dialects, he studied all very hard. . . Moreover, in Chinese dialects, there are a lot of words that cannot be represented by characters. So it is extremely difficult for even a knowledgeable person to use some folk adage to show those people who have not had much learning how to understand better and send messages effectively. This is really lamentable. The word ‘dialects’ in these reformers’ opinion, is a complementary concept to ‘Mandarin’ and ‘guoyu’ proposed later. Besides ‘dialects’, other words used are patois, certain talk, certain speech, such as: Liu Shien (1957: 11) in Yinyun Jihao ‘Phonology Symbols’ said, “Any patois you find contains light tones.” 6) Qing Fu, et al. (1958: 125–126) Chenqing Zizhengyuan Banxing Guanghua Jianzi Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Political Consultative Council concern5)

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ing the Promulgation of Mandarin Simplified Characters’ said, “People converge to where the capital is. So after tens of hundreds of years of convergence, a kind of capital speech, is formed, because the capital is central and not peripheral. And there are dialects similar to this capital speech, such as the eleven provinces including Zhili (Hebei), Fengtian, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shandong, Henan, Gansu, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Shaanxi, and one half of each of the two provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu. Other than these, there is not a dialect that is shared by two provinces, either because of mountains or waters. So there is no reason to drop the capital speech and choose some other artificial speech. The capital speech is not private property of Beijing people. Instead, it belongs to the whole nation. In terms of language structures, dialects should also include dialectal pronunciation, dialectal lexicon and dialectal grammar. However, since the understanding of dialect structures was still quite limited, and also the awareness of dialectal pronunciation differences was most conspicuous, since the design of Romanized writing systems was more related to pronunciation, therefore the concern towards dialects was mainly phonological, and rather less concerned with lexicological and grammatical aspects. The terms used at that time for dialectal pronunciation include “dialectal pronunciation, vernacular pronunciation, vernacular accent, and intercalary pronunciation etc.” sometimes, “place names, district names, (words of direction + pronunciation) or certain accent” were adopted, such as “Guangdong pronunciation, Ning (Nanjing) pronunciation, Min-Guang pronunciation, Southern pronunciation, Amoy accent, etc. These concepts and representations were complementary to “official pronunciation, orthodox pronunciation”, and “national pronunciation”, which was proposed later. Ma Tiqian (1908: 86–87) in Tan Wenzi ‘On Characters’ said, “I think we should pick the pronunciation commonly used by the whole nation as national pronunciation, and the specific pronunciation of different places as dialectal pronunciation. This national pronunciation is similar to the previous national pronunciation and the dialectal pronunciation is the so-called intercalary pronunciation.” 8) Tang Jinming (1896: 6) in Chuanyin Kuaizi, Shuhou ‘Postscript, Shorthand Symbols for Transmitting Sounds’ said, “And scholars could not understand after a whole life of studying, because initials such as jian, xi, qun and yi did not match whether they were pronounced in vernacular pronunciation or official pronunciation, so they had doubt and could not understand. . . Western pronunciation is different from Chinese. Various provinces made 7)

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11)

12)

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use of characters that sound alike in vernacular pronunciation to represent it, and so the characters used are all different.” Lu Ganzhang (1957: 5) in Beijing Qieyin Jiaokeshu ‘Textbook on Beijing Phonetic Characters’ said “There are many vernacular accents in China”. (CHD) Wang Zhao (1903: 32) in Zimu Shu – Xu ‘Preface, Book of Alphabet’ said “The letters for spelling followed the system of national script, but take the Beijing pronunciation as standard.” Lao Naixuan (1906: 57–28) in Zhi “Zhongwai Ribao” Guan Shu ‘A Letter to Zhongwai Daily’ said, “the northern pronunciation has originally 50 letters, 12 rhymes, 4 tones, not just missing the entering tones. The letters and rhymes are also different from those of southern pronunciations. Therefore, we now add 6 letters, 3 rhymes, 1 entering tone for the Nanjing pronunciation. In that case, those dialects in various regions and districts in Jiangsu and Anhui can make use of this system. Moreover, although in Nanjing pronunciation, there is an entering tone, it is still different from rhymes found in Jiangsu dialects, and there are no voiced consonants, so an additional 7 letters, 3 rhymes and 1 symbol for voicing are used for the Jiangsu spelling system. In that case, various regions and districts in Jiangsu and Zhejiang can make use of this system. . . Now the two systems newly designed, can still not represent the dialects in Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi. Zheng Donghu (1910: 136) in “Qieyinzi” zhi Shuomingshu ‘Manual of Qieyinzi’ said, “Because there are differences between orthodox pronunciation and Guangdong pronunciation, such as ‘xie’ and ‘zai’ belong to the same rhyme in orthodox pronunciation, but not so in Cantonese. Other example such as ‘yan’ and ‘fan’ have the same rhyme, but not so in orthodox pronunciation.” Lu Ganzhang (1856) in Yimu Liaoran Chujie – Zhongguo Qieyin Xinzi Zong Zimu Xiefa zhi Cidi ‘Elementary Phonetic Characters in the Blink of an Eye – the Order of Writing All Letters of Chinese Qieyin New Characters’ said, “One can use this alphabet throughout China. There are vernacular accents everywhere and a subset of the alphabet can be used. This book makes use of the Amoy accent, and Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, are close enough to use the same subset of letters. For other vernacular accents, another book will be written to represent them. (CHD)

It is because at that time the view towards dialects is tilted to pronunciation, so the term dialect was used to indicate dialectal pronunciation, for example, 14) Lao Naixuan (1905: 55) Jiangning Jianzi Banri Xuetang Shifanban Kaixue Yanshuo Wen ‘Term-commencement Speech for Teachers Training Class of Jiangning Simplified Characters Half-Day School’ said, “In China we used

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traditional characters and dialects for several thousand years and now if we want to change dialects used for several thousand years as official pronunciation, everyone would find it difficult.” Lu Guoyao (1991) pointed out that ‘Dialect’ in ancient time not only meant regional dialects as in today, it also meant minority languages in China and foreign languages. Yuenren Chao (1980:98) and Zhang Qingchang (1990:39) also held that view before. Gao Shiliang (1992) collected information of Guangfangyan Guan ‘Dialect Institute’ in Shanghai during the Reform Movement. The main mission of Guangfangyan Guan was to nourish foreign language experts, so it is understandable that at that time ‘dialects’ also meant foreign languages. The script reformers of late Qing Dynasty did not distinguish between ‘language’ and ‘dialects’ and usually called different languages ‘dialects’ or called the pronunciations of different languages ‘dialectal pronunciations,’ for example, 15) Liang Qichao (1903: 8) Shenshi Yinshu Xu ‘Preface, Shen’s Book of Pronunciation’ said, “Westerners already got the letters of Greeks and Romans, so they could trace the past, to train the gifted people; they also got the ‘dialectal pronunciations’ of various countries, such as Britain, France, Germany, so they could reach the present and train the ordinary people. If they only use the Greek writing system and not supplement it with the present ‘dialectal pronunciations’, then the discrepancies between the classical languages and the present day languages, will be as serious as those of ours.” 16) Liu Mengyang (1957: 85) Zhongguo Yinbiao Zishu-Bianyan ‘Preface, Transcription Alphabets of China’ said, “For others such as patois of women and children and of vulgarity, as well as ‘dialects’ of the provinces and different countries, the character system cannot convey the meanings, but this spelling system can. So this spelling system is to supplement the character system.” 17) Wang Bingyao (1897: 12) in Pinyin Zipu – Zixu ‘Author’s Preface, Character Table with Pinyin’ said, “Japan respects our Chinese characters and also uses their characters for local dialects. They also learn from the west extensively. As a result, the Japanese people are wise and their country strong. This has been well documented.” 18) Shen Xu (1897: 11–12) in Shengshi Yuanyin – Zixu ’Author’s Preface, Pronunciation of a Prosperous Age’ said, “In my study, I found the Chinese dialectal pronunciations are most numerous and messy. The European dialects are not so different, yet they cannot be unified and form various spelling systems. English is not suitable for the French pronunciation; and French is not suitable for Russian, German and Danish pronunciations, and their letters are not unified. Europeans did try to integrate the various pronuncia-

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tions and represent them in one united spelling system, and up to now they could not do it.” Moreover, in Mashi Wentong ‘Ma’s Grammar’, similar sayings could be found, meaning that this was the consensus of that time. 19) Ma Jianzhong (1898: 323) Ma Shi Wentong ‘Ma’s Grammar’ said, “Western languages started with spelling, so meaning is reflected in sounds. For all verbs, the endings will change according to the mood. In ancient Greek and Latin, the verbs may have sixty to seventy conjugations with different sounds. Now their dialects all have different conjugations and English is the simplest. Since the verbs have conjugations, so there is no such category as particle. Particles are unique in Chinese and they help verbs to keep unchanged.” Putting “dialects”, “dialectal pronunciations” in contrast with “Mandarin”, “official pronunciation”, “national language”, “national pronunciation”, “orthodox pronunciation” shows that during the late Qing Dynasty, the concept of “dialect” was basically established. However, in general, the understanding of “dialect” was still relatively shallow, because: – –

–

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Firstly, the boundary between dialect and language was not clear, thus showing that the nature of “dialect” was not grasped properly; Secondly, the major concern was about pronunciation and “dialect” could be used to mean “dialectal pronunciation” narrowly, showing that the understanding of linguistic structures of dialects was not comprehensive; Thirdly, using “place names”, “district names”, “words of direction + pronunciation” to refer to different dialects or dialectal pronunciations, showing that the division of dialect boundaries in China was perceptual, not scientifically determined and there was a lack of rational understanding of the hierarchy of dialects; Fourthly, besides “dialect” and “dialectal pronunciations”, there were other vulgar terms such as “patois”, “vernacular pronunciation” and “vernacular accent”, showing that the status of “dialect” as a scientific term was not consolidated.

2 The formation of dialects and dialect power In Ancient China, the formation of dialects was usually explained by the Natural Environment Theory, such as:

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20) Yan Zhitui in Chapter 18, Yan Shi Jiaxun ‘Annotations on Admonitions of the Yan’s Family – Sounds and Expressions’ said, “That people in China, speak differently is a natural scene since the very beginning. . . The land and water in the south are soft and gentle and the people there say things with a soft tone and stick to the meaning, but it is kind of shallow and the expressions are vulgar. The mountains and rivers in the north are deep and thick, and the people there say things with a low and blunt tone but they get the straight quality. The expressions are usually archaic.” However, other scholar did believe that the formation of dialects was due to the fact that the writing system could not change according to the changes in language, the discrepancies between writing and speaking caused the accents to change, for example: 21) Yang Qiong (1957: 46) in Author’s Preface to Xingshengtong also made use of Guanzi’s view to explain why different language came into existence. He said, “Even for people in neighboring villages or in the same country, they cannot communicate with each other. So how can people in the whole world understand each other. . . Different countries have different languages.” Theoretically speaking, a lingua franca is a dialect of a higher form. 22) Wang Zhao (1901: 20) in Guanhua Hesheng Zimu-Yuanxu Yi ‘Original Preface 1, Mandarin Phonetic Alphabet’ said, “If the writing system does not follow the language, the two will be gradually different. If the writing system cannot represent the language, then accents will develop more rapidly. As a result, people living a hundred li away will not be able to communicate in a year, and people living a thousand li away will not be able to communicate in thirty years. Differences will not be undone, and people living in the same country may look as if they lived in different territories.” 23) Wang Yongzhou, He Fenghua, et al. (1903: 35) in Shang Zhili Zongdu Yuan Shikai Shu (Official Letter Submitted to the Viceroy of Zhili Yuan Shikai) said, “Since the split of the literary language from the colloquial language, accents became more and more diverse and there have been less and less learned people. This phenomenon must be remedied today.” The theory of natural environment cannot explain the formation of dialects, nor is the discrepancy between the literary language and colloquial language closely related to the formation and development of dialects. Even for languages that employ a phonemic writing system, there still exist dialectal differences. Apparently, there was no scientific understanding of how dialects were formed.

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But people were aware of the existence of dialectal power, which means that due to cultural, political and economic reasons, the status of dialects (including the lingua franca) may be different in people’s mind. Mandarin has a higher status than dialects. People referred to Mandarin and its pronunciation as “national language, national pronunciation, official pronunciation, orthodox pronunciation”, and referred to dialects or dialectal pronunciations as “patois, vernacular pronunciation, and vernacular accents”. The connotative meanings of orthodox versus vulgar attached in these terms reflects the status of Mandarin. At that time, some writing schemes were designed specifically for certain dialects. This does not mean that these dialects enjoyed a higher status but simply means that the purpose of such designs should serve general education of the masses or as a means to promote the learning of Mandarin subsequently, for example: 24) Lao Naixuan (1910: 114) in Zhi Tang Shangshu Han ‘Letter to Minister Tang’ said, “Using dialectal pronunciation as ladder to reach the destination of Mandarin.” At that time, there was still a distinction between Southern Mandarin vs. Northern Mandarin. In 1910, Jiang Qian indicated clearly in Zhiwen Xuebu Fen Nian Chouban Guoyu Jiaoyu Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Imperial Educational Ministry concerning the Setting up of National Language Education in Phases’ that there was such a dichotomy (see example 39). From the dialog of Lu Ganzhang and Changbai Laomin in example 25 and example 26, it can be seen that Southern Mandarin took Nanjing dialect as representative; and Northern Mandarin took Beijing dialect as representative. Moreover, Southern Mandarin enjoyed an even higher status than Northern Mandarin, for example, 25) Lu Ganzhang (1892: 3) in Zhongguo Diyikuai Qieyin Xinzi – Yuanxu ‘Original Preface, The Quickest Phonic Script in China’ said, “How can we not set up qieyin characters and be different from all other countries? It should be based on one accent. Among 19 provinces, except for Guangdong, Fujian and Taiwan, the remaining 16 provinces are mostly Mandarin regions, and in Mandarin, the most widespread accent is the southern one. If we base on Nanjing dialect as the standard spelling system, then the language and writing of 19 provinces will all be united, and there is no more barrier between the literary language and colloquial language.” (CHD) 26) Changbai Laomin (1903: 34) Tuiguang Jinghua Zhi Wei Gongyi Lun ‘On the Justification of the Promotion of Beijing Dialect’ said, “Now we try to use the alphabet to spell Beijing dialect to supplement Chinese characters. However, high officials and famous scholars are usually opposed to the

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idea. It is not because they are unkind in heart, but they are unclear in several issues. For northerners, they have feared that the southerners would laugh at their plainness, so they have tried to sound elegant and would not dare to promote the Beijing dialect lest they would be mocked at. In fact, the difference between literariness and vulgarity is based on knowledge, behavior and capability, and not on playing with words. For the southerners, they are restrained by the view that they represented the orthodox culture for thousands of years and believe that the southern pronunciation is orthodox. Moreover, they also find that it is difficult for their compatriots to speak the northern dialect. If the spelling system based on Beijing dialect is used to spell and translate books from China and the west, it will not be several times easier for southerners to understand than they read in Chinese characters. So they think rather than going through this trouble, why not let different provinces keep their dialects and so we could use Chinese text or even foreign languages to translate. Then, disadvantages or advantages will be equally shared by all dialects. Alas, they just do not know that without a unified language, the magnitude of hidden losses can be so huge. It will be unsurmountable to resolve this aggravated problem in the future.” Lu Ganzhang had lived in the south for a long time and he thought that the most widespread Mandarin is the southern Mandarin. Changbai Laomin was a northerner, a Manchu indeed. From his thesis, one could see that for more than 200 years, the southern Mandarin enjoyed a higher status than the Beijing dialect. In people’s mind, the south was elegant and the north vulgar; the south was literary and the north rustic. Lu Guoyao (1985) discovered after studying the Chinese Reading Notes of Matteo Ricci that Nanjing dialect was the basis of the Ming Official language, but many scholars believe that the official language for Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties was based on Beijing dialect. These two different views could mean a situation such that there was more power in the official language based on Nanjing dialect during the Ming Dynasty, but the status of Beijing dialect was elevated after the capital had been moved to Beijing. During the Qing Dynasty, although Nanjing-based Mandarin still enjoyed a high prestige, the status of Beijing dialect, as representative of northern Mandarin rose drastically. During the late Qing period, the power relationship between the southern and northern Mandarin was changing, and the northern variety was surpassing the southern variety progressively. In the Qieyinzi Movement and the later National Language Movement, there were more and more advocates of Beijing dialect as national standard, for example,

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27) Wu Rulun (1902: 29) Shang Zhang Guanxue Shu ‘Letter to Intendant Zhang’ said, “Lately in Tianjin, there is a writing system that saves strokes, and it is used to spell Beijing dialect. This can unify the pronunciation of the whole nation especially.” 28) Lu Ganzhang (1906: 73) in Banxing Qieyinzi Shi Tiao Banfa ‘Ten Methods in Promoting the Book with Phonetic Characters’ said, “To decree Beijing pronunciation and the official language, so as to unify the language in China.” In 1911, the resolution of the Central Education Meeting, Tongyi Guoyu Banfa An ‘Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language’, confirmed the status of the Beijing dialect. In the article Shending Yinshenghua zhi Biaozhun ‘Examine and Approve the Standard of Pronunciation’ (1911:143), it says: 29) The pronunciation varies in different places and so it should be based on Beijjing pronunciation. . . Speech should be elegant and proper and conform to nomenclature, and therefore Mandarin should be the basis. Of course, the final confirmation of the prestigious status of northern Mandarin did not come till 1924 after a five year debate between Beijing dialect and National language when Zhang Yilin, the chairman of National Language Unification Preparation Meeting, confirmed Beijing pronunciation as the national standard.

3 The problems with dialectal differences An industrialized nation needs to form a united market, which requires the language to be unified. It was so in Europe and Japan. Wu Rulun was ordered by the Ministry of Education in 1902 to survey the education situation in Japan. Izawa Shuji, A Japanese educator told him once that to unify language was of utmost importance to China. 30) Wu Rulun (1902: 27) Dong You Cong Lu – Yu Yize Xiu’er Tanhua ‘Notes on Travel to the East – Dialog with Isawa Shuji’ said, “Isawa Shuji also said, in order for nationals to become patriotic, they have to be united first. So language is the tool to unite the people. If there exist many languages, there are countless inconvenient and problematic issues. After examining today’s situation, the unification of language is of utmost importance to China.” After returning to China, Wu Rulun wrote Notes on Travel to the East to introduce the educational situation in Japan, including the issue of unifying language. He also wrote to the Minister of Education saying:

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31) Wu Rulun (1958: 29) Shang Zhang Guanxue Shu ‘Letter to Intendant Zhang’ said, “Famous educators all say that for the nationals of a country, it will not do without a unified language, which is the most important matter for a national body.” To unify language, so as to eliminate dialectal variations, had become a societal consensus gradually arrived at during the late Qing period, for example, 32) Changbai Laomin (1903: 34) Tuiguang Jinghua Zhi Wei Gongyi Lun ‘On the Justification of the Promotion of Beijing Dialect’ said, “The powers of the world all take a unified language as the most important issue. So in recent years, Chinese who know about governance, all understand this. The gentlemen in southern provinces also want to promote Beijing dialect. . . . Southerners already understand that the whole nation should be unified.” Wang Zhao, a major advocate of Qieyinzi movement, designed Mandan Phonetic Alphabet based on Beijing pronunciation. In order to promote Wang Zhao’s letters in the south, Lao Naixuan, on top of the existing letters, added some to represent the south-eastern dialects, the aim of which is “not to force the south to follow the north, and so the south will be led to reunite with the north. . . to make use of vernacular pronunciation as a simple ladder that leads to the destination of a unified official pronunciation.” (p. 58) However, this view still received criticism from Zhongwai Daily. 33) Zhongwai Daily’s Comment on Lao Naixuan’s Hesheng Jianzi said, “People have for long worried about the fact that Chinese dialects were not unified. Now if spelling systems are adopted and new letters can be added for different places, it is like worrying that writing and speaking is not split and you try hard to make that happen.” (p. 59) At that time, from the perspective of language unification, people pointed out the many problems related to dialectal differences, first, dialectal variations interfere with communication. Example 22 also implied that. Moreover, 34) Liu Zhaoli, et al. (1910: 132) in Chenqing Zizhengyuan Banxing Guanghua Jianzi Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Political Consultative Council concerning the Promulgation of Mandarin Simplified Characters’ stated, “As China is so vast, and has so many dialects, and the writing system is so difficult that it is not easy to understand fully. Now it is the time of preparation for decreeing the constitution, for those high up in the Preparatory Congress, councils of the provinces, their writings are difficult to understand, but their accents also vary much and therefore cause much trouble in lan-

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guage communication. For ordinary people such as farmers, workers, merchants, they all speak with different accents and are mostly illiterate, . . .” 35) Lu Ganzhang (1892: 3) in Zhongguo Diyikuai Qieyin Xinzi – Yuanxu ‘Author’s Preface, The Quickest Phonic Script in China’ said, “Then the language and writing of 19 provinces will be the same, and both the written and spoken communication will be smooth. China, though vast in territory, is like one family. It would not be like the past that different places were separated by borders and people who spoke different dialects would become speechless facing each other.” Dialectal divergence impedes civil servants’ administration, blocking the flow from top to bottom and vice versa, thus affecting the exchanges among farmers, workers and merchants, illustrated by “each restrained by his border” and “speechless face to face”. These shortcomings were not only known to the contemporary script reformers, and even the official institution such as Zhili Education Division knew about it, for example, 36) In Zhili Xuewuchu Fuwen ‘Official Reply from the Education Affairs Office of Zhili’, it was stated, “In China, people speak different patois, the result of which is that people from the same province cannot talk to each other, and it is troublesome in managing official affairs. It is therefore proposed that dialects of China should be united according to the official pronunciation.” (p. 43–44) Second, dialectal divergence affects education. At that time, many celebrities thought that to design an easy writing system (Qieyinzi) to unify language is the most important thing in popularize education, raise the intelligence of the masses and to make China prosperous and her people strong. Dialectal divergence caused the pronunciation of Chinese characters to vary in different places, thus affecting the design of Qieyinzi which would be pronounced in a unified way, for example, 37) Li Wenyuan (p. 51) in the Epilog of Xingshengtong said, “out of the four hundred million Chinese, two-thirds are illiterate. This is due to the fact that education is not popularized, but it is also due to the difficulty imposed by Chinese writing and the existence of so many diverse dialects.” 38) Shen Xue in Author’s Preface Shengshi Yuanyin ‘Pronunciation of a Prosperous Age’ (1897: 11) said, “In Chinese text, a character is pronounced differently depending on which dialect is used. How can one expect this writing system to benefit the future students.”

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39) Jiang Qian (1910: 116) in Zhiwen Xuebu Fen Nian Chouban Guoyu Jiaoyu Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Imperial Educational Ministry concerning the Setting up of National Language Education in Phases’ said, “That dialects exist for different countries in the west and the east is no different from China. The standard dialect should be used for education to make the whole nation unified in language. In British elementary schools, London pronunciation is used; in French elementary schools, Parisian pronunciation is used; in Japanese elementary textbooks, Tokyo pronunciation is used. Chinese Mandarin has the southern variety vs. the northern variety and between the south and north, there are yet differences. Since the Ministry of Education aims to unify the national language, when textbooks are compiled, should the Beijing pronunciation be based as the standard?” So even the Ministry of Education shared this view. Though in reality, it did not really support the Qieyinzi Movement. 40) In Xuebu Zi Waiwubu Wen ‘Message to the Foreign Ministry from the Department of Education’, it is said, “Now we want to create spelling letters to supplement the pictographic characters, then we should examine the original sounds of the thirty-six initials, and get rid of the subtle ones that are hard to identify, to select a certain number of letters as standard initials, and to select a number of letters as standard rhymes, according to the principle of four medials and four codas, and also with reference to the rhyme books. Once the initials and rhymes are set, then we may imitate the Japanese kanas and take the radicals of characters to form new characters. Or we simply make use of the Roman script as in the west. Once the new characters are set, then the transcriptions of characters in Yupian and Guangyun will be checked one by one, to form the standard pronunciation and to be used throughout the nation, without tilting towards dialects. It will be made sure that writing and reading are easy by this system and that it is suitable for both the elegant and the vulgar. This system will be good enough to unify the dialects of all provinces and then we can plan for the popularization of education.” (p. 69–70) Dialectal divergence did in fact affect education. However, there were many factors that resulted in this situation, not just a matter of dialectal divergence. Third, dialectal divergence affected emotion and interfered with national unity, for example: 41) Wang Yongzhou, He Fenghua, et al. (1903: 36–37) in Shang Zhili Zongdu Yuan Shikai Shu (Official Letter Submitted to the Viceroy of Zhili Yuan Shikai) said,

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“Unifying language aims at uniting the people. In our country, people speak different accents, so people from different provinces may not even be able to exchange their names. Language is used to communicate among nationals. If they speak differently, they will have doubt and this is not good for unity. In the west, the writing system and spoken language are the same and so the people are united. As for Japan, Tokyo dialect is used for popular education. This is the key plan. Our country learns everything from the west and Japan except for this matter. It is really a pity. . . . Different provinces use different dialects and no wonder there is antagonistic provincialism.” 42) Lu Ganzhang (1906: 72) in Banxing Qieyinzi zhi Yi ‘Merits of Compiling Books with Phonetic Characters’ said, “Our Qing Dynasty is united. How can we allow different provinces to use different dialects and ignore each other with no connection. So language must be united to unify the people.” 43) Qing Fu, et al. (1958: 125–126) Chenqing Zizhengyuan Banxing Guanghua Jianzi Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Political Consultative Council concerning the Promulgation of Mandarin Simplified Characters’ said, “The most important thing is not having good feelings and therefore not forming and organization. For Shandong and Shanxi, they are equally close to the capital. However, the Shangdong people and Beijing people run business together. Farmers, workers and merchants mix very well together as if there is no provincial border. However, for Shanxi people and Beijing people, only the wealthy merchants deal with the high officials, other people suspect each other and take each other as strangers. Why so? It is a matter of big and small dialectal divergence. Suzhou, Changzhou, Huaiyin, Xuzhou are all in the same province. But Huai-Xu people seem to be closer to the northerners than to Su-Chang people, which is also because of dialect affinity. This is the same for all provinces. Very well! Jiang Yiyuan put it that how is it possible for people who do not share the same language, same feelings to become compatriots? We have to adopt the Beijing pronunciation altogether.” Language sentiment is a projection of language onto people’s psychology. In general, people have affection and sense of belonging towards their father and mother’s language. To unite the nation, to consolidate an organization, to defend one’s nation against enemies, the elimination of dialectal divergence and therefore psychological barrier has a certain effect. But was the effect as big as people at that time held? Further investigation is needed. Of course, the existence of dialects may not always be negative. So it is not comprehensive if they only discussed the disadvantages of dialects.

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4 Concluding remarks During the last two decades of the Qing Dynasty, script reformers were very concerned with dialect issues. They started to conceive dialect concepts similar to the present ones, discussing the power problem of southern Mandarin and northern Mandarin. They discussed the impact of dialectal differences on communication, education and national unity, which involved emotional problems towards dialects. Since their goal was not to study dialects, and there were limitations due to time difference, academic and technical developments, in general, their understanding of dialects was not self-conscious, not comprehensive, not systematic and some views were even radical and unscientific. Nevertheless, it should be fair to conclude that the results reflected by their opinions have reached a peak unparalleled by other dialectal studies since Yang Xiong, and some viewpoints could still invoke our serious consideration when revisited today when we still see considerable dialectal differences that hinder the efforts of promoting the national standard language and writing system. To build a prosperous nation state therefore enable people to enjoy a high living standard and good education are still hot issues in society. Meanwhile, they were also social practitioners, lobbying the government, enlightening the masses, by their writings and speeches. Consequently, there were significant changes in the power relationship of southern and northern Mandarins and the representative dialect of northern Mandarins, namely Beijing dialect eventually became the national standard. Their efforts contributed to the selection and development of the lingua franca of the Han Chinese, which would certainly be noted in history forever. Besides, in the writings and various schemes proposed about the script reform during the late Qing Dynasty, we saw narrations and descriptions of contemporary dialects. These include three areas: the description of sound system and lexicon of certain dialects, differences that exist among dialects, and classification of dialect regions. The three areas were either directly recounted, or implicitly stated in the writing system schemes designed for particular dialects. At that time, dialectology was not yet established as a discipline and dialect survey methodology was not developed so it was not possible to conduct scientific field work on dialects. As a result, the dialect situations reflected in those writings and proposed schemes could not be highly valued in terms of scientificity, though they do have certain reference value. It is only in this perspective that through in-depth study of these resources that could we evaluate fairly the contribution of these late Qing script reformers towards the view of dialects and Chinese dialectology.

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References Chao, Yuen-ren. 1980. Yuyan Wenti (Language Issues). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Chen, Qiu. 1958 [1903]. Xinzi Ouwen Qiyinduo (Phonological Rules on Phonetic Characters for Ou Dialect). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Chen, Yongshun. 1995. Hanzi Gaige Shi Gang [A History of Chinese Script Reform (Revised Edition)]. Changchun: Jilin University Press. Gao, Shiliang. 1992. Zhongguo Jindai Jiaoyushi Ziliao Huibian – Yangwu Yundong Shiqi Jiaoyu (Chinese Education History Archive Collection – Education during the Period of Westernization Movement). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Press. Language Reform Press (ed.). 1956. Pinyin Wenzi Shiliao Congshu (A Collection of Historical Data of Phonetic Writing). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji (A Collection of Essays on Chinese Script Reform in the Late Qing Dynasty). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Liu, Shien. 1957 [1909]. Yinyun Jihao (Phonology Symbols). In Language Reform Press (ed.). 1956. Pinyin Wenzi Shiliao Congshu (A Collection of Historical Data of Phonetic Writing). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Li, Jinxi. 1933. Guoyu Yundong (National Language Movement). Shanghai: The Commercial Press. Lu, Ganzhang. 1956 [1892]. Yimuliaoran Chujie (Elementary Phonetic Characters in the Blink of an Eye). In Language Reform Press (ed.). 1956. Pinyin Wenzi Shiliao Congshu (A Collection of Historical Data of Phonetic Writing). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Lu, Ganzhang. 1957 [1906]. Beijing Qieyin Jiaokeshu (Textbook on Beijing Phonetic Characters). In Language Reform Press (ed.). 1956. Pinyin Wenzi Shiliao Congshu (A Collection of Historical Data of Phonetic Writing). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Lu, Guoyao. 1994 [1985]. Ming Dai Guanhua jiqi Jichu Fangyan Wenti (Mandarin in the Ming Dynasty and Issues Concerning its Base Dialect). In Lu Guoyao Zi Xuan Ji (Collection of Self-selected Papers of Lu Guoyao). Zhengzhou: Henan Education Press. Lu, Guoyao. 1994 [1991]. Fangyan yu ‘Fangyan’. In Lu Guoyao Zi Xuan Ji (Collection of Selfselected Papers of Lu Guoyao). Zhengzhou: Henan Education Press. Ma, Jianzhong. 1983 [1898]. Mashi Wentong (Ma’s Grammar). Beijing: The Commercial Press. Ni, Haishu. 1948. Zhongguo Pinyin Wenzi Yundong Biannianshi [An Annal of the Phonetic Script Movement of China (abridged)]. Shanghai: Shidai Shubao Press. Wang, Jun. 1995. Dangdai Zhongguo de Wenzi Gaige (Script Reform of Contemporary China). Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House. Wang, Liqi. 1980. Yan Shi Jiaxun Jijie (Annotations on Admonitions of the Yan’s Family). Shanghai: Shanghai Classics Publishing House. Xu, Chang’an. 2000. Yuwen Xiandaihua Xianqu Lu Ganzhang (Lu Ganzhang – the Forerunner of Language Modernization). Xiamen: Xiamen University Press. Yu, Genyuan. 1996. Ershi Shiji de Zhongguo Yuyan Yingyong Yanjiu (Studies on Chinese Language and Applications in the 20th Century). Taiyuan: Shuhai Press. Zhang, Qingchang. 1990. Hutong ji Qita – Shehui Yuyanxue de Tansuo (Hutong and Others – A Sociolinguistic Investigation). Beijing: Beijing Language Institute Press. The original Chinese version of this paper was first published in Applied Linguistics, Vol. 3, 2002. Translated by LUN Suen, Caesar (蔺荪) Department of Linguistics & Translation, City University of Hong Kong [email protected]

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Late Qing script reformers’ views on language unification1 Abstract: The materials used in this article are based on Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji ‘A Collection of Essays on Language Reform in Late Qing Dynasty’ which discussed the issue of language unification by late Qing script reformers. The exposition in Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji is related to three aspects: elimination of dialectal discrepancies and unification of language in order to achieve the aim of rallying the Chinese people; establishment of Beijing dialect, instead of Southern Mandarin, as the pronunciation standards of the lingua franca of China; promotion of the national language by using qieyin characters. Lessons can be drawn from the exposition of these three aspects so as to realize the strategic target of thorough popularization of Putonghua in China by 2050. Keywords: unification of language, lingua franca, late Qing period, Chinese script reform

0 Introduction During the 20 years’ time between 1892 and 1911 of late Qing period, there occurred a Chinese script reform movement which exerted far-reaching influence. The movement was called the “Qieyinzi Movement” by later generations. The proposition of the Qieyinzi Movement can be summarized into three points: 1) ease of written forms; 2) consistency between the Chinese written language and spoken language; 3) unification of language.2 “Ease of written forms” means 1 This article was written to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Zhongguo Yuwen (Studies of the Chinese Language) (June 2002 in Nanchang). When this article was included in this collection, the first section (Tongyi Yuyan yi Jie Tuanti ye) in the original version was greatly shortened and its heading was deleted. Accordingly, the second, third and fourth section in the original version were revised as the first, second and third section in this version. The numbering of example sentences was also amended correspondingly. This article was originally published in Yuyan Jiaoxue yu Yanjiu (Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies) issue no. 2, 2003 (Beijing: The Institute of Linguistics, Beijing Language and Culture University). 2 This view had been proposed in Lu Ganzhang’s Zhongguo Diyikuai Qieyin Xinzi – Yuanxu (Original Preface, The Quickest Phonic Script in China) (Language Reform Press 1958:2–3). Lu Ganzhang was renowned as the one who inaugurated the beginning of the modernization of the Chinese language.

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that the characters should be easily written. The view brought into the existence of various qieyin characters schemes, which smoothed the path for the theory and practice of national phonetic alphabet (zhuyin zimu), Chinese phonetic scheme (Hanyu Pinyin) and Chinese characters simplification afterwards. “Consistency between the Chinese written language and spoken language” means that the written forms and the spoken language should be consistent, which heralded the Vernacular Movement (Baihuawen Yundong) later. From the point of view of public opinion and in theory, “unification of language” provided an early stage preparation for the National Language Movement (Guoyu Yundong) afterwards as well as the promotion task of Putonghua until now. The study of the theory and practice of the Qieyinzi Movement is meaningful for us to fully understand the modernization of the Chinese spoken and written language for the recent hundred years and to better perform our tasks related to the Chinese language today. The materials used in this article are based on Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji ‘A Collection of Essays on Language Reform in Late Qing Dynasty’. This article will study the exposition of language unification as put forward by late Qing script reformers. In the history of China, there were yayan ‘literary language’, tongyu ‘universal expression’ and guanhua, i.e. Mandarin ‘official language’; served as the function of a lingua franca in various ages. However, these “quasi lingua franca” influenced mainly government officials and the cultural circles. In actual daily life, the discrepancies among various dialects were enormous, which were still valid in late Qing period. Facing with the discrepancies among various dialects, one after another, people started to propose the notion of language unification. As early as 1892, in Zhongguo Diyikuai Qieyin Xinzi-Yuanxu ’Original preface, The Quickest Phonic Script in China’, Lu Ganzhang had already put forward the view that “one accent should be adopted as the core (pronunciation)” and Nanjing dialect should be used to unify the Chinese language of the whole country. (Language Reform Press 1958:3) In 1898, Lu Ganzhang was a government official in Beijing, his fellow countryman Lin Lucun proposed “having the same pronunciation for the whole country” in Shang Duchayuan Shu ‘Letter to the Censorate’. (Language Reform Press 1958:17) In 1902, Wu Rulun’s Dong You Cong Lu ‘Notes on Travel to the East’ was published. It described the achievements of Japan in promoting its national language and language unification and introduced the view of a Japanese named Izawa Shuji [“judging from the current status of your (honourable) country, it is particularly urgent to unify your language”). (Language Reform Press 1958:27–28) In the same year, Wu Rulun submitted a letter to Zhang Baixi who was the Officer for Overseeing the Management of Schools, appealing for “unifying the pronunciation of the Chinese language for the whole country” and “forbidding the language to be inconsistent and in-

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comprehensible”. (Language Reform Press 1958:29) Since then, there had been constant calls for language unification which became the consensus of a group of people of high ideals. Elimination of dialectal discrepancies and unification of the Chinese language were the right remedy propounded by the Qieyinzi Movement for saving the country at that time. A hundred years have passed and yet the great undertaking of unifying the Chinese language has not been accomplished, though the right remedy is still valid in setting things right nowadays.

1 Selection of a lingua franca and the establishment of selection criteria As language unification was the right remedy propounded by the Qieyinzi Movement, it was logical to proceed with the selection of a language to be the unified lingua franca of the country.

1.1 Selection of a lingua franca At that time, Mandarin as the most authentic provisional lingua franca was regarded as having the status of being the lingua franca. The study in Li (2002) shows that Mandarin in late Qing period was not unified in the sense that it was divided into Northern Mandarin and Southern Mandarin. Southern Mandarin was based on Nanjing dialect, while Northern Mandarin was represented by Beijing dialect. Southern Mandarin of the time enjoyed considerably high status as compared to that of the Northern Mandarin. Nevertheless, using Beijing dialect to unify the Chinese language of the country was the mainstream view of the time.3 In 1898, Lin Lucun had already proposed to “stipulate Mandarin pronunciation of the capital as the national pronunciation for use in China and overseas countries” by adopting the scheme created by Lu Ganzhang in his new book on Min dialect phonetic characters:

3 There were some other views put forward by other people, for instance, Zhang Binglin’s Bo Zhongguo Yong Wanguo Xinyu Shuo (A Refutation of the Proposal of Using Esperanto in China) (Language Reform Press 1958:91) regarded the pronunciation of the regions in Changjiang River and Han River as standard pronunciation; Ma Tiqian’s Tan Wenzi (On Characters) (Language Reform Press 1958:87) says, “My humble opinion is that a commonly shared pronunciation across the country should be selected as national pronunciation with local pronunciation of

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(1) Lin Lucun’s Shang Douchayuan Shu ‘Letter to the Censorate’: “If Mandarin pronunciation of the capital is stipulated as the national pronunciation for use in China and overseas countries by adopting the scheme created by Lu Ganzhang in his new book on Min dialect phonetic characters, then Chinese people scattered everywhere, no matter whether they are in Mongolia, Tibet, Qinghai, Yili or any islands of the Malay Archipelago, the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia, can speak with the same pronunciation. The written language can be consistent with the spoken one, and women and children can be able to read and write in several years’ time. As a result, people will be enthusiastic about learning. Chinese people in China and overseas countries will be of one mind and work as one self. Wouldn’t this be excellent?” (Language Reform Press 1958:17) In 1900, Wang Zhao created the Mandarin phonetic alphabet to transcribe Beijing dialect. In 1902, Wu Rulun recommended this proposal to Zhang Baixi, stating that “this pronunciation is all based on the accent of the capital, which can particularly unify the pronunciation throughout the country”.4 In Wang Pu’s Cheng Xuebu Dachen Zhang Baixi wei Tuiguang Guanhua Zimu Wen ‘Official Document Submitted to Officer Zhang Baixi concerning the Promotion of Mandarin Alphabet’, Wang appealed for the implementation of Wang Zhao’s Mandarin phonetic alphabet. In 1903, both Tuiguang jinghua zhiwei gongyi lun ‘On the justification of the promotion of Beijing dialect’ written by Changbai Laomin and Shang Zhili Zongdu Yuan Shikai Shu ‘Official Letter Submitted to the Viceroy of Zhili Yuan Shikai’ written by Wang Yongzhou, He Fenghua et al also advocated the promotion of Beijing dialect. With the broad implementation of Wang Zhao’s phonetic alphabet (including the phonetic simplified characters created by Lao Naixuan on the basis of Wang Zhao’s scheme by incorporating dialectal pronunciation) throughout the country, Northern Mandarin as represented by Beijing dialect achieved a decisive victory. Even Lu Ganzhang who originally supported the view of using Nanjing dialect as standard pronunciation also propounded the promotion of Beijing dialect pronunciation in 1906:

each place being treated as dialectal pronunciation. The so-called national pronunciation is the one close to Mandarin pronunciation, while dialectal pronunciation is the one that is currently called run yin (run pronunciation, in which some of its vowels and consonants do not appear in national phonetic alphabet).” Although Ma considered national pronunciation as “the one close to Mandarin pronunciation”, the criteria of selecting national pronunciation were different from the mainstream. 4 For details, see Wu Rulun’s Shang Zhang Guanxue Shu [Letter submitted to Intendent Zhang (the Officer for Overseeing the Management of Schools)]. (Language Reform Press 1958:29)

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(2) Lu Ganzhang’s Banxing Qieyin Zishu Shi Tiao Banfa ‘Ten Methods in Promoting the Book with Phonetic Characters’: “It is stipulated that Mandarin should use Beijing dialectal pronunciation as the national language so as to unify the languages of the country. . . . Mandarin using Beijing dialect pronunciation shall be used in all official documents, legal documents, general documents and correspondence throughout the country as the national language so as to unify the languages of the country.” (Language Reform Press 1958:73) At that time, various reasons were raised to support the promotion of Mandarin using Beijing dialectal pronunciation. For instance: (3) Jiang Qian’s Zhiwen Xuebu Fen Nian Chouban Guoyu Jiaoyu Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Imperial Educational Ministry concerning the Setting up National Language Education in Phases’: “In British elementary schools, London pronunciation is used; in French elementary schools, Parisian pronunciation is used; in Japanese elementary textbooks, Tokyo pronunciation is used. Chinese Mandarin has the southern variety vs. the northern variety and between the south and north, there are yet differences. Since the Ministry of Education aims to unify the national language, when textbooks are compiled, would the Beijing pronunciation be based as the standard?” (Language Reform Press 1958:117) (4) Liu Zhaoli and Tao Nan’s Chenqing Zizhengyuan Tuixing Guanhua Jianzi Shuotie ’Lobby Paper Submitted to the Political Consultative Council concerning the Promulgation of Mandarin Simplified Characters’: “It is essential to implement Mandarin simplified characters if the aim of language unification and universal education is to be achieved. Mandarin is based on the dialect of the capital, Beijing dialect, which is the convention of other countries in this matter.” (Language Reform Press 1958:132) (5) Chenqing Zizhengyuan Banxing Guanhua Jianzi Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Political Advisory Council concerning the Promulgation of Mandarin Simplified Characters’ by Qing Fu et al: “Some time ago there is an assemblyman stating that the pronunciation of dialects in peripheral areas should not be used as the official language. This is not correct. It is because pronunciation is something to do with people, not areas. There are peripheral areas, but there are no “peripheral” people. People tend to gather together in the capital of a country. With thousands of years of history of development by incorporating the essence throughout the time, a kind of capital speech is formed, showing that the capital is central and not peripheral. Furthermore, there already exist dialects similar to this capital speech, such as dialects of the

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following eleven provinces: Zhili (Huebi), Fengtian, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shandong, He’nan, Gansu, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Shaanxi, and one half of each of the two provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu. Other than these, there is not a dialect that is shared by two provinces. When we are at high altitudes, we should follow mountains. When we are at lowland, we should follow lakes and marshes. We should act in response to the situation. Would it be illogical not to use Beijing dialect and seek for other alternatives? Beijing dialect is not privately owned by Beijing people, it is shared by all Chinese people. I propound the promotion of Beijing dialect purely out of a selfless heart without the need of caring for other people’s criticism.” (Language Reform Press 1958:126) The reasons for such recommendation are: 1) Using the language of the capital is an international convention; 2) Beijing dialect has “thousands of years of history of development by incorporating the essence throughout the time”; 3) As it is similar to the dialects of 11 provinces and half of 2 provinces, Beijing dialect can be regarded as the lingua franca of the country; 4) There is no other dialect that is spoken in any two provinces. Today, when expounding the promotion of Beijing dialect pronunciation as the standard pronunciation of Putonghua, the main reasons are basically as those mentioned above. Judging from these reasons, the comprehension of the people in late Qing period on this issue had already reached considerably high scientific standards.

1.2 The establishment of the name for the national language What name should be given to the language that unifies the country? In 1902, Wu Rulun’s Dong You Cong Lu mentioned that Japanese used the term “putongyu” ‘common language’: (6) In the spring this year, your humble servant visited Satsuma of Japan. I saw that students set up Putongyu Study Society everywhere. The so-called Putongyu is indeed Tokyo dialect! (Language Reform Press 1958:28) In 1906, Zhu Wenxiong had used the term “putonghua” ‘common spoken language’: (7) Zhu Wenxiong’s Jiangsu Xin Zimu – Zixu ‘Author’s preface to Jiangsu New Alphabet’: “I learnt Putonghua (a spoken language that is used in all provinces), though not very proficient. However, the alphabet can transcribe all the pronunciations I utter as well as all the pronunciations I heard from the speakers of each province, and both pronunciations resemble each other.” (Language Reform Press 1958:60)

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On the whole, using the terms similar to “Mandarin” “guanhua”, “official language” or “jinghua” “Beijing dialect” still accounted for the majority. Wu Rulun’s Dong You Cong Lu introduced the concept of “guoyu” “national language” and used it in Shang Zhang Guanxue Shu [Letter to Intendent Zhang (the Officer for Overseeing the Management of Schools)]: (8) Schools in Japan all are equipped with Guoyu readers. If we follow their practice, it would be inevitable that we also need to follow the practice of simplified stroke characters. (Language Reform Press 1958:29) Since then, the use of the term “guoyu” became more popular and the term was even used in those Lobby papers. In 1910, Jiang Qian even thought that an official term should be confirmed by changing “Mandarin” into “guoyu”: (9) Jiang Qian’s Zhiwen Xuebu Fen Nian Chouban Guoyu Jiaoyu Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Imperial Educational Ministry concerning the Setting up National Language Education in Phases’: “In any case, the rectification of names is of top priority for literary creation. The term “Mandarin” is not appropriate. Although it is called “Mandarin”, it is not only spoken by government officials. Farmers, workers, merchants and soldiers all have to learn. Without being learnt by these people, it cannot be popularized. In order to standardize the name of such language, it would be better to determine whether the name of the readers of such language should be changed into “guoyu duben” “national language readers” when requesting the promulgation of the textbooks.” (Language Reform Press 1958:117) However, the selection of a lingua franca could not be accomplished at one go. Although Beijing dialect was basically confirmed to be the national language, in practice “Mandarin” still exerted great influence. In 1911, Xuebu Zhongyang Jiaoyu Huiyi Yijue Tongyi Guoyu Banfa An ‘Resolutions of Central Education Conference of the Imperial Educational Ministry on the Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language’ stipulated that: (10) To establish the standards for the pronunciations, tones and vocabulary of the national language. There are discrepancies among various dialects. The pronunciation of the national language should be mainly based on Beijing dialect. Among the four tones of Pekinese, the entering tone has not yet been clearly defined and a resolution is urgently needed. It would be better not to discard the entering tone. The vocabulary should be appropriate and correct, which should be conformed to logic and mainly based on Mandarin. (Language Reform Press 1958:143)

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Although Xuebu Zhongyang Jiaoyu Huiyi Yijue Tongyi Guoyu Banfa An ‘Resolutions of Central Education Conference of the Imperial Educational Ministry on the Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language’ stipulated that the pronunciation of the national language “should be mainly based on Beijing dialect”, its attitude of treatment of the entering tone was a continuation of the tradition of Mandarin as it stated that “it would be better not to discard the entering tone”. During more than ten years of the early Republican China, as to how to establish the standards of the pronunciation of the national language, there had been debates between using laoguoyin ‘old national pronunciation’ and using Beijing dialect pronunciation. It was not until the actual practice proved that it was not workable to keep the entering tone that the final decision of adopting Beijing dialect phonetic scheme as the standards of the national language was made. Based on such experience, some important regularities on language planning can be discovered.

1.3 Issues concerning the establishment of the standards for the national language In its implementation, there needed to establish various standards for the national language. It was not until the final stage of the Qieyinzi Movement in 1910 that people were gradually aware of this issue. Jiang Qian viewed this issue from the perspective of education and suggested compiling grammar books and dictionaries for the national language. For instance: (11) Jiang Qian’s Zhiwen Xuebu Fen Nian Chouban Guoyu Jiaoyu Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Imperial Educational Ministry concerning the Setting up of National Language Education in Phases’: “There is grammar for each national language to fully express what needs to be conveyed. Although the existence of grammar is a matter of habits, the rules concerning its arrangement and sequence are exhibited through textbooks. There is a need to consider whether the Imperial Educational Ministry should also be responsible for stipulating grammatical rules as well when it compiles the textbooks. There are also dictionaries for each national language for the users to check any common mistaken pronunciations, differentiate various senses of words and learn new vocabulary. Just like cars need their wheels and musicians need their musical instruments. When the Ministry is preparing the task list for various dictionaries to be compiled in the second year of Xuantong era [title of the reign (1909–1911) of Aisin-Gioro Puyi, last emperor of the Qing Dynasty], there is also a need to consider whether dictionaries concerning the national language should be compiled as well.” (Language Reform Press 1958:117)

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In the bill concerning the measures of establishing the national language the Central Education Conference of the Imperial Educational Ministry not only proposed to establish the standards for pronunciation, it also recommended the standards for lexical items and syntax and raised the issue of the standards for phonetic symbols. For instance: (12) Xuebu Zhongyang Jiaoyu Huiyi Yijue Tongyi Guoyu Banfa An ‘Resolutions of Central Education Conference of the Imperial Educational Ministry on the Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language’: “Selection and compilation. After the investigation conducted by the branch office of each province, relevant language materials will be sent to the head office in which its editorial department will review them accordingly. The lexical items, grammar and pronunciations that are conformed to the principle of appropriateness and correctness with wide currency will be adopted as the standards and used in compiling national language textbooks and comparison tables of grammar and dialects. Those materials that are vulgar and erroneous will not be adopted as the standards and will be incorporated into comparison tables of dialects as reference for checking. . . . The standards of establishing the pronunciations, tones and vocabulary of the national language. . . . The establishment of phonetic symbols. There are five criteria for phonetic symbols: 1) The symbols should be accurate and comprehensive; 2) it should be compatible with international practices; 3) the symbols should be graphically simple; 4) the symbols should be aesthetically acceptable; 5) the symbols should be easy to write. Whether re-using old symbols or devising new ones, these principles have to be observed as a precondition. The symbols should have a handwritten style and a print style. After its initial devising, the system will have a trial run in all administrative units nation-wide from provinces to counties for a period of time. If and when hurdles are encountered, they should be reported to the General Commission any time with a view to effecting amendments. The version after such amendments will be promulgated as the definitive version.” (Language Reform Press 1958:143–144) Various aspects related to the standards for establishing the national language as mentioned above were already quite thorough and comprehensive. However, the national language as the lingua franca for modern Chinese nationality had not reached the stage of maturity, further investigation and research needed to be conducted. Jiang Qian suggested that following the practice of Japan, a National Language Compilation and Investigation Committee could be created. He proposed that the first thing for Xuebu Zhongyang Jiaoyu Huiyi Yijue

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Tongyi Guoyu Banfa An to resolve was to set up a National Language Research Society: (13) Jiang Qian’s Zhiwen Xuebu Fen Nian Chouban Guoyu Jiaoyu Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Imperial Educational Ministry concerning the Setting up of National Language Education in Phases’: “Compilation work of national language textbooks. It is understood that the compilation work would be difficult at the beginning, and detailed and careful research and study are needed. In Japan, there is a National Language Research Committee which is subordinate to the Ministry of Education of Japan. The role of the Committee is to have a thorough planning of the teaching materials and to provide a suitable grading of the materials for various level of proficiency in order that the public will not be wrongly informed when the promotion of the national language is implemented. When the Imperial Educational Ministry is working on the promotion of the national language of China, it would be appropriate to consider whether the practice of Japan should be followed by setting up a National Language Compilation and Investigation Committee to be fully responsible for the work related to textbook compilation and subsidization of research organizations. Preparation work needs to be proceeded if it is decided that this Committee should be established.” (Language Reform Press 1958:117) (14) Xuebu Zhongyang Jiaoyu Huiyi Yijue Tongyi Guoyu Banfa An ‘Resolutions of Central Education Conference of the Imperial Educational Ministry on the Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language’: “Survey. First, the Ministry of Education is to set up a General Commission for National Language Survey. Second, the Head of Education in each province is to be entrusted to set up a Provincial Commission for Language Survey, looking after all matters related to language survey. The subjects of language survey are the three components of language, namely lexicon, syntax and phonology. Other things relevant to language will also be surveyed. The head office will formulate the procedures of establishing lexical items and grammar, and hypothetical phonetic symbols. Branch offices will proceed with the research in accordance with the procedures and symbols. Those matters that have not been covered by the procedures and symbols will be supplemented by branch offices and submitted to the head office. Regulations concerning the establishment of the head office and branch offices will be fully formulated and promulgated by the Imperial Educational Ministry for implementation.” (Language Reform Press 1958:143)

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2 Promotion of the national language with the assistance of Qieyin characters While it is important to determine whether Northern Mandarin or Beijing dialect should be adopted as the national language, it is more crucial to work out how to implement the decision throughout the country. The basic view of the Qieyinzi Movement was to implement the lingua franca through the use of qieyinzi or qieyin characters.

2.1 Simplified characters were just gramophones for the national language Qieyinzi were phonetic characters that recorded the sounds of the national language like what a gramophone did. Hence, Chinese characters could be transcribed and the vernacular could be spelled by using qieyin characters in order to spread the national language by using alphabet. For instance: (15) Chenqing Zizhengyuan Tiyi Biantong Xuebu Choubei Qingdan Guanhua Chuanxisuo Banfa Yong Jianzi Jiaoshou Guanhua Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Political Advisory Council concerning the Adjustment of the Preparation List by the Imperial Educational Ministry on the Use of Simplified Characters to Teach the Official Language in Official Language Learning Schools’ by Cheng Xianjia et al: “The simplified characters used to teach the national language is based on Beijing dialect pronunciation. There are no other short-cuts for this. . . . The national language is indeed the sound. And simplified characters are indeed working like the gramophones for the national language. If there are no simplified characters, there will be nothing that the national language can be attached to. Simplified characters are the only thing that the national language can be depended on.” (Language Reform Press 1958:131) (16) Wang Zhao’s Wan Wu Rulun ‘A Eulogy for Mr. Wu Rulun’: “Mr Wu was pure and sincere from his heart. He saw the source of prosperity of Japan in that all Japanese people use Japanese katakana to learn their national language. Then he realized that the most important cause of the success of universal education in those countries was the fact that all of them used phonetic alphabet to learn their own national language.” (Language Reform Press 1958:32)

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(17) Liu Mengyang’s Zhongguo Yinbiao Zishu – Bianyan ‘Preface, Transcription Alphabets of China’: “The phonetic characters that I created. . . can be used to solve three problems: In a nutshell, the tradition method of signifying pronunciations by using fanqie (by taking two other characters, one with the same initial and the other with the same final as the character in question) is defective. Very often, there are cases where users do not know how to pronounce the two other characters used in fanqie to signify the character in question. In addition, people in different places have different accents. That is why the pronunciation is different, even with the same two characters used in fanqie. If the above-mentioned phonetic characters are used to transcribe Beijing dialect pronunciation, on the one hand it would be easier for people to learn reading and writing, on the other different pronunciations of various places can be unified and this can serve as a conduit to unify language throughout the country. In one way or the other, this can solve our language problems.” (Language Reform Press 1958:84) (18) Zhili Xuewuchu Fuwen ‘Official Reply from the Education Affairs Office of Zhili’: “There are two main advantages of using alphabet: one is to provide a foundation for popularizing education, another is to assist in unifying language.” (Language Reform Press 1958:43) (19) Liu Zhaoli and Tao Nan’s Chenqing Zizhengyuan Tuixing Guanhua Jianzi Shuotie ’Lobby Paper Submitted to the Political Consultative Council concerning the Promulgation of Mandarin Simplified Characters’: “Simplified characters were created by former Grade Four senior official Wang Zhao. There are 52 letters and 12 glottals. The combinations of these letters not only cover Chinese and western languages, they also include Beijing dialect pronunciation. By learning the simplified characters for a month, illiterate persons can be able to read and write. Those who learnt these characters can teach others. One person teaches ten and ten persons teach a hundred. On the analogy of this, countless numbers of people can become literate. This is a good way of unifying language and popularizing education.” (Language Reform Press 1958:132) (20) Zizhengyuan Teren Guyuanhui Guyuanzhang Yan Fu Shencha Caiyong Yinbiao Shiban Guoyu Jiaoyu An Baogao Shu ‘Report Submitted by Yan Fu, Chairman of Special Committee of the Political Advisory Council, on the Review of the Bill of the Use of Phonetic Symbols to Establish Pilot National Language Education’: “Phonetic characters should be used on the teaching of Mandarin.”5 (Language Reform Press 1958:135) 5 Yan Fu used the term yinbiao ‘phonetic symbols’ which in fact meant qieyin characters.

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2.2 “One step forward” or “two steps forward” How to unify language with the assistance of qieyin characters? The most important dispute was the issue of “one step forward” or “two steps forward”. “One step forward” meant that qieyin characters for Beijing dialect pronunciation should be taught directly, while “two steps forward” referred to the teaching of qieyin characters of dialectal pronunciation prior to the teaching of qieyin characters for Beijing dialect pronunciation. Pronunciations in Northern dialectal regions were closer to Beijing dialect pronunciation that the former approach was mostly adopted. Many southerners supported the latter approach with Lao Naixuan as a representative figure. One of the reasons for the people upholding this view was that it was difficult for people who accustomed to using their own dialects to change into using Mandarin pronunciation. For instance: (21) Lao Naixuan’s Jiangning Jianzi Banri Xuetang Shifanban Kaixue Yanshuo Wen ‘Term-commencement Speech for Teachers Training Class of Jiangning Simplified Characters Half-Day School’: “China has been using its characters for several thousand years and dialects have also been spoken for several thousand years as well. Now if dialectal pronunciation is changed into Mandarin pronunciation, people must feel very difficult and flinch away from learning.” (Language Reform Press 1958:55) The second reason was that the approach of “two steps forward” was complementary to the promotion of the national language, though on the surface they are opposite to each other. For example: (22) Lao Naixuan’s Jiangning Jianzi Banri Xuetang Shifanban Kaixue Yanshuo Wen ‘Term-commencement Speech for Teachers Training Class of Jiangning Simplified Characters Half-Day School’: “The doctrines of education are a matter of subtle guidance and good use of fear. . . . This is why accommodating people’s dialectal pronunciation would be a better approach. Once people come to know that simplified characters are easy to learn and these characters can replace spoken dialects, then people would have the thought of changing their own dialectal pronunciations. When people have the thought of changing their own dialectal pronunciations, they can then be guided into using the national language just like streams flowing along the mainstream of a river. This is why the doctrines of education are related to subtle guidance that can assist people to improve their performance. . . . Moreover, learning Southern pronunciations does not imply opposition to learning Northern pronunciations, they are complementary

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to each other. What does this mean? Southern dialects can be transcribed using simplified characters. Once people learnt simplified characters, they can also read books and newspapers of Northern regions with the transcription of simplified characters. They would suddenly see the light and say, ‘This character’s pronunciation is so-and-so in my dialect and it is pronounced as so-and-so in the Northern regions; but another pronunciation only appears in my dialect and no such pronunciation in the Northern regions.’ By just a single shift of pronunciation, people would understand the Northern dialect. With the understanding of the Northern dialect, people would come to know the national language. This is why it seems to be opposing each other, but in fact they are complementary to each other.” (Language Reform Press 1958:55–56) (23) Lao Naixuan’s Zhi ‘Zhongwai Ribao’ Guan Shu ‘A letter to Zhongwai Daily’: “Once simplified characters for people’s own dialect pronunciations are learnt, they can proceed to learn Mandarin pronunciation which would be much easier to be learnt than those people who do not use this approach. The reason is that people of this dialect who learn to imitate that dialect will certainly seek to resemble the pronunciation of that dialect. If people of this dialect already know the characters of that dialect, they will have something to depend on. Differences among dialects can be categorized into aspects of initial consonants, finals and tones. The initial consonants, finals and tones of one dialect must have some regularities. If there is a character that resembles one initial consonant, then other characters of the same initial consonant can be deduced; if there is a character that resembles one final, then other characters of the same final can be deduced; and if there is a character that resembles one tone, then other characters of the same tone can be deduced. By comprehending the regularities in initial consonants, finals and tones, people will come to know the relationship between their own dialect and Mandarin, and be familiar with the latter. Now, first, learning simplified characters by using their own dialectal pronunciation, then they would be familiar with the method of transcription and the logic related to initial consonants, finals and tones. The structure of initial consonants, finals and tones between Mandarin and the people’s own dialects is basically the same, the difference only lies in pronunciation. People can then use the learnt characters and transcription method and just change the pronunciation. Are there any other ways that are easier than this?. . . When people finish learning their own dialect pronunciations through simplified characters, Mandarin can be taught and it will be learnt with ease. . . . This is why there is no need to force the Southern dialects to accommodate the Northern one, the Southern ones would be

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guided naturally to follow the Northern dialect. . . . Local dialectal pronunciations will be used as easy steps to reach the aim of language unification through Mandarin pronunciation.” (Language Reform Press 1958:57–58) However, for the “two steps forward approach”, some people raised severe criticism. For instance: (24) Ping Lao Naixuan ‘Hesheng Jianzi’ ‘A Commentary on Lao Naixuan’s Phonetic Simplified Characters’ published in Zhongwai Ribao ‘Foreign Daily’: “The Simplified Characters Half-Day School teaches common people to learn reading and writing by using phonetic alphabet. The scheme is modelled from the practice in Beiyang (the coastal provinces of Liaoning, Hebei and Shandong). However, the people who uphold this scheme added several letters for the entering tone when it is used in the Southern regions as there is no entering tone in Northern dialects. The scheme is now promoted in the north of Changjiang River and Yangzhou. It is also planned to add another several letters based on the accents in the north of Changjiang River. It would also be necessary to add yet more letters when the scheme is implemented in Suzhou and Changzhou. . . . In order to use the phonetic scheme, letters have to be added according to the pronunciation of each dialect. The reason behind is to avoid the inconsistency between the spoken language and the written one. However, the further addition of letters according to local situation, the further away is the practice from the aim of aligning the spoken language with the written one. The people who uphold this scheme seem to be confused. There are only 26 letters in English and 50 kana in Japanese, we have not heard of the practice of adding letters according to local situation. Now, no matter we are talking about following the proposal of Wang Zhao, or about the priority of affairs, the only way is to force the Southern dialects to conform with the Northern one without the need to change the scheme so frequently.” (Language Reform Press 1958:59) Some other revised plans were propounded, such as local dialect characters would be annulled once Mandarin simplified characters were implemented to a certain degree, or restricting the use of local dialect characters to a specific scope. For instance: (25) Chenqing Zizhengyuan Banxing Guanhua Jianzi Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Political Advisory Council concerning the Promulgation of Mandarin Simplified Characters’ by Qing Fu et al: “Temporary additions of pronunciations for local dialects in each remote province are just a ladder to learn Mandarin pronunciation as people in these areas have not heard of

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Mandarin pronunciation before. Hence, the first step is to transcribe the pronunciation of local dialects using simplified characters as a guidance, which are the troubles and pains taken for a good cause by those who implement the scheme. When the implementation of Mandarin simplified characters of each place reaches 20% of its population, by then people at least have the chance to hear Mandarin pronunciation even though they have not yet started to learn it. At that stage, it would be better to follow the suggestions made in the Appendix of the preliminary proposal on the reform of primary education submitted by the Honourable Jiang that local dialect characters should be annulled.” (Language Reform Press 1958:126–127) (26) Chenqing Zizhengyuan Banxing Guanhua Jianzi Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Political Advisory Council concerning the Promulgation of Mandarin Simplified Characters’ by Han Deming, et al.: “Mandarin simplified characters are indeed Mandarin phonetic alphabet which should be made to be promulgated by imperial order. The proposal submitted by the Viceroy Zhou of the Two Jiangs (Jiangnan and Jiangxi) should be complied with in the sense that the additions of pronunciations for local dialects should only be regarded as a ladder to learn Mandarin and that the learning of simplified characters for local dialects should not be viewed as the final aim. All books and newspapers transcribed with simplified characters should be limited to using Mandarin pronunciation.” (Language Reform Press 1958:120) (27) Lu Ganzhang’s Banxing Qieyin Zishu Shi Tiao Banfa ‘Ten Methods in Promoting the Book with Phonetic Characters’: “The promulgation of Beijing dialect Mandarin is aimed to unify language throughout the country. If the speeches in a certain local area are in common with those in cities and towns, it should be stipulated that people living in that local area, regardless of whether they are men, women or primary school students, should learn to read books transcribed with qieyin characters of their local dialect as well as those in cities and towns (however, qieyin characters books compiled for dialect pronunciations of very remote and poor areas should not be included). Once the qieyin characters for local dialects are learnt, then people can start to learn Beijing dialect pronunciation using qieyin characters. Students in all kinds of education institutions throughout the country, starting from higher primary schools, including secondary schools, universities, teachers’ training schools, translation schools, science schools, schools of commerce, schools of railways and mines and police academies, as well as schools for civil and military government officials, soldiers and yamen runners, and all other official workers, shall study books of qieyin characters for Beijing dialect pronunciation. Mandarin using Beijing dialect

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pronunciation shall be used in all official documents, legal documents, general documents and correspondence throughout the country as the national language so as to unify the languages of the country.” (Language Reform Press 1958:74) The debate between “forcing the Southern dialects to accommodate the Northern one” and “guiding the Southern ones to follow the Northern dialect” and the theory of “using local dialect pronunciations as easy steps to reach the aim of language unification through Mandarin pronunciation” have become history now. There is no need to engage in such debates any more nowadays and it would not be meaningful to practice such theories again. However, as far as the theory of language acquisition is concerned, the proposition of “two steps forward” and its brief practice, to a certain extent, are still worthy of study.

2.3 Promulgation of qieyin characters after the review and examination by the Imperial Court Since qieyin characters were used to assist the implementation of the lingua franca, it would be necessary to have an in-depth consideration of the issues related to qieyin characters. First, people realized that qieyin characters should be organized and reviewed with certain criteria so that “the alphabet can be standardized”. The implementation of standardized qieyin characters should be promulgated by the Imperial Court so as to endow the characters with an authoritative status. For example: (28) Lu Ganzhang’s Banxing Qieyin Zishu Shi Tiao Banfa ‘Ten Methods in Promoting the Book with Phonetic Characters’: “The alphabet should be standardized in order to avoid ambiguity. All letters, pronunciations, level and oblique tones, transcription methods and textbooks should be standardized throughout the country. Otherwise, confusion and ambiguity would arise, which would cause serious problems.” (Language Reform Press 1958:74) (29) Lin Lucun’s Shang Duchayuan Shu ‘Letter to the Censorate’: “In addition to the Qieyinzi scheme created by Fujian’s Lu Ganzhang, there are also Fujian juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level in the Qing dynasty) Li Jiesan; Shen Xue of Shanghai, Jiangsu; Wang Bingyao of Xianggang, Guangdong and the late former Customs Intendant Cai Xiyong who produced and published their own simplified character schemes. . . . Now your humble servant would like to propose to Your Majesty that government officials responsible for education affairs in each

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province should be ordered to request Lu Ganzhang and others to come to the Imperial Court to present their schemes to the Beijing government. The Minister in charge of education affairs then should select and assign several expert officials in language together with the Compilation and Translation Bureau to question the scheme authors and to conduct a thorough investigation into their schemes so as to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each scheme. Then appropriate qieyin characters will be confirmed and presented to Your Majesty for inspection and to see if they are acceptable to be promulgated for implementation.” (Language Reform Press 1958:17–18) (30) Zizhengyuan Teren Guyuanhui Guyuanzhang Yan Fu Shencha Caiyong Yinbiao Shiban Guoyu Jiaoyu An Baogao Shu ‘Report Submitted by Yan Fu, Chairman of Special Committee of the Political Advisory Council, on the Review of the Bill of the Use of Phonetic Symbols to Establish Pilot National Language Education’: “In accordance with investigation, there are several phonetic character schemes published in the society. It is obvious that they do have their own merits and demerits. If there are no standards to assess these schemes, problems may easily occur. The Imperial Educational Ministry should assess these schemes and select one among them to be presented to the Emperor for promulgation and implementation. As a result, common people will not be confused by the various different schemes and the usage of phonetic characters can then be consistent.” (Language Reform Press 1958:134) (31) Lao Naixuan’s Jincheng “Jianzi Pulu” Zhe ‘The Official Document Presented to the Emperor concerning A Table of Simplified Characters’ in 1908: “In my humble opinion, a unified scheme should be requested by imperial order throughout the country. The scheme will be used to compile lower-level textbooks which will be promulgated in the country. Before entering into primary five, two school terms (equivalent to one school year) should be added for students to focus on learning simplified characters. Local dialect pronunciation will be taught first in order to facilitate comprehension and then later on lessons concerning Beijing dialect pronunciation will be given to all so as to standardize the use of language throughout the country. The next stage is to teach common ethic and knowledge by using various simplified characters textbooks.” (Language Reform Press 1958: 80) Chenqing Zizhengyuan Banxing Guanhua Jianzi Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Political Advisory Council concerning the Promulgation of Mandarin Simplified Characters’ written by Han Deming et al proposed that Mandarin simplified characters “should be made to be promulgated by imperial order”. (Language Reform Press 1958:120)

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2.4 Specific functions of qieyin characters in the promotion of guoyu The nature of qieyin characters was studied from the perspective of promoting the national language. People viewed qieyin characters as phonetic symbols which served as “standardizing the pronunciation of the Chinese language” on the one hand, and “merging with the national language” on the other. For instance: (32) Zizhengyuan Teren Guyuanhui Guyuanzhang Yan Fu Shencha Caiyong Yinbiao Shiban Guoyu Jiaoyu An Baogao Shu ‘Report Submitted by Yan Fu, Chairman of Special Committee of the Political Advisory Council, on the Review of the Bill of the Use of Phonetic Symbols to Establish Pilot National Language Education’: “Qieyin characters should be renamed as phonetic symbols. . . . One reason is to illustrate its function in assisting the correct pronunciation of the Chinese characters, another reason is to demonstrate its nature of phonetic transcription which is different from the nature of six principles of Chinese script. . . . There are two functions: one is to standardize the pronunciation of the Chinese language and another is to merge with the national language. The pronunciation of the Chinese language is different in different dialects. The way to standardize the pronunciation is to transcribe the vocabulary in each chapter of junior primary textbooks with phonetic symbols. Once children learnt the symbols, then they would naturally know the correct pronunciation. By doing so, children throughout the country will tend to have the same pronunciation and it is expected that the aim of language unification can be achieved.” (Language Reform Press 1958:134–135) In accordance with Article 18 of Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Guojia Tongyong Yuyan Wenzi Fa ‘Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language’: “The Scheme for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet shall be used as the tool of transliteration and phonetic notation for the standard spoken and written Chinese language of the State.” This stipulation is similar to the quotation in (32) which discusses the functions of phonetic symbols. This illustrates that in 1910 as the Chairman of Special Committee of the Political Advisory Council, Yan Fu’s understanding of phonetic symbols was already quite close to that of today’s level.

2.5 Specific measures in the implementation of qieyin characters Exploring and executing specific implementation measures of qieyin characters were an important task at the time. At the time the measures proposed were mainly:

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1. Set up the subject of the national language or qieyin characters in schools. Issues such as rotational training for teachers and using the national language as a medium of instruction were also raised. For example: (33) Xuebu Zhongyang Jiaoyu Huiyi Yijue Tongyi Guoyu Banfa An ‘Resolutions of Central Education Conference of the Imperial Educational Ministry on the Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language’: “All teaching and non-teaching staff members who cannot speak Mandarin should receive such training by rotation until they graduate. In addition to the sessions specifically set up for teaching the subject of the national language, the medium of instruction for teaching all other subjects in various types of schools should be gradually changed into Mandarin as well.” (Language Reform Press 1958:144) 2. Set up learning institutions. “Alphabet Normal School”, “Normal Learning School” and “Mandarin Phonetic Characters School” were created in the capital and provincial capitals. People who spoke with pure Mandarin accent were employed, trained and assigned to various provinces, states and counties to teach phonetic characters. More detailed teaching regulations and various systems of reward and penalty were established. Dedicated officials were dispatched from each governmental level to supervise and monitor the execution of these measures. 3. Those who mastered qieyin characters became teachers of the characters. In Shang Zhilizongdu Yuan Shikai Shu ‘Official Letter Submitted to the Viceroy of Zhili Yuan Shikai’, Wang Yongzhou, He Fenghua et al proposed that “fathers can teach their sons, elder brothers can teach their younger brothers, husbands can teach their wives, and sisters and sisters-in-law can teach each other.” (Language Reform Press 1958:37)6 Ancestry temples, monasteries, township offices and unoccupied non-governmental houses can be used to set up “free schools 6 Lao Naixuan’s Jincheng Jianzi Pulu Zhe ‘Official Document Presented to the Emperor concerning A Table of Simplified Characters’ also propounded: “As there are easily learnt characters, imperial orders should be promulgated to all people throughout the country that children reaching a certain age should go to school to learn these characters for one year. The parents of those who do not go to school as stipulated shall be punished. . . . These characters are easy to learn. With just a matter of few months, people can master these characters. It is calculated that one teacher can teach 50 persons. Judging on this basis, one can teach 50 in the first group, then these 50 persons can teach 2,500 in the second group, 2,500 persons can teach 125,000 in the third group, 125,000 persons can teach 6.25 million in the fourth group and 6.25 million persons can teach 312.5 million in the fifth group. With 400 million people in China, five to six rounds would be sufficient to teach all people in China.” (Language Reform Press 1958: 80–81)

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for teaching phonetic alphabet”, elementary schools, night schools, half-day schools and day schools for the convenience of children, women, soldiers and police officers and other learners. 4. Publish relevant teaching materials. Textbooks “should be compiled and printed by an official organization established by the government. Individuals or non-government organizations who would like to compile and print such textbooks should be put under the guidance of the official organization.”7 5. Publish newspapers and books in the vernacular. Speech events should be organized to provide opportunities for learning qieyin characters and practice the national language, which also served to facilitate its promotion. 6. Official recognition and use of qieyin characters. For instance: (34) Lao Naixuan’s Jincheng ‘Jianzi Pulu’ Zhe ‘The Official Document Presented to the Emperor concerning A Table of Simplified Characters’: “Simplified characters should be used in official notices issued by the government in order for all people to be familiar with.” (Language Reform Press 1958:80) (35) Chenqing Zizhengyuan Banxing Guanhua Jianzi Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Political Advisory Council concerning the Promulgation of Mandarin Simplified Characters’ written by Han Yinfu et al: “Simplified characters should be used in official notices issued by the government and in remarks on appeal documents. People who do not know Chinese characters can submit documents in Mandarin simplified characters.” (Language Reform Press 1958:129) 7. Set up research institutions, such as “Alphabet Society” and “Simplified Characters Research Society”. 8. Implementation on trial. Through pilot implementation, experience could be gained for further promotion. For example: (36) Zizhengyuan Teren Guyuanhui Guyuanzhang Yan Fu Shencha Caiyong Yinbiao Shiban Guoyu Jiaoyu An Baogao Shu ‘Report Submitted by Yan Fu, Chairman of Special Committee of the Political Advisory Council, on the Review of the Bill of the Use of Phonetic Symbols to Establish Pilot National Language Education’: “If this is to be implemented, pilot implementation should be conducted. If there is no problem in the pilot implementation, the official implementation would be much easier.” (Language Reform Press 1958:135)

7 For details, please see Zizhengyuan Teren Guyuanhui Guyuanzhang Yan Fu Shencha Caiyong Yinbiao Shiban Guoyu Jiaoyu An Baogao Shu (Report Submitted by Yan Fu, Chairman of Special Committee of the Political Advisory Council, on the Review of the Bill of the Use of Phonetic Symbols to Establish Pilot National Language Education). (Language Reform Press 1958:134)

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Those measures were not only measures for the implementation of qieyin characters, they were also measures for the introduction of the national language. Some of those measures had already been executed at that time and some were put into practice for several times afterwards. Practice proved that many measures proposed at that time were effective and workable. Today, many measures in the promotion of Putonghua, such as focusing on school promotion, teacher qualification accreditation, various Putonghua training classes and observing and emulating meetings, etc., are originated from the era of the Qieyinzi Movement.

3 Concluding remarks The Qieyinzi Movement was first initiated by the people in the society, it then influenced the government and the Imperial Court, even Empress Dowager Cixi had shown solicitude for this matter. The Imperial Educational Ministry had formulated the implementation plan for national language education on a yearly basis as follows: (37) Jiang Qian’s Zhiwen Xuebu Fen Nian Chouban Guoyu Jiaoyu Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Imperial Educational Ministry concerning the Setting up of National Language Education in Phases’: “The Imperial Education Ministry had officially submitted the task list of various items in the preparation of national language education on a yearly basis as follows: In the second year of Xuantong era, Mandarin textbooks and various dictionaries will be compiled and all normal schools, secondary schools and primary schools in provincial capitals under the governance of Provincial Educational Officer of each province will be ordered to teach Mandarin as well; in the third year of Xuantong era, Mandarin textbooks will be promulgated, Mandarin learning schools will be established in the capital and various provinces; in the fourth year of Xuantong era, the promotion of Mandarin learning schools; in the fifth year of Xuantong era, all junior normal schools, secondary schools and primary schools in prefectures and states directly under the governance of Provincial Educational Officer of each province will be ordered to teach Mandarin as well; in the eighth year of Xuantong era, all secondary schools and primary schools in states and counties directly under the governance of Provincial Educational Officer of each province will be ordered to teach Mandarin as well, and regulations concerning teaching staff will be reviewed and examined with the addition of a question for testing the proficiency of Mandarin. Mandarin as a subject shall be added in all examinations of junior normal schools, secondary schools and higher primary schools.” (Language Reform Press 1958:116)

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This influence was caused by: 1) the drive of the major trend of the thought of rescuing the country and promoting reforms at the time; 2) the existence of several tens of qieyin character schemes which were promoted and implemented by Wang Zhao, Lao Naixuan and their students with the influence spread nearly across the whole country; 3) the opportunity of encouraging the free airing of views by the Qing government to submit enormous amount of proposal documents and Lobby papers; 4) the enthusiastic support of a group of senior government officials and authoritative figures, such as Yuan Shikai, Liang Qichao, Lin Lucun, Jiang Qian, Zhou Fu, Qing Fu, Yan Fu, Wu Rulun and Lao Naixuan. However, the Qing Dynasty, after all, had reached the time of its fall and failed to fulfill that huge historical task of language unification. Language unification is an inevitable historical development, but is not easy to be realized. Historically, timetables for popularizing the national language or Putonghua had been proposed for several times, but none of them succeeded. Today, China again propounded that Putonghua needed to be popularized for a preliminary extent by 2010 and fully by 2050. In order to achieve this strategic goal, lessons should be drawn from the fruits of the Qieyinzi Movement and the experience of the hundred years of language reform efforts. By inheriting the past and ushering the future can we succeed in this great cause.

References Chen, Yongshun. 1995. Hanzi Gaige Shigang (A History of Chinese Script Reform) (Revised Edition). Changchun: Jilin University Press. Gao, Shiliang. 1992. Zhongguo Jindai Jiaoyushi Ziliao Huibian – Yangwu Yundong Shiqi Jiaoyu (Chinese Education History Archive Collection – Education During the Period of the Westernization Movement). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Publishing House. Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji (A Collection of Essays on Language Reform in Late Qing Dynasty). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Li, Jinxi. 1933. Guoyu Yundong (National Language Movement). Shanghai: The Commercial Press. Li, Yuming. 2002. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaigejia de Fangyan Guan (Opinions of the Late Qing Script Reformers on Dialects). Fangyan, 3. Ni, Haishu. 1948. Zhongguo Pinyin Wenzi Yundong Biannianshi [An Annal of the Phonetic Script Movement of China (abridged)]. Shanghai: Shidai Shubao Press. Wang, Jun (ed.). 1995. Dangdai Zhongguo de Wenzi Gaige (Script Reforms in Contemporary China). Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House. Wang, Lijia. 2002. Hanyu Pinyin Yundong de Huigu Jianji Tongyong Pinyin Wenti (A Review of Chinese Language Phonetic Transcription Movement and Issues of Universal Phonetic Transcription). In Zhongguo Yuwen (Studies of the Chinese Language), Issue no. 2. Beijing: Institute of Linguistics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Xu, Chang’an. 2000. Yuwen Xiandaihua Xianqu Lu Ganzhang (Lu Ganzhang – the Forerunner of Language Modernization). Xiamen: Xiamen University Press.

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Yu, Genyuan. 1996. Ershi Shiji de Zhongguo Yuyan Yingyong Yanjiu (Studies on Chinese Language and Applications in the 20th Century). Shanxi: Shuhai Publishing House. Zhou, Youguang. 1979. Hanzi Gaige Gailun (Di san ban) [An Introduction to the Reform of Chinese Characters (Third edition)]. Beijing: Language Reform Press.

Translated by CHAN Man Ho, Benny (陈文浩) (Freelance translator) [email protected]

Chapter 30

Centenary of the promulgation of the state resolution Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language Abstract: In 1911, the Ministry of Education of the Qing Dynasty passed the resolution of the Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language, which is the first ever language planning document instituted by the government in the history of modern China, signaling the shift of China’s language policies from implicit practice to explicit stipulation. The Proposal took up the fruitful results of the Qieyinzi Movement. The Proposal was the first move to establishing the position of the Beijing dialect (or Pekinese) in the National Language; it was well aware of the tripartite composition of the National Language, namely pronunciation, lexicon and syntax; it spelt out the requirements “elegant, correct, and in common use” for National Language elements; it valued highly the importance of phonetic symbols in the promotion of the National Language and laid down relatively scientific principles for devising such symbols; it drew up plans for National Language Promotion which included such measures as compiling National Language textbooks and dictionaries, establishing National Language Institutes, adding National Language elements (including the National Language subject) in the curriculum, adopting the National Language as the medium of instruction. The Proposal had far-reaching influences on the nation from then on. Keywords: language planning, Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language, centenary

0 Introduction In 1911, the very last year of the Qing Dynasty, the then Ministry of Education passed the resolution of Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language (the “Proposal” hereinafter) in the Central Meeting on Education. That was an important fruit borne by the Qieyinzi (literally “phonetic script”) Movement then in its 20th year. The resolution was also the first ever language planning document instituted by the Chinese government in modern history. For historical reasons, the Qing government was not in a position to execute this document.

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However, we should not regard it as just a void document. Rather it is an important legacy with academic significance and historical influence at the same time. It therefore deserves our remembrance and earnest study at its centenary.

1 The main issues addressed by the Proposal There were 196 members on the Central Commission of the Ministry of Education of the Qing Dynasty. Zhang Jian was the Chief Commissioner with Zhang Yuanji and Fu Zengxiang as Deputy Chief Commissioners. In the Sixth Moon of the 3rd year of Xuantong era (1911) the Commission met to make decisions on the motions submitted by the Minister of Education. The motion Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language was passed in the 16th meeting held on the 16th day of the Leap Sixth Moon of the same year (10 August). The Proposal1 had five clauses, of which the following four were highly relevant to the issue of National Language:

1.1 Establishing the pronunciation norm Clause 3 of the resolution says, “Establishing the standards for pronunciation, tone (sheng) and wording (hua)2. Pronunciation varies a great deal; it is appropriate to treat the Beijing (Peking) pronunciation as the norm. As for the tones of Pekinese, its entering tone (rushing) is controversial and earnestly needs clarification; it would be appropriate to have the entering tone retained. Wording must be correct, appropriate, elegant, meaningful and logical. It would be apt to use Mandarin (Guanhua) as the norm.” This clause can be summarized as “Beijing pronunciation as norm, with the entering tone retained”. Taking Beijing pronunciation as the norm was epoch making. In the MingQing period, Nanjing Mandarin enjoyed higher prestige than other varieties. The “Original Preface” of Zhongguo Diyikuai Qieyin Xinzi ‘The Quickest Phonic Script in China’ by Lu Ganzhang has the following words:

1 Refer to Language Reform Press (1958:143–144). 2 Here “wording/hua” probably refers to words, sentences, etc. Strictly speaking, “tone/sheng” is a component of “pronunciation” and is thus already included in the latter, while “pronunciation” and “wording” are concepts on different planes. As such, listing “pronunciation, tone/ sheng, wording/hua” together as parallel concepts is obviously inappropriate. The appearance of this phenomenon is understandable if we consider the fact that modern linguistics had not yet established itself in China towards the end of the Qing Dynasty.

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“Of the 19 provinces, all except Guangdong, Fujian and Taiwan have Mandarin varieties as their speech. Of the Mandarin varieties, none can compare with the Southern variety in currency. If the Nanjing variety is taken as the basis for the common written language and its pronunciation as the norm for all provinces, then all 19 provinces will be unified in both the written language and speech. Huge as China is, we are like one family, unlike the situation hitherto, when different communities hold on to their own turf with their own speech, failing to communicate with each other even face to face.” (Language Reform Press 1958:3)

Lu published his Zhongguo Diyikuai Qieyin Xinzi in 1892 and started the Qieyinzi Movement. For this he has been praised as the pioneer of Chinese language modernization.3 As a citizen of Xiaman, Lu held the view that the Nanjing variety had the greatest currency within Mandarin. At that time holders of similar views were not confined to Southerners. Changbai Laomin wrote the following words in 1903 on the topic On the Justification of the Promotion of Beijing Dialect: “All the strong nations in the world attach great importance, for internal governance, to the nation having a unified language. Therefore, in recent years those compatriots who have a vision on national administration are deeply convicted in this idea without exception. Even many of the righteous persons in southern provinces subscribe to the promotion of Pekinese. Today there is the proposal to use phonetic transcriptions of Pekinese to supplement our written language. However, quite a few prominent government officials and famous scholars object to the move fiercely. Not that they do not have a good heart, but they do not have the right vision, for a number of reasons. For the northerners, in the past 200 years or so they have been tacitly slighted by southerners as lacking sophistication, so much so that they tend to overly lean towards the elegance orientation at the crossroad and dare not talk about promoting Pekinese lest they be ridiculed by southerners. In fact, the fine-crude distinction consists ultimately in knowledge, behavior and ability, not in the superficial coating of elegant-looking language. For the southerners, they tend to be sticklers for the old belief that they alone have been representing the civilization of China for the past thousand years or so, and consider the south of Changjiang River to be the home of correct pronunciation, . . .” (Language Reform Press)

Changbai Laomin is a Manchurian. According to him, the southerners are selfproclaimed to be more civilized for over a thousand years and “consider the south of Changjiang River to be the home of correct pronunciation”, while the northerners dare not publicly speak for the promotion of Pekinese “lest they be ridiculed by southerners.” It is evident from the last two paragraphs that the Nanjing variety enjoyed higher prestige even as late as towards the end of the Qing Dynasty. The status of different language varieties often has to do with where the political center 3 See Xu (2000) for a thorough understanding of Lu.

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is. Emperor Chengzu (Zhu Di) moved the capital to Beijing in 1421, when the political center of gravity also moved northward. Although the Ming Dynasty instituted a dual-capital system, with Nanjing preserving the entire structure of central political organizations (with the 6 ministries, the Censorate, the Office of Transmission, the Court of Judicial Review, etc.), these organizations had gradually become political cosmetics. The Qing Dynasty was established in Beijing. The status of the speech of Beijing as the political center was further elevated from its Ming foundation. On the basis of the content of Thomas Francis Wade’s Yuyan Zi Er Ji and text materials indicting Chinese Language Teaching in Japan shifted the language variety towards Pekinese, Mr. Wang Lijia judged that “Pekinese, following its status development throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties, acquired the status of standard accent within Mandarin” in actual language use by 1850 the latest. (Wang 2003:7) The conclusion drawn by Mr. Wang Lijia is a description of the actual language use but not of collective language awareness nor of language planning target. What we quoted above from Lu and Changbai were written 40 or 50 years after 1850. The shift from an unwitting practice in language use to a stipulation in language planning is a development from tacit practice to explicit reasoning. For the development to complete its course, certain language-planning activities are often required. In the Qieyinzi Movement there were a series of discussions on language unification.(Li 2003) The Guanhua Hesheng Zimu ‘Mandarin Phonetic Alphabet’ devised by Wang Zhao for transcribing Pekinese stormed the government and the ordinary people alike, and northerners and southerners alike. The part on “Outline of educational tasks” within the Presented School Regulations submitted by Zhang Baixi, Rong Qing, Zhang Zhidong, etc. in 1904 already requested that Guanhua should enter education: “Mandarin pronunciation is to be taught in all schools. . . . It is proposed that Mandarin pronunciation be used to unite the language of the entire country. Therefore, teacher training institutions and higher primary schools are to incorporate Mandarin into the Chinese Language subject. For the learning of Mandarin, all schools should use the book Shengyu Guangxun Zhijie ‘Amplified Instructions of the Sacred Edict Explained in Mandarin’ as the norm. In the future all school teachers in all provinces should explain in Mandarin when they teach a subject. . . .” (Qu and Tang 1991:499)

To sum up, towards the end of Qing, in both actual language use and language planning work, Pekinese was already in a position to challenge Nanjing Mandarin to a duel. In 1906, even Lu Ganzhang, who earlier proposed to unite all language varieties of the country with Nanjing Mandarin, now changed his stance and asked that “Beijing Mandarin be proclaimed the norm to unite all

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languages in the country”.4 That the Proposal made Beijing pronunciation the standard accent is an endorsement of this trend of development at a historical moment. Although there was some fickleness in later developments, the language practice in the past 100 years has shown that making Beijing pronunciation the standard accent of the common language of Han people has well captured the development trend of our language scene. We should also see that the Proposal’s adoption of the pronunciation of a particular geographical location as the standard accent for the National Language is in accord with the usual practice in language planning and is generally feasible. This is much more scientific than the approach adopted by the Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation in 1913, when representatives of various provinces voted to determine the pronunciation of lexical items. There is no entering tone in Pekinese. History has proven that the decision to retain the entering tone in the Proposal did not work. It will not work because the entering tone has very different phonetic realization in different language varieties and there is no way in which we can agree on how the entering tone should be realized. That the Proposal wanted the entering tone to be retained is because it was still subject to the influence of the traditional southern variety of Mandarin. People were still not aware, in an academic perspective, that the pronunciation standard for the National Language must be based on the phonology of a variety actually spoken by a speech community even though that was already the practice in actual language use. It was not until the rise of the Pekinese vs National controversy, which began in 1920, did the entering tone eventually got purged from the National Accent such that the National Accent really abides by Pekinese phonology. Li Jinxi said in 1923 in his “Preface” to Jingyin Rushenzi Pu ‘The Pekinese pronunciation of the traditional entering-tone characters’, “Of late among National Language workers, there is no longer the Pekinese vs National controversy . . . Now we have come to the happy ending by our purely abiding by the living accent of the living speakers in Beijing.” (Wang 2003:26) It was not until 1924, when the Preparatory Committee for Standardizing National Language wrote down “decided that the beautiful Pekinese accent be regarded as the standard” (Wang 2003:27) in the course of discussing the expansion of Guoyin Zidian ‘Dictionary of the National Pronunciation’ that the Pekinese accent was formally established as the National accent.

4 Banxing Qieyinzi-shu Shitiao Banfa ‘Ten Methods in Promoting the Book with Phonetic Characters written by Lu Ganzhang. (Language Reform Press 1958: 73)

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1.2 Specifying the principles and approaches in devising Pinyin Clause 4 of the Proposal reads, “Devising a system of phonetic symbols. There are five principles: 1) it should be accurate and comprehensive; 2) it should be compatible with international practices; 3) the symbols should be graphically simple; 4) the symbols should be aesthetically acceptable; 5) the symbols should be easy to write. Whether re-using old symbols or devising new ones, these principles have to be observed as a precondition. The symbols should have a handwritten style and a print style. After its initial devising, the system will have a trial run in all administrative units nation-wide from provinces to counties for a period of time. If and when hurdles are encountered, they should be reported to the General Commission any time with a view to effecting amendments. The version after such amendments will be promulgated as the definitive version.” What the Proposal referred to as “phonetic symbols” are in fact the “Bopomofo” and “Hanyu Pinyin” we subsequently use. The term “phonetic symbol” defines their function as phonetic transcription rather than script. As such, it set itself clearly apart from the various script-oriented “Qieyin Characters” ‘phonic script’ schemes. That the Proposal devoted a particular clause to phonetic symbols indicates that the proposers were already well aware of the significant position the phonetic symbols assume in transcribing the National Accent and in promoting the National Language. The Proposal was quite scientific in spelling out its blueprint for the system of phonetic symbols. First, it required phonetic accuracy. Second, it required leaving no sound of the National Language not covered. Third, it required the method of transcription to be compatible with international practices. Fourth, it required the shape of the symbols to be simple, good-looking, and easy to write. Fifth, it required of parallel styles of the symbol (handwritten vs print, and perhaps higher vs lower case). Sixth, it allowed for using existing symbols as well as devising new ones. Seventh, in carrying out the project, there was the provision for a process with the stages of draft scheme, trial-run, review, amendment and definitive scheme.

1.3 Stipulating the standards for and the components of the National Language The Proposal stopped short of directly defining the standards and components of the National Language. However, by looking at the analyses contained in the

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first three clauses in the Proposal, we can see what the Proposal understood about the standards of the National Language and about what the National Language should include as its components. Clause 1 brought up the need for nation-wide language survey: “First, the Ministry of Education is to set up a General Commission for National Language Survey. Second, the Head of Education in each province is to be entrusted to set up a Provincial Commission for Language Survey, looking after all matters related to language survey. The subjects of language survey are the three components of language, namely lexicon, syntax and phonology. Other things relevant to language will also be surveyed.” Clause 2 was on how to do “selection and editing” on the raw materials collected: “After the surveys are done on the provincial level, the materials are to be copied for submission to the General Commission, who will further examine the materials and will select those aspects of the lexicon, syntax and phonology that are elegant, correct and in common use and establish them as norms. These selected items and established norms will be utilized in the future compilation of textbooks for the National Language, dictionaries and comparative tables for dialects.” The quote above indicates clearly that the National Language should include phonology, lexicon and syntax: language survey must include “the three components of language, namely lexicon, syntax and phonology”. Afterwards the General Commission is to “select those aspects of the lexicon, syntax and phonology” and “establish them as norms.” It warrants our special mention that explicitly listing syntax as a component of the National Language was an act with academic vision. The first ever syntax written by a Chinese Mashi Wentong ‘Ma’s Grammar’ was not published until 1898, just 12 years before the Proposal was passed. Before Mashi Wentong, Chinese syntax was written predominantly by missionaries and Chinese nationals knew little about the works on syntax written by missionaries. The Political Advisory Councilor Jiang Qian was the first to make the point that the National Language should include the syntax element in the course of discussing National Language when he submitted the opinion paper Zhiwen Xuebu Fen Nian Chouban Guoyu Jiaoyu Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Imperial Educational Ministry concerning the Setting up of National Language Education in Phases’: “Every language in the world has its syntax, on which our expression of ideas depends. While syntax exists implicitly in the practice of language use, its explicit formulation depends on written texts. Now that the Ministry of Education is compiling a textbook in this connection, I would like to know if syntax is going to be prescribed.” (Language Reform Press 1958:117)

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By reviewing the history of National Language (Putonghua) promotion we get to know that the National Language (Putonghua) did not have an explicit standard of syntax until 1956, when it was stipulated, “using exemplary Modern Vernacular writings as syntactic norms.”5 Not only did the Proposal put forth the idea that the National Language should have the components phonology, lexicon and syntax, but it also offered the standard for the National Language. Clause 2 stipulated that when the Compilation Group under the General Commission examines the materials submitted from various locations, it “will select those aspects of the lexicon, syntax and phonology that are elegant, correct and in common use and establish them as norms” and have them incorporated into National Language textbooks. Clause 3 stipulated, “Wording must be correct, appropriate, elegant, meaningful and logical. It would be apt to use Mandarin (Guanhua) as the norm.” The expressions “correct, appropriate, elegant, meaningful” as applied to the standard for the National Language are fairly appropriate, albeit not the clearest.

1.4 Spelling out the measures for National Language promotion The Proposal spelt out a number of major measures for the promotion of the National Language: –

– –

First, “compilation of textbooks for the National Language, dictionaries and comparative tables for dialects,” which are preparatory materials for National Language promotion. Second, devising phonetic symbols, being a tool for National Language promotion. Third, establishment of the National Language Institute. Clause 5 of the Proposal was devoted to “teaching and learning”: “Initially, the National Language Institute will be established by the Ministry of Education. Every province will select those who are well-versed in local dialects within the province and send them to the Institute to learn what they are taught. On graduation they will be sent back to their respective provinces. Then a provincial level National Language Institute will be set up in the seat of every province with the above-mentioned graduates serving as teachers, and so on and so forth, down the administrative hierarchy until the county

5 On 6 February 1956, the State Council promulgated the “Guidelines for the Promotion of Putonghua”. (Fei 1997:221)

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level is reached. All teachers and other staff who cannot speak Mandarin will take turns to enter the Institute to learn it until they graduate.” So, the establishment of National Language Institutes at various levels is to pave the way for the institutionalization of National Language Promotion by way of organization, teacher education and teacher qualification, and a system of rotational placement to the Institutes. Fourth, devising National Language curriculum for schools and requiring teachers to use the National Language as the medium of instruction. Clause 5 of the Proposal stipulates, “In all schools, in addition to devoting certain teaching hours for the teaching of the National Language per se, the medium of instruction for all other subjects should also gradually shift to Mandarin.”6 Thus, National Language promotion is made concrete by its implementation by way of tangible curricula and medium of instruction.

2 The Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language and the Qieyinzi Movement The passing of the Proposal and the achievements it attained in the realm of language planning was by no means unconnected with the Qieyinzi Movement. In a sense, the Proposal is the crystallization of the fruits borne by the latter.

2.1 The Qieyinzi Movement served to prompt the Proposal The last 20 years of the Qing Dynasty, from 1892 when Lu Ganzhang published his Zhongguo Diyikuai Qieyin Xinzi to 1911, saw a script reform movement with far-reaching influence, namely the Qieyinzi Movement. The Movement was initiated by ordinary folks but gradually more and more government officials and other VIPs got involved in it, including Li Lucun, Yan Xiu, Wang Zhao, Wu Rulun, Lao Naixuan, Duan Fang, Zhou Fu, Yuan Shikai, etc., who were all active champions of the movement. The conspicuous events of this movement include submitting papers to the Viceroy of Zhili, to the Censorate, to Ministry of Education, etc., with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of Military and Political Affairs involved. At times even the sovereign officials attended to the movement in person. 6 This has obviously taken on some of the stipulations set out in the Presented School Regulations submitted by Zhang Baixi, Rong Qing, Zhang Zhidong, etc. in 1904.

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From 1901 to 1911, the Qing Dynasty waged a series of social reforms, referred to as the “Terminal New Deal”. Of the New Deal, the solemnest move was the preparation for the setting up of constitution after the Russo-Japanese War. In July 1907, Emperor Guangxu promulgated a decree on the setting up of the Political Advisory Council; in October he requested that provincial level Consultative Councils be set up. In August 1908, the Qinding Xianfa Dagang ‘Outline of Imperial Constitution’ was promulgated and the timetable for implementing constitutional governance announced.7 In September 1910, the Ceremony for the Inauguration of the National Political Advisory Council was held. Earlier on, the social concerns of the Qieyinzi Movement had mainly centered around how Qieyin Characters can benefit the popularization of education and the strengthening of the nation. Following the political reform in preparing for the setting up of constitution and parliamentary systems, the concerns of the Qieyinzi Movement began to touch on Qieyin Characters’ relationship with constitutional governance, especially its relationship with voter qualification. Expression of views in support of Qieyin Characters gradually developed from calling by government officials to opinion representatives submitting papers to the government. The Political Advisory Councilor Jiang Qian’s Zhiwen Xuebu Fen Nian Chouban Guoyu Jiaoyu Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Imperial Educational Ministry concerning the Setting up of National Language Education in Phases’ had 32 signatories. The Chenqing Zizhengyuan Banxing Guanghua Jianzi Shuotie ‘Lobby Paper Submitted to the Political Consultative Council concerning the Promulgation of Mandarin Simplified Characters’ co-signed by Qing Fu and other Manchurians had over a hundred signatories. The Chenqing Zizhengyuan Banxing Guanghua Jianzi Shuotie led by Han Deming and others had a signatory list as long as 189 persons. Yan Fu, Chairman of a special committee under the Political Advisory Council, examined a total of six lobby papers with similar appeals for the promotion of books written in simple Mandarin script. These six lobby papers were led by a number of opinion representatives including the following: Cheng Xianjia of Jiangning (belonging to the Mandarin Phonic Education Society of the Zhili Province), Liu Zhaoli of Sichuan Province, Han Deming of Tianjin Province, Han Yinfu, a government official, and Qing Fu, again a government official. The resultant document was the Shencha Caiyong Yinbiao Shiban Guoyu Jiaoyu An Baogao Shu ’Review of the Bill of the Use of Phonetic 7 Preparatory work for the establishment of constitution was to be completed within 9 years. It was planned that provincial conferences on the establishment of constitution would be convened in 1909 and the state-level conference in 1910, while the Congress would be convened in 1917.

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Symbols to Establish Pilot National Language Education’ written by Yan Fu. Nanjing in the south and Baoding, Tianjin and Beijing in the north were the cities actively pushing forth Qieyin Characters. They ran schools, organized the “Society for the Study of Simple Script”, and printed books and newspapers. Just the Mandarin Phonic Printing House alone published over 60,000 units of print materials. By way of government-civilian interaction and the interaction between those within the meeting room and those without, the Qieyinzi Movement developed into a very influential cultural trend. The practice of Qieyin Characters in great volume and echoing opinions and lobby papers in great numbers acted together to push through this very Proposal of the Qing government.

2.2 The Proposal was an integration of the fruitful results of the Qieyinzi Movement Although the main concern of the Qieyinzi Movement was devising and promoting the Qieyin Characters, its underlying theory and its activities went far beyond the realm of script. The paper Late Qing Script Reformers’ Views on Language Unification by Li Yuming (2003) summarized the Qieyin Characters reformers’ stance as follows: 1) simple character shapes; 2) vernacular-based written language; 3) unified language. These opinions had their clues in the “Original Preface” of Zhongguo Diyikuai Qieyin Xinzi by Lu Ganzhang: “In my view, the strength of a nation has science as its basis. The rise of science has as its basis its nationals’ (irrespective of gender and age) love for learning and acquiring knowledge. Their love for learning and acquiring knowledge, in turn, has as its basis a phonetic script. After learning the letters and the phonic principles, every written word can be pronounced by the reader without recourse to a teacher. Then, as the written language is vernacular-based, to pronounce a text is to understand a text at the same time. And then, as the characters are graphically simple, thus easy to recognize and easy to write, a dozen years are saved in one’s life. The time thus saved can be used for studying mathematics, physics, chemistry and other concrete knowledge. There should be no reason why a country does not become strong! . . . One accent should take charge, . . . Huge as China is, we are like one family.” (Language Reform Press 1958:2–3)

The design feature that “the characters are graphically simple” brought about the devising of various Qieyin Characters schemes and provided an underpinning for the theory and practice of Bopomofo, Hanyu Pinyin and Chinese character simplification. A logical extension of the feature “the written language is vernacular-based” is to require that the written language and the spoken language be consistent with each other, in actual fact a herald of the “Vernacular

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Movement” to come. The feature “one accent should take charge” entails using Mandarin to unite the language varieties nation-wide, the first sign of the ensuing National Language Movement. The gist of the Proposal was National Language unification. The Proposal took up the fruitful results of the Qieyinzi Movement, e.g. with regard to the name “National Language”, the standard accent for the National Language, the measures and steps for National Language promotion, etc. In this sense, the Proposal is an integration of various results of the Qieyinzi Movement.

2.3 The Proposal abandoned the idea of phonetic script advocated in the Qieyinzi Movement The Proposal did not adopt the idea of phonetic script advocated in the Qieyinzi Movement. The main advocates of Qieyin Characters earlier on had hoped that Qieyin Characters take the place of Chinese characters, but this proposal was subject to the criticism and resistance of those who were determined to maintain the orthodox status of Chinese characters, especially the Ministry of Education. Later, advocates of Qieyin Characters changed their strategy by way of positioning the function of Qieyin Characters as to supplement Chinese characters rather than replace them. They even praised Chinese characters a lot, with tongue in cheek. The proposition of using Qieyin Characters to supplement Chinese characters can be summarized as follows: 1) The culturally sophisticated persons use Chinese characters while the others learn Qieyin Characters; in other words, teach Chinese characters to the promising ones to produce talents and teach simple script to the masses for general enlightenment. 2) In so far as Qieyin Characters can be used as phonetic transcription for Chinese characters, the masses can learn Chinese characters with the help of Qieyin Characters. An example is the Zhi Tang Shangshu Han ‘Letter to Minister Tang’ written by Lao Naixuan in 1910: “I understand that education has two functions, to produce talents and to enlighten the masses. To produce talents we teach promising ones; for general enlightenment we teach masses. In our country the promising ones are few while the masses are many. The promising ones receive education at the expense of the masses. . . . Talking about our Chinese characters, each has its shape, pronunciation and meaning. New characters may be generated in analogy to existing ones. There are tens of thousands of characters in all. The repertoire is all inclusive, bridging the spiritual and the secular realms. As such our Chinese script is singular among the scripts in the world. Yet, of the same coin, its sophistication and comprehensiveness are on one side and its complexity and difficulty are on the other. For this reason it is good for teaching the promising but clumsy for teaching the masses. . . . among them the system of letters for the Mandarin as spoken in the capital is the best, by virtue of its completeness and handiness. I got hold of this scheme in

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Nanjing in 1905 and appreciated it very much. However, it is a pity that it transcribes just the capital’s accent, with the accents in other provinces left unattended to. I therefore used that scheme as a basis and added to it more symbols (including those for initial, rhyme and tone), resulting in one scheme for the Nanjing accent and another scheme for the Wu dialect. With these two schemes in place I proposed to the government to set up schools in the capital of Jiangning Province to teach these simple symbols for phonetic transcription. The local accent is the ladder to help reach the target of the official accent. The proposal was accepted by the government and put to practice for a few years. Quite a number of persons have graduated from those schools and the results are obvious. This is concrete evidence that Qieyin Characters is an efficient instrument to educate the masses.” (Language Reform Press 1958:113–114)

Another example comes from Pan Jifu’s paper Tuixing Jianzi Fei Fei Hanwen Shuo ‘The Simple Script Practice is no Abandonment of Chinese Characters’ of 1907: “It is difficult for the masses to be conversant with traditional Chinese writing but easy for them to practice the simple script. The military, scholars, businessmen, and the government are all related to the masses. They consider implementing the simple script because they want our people to be enlightened and education popularized so that there be no barrier between the high and the low causing estrangement and misunderstanding. For those already in the circles of the military, scholars, businessmen, and the government, the only change is for them to get to know the simple script. . . . The North-coast simple script has been in use for over a year. All decrees, all useful words in such areas as astronomy, geography, humanities and history, and all personal names have Chinese characters juxtaposed. The intention is for the reader to come to grips with some Chinese characters via the simple script. So, in connection with my Simple Script proposition, I argue that Chinese characters and the Simple Script can both be practiced without contradiction. We can use them in such a way as for them to enhance each other, not harm each other. We are by no means requiring everybody to learn the Simple Script with a view to abandoning Chinese characters.” (Language Reform Press 1958:76)

A third example comes from Lao Naixuan’s Zouqing yu Jianyishizi Xueshu nei Fushe Jianzi Yi Ke bing Biantong Difang Zizhi Xuanmin Zige Zhe ‘Official Document Presented to the Emperor concerning the Setting up of the Subject of Simplified Characters in Jianyishizi School and the Adjustment of the Qualification of Electors in Local Autonomous Regions’ of 1909: “Some may worry that prevalence of the new script might hinder the study of our classics. They overlooked that our traditional script had a divine origin. Each character has its shape, pronunciation and meaning. The script carries our causes and passes them down from heart to heart. It is ever renewing. As such it is not susceptible to depreciation at all. In comparison, the Simple Script carries with it pronunciation but not meaning. All it does is just to represent the spoken language. As for Chinese philosophy, with its high level of sophistication and Chinese canon and Chinese history, with their depth and elegance, cannot but rely on Chinese characters. In no way can the Simple Script take their place.

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As a piece of evidence, Kanas have been used in Japan for over a thousand years and Japanese Kanji, kept intact, still prevails today. I am here to request that Simple Script be made an auxiliary subject in schools. The official subjects will still use the textbooks of the Ministry of Education where Chinese characters are taught. The Simple Script is just an auxiliary subject, meant for those who fail to grasp Chinese characters anyway. As such it will not affect the official subjects in Chinese characters, nor vice versa. Those whose caliber cannot afford them to come to grips with over a thousand Chinese characters are doomed to be illiterate. Now we get them to know the dozens of simple symbols in lieu of acquiring literacy in the traditional sense. We are not adding to the number of those who know Chinese characters; we are just adding to the number of Simple Script users among the traditional illiterates. The official school subjects using Chinese characters might be able to turn at most 5% of our people literate. This auxiliary subject, on the other hand, can enable the other 95%, who are illiterates, to know the Simple Script. In this way, the entire population knows one script or the other. Is it not a great help to the popularization of education? If the Simple Script users could pick up dozens or hundreds of Chinese characters, then they can become even more useful persons. We can teach them a measure of Chinese characters commensurate with their ability. Moreover, Chinese characters are logographical, thus large in quantity and difficult to grasp, whereas the Simple Script symbols represent sounds in language, thus small in number and easy to grasp. Once the Simple Script is grasped it can be used to represent the pronunciation of Chinese characters, thus making the latter easier to grasp. Therefore, the Simple Script will not hinder Chinese character use. On the contrary it offers help to the latter, being a gateway towards literacy in Chinese characters.” (Language Reform Press 1958:106–107)

Despite all this, not just a few people were worried Qieyin Characters would covet the throne of Chinese characters, and were mindful of stripping it of the expression “zi” ‘script’ in related nomenclature. In 1910, in the Shencha Caiyong Yinbiao Shiban Guoyu Jiaoyu An Baogao Shu ‘Report on the Review of the Bill of the Use of Phonetic Symbols to Establish Pilot National Language Education’ submitted by Yan Fu, as Chairman of Special Committee of the Political Advisory Council, cautiously adopted “yinbiao” ‘phonetic symbols’ as the official name in lieu of “jianzi” ‘simple script’: “The name ‘jianzi’ should be replaced by ‘yinbiao’. Calling it ‘jianzi’ gives one the impression of being directed towards the complex shape of ideographic characters; the expression ‘promoting jianzi’ gives one the impression of abandoning the ideographic characters which have been developed in accordance with the ‘six principles of script’. Now that the name is changed to ‘yinbiao’, on the one hand it shows that it serves the ideographic characters by way of its function in orthoepy, and on the other it indicates that its ontological nature is in the realm of phonetic transcription, thus quite different from the ‘six principles of script’.” (Language Reform Press 1958:134)

Clause 4 of the Proposal, entitled “Devising Phonetic Symbols”, has on the one hand assimilated the studies on the functions of simple scripts in the Qieyinzi Movement and on the other inherited the official stand (e.g. as shown in Yan

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Fu’s report just mentioned) by referring to the thing as “phonetic symbols” rather than “simple script”. As for the methods of setting up the General Commission and Provincial Commissions for nation-wide language survey, the pronouncement of those elements that are elegant, correct and in common use as norms for the National Language and the proposition to compile comparative tables for dialects all exceeded the ken of the proponents for Qieyin Characters.

3 The historical influences of the Proposal The various decisions passed as a package in the Proposal has reached high linguistic levels, harboured very systematic considerations of language planning, and got strong operability, even seen in the light of the academic understanding of today. Its significance in the realm of language planning has a direct impact facet and a long-term influence facet.

3.1 Its direct impacts on language planning work in the early years of the Republic of China The Proposal, passed in the last year of the Qing Dynasty 1911, left the Qing Government with no time to implement it. However, the Provisional Central Education Conference was convened on as early as 10 July 1912, where the 23 motions included the motion “Adopting a system of phonetic symbols”. Ni Haishu opined, “This resolution can be considered as a graft of the Proposal.” (Ni 1948:66) Though Ni was then criticizing the new resolution as stopping short of adopting script reform, his words did reflect the link between the two resolutions before and after the change of government. In December 1912, in accordance with the resolution “Adopting a system of phonetic symbols”, the Ministry of Education laid down the Duyin Tongyihui Zhangcheng ‘Articles for the Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation’, where Article 5 stipulated: 1)

To determine the official accent and the pronunciation of individual lexical items; 2) To break a syllable into basic units of sound; and 3) To adopt a system of letters such that each sound is mapped onto a particular letter. (Ni 1948:66)

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It is obvious that these stipulations were executing the two tasks of determining the National Accent and deciding on a system of phonetic symbols embedded in the Proposal. On 25 Feb 1913 a meeting of the Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation was convened in Beijing, where the pronunciations of over 7,100 characters were determined8, the Bopomofo scheme was devised and the Measures for Promoting the National Accent was passed. The Measures for Promoting the National Accent include 7 points: 1)

The Ministry of Education is to convey to every province chief that the provincial Bureau of Education be required to quickly set up the “Schools for the Teaching and Learning of the Letters for the National Accent” and to require the component counties to send people there to learn the letters. Similar schools will then be set up, manned by the returning graduates and admitting learners, whereby promoting the letters. 2) The Ministry of Education is to decide shortly on the system of letters and announce it. 3) The Ministry of Education is to acquire “Gramophones with National Accent Materials Recorded” for dissemination to the various provinces to avoid errors. 4) The Ministry of Education is to change the subject “Guowen” (National Language Writings) to “Guoyu” (National Language) or to add the “Guoyu” subject. 5) Teachers in secondary schools and teacher trainers must use the National Accent in teaching. 6) In textbooks for primary education every Chinese character should be annotated with its pronunciation in the National Accent in accordance with Guoyin Huibian ‘A List of Characters with Pronunciation in the National Accent’ after announcement of the latter. 7) In official announcements every Chinese character must be annotated with its pronunciation in the National Accent in accordance with Guoyin Huibian ‘A List of Characters with Pronunciation in the National Accent’ after announcement of the latter.9

8 The some 6500 characters contained in the book Yinyun Chanwei (Pronunciations Elaborated) by Li Guangdi of the Qing Dynasty were the first to have their National Language pronunciation determined. Later the pronunciation of more than 600 additional characters comprising colloquialisms and new characters used in academic terms introduced from abroad was determined. 9 As quoted in Li (1933:70), with isolated technical errors rectified.

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These 7 points can be considered as an elaboration of the Proposal with respect to “teaching and learning”. Most of the members of the Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation had been active participants in the Qieyinzi Movement, including Wang Zhao, Wang Pu, Lu Ganzhang and Ma Tiqian. The subjects of discussion are basically those in the Proposal. Therefore, in some sense, the meetings of the Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation of the Republic were a continuation of the Central Meeting on Education of the Qing Ministry of Education in its discussion of the Proposal. As Wang Jun remarked in the book Dangdai Zhongguo de Wenzi Gaige ‘Script Reforms in Contemporary China’ he edited: “Yes, the Proposal was passed. However, it was just a void piece of document, which could not be implemented. After the 1911 Revolution, the Ministry of Education of the Republic decided to set up the Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation. Not until then were the original personnel of Qieyinzi Movement gathered together, whereby materializing the resolutions of the former Political Advisory Council and devising a scheme of phonetic symbols.” (Wang 1995:15)

The Ministry of Education of the Republic promulgated the Phonetic Letters on 23 November 1918. Order No. 75 of the Ministry of Education signed by the then Minister of Education Fu Zengxiang, began as follows: “The matters of National Language unification have been resolved in central meetings of the former Ministry of Education in the Qing Dynasty. After the establishment of the Republic, with the recognition that unification of accent is a pre-condition for National Language unification, the Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation was established and meetings convened as early as the first year of the Republican to discuss matters concerned. The Commission resolved that 39 symbols be used for pronunciation representation in place of the traditional practice of Fanqie. In addition, a number of commonly used characters have their pronunciations decided upon by vote of majority and represented by way of those symbols. The system of phonetic symbols and the choice of pronunciations for those characters have been presented to our Ministry for official implementation.” (Li 1933:38)

These words quoted above also showed clearly the direct impact of the Proposal on these activities in the early years of the Republic.

3.2 Its long-term influence The influence of the Proposal is at once extensive, far-reaching and deep. Before the Proposal, the language policy of the nation, if any, was basically implicit, realized only in terms of language awareness and language practice. The Pro-

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posal, on the other hand, was the explicit pronouncement of national language policies by means of a state-level document. In this vein, national language policies in the following 100 years, both before and after 1949, have taken the form of explicit pronouncement clearly stated in state-level documents. That language policies develop from implicit practice to explicit stipulation is the progression route taken by most countries of the world. Many of the provisions in the Proposal have far-reaching influences, for example: 1)

2) 3) 4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

The requirement for a linguistic element to be “in common use, elegant and correct”, and the clear statement that the National Language has pronunciation, lexicon and syntax as its three components. It established the status of Pekinese with respect to the National Language. It valued highly phonetic symbols in the promotion of the National Language and scientifically described the design features of such symbols. It valued highly education in the promotion of the National Language, with measures including compiling National Language textbooks, training National Language teachers and setting up National Language curriculums. It also proposed that the National Language be adopted as the medium of instruction. It valued highly lexicography and proposed that comparison be made between words of the National Language and the words of other language varieties. It valued highly linguistic institutions in the formulation of standards and promotion of the National Language, e.g. in order to facilitate language survey, the General Commission for National Language Survey and the Provincial Commissions for National Language Survey were to be established; and in order to train National Language teachers, schools at various levels for the teaching and learning of the National Language be established. It proposed that the phonetic symbols, after their initial devising, should undergo a trial period and will only be officially promulgated after proper amendment. Although that was meant for the devising of phonetic symbols, the principle is in fact generalizable to the establishment of any norm of a language. Thus, in all the ensuing promulgations of linguistic norms, the provision for trial-run was taken very seriously. The proposition to determine the standards of the National Language after field study of language was in fact a predecessor to nation-wide survey of language information.

Some of the propositions and methods have been practiced accordingly ever since, thus attesting to their effectiveness, e.g. the importance of education, lexicography, phonetic symbols, and special linguistic institutions in National

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Language promotion. Other propositions and methods were elaborated on or optimized in later language planning works, e.g. Pekinese was later adopted as the standard accent of the National Language, whereby dropping the inappropriate provision of the retention of the “entering tone”; the requirements of “in common use, elegant and correct” were later subject to more explicit formulation; and the pronunciation, lexicon and syntax of the National Language were later more clearly described. There were still other propositions or methods that were put onto the agenda only a long time afterwards, while some were even uncompleted as of today. For example, language survey was done only sporadically before the 1950s. After the 1950s, more extensive surveys began to be done nation-wide, but nation-wide survey of language information is not yet complete as of today. There are regions for which the language profile is still obscure; in the area of compilation of nation-wide dialect comparison tables there is still a lot of work to be done; as for the requirement that all teachers for all subjects in schools adopt the National Language as medium of instruction, there are a certain unbridged gaps in the western part of the country and in rural areas.

4 Concluding remarks To sum up, the plans and measures of national language unification did not come to an end as the Qing Dynasty did. The Proposal had adequately taken up the fruitful results of the Qieyinzi Movement towards the end of the Qing Dynasty, established the first example of government-led language planning, whereby kicking off a tradition which has lasted at least a century. The bulk of our language planning works in the past century were efforts to complete the tasks the Proposal set out to do. Quite a number of measures adopted in the past century were inspired by it. Some tasks it proposed, e.g. nation-wide language survey and adopting the National Language as the medium of instruction, have not been completed as of today. Mr. Qu Shaobing (2011) pointed out, “In a sense it opened up the main gate of language planning in language modernization of our country.” He also expressed “his respect, in a historical sense, to this Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language, which was a resolution of the Central Meeting on Education of the then Ministry of Education.” I agree to his reasoning. Of course, when we are commemorating the Proposal today, apart from scientifically evaluating its historical contributions and expressing respect to the personnel in a historical sense, more importantly we should strive to do well the language planning works of today, to propel the scientific advancement of language businesses and strive to promote harmony in society via language planning, in turn to promote linguistic communication and mutual cultural-trust of mankind.

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References Fei, Jinchang (ed.). 1997. Zhongguo Yuwen Xiandaihua Bainian Jishi (1892–1995) [The Chronicle of Chinese Language Modernization in the Past Century (1892–1995)]. Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Language Reform Press (ed.). 1958. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaige Wenji (A Collection of Essays on Chinese Script Reform in the Late Qing Dynasty). Beijing: Language Reform Press. Li, Jinxi. 1933. Guoyu Yundong (National Language Movement). Shanghai: The Commercial Press. Li, Yuming. 2003. Qing Mo Wenzi Gaigejia Lun Yuyan Tongyi (Late Qing Script Reformers’ Views on Language Unification). Yuyan Jiaoxue yu Yanjiu (Language Teaching and Research), 2 (special 100th issue). Ni, Haishu. 1948. Zhongguo Pinyin Wenzi Yundong Biannianshi [An Annal of the Phonetic Script Movement of China (abridged)]. Shanghai: Shidai Shubao Press. Qu, Xingui and Tang, Liangyan (eds). 1991. Zhongguo Jindai Jiaoyushi Ziliao Huibian – Xuezhi Yanbian (Chinese Education History Archive Collection – Changes in Education System). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Press. Qu, Shaobing. 2011. “Tongyi Guoyu Banfa An” suo She Wenti San Lun (Three Treatises on the Issues Related to “Proposal for Establishing a Common National Language”). Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 6. Su, Peicheng (ed.). 2010. Dangdai Zhongguo de Yuwen Gaige and Yuwen Guifan (Language Reforms and Language Standardization in Contemporary China). Commercial Press. Wang, Jun. 1995. Dangdai Zhongguo de Wenzi Gaige (Script Reform in Contemporary China). Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House. Wang Lijia. 2003. Hanyu Pinyin Yundong yu Han Minzu Biaozhunyu (The Hanyu Pinyin Movement and the Standard Language of the Han People). Beijing: Language and Culture Press. Wang, Lijia. 2011. Guoyu Yundong yu Yuyan Guifanhua Yundong (The National Language Movement and the Han-language Standardization Movement). Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 6. Wade, Thomas Francis. 1867. Yuyan Zier Ji – Shijiu Shiji Zhongqi de Beijinghua (Yü-yen Tzŭ-erh Chi – Pekinese in Mid-19th Century). Zhang, Weidong (trans.). 2002. Beijing: Peking University Press. Xu, Chang’an. 2000. Yuwen Xiandaihua Xianqu Lu Ganzhang (Lu Ganzhang – the Forerunner of Language Modernization). Xiamen: Xiamen University Press. Yu, Jin’en. 2007. Minguo Zhuyin Zimu Zhengce Shi Lun (A Treatise on the History of the Policy on Zhuyin Zimu in the Republican Period). Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company.

The original Chinese version of this paper was published in the Macao Journal of Linguistics, 2012, Issue No. 1. Translated by CHEUNG Kwan Hin (张群显) Department of Chinese & Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Index annotation 346–348 authoritative dialect – regional dialect 161, 162, 163–166 – social dialect 161, 162, 168, 169, 170, 171 – in language standardization regional dialect 176–179 social dialect 179–182 bidialecticalism 189, 190, 191, 195 bilingualism 189, 190, 191, 194, 195 centenary 483–487 China Character Set 331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 337 Chinese script reform 455–456, 457–461, 461–462 contemporary China 380–381, 384 corpus 341, 342–346, 351–352 dictionary compilation 248, 249, 250, 252, 256 digital gap 282–284 electronic dictionary(-ies) 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258 fanqie 390–394 field language life 106, 110, 111, 117, 118, 119, 120 first language 19, 30, 32, 33 foreign language 145, 146 – planning 61, 145–154 issues of 149–154 major factors affecting 146–149 green paper (Lüpishu) 263, 264, 268, 269, 270, 271, 275 information age 281, 282, 296, 297, 299, 300, 304, 306, 309, 313, 314, 327 – language and writing standardization in the 314–317, 318–322, 326 – perspective of normalization 322–326, 327

international dissemination of Chinese 376, 377, 378 – history of 373–375, 375–376, 376–377 international education 379, 381–384, 385 international language communications strategy planning 60–62, 62–63 language capability 73, 74, 75, 76, 82 language communication 188 language data 267, 270, 271, 273, 274, 276 language economics 77, 79–80, 82, 83 language function 40–43 language function planning 46–49 language issues in the information age 284–287, 296 language life 53, 54, 57, 64, 65, 66–67, 87– 98, 123–142 – characteristics of the times 124, 129, 133, 136 – macro-level 87 – mesco-level 93 – micro-level 98 language maintenance 186–188 language phenomenon 43–46 language planning 1, 2, 87–103, 105–120, 123, 125, 126, 128, 131, 134–135, 136, 137, 140, 141, 470–477 – field 106, 107, 110, 111, 113, 115, 117, 118, 119 – macro-level 87, 90, 92 – mesco-level 93, 95, 96, 97, 98 – micro-level 98, 100, 101, 102 language policies in the information age 288, 291–296, 297 language problems 1–6 language resources 73–76, 77, 80, 83 language rights 11–12 language shift 30–31 Language Situation in China 271–277 language standardization 164, 165, 166, 168, 169, 170, 171 language tasks in the information age 300– 306, 309

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late Qing Dynasty 427, 432, 433, 442 late Qing period 445–447 levels of Chinese proficiency 361–363 lexical items 215 lingua franca 447–450, 450–452, 452–454 linguistic knowledge 348–350 linguistic resources 7–11 loss of mother tongue 29–30 modern language technology 59, 64 modernization of lexicography 248, 257 mother tongue 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26 national language capability 53, 54, 60, 62, 63, 64, 66, 68 needs of foreigners for learning Chinese 359–361, 364–367, 369 phoneticize 391, 394–397 Proposal of Establishing a Common National Language 477–483 qieyin 390–394, 404, 405 qieyinzi 387, 388, 390–394, 397–399, 404, 405 Qieyinzi Movement 387, 398, 399, 399–403, 405, 408, 410, 414, 416, 421, 422, 423, 427, 436, 438, 440

script reformers 427, 428, 432 Sinology 373, 374, 375, 385 soft norms 264, 268, 270 speech community 19, 20, 25, 30, 31 spoken and written language 226 standardization of lexical items 216, 218, 220, 222, 223 teaching Chinese to foreigners 357–359 term 229, 230, 241, 242, 243 – localization 230–234 – standardization 234–238 – internationalization 238–241 the project of Chinese Language Resource Audio Database (CLRAD) 199, 200 – basis status of CLRAD 200–203 – features of CLRAD 203–207 – functions of CLRAD 207–213 unification of language 445, 446 universal education 409–413, 416–422 view of dialects 428, 428–433, 433–437, 442