The Language Situation in China: Volume 2 2008–2009 9781614513650, 9781614514008

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The Language Situation in China Volume 2

Language Policies and Practices in China

Edited by Li Wei (李嵬)

Volume 2

The Language Situation in China Volume 2. 2008–2009

Editor-in-Chief: Li Yuming (李宇明) Associate Editors: Zhou Qingsheng (周庆生), Guo Xi (郭熙) & Zhou Hongbo (周洪波) English Editor: Li Wei (李嵬) Editorial Assistants: Xu Xiaoying (许小颖) & Dai Wenying (戴文颖) Translation Advisors: Zhao Shouhui (赵守辉), Yao Xiaoping (姚小平) & Rudolf Salzlechner (师鲁道)

The Commercial Press

ISBN 978-1-61451-400-8 e-ISBN 978-1-61451-365-0 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 2014 Walter de Gruyter, Inc., Boston/Berlin and the Commercial Press, Beijing, China Typesetting: RoyalStandard, Hong Kong Printing and binding: Hubert & Co. GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ♾ Printed on acid-free paper Printed in Germany www.degruyter.com

Li Yuming (李宇明)

Preserving and developing language resources Foreword to The Language Situation in China: English Version, Vol. 2 (2008–2009) In recent years, the idea of language resource has been gradually accepted and extended from academic circles to language affairs and other fields of society, and it has become a general focus of attention. With its humanistic properties, language has become an important resource of the high-end of the new economy and information industry, and has entered the domain of hard power from that of soft power with the development of computational linguistics and the arrival of the information era. Carefully considered, a language resource may be divided into three types: 1) natural language resource; 2) derivative language resource; and 3) linguistic competence.

1 Natural language resource A natural language is one that has evolved naturally in history as a means of communication among people, e.g., Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur, and Zhuang (壮) languages. A natural language is composed of the common language and its dialects, and if well-developed, has its written system. From the perspective of China, the natural language resource includes (i) Putonghua, Chinese dialects and classical and contemporary Chinese characters; (ii) Minority national languages, dialects, and writing; and (iii) Foreign languages, both spoken and written. Both (i) and (ii) are native language resources, whose current condition may be summarized below: 1) Putonghua is spreading faster both in China and abroad and its learning and application value is being swiftly heightened. 2) “Regional common languages” have their actual communicative value; however, their linguistic status is not yet established and research is rather limited. 3) The value of Chinese dialects is being reconsidered. Chinese dialects are also changing fast with culture-loaded words passing swiftly. Therefore, with the help of modern information means, research and preservation of these dialects is being attempted.

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4) More concern is being shown to the relationship between simplified and traditional Chinese characters. The intensified global influence of the former is unparalleled and emphasis is given domestically to the latter’s role in cultural inheritance. 5) Frequent communication between domestic and overseas Chinese results in mutual assimilation and promotion, moving in the direction of convergence. Chinese-character-dependent polities are trying to reduce barriers of communication in the virtual as well as actual world. 6) There was no major change in the past six decades in the regions and communities of ethnic languages. However, due to certain historical reasons and reality factors, a lot of these languages are in decline or even endangered, for instance, Manchu, Hezhen, Oroqen, She (畲), Tujia (土家), Yugur, and Qiang (羌). 7) Language life in the minority ethnic regions is characterized by a tendency toward bilingualism or multilingualism. Minority national languages, particularly those few with traditional writing systems, e.g. Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur, Kazak, Korean, Yi (彝) and Dai (傣), are playing their proper roles in politics, education, culture, the public language service, and digitization. 8) The investigation of minority languages, especially pluricentric languages, needs to be improved and the preservation and protection of these languages from a cultural perspective, by means of modern digital technology, commands social concern. 9) The international education in minority languages does not meet the demand of international communities. 10) Insufficient attention is given to the collection and processing of archaic Chinese characters, the history of written minority languages, and various systems of Romanization or transliteration symbols with a cultural value. Most of their word stock is not computerized, and this will seriously affect the survival of Chinese culture in cyber space. Regarding foreign languages and writing as our language resource is a new approach. Although a foreign language is the language of another country, it cannot be regarded as useless or having nothing to do with us. Against the backdrop of China’s opening up and reform and the progress of world integration, it is a necessary quality that the Chinese population is able to use foreign languages, for the mastery of a foreign language opens a new mode of observation and expression, and it becomes a new channel through which cultural communication is facilitated. To an individual, a foreign language has become an important capital to be exploited; to a country, it is a powerful tool to develop with; and to all of mankind, learning foreign languages creates an important

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vehicle by which mutual understanding is possible and, therefore, world peace and harmony may be realized. The foreign language resource in China is quite poor. Among the over 6,000 languages in the world, less than a hundred are introduced into this country on a comprehensive scale. There are about fifty to sixty foreign language courses on offer in schools or universities now, and of the several dozens of foreign languages spoken here, only approximately ten are frequently used. The foreign language resource available now is not fully exploited. Journals and magazines in foreign languages are rather limited in number. Valuable literature in foreign languages is not translated in time, and the translation of Chinese literature into a limited number of foreign languages has little influence, partially due to the poor quality of translation. Foreign languages used in public places await standardization and improvement. The development of the foreign language resource is short of a well coordinated long-term plan, lacks an administrative institution in charge, and has no policy to meet the developmental demand of the country. The status planning of foreign languages needs an overall national scheme of foreign language education, application, translation and translation technology.

2 Derivative language resource A derivative language resource is formed by the research and processing of natural languages. It is a combination of linguistic knowledge and its application in different fields and in various forms, the former being manifested in works of linguistic research and the latter in such forms as dictionary compilation, indexing conventions, information retrieval systems, instructional materials, various standards of language, linguistic corpuses, language knowledge bases, a computerized word stock, keyboard input schemes, and software and platform of language processing, including translation. The derivative language resource is renewable, while the natural language resource is not. There is a positive correlation between the strength of such renewable power and the level of linguistic research and technological progress. Before the advent of modern communication technology represented by the computer and networking, derivative language resources were applied to various categories of the humanities such as language teaching, lexicography, information retrieval, translation, advertising, type technology, calligraphy, and linguistic code design (Braille, sign language, telegram, semaphore, lamp signal, cryptogram, etc.). In the digital era, they often become the standards of industry, the

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foundation of information technology, the fundamental elements of the products of information and communications technology, and they are intimately associated with high-end technology and economic development. China has an abundant natural language resource, a long tradition of linguistic research, and a rich derivative language resource. In the realm of information technology, we have a broad and fast-growing market for information products, a rudimentary foundation of linguistic computerization, and an advantage in the application of Chinese characters to computer keyboards and mobile phone screens. However, there are problems to be faced squarely in this field, for example, the idea of a derivative language resource is not yet in shape and such a resource is not understood from the perspective of “language economy”. Linguistic research has not obtained the attention it deserves: it is not found on the nation’s first class list of academic disciplines and few universities have a department or institute of linguistics. Linguistic research does not meet the demand of application, such as natural language processing. The IT-oriented language standard is seriously lagging behind. There is a difficulty in sharing fundamental resources like the language database and knowledge base. Little progress has been made in developing independent intellectual property rights. Research on the particularity of the intellectual property of linguistic information technology is insufficient, and intellectual property cannot be protected in an effective manner.

3 Linguistic competence Linguistic competence refers mainly to natural language capacity – that of a native language and that of nonnative languages, including the ability to use language information products. To the ethnic Han, nonnative languages are divided into two types: languages of minority ethnic groups and those of other nations. China is a big family of multiple nationalities, each of whom should learn the other’s language(s). The ethnic majority group of Han Chinese, particularly those who live in the ethnic minority areas and those who are engaged in ethnological research and nationalities affairs, should be able to use minority languages. Regarding the Chinese ethnic minority groups, their nonnative language competence is constituted by the ability to use Putonghua – the national lingua franca. On a certain level, the command of Putonghua enables their participation in national affairs and wins them greater opportunity for personal development. Why is natural language competence regarded as a resource? Firstly, language is the most important system of signs used for human communication

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and thought. It determines the ability to transmit information and affects the level of intellectual development to a great extent. Like mathematical competence, linguistic competence is a core competence of human beings. Secondly, language is an important component and carrier of culture. Its mastery determines the level of culture and defines the identity of linguistic communities. And thirdly, a certain linguistic competence guarantees the continuity and development of the language in question, enables the mutual understanding and unity of various nations, ensures the introduction and application of foreign languages, and harnesses and further creates different derivative language resources. It is for these reasons that linguistic competence should be regarded as an important national language resource and as an important indicator of national soft power. Nowadays, we are entering the information era. The learning and application of a language is practically inseparable from the products of language information. The level on which language information products are employed is immediately associated with the efficiency and quality of language learning and linguistic proficiency, and thus has turned into a significant element of linguistic competence. Since linguistic competence is an important language resource, a plan of training for this competence should be made by specialists with a mastery of the Chinese language and other ethnic languages within China proper as well as foreign languages, and also by linguists specialized in creating and developing derivative language resources. However, what is more fundamental and significant is to establish a national language standard. A national language standard is the standard of language teaching in the phase of compulsory education. From the perspective of going from China to the world and leading the world, the national language standard has four key points worthy of attention: 1) It aims at a step-by-step approach to multilingual abilities (on the basis of ethnic languages, national language, and foreign languages) instead of one single language. For example, bilingualism of Chinese and a minority language or a foreign language should be put into practice currently in the entire Han monolingual areas, while in the basically bilingual minority ethnic regions, bilingualism or trilingualism of a native language, Chinese and/or a foreign language may be practiced. 2) Scientific standards should be established for all levels of language competence and an attempt should be made to prevent structural linguistic knowledge from being regarded as actual linguistic competence. 3) The cultivation of multiple language abilities should be completed in the phase of compulsory education, for language learning is a privilege of children and it is difficult to learn another language well after the critical period of 12–14 years of age. 4) A standard should also be set

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up for the capacity of using language information products; attention should be given to the utilization of language information products and social language life for the purpose of building up and developing linguistic competence. In the attempt to create a linguistic competence standard, the most prominent problem lies in the learning ability of foreign languages. Firstly, foreign language learning is at present being criticized as big investment with low efficiency. A total number of approximately 300 million people in China have learned or are now learning foreign languages. Both individuals and schools have been investing a large amount of energy, material and financial resources; however, the effectiveness is far from being satisfactory, and the foreign language competence as a whole is relatively low. Secondly, the requirement of foreign language competence is not very reasonable. It is ill-advised to adopt a one-size-fits-all approach. Thirdly, foreign language learning has a singular purpose: learning advanced science and technology from the West. As a matter of fact, with the rise of China as a world economic and political power, foreign languages may be applied in an ever broader scope and domains, for example, in language services for international communities in China, for conferences, sports events, and exhibitions held in this country, and for the demand for foreign languages in the public service industry. Therefore, foreign language education should endeavor to meet these national demands and the purpose of foreign language learning should be diversified. Lastly, language distribution is unfair as a consequence of the singular learning purpose. At present, only a few foreign languages are being taught, among which English is the predominant one, whereas the teaching of other languages is rarely available.

4 Preservation and development of language resources The awareness that language is a resource bears the hallmark of our time. Language as a resource existed in the ancient past and was exploited by our ancestors. But it was not until the information era that a modern view was developed and valued. This awareness displays a strong sense of people-oriented humanity. It can be claimed that it shows a respect for all cultures as well as ultimate concern for the human being. The awareness of a language resource is “green”. It is an idea of language planning guided by the thought of scientific development. To establish the idea of a language resource and to develop the national language resource is not only an academic topic, but also a social issue. Therefore, it should be explicitly reflected in law and policy and clearly stipulated in

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administration. In both the encouragement of academic studies and the promotion of technological advancement, the awareness of a language industry and career is necessary. Hence, the modernization of the traditional language industry and career should be promoted to establish a rejuvenated and rapidly emerging language industry and career (e.g., language stenographers, engineers, automatic translators, language therapists, etc.). To meet the social demands and technological progress, language resources ought to be efficiently transformed and translated into the linguistic accomplishment of people and the language economy of the society, thus gaining a linguistic “bonus”. Translated by Liang Xiaopeng (梁晓鹏) Qingdao (青岛) University of Science & Technology [email protected]

Contents Li Yuming (李宇明) Preserving and developing the language resources Foreword to The Language Situation in China: English Version, Vol. 2 (2008–2009) v

I

1

2

Language Work Chen Min (陈敏), Hao Aqing (郝阿庆), Wei Dan (魏丹), Wang Qi (王奇), Zhang Yingchuan (张映川), Yu Hong (于虹), Zhang Yan (张艳) & Zhou Daojuan (周道娟) An update on the use and management of standard spoken and written Chinese 3 Chen Min (陈敏), Wang Cuiye (王翠叶) & Wang Qi (王奇) Information management of spoken and written languages in China: An update on the latest efforts and development 15

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Li Xulian (李旭练) & He Siyuan (何思源) An overview of ethnic language affairs

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Dai Xiaoming (代晓明) A survey of sci-tech terminology work

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Huang Wei (黄伟) & Gu Dingqian (顾定倩) Status quo of sign language 43

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Special Research

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Luo Feng (骆峰), Jiang Yandong (姜言东), Sun Wenzheng (孙文正), Li Lizhen (李立桢), Li Quan (李泉) & Guan Lei (关蕾) The international dissemination of Chinese language 53

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He Rui (何瑞) Language use in civil aviation

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He Yang (贺阳) & Xiao Yingping (肖应平) Language situation on the Qinghai-Tibet railway

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Liao Meizhen (廖美珍) Language standardization in criminal courts

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Nie Hua (聂骅) 10 Language of psychological assistance in post-earthquake services

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Zhang Ripei (张日培) The improvement of the language environment for the Shanghai Expo 2010 101

Wang Lei (汪磊) & Tong Qiumei (佟秋妹) 12 Language situation of the Three Gorges immigrants of the Changjiang River 111 Jiang Bingbing (蒋冰冰), Shi Jianhua (施建华) & Wang Yijia (王颐嘉) 13 A survey of the language use at the migrant schools in Shanghai 121 Yin Jing (尹静) 14 A survey on parents’ attitudes towards maids’ use of dialects

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Yin Zhiping (殷志平) 15 The language situation at foreign companies: A case study of Shanghai 137 Gao Jianping (高建平) 16 An overview of languages used in Beijing markets catering to foreign customers: A case study of Silk Street 145 Mao Liqun (毛力群) 17 Language situation of Zhejiang’s Yiwu Small Commodity Market Gao Liqin (高莉琴) & Shayelan Ahata (沙依拉恩) 18 Bilingual education in Altay Prefecture of Xinjiang

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Gao Liqin (高莉琴) 19 A survey of languages used by immigrants in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Group 167 Zhou Tongquan (周统权) & Zheng Wei (郑伟) 20 The English translation of Chinese menus 179 Xia Li (夏历) 21 Short message language use report

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He Yang (贺阳) & Guo Jie (郭杰) Revised by Wang Lei (汪磊) 22 Buzzwords vis-á-vis social change in China from 1978 to 2008

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Language Focuses

He Rui (何瑞) 23 Chinese elements in the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics Qu Shaobing (屈哨兵) 24 Language issues in advertising Zhang Jun (张军) 25 The case of Zhao C

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Wang Lei (汪磊) & He Tingting (何婷婷) 26 The Internet language craze 239 Wang Lei (汪磊) 27 The three buzzwords: 山寨 (Shanzhai), 雷 (Lei), and 囧 (Jiong) Yang Erhong (杨尔弘) 28 Chinese catchwords of the year (2007–2008)

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Hou Min (侯敏) 29 Chinese neologisms of the year (2007–2008)

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IV

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Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan

Wong Pui Kwong (王培光) 30 New shifts in the medium of instruction policy of Hong Kong Chan Shui-Duen (陈瑞端) 31 Language policy and language education for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong 281 Shao Zhaoyang (邵朝阳) & Chen Qian (陈骞) 32 Legal language of Macao 295 Yu Guilin (余桂林) 33 Language situation in Taiwan

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Appendix

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Jiang Zixia (姜自霞) & Li Qiang (李强) A record of major Chinese language events (2007)

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Jiang Zixia (姜自霞) & Li Qiang (李强) A record of major Chinese language events (2008)

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Contents (Chinese version 2007)

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Contents (Chinese version 2008)

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Postscript

Editorial Teams of the English Edition Index

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I Language Work

Chen Min (陈敏), Hao Aqing (郝阿庆), Wei Dan (魏丹), Wang Qi (王奇), Zhang Yingchuan (张映川), Yu Hong (于虹), Zhang Yan (张艳) & Zhou Daojuan (周道娟)

1 An update on the use and management of standard spoken and written Chinese Between 2007 and 2008, the language management in China, guided by the principle of scientific development proposed by the Seventeenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, made good progress by fully implementing national laws and regulations on all aspects of standard spoken and written Chinese. Continual efforts were made to explore innovative practices, construct platforms, promote steady and all-round development, and particularly build a harmonious ‘language life’. This would create a favorable language environment for the 2008 Olympic Games and contribute to the sustainable development of education and culture.

1 The 50th anniversary of Pinyin (拼音) On 11 February 1958, in the Fifth Session of the First National People’s Congress, the Resolution for Pinyin was passed, and the Scheme of the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet (hereafter referred to as Pinyin) was approved for promotion. This event was a milestone in the history of China’s cultural development, with great practical and historical significance.

1.1 The Academic Symposium on the 50th Anniversary of Pinyin On 24–26 October 2008, the Academic Symposium on the 50th Anniversary of Pinyin was held in Beijing (北京). This symposium was hosted by the Ministry of Education’s Language Information Administration and organized by the Chinese Association of Applied Linguistics. The scholars attending the symposium emphasized the importance of Pinyin in modern social life and also its international influence. Considering the fact that numerous dialects are spoken in China, Pinyin uses Putonghua as its phonetic foundation. Based on the Phonetic Complementary Theory, a major advantage of Pinyin is that it makes full use of Latin alphabetic symbols to

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represent the overall Chinese phonetic system. Pinyin is an important part of Chinese language education and plays a key role in helping people learn Chinese characters and Putonghua, improving their reading and writing skills, and thus reducing the illiteracy rate. Pinyin has also contributed to designing writing systems for some minority languages. The Chinese Phonetic Alphabet is used for the purpose of language processing such as compiling codes, sorting and indexing, and is recognized by the International Organization for Standardization (IOS) as the international standard for using the Roman alphabet to spell Chinese characters. It plays a significant role in processing Chinese information, indexing Chinese books and journals, helping foreigners learn the Chinese language, and promoting exchanges between China and other countries.

1.2 The International Symposium on Teaching the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet On October 24–26, 2008, the International Symposium on Teaching the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet was held in Beijing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pinyin’s birth. The symposium was jointly organized by the Ministry of Education’s Language Application Administration, and the Secondary Department of the Elementary Education and Confucius Institute Headquarters. The attendees of the symposium celebrated the achievements brought about by the promotion of Pinyin, exchanged innovative methods and successful practices in teaching the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, and explored ways in which the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet could play a bigger role in the Information Age. They also identified some problems in the teaching, research, promotion and application of the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, and proposed some relevant suggestions. The participants believed that the organization of the First Teaching Symposium after the 50th anniversary of Pinyin was a milestone in the history of Chinese Phonetic Alphabet instruction.

1.3 Call for papers on “Pinyin and I” An essay competition on the topic “Pinyin and I” was jointly organized by the Ministry of Education’s Language Application Administration and China Education Daily. 18,934 essays were received from 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Among them, Pinyin and I, by Beijing’s Li Leyi (李乐毅), and nine other essays won the First Prize. The Second Prize went to thirty people, including Henan’s (河南) Li Xiaomin (李小敏), for her My mother-in-law

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learned to surf the Internet. One hundred people received Third Prize awards, including Wei Hong (魏红) from Anhui (安徽), for her essay Pinyin and my husband. Two hundred articles won Honorable Mention. The Beijing Fangshan (房山) District Language Commission, Shanghai (上海) Language Commission, and fortyfour other organizations won the Excellence Award in the organization category.

2 Legal implementation of the standard spoken and written Chinese language 2.1 Guangdong (广东) Province’s advocacy and implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Standard Spoken and Written Chinese From 2 to 6 July 2007, a joint research group from the Education, Science, Culture and Health Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the Ministry of Education, and the State Language Commission, led by Xing Shizhong (邢世忠), the Vice-Chairman of the Education, Science, Culture and Health Committee of the NPC, carried out a five-day inspection of Guangdong Province’s advocacy and implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Standard Spoken and Written Chinese (hereafter referred to as the Language Law).

2.2 On-site meeting of the legal language management On 5 and 6 November 2007, the State Language Commission held an on-site meeting of the legal language management in Shanghai. More than one hundred representatives from the National People’s Congress, legal departments, education administrations and language departments attended the meeting. The participants listened to reports made by representatives of the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committees of the Shanghai People’s Congress, the Legal Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal Administration, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Administrative Law Enforcement, and the Shanghai Language Commission. The participants also conducted a site inspection of the legal management work in Shanghai. In addition, they summarized the achievements made by language management organizations in promoting the full implementation of language laws and regulations as well as local legislation since the promulgation of the Language Law. The officials expressed their appre-

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ciation of the efforts made by Shanghai and other cities and provinces in establishing an effective legal enforcement and supervision mechanism and using legal means to manage social language.

2.3 Progress in local language legislation In 2007, Guizhou (贵州) Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shaanxi (陕西) Province, and Hebei (河北) Province passed local language regulations. On 25 May, Guizhou Province passed the Guizhou Regulation of Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language. On 31 May, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region passed Implementation Measures for the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Standard Spoken and Written Chinese in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. On 28 July, Shaanxi Province passed Implementation Measures for the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Standard Spoken and Written Chinese in Shaanxi Province. On 23 November, Hebei Province passed the Implementation Measures for the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Standard Spoken and Written Chinese in Hebei Province. In 2008, the Lanzhou (兰州) Government issued the Lanzhou Social Language Management Regulation. Suzhou (苏州) City took the lead by incorporating the standard use of spoken and written Chinese into the Suzhou Education Supervision Regulation, which promoted the standardization of language use at the local level. By the end of 2008, twenty-five provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities, and six provincial capital cities and independent cities had stipulated or revised the local language regulations and rules. Shanghai, Gansu (甘肃) Province and Lanzhou City, among others, issued language regulation documents. A national system aiming at promoting language laws and regulations was established.

2.4 Inspecting the use of spoken and written Chinese at Olympic venues In 2008, the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission organized an inspection tour, comprised of senior leaders and experts, and they examined the language use at various Olympic venues. Language planning professionals and practitioners were convened to review the Standardization of Language Use at Beijing Olympic Venues document and some amendments were suggested. Finally, the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission entrusted

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specialists to check the language usage at Olympic venues and to provide feedback to the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee. In accordance with the Ministry of Education and State Language Commission’s request, the local Education Department (or Education Committee), Language Commission and People’s Congress of some provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Tianjin (天津), Hebei Province, Shandong (山东) Province, and Liaoning (辽宁) Province, inspected the promotion and implementation of the Language Law in Olympic cities, and measures to rectify existing problems were put forward.

3 Assessment of the urban language situation 3.1 Urban language work in 2007 In 2007, significant progress was made in the assessment of urban language work. Three first-tier cities, Guangzhou (广州), Guiyang (贵阳) and Dalian (大连), passed the assessment. Changchun (长春) and Jinan (济南) launched dynamic campaigns to evaluate urban language work, and activities such as selfexamination and improvement measures were initiated. Beijing and some other cities were identified as good examples in meeting the standards in specific fields of the implementation process. Model streets and model work units were also selected for their exemplary standard of using spoken and written Chinese. In December, the Ministry of Education’s Language Application Administration organized a series of training meetings as a preparation for language work evaluation and assessment in the second-tier cities of Yining (伊宁), in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Yichang (宜昌) in Hubei (湖北) Province. In 2007, thirty-five second-tier cities were found to meet the standards and passed the assessment process. In the same year, more than half of the provinces launched third-tier city language assessments. Jiangsu (江苏) Province and Heilongjiang (黑龙江) Province, after the completion of the second-tier city language assessment in 2006, shifted their focus to third-tier cities in 2007. By the end of 2007, seventy-three third-tier cities had met the standards and passed the assessment.

3.2 Urban language work in 2008 In 2008, the first-tier cities Changchun and Jinan passed the assessment, which included urban areas of the municipalities directly under central authority,

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provincial capitals, or capital cities of autonomous regions, and cities under the national scheme of specially listed economic entities. Fifty second-tier cities, including the urban areas of prefectural-level cities and regional administrative office locations, as well as the suburban areas and county seats of prefecturallevel cities affiliated with first-tier cities, passed the assessment after implementing the standards. Seventy-nine third-tier cities, which the urban areas of county-level cities as well as the suburban areas and county seats of counties and county-level cities affiliated with first-class cities and second-class cities, passed the assessment. By the end of 2008, thirty-two first-tier cities, 159 second-tier cities and 152 third-tier cities had passed the urban language assessment. Along with the advance of urban language assessment, seventy urban language organizations were established, sixty new administrative posts were created, millions of RMB were invested or added to the existing funding, and more than 230 cities registered their civil servants to take the Putonghua Proficiency Test. A three-level assessment system was formed at the national, provincial and municipal levels.

4 The 11th National Putonghua Promotion Week In May 2008, the 11th National Putonghua Promotion Week was announced by the Ministry of Education and seven other departments, including the Public Relations Department of the Central Committee of the CPC, the Personnel Department, the Culture Department, the State Radio, Film and Television Administration, the State Language Commission, the General Political Department of the People’s Liberation Army, and the Communist Youth League’s Central Committee. Many media reported on the progress of Putonghua promotion and the features of Putonghua Promotion Week. The leadership group of Putonghua Promotion Week also resorted to public service advertisements on TV. Commercials such as The Same Voice and I Take the Initiative for the Standardization of the Chinese Language, featured promotion celebrities Wang Xiaoya (王小丫) and Wang Gang (王刚). The office also designed posters for the Promotion Week with the themes ‘Embracing the Olympic Games’ and ‘Earthquake Disaster Relief’. On 14 September, the Opening Ceremony of the 11th National Putonghua Promotion Week and the event entitled ‘Celebrating our Holiday – Recitation of Chinese Classics at the Mid-Autumn Festival’ were held in Shanghai. Thousands of people, including students of primary schools, secondary schools, and colleges, recitation enthusiasts and people of all walks of life attended the party. China

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Central Television, China Education Television, and Shanghai Oriental Television broadcast the promotion activities. During the Putonghua Promotion Week, a variety of promotion activities were organized in many places by different offices and agencies, to increase the social awareness of language management. Jiangsu Province organized lecture tours and trained elite primary and secondary school recitation teachers. Guangxi (广西) Autonomous Region launched activities such as the Promotion Week Caravan and the Rural Tour of Putonghua Promotion to promote language laws and policies at the grassroots level. Fujian (福建) Province organized Putonghua promotion volunteers to engage in Promoting Putonghua in Rural Areas, Households and Communities, incorporating the promotion of Putonghua into community education and the training of the rural unemployed labor force. As part of the Project to Improve the Qualification of Rural Teachers and the Rural Teacher Sponsorship Action Plan, Hubei Province provided rural primary and secondary school teachers and volunteer student teachers with training in standard spoken and written language knowledge. Zhejiang (浙江)’s Quzhou (衢州) City held exhibitions of Putonghua promotion achievements made by model communities and villages and carried out a Ten Thousand Mile Tour of Putonghua Promotion in Hundreds of Townships and Thousands of Villages, involving student volunteers from colleges and secondary schools in the promotion of Putonghua in the neighborhoods and villages. The Provincial Party Committee and Hubei Provincial Government, the Ningxia (宁夏) Education Department, the Jiangsu Language Commission, and the Jilin (吉林) Province Language Commission, carried out a variety of activities such as the recitation of Chinese classics, which were highlights of the 11th Putonghua Promotion Week.

5 Putonghua Proficiency Test Since its launch in 1994, the Putonghua Proficiency Test has attracted a lot of attention from the interested public. According to conservative statistics, by the end of 2007, more than 22 million people had taken the test. Starting in 2006, the State Language Commission promoted the application of information technology in the proficiency test. The test has been conducted through the application of a Computer Intelligent Assessment and Evaluation System, as well as with the National Information Management System of the Putonghua Proficiency Test. In 2008, the State Language Commission promulgated the Procedures for the Computer-Assisted Putonghua Proficiency Test. Several provinces, autonomous

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regions and municipalities, such as Tianjin, Hebei Province, and Shanxi (山西) Province, participated in the information technology-based pilot program and approximately 600,000 people have taken the computer-assisted proficiency test. In 2008, the State Language Commission inspected the training for administering the Putonghua Proficiency Test in Jiangsu and several other provinces, and organized the 2nd National Forum of Test Center Directors and the Symposium on Computer-Assisted Testing and Quality Evaluation. At these events, in order to summarize the piloting experience and to promote the application of information technology in the test, a study was conducted and various views were keenly exchanged. In November 2008, the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Committee issued a document, stipulating that charging fees should be canceled for a hundred administrative items. This means that the fee for the proficiency test certificate was eliminated from 1 January 2009. To meet the requirements of this regulation, coordinated efforts were made to deal with related issues, and a procedure of designing, producing and bidding for the new version of the proficiency test certificate was implemented.

6 The Chinese Character Usage Proficiency Test On 1 February 2007, the Chinese Character Usage Ability Assessment and Testing Guidelines, formulated by the Ministry of Education’s Language Information Administration, were released and put into trial in the form of the State Language Commission’s standard language regulations. Organized by the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission, this is a standard Chinese language proficiency test that assesses the ability of educated users to familiarize themselves with the standard form of Chinese characters, as well as adhere to accurate pronunciation, meaning and usage of the modern Chinese language. In 2007, the Ministry of Education’s Language Application Administration launched pilot tests in Shanghai, Hebei Province and Tianjin. Leadership groups were established to promote the test, and three meetings were conducted to discuss and assign related work. By the end of 2007, the test had been administered a number of times in the above-mentioned provinces and cities for pilot implementation and 27,000 people had taken the test, the majority of whom were from four key professional fields, including Party and government organizations, schools, news media, and the public service sectors.

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In Shanghai, an evaluation leadership group was established with the Director of the Shanghai Education Committee as its leader, and the officials of related departments as its members. A special research group was also set up to compile and publish instructional manuals. Hebei Province conducted the largest scale of testing. After analyzing previous experiences, a series of work procedures and related regulations were specified. Tianjin set up the Chinese Character Usage Teaching Research Office, Technology Research Group, and Evaluation Work Group. They designed a new system for integrating enrollment and management, aiming at investigating the content, format, reliability and validity of the test among relevant personnel. In 2008, the Ministry of Education’s Language Application Administration further strengthened its leadership and management through establishing the pilot work leadership group, and symposia and training programs were organized for the administrative staff in pilot areas. This was done in collaboration with the Ministry of Education’s Institute of Applied Linguistics. The Test Implementation Rules Research Group was formed to work on the guiding principles of test items and test papers, system management software and operational rules. The Pilot Work of the Chinese Character Usage Proficiency Test of 2008 was put into force. In 2008, 37,000 people from eleven provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities took the test.

7 Recitation of the Chinese classics In 2007, the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission decided to make Reciting Chinese Classics to Pass On Civilization and Enrich Life a highlight of the 10th National Putonghua Promotion Week. In 2008, the Ministry of Education, the Public Relations Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Office of the Spiritual Civilization Development Steering Commission, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the Ministry of Culture jointly announced Implementing the Recitation of Chinese Classics and Poetry Composition with the Theme of Traditional Chinese Holidays. Nationwide education administrations and schools at all levels were urged to carry out this project. During Qingming (清明) Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, a constellation of Reciting Chinese Classics to Celebrate Our Festivals events were held in Jiangsu Province, Hunan (湖南) Province and Shanghai. Famous Chinese recitation artists and recitation amateurs recited many Chinese

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classic poems related to traditional Chinese festivals. These events were broadcast by China Central Television, China Education Television and some provincial television channels. In April 2008, ‘Sing the Praise of China – Chinese Classics Recitation Competition’ was launched throughout the country. 179 outstanding candidates from twenty-four provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, as well as Hong Kong, participated in the national preliminary competition. Throughout the recitation of self-chosen classics, a traditional talent show, an overall cultural knowledge assessment, and the elaboration on a designated topic, the candidates showed their strong language and cultural knowledge ability as well as their passion for traditional culture. Forty-two candidates, according to experts’ appraisals and netizens’ votes, were qualified for the final competition. The ‘Sing the Praise of China – Poetry Composition Competition’ attracted more than 10,000 works from authors of all walks of life, from school children to senior citizens. Eighty-seven award-winning works and other distinct works were included in a collection published by Language Publishing House.

8 Model School language work In recent years, model schools have been selected nationwide for their excellence in the standard spoken and written Chinese language. On 31 August 2007, the State Language Commission awarded the No. 1 Elementary School in Yanqing (延庆) County, Beijing, and 170 other schools, the title of ‘National Model School of Language Standardization’. In 2007, the Ministry of Education’s Language Application Administration and Institute of Applied Linguistics jointly conducted a nationwide investigation of college students’ Chinese language proficiency. The study used both tests and surveys as research tools. 15,328 college students from 168 institutions of higher learning in twenty-nine provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, and independent cities, as well as Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, participated in the study. In 2008, Heilongjiang Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Jiangsu Province, among other provinces and autonomous regions, set up criteria for the evaluation of Provincial Model Schools based on their own local contexts. More than 7,000 schools have been designated as provincial or municipal model schools of language standardization. The application and selection of the second group of National Model Schools of Language Standardization,

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including relevant designation and commendation work, were carried out in the second half of 2009.

9 Putonghua training programs for ethnic minority teachers 9.1 Putonghua training for minority teachers in 2007 On 15 May 2007, the Ministry of Education’s Language Application Administration and the State Ethnic Affairs Commission’s Culture Promotion Division jointly held the Symposium on Putonghua Training for Ethnic Minority Teachers in Kunming (昆明) City. At the symposium, the participants discussed the accomplishment and experience of providing instruction in Putonghua and ethnic minority languages to minority teachers over the past six years. They also discussed how to sharpen the awareness of language training, overcome difficulties, create favorable conditions and enlarge the training scale to meet the specific social demands of different locations. Consensus was reached among the participants concerning these issues. In 2007, the Ministry of Education’s Language Application Administration authorized the local education administrations of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Tibet Autonomous Region, Yunnan (云南) Province and six other provinces and regions, to host eleven training programs. 845 rural teachers from Uygur, Tibet, Miao (苗), Zhuang (壮), Dai (傣), Li (黎) and seventeen other ethnic minority groups participated in the training programs, to which the local education administrations paid utmost attention. Relevant provincial and regional Education Departments and Language Commissions coordinated with training institutions to organize the teaching sessions, recruiting national and provincial-level examiners to be instructors and tutors. Through intensive training, the trainees developed a better understanding of national language development and policies, and their Putonghua proficiency was improved considerably.

9.2 Putonghua training for minority teachers in 2008 From July to September 2008, the Ministry of Education’s Language Application Administration carried out further Putonghua training for ethnic minority teachers in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Henan Province and six other provinces and regions. Altogether, thirteen training

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sessions were organized by the Education Departments of these nine provinces and regions, and 1,108 ethnic minority teachers were trained. These teachers were from twenty-one ethnic minority groups, including Uygur, Tibet, Kazak, Mongolian, Zhuang, Bouyei, Hani (哈尼), Dai, and Li. They teach in primary schools, secondary schools or training centers in remote and poor rural areas under the jurisdiction of thirty-one cities or autonomous prefectures in nine provinces and regions. The education administrations and language departments of these nine provinces and regions, as well as related institutions, committed themselves to undertaking the training task. Translated by Liu Chang (刘畅) Jilin (吉林) University [email protected] Translated by Zhan Ju (战菊) Jilin (吉林) University [email protected]

Chen Min (陈敏), Wang Cuiye (王翠叶) & Wang Qi (王奇)

2 Information management of spoken and written languages in China: An update on the latest efforts and development In year 2007 and 2008, the information management of spoken and written languages in China mainly focused on four topics, the evolution of spoken and written language norms, national language resources monitoring, development of the Chinese Language Audio Resource Database and language system website construction.

1 The evolution of spoken and written language norms 1.1 Soliciting comments and submission for approval of the General Table of Standardized Chinese Characters On 27 August 2007, the Leading Research Team of the General Table of Standardized Chinese Characters held a meeting in Beijing, in which a work report by the expert committee of the Table was presented. A consensus was reached that the General Table of Standardized Chinese Characters is true scientific work and is feasible of implementation. Its release would be of great significance, both in China and the world. A draft version was approved for further comments and feedback as a preparation for its revision. The revised version needed to be submitted and finalized as soon as possible. Meanwhile, some promotion and awareness raising should be carried out as well. To ensure the accuracy and feasibility of the Table, three meetings were held successively between late October and early November of 2007, with the aim of gathering opinions and feedback at the request of China’s Ministry of Education. On 29 October, the expert committee of the General Table of Standardized Chinese Characters organized the Forum for Gathering Comments on the Table from Scholars in Related Academic Fields. The participants of the forum came from thirteen academic associations, including the Chinese Language Society, Chinese Characters Society, Chinese Information Processing Society of China, Chinese Society of Ethnic Languages, and the Association for Newspapers and Periodicals of Chinese Linguistics. On 1 November, another Forum for Gathering

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Comments from Representatives of Basic Education was held. There were sixteen participants, from Chinese elementary and secondary curriculum standards developers to specialists in Chinese textbook compilation and frontline Master Chinese Teachers from elementary and secondary schools. On 2 November, the State Language Commission hosted the Forum for Soliciting Comments from Representative Members of the State Language Commission. The twelve participants were from the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Information Industry, State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, General Administration of Press and Publication, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, PLA General Political Department, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, and State Administration for Industry and Commerce. At these meetings, the participants engaged in extensive and in-depth discussions on the General Table of Standardized Chinese Characters and discussed various issues concerning its definitions, compiling principles, number and ordering of characters, principles and methods of inclusion, modification of the previous versions, variant forms, one simplified character substituting for multiple traditional forms, simplification by analogy, and print font. It was agreed that the Table met the pressing need of standardizing Chinese characters in all areas of society. The development and release of the Table will play an important role in implementing the Chinese National Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language Law. In drawing up the Table (draft for review), experts gave careful consideration to the paradoxical relationship between the stability and development of Chinese characters, including issues such as simplification by analogy, one simplified character substituting for multiple traditional forms and the variant forms of characters. From March to May 2008, in lieu of the suggestion of the Third Secretariat Bureau of the General Office of the State Council, the General Office of the Ministry of Education sent a letter to member agencies of the State Language Commission, seeking comments and suggestions about the General Table of Standardized Chinese Characters. All of the fifteen member agencies came to a consensus and approved the Table. They were: the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Culture, State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, General Administration of Press and Publication, PLA General Political Department, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy

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of Social Sciences, Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, All China Federation of Trade Unions and All China Women’s Federation.1

1.2 Giving Chemical Element No. 111 a Chinese name On 18 February 2007, in response to the Chinese National Committee for Science and Technology Terminology, the State Language Commission agreed to adopt its suggestion for naming chemical element No. 111 “ ” (lún) and include it as a standard Chinese character. The commission also suggested establishing standardization principles for the naming of chemical elements in Chinese, serving as a guideline for the future naming of chemical elements. Henceforth, the naming practice of Chinese scientific and technological terms should adhere to these principles.2

1.3 Establishment of the Research Center for the Collection and Regulation of Written Chinese and its Academic Committee On 7 January 2007, the Opening Ceremony of the Research Center for the Collection and Regulation of Written Chinese, and the Inaugural Meeting of the Center’s Academic Committee were held at Beijing Normal University. The Center, immediately after its foundation, began research work using basic data, collecting and classifying Chinese characters and minority language characters from multiple sources. The Center also engages in the research and development of language norms and standards, strengthens the efforts of standardization and digitization of Chinese characters, and expands its ability to serve society, playing a big role in maintaining the legacy of Chinese cultural heritage and improving the research performance by contributing to the collection and regulation of written Chinese.

1.4 National Chinese Language Standardization Conference On 10–11 November 2008, the National Chinese Language Standardization Conference was held in Beijing. The conference reiterated the goal and direction for scientific research in developing a standardized spoken and written Chinese. It 1 See Ministry of Education website: http://www.moe.gov.cn/edoas/website18/info34998.htm. 2 See Spoken and Written Language Work Briefing (Vol. 305), Ministry of Education website: http://www.moe.gov.cn/edoas/web site18/44/info33744.htm.

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also proposed the establishment of a modern view of language, the standardization of works of the new century, and began conducting groundbreaking work in the standardization of spoken and written Chinese. This conference paved the way for the establishment of the 2020 mid-term and long-term spoken and written Chinese language standardization projects and it played an important role in promoting the standardization of spoken and written Chinese, at both the national and local levels.

1.5 Organizing symposiums on Chinese character grapheme norms From May to June 2008, the Ministry of Education’s Language Information Administration held several meetings to discuss Chinese character standards. Suggestions were offered by specialists in the international coding of Chinese characters, ancient book publishing and digitization, comprehensive dictionary compilation, and ancient and modern written language classification. The four suggestions presented in these meetings were: (1) a differentiation should be made between the standards of commonly used characters and non-commonly used characters. The latter should not be used to create new characters that have never existed before; (2) different approaches should be adopted for Chinese characters used in different domains; (3) the recognition of non-commonly used characters needs to be based on careful research and classification; (4) the State needs to strengthen the coordinated management of Chinese characters, and all the departments concerned shall establish cooperative mechanisms to ensure the consistency of policies, standards and application. The Ministry of Education’s Language Information Administration plans to launch a program to formulate Chinese character standards.

1.6 Announcing the first “soft” standards in the form of the Language Situation in China (Green Paper) In October 2008, the State Language Commission published and released the Lexicon of Common Words in Contemporary Chinese (Draft) as part of the Green Paper of the Language Situation in China, thus starting up the management practice of “soft” standards. The Lexicon lists 56,008 Chinese words commonly used in contemporary social life. Comparatively stable and frequently used, these words can provide reference for Chinese language education, Chinese information processing, and dictionary compilation. The release of the first Green Paper puts the formulation and enforcement of language standards more in line with language rules, which was well received by both users and specialists.

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1.7 Providing language services for the Olympic Games In order to make the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games more Chinese, the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee decided to arrange the sequence of the Parade of Nations by the number of character strokes in each delegation’s Chinese name. The Ministry of Education’s Language Information Administration organized experts to review the Chinese character stroke sequence list for the 204 delegations. This ensured that athletes from all nations and regions made a smooth and orderly entry during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. To pay tribute to the Beijing Olympics, the Ministry of Education’s Language Information Administration and the China National Committee for Sciences and Technology Terminology, jointly compiled and issued A Glossary of Olympic Terms, and held a press conference on 15 July 2008. The book, published by the Commercial Press of China, was a collaborative effort by specialists from such areas as sports, terminology, translation and languages. The Glossary was compiled by the Olympic Sports Terms Glossary, provided by the Spanish Catalonia Terminology Center, with more than 9,000 entries covering the thirty-five sports of the 29th Summer Olympic Games. The Glossary featured four languages: Chinese, English, French and Spanish. This displays the blending of cultures among different languages, an integral part of the Olympic Games. The compilation and publication of the book was supported by the 29th Olympic Organizing Committee.

1.8 International standardization of Chinese characters Under the guidance of the Ministry of Education’s Language Information Administration, the Research Center for the Collection and Regulation of Written Chinese, and the Center for Chinese Font Design and Research, the collection, classification and font research of modern Chinese characters, ancient Chinese characters and minority language characters were intensified. They completed the first phase of the Chinese Character Collection project, compiled the Origin of Chinese Characters, the Small Seal Script and Western Xia (夏) characters, and built the oracle-bone word selection platform and the automatic analysis system of the Origin of Chinese Characters and the Small Seal Script. The Center also made academic preparation for the second phase of the project. In addition to these initiatives, they also improved the Song font database of the General Table of Standardized Chinese Characters. A book titled The Best Schemes of the Font Designed Competition was also edited and published.

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Furthermore, the Ministry of Education’s language Information Administration also organized specialists to participate in the studies of international standards and the development of the Universal Multiple Octet-Coded Chinese Character Set. They drafted the coded set of Chinese characters, and attended IRG and WG2 international conferences. Great strides have been made in such areas as coding oracle bone inscriptions, the old Xishuangbanna (西双版纳) Dai (傣) script, ancient Uygur script, Tibetan script, Western Xia script, also the Miao (苗) simplified script, old Lisu (傈僳) script, and the Nüshu (女书) script.

1.9 The Fifth Chinese Digitization Cooperation Forum of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan On 23–24 October 2008, the Fifth Chinese Digitization Cooperation Forum of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan was held in Anhui (安徽) University, Hefei. More than thirty linguists and professionals in the area of information processing from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan attended the forum and twenty-three papers were presented. Various issues were discussed during the forum, including the management of encoding different systems of Chinese characters in Chinese-character-dependent polities, the conversion between traditional and simplified Chinese characters, the corresponding Chinese vocabulary used in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the application of Chinese information technology in education, and IRG work tracking. The participating specialists and scholars expressed a strong desire for further cooperation and agreed to cooperate in areas such as the automatic conversion between traditional and simplified Chinese characters, the classification of variant forms of characters, and the relationship between characters. They all hoped that this type of forum would be more website-based and more pragmatic, and that it could be held on a regular basis.

2 Monitoring national language resources and researching the spoken and written language 2.1 Summit Forum On 12–13 September 2007, the 2007 National Language Resources and Applied Linguistics Summit Forum was held at Beijing Language and Culture University. The participants engaged in an in-depth discussion related to the central theme

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of monitoring and researching national language resources, and provided insightful suggestions for the future development of the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center. The forum covered a wide range of topics concerning national language resources monitoring in relation to research, language services, language planning, language standardization, social language applications, international promotion of Chinese, teaching of Chinese in ethnic regions, and language information processing.3

2.2 The establishment of research centers In 2007, the Ministry of Education’s Language Information Administration, together with Nanjing (南京) University, co-founded the Chinese Center for Linguistic and Strategic Studies; in the same year, it co-founded the Chinese Lexicography Research Center with Ludong (鲁东) University. On 9 November 2007, the Inauguration Ceremony for the Chinese Center for Linguistic and Strategic Studies and the 2007 National Language Strategy Summit Forum was held at Nanjing University. The Center will conduct research on language policy and language planning theories, on the language situation and corresponding strategies, and China’s international language strategies. It will also propose scientific plans to address important language issues domestically and internationally, which will serve as important references for the development of national macro-language strategies and language road maps by the relevant government departments.

2.3 The Eleventh Five-Year Plan of the State Language Commission Language Application Research The State Language Commission issued The Eleventh Five-Year Plan of the State Language Commission Language Application Research (Chinese letter [2007] No. 4) on 23 April 2007. This plan recognized the achievements made in language application research during the tenth five-year period, analyzed the challenges facing the eleventh five-year plan, and put forward seven key research areas for the eleventh five-year period as follows: (1) the advancement of a 3 China Language Web. 17 September 2007. 2007 National Language Resources and Applied Linguistics Summit Forum Drew to a Successful Close. See http://www.China-language.gov.cn/ 31/2007_9_14/1_31_3019_0_1189768447916.html.

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national language research strategy, (2) the development of language norms and standards, (3) the establishment of a language ability evaluation and testing system that meets modern demands, (4) the strengthening of language application research and fundamental project creation, oriented toward information processing, (5) the elevation of monitoring and research of the social language situation, (6) the promotion of Chinese worldwide, and (7) strengthening of the creation of applied linguistics disciplines.

2.4 Releasing Language Situation in China Language Situation in China: 2006. A press conference was held in Beijing on 16 August 2007. Li Yuming (李宇明), deputy director of the State Language Commission and head of the Ministry of Education’s Language Information Administration, announced Language Situation in China: 2006. He addressed a number of hot issues in language-related areas, including minority language work and research, the creation of an Olympic language environment, tourism services, product manuals and medical documents, dialects and migrant workers’ languages, error correction of written Chinese, dictionary publication permissions, the Chinese characters used in given names, old-style Chinese private schools, and the academic exchange of linguistic research across the Straits. Li also released data from a survey conducted by the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center on media language use in 2006, comparing it with that of 2005. This press conference also released, for the first time, statistical results of speech analysis based on computerized automatic word segmentation, and some of the newly emerging Chinese words of 2006. In October 2008, the press conference for Language Situation in China: 2007 was held in Beijing. Li Yuming, Deputy Director of the Chinese State Language Commission and head of the Ministry of Education’s Language Information Administration, released the Language Situation in China: 2007. Overall, the year 2007 witnessed a positive language situation in China, in tune with national progress and social development. The work on language was integrated with culture, education and information technology to provide a better service to the Olympics, thereby enjoying more social visibility than ever before. The concept of language resources was shaped over time, and the scientific preservation, protection and usage of Chinese language resources became an important and urgent task. Native languages and language in real life received increasing attention from both academia and society. Language work and research extended to multiple

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social fields, and language issues continued to be hot topics in society. The Chinese fraternity, at home and overseas, engaged in more communication and coordination, because of the spreading of Chinese all over the globe. The State Language Commission’s proposal for the new millennium, to construct a harmonious language situation, was widely approved. On top of that, the press conference also released language data from the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center on a number of media, as well as on several basic education Chinese textbooks, compiled under the new curriculum syllabus of 2007.

2.5 Top Ten buzzwords in China’s mainstream newspapers in the spring and summer of 2008 The National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center’s Print Media Office, Beijing Language and Culture University, China Association of Press Technicians, and the Chinese Information Processing Society jointly published the “Top Ten buzzwords in China’s mainstream newspapers in the spring and summer of 2008,” which was reprinted by many media.

2.6 Minority Language Office of the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center The Ministry of Education’s Language Information Administration, along with the National Ethnic Affairs Education and Technology Commission, the Minzu (民族) University of China and other agencies, jointly established the Minority Language Office of the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center. The office is committed to using modern technology to research ethnic language use. The establishment of the Minority Language Office completed the institutional creation of the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center.

3 Development of the Chinese Language Audio Resource Database On 20 November 2007, a panel to develop the Chinese Language Audio Resource Database was formed. This panel was led by Zhao Qinping (赵沁平), Deputy Minister of Education and Director of the State Language Commission. On 23– 24 March 2008, a special meeting was held in Beijing to discuss how to develop

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the Chinese Language Audio Resource Database. The participants engaged in an in-depth discussion regarding the goal, content, scope, location, operational mode, working norms and technical standards of the database. After this meeting, the State Language Commission designed the Chinese Language Audio Resource Database Pilot Program, planning to pilot it in several qualified cities and provinces to gain experience and perfect the program before expanding it to more locations. On 17–18 September 2008, meetings to discuss the Chinese Language Audio Resource Database Pilot Program and the Jiangsu (江苏) Chinese Language Preservation Project were held in Nanjing. These meetings were sponsored by the State Language Commission and organized by the Jiangsu Language Commission, and they preliminarily determined the first group of pilot cities in Jiangsu Province and their specific launch dates. On 11 October 2008, the Chinese Language Audio Resource Database Pilot Program was launched in Suzhou (苏州), Jiangsu Province. The Suzhou Language Commission openly recruited Suzhou dialect speakers, attracting many potential participants. After a vigorous assessment and selection process, six participants were chosen. At present, the collection and recording work is progressing smoothly.

4 Language system website construction On July 29–30, 2008, Nanjing University of Science and Technology hosted the National Language System Website Construction and Training Conference, sponsored by the Ministry of Education’s Language Information Administration, and organized by China Language Net and the Jiangsu Language Commission Office. At present, more than 120 websites make up the “National Language System”. Twenty-nine provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have established their own language websites, forming a new network, headed by China Language Net and the Ministry of Education portals. The network has links to language commission websites, professional language websites and school language nets all over the country. Translated by Fu Huimin (付慧敏) Jilin (吉林) University [email protected] Translated by Zhan Ju (战菊) Jilin (吉林) University [email protected]

Li Xulian (李旭练) & He Siyuan (何思源)

3 An overview of ethnic language affairs The projects ‘Investigation, Collection, Research and Collation of Endangered Ethnic Languages and Construction of the Database of China’s Endangered Minority Languages,’ and ‘Establishment of Demonstrative Zones of the Bilingual Environment for Minority Languages’ were incorporated into the ‘Minority Cultural Development Program’ by the Eleventh Five-Year Development Plan for Minority Nationality Affairs, issued by the General Office of the State Council on 27 February 2007. Minority language organizations and workers nationwide have been actively promoting the work on minority language affairs in line with the government’s guidelines and policies and along the main thread of ‘establishing a harmonious language life and encouraging the excellent national cultures’.

1 Standardization and digitization of minority languages and writing systems Language Information Administration of the Ministry of Education has organized investigations and research on the standardization and digitization of minority languages, carried out by regional ethnic language affairs commissions, in order to collect general information on the regional ethnic language affairs, the status quo and the needs of standardization and digitization of ethnic languages and writing systems. ‘The Unified Platform Character Recognition System for Ethnic Languages,’ developed by research groups led by Ding Xiaoqing (丁晓青) from the Department of Electronic Engineering of Tsinghua University, won the ‘Qian Weichang Award for Chinese Scientific and Technological Information Processing’ on November 25, 2008. The project was accomplished by Tsinghua University after an eight-year collaboration with the Northwest University of Nationalities, Xinjiang (新疆) University, Inner Mongolian University and Inner Mongolian Normal University, with support from the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission. It has solved the problem of computerizing documents in image format through optical character recognition for languages like Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz, Korean, and Arabic, a language of international importance. This system has been put into practical use in Beijing (北京), Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu (甘肃), Sichuan (四川), Qinghai

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(青海), Yunnan (云南) and other areas. The software for Arabic has also been marketed internationally. The bilingual website for Xinjiang languages, sponsored by the Committee of Common Language and Writing of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, was opened on November 27, 2008. ‘The Website of Xinjiang Language and Writing’ is built in both Uygur and Chinese, and composed of sections, e.g. organization structure, ethnic languages, policies and regulations, popularization of Putonghua, norms and standards, bilingual studies, as well as a forum. A multilingual website administration system was also developed. Led by the Language Information Administration of the Ministry of Education, the Committees of Common Language and Script of Shandong (山东) Province and Xinjiang Autonomous Region reached an agreement in January 2007, whereby the Shandong committee helps the Xinjiang committee modify and update the Website of Xinjiang Language and Writing. This was the second time that the Language Information Administration has mobilized the eastern region to help develop websites in the ethnic areas. The first such case was the support for the Tibetan Website of Language and Writing, provided by the Committee of Common Language and Writing of Shanghai (上海) under the division’s leadership.

2 Protection and development of language and writing systems 2.1 Preservation and development of endangered languages and writing systems Since 2001, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission has authorized and funded the Chinese Minority Language Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, to carry out the ‘Investigation and Research of Endangered Minority Languages in China’. Experts were organized to work on two to three languages each year, documenting dying languages with modern means of transcription and audio and video recordings. Of eight languages, She (畲), Manchu, Tujia (土家), Yugu (裕固), Nu (怒) and Hezhe (赫哲) have already been investigated. In 2002, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, working in collaboration with the Ethnic Affairs Committee and the Committee of Common Language and Writing of Guangxi (广西) Zhuang (壮) Autonomous Region, organized experts and researchers to carry out a special survey on the chu nom (a transcription system using Chinese characters to represent Jing sounds) in Jing (京) language. Initial results have been achieved in the collation and analysis of the language

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data. An Album of Historical Jing Songs in Chu Nom, based on this study, was included in the Series of Protection of Ethnic Language and Writing Systems in China. The Division of Cultural Publicity Affairs of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission has achieved accomplishments of great academic significance in the process of organizing ethnic language workers, experts and scholars to protect endangered minority languages and writing systems, as well as establish demonstrative zones for a ‘bilingual’ environment. The Series of Protection of Ethnic Language and Writing Systems in China, based on these achievements, was published successively by the Nationalities Publishing House from September 2007. The book An Album of Historical Jing Songs in Chu Nom consists of three parts, covering Jing Historical Songs, Lyrics of Jing Songs during Song Festivals, and Jing Traditional Ballads. The publication of the book has played a great role in protecting the disappearing ancient Jing documents and chu nom, which proved to be of great value to the study of the Jing history and culture. The endangered status of a language results largely from the change of the environment that perpetuated the language’s survival. Therefore, in order to maintain a language, apart from the writing system, sound, or the products of sound and the writing system, it is more imperative to rescue the context where the language emerged and is used. Documentation of an endangered language should not only include recording the language per se but also the history and culture embedded in the language.

2.2 Establishing “bilingual” environments for the ethnic minorities The project to foster “bilingual” environments for the ethnic minorities was initiated in 2006. Songtao (松桃) Miao (苗) Autonomous County of Guizhou (贵州) Province released the Regulations for Standardization of Using Miao and Chinese on Public Signboards on May 8, 2007, targeting the regulation of language use in naming government offices, schools, streets, factories, hospitals and large-scale advertisements on the main streets, and requiring that both Miao and Chinese be used for advertisements and signboards of government units as much as possible. Currently, the signboards and the slogans of the government units in this county are largely written in both Miao and Chinese. UNESCO and the Division of Cultural Publicity Affairs of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission launched a quality inspection to appraise the outcome of a demonstrative zone for a Miao language environment in the Songtao Miao Autonomous County of Guizhou Province. The research conclusion showed that

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positive results have been achieved in the project of building a demonstrative language environment zone (Committee of Ethnic Affairs of Songtao Miao Autonomous County 2007).

2.3 A survey of the ethnic languages in the border area Ethnic language affairs in the border area were the focus of the country’s ethnic languages management in 2008. An investigation team, formed by staff members from the Division of Cultural Publicity Affairs and the Division of Education, Sciences and Technology of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, carried out surveys and interviews in the local broadcasting stations, ethnic language dubbing studios, cultural centers, schools, religious sites and farm households in Lincang (临沧) City, Dehong (德宏) Dai (傣), and in Jingpo (景颇) Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan (云南) Province. Colloquiums were held, attended by the relevant offices from Lincang City, Dehong Dai, and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture. The team held a colloquium in Kunming (昆明), attended by relevant members from the Ethnic Affairs Committee of Yunnan Province, the Press and Publication Bureau, the Department of Education, the Department of Culture, the Radio and Television Bureau, the Ethnic Press, and the Yunnan University for Nationalities. They also listened to the briefings, opinions and suggestions from various departments. Meanwhile, to collect more information of interest, survey forms were dispatched to the provinces and regions of Inner Mongolia, Jilin (吉林), Guangxi, Xinjiang, etc. They have worked out a study report with suggestions for some of the policies on issues of minority languages in the border areas.

3 Important meetings on language and writing systems 3.1 The working conference on ethnic language affairs for the ethnic affairs system in the country A working conference on ethnic language affairs for the ethnic affairs system in the country was held in Haikou (海口), Hainan (海南) province, during April 7–8, 2008. Danzhu’angben (丹珠昂奔), Vice-Chairman of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, attended the meeting and gave an important talk, entitled Strive to build a harmonious multilingual life. Danzhu’angben pointed out that the

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objective of ethnic language affairs is to build a harmonious language life, that is, to build a language life where the languages of all the nationalities can coexist and develop in harmony through the country’s language planning and active leadership. Broad-based participation by the masses is also important to maintain and develop equality, solidarity, mutual aid and harmonious ethnic relations.

3.2 The Fifth International Academic Conference on Bilingualism The Fifth International Academic Conference on Bilingualism was held by the Research Society of Minority Bilingual Education of China in Xinjiang University on July 28, 2007. Present at the meeting were more than 200 academics of bilingual education, representing sixteen nationalities in eighteen provinces and autonomous regions. Also present at the meeting were more than twenty experts and scholars from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Japan, Mongolia, South Korea, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The developing patterns and trends of bilingual education, as well as the theories and methods of bilingual education in the 21st century were discussed at the meeting. The conference emphasized the close relationship between bilingual education and the construction of a harmonious society and proposed suitable measures to actively and prudently promote bilingual education in the multiethnic and multilingual areas.

3.3 The Twelfth National Symposium on Translation of Ethnic Languages The Twelfth National Symposium on Translation of Ethnic Languages was hosted by the Ethnic Affairs Committee of Heilongjiang (黑龙江) Province in Harbin during August 7–8, 2007. The institutions sponsoring the symposium included the Division of Cultural Publicity Affairs of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, China Ethnic Language Translation Center, and the Ethnic Language Translation Committee of China Translation Association. Present at the meeting were 109 delegates representing nineteen languages and twenty-one nationalities from thirteen provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions and prefectures. The papers submitted to the symposium covered a broad area, for instance the translation of ancient books, translation of news, broadcasting, film and television, translation of new words and terminologies, translation of

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documents from the Party and the government, translation of epics, translation of personal names and place names, translation of laws and regulations, bilingual education, simultaneous interpretation, translation of literature, the history of translation, assessment and analysis of translated works, etc.

3.4 The Exhibition of Achievements of China Ethnic Language Affairs and the International Symposium of Ethnic Languages The Exhibition of Achievements of China Ethnic Language Affairs and the International Symposium of Ethnic Languages were organized by the Central Minzu (民族) University during November 24–28, 2007. They were sponsored by the Division of Cultural Publicity Affairs of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Language Information Administration of the Ministry of Education. The International Symposium of Ethnic Languages was held during November 24–25, 2007, and attended by more than a hundred experts and scholars from ten countries, namely China, the United States, Australia, Norway, Spain, the Netherlands, Ghana, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Submitted to the seminar were 113 papers, covering Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur, Kazak, Korean, Yi (彝), Zhuang, Bai (白), Naxi (纳西), Hani (哈尼), Buyi (布依), Daurian, Achang (阿昌), Miao, Hezhen, Manchu, Tanglang (堂郎), Li (黎), Jinuo (基诺), Nusu (怒苏), Pingpu (平埔) in Taiwan, French, Ryukyuan in Japan, Sami in Norway, Malay in Thailand, Chong in Thailand, and Kualan on the Malaysian island of Borneo. Four consensual points were reached at the symposium: 1) adhering to language equality is an important benchmark to deal with language relations; 2) construction of a harmonious language life is the major task of current ethnic language affairs; 3) a national survey of the language status quo is an urgent task for managing ethnic language affairs; 4) the theoretical study of language issues in the process of national modernization must be strengthened.

3.5 The Eighteenth World Translation Conference and Forum of Ethnic Language Translation The Eighteenth World Translation Conference was held in Shanghai during August 4–7, 2008. Present at the meeting were some 1,500 experts and scholars of translation and delegates of other relevant fields from more than seventy countries and regions. Some fifty experts and scholars from the domain of ethnic language translation, and persons in charge of relevant units representing more

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than ten nationalities were present. The provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of the conference included Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Gansu, Liaoning (辽宁), Jilin, and Heilongjiang. The topics they discussed with academics from other countries focused on the protection and translation of ethnic languages and writing systems, covering the ‘translation of ethnic languages and literature in an interim period’ in the forum.

3.6 Training programs Sponsored by the Division of Cultural Publicity Affairs of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the China Ethnic Languages Translation Center (Bureau) hosted the national cadre training program for the translation of ethnic languages in Beijing during August 11–20, 2007. More than a hundred ethnic language translators from thirteen provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions participated in the program. Twelve workshops for the training program were held, covering the topics of ethnic theories and policies, including an overview of ethnic language affairs, policies and regulations for ethnic languages and their implementation, and theories and practices of ethnic language translation.

Reference Committee of Ethnic Affairs of Songtao Miao Autonomous County. 2007. Preliminary Accomplishments of Language Environment Building. Guizhou Ethnic Languages, 15. Translated by Lu Tianqiao (陆天桥) Jiangsu (江苏) Normal University [email protected]

Dai Xiaoming (代晓明)

4 A survey of sci-tech terminology work With the rapid development and popularization of science & technology, the average levels of the general public literacy around the world have seen an unprecedented increase, and a large number of scientific and technical terms (sci-tech terms) have found their way into people’s everyday language. As some scholars have noted, such terms may account for approximately 80% of the vocabulary in some domains (Zhang & Zhang 1997).

1 The basic situation In recent years, China’s effort to standardize sci-tech terminology has made much headway as reflected mainly in the following aspects:

1.1 Publication of approved terms Since 2006, the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies has published Genetic Terms (2nd edition), Geography Terms (2nd edition), Communication Technology Terms, Marine Technology Terms (2nd edition), Ecology Terms, and Immunology Terms, and has announced the Chinese name of chemical Element 111. By the end of 2007, the Committee had published 79 monographs on terminology (including the 2nd edition of validated and published terms) as well as a CD-ROM containing 64 volumes of terms.

1.1.1 First publication of Communication Technology Terms, Ecology Terms and Immunology Terms The published Communication Technology Terms (1st edition) contains altogether 2,104 entries of terms with definitions. First and foremost, the book makes a conceptual clarification of some terms. For example, the term IP Phone used to refer to a phone call made via an Internet connection, thus its corresponding English name was “Internet Telephone”. But now the IP phone, which has become available in the market in recent years, refers to a quality phone call transmitted through the Internet and on a private IP network, therefore its English name

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is “Voice over IP (VoIP)”. Secondly, the book provides clear definitions for confusable terms related to communication areas, e.g. defining e-commerce as electronic commerce (电子商务), e-business as electronic business (电子商业, or 电子业务), etc. Of the published terms of various communication technologies, some reflect traditional and classic basic conceptions involving a network, network topology, and a communication system, etc., while some others epitomize the newly-emerging technical concepts in the present telecommunications realm, concerning multimedia communication, personal area networks, and IP networks amongst others (Lei 2007). The published Ecology Terms (1st edition), which is comprised of 18 subdisciplines including the General Introduction, Physiological Ecology, and Behavioral Ecology, contains 3,414 discipline-classified entries in total, along with their definitions. In the verification process, experts have addressed a case where one English term has several Chinese equivalents, e.g. meta-population is translated in different ways, including 异质种群 (yizhi zhongqun), 麦塔种群 (maita zhongqun), 联种群 (lian zhongqun), 复合种群 (fuhe zhongqun), 聚合 种群 (juhe zhongqun), and 集合种群 (jihe zhongqun). After much discussion, the term finally took the following unified Chinese translation 集合种群 (jihe zhongqun). In addition, ecological terms such as 偶合 (accidental union) and 群聚 (adoption society) have been eliminated, as they are either outdated or scarcely used (China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies 2006). The promulgated Immunology Terms (1st edition) consists of the General Introduction, Immune System, Immune Pathology, Clinical Immunology, Livestock Immunology, and Applied Immunology, with a total of 1,727 disciplineclassified entries and their definitions. The book has unified interdisciplinary terms, especially those that overlap between cell biology, genetics, molecular biology, etc., without affecting the wholeness and system of the relevant discipline and sub-disciplines. In addition, a number of non-standard terms were eliminated or replaced. For example, 枯否细胞 (kufou xibao) has been replaced by 库普弗细胞 (kupufu xibao), and 角朊细胞 (jiaoruan xibao) was replaced by 角质形成细胞 (jiaozhi xingcheng xibao), etc.

1.1.2 Second promulgation of Genetic Terms, Geographical Terms, and Marine Technology Terms Genetic Terms was first verified in 1989 with 1,519 terms, yet few of them had brief annotations. In 2006, Genetic Terms was supplemented and revised, and

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expanded by 55% compared with its 1st edition, with a total of 2,358 terms rectified and their definitions added. Different from the genetic terms verified and published previously, which basically achieved the standardization and unification of the classic genetics or genetics terminology, the terms verified this time were mainly newly-emerged ones, especially those related to molecular genetics and genomics. In addition, some terms have been reexamined and verified according to the development of genetics as well as the changes of some technological concepts and connotations. For example, the orthologous gene and paralogous gene, formerly known as 直系基因 (zhixi jiyin) and 旁系基因 (pangxi jiyin), were renamed 种间同源基因 (zhongjian tongyuan jiyin) and 种内同源基因 (zhongnei tongyuan jiyin). Moreover, with gene and genetic translated respectively 基因 and 遗传, gene theory and genetic engineering was interpreted as 基因学说 (jiyin xueshuo) and 遗传工程 (yichuan gongcheng) (Zhao 2007). In this way, cases where an English term has more than one Chinese equivalent will be avoided. Geographical Terms was first verified in 1988 and has 1,428 published terms. The new edition, which is a revised and supplemented version of the old edition, published a total of 4,089 terms, covering the newly emerged terms involving all branches of geography, e.g., terms concerning global change, globalization and anthropogeography such as economic globalization, global warming, global circulation model, global sea-level change, digital earth, feminist geography, and time geography. Also included are terms that reflect Chinese geographical phenomena and the characteristics of Chinese geographical research such as 渎 (du, sacred river, great river), 岳 (yue, sacred mountain), 郭 (guo, outer walled part of a city), 邑 (yi, town-settlement), 畿 (ji, environs of a capital city), 陉 (xíng, mountain pass), 竺可桢曲线 (Zhu Kezhen quxian, Zhu’s curve), 黄秉 维模型 (Huang Bingwei moxing, Huang’s model), and 风水 (Fengshui, geomancy), etc. (Cai 2007). Marine Science Terms was first verified in 1989, and published with 1,536 entries. The new edition verified and published a total of 3,126 terms with their definitions – terms which cover almost all the disciplinary branches of oceanography including marine management, marine economy, marine regulations and marine culture, e.g. right of the sea or marine right, damage by tide, island landscape, maritime arts, and maritime belief. Some of the entries have been re-verified and re-named. For example, Southern Ocean, formerly known as 南冰洋 (Nan Bing Yang), was now renamed 南大洋 (Nan Da Yang).

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1.1.3 The Chinese name for Element 111 In 2006, after publicly soliciting some experts’ opinions, the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies, along with the National Language Committee, held a symposium for the purpose of giving a Chinese name to Element 111. In line with the official English name of Element 111, announced by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry in 2004, the symposium proposed “ ” (lun) as its Chinese name.

1.2 Steady progress in cross reference and unification of sci-tech terms across the Taiwan Strait The cross-referencing and unifying of sci-tech terms across the Taiwan Strait is an important task for the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies. In recent years, both sides of the Taiwan Strait have accelerated their cross-referencing and unification of sci-tech terms, a project launched and organized by the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies. The project, which started in 2006, involved astronomy, geographical information systems, chemical engineering, electronic engineering, electric power, economy and trade, oceanography, atmospheric science, mapping, cell biology, genetics, immunology, bio-chemistry, and molecular biology, etc. In October 2006, experts in atmospheric science from mainland China and Taiwan met in Kashgar, Xinjiang (新疆), and held a symposium for the cross-referencing of the terms. The symposium focused on the new and commonly-used terms selected by the experts in the field of atmospheric science. Before the symposium, only 38% of the terms in mainland China and Taiwan were consistent, but after the symposium the consistency rose to 80% (Liu 2007). In January 2007, the Symposium for the Cross-Referencing of Biological Terms was held in Taipei. Over thirty biology experts from mainland China and Taiwan showed up to discuss in earnest the inconsistencies between the mainland and Taiwan in the use of terms concerning four branches of biology – genetics, immunology, bio-chemistry, and molecular biology. The most representative outcome of 2007 was achieved in the Second Symposium of the Working Committee for Astronomical Terms, in which one of the items on the agenda was to decide on the Chinese name for dwarf planet Eris. After much discussion, the symposium decided to vote on this issue. The first round of voting was, by a small majority, in favor of adopting a free translation

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method instead of transliteration; the second round of voting was, by an overwhelming majority, in favor of giving the Chinese name 阋神星 (xishen xing) to Eris, and 阋卫一 (xi wei yi) to Eris’ Satellite Dysnomia, thus putting an end to the confusion over the Chinese name of this planet (Bian 2007). Through many years’ endeavors in mainland China and Taiwan, the crossreferencing of the terms in information technology and chemical engineering has been completed, and Terms in Chemical Engineering across the Strait and Terms in Information Technology in Mainland China and Taiwan (in a crossreference edition) were published in 2007. In addition, progress was made in the cross-referencing of the terms in astronomy, economics and trade, electronic engineering and electric power, etc.

1.2.1 Mainland China’s and Taiwan’s joint examination of terms in chemical engineering, and its publication in a cross-reference edition The inconsistencies between mainland China’s and Taiwan’s use of terms in chemical engineering poses tremendous obstacles on their academic exchanges. All experts from the two regions found it necessary to promote the exchanges and discussions on chemical engineering terms, and publish a relevant book in a cross-reference edition. Experts in mainland China finished the preliminary cross-referencing and supplementary work for Chemical Engineering Terms in Mainland China and Taiwan, using Chemical Engineering Terms (provided by the Taiwan Chemical Engineering Society) and Chemical Engineering Terms (1995) (examined and published by the National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies) as the blueprint for cross-referencing. Then, having invited experts in Taiwan to supplement and revise the preliminary work via email, the draft of a cross-reference edition of Chemical Engineering Terms of Mainland China and Taiwan was completed. In November 2005, the Mainland and Taiwan Symposium for Chemical Engineering Terms, which was held in Beijing (北京), further specified the principles for the selection of the terms, and discussed the inconsistent or ambiguous ones. Finally, following the principle of “respect conventional usage, select the most proper, pursue gradual unification while reserving differences”, the experts were coming close to a consensus. After the symposium and a further examination by the experts from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, the book was finalized and later published in a cross-reference edition, containing a total of 13,000 terms (Cross-Taiwan-Strait Working Committee on Terms in Chemical Engineering 2007).

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Table 1: Cross-Reference List of Chemical Engineering Terms in Mainland China and Taiwan (extract) Chinese name used in Mainland China

Chinese name used in Taiwan

English name

氨基化 (anji hua)

胺化 (an hua)

Amination

编码 (bianma)

代號 (daihao), 規範 (gui fan), 簡碼 ( jian ma)

Code

变量 (bian liang)

變數 (bian shu)

Variable

标量 (biao liang)

純量 (chunliang)

Scalar

不透明度 (bu toumíing du)

乳白度 (rubaidu)

Opacity

测试仪 (ceshiyi)

試驗器 (shiyanqi)

Tester

重整 (chongzheng)

重組[反應] (chongzu [fanying])

Reforming

Source: The Cross-Taiwan-Strait Working Committee on Terms in Chemical Engineering. 2007. Terms in Chemical Engineering across the Taiwan Strait. China Science Press.

1.2.2 Mainland China’s and Taiwan’s joint examination of IT terms with publication in a cross-reference edition As a newly-developing academic discipline, information technology (IT) is booming. As a result, a large number of new IT sector terms were pouring in. Yet the separation between mainland China and Taiwan gave rise to a significant difference between their terms. On December 11, 2001, experts from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong held a meeting in Beijing to discuss in detail the ways to unify the terms, and they decided to establish a Cross-Taiwan-Strait Working Committee responsible for their cross-referencing and unification. The committee chose the original version for cross-referencing the IT terms used in mainland China and Taiwan, and compiled the first draft of the book after experts from both sides of the Strait filled in the list with their standardized or habitually used terms. In August 2002, experts from both sides of the Strait attended the First Cross-Taiwan-Strait Symposium on IT Terms, held in Chengdu (成都), Sichuan (四川) province, and fully discussed and passed in principle the scope of the terms to be selected and the term-naming criteria. The experts also discussed theories of terminology, some key IT terms and other academic topics such as the factors underlying the difference in those terms across the Strait, the fundamental patterns of term formation, and some relevant academic concepts. After the symposium, they examined and revised the first draft of the book, supplementing new terms and previously overlooked ones. In early 2003, after it had

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been submitted for further examination, the draft was ready for discussion and approval. In March 2004, the Second Cross-Taiwan-Strait Symposium on IT Terms was held in Taiwan University, Taipei. In August 2006, the cross reference of the terms in electronics, computer science, and telecommunication was completed, and subsequently these terms were submitted to the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies. In December, the Committee sent them again to experts for examination and revision. After the final round of verification, the book entitled Information Technology Terms used in Mainland China and Taiwan was finalized, with a total of 19,000 entries. In recent years, both sides of the Strait have witnessed more and more academic activities on improving the cross-referencing of terms in science and technology. At present, as far as the cross-referencing and unifying of terms is concerned, over twenty academic disciplines have been involved, and nine books have been published.

2 Main features In the past two years, with continuous improvement in scientific terminology standardization, some new features have emerged.

2.1 The terminology check is expanding from natural science and inter-disciplines to social science By the year 2000, China had formed a relatively complete scientific terminology system in natural science and engineering, including in inter-disciplinary subjects. However, such an accomplishment has not been achieved in the social sciences. In order to adapt to the developing situation, the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies made a point of promoting terminology standardization and unification in the social sciences, and set up a Committee for Chinese Terms in Linguistics in June 2001, and a Language Coordination Committee at the end of 2006. By January 2007, the Committee for Chinese Terms in Linguistics had examined and finalized terms in thirteen branch disciplines. The book of linguistic terminology was published in 2008. In June 2006, the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies established a Committee for Terms in Economy and Trade, whose duty covered international trade, investment and business. In 2007, the Committee for

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Terms in Economics, the Committee for Terms in Law, and the Committee for Terms in Sociology were established in succession.

2.2 Ever-expanding work team for standardization of sci-tech terms The China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies has established and reshuffled more than ten sub-committees for standardizing terms. The following are the newly-established committees: Committee for Terms in Economy and Trade, Committee for Terms in Economics, Committee for Terms in Education, Committee for Terms in Law, and the Committee for Terms in Sociology. Reshuffled were: the 2nd session of the Committee for Terms in Microbiology, the 2nd session of the Committee for Terms in Paleontology, the 3rd session of the Committee for Terms in Electric Power, the 2nd session of the Committee for Terms in Physics, the 2nd session of the Committee for Terms in Agriculture, the 2nd session of the Committee for Terms in Forestry, the 2nd session of the Committee for Terms in History of Science and Technology, the 2nd session of the Committee for Terms in Metallurgy, and the 2nd session of the Committee for Terms in Psychology. The staff of those committees increased from over 2,000 in 2005 to over 3,000 in 2007.

2.3 Development in the theoretical study of Chinese terminology In 2005 and 2007 respectively, the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies and Heilongjiang (黑龙江) University held jointly two nationwide symposiums on the development of terminology, which played an active role in promoting research in terminology (Liu 2007). The relevant government department is going to list terminology as an independent academic discipline. Working in collaboration with the Commercial Press, the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies published a Chinese Terminology Development Series. In addition, the China National Fund for Philosophy and Social Sciences has set up funded projects for terminology research – a project for linguistic terminology, a project for the cross-referencing and unifying of terminology in economy and trade across the Strait, as well as a project for Russian terminology theory and practice, and a project for research on Mongolian terminology standardization, etc. (Liu 2007a).

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3 Problems to be solved In the past two years, China has witnessed a rapid progress in the standardization of sci-tech terminology, but some problems have arisen that need to be solved.

3.1 The standardization of sci-tech terminology lacks a legal guarantee The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language prescribes only the principles of standardizing sci-tech terminology at language level, without any specifications on other relevant aspects such as the application of the terminology standardization. As the foundation of sci-tech development, the standardization of sci-tech terminology should be embodied in China’s sci-tech legislation.

3.2 Lasting mechanisms are needed in the publicity and popularization of terminology standardization Compared with the rapid progress in sci-tech terminology standardization and publication, the promotion and publicity of sci-tech terminology has been left behind. The reasons are as follows: First, an effective mechanism to deal with this issue has not been established yet. The State Council Document No. [1987]142 specifies the procedure for standardizing and publishing sci-tech terminology and makes requirements to ensure the popularization of the standardized sci-tech terms, yet it does not prescribe how to realize the popularization. Secondly, because China lagged behind in science and technology in modern times, the standardization and unification of sci-tech terminology in China had thus a weak foundation and, due to other factors, suffered a period of discontinuity. As a result, most of the efforts of the past twenty years aimed to examine and publish sci-tech terminology, rather than to standardize and popularize it. Currently, the rapid development of its examination and publication necessitates the prompt standardization and popularization of sci-tech terminology.

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3.3 Calling for the establishment of a national academic research organization The theoretical study of terminology is getting increasingly common in China, and a research team is beginning to take shape. However, the study has progressed largely unorganized, and most scholars are doing their own research. Therefore, a national academic organization should be established with the aim of organizing and coordinating all research on terminology nationwide. It is believed that such an organization will play an important role in accelerating the terminology study in China and is helping to set up China’s own academic school of terminology.

References Bian, Yulin (卞毓麟). 2007. Origin and Development of the Chinese Denomination of Eris. China Terminology, 4. Cai, Yunlong (蔡运龙). 2007. Regulation and Updating of Concepts in Geography. China Terminology, 5. China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies. 2006. Foreword of Terms in Genetics. China Science Press. Cross-Taiwan-Strait Working Committee on Terms in Chemical Engineering. 2007. Foreword of Terms in Chemical Engineering across the Taiwan Strait. China Science Press. Lei, Zhenzhou (雷震洲). 2007. A Remark on Releasing the New Terms of Telecommunication Technology for Probation. China Terminology, 1. Liu, Qing (刘青). 2007. Fourth Cross-Taiwan-Strait Symposium on Atmospheric Science. China Terminology, 1. Liu, Qing (刘青). 2007a. Opinion on Strengthening Construction of the Subject of Chinese Terminology. China Terminology, 5. Zhang, Zhiyi (张志毅) & Zhang, Qingyun (张庆云). 1997. Trend and Selection of New Words & Expressions at the Present Time. Construction of Language in China, 3. Zhao, Shouyuan (赵寿元). 2007. Comment on Genetics, 2nd Edition. China Terminology, 1. Translated by Yuan Xiaoning (袁晓宁) Southeast University of China [email protected]

Huang Wei (黄伟) & Gu Dingqian (顾定倩)

5 Status quo of sign language 1 General conditions Sign language refers here to the form of visual expression of deaf-mutes communicating by means of hand gestures complemented with body postures, facial expressions and mouth shapes. It may be divided into two types: natural and grammatical. The former is usually composed of spontaneous hand gestures, structurally greatly different from the grammatical rules of vocal language, while the latter consists of simultaneous hand gestures reinforced by the ones designed according to certain rules and applied according to the grammar of vocal language.

1.1 Lyon’s Hand Gestures Lyon’s Hand Gestures express the alphabet manually, and were designed by J. Lyon on the basis of visible speech symbols offered by British linguist Alexander Melville Bell. The letters represent places and manners of articulation rather than sounds. The gestures are many in number and show little variation. They are hard to remember and it is not easy to tell the difference between them; therefore, they are not popular in China. However, they laid the foundation for the formulation of the Chinese manual alphabet.

1.2 Phonetic alphabet gestures After the promulgation of the phonetic alphabet for Chinese script in 1918, two systems – Lyon’s Manual Phonetic Transcription Chart (赖恩氏手切图, hereafter “Chart”) and the National Language Phonetic Transcription Finger Spellings (国语 注音符号发音指式) – came into existence on the basis of Lyon’s Hand Gestures. The Chart consists of 34 alphabetic finger gestures, of which 32 are taken from Lyon’s Hand Gestures; therefore, the system is still so complex that few may have a good command of it. Around 1930, the deaf-mute educators in Shanghai (上海) established a new set of “national language manual phonetic

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Figure 1: Lyon’s Manual Phonetic Transcription Chart Source: Pu, Yongxin (朴永馨). 1992. Counseling for Chinese Sign Language Teaching (中国手语 教学辅导). Huaxia (华夏) Press.

notations”, comprising 37 finger gestures. Though still restricted within the basic mode of the speech organ environment of Lyon’s Hand Gestures, it is simpler, with one finger gesture for each phonetic notation inclusive of compound vowels.

1.3 Finger Alphabet of Chinese Phonetic Transcription The Finger Alphabet of Chinese Phonetic Transcription (汉语拼音手指字母), jointly published in 1963 by the former Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education, and the Chinese Character Reform Committee for national implementation, was based on the phonemic alphabet of the Chinese Phonological

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System, following its spelling rules, and evolving with the latter in the direction of an alphabetic writing. The Chinese manual alphabet can be used single-handedly. As the finger gestures represent phonemic letters rather than syllables, it proves difficult to memorize as a whole. For this reason, Zhou Youguang (周有光), a renowned linguist in China, and Shen Jiaying (沈家英), an expert for special education and teacher at Beijing (北京) No. 4 School for the Deaf, developed a system of Chinese syllable finger gestures, which includes an additional twenty compound vowels. It was designed for both hands, vowels by the left and consonants by the right, so a syllable can be produced by employing both hands. It was tried out in a limited number of schools.

2 The standardization and implementation of sign language As mentioned earlier, sign language is a tool for the deaf-mutes to communicate and express themselves. As China is a huge country with many local sign languages, communication is not easy among those with hearing problems. The establishment and standardization of a uniform sign language is therefore of crucial importance to the deaf-mutes in realizing goals of equality, participation, and sharing of interest. Work on it started in the 1950s.

2.1 The establishment of a uniform general sign language from the 1950s to 1966 In 1959, the China Association for the Blind and Deaf revised A Scheme of a General Sign Language for the Deaf-Mutes (聋哑人通用手语草图) and submitted the proposal to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Chinese Character Reform Committee for approval before putting it into trial use. Four volumes with a total of 2,000 hand gesture diagrams were published. In 1960, the former Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Chinese Character Reform Committee endorsed the proposal and put forward some guiding principles for the design: there must be agreement between sign language and real life; complete integration of hand gestures with the hand alphabet; a consistency and approximation between/of sign, oral and written languages; and the principle of visualization, clarity and legibility.

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In 1979, the China Association for the Blind and Deaf redrew two circulating volumes of the Scheme. In 1982, 640 new words were determined and put into use on a trial basis, with the intention of dissemination after formal approval. The China Association for the Blind and Deaf organized four working meetings jointly with the departments concerned and laid a solid foundation for the nationwide standardization and unification of the sign language. Worthy of special mention is the 3rd National Conference of Sign Languages in May 1987 because it was at this conference that A Scheme of a General Sign Language for the Deaf-Mutes was revised into the current Chinese Sign Language.

2.2 Editing and publication of Chinese Sign Language from 1988 to 2003 and its national status The founding of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation (hereafter “the Federation”) in 1988 pushed forward the sign language revision, and May 1990 witnessed the formal publication of Chinese Sign Language (China Association for the Deaf 1990), which marks the beginning of standardization and the unification of sign languages across the whole country and a new phase in its developing history. Since the 1980s, relevant national papers have repeatedly emphasized the official application and popularization of the Chinese sign language based on Chinese Sign Language. In 1991, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the State Education Commission, the State Language Committee, and the Federation jointly issued On the Nationwide Application and Popularization of Chinese Sign Language (关 于在全国推广应用的通知) (Canlian Xuan Zi (残联宣字) No. [1991] 138), requesting its use on public occasions and in school education. At the same time, it was also listed in the curricula of all special education in universities and colleges. During this period, four meetings of national level sign language education were held by the Federation and China Association for the Deaf (hereafter “Association”) and hundreds of sign language interpreters were trained. Meanwhile, various training programs of Chinese Sign Language were also offered by different federations all over the country. In July 2001, the Federation’s Education Department and the Association commissioned the Center for Special Education of Beijing Normal University to organize a specialist team in which the Chairman of the Association, deaf representatives, sign language specialists, and teachers at schools for the deaf participated with the aim of further revising the original Chinese Sign Language (Department of Education and Employment of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, China Association for the Deaf 2003). Approximately two years of work resulted in the new version’s publication in May 2003.

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2.3 Nationwide questionnaire survey In June 2004, the Federation’s Education Department and the Association undertook a nationwide questionnaire survey, seeking advice from deaf students at schools of special education, deaf adults, teachers at schools for the deaf, sign language interpreters and amateurs who are enthusiasts for sign language. The statistics show that various participants agreed on one point: the first task for the present and the near future is to continue to solve the problem of unification and standardization, particularly promoting the service that sign language should provide in teaching, and at the same time, working out better spelling rules and enriching the vocabulary of the sign language. Nearly 80% agreed to popularize Chinese Sign Language as the national standard sign language for the deaf. 80% believed that the major problem in making Chinese Sign Language popular was the lack of systematic training and insufficient propaganda. The consensus was reached that teachers and students of the schools for the deaf should be targeted as the subjects of the promotion. A further 80% of the participants suggested opening a sign language course at schools for the deaf (Gu et al. 2005).

2.4 Research into sign language for the major of editing The Federation commissioned the Engineering College of Tianjin (天津) Institute of Science and Technology to study and compile the Sign Language of Computer Science (Department of Education and Employment of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, China Association for the Deaf 2005), and another three institutions, the School of Special Education of Changchun (长春) University, the Teaching and Research Office of the Shanghai Education Committee, and the Tianjin Physical Culture Institute, to compile The Sign Language for Fine Arts, The Sign Language for Sciences, and The Sign Language for Physical Culture respectively, with a view to enriching the vocabulary and complementing Chinese Sign Language. For better accessible communication and exchange among the deaf-mutes during the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2008, the Federation and Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee compiled Common Sign Language for the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (北京奥运会和 残奥会常用手语) for the staff, volunteers and commercial service personnel (The 29th Olympic Games Organizing Committee, China Disabled Persons’ Federation 2008), containing relevant vocabulary and common expressions

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mostly taken from Chinese Sign Language and new gestures expressing Olympic mascots and other items.

2.5 Teaching materials and software for training With a stronger consciousness of helping the disabled and solidified approval of sign language, there is an increasing number of interested people, particularly those engaged in the service industry, participating in learning sign language. During 2003–2006, the Federation and the Association organized a group of specialists to compile Daily Conversations in Chinese Sign Language in the form of a dialogue for the convenience of hearing persons to learn better and faster so that they could communicate with and serve the deaf and the mute (Department of Education and Employment of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, China Association for the Deaf 2006). To coordinate the publication, the Federation and Beijing Teenagers’ Audio & Video Publishing House filmed a sitcom series entitled Qianshou (牵手, ‘Hand in Hand’) to help popularize the sign language (Department of Education and Employment of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, China Association for the Deaf, Beijing Teenagers’ Audio & Video Publishing House 2006). Meanwhile, the Federation organized the writing of Teaching Materials for Chinese Sign Language Training (trial version) in 2006, basing on Chinese Sign Language (Department of Education and Employment of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, China Association for the Deaf, Guangzhou (广州) Sign Language Research Council 2006). With over 1,000 common words from 15 categories selected and nearly 100 basic sentence patterns introduced, it was designed for 100 hours of teaching, and for practical purposes, complemented with afterclass and unit exercises, so that learners can do replacement and expansion drills to make new sentences. In addition, Sign Language Teaching was written for specialized courses of special normal education in the country (Pan & Wang 2007), Conversations in Sign Language is a compulsory textbook for advanced professional schools or junior specialist colleges (Pan 2005), and Common Sign Language Expressions for Social Work was designed for Chinese universities and colleges of civil administration in the 21st century (Jin 2008). In addition to the above, the Institute for Computer Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences applied artificial intelligence to sign language and developed the Chinese Sign Language Synthesis System, and a series of supplementary software for Chinese Sign Language has been developed by the China Deaf Encyclopedia Network (http://www.chinalrbk.com) of Zhengzhou (郑州).

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3 Personnel training and standard development 3.1 Professional training for advanced sign language personnel Undergraduate and postgraduate programs including Master’s and Doctor’s degrees in sign language have been offered at prestigious institutions of higher education such as Peking University, Beijing Normal University, and Fudan (复旦) University. A sign language major was established at the Institute of Art and Design for the Deaf of Zhongzhou (中州) University in Henan (河南), at the College of Special Education of Changchun University in Jilin (吉林), and at Nanjing (南京) Technical College of Special Education in Jiangsu (江苏), to train graduates of sign language interpretation. All these developments signify a new level of advanced professional personnel training in sign language in China.

3.2 Assessment, approval and publication of National Vocational Qualification Standards of Sign Language Interpreters In 2007, the former Ministry of Labor and Social Security placed sign language interpreters into the category of ‘new career’. In November of the same year, the Ministry collaborated with the China Labor Skill Appraisal Center, launching an exercise in assessing and crediting the National Vocational Qualification Standards of Sign Language Interpreters after soliciting ideas from nearly thirty people, including professionals in charge of the Department of Language Planning and Administration and the Department of Basic Education, deaf representatives, researchers of sign language, principals of special education schools, and interpreters. Other experts and practitioners in Beijing were also invited to participate in the examination work. The China Labor Skill Appraisal Center accepted all suggestions of the Association and set up four ranks of professional qualifications (namely, sign language interpreters of primary, intermediate, advanced levels, and master interpreter). Professional standards and requirements were submitted to the former Ministry of Labour and Social Security before the official publication in April 2008.

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References China Association for the Deaf. 1990. Chinese Sign Language. Beijing: Huaxia (华夏) Press. Department of Education and Employment of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, China Association for the Deaf. 2003. Chinese Sign Language. Beijing: Huaxia Press. Department of Education and Employment of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, China Association for the Deaf. 2005. Sign Language for Computer Science. Beijing: Huaxia Press. Department of Education and Employment of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, China Association for the Deaf. 2006. Daily Conversations in Chinese Sign Language. Beijing: Huaxia Press. Department of Education and Employment of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, China Association for the Deaf, Beijing Teenagers’ Audio & Video Publishing House. 2006. Qianshou (牵手). Beijing: Beijing Teenagers’ Audio & Video Publishing House. Department of Education and Employment of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, China Association for the Deaf, Guangzhou (广州) Sign Language Research Council. 2006. Teaching Materials for Chinese Sign Language Training (trial version). Beijing: Huaxia Press. Gu, Dingqian (顾定倩) et al. 2005. Investigation and analysis of the popularization and research of Chinese sign language (关于中国手语推广与研究情况的调查分析). Chinese Journal of Special Education, Volume 4. Jin, Shuangqiu (金双秋). 2008. Common Sign Language Expressions for Social Work. Beijing: Peking University Press. Pan, Yi (潘一). 2005. Conversations in Sign Language. Beijing: Higher Education Press. Pan, Yi (潘一) & Wanɡ, Xuefei (汪雪飞). 2007. Teaching Sign Language. Tianjin: Tianjin Education Press. The 29th Olympic Games Organizing Committee, China Disabled Persons’ Federation. 2008. Common Sign Language for the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (北京奥 运会和残奥会常用手语). Beijing: Huaxia Press. Translated by Liang Xiaopeng (梁晓鹏) Qingdao (青岛) University of Science & Technology [email protected]

II Special Research

Luo Feng (骆峰), Jiang Yandong (姜言东), Sun Wenzheng (孙文正), Li Lizhen (李立桢), Li Quan (李泉) & Guan Lei (关蕾)

6 The international dissemination of Chinese language The international dissemination of Chinese language, which has been increasingly carried out under the supervision of the Chinese National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (referred to as Hanban, 汉办) or the Confucius Institute Headquarter – draws a great deal of attention from many governments nowadays. Countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, have accepted the Chinese language as a foreign language in their national education systems (Wu 2008). The United Nations proclaimed 2008 the International Year of Languages, and people from around the world continue to show a growing enthusiasm for the Chinese language. The number of people who learn Chinese through different channels has exceeded 40 million by December 2008 (Ren 2008). More than 6,000 different Chinese classes are organized in universities, secondary and primary schools, and various communities and enterprises. The total enrolment of learners has reached 130,000 by December 2008. A variety of cultural exchange activities have attracted over 1.4 million participants (Liu 2008).

1 The development of Confucius Institutes Confucius Institutes are non-profit organisations through which Chinese language and culture are disseminated, and they have seen a rapid development since their first establishment in 2004. According to the statistics, released by the press conference of the “3rd Confucius Institute Conference” in December 2008, China has launched 305 Confucius Institutes (including 56 Confucius Classrooms) in 78 countries and regions around the world, many of them in Asia (90), 21 in Africa, 103 in Europe, 81 in America and 10 in Oceania. The Confucius Institute online and China Radio International Confucius Classrooms have reached 149 countries and regions, tripling the figure of the previous year (Wu 2008). To fit into the local situation, Confucius Institutes around the world have been gradually improving their management system and constantly refined their mode of operation.

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1.1 International collaboration and localised teaching Since their establishment, Confucius Institutes have adhered to the principles of “Foreign Initiative, Bilateral Agreement, Mutual Collaboration and Mutual Benefit”. Their operational mode not only requires that the overseas host institutions receive assistance from their Chinese partners, but they also gain huge support from local governments and all levels of society in the host countries. According to Hanban, more than US$93 million have been spent on Confucius Institutes globally in 2008, 48% of which came from China and 52% came from the host institutions. The financial support from China is treated as a type of project management support and is mainly used for teaching and cultural activities of Confucius Institutes. China provides teaching materials as well as sends Chinese teachers and volunteers – each Confucius Institute normally receives two to three Chinese teachers or volunteers. The host institutions provide teaching floor area and their personnel costs, the value of which matches the fund provided by Hanban. The current teaching floor area, dedicated to all Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms, exceeds 40,000 square meters (Li 2008). The policies of Confucius Institutes include localisation and flexibility. The world’s first Confucius Institute for traditional Chinese medicine, i.e. the Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine at London South Bank University, was officially established on 25 February 2008. This Confucius Institute began to offer courses to both British and overseas applicants in September 2008, and it allows students to focus on traditional Chinese medicine as well as on learning the Chinese language. Not only does its training mode emphasise Chinese characteristics, but also, more profoundly, it helps to disseminate Chinese culture abroad.

1.2 Improving the management system and teaching quality The teaching quality is central to the sustainability of Confucius Institutes and to facilitate the international dissemination of the Chinese language. The Confucius Institute Headquarter was formally opened in 2007 and then introduced a number of policies: “Constitution and By-laws of Confucius Institutes”, “Qualifications of Chinese Instructors”, “Regulations for Administering a Chinese Fund for Confucius Institutes”, and “Requirements for Establishing Confucius Institutes”. These regulations were the foundation work for the development of Confucius Institutes. In 2008, the Confucius Institute Headquarter further developed and amended a series of important documents, such as the “Regulations for the Administration of the Confucius Institute Headquarters Fund”, “Guide for

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Directors of Confucius Institutes”, “Qualifications of Confucius Institute Instructors”, “Basic Standards for Confucius Institutes”, and “Confucius Institute SelfAssessment”. Hanban held a workshop for the directors of Confucius Institutes in December 2008 after the “3rd Confucius Institute Conference”. Most of the Confucius Institutes around the world, in accordance with the “Constitution and By-laws of Confucius Institutes”, have now established a Board of Directors, including both Chinese and foreign members, and they hold board meetings on a regular basis. The competence in management has therefore been further improved. In 2008, the Confucius Institute Headquarter set up five Special Work Committees, consisting of both Chinese and foreign university presidents, renowned experts and scholars, and social celebrities. They provide consultative suggestions to the Headquarter in terms of development and planning, teaching guidance, human resources promotion, and cultural and economic development. Financial review is also in the brief of these committees.

1.3 Authenticity and variety of cultural activities As an important activity of the “China-Japan Youth Friendly Exchange Year” in 2008, Hanban, the Confucius Institute at J. F. Oberlin University in Japan and Tongji University (Shanghai 上海) jointly organised the final of the “Second Japanese Youth Karaoke Contest in Chinese”. This activity won a warm welcome from the Japanese youth and, to some extent, sparked their enthusiasm for learning Chinese. Some Confucius Institutes planned Olympics-related activities during the international torch relays in 2008. The Confucius Institute at Kazan University in Russia organised a series of cultural activities to support and promote the 2008 Beijing (北京) Olympic Games. In its efforts to clarify issues on Tibet, the Confucius Institute at University College Cork in Ireland held a debate, “China, Human Rights, and the Olympic Games”. From 3 to 25 July 2008, the Confucius Institute at the University of Hawaii at Manoa organised the second “Chinese Language Immersion Sports Camp”, with the focus on the Beijing Olympic Games. 25 secondary school students and 13 teachers from ten states participated in this event.

1.4 Collaborative forums and academic conferences Collaborative forums have been planned and organised across the countries and regions where Confucius Institutes are developing fast. On 14 March 2008, the

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first collaborative forum for the Nordic Confucius Institutes was held at the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, Sweden. The forum was intended to strengthen the collaboration between the Nordic Confucius Institutes and promote the dissemination of Chinese language and culture (Hanban 2008). The second meeting of the USA Confucius Institutes, jointly organised by the Confucius Institute Headquarter and the Confucius Institute at the University of Maryland, USA, took place in Washington in April 2008. In June 2008, the Confucius Institute at the Belarusian State University organised a conference in Minsk with the theme of “Belarus-China: History, Tradition, Experience and the Future”. In November 2008, Hokuriku University (Japan) set up a collaboration committee for the Japanese Confucius Institutes, with the aim to strengthen collaboration and jointly promote the development of the Confucius Institutes in Japan. Two major events were held in Beijing in December 2008. One of them was the “3rd Confucius Institute Conference”, which lasted from 9 to 11 December. The theme was “Confucius Institutes and the Globalisation of Education”, which was attended by nearly 500 delegates from 249 Confucius Institutes in 78 countries and regions. The delegates discussed topics such as the dissemination of the Chinese language and the development of multiculturalism, the contributions of Confucius Institutes to foreign host universities and local communities, the management and educational quality of Confucius Institutes, and the localisation of Chinese language teachers. The other major event, the “9th International Symposium on Chinese Language Teaching”, took place between 15 and 17 December and was attended by nearly 400 delegates from 26 countries and regions. The theme was the “International Standards for Chinese Language Education and Multilingual Teaching”. Delegates discussed various topics pertaining to several major subjects, such as the current situation and development of international Chinese language teaching; the development and prospect of Confucius Institutes; teaching methods and related techniques; the training of international Chinese language teachers; and Chinese language testing and appraisal.

2 Professional development of teaching staff According to the Asia Society, five percent of American students will learn Chinese by 2015, which means that at least 7,000 positions of Chinese teachers will be created. Currently, however, only 500 to 700 Chinese teachers are available in the USA. Obviously, there is a huge gap between then and now (The Credentials

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Committee of MTCSOL 2007). Data also show that 90,000 and 100,000 extra Chinese teachers are needed in Malaysia and in Indonesia respectively (Wang 2005). In addition, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Africa, the Arab region and South America, Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and other countries or regions have also informed China of their shortage of Chinese language teachers. In response to this, Hanban has effectively increased the size of the teaching workforce by selecting, training and sending Chinese teachers abroad, as well as accelerating the pace of localising the teaching workforce. The concrete measures which Hanban took include: in order to raise teaching standards, the State Council Academic Degree Committee Office approved the Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (MTCSOL); in 2007, 104 secondary school bases for the International Promotion of Chinese Language were established in 26 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, providing training courses for 17,000 teachers from 70 countries. The bases also offer programs for training local Chinese teachers in collaboration with the relevant universities in the USA, Canada and Australia. Since then, the number of teachers and volunteers sent abroad has been increasing. The “International Standards for Chinese Language Teachers” was officially published in November 2007. It is currently the only international standard for teaching Chinese as a second language and provides a basis for training Chinese teachers, evaluating their competence and certifying their qualifications. In 2008, 1,557 Chinese language teachers and teachers of the humanities and social sciences were sent to 109 countries across five continents by Hanban, the Office of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, and also by Chinese universities and other organisations. The total number of teachers increased by 25 compared with 2007. Furthermore, 1,865 volunteers for the “Volunteer Program for International Chinese Teachers” were recruited and sent abroad, increasing their number by 439 in comparison with 2007. Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Ireland were five new countries to receive volunteer teachers (Hanban 2009).

2.1 Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (MTCSOL) In March 2007, the State Council Academic Degree Committee Office released the notification about “MTCSOL Pilot Work” and set up a nationwide MTCSOL advisory committee. 24 universities were among the first batch of pilot institutions to offer MTCSOL courses and 1,020 new students were enrolled. The national

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entrance examination for a part-time MTCSOL course was held in October 2007, for which 1,715 people lodged applications. On 9 May 2008, a two-day conference for the pilot institutions was held in Beijing. The conference theme was “Innovation and MTCSOL”. Two important documents, the Description of the Five Compulsory Courses for MTCSOL, and the Basic Standards for Pilot Institutions were discussed at the conference. The total number of applicants for a full-time MTCSOL course increased from 1,418 in 2007 to 1,900 in 2008 (Hanban 2009).

2.2 Training of international Chinese language volunteer-teachers In March 2004, the Ministry of Education issued the “Volunteer Program for International Chinese Teachers”. These volunteer-teachers were recruited in China and then sent abroad. In September 2006, Hanban promulgated the Overseas Volunteer Chinese Teacher Program (trial version), and subsequently began to recruit local volunteer-teachers to teach Chinese. In 2007, Hanban sent 1,445 volunteer-teachers to 42 countries (Hanban 2009). On 14 January 2008, Hanban organised training classes in Beijing for those volunteer-teachers who were going to teach in Chile and Colombia. The training classes were designed to meet the conditions and needs of the two countries. In addition, the classes were part of Hanban’s pool of Chinese teachers with a talent for Spanish. In 2008, the Volunteer Center of Hanban amended the “Teaching Resources for Volunteer-Teachers” twice and donated books to volunteer-teachers and their host institutions.

2.3 Training of local Chinese language teachers In order to speed up the training of local Chinese language teachers, Hanban has established a scholarship program for certifying Chinese teachers’ qualifications. In collaboration with the USA, Canada, Australia, Thailand and other countries, Hanban is encouraging students to obtain a master’s degree and teacher qualification. China and Thailand jointly launched a project in September 2008 to cultivate local Chinese language teachers in Thailand. As a result, 122 students were sent by the Thai Ministry of Education to key Chinese universities to gain further education.

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Overseas Chinese teachers are currently trained either locally or in China, or online wherever they are. In 2008, 16,512 Chinese teachers were trained by Hanban, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, and by some Chinese universities as well. Compared with 2007, their number dropped by 270, however, more experts went abroad and trained 8,609 people locally. 5,888 people came to China to attend training courses, while 2,015 people participated in online training courses (Hanban 2009).

3 Development and promotion of teaching resources 3.1 Raising teaching standards Hanban invited more than 300 Chinese and foreign experts and scholars to work on addressing the problem of low teaching standards. In October 2007, December 2007, and March 2008 respectively, “International Standards for Chinese Language Teachers”, “Chinese Language Proficiency Levels for Speakers of Other Languages”, and the “International Curriculum for Chinese Language Education” were formulated. The English version of the International Curriculum for Chinese Language Education, published by the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, is now available in over 120 countries and regions. These standards have substantially contributed to the improvement of the quality of the international teaching of Chinese.

3.2 Textbooks and curricula In order to get ready for the Beijing Olympic Games, Hanban invited both Chinese and foreign experts to prepare a number of multimedia-oriented Chinese teaching and reading materials on Chinese culture. Hanban also published Happy Chinese in collaboration with the UK, and developed the New Chengfeng (乘风) Chinese Online Game, Great Wall Chinese (online version) and Everyday Chinese jointly with the USA. While actively participating in a variety of national and international book exhibitions, Hanban also established a number of overseas distribution centers for disseminating teaching materials and books. This shows that the distribution of bilingual books and audiovisual materials has increased considerably. Alone in 2007, 813,000 books and copies of audiovisual material were donated to 1,616 institutions across 95 countries.

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In 2008, Hanban and China Radio International jointly developed Everyday Chinese as a radio teaching program in 38 languages. The paper-based My Chinese Picture Dictionary was compiled by Hanban in collaboration with the Commercial Press and Singapore Innovation and Technology Company. The dictionary was officially released in October 2008, and has since received positive feedback from its users. The conference “Trends and Cooperation – the Development and Promotion of Chinese Teaching Materials” was held in the Chinese Cultural Center in Berlin on 11 October 2008. Central to the conference discussions were the current situation, trends, problems and challenges of Chinese text books in relation to German universities and secondary schools. The discussions also included the possible collaboration between China and Germany in publishing and promoting Chinese books in German-speaking countries. As a result, suggestions such as “localisation”, “humanity”, “pertinence”, “modernisation”, “enjoyment” and “diversity” for the compilation and publication of Chinese books were put forward by both Chinese and German scholars.

3.3 Publicity and promotion of teaching resources Exhibitions of teaching resources were held during both the “3rd Confucius Institute Conference” and the “9th International Symposium on Chinese Language Teaching” in 2008. In order to accommodate the “Chinese Bridge” American Primary and Secondary School Principals’ Trip to China, the Confucius Institute Headquarter organised an exhibition of international Chinese language teaching resources. In 2008, Hanban organised the “Award for Outstanding International Chinese Language Teaching”. During the contest, 43 winners showed their talent in class demonstrations, multimedia courseware and lesson planning. The event successfully promoted Chinese teaching resources. The book exhibition at the “9th International Symposium on Chinese Language Teaching” contained 12,000 copies of 1,512 instructional materials in 15 categories, including paper-based, online, multimedia, and so on. The Hanban Exhibition Zone showed teaching materials collected from 100 Confucius Institutes across five continents as well as presented Chinese international promotion projects and resources, and more than 200 agreements were signed. In 2008, Hanban selected a few exhibitors with marketing experience and attended their following exhibitions: the 26th Language Exhibition in Paris, a Chinese Language Conference in the USA, a Language Exhibition in the UK, a Chinese Cultural Education Exhibition in Australia, the National Train Tour for

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College Entrance and Careers Advice in France, the 42nd Conference of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, and the exhibition of foreign language teaching resources.

4 Improvement of Chinese examinations 4.1 Amendment of the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) In 2007, Hanban amended the methods of designing examinations, resulting in the expansion of the number of universities forming the Committee of Examiners to nearly thirty. At the same time, Hanban improved its examination management system. More than 160,000 people took examinations in 2007, of whom 72,924 were overseas candidates, double the figure of overseas participants that took part in 2006. Hanban and other related institutions have arranged different Chinese examinations around the world in 2008. 410,000 foreign candidates from both China and abroad across 49 countries and regions took part in the examinations. There were 316,000 overseas candidates, more than double compared with the previous year, and 493 people won the “Chinese Test Scholarship” (Hanban 2009). Of all the Chinese examinations, HSK attracts the majority of candidates from different countries and regions. According to the specific requirements of Confucius Institutes in different countries, Hanban currently implements a centralised HSK, the Business Chinese Test (BCT) and also the Youth Chinese Test (YCT). The above three examinations are divided into different levels that cater to learners with various needs and different abilities.

4.2 Refinement of the Chinese examination management system In another development, Hanban invited the Committee of Examiners to discuss the HSK high, medium and low levels in May, July, and October 2008 respectively. In April 2008, Hanban arranged a meeting for overseas test center employees. In the meeting, delegates discussed the new version of the “Overseas Chinese Proficiency Test Center Management” and “Overseas Chinese Examination Fee Management”. On 23 September 2008, Hanban successfully launched HSK online mock tests, which had been developed by its Examination Division. On 22 December 2008, Hanban organised the first “2008 Chinese Test Winter

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Camp” and it was attended by 480 delegates from 17 countries, such as the USA, Russia, South Korea and so on.

5 International exchange and collaboration Hanban has implemented its strategies “entry” and “exit” since 2006. Many secondary and primary school principals from the USA, the UK, Japan, South Korea and other countries have been invited to visit China, and international student camps have also been organised. More than 4,000 foreign principals, education officials, teachers and students have visited China during a period of two years. Several groups of lecturers in Chinese language and culture have been sent to 125 secondary schools across 17 states in the USA, giving more than 300 Chinese lessons and Chinese culture seminars. The activities attracted more than 60,000 people.

5.1 International collaboration and programs of Chinese language, culture and international education During the Beijing Olympic Games, Hanban, in collaboration with the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, set up the “Chinese Learning Area at the Olympic Village”. Experts and teachers were invited to give cultural seminars and offer learning opportunities to athletes, officials and other interested personnel, helping them to study Olympic Chinese 30 and Everyday Chinese. The third “Chinese Bridge” American Secondary and Primary School Principals’ Trip to China took place in June 2008. Hanban invited a group of 430 people, including the deputy chairman and executive committee members of the Council of American Universities, and chairpersons of US national educational bodies, to visit China for a week. During their stay in China, the delegates visited thirteen provinces and municipalities. From 23 to 30 November 2008, Hanban, in collaboration with the Arts Council of Great Britain, invited 110 primary and secondary school principals, and local education officials from eleven cities in England and Wales to visit China for a week. On 15 November 2008, Hanban, as an honorary guest, was for the first time invited to participate in the “National Train Exhibition of College Admissions and Careers’ Advice in France”, organised by the National Union of Students of France. Hanban offered a full range of consulting services to a large number

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of French “Chinese fans”. This train exhibition travelled through medium-sized cities, such as Besançon, Nantes, and Strasbourg, where the National Union of Students of France had never arranged any regular exhibitions before.

5.2 Collaboration with overseas governments and educational institutions for the promotion of Chinese international education Over 3,000 universities are currently offering Chinese courses in more than 100 countries. By the end of 2008, 109 universities had established Confucius Institutes, 40 of which are among the world’s top 200 universities. The Chinese partners of foreign institutions that the Confucius Institutes are affiliated with are research oriented universities, universities directly under the administration of various ministries of the Central Government. Included are also provincial universities of science and engineering, of medical and pharmaceutical studies, agriculture and forestry, finance and economics, politics and law, foreign languages and physical education, as well as universities for ethnic groups, and universities which are based in ethnic regions and are experienced in offering education to local people. The international dissemination of the Chinese language facilitates the international collaboration between universities. In November 2007, Peking University and Waseda University signed a collaboration agreement on the development of the Confucius Institute at Waseda University, which was the world’s first research-based Confucius Institute.

5.3 Cultural exchange programs and the dissemination of Chinese language and culture In 2008, Hanban organised the “Chinese Bridge” International Summer Camp. 482 high school students from the USA, the UK, Japan and other countries were invited to visit China, learn Chinese and participate in an exchange program. In October, Hanban and the British Specialist Schools and Academies Trust coorganised the “Chinese Bridge” British Students Autumn Camp. 268 students and teachers from twenty secondary schools in the UK visited China and took part in an exchange program. The theme of the first “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Secondary School Students was “Splendid Chinese Culture and Charm”. A total of 87 contestants, representing 29 groups from 24 countries took part in the

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final, which was held in Jinan (济南), Shandong (山东) Province, from 14 to 30 July 2008. The theme of the seventh “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Language Competency Competition for College Students was “Passion for the Olympic Games and Happy Chinese”. Preliminaries were held in 72 contest divisions across 55 countries from February to June 2008, and 110 contestants came to China. The semi-final and final took place in Changsha (长沙) from 6 July to 4 August. In December 2008, the “2008 Overseas Chinese Origin Adolescents’ Winter Camp for Chinese Folk Dances and Martial Arts” was held in Changsha, Hunan (湖南) province. About 150 Chinese-origin adolescents and their team leaders from Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Brunei attended a two-week intensive course. This winter camp was considered a root-seeking trip.

References Hanban. 24 March 2008. The first collaborative forum for the Nordic Confucius Institutes was held in Sweden. Available at http://www.Hanban.edu.cn/content.php?id=3237. Hanban. 2009. Hanban 2008 Annual Report. Available at http://www.Hanban.edu.cn/report/ pdf/2008_final.pdf. Li, Yulan (李玉兰). 7 December 2008. 249 Confucius Institutes and 56 Confucius Classrooms have been established. Available at http://news.cctv.com/world/20081207/101405.shtml. Liu, Yandong (刘延东). 12 December 2008. Speech by Liu Yandong at the “3rd Confucius Institute Conference”. Available at http://www.hanyuwang.cn/index.php?o=article-show& artsid=2952. Ren, Jie (任杰). 9 December 2008. Over 40 million people around the world are learning Chinese. Available at http://www.hanyuwang.cn/index.php?o=article-show&artsid=2947. The Credentials Committee of MTCSOL. January 2007. A description of the Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages. Available at http://www.moe.gov.cn/edoas/ xinxichayue/showaccessory.jsp. Wang, Xiaobo (王小波). 8 November 2005. Chinese language fever attracts nearly 100 million learners abroad. Available at http://www.Hanban.edu.cn/cn_Hanban/content.php? id=709. Wu, Jing (吴晶). 16 December 2008. Experts suggest six transformations of the international dissemination of Chinese language. Available at http://www.hanyuwang.cn/index.php? o=article-show&artsid=2958. Translated by Liu Weiming (刘伟明) Trinity College Dublin [email protected]

He Rui (何瑞)

7 Language use in civil aviation With the rapid development of the tourism industry, international communication and transportation have seen further expansion over recent years, and there has been a swift increase in demand for air services. In the process of its standardization and internationalization, how language is used has been attracting increasing attention. In the business of civil aviation, an example has been set in its initiative to standardize language use, offer bilingual and multilingual services, shape an excellent brand of civil aviation service, and establish a positive national image in the whole field of its public service, showing that a good social influence and a prominent economic outcome have been achieved.

1 Languages of service Civil aviation languages consist of the Chinese language, foreign languages, and China’s minority and other special languages. They are applied at airport amenities and passenger services, including helpdesks, front desks, flight announcements, aviation geography, and midair services, in the form of written, oral and electronic network information.

1.1 Bilingual and multilingual services 1.1.1 Relevant provisions Concerning the use of language, the requirement is that “communication with passengers and other customers has to be established in Chinese Putonghua and foreign languages or, in special cases, with other effective systems of signs suitable to the occasion; a Chinese-English bilingual handbook or notice should be available and other language versions should be offered, if necessary, according to different geographical locations and passengers” (Service quality of civil airports 2007). Regarding the public information signs in domestic airport terminals – signs, plates and other indicators – it is stipulated that “these signs should be Chinese-English bilingual, clear, prominent, systematic, and user friendly, in agreement with the provisions set up in the following documents: GB/T 10001 (标志用公共信息图形符号, ‘Graphic symbols for public information signs’), MH 0005 (民用航空公共信息标志用图形符号, ‘Graphic symbols

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for public information signs of civil aviation’) and MH/T 0012 (民用航空公共信 息图形标志设置原则与要求, ‘Principles and Requirements of graphic symbols for public information signs of civil aviation’)” (Service quality of civil airports 2007). On 3 May 2007, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) Steering Committee of Cultural and Moral Excellence released Suggestions of further strengthening and improving the construction of model airports around the country (关于进一步加强和改进全国文明机场创建工作的意见), demanding that the “appraisal of nation-wide model airports be based on Service quality of civil airports (民用机场服务质量) and in accordance with Appraisal standards for nation-wide model airports [trial version] (全国文明机场考评标准)” (Suggestions of further strengthening and improving the construction of model airports around the country 2007). In General standards of service quality (通用服务质量 标准), which consists of the “Terminal public information sign system”, “Flight information presentation/display system”, “Enquiry”, “Public broadcasting system”, and “Staff members”, specific languages are explicitly specified: “1) Announcements should be broadcast in two or more languages, in Putonghua and foreign languages; 2) Minority languages should be available in minority regions.” In “Respectful Expressions”, it is requested that “1) honorifics be adopted in addressing people with concise and cordial expressions; 2) Putonghua, correct foreign languages, or other effective forms of language should be used in communication with passengers; and 3) vulgarity, dirty words and taboo language should be avoided” (Suggestions of further strengthening and improving the construction of model airports around the country 2007). According to the requirements of the civil aviation system, Chinese and English should be used during flights and communication navigation, Putonghua and standard English should be adopted in domestic airports and airline services, public information signs be written in correct forms of both languages, and efforts be made that different international airlines offer home country language services.

1.1.2 Measures of multilingual services Based on the practice of bilingual services, programs in three or more languages are provided in the civil aviation to suit passengers from different countries or areas and on different airlines, so as to improve the competitive edge and service quality. On 8 August 2007, the Air China Tianjin (天津)-Seoul flight started its “Journey between Olympic Cities”, adopting both Chinese and Korean in its announcements (Han 2007). China Eastern Airlines and Air China use English

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and Cantonese aboard, the former also offers a service in Korean in its call center. In recent years, quite a number of airlines have employed ethnic minority cabin crews in their flights to Tibet and Xinjiang (新疆), with Tibetan and Uygur as one of their working languages. For example, Air China’s southeastern branch makes announcements in Tibetan and provides Tibetan reading materials in its flight to Lhasa, and China Southern Airlines’ Xinjiang branch highlights its midair service by employing an Uygur cabin crew speaking Uygur, Chinese, English and Russian. In 2007, a service in Minnan (闽南, Hokkien) dialect and Cantonese was given more attention in chartered flights to and from Taiwan during the Spring Festival holidays. Xiamen (厦门) Airlines and Air China continue their service in Minnan, and China Southern Airlines’ on-board crew speaks both Cantonese dialect and Minnan and has pre-recorded songs and greetings in various dialects, thus four languages and dialects were introduced, namely, Putonghua, Minnan dialect, Cantonese and English (Gao 2007).

1.2 Multilingual writings In 2005, Beijing Capital International Airport added Japanese and Korean in its passengers’ brochures beside the original Chinese and English versions, and modified its multilingual signboards (Figure 1). At Shanghai Pudong (浦东)

Figure 1: Multilingual directions on a telephone booth at Beijing Capital International Airport Source: Photograph by He Rui (何瑞), 2007.

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International Airport, a self-help check-in information system was installed using four languages: Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean.

1.3 Special language services The special language service refers to the use of Braille, sign language and guide signs for the disabled and passengers who need special care. Facilities for the disabled should be conveniently arranged in halls of departure, at joint inspections, pre-boarding, baggage claim, arrival, transit and other areas. Airports with a passenger flow of over 10 million people should be equipped with televisions inside the terminal, on which sign language is shown alongside verbal and visual information (Service quality of civil airports 2007).

1.4 Diversified language services At Beijing Capital International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport free bilingual guides are made available, like Boarding Guide for Passengers (旅客乘机指南), and Traffic Guide in the Airport (机场交通指南). In July 2007, Shanghai Pudong (浦东) International Airport started to offer a free ChineseEnglish bilingual Map of Shanghai, and maps in Japanese, Korean and other languages are to be made available later on (Shanghai Pudong International Airport: service-oriented and passenger-centered 2007).

2 Issues in language service 2.1 Written forms and orthography 2.1.1 Format of airline tickets and information for passengers After the first legal case regarding the language on passenger tickets in China, CAAC adopted the suggestion of the court of justice and made a rule to use Chinese characters for all places of departure and arrival. This shows a respect for the mother language and makes it very convenient for domestic passengers. However, tickets completely in Chinese are not yet possible. Currently, only the places of departure and arrival and other special notices are written in Chinese and English, but items like the date, flight, airline, fare class, etc. are still in English abbreviations in accordance with international conventions. With regard

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to the current situation, CAAC is considering to improve the Chinese explanations on the ticket.

2.1.2 Signatures on airline tickets and the passengers’ right of using their personal names According to the Domestic Passenger-Baggage Transport Rules of China Civil Aviation (中国民用航空旅客、行李国内运输规则), passengers must use their real names. In case of miswritten names, one has to get the ticket refunded before repurchasing it, which inevitably leads to disputes. Now this situation has been somewhat ameliorated. A new rule was introduced on 15 August 2007 for the free exchange of tickets in case of miswritten radicals, homophones, variant characters, or minor misspellings in passengers’ names.1 At China Eastern Airlines (东航), China Southern Airlines (南航), Air China (国航), United Eagle Airlines (鹰联), Grand China Airlines (大新华), China Western Airlines (西部航空), Sichuan (四川) Airlines, Hainan (海南) Airlines, and Shanghai Airlines (上航), a ticket with miswritten names may be reissued or directly corrected. But some airlines such as Shenzhen (深圳) Airlines still practice the previous methods (Provisions of airlines for ticket refunding and rebooking 2007).

2.1.3 Choice between traditional and simplified Chinese characters According to Article 2, Chapter 1, of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language, Putonghua and the standardized Chinese characters (based on the simplified version) constitute the standard spoken and written Chinese language. However, Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and many airports like Dalian (大连) Airport, and Chongqing (重庆) Airport, are still using the traditional Chinese characters in their names, probably due to historical reasons (e.g., handwritten inscriptions by celebrities) or for the pursuit of graphic beauty.

1 On 30 April 2007, Hainan Airline’s office in Beijing set out the following specific rules: the limit of misspelt or missing passengers’ names because of staff negligence should not exceed three letters or characters, in which case the ticket should be refunded or reissued without extra charge. If the number of errors exceeds this rule, passengers may get their refund at the company’s discretion only and can book again. Please refer to http://www.ipiao8.com/ NewsView_440.htm.

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2.1.4 Spelling of the Chinese phonetic alphabet In 1979, the UN Secretariat stipulated that Chinese names of people and places shall be spelled in the Chinese phonetic alphabet. The year 1982 witnessed the approval of ISO 7098, which accepted the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet Scheme as the international standard of transliterating Chinese with Roman letters. However, spelling errors of various types are still found in proper names in the civil aviation system, e.g., 浦东 (Pudong) at Shanghai Pudong Airport is spelt in three different ways: Pudong, Pu Dong, and PuDong. 2.1.5 Inconsistent aerodrome markings Currently, public signs at various airports around the country are quite inconsistent in language use, as can be seen from the following comparison between four airports:

Beijing Capital International Airport

Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport

Shenyang Xiantao Airport

Figure 2: Eight public signs at various domestic airports Sources: Beijing Capital International Airport and Shenyang (沈阳) Xiantao (仙桃) Airport: photograph by He Rui, 2007; Shanghai Hongqiao (虹桥) International Airport: photograph from http://www.shanghaiairport.com/travel/airport_hq3.jsp; Guangzhou Baiyun (白云) International Airport: photograph from http://news.gd.sina.com.cn/local/2004-08-05/594004.html.

2.1.6 A font database and related functions are urgently needed for the aerospace information system Currently, the electronic ticketing system has a limited number of fonts, so it cannot identify characters rarely used in personal names, e.g., 逴 (chuō),

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垚 ( yáo), 蔄 (màn), and a lot of trouble and disputes tend to occur if it is operated improperly. An alternative is to replace any such characters with the phonetic alphabet when printing the ticket to keep it consistent electronically, and when the boarding pass is issued, the names are handwritten with an official stamp of authority. However, Shandong (山东) and several other airlines require that passenger tickets be printed out.

2.2 Languages in use 2.2.1 Serviceable range of Putonghua and dialects According to the regulations of the civil aviation system, crew members and service staff should speak Putonghua instead of dialects, for example, at China Eastern Airlines, Shanghainese is not allowed among the service staff. With the expansion of the civil aviation market, dialects are drawing more attention for the purpose of providing a friendly and diversified language service. In such circumstances, there should be rules for the proper use of dialects so that communication barriers are overcome and linguistic discrimination is removed, while the promotion of Putonghua is not neglected either. 2.2.2 Applicability of Chinese and foreign languages In 2000, China decided to adopt English as the working language of air traffic control on both domestic and international routes in order to follow the international conventions. Navigation in English and the internationalization of services are favorable to the elimination of regional differences. As some disagreement exists between mainland China and Taiwan in the technical terminology of aviation, instant communication is occasionally impossible. Therefore, English is adopted mostly in air-land navigation for direct charter flights across the Taiwan Strait. However, there is still much controversy in the aviation industry over the designation of English as the navigation language on domestic flights. A case in point is found in Air France, which uses French for domestic flights and English for international flight. 2.2.3 Mistranslations into English and issues of standardization A notice board at Beijing Capital International Airport says “平时禁止入内” (No admission in normal times), meaning it is for an emergency, but the English

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version reads “No entry on peace time”. On a bulletin board at Dalian Airport “航班时刻不正常” (The flight is behind schedule) was translated into “The airplane is abnormal” (Jiang 2007). On a bus stop sign at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, “头班车” (First Bus) is translated into “Head regular bus”, while “机场专线” (Airport Shuttle) has become the “Airport Special Line”.

References Gao, Jianghong (高江虹). 13 February 2007. Chartered flight to and from Taiwan during the Spring Festival sets off tomorrow; crew members will speak both Cantonese and Minnan (两岸春节包机明天启航 空姐讲粤语闽南语). Information Time. Han, Linlin (韩琳琳). 8 August 2007. Promoting the Olympic Games, Serving for the Olympic Games (宣传奥运 服务奥运). http://tj.xinhuanet.com/misc/ 2007-08/08/content_10803260.htm. Jiang, Yunfei (姜云飞). 9 August 2007. Who is the judge of Standard English? (规范英语谁当 裁判). Dalian Daily. Provisions of airlines for ticket refunding and rebooking (航空公司退票和变更规定). 2007, valid since 15 August. http://blog.chinaunix.net/u/16581/showart_376033.html. Service quality of civil airports (民用机场服务质量) (MH/T 5104-2006). 2007. http://www. bzjsw.com/ziyuanxiazai/biaozhunxiazai/xingyebiaozhun/minhang/2007-9-14/80348. html#edown. Shanghai Pudonɡ International Airport: service-oriented and passenger-centred (浦东机场：以人 为本，以旅客为中心). 17 July 2007. http://www.caac.gov.cn/a3/200707/t20070717_6446. html. Suggestions for further strengthening and improving the construction of model airports around the country (关于进一步加强和改进全国文明机场创建工作的意见) (min hang wen ming wei [民航文明委] Decree No. 2). 2007. http://www.caac.gov.cn/B7/SCGL/200707/ t20070719_6603.html. Translated by Liang Xiaopeng (梁晓鹏) Qingdao (青岛) University of Science & Technology [email protected]

He Yang (贺阳) & Xiao Yingping (肖应平)

8 Language situation on the Qinghai-Tibet railway 1 Background 1.1 Qinghai-Tibet railway The Qinghai-Tibet railway covers 1,972 kilometers from Xining (西宁) to Lhasa, running across Qinghai (青海) Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region. The first section of the service from Xining to Golmud (格尔木) in Qinghai opened on 1 May 1984, and the second section from Golmud to Lhasa was inaugurated on 1 July 2006. According to statistics, the four pairs of passenger trains – between Lhasa/Beijing (北京), Shanghai (上海)/Guangzhou (广州), Chengdu (成都)/Chonɡqing (重庆) and Xining/Lanzhou (兰州) – had transported 2.75 million people (both ways) by its first anniversary of full operation on 30 June 2007.1

1.2 Demographic structures in Qinghai and Tibet The following is a demographic analysis of the population in the major areas along the Qinghai-Tibet railway: Lhasa has a total population of 373,000, of whom 87% are Tibetans. Damxung (当雄) County, including Yangpachen (羊八井) Town, is a county under Lhasa administration with a population of 40,168, most of whom are Tibetans and the rest are Mongolians, Hui (回) and Han (汉). Among the 366,200 people in Nagchu (那曲), 99% are Tibetans, while in Golmud the Han population comprises 90.2% of the total 270,000 people and the remaining are Tibetans, Mongolians, Hui and 21 other ethnic peoples. By the end of 2004, Xining had 2,069,700 permanent residents and 23% of them were other than Han, mostly Hui and Tibetans. In the Sanjiangyuan (三江源 three rivers source area) of Qinghai province, in which 16 counties are situated, e.g. Yushu (玉树, alias Yulshul), Guoluo (果洛, alias Golog), Hainan (海南) and Huangnan (黄南) autonomous prefectures and Tanggula (唐古拉) Village of Golmud City, the current population is 556,000, of whom over 90% are Tibetans, and the rest are of Han, Hui, Mongolian and Salar descent. 1 Data provided by China’s Ministry of Railways.

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At present, mostly domestic Han passengers and a small portion of Tibetans are travelling along the Qinghai-Tibet railway; however, with the local socioeconomic development, the number of Tibetan passengers is on the rise. Apart from the Han and Tibetan passengers for Tibet, there is also a certain proportion of other minority peoples – Hui, Tu (土), Salar, Mongolian, and Manchu, for example – residing in the neighboring areas surrounding Sichuan (四川), Gansu (甘肃) and Qinghai. In addition, the number of travelers from overseas is also increasing rapidly.

1.3 Languages in Qinghai and Tibet In Qinghai and Tibet, the number of writing systems of minority nationalities is much smaller than that of major languages. Tibetan, Mongolian and Tu (土) are three examples with a script system. In Tibet, 21.79% of its population can read and write these scripts, 18.40% can read and write to some extent, and 59.81% are unable to read or write. And in Qinghai, the figures are 7.76%, 5.28% and 86.96% (China Language Situation Survey Office 2006). According to official sources, in Tibet and Qinghai the proportion of those who can speak Putonghua is 16.10% and 31.43% respectively (China Language Situation Survey Organizational Office 2006). Nevertheless, there is a great divergence between towns and villages: the townspeople communicating in Putonghua constitute 43.62% in Tibet and 59.75% in Qinghai, while the villagers of both places account for merely 8.5% and 24.40% (China Language Situation Survey Organizational Office 2006). It can be seen that in Tibet the percentage of Putonghua speakers is very low. Generally speaking, in Qinghai and Tibet teenagers are more capable of speaking Putonghua than the middle aged and the old, and the more educated are also better at speaking Putonghua. This is closely related with the strong popularization of compulsory education and the long-term practice of bilingual education in these areas. Chinese dialects in this area vary greatly, with northern dialects taking up a big chunk of respectively 93.23% and 85.17% of the Chinese-speaking population in Qinghai and Tibet.

2 Language situation in the Qinghai-Tibet railway network Our investigation, by means of questionnaire survey and individual interviews, covered the whole railway system from Xining to Lhasa and included the following items:

Language situation on the Qinghai-Tibet railway

– – – – – –

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language used for broadcasting at the stations and on the passenger trains; language used for the booking clerks, attendants, and other staff; language used for the station signs and public bulletins; language used on the electronic screens, signs, tickets, timetables, and identification tags; language used for traffic control and administration; language competence of the railway staff expected by passengers.

The purpose of this survey was to understand the situation of how well Putonghua, Tibetan and English were spoken and of how written Chinese, Tibetan and English were used.

2.1 Language for announcements and other business at the stations Announcements at Lhasa, Xining, Golmud and Nagchu stations are trilingual: Putonghua, Tibetan and English. And so is it on the passenger trains from Lhasa to Xining. Putonghua serves as the major working language for the booking clerks and other general staff at all stations. At Lhasa Station, English and Tibetan are also used in specific cases. At Xining Station, the staff may speak local dialects on certain occasions. And at Nagchu and other midway stations, Tibetan is spoken quite often. The attendants on passenger trains are mostly Han; Tibetan attendants are in the minority. The passengers they serve include Han who do not speak Tibetan, Tibetans who do not speak Putonghua, and foreign tourists. The survey revealed that most Han attendants can communicate with passengers in fluent Putonghua, with some simple Tibetan, and a little English as well. When communication is difficult, interpretation is sought. The Tibetan attendants are generally capable of communicating in both Chinese Putonghua and Tibetan, but their number is far from sufficient.

2.2 Language for public signs and tickets Some indicators inside Lhasa Station are trilingual: Chinese, Tibetan and English (see Figure 1). The information of train numbers is generally in Chinese, which applies to all the other stations as well. Xining Station is similar, except that its signs are all trilingual. The digital timepiece inside Lhasa Station is trilingual – Chinese, English and Tibetan – while at Golmud and Xining stations it is

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Figure 1: Trilingual sign at Lhasa Station Source: Photograph taken by Zhou Qingsheng (周庆生), 2007

Figure 2: Trilingual signs on the passenger train from Beijing West Station to Lhasa Source: Photograph taken by Zhou Qingsheng, 2007

bilingual: Chinese and English. On the passenger train from Lhasa to Xining, indicators and electronic signs are in Chinese, English and Tibetan (see Figure 2). Tickets from Lhasa and other stations to Xining and the train schedules are generally in Chinese and Pinyin rather than in Tibetan and English. The tags the attendants wear bear generally Chinese characters. The railway controllers and administrative personnel use Putonghua as their working language.

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Language situation on the Qinghai-Tibet railway

2.3 Evaluation of the Putonghua level of the railway staff We designed a questionnaire for passengers in order to find out the Putonghua ability of the Qinghai-Tibet railway staff. The findings showed that staff members on different posts varied in their competence and this can be understood to represent the general picture in the Qinghai-Tibet railway system (see Table 1). Table 1: Passengers’ evaluation of Qinghai-Tibet railway staff’s Putonghua standard scale (%) Putonghua level

Type of Workers

Standard

Slightly accented

Station announcers

86.89

13.11

On-board announcers

93.23

6.77

Booking clerks

61.20

34.91

Attendants

49.11

Other station workers

39.54

Accented

Much accented

3.42

0.47

38.23

9.56

3.10

33.07

19.15

7.93

Strongly accented, barely intelligible

0.31

It can be seen from Table 1 that both station and on-board radio announcers’ Putonghua standard level was high, respectively 86.89% and 93.23%. For other workers, the standard was good on the whole. However, some passenger-worker interactions were found difficult because of the railway workers’ strong accent in Putonghua. 7.93% of the respondents reported that their Putonghua was accented to such an extent that it was difficult to understand sometimes, while 0.31% thought they spoke Putonghua with an accent so strong that they were hardly understood.

2.4 The languages spoken by Tibetan tourist guides at major scenic spots along the Qinghai-Tibet railway By 5 July 2006, 866 tourist guides in the Tibet Autonomous Region (48% Tibetans, 52% Han) had received language training and passed a test, 586 of whom were awarded the national level certificate and 280 possessed the annual local certificate. The total number was composed of 453 Putonghua and 413 foreign language guides (The number of tourist guides in Tibet reaches 866 2006). The number of Putonghua and English tourist guides in Tibet currently meets the basic demands of the market. In order to improve the overall service quality of these guides, the Tibet Tourist Office put restrictions on their household registers and standards, it also increased the difficulty of the tests. Over

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recent years, many people have participated in the training course in Putonghua and English. However, there is an urgent need for guides speaking less used foreign languages such as Italian, Spanish, French, Korean, Japanese, German and Russian. The personnel available at present is far from meeting the demand of the fast-growing tourist industry (Urgent need for minor language tourist guides in Tibet: There are only two Spanish speaking guides 2007). In the past few years, 400 tourist guides were sent to Tibet from various places across the country; over half of them can speak English, and the rest speak Japanese, Korean, German, French, Italian, Russian, and Cantonese. Every year, the National Tourism Administration organizes 100 guides to work in Tibet in the high season from 15 April to 15 October.

2.5 The influence of the Qinghai-Tibet railway on the contact between the Chinese and Tibetan languages Tibet used to have little contact with inland China because of the difficult access conditions and so the rise of bilingualism was delayed. Most non-urban inhabitants are still leading a monolingual life (Dai and He 2006: 183–185). The opening of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, from a long-term viewpoint, will steadily enhance the mobility of people and intensify the linguistic contact between Tibet and other areas. Furthermore, it will improve the development of the regional economy and education, and to a certain extent increase the number of bilinguals along the railway. According to statistics, the scale and frequency of population mobility has been on the rise with the opening of the QinghaiTibet railway; for example, during the Golden Week national holidays in 2007, 402,000 people visited Tibet. Compared with the same period of the previous year, this was an increase of 51%. In that week, there were 189,000 overnight and 212,000 one-day tour visitors in Tibet, an annual growth of 28.6% and 79% respectively. The total revenue generated from tourism was ¥130 million, accounting for an annual increase of 53.5% compared with the previous year (An estimated number of over 400,000 visits or visitors will be received in Tibet during the Golden Week 2007). The growing population mobility engenders economic and cultural forces, which in turn bring forth enthusiasm for Chinese language learning and a fertile environment for bilingual exchange. It is understood that the original eco-tourism plan represented by programs like “Folk Custom Garden”, “Tibetan Farmhouse Resort” and “Family Tourism” has been greatly developed. In 2006, fifteen tourist demonstration villages were built in Tibet and 29,000 people of 6,900 farming households took part in the all-yearround tourist management with an annual income of ¥5,318 per head. This

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became one of the highlights in the wealth-making activities (The plateau scenery is intoxicating 2007). Apart from the economic gains, these emerging changes in social life create more opportunities of bilingual exchanges and contact for local folks and, in a sense, foster good conditions for the development of bilingualism. The Qinghai-Tibet railway also creates favorable conditions for spreading Putonghua in the dialect areas along its route. The convenience of improved transportation facilitates access to unique tourist resources and continues a growing tourist boom. Along with visitors comes a continuous stream of investment, and trading cannot be effectively conducted without Putonghua. Therefore, a good mastery of Putonghua will be a necessary qualification for people of the adjoining dialect groups.

References An estimated number of over 400,000 visits or visitors will be received in Tibet during the Golden Week (黄金周期间西藏接待游客预计超过40万人次). 8 October 2007. http://info. tibet.cn/news/tpxw/shjj/t20071008_282874.htm. China Language Situation Survey Organizational Office (中国语言文字使用情况调查领导小组 办公室). 2006. Data of China Language Situation (中国语言文字使用情况调查资料). Beijing: Language & Culture Press. Dai, Qingxia (戴庆厦) and He Junfang (何俊芳). 2006. Language and Ethnicity, Vol. 2. Beijing: The Central University for Nationalities Press. The number of tourist guides in Tibet reaches 866 (西藏导游人数达到866名). 8 July 2006. http://www.tibetway.com/tibet-tour/2006-7-8/Lhasa_tibet_1765.htm. The plateau scenery is intoxicating (高原风光惹人醉). 13 September 2007. http://info.tibet. cn/ news/tpxw/shjj/t20070913_279640.htm. Urgent need for minor language tourist guides in Tibet: There are only two Spanish speaking guides (西藏急需小语种导游 西班牙语导游仅两位). 31 March 2007. http://www.china. com.cn/education/txt/2007-03/31/content_8041020.htm. Translated by Liang Xiaopeng (梁晓鹏) Qingdao (青岛) University of Science & Technology [email protected]

Liao Meizhen (廖美珍)

9 Language standardization in criminal courts Judicial language is an important part of legal language, while language used in criminal courts is of utmost importance in judicial language. Language in criminal courts refers to the speech of all participants in the criminal trial including the bill of indictment, statement of defense, statement of verdict, and the interactive discourse at courtroom trials. The first three forms are written language applied by public prosecutors, defenders (advocates) and judges. The last form refers to the interactive discourse other than the first three forms stated above.

1 Language standardization of public prosecutors and bills of indictment 1.1 Problems in the language standardization of bills of indictment 1.1.1 Inconsistent formulation of suggestions on the extent of penalties Example 1: Du Xinling (杜新灵) had confessed the crime by making a voluntary statement before interrogation and he returned all the illegally-obtained money. Please reach a verdict on the appropriate sentence according to the facts, nature and circumstances of the case, as well as the repentance of the accused.1 Example 2: I’d like to draw the court’s attention to Xu Ting’s (许霆) harsh attitude to peccavi in the trial – he has not realized the social harm of his misbehavior. We advise Xu Ting be severely punished and given the death penalty, with the sentence suspended for two years.2

Chinese procuratorial organs can suggest the sentence on a legal basis, although current laws do not explicitly state that they have the right to suggest a sentence. They do so in accordance with the requirements set by legal supervision, the spirit of legal regulations and the general practice of international judicial procuratorial 1 Public Prosecution Brief of Du Xinling’s Burglary Case in Yunnan (云南) Province in 2008. 803 characters. 2 Public Prosecution Brief of Xu Ting’s Burglary Case in Guangdong (广东) Province in 2008. 803 characters.

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organs. Therefore, the sentence suggestion should be proposed at the end of the bill of indictment.

1.1.2 Inconsistencies between criminal accusations and the case description Some public prosecution briefs are mainly composed of matter-of-fact statements, supplemented by explanations of legal principles and confined to facts (e.g., the case of Xu Ting of Guangdong Province). Others may offer some “implications”, “warnings” or “lessons” after the prosecution. For example, the public prosecution brief of Yuxi (玉溪) Procuratorate, accusing Du Xinling of taking bribes, contained a section on the reasons why the defendant committed the crime and gave lessons of the case. We believe that purely from the perspective of prosecution, limiting it to the case is acceptable, but in our particular culture and social system, the public prosecutor may make some appropriate analysis with warnings and educational implications, which should be relevant and not too long.

1.2 Problems in the standardization of interactive language 1.2.1 Heavy emphasis on the political discourse Compared with the 1980s and 1990s, the situation has greatly improved. However, cases like the following are still not unusual nowadays: Public prosecutor: . . . He who is unjust is doomed to destruction. The moment this gang of bandits is in custody and is escorted by force to the court to face the punishment of the people, every member of society will be thrilled.3

In fact, no matter how severe a crime the defendant is accused of, the defendant is never, and should never, be escorted by force to the court.

1.2.2 Inappropriate language use Prosecutor: Although some defendants who want to take their chances ignore the evidence and the law, evade and deny the crime that they have committed, or deny a severe crime and admit a trivial one, the evidence is ironclad and no criminal can escape from legal 3 Zhang Jun (张君) Murder Case in Chongqing (重庆), 2001. 269,248 characters.

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punishment. Numerous innocent victims’ blood and tears have built up irrefutable evidence, which makes the defendant unable to escape and nails him firmly to the death-stake.

Court language should be precise and accurate, but in this case, the prosecutor used emotional language. Furthermore, since the court trial was not over yet and no sentence was given, how could the prosecutor claim that the defendant was “firmly nailed to the death stake”? In fact, in this case the defendant was not sentenced to death in the end. When public prosecutors fight crimes and call for punishment of crimes, they sometimes use inappropriate language.

1.2.3 Threatening and inducing speech Sometimes, the public prosecutor seems very concerned about the defendant, but in fact, the language could be threatening or inducing. For example: Prosecutor: What did you bring when you went there? Defendant: I did not know at that time. He only asked me to go outside to run some errands with him. I asked him where to go, but he told me to leave it alone. Prosecutor: Wait for a moment, Mr. Zhang. I just told you. Defendant: Yeah. Prosecutor: I hope you can cherish this opportunity. Defendant: Yes. Prosecutor: You do not have many opportunities like this. Defendant: Yes. Prosecutor: You need to tell the truth. Defendant: It is the truth.4

(The bold-face sentences were said by the public prosecutor and sounded threatening and inducing in the court trial.)

2 Language standardization problems of defenders and pleadings One major problem of defenders’ language is that they do not quote the law or they quote the law inaccurately.

4 Vehicle Arson and Vandalism Case in Beijing, 2000. 33,126 words.

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2.1 Legality problems of the defense in the courtroom Example 1: Jinsheng (金胜) Law Firm accepted defendant Chen Hechu’s (陈合初) commission and assigned me as the defender. Now, in conformity with the legal provisions, I come to the court to perform my duty of defending. (No reference to specific legal provisions was made.)5 Example 2: According to the law, Beijing (北京) Ziguangda (紫光达) Law Firm accepted the commission of defendant Yuan Jin’s (原锦) relatives and assigned me as the defendant’s defender. With the permission of Yuan Jin, today we come to the courtroom, in conformity with the legal provisions, to perform our duty. (No reference to specific legal provisions was made.)6 Example 3: According to the relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China and Attorney Law of the People’s Republic of China, Shaanxi (陕西) Liheng (理衡) Law Firm accepted defendant Zhou Zhenglong’s (周正龙) commission in conformity with the law and assigned two lawyers, Zhang Yong (张勇) and Liu Xin (刘新), as his defenders.7

These three cases are examples of defenders’ explanations of the legality of their defense. In examples 1 and 2, no legal foundation was given. In example 3, no legal provisions were specified in spite of the reference to laws.

2.2 Not quoting law problems in the process of defense For example: “But according to the law, the fundamental characteristic of misappropriating public funds is that civil servants, taking advantage of their positions, lend public funds to individuals. In this way, it is the defendant’s personal decision and the defendant’s decision without authorization that becomes the key to determine crime and non-crime.”8

3 Language standardization of judges and verdicts 3.1 Nonstandard statements of verdict The statement of verdict is a central point in evaluating language standardization in court. In China, the statement of verdict consists of five parts, namely 5 Pleadings in Chen Hechu’s Extortion Case in Beijing, 2006. 1,063 characters. 6 Pleadings in Yuan Jin’s Embezzlement of Public Funds and Bribery Case in Beijing, 2008. 3,509 characters. 7 Pleadings in Zhou Zhenglong Fraud Case in Shaanxi Province, 2008. 2,464 characters. 8 Pleadings in Yuan Jin’s Embezzlement of Public Funds and Bribery Case in Beijing, 2008. 3,509 characters.

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introduction of the problem, main body, facts, reasons, and ending. There are many problematic expressions in the first part of the verdict statement, such as “the court formed the collegial panel by law”, “public or non-public hearing of the case in court”, and “the hearing of the case has ended”. The court must form the collegial panel by law. If not, it lacks proper legislative procedure. Thus the expression “the court formed the collegial panel by law” is not necessary at all. The same problem exists in the expression “public or non-public hearing of the case in court”. Hearing the case publicly is one of the basic legal principles in the Chinese law system. Public hearing is a common practice, while non-public hearing is an exception. Therefore, “public or non-public hearing of the case in court” is a redundant statement. This expression is like “trying to prove what nobody doubts”. The main problems in the body of the statement of verdict include: 1) inadequate legal elaboration of the facts; and 2) non-standard expressions of the evidence. Some are cited directly, while others are indirect; 3) some are attached by legal articles on which the judgment is based, while others only state that they apply to a certain legal article.

3.2 Standardization problems of interactive language The criminal judicial system in China is different from that in Britain, the United States, France and some other countries. The Chinese criminal judicial system does not use a jury system, and the attendance rate of witnesses and audience in court is relatively low. The Chinese judges not only take charge of the procedure in court, but do also the investigation of the case. Therefore, the speech acts of the judges can be divided into procedural acts and substantive acts.9

3.2.1 Problems in procedural speech acts The biggest problem in procedural speech acts is that the prosecutor and defendant may not be treated fairly. Sometimes, the judge may treat the same act differently for both side, so there is discrimination involved.

9 Liao Meizhen. 2003. A Study on Courtroom Questions, Responses and their Interaction: A Linguistic Perspective. Beijing: Law Press.

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Liao Meizhen (廖美珍) Judge – prosecutor Judge: Prosecutor, please continue reading and present the relevant evidence. Prosecutor: Next, I will present the court with the fourth entry in the evidence catalog . . . the audit report, which will prove the circumstances of the payment, credit, and capital flow of eight letters of credit from Tiancheng (天成) Company and the fact that no real cargo was imported. Then I will present the documentary evidence. Wuhan 2002 No 156▲10 Judge: ▼Excuse me. Please read the concluding part, okay? Prosecutor: Sure. Judge: Only the concluding part, please.11 Judge – defender Defender: . . . I appeal to the court to run a thorough investigation into the case and I would like to remind fellow comrades in the public gallery, especially those who work in the Committee for Discipline Inspection, that I used to work in the Provincial Committee for Discipline Inspection before. I hope that my colleagues pay attention to this issue.▲ Judge: ▼Defender, please do not say anything that is irrelevant to this case.12

3.2.2 Problems in substantive speech acts In substantive speech acts, the most prominent problem is presumption of guilt. Under the provision of Article 12 in the Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, “unless the judgment is by the People’s Court, nobody can be convicted as guilty”. As a widely-acknowledged international criminal justice practice, “presumption of innocence” has been gaining increasing attention and is widely applied in the modernization process of ruling by law. The Standing Committee of the People’s Congress made some important revisions to the Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China in 1996. The new Criminal Procedure Law adopted the concept of “presumption of innocence”, and established the principle of no punishment for doubtful cases. It ended the long history of presumption of guilt in criminal judicial activities and has epochmaking significance in the history of China’s criminal procedure. However, in judicial practice, the judges’ speeches often still reflect the presumption of guilt towards the defendants. For example: Presiding judge: Uh, when . . . did you and Mr. Luo (罗) . . . start this illegal relationship? Defendant: (Pausing three seconds) Around November.13 10 This recurring symbol indicates interruption of speech. 11 Chen Ling’s Letter of Credit Fraud Case in Wuhan in 2003. 57,876 characters. 12 Chen Ling’s Letter of Credit Fraud Case in Wuhan in 2003. 57,876 characters. 13 Bigamy Case in Beijing in 2001. 36,880 characters.

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The assertion of the judge, “illegal relationship”, indicates that the relationship between the defendant and Mr. Luo (罗) is presumed illegal. In fact, the speech of the judge is illegal. The reason is that as the court trial has not yet ended, and there is not enough evidence to prove that the activity of the defendant is illegal, the judge cannot affirm the guilt of the defendant. The concluding speech of the judge should only appear in the statement of verdict. 3.2.3 Problem of interruption acts The court should use interruption acts cautiously because they concern the right to speak. In the following example, the speech of the defendant may seem a little harsh, redundant and unpleasing to a judge’s ear, but it concerned the defendant’s right to speak and to self-defense, as well as the right to make statements as stipulated by the law. Moreover, the law does not regulate the content of the final statement, so the defendants should be allowed to express themselves freely, especially those who do not plead guilty. Defendant: Honorable judges, I have some ideas and thoughts which I would like to bring to your esteemed attention. First, the sixteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China advanced, that ruling the country by law is the basic management strategy of the Communist Party for leading the country, // //14 so I am very confident of winning this trial.▲ Judge: // Chen Ling (陈玲)// ▼We should not discuss this now. If you go on talking about this, it could take the whole day. This trial should focus on the judgment of you and your case, so just sum up your opinions and demands so you can be judged. Defendant: Ok, thanks. I remember that the British philosopher Bacon once said, “One foul sentence does more hurt than many foul examples”. I also recall the famous Yang Naiwu (杨乃武) and Xiao Baicai (小白菜) case in the Qing Dynasty. Even under the circumstances of that time, there was still one officer of the Ministry of Penalty reporting the case to the emperor. ▲ Judge: ▼Do not talk about irrelevant things like this. Time is running out.15 Translated by Yang Di (杨迪) Jilin (吉林) University [email protected] Translated by Zhan Ju (战菊) Jilin (吉林) University [email protected] 14 “// //” indicates overlapping speech throughout. 15 Chen Ling’s Letter of Credit Fraud Case in Wuhan in 2003. 57,876 characters.

Nie Hua (聂骅)

10 Language of psychological assistance in post-earthquake services 1 Background At 14:28, on 12 May 2008, an earthquake measuring 8.0 in magnitude struck Wenchuan (汶川) County of Sichuan (四川) Province, causing grave destruction to the county and its neighboring regions with the total disaster area covering approximately 500,000 square kilometers. A population of 46,000,000 people were affected, including 69,227 killed, 17,923 missing, and 1,510,000 requiring resettlement. The disaster resulted in a direct economic loss of over ¥845.1 billion (Hu 2008). Teams of psychological assistants arrived on 14 May and by the end of the month, there were a total of over fifty groups of various sizes in the area, with more than 2,000 participants in psychological intervention (Shen 2008). Quite a proportion of the on-site volunteers, approximately 200,000 in number, were engaged in psychological aid. By the end of 2008, the sanitation system of Sichuan province had trained more than 2,000 psychotherapists who have undertaken psychological intervention and clinical psychological counseling; the assistance given by other provinces and non-governmental organizations is not included (Bulletin of medical rehabilitation for the wounded and psychohygienic service in the disaster area in Sichuan 2008).

2 Application of language(s) As a proverb says, “A good piece of advice lasts a lifetime.” The proper use of language in psychological aid is critical for effective intervention and therapy. Psychotherapists need language skills and competency in the process of data collection, diagnostic analysis and clinical treatment. Effective communication and interaction are impossible without language skills. Nevertheless, a lot of problems were found in relation with language use.

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2.1 Pragmatic problems 2.1.1 Use of dialect The first problem encountered in giving assistance was the difficulty of communication caused by the Sichuan dialect (Zhang & Li 2008). Although in recruitment, preference was given to volunteers who were from Sichuan or who could speak Sichuan dialect, the great majority of aid workers came from elsewhere in the country and was, therefore, unqualified in this aspect. Many of them could not completely understand the native speakers, therefore communication was hampered and the effect of psychological counseling was to a certain extent dissatisfactory. On occasions, victims were reluctant to talk because the relief workers could not speak the local dialect, and the problem was only settled when a native speaker was found to help.

2.1.2 Problems in expressions What happened occurred because after the earthquake just a brief training was given to many volunteers without knowledge of psychology. They were then sent off to the frontline and as a result, some of them eventually caused some harm to the victims because of their inappropriate use of language (Yang 2008, Li 2008, Chen 2008). For example, tactless questions like “看没看见同伴尸体? (Have you seen any of your friends’ bodies?)” and “家里都有谁不在了? (Has anyone of your family died?)” were asked in carrying out their duties. These questions tend to bring back painful memories when victims are so vulnerable. Some volunteers offered willful promises like “你放心，你妈妈一定会回来的 (Take it easy. Your mother will be coming home.)”, “我一定不会离开你的 (I will definitely not leave you alone.)”, which are probably unrealistic or could make the victims feel sad or hopeless. Other common expressions against the principles of psychological aid include:1 1. 你能活下来就是幸运的了。 (You are lucky to have survived.) 2. 我知道你的感觉是什么。 (I know how you feel.) 1 Selected from On-site Guide to Psychological First-Aid (心理急救现场操作指南) and 100 Questions Asked in Post-Disaster Psychological Assistance (灾后心理援助100问).

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3. 你是幸运的，你还有别的孩子/亲属等等。 (You are lucky. You still have other children/relatives.) 4. 你还年轻，还能再有一个孩子/还能再找一个伴侣。 (You are still young. You can have another child/find another partner.) 5. 你爱的人在死的时候并没有受太多痛苦。 (Your loved ones did not suffer much when s/he was dying.) 6. 她/他现在去了一个更好的地方/更快乐了。 (S/he is now in a better place/happier.) 7. 在悲剧之外会有好事发生的。 (Luck will come with the tragedy.) 8. 你会走出来的。 (You will come out and live.) 9. 不会有事的，所有的事都不会有问题的。 (There is no trouble. Everything will be all right.) 10. 你不应该有这种感觉。 (You should not have such a feeling.) 11. 时间会治疗一切创伤。 (Time will cure all wounds.) 12. 你的生活还要继续下去。 (You will live on.)

2.2 Pragmatic requirements Apart from the examples mentioned above, there are also specific requirements of language use for different groups of people. Guiding Principles of Emergency Intervention in a Psychological Crisis (紧急心理危机干预指导原则) divides quake-affected victims into two types: an ordinary group and the focus group. Psychological assistance for the latter has three components: 1) stabilizing emotions, 2) relaxing exercise, and 3) psychological counseling. Suitable approaches and techniques of language use are required for different methods.

2.2.1 Pragmatic requirements for different populations Principles of flexibility and appropriateness emphasized in psychological aid require that the proper language be used for different groups of people: small children, teenagers, the aged, the disabled and mourners.

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(1) For small children and teenagers, special linguistic techniques of communication and comfort are required in psychological intervention. Common approaches include guiding out of traumatic memory, expressing feelings toward disasters, relieving psychological vigilance and other measures. On specific occasions, it is advisable to encourage and induce them to express both their feelings about the disaster and current conditions and their plans for the future, and offer the support of approval, security and warmth. Preference should be given to words of inspiration and compliment, and positive feedback should be provided at all times. Expressions of reproach, punishment, or compulsion, like “Don’t cry” and “You should be strong”, must be avoided and words of extremity or terror are prohibited. The content and form of language should be concise and easily acceptable for small children and teenagers. In the case of the former, whose linguistic competence is still at the formative level, storytelling might be adopted if necessary, while for teenagers, respect should be shown toward them by talking in an adult-to-adult manner. (2) As far as the aged and the disabled are concerned, principles of efficiency and respect appear to be of more importance in psychotherapy. Barriers of communication in such situations might be avoidable if simple words are chosen and spoken slowly and clearly in a soft voice. Should recipients have any demand, it is better to consult them with questions like “Is there anything I can do to help you?” before taking action. (3) When it comes to the survivors who lost their family, relatives or friends, let them go through the normal process of sorrowful mourning and help them deal with their own sadness response. What is important in this process is to induce mourners to express various emotions toward the dead, and relief workers should listen with patience and encourage the mourners to do their utmost. In using words of encouragement and support, rescuers should promptly give their affirmation, clarify information, and normalize psychological symptoms. As it is inevitable that mourners are more or less resistant or uncooperative, the proper affective triggering language of consolation, responsiveness and imagination should be applied.

2.2.2 Common expressions in psychological assistance The top 10 opening questions are (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008:154): 1. 您好，我是卫生部北京市卫生局心理救援医疗队的某大夫，您怎么称呼? (Hello. I’m Dr. So-and-so of the psychotherapy team from the Health Bureau of Beijing. May I know your name?)

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2. 您是从哪里过来的? (Where do you come from?) 3. 您哪里受了伤? (Where are you hurt?) 4. 您是怎么受伤的? (How did you get hurt?) 5. 来医院后如何处理您的伤? (How was your wound treated in the hospital?) 6. 您家里的情况怎么样? (How is your family?) 7. 您与家人现在有联系吗? (Are you in contact with your family?) 8. 您心情怎么样? (How do you feel now?) 9. 您睡眠怎么样? (Do you sleep well?) 10. 您将来有什么打算? (What is your plan for the future?) The top 10 expressions in psychological counseling are (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 155): 1. 你是最坚强、最棒的。(You are very strong and capable.) 2. 困难是暂时的。(This hard time will be over soon.) 3. 你现在非常安全。(You are very secure now.) 4. 你的病痛肯定会得到解决。(You will surely be all right.) 5. 你的感受很正常，许多人都会这样。(Your feeling is quite normal. Many people feel this way.) 6. 一切都会慢慢地好起来。(Everything will improve gradually.) 7. 政府正在积极地解决这些问题。(The government is actively trying to solve these problems.) 8. 想哭就哭，哭出来会好受些。(Cry if you want to. You will feel better after it.) 9. 灾难难以抗拒，我们要学会接受。(Disasters are unavoidable. We’ll have to learn to accept them.) 10. 对于你的经历我们也很难过。(We are sorry about your experience.)

3 Pragmatic features Analyzed in this section are 62 documented cases of psychotherapy collected from the following sources: the 30-episode special program of the 12 May Wenchuan earthquake broadcast in the Psychological Interview of CCTV from 21 May to 24 July 2008, Collected Cases of Psychotherapy in an Earthquake Disaster (地震灾害心理救援案例集) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 108), Psychotherapy and Psychological Reconstruction in the Wake of Disasters (灾后心理救助与心理

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重建) (School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University 2008), Precautions for Trauma Counseling (创伤事件辅导注意事项) (Systemic Constellation [Hong Kong] 2008), and programs manufactured by other media. Some features of common expressions used in psychotherapy are discussed below.

3.1 Open questions Structurally, open questions are most frequently used. Such patterns are often found in all phases of psychological intervention, and mostly begin with Whwords like what, when, where and how to encourage recipients to reply. Therapists often hope to engage victims, and hand the responsibility of interaction over to the recipients, so that information is obtained and communication is encouraged. For example: Example 1: Therapist: 您是从灾区转过来的么？ (Have you been transferred from the disaster area?) Recipient: (Opening his eyes to have a look and saying nothing.) Therapist: 老人家您贵姓，今年高寿了，是从哪里来的？ (May I know your name? How old are you? And where are you from?) Recipient: (Hesitant for a moment) 我叫汪XX，今年69岁了，我住在绵竹。 (My family name is Wang. I am 69 and I live at Mianzhu.) Therapist: 您愿意跟我们讲一讲地震时您在哪里，您哪里受了伤，是怎么受的伤吗？ (Will you tell me where you were when the earthquake happened? Where are you hurt? And how did you get hurt?) Recipient: (Pondering for a while) 当时我正在屋子里睡午觉，突然感到床在摇晃，没有 在意……（开始大量回忆、讲述地震经历，此处略） (I was having my nap in my room when I suddenly felt my bed rocking, but I did not take it seriously . . .) (Begins to retell the earthquake in his memory [Omitted]) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008:108).

Example 1 occurred at the very first contact between the therapist and recipient. It can be seen that the old man was not very willing to talk; however, faced with the three questions, he had to make a reply and thus communication commenced. Another few questions brought the topic across and the old man, being relieved from the state of self-isolation, began to talk after some reflection.

3.2 Positive feedback Another striking structural characteristic is the emotional feedback because of a positive sentence the therapist said in the answer to his questions. This response

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served as an encouragement for the recipient to continue, and was a sign of the therapist’s attention as well. More importantly, the affirmation represented the therapist’s approval and empathy and was thus conducive to building a sense of trust. For instance: Example 2: “孩子，你好勇敢，把发生的一切讲了出来。 ” (Kid, you are so brave! You just told us everything.) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 99) Example 3: “您真是个伟大的母亲。” (You are really a great mother.) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 124) ” Example 4: “是的，哭泣并不等于软弱！ (Yes, crying does not mean weakness!) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 126) Example 5: “是啊！看看，孩子现在应该特别需要你，家人都好吗？ ” (Indeed! You see, the kids need you badly. How is your family?) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 34)

The four statements above were the feedback to the recipient’s answers. Being rich in positive feelings, they affirmed the therapist’s efforts, helped bring him closer, and contributed to further and deeper exchange.

3.3 Proper modalities and tones From the semantic point of view, different modalities and tones can be realized through some adverbs so that recipients may feel determination, relief, ease and approval. Words such as “一定 (surely)”, “肯定 (certainly)”, “会 (likely)” and so on that express degrees of certainty, are often used to stress certain information the therapist offers to reinforce the confidence of the recipient. Example 6: “只要按照医生的治疗方案走，你一定会好起来的！ ” (As long as you follow the doctor’s plan, you will certainly recover!) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 45) Example 7: “你放心，这里一定会重建起来的！” (Rest assured, this place will certainly be rebuilt!) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 134)

Through confirmation and repetition, the therapist helped the recipient to solidify his confidence and adopt an active attitude. Therapists may frequently employ adverbs of degree or probability like “可能 (probably)”, “应该 (should)”, “也许 (perhaps)” in their reply to recipients’ inquiries for information. This prevents them from giving any absolute promise yet still leads to better expectations. For instance:

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Nie Hua (聂骅) Example 8: “我猜想过几天可能会给消息，现在可能还得不到。 ” (I guess you will probably get a message in a few days. It is still on the way.) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 50) Example 9 “他们应该会找到他的，你不用担心。 ” (Don’t worry, they should be able to find him.) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 50)

As information accuracy should be guaranteed and a sense of trust maintained as well, a therapist is not permitted to give false or inaccurate information. The non-positive answers above are also intended to show hope to recipients instead of sorrow, in order to carry out the subsequent treatment. To create an atmosphere of warmth and understanding, tag questions are frequently adopted, e.g. “是不是 (isn’t it?)”, “好不好 (is it OK?)”, “能不能 (can you?)”, and “对吧 (right?)”. Example 10: “能不能说来听听，你当时是怎么想的呢？ ” (Can you tell us what you were thinking then?) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 142) Example 11: “你就不会感到害怕了，是不是？ ” (You won’t be afraid, will you?) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 44)

The two questions above demonstrate two different effects: Example 10 is a friendly, gentle question that expects the listener to open his mind and express his feelings; while Example 11 is a display of understanding and support which encourages the listener to continue with his plan.

3.4 Figures of speech and imagination The rhetorical aspects of linguistic expression are often employed in psychotherapy. Imagination and metaphor are given full play in different cases to achieve their respective effects. For example, Example 12: “如果用天气描述一下，那你觉得什么天气最适合你的心情？比如：阴天、 晴天、雨天、雪天……” (If you compare your feelings to the weather, which one suits you more: a cloudy day or a fine day? When it rains or snows?) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 35) Example 13: “就像垃圾多了需要清扫，心里面悲伤的事情积累多了就需要宣泄、 释放。” (Just as it is necessary to clear away rubbish when it piles up, so, too much sorrow in the heart needs to be drained and discharged as well.) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 35)

Examples 12 and 13 obviously apply metaphor in the communication. For different groups of people, the language of psychotherapy should also be different. In this case, the recipient was an uneducated female farmer, therefore a metaphor

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was used to make her understand. Cognitive restructuring is an important step in psychotherapy. Here the therapist emphasizes the importance of unreserved expressions by the comparison to clearing away rubbish, so that the treatment is effective. Example 14: “你想一想，他们是不是都不同程度地需要你；假如这次地震中活着的 是他，死的是你，你会希望他怎样呢？你会希望他为你自杀吗？” (Just think, each of them needs you to a certain extent, don’t they? So if you had died rather than him, what would you expect him to do? Did you hope that he would kill himself for you?) (Cao, Yang & Wang 2008: 123)

Imagination is an important means in psychotherapy through which recipients might transform their mode of cognition, and thus rearrange and manage a more active coping style and psychological defense mechanism rather than committing suicide.

3.5 Ingenious processing of information In many situations, psychotherapy does not work well because recipients tend to have a strong mood of resistance, manifested as reluctance to communicate, insistence on their own opinions, and other uncooperative behavior. In such cases, a readjustment of language by means of the strategic treatment of certain information will help to accommodate them. Example 15: Recipient: “我的身体素质很差，而且生命又是那么脆弱。 ” (My health is very poor and life is so fragile.) Therapist: “你过去身体素质很差，但是经过你的锻炼，你现在已经不差了。在特殊时 候，比如重病和灾难面前生命是脆弱的，但是如果我们珍视生命，拥有健康的生活方 式，保持愉快的心情，生命也是坚不可摧的。” (You were poor in health, but now, through training, your health is not poor any more. On special occasions, for example when facing serious diseases or disasters, life is indeed fragile. But if we cherish our lives and live healthily with an optimistic mind, then life is simply indestructible.) (Systemic Constellation [Hong Kong] 2008)

In Example 15, the therapist introduced conceptions corresponding and even opposite to the original statement by means of contrast to reinterpret given information and forward construct the discourse affirmed by the recipient, so that the latter was able to switch to the mode set by the former and achieved the effect of cognition remolding.

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Nie Hua (聂骅) Example 16: Recipient: “为什么受伤的是我不是你?” (Why is it that I am hurt instead of you?) Therapist: “我当然不希望受伤，不过如果我真受伤了，我希望得到你的帮助和支持。 ” (I certainly do hope not to get hurt, but if I were really hurt, I would hope to get help and support from you.) (Systemic Constellation [Hong Kong] 2008)

In Example 16, instead of telling a lie, the therapist frankly told the recipient that he did not want to get hurt either. However, he did more than that and transformed the latter’s grudge into an assumption in the new clause and developed a sentence with active psychological significance, namely, “I would hope to get help and support from you”. This supposition and transposition resulted in the recipient’s positive reaction. Example 17: Recipient: “每当我想起灾难的时候，我就想死。” (Whenever I think of disasters, I just want to die.) Therapist: “你是说您到现在这一刻为止，想起灾难那一幕，会想到死。 ” (Do you mean to say that you think of death the very moment you remember the disaster occurred?) (Systemic Constellation [Hong Kong] 2008) Example 18: Recipient: “我不知道该怎么做。” (I don’t know what I should do.) Therapist: “您是说您正在思考可以做些什么?” (Well, you mean you are considering what you may do, aren’t you?) (Systemic Constellation [Hong Kong] 2008)

In the two examples above, the therapist did not directly answer or evaluate the recipient’s questions, for in so doing the latter would have been kept in the trap of his agony for too long. Instead, he turned the feeling expressed by the recipient into reality and put it under control. Moreover, he was trying to dig for positive information by means of an inquiry into the latter’s opinion. By this technique, the recipient was temporarily turned away from his pain to regard his own problems from a different angle, and therefore, the therapist’s understanding and effort to bring things back to a normal state were conveyed.

References Bulletin of medical rehabilitation for the wounded and psycho-hygienic service in the disaster area in Sichuan (四川省地震伤员医疗康复和灾区心理卫生服务情况通报). 30 December 2008. http://www.sc.gov.cn/zwgk/gggs/ws1/200901/t20090104_549266.shtml. Cao, Lianyuan (曹连元), Yang, Fude (杨甫德) & Wang, Jian (王健). 2008. Collected Cases of Psychotherapy in Earthquake Disasters (地震灾害心理救援案例集). Beijing: Military Medical Science Press.

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Hu, Jintao (胡锦涛). 8 October 2008. Speech at Summarization and Commendation Meeting of the National Earthquake Relief Work. http://news.xinhuanet.com/ newscenter/2008-10/ 08/content_10166536.htm. School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University. 2008. Psychotherapy and Psychological Reconstruction after Disasters (灾后心理救助与心理重建), Beijing: China Light Industry Press. Shen, Jianli (申剑丽). 19 May 2008. Psychological Specialists Heading off for the Disaster Area (心理专家奔赴灾区). 21st Century Business Herald. Systemic Constellation (Hong Kong). 2008. Precautions for Trauma Counseling (创伤事件辅导 注意事项). http://www.systemicsolutions.hk/index_topic.php. Yang, Fude (杨甫德). 24 June 2008. Reflections on Post-Earthquake Psychological Assistance (对震后心理救援的思考). Health News; Li, Huangzhen (李黄珍). 2008. Psychological aid: get prepared before embarking on duty (心理援助: 准备好了再上岗). Occupation, Volume 19; Chen, Tongkui (陈统奎). 2008. Psychological aid: an aimless action (心理 援助，乱枪打鸟). Window of the South, Volume 13. Zhang, Yanqin (张演钦) & Li, Hanrong (李汉荣). 23 May 2008. Local dialect forms a barrier and psychological counseling becomes impossible without an interpreter (地方方言导致沟通 困难, 心理辅导要找方言翻译). Yangcheng Evening News. Translated by Liang Xiaopeng (梁晓鹏) Qingdao (青岛) University of Science & Technology [email protected]

Zhang Ripei (张日培)

11 The improvement of the language environment for the Shanghai Expo 20101 On 3 December 2002, China won the right to host the Exposition of 2010, which was held in Shanghai (上海) from 1 May to 31 October 2010. The theme “Better City, Better Life” was chosen, and 200 countries and international organizations were anticipated to participate in the event; a potential crowd of 70 million visitors was expected. Shanghai Expo 2010 was supposed to set a new record in the number of international participants and visitors. For this reason, it was of crucial importance to build an efficient, high quality and convenient environment for oral communication and create an open atmosphere for the languages of all cultures.

1 Language planning and its practice for the Expo 1.1 The conception of the language environment and service for the Expo The idea of a better language environment for the Expo was initiated in the linguistic community of Shanghai. On 13–14 September 2005, the International Forum of Language Environment Construction for the World Exposition was held in Shanghai, with the purpose of finding channels to improve the language environment for the exposition and develop strategies of action. The following agreements were reached: (1) Language planning should be made entirely on the basis of a deep understanding of multilingual (multidialectal) societies. (2) A provision for language services should be implemented to meet the actual needs of the Expo. (3) The administration of language and writing according to the law should be further strengthened, in order to raise the level of the language standard. (4) The Expo should be taken as an opportunity to promote the Chinese language abroad, expedite the overall development of all languages and cultures, and contribute to the diversity of global linguistic cultures.

1 The data of this article were taken from http://www.expo2010china.com/.

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Starting from a basic guiding thought and fundamental principle, the outlined objective and preliminary framework of measures for an excellent language environment at the Expo had thus taken shape. Involved experts suggested that language services be established as an independent branch of linguistics for carrying out a rational analysis and research, so that work can progress from practical observation toward building a useful theory. Bearing this in mind, a complete system of relevant disciplines was set up, and academic support was made available for creating a favorable language environment for the Expo.

1.2 Chinese elements in the Expo emblem and mascot The development of a theme is an important element in hosting world expositions. Since its founding in June 2004, the Shanghai World Expo Organizing Committee had been paying a great deal of attention to it, emphasizing the development of a theme with Chinese cultural charm.

1.2.1 The emblem On 29 November 2004, the Shanghai World Expo Organizing Committee officially released the emblem of Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Emblem for Expo 2010 Shanghai

The design consists of the English word EXPO, the Arabic numerals 2010, and the calligraphic Chinese character 世 (shi, ‘world’), resembling three people walking along arm in arm. The emblem represents the typical three-member family of modern China and the peaceful harmony of all people, including you, me and him/her. It symbolizes the idea of understanding, communication, unity and cooperation, inspired by the Chinese respect for harmony and togetherness, and it reflects the active humanity-oriented aspirations of Expo 2010 Shanghai.

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The combination of the Chinese character, the English word, and the Arabic numerals signifies the passion for harmonious coexistence and multicultural integration. The green color implies life energy, adding a dynamic power of growth and liveliness, and giving expression to the creative enthusiasm of the Chinese people striving for a better future and the pursuance of a sustainable development. The ingenious design of the calligraphic 世 echoes the engraved 京 (jing, ‘capital’) in the emblem of another major world event in China at the beginning of the new century – the Beijing (北京) Olympic Games. These two symbols imply the unremitting efforts of the Chinese people in promoting traditional Chinese culture while trying to integrate with the rest of the world.

1.2.2 The mascot On 18 December 2007, at the evening party of the Expo decision announcement in Shanghai, the Organizing Committee officially released – Haibao (海宝) – the Expo 2010 Shanghai mascot (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Mascot for Expo 2010 Shanghai

Haibao was designed with the theme of “Better City, Better Life” in mind, with the potential for great commercial value and extendable redevelopment in the marketplace. Furthermore, it embodied the cultural features of the host country. What led to the choice of Haibao? Firstly, it is the pictorial variation of the Chinese character 人 (ren, ‘human being’ or ‘person’), reflecting both Chinese culture and the concept of what being narrated by the emblem. This was the first creative introduction of Chinese characters into the design of mascots for significant international events. The mutual support of the two strokes of the character reveals that a good life needs the mutual trust of people. Life cannot be beautiful until there is mutual support

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between people and a harmonious coexistence between man and nature, man and society, and men themselves. The shape of the character conveys well the Chinese philosophy of the unity and harmony between man and nature. Secondly, the mascot was named 海宝 (Haibao, ‘treasure of the seas’) because its name, shape and color are inseparable and complement one another to signify good luck. The adoption of Chinese pinyin (拼音) (see Figure 3) follows the relevant rules of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language and the example of Fuwa (福娃) for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. It was not only easy to remember, but also highlighted a role in promoting the standard national language and underlined Chinese culture as well.

Figure 3: Spelling of the Expo 2010 Shanghai mascot

1.3 Media languages at the Expo The World Expo Network was opened in October 2001 as the official network of the Expo 2010 Shanghai Bid Committee, receiving over 50,000 visits daily and the total number of visitors before winning the bid exceeded twenty million. The information about the successful bid was posted synchronically in Chinese (in both forms of simplified and traditional characters), English and Japanese. The Shanghai Expo Magazine, a 16 mo Chinese-English bilingual monthly, was formally launched after the establishment of the network with a circulation of 12,000 copies. A bimonthly Japanese version was added 1,000 days prior to the opening ceremony with a circulation of 30,000 copies.

1.4 Bilingual and multiple-script Expo Park pilot system The Shanghai World Exposition Bureau designed a preliminary Expo Park pilot system for a speedy and accurate guidance service for all visitors. It was composed of four parts: (1) An internal public signs system, including roads, directions, service facilities, venues, regional maps, etc., chiefly in Chinese and English;

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(2) a voice prompt system, including pre-synthesized recordings, telephone counseling, broadcast calls, in Chinese, English and other languages on demand; (3) a text prompt system, including paper maps, tour guides, and related books and albums, in Chinese, English and many other languages; (4) a multimedia prompt system, chiefly a computer touch screen pilot system, with text, pictures, and audio-visual devices in Chinese, English and other languages on demand.

1.5 Volunteer recruitment According to the current Expo Volunteer Registry Form, published by the Bureau through the Expo network, the basic requirement for volunteers was the ability to use various languages, including fluent native Chinese, strong foreign language proficiency and even a second foreign language skill. The principal tasks before the opening of the Expo were translation, propagation, activity organization and associated language work.

2 Language learning and promotion activities for Chinese citizens 2.1 Learning and promotion activities to improve the average citizen’s Putonghua ability Shanghai is located in the Wu (吴) dialect area, therefore, the training of Putonghua was one of the priorities for citizens who offered their services to visitors from elsewhere in this country. For this purpose, the Shanghai Ethics Promotion Office, Shanghai Language Commission, the Shanghai Education Committee and other associated departments advocated a series of programs to promote Putonghua.

2.1.1 Effective promotion of the Putonghua Proficiency Test Under the guiding principle of complementing training with testing to improve the Putonghua ability, over 320,000 Shanghai citizens participated in the Putonghua Proficiency Test, with an average target rate of 80.70% (Table 1).

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Table 1: Statistics of the Putonghua Proficiency Test in Shanghai Testees Civil servants Teachers Students Provincial stations Radio-Televsion system Others Total

Regional stations Sum

Testees passing the test

Target rate (%)

61,307

48,553

79.19

151,453

116,886

77.17

81,462

69,950

85.87

966

706

73.08

43

24

55.81

1,009

730

72.35

34,109

29,642

86.90

330,349

266,491

80.67

2.1.2 Thorough and widespread Putonghua learning and promotion The year 2003 witnessed a world exposition knowledge and Putonghua recitation contest with 32,000 participants. In 2004, an appraisal campaign entitled “Creating a Good Language Environment for the World Exposition” was launched to collect and evaluate Putonghua promotion slogans and picture poster designs. In 2006, a contest to select the Shanghai Ambassador for the National Campaign of Putonghua Promotion was attended by 33,000 participants. Another Putonghua recitation contest was held in 2007 and 13,000 people took part. In addition, taking the opportunity of the National Putonghua Promotion Week, a large number of training programs, lectures, contests, and performance shows have been held annually in the districts and counties of Shanghai, as well as in its colleges and universities, with audiences of over 1,000,000 people.

2.2 Learning and promotion activities to improve citizens’ foreign language ability (mainly English) 2.2.1 Shanghai Citizens’ General Foreign Language Test Early in 1993, on the campus of the Shanghai Foreign Languages University, the Shanghai General Foreign Language Proficiency Test Office was jointly established with the Shanghai Education Commission, Shanghai Adult Education Commission, Shanghai Organization Department of the Municipal Party Committee

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and the Shanghai Human Resources Bureau. The test consisted of seventeen items in four major categories, and a cumulative number of 1,100,000 citizens have participated in it.

2.2.2 Shanghai Foreign Language Interpretation Training and Testing Certificate In 1995, the Pudong (浦东) Continuing Education Center of Shanghai Higher Education initiated the project of the Shanghai Foreign Language Interpretation Training and Testing Certificate, one of the major training programs for language professionals in Shanghai, which was badly needed. Test items included Advanced English Interpretation, Intermediate English Interpretation, Japanese Interpretation Certificate, and Fundamental Skills of English Interpretation. These certificates are being gradually accepted by various employers in Shanghai, the Yangtze River delta, and other provinces and regions of the country.

2.2.3 Shanghai Citizens’ Foreign Language Exchange Center Shanghainese have long been paying great attention to foreign language skills, and eight foreign language corners have been formed spontaneously since the hallmark adoption of the policy of opening and reform at the end of the 1970s. In 2005, the Shanghai Citizens’ Foreign Language Exchange Center was founded to integrate the resources of the personnel and mechanism of foreign language corners, in order to meet the demand of the Expo 2010 language service. By means of training programs for foreign language volunteers and overall planning of foreign language corners, the center extended its foreign language training to ordinary citizens and community members of the city.

2.3 Comprehensive mother tongue and foreign languages learning and promotion activities 2.3.1 The campaign of A Million Citizens’ Bilingual Learning Effort for Expo 2010, and examinations In 2003, Shanghai City launched the campaign called A Million Citizens’ Bilingual Learning Effort for Expo 2010, and held a grand opening ceremony on 10 December, on the first anniversary of the successful bid. The objective of the

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campaign was that by 2010, all employees of the service industry should be able to offer standard services in fluent Putonghua and simple English, and 50% of the citizens should be able to communicate in standard Putonghua and English with both Chinese and overseas visitors and offer direct or indirect service for the Expo. In the same period, the Shanghai Citizens’ Bilingual Learning Promotion Commission Office organized specialists to compile Expo 2010, 100 Sentences in Putonghua and Expo 2010, 100 Sentences in English, and develop multimedia teaching materials. From 2003 to 2006, over 80,000 public service employees and community residents have received bilingual training and more than 40,000 of them passed the examination and were awarded certificates. In 2007, the campaign was further strengthened with the city authority’s proposal and implementation schedule of Bilingual Learning by a Million Employees, Bilingual Learning by a Million Families, and Bilingual Learning by a Million Students before 2010.

2.3.2 Mass activities of language and writing with Expo themes On 23 April 2004, the Shanghai Ethics Promotion Office declared the Action Plan of Ethics Promotion for the Expo 2010 Shanghai, with the aim of improving and optimizing the soft environment of the host city. Succinct statistics show that from 2004 up to the present, relevant activities carried out by the different departments concerned included: an Expo-themed Students’ Speech Contest Among Hundred Middle Schools, an Expo Young Messengers’ Essay Competition, “Welcoming Expo 2010 and Becoming Good Shanghainese” Bilingual Speakers Contest, a Children’s Expo-themed English Speech Contest, a Middle School Students’ Expo-themed English Contest, “Expo 2010 and I”, a Primary School Students’ Chinese-English Essay Competition and Speech Contest, and Expo Stories (diaries) Interschool Relay Activities. The Middle School Students’ English Contest has become an annual event.

3 The improvement of signage in public places 3.1 Reinforcing management by law and maintaining the dominant role of the general language and writing On 29 December 2005, Measures for the Implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China about the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language in

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Shanghai was examined and approved at the 25th Session of the Standing Committee of the 12th Shanghai People’s Congress. Based on these decisions and legislation, the near-future language development strategy of Shanghai as a cosmopolitan city was planned. The Regulations of Monitoring and Administrative Enforcement of the Use of Chinese Characters in Public Places in Shanghai was announced in January 2007, specifying that the law enforcement department concerned was to carry out on-the-spot enforcement according to the results of the monitoring work conducted by the language commissions of the districts and counties, establishing a mechanism of routine complementation combined with intensive implementation, and determining the standard procedures of law enforcement. The law enforcement departments of the districts and counties have imposed legal control on language and writing in urban administrations and undertaken front-line personnel training programs. In July 2007, the Shanghai Municipal Law Enforcement Bureau undertook a special check of the conditions of the language and writing administration in the district and county jurisdictions. Meanwhile, all departments concerned vigorously explored ways of eliminating many sources of misuse of Chinese characters in the public media, coordinating with local departments of industry and commerce to guard the appearance of the city and its environment by controlling the use of Chinese characters on shop signs, in advertisements, and public facilities. The Bureau of City Appearance and Environmental Protection is subject to the shop sign requirements, and stipulates the language and writing standards for all the shops when they renew their signs to welcome Expo 2010, so that much of the source of miswritten characters is blocked.

3.2 Standard English translations in public places There are misspellings, grammatical mistakes, mistranslations, and different translations of English names in public places in Shanghai, which have long drawn widespread concern and criticism. In September 2004, a specialist committee for the English translations at public places in Shanghai was formed and its working agenda published. The following tasks have been undertaken by the committee.

3.2.1 Establishing the English translation standards of Chinese names The directive, Basic Rules of the English Translation of Chinese Names in Public Places in Shanghai was formulated and released. As a programmatic standard,

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it sets basic principles and methods for the English translation of Chinese names, applicable to all sectors and industries in Shanghai. After two years’ research, The Basic Rules of the English Translation of Road Names in Shanghai was published in August 2007 and put into practice by the Municipal Place Name Office and the Municipal Administration before the Expo’s opening.

3.2.2 Examination and verification of the English translation of Chinese names in public places In the past couple of years, the English translation committee examined six major types of translated Chinese names at the request of all industries, including the English names for police stations, some foreign communities and commercial societies in Shanghai, some institutions, and the stops/stations of the subway lines 1–9.

3.2.3 Offering counseling on Standard English usage The service included replying to letters from the public via the Municipal Language Commission concerning problems of English translations, offering English translations for signboards of internal service facilities at the request of Oriental Oasis, as well as translating road names and service signs at historical venues and scenic spots at the request of Zhujiajiao (朱家角) tourist town. Translated by Zhao Deyu (赵德玉) Ocean University of China [email protected]

Wang Lei (汪磊) & Tong Qiumei (佟秋妹)

12 Language situation of the Three Gorges immigrants of the Changjiang River The Three Gorges Dam on the Changjiang River (长江, alias Yangtze River) ranks among the biggest water control projects in the contemporary world and migration became one of the major components in building the dam. By the end of 2007, over 1,228,000 migrants were resettled: 1,047,000 from Chongqing (重庆) and 181,000 from Hubei (湖北).1

1 Background The project submerged the central and eastern sections to Chongqing as well as many adjacent districts, counties and towns in the west of Hubei Province, a linguistic area of Chengyu (成渝) forming a cluster of Southwest Mandarin. Compared with the southern dialect groups, in this area a greater consistency exists with Putonghua in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar, and there is a broader interior uniformity on the whole. As a matter of fact, a regional common language close to the Chengyu dialect was formed. Migration of the first period between 1993 and 1998 was completed with the resettlement of 156,000 people. Subsequent migrations were arranged within the same counties, therefore there was no big change geographically, and thus linguistic communication was not affected. By the end of 2007, 200,000 villagers were emigrated, of which 165,000 were organized by various governments (96,000 settled by the Central Government and 69,000 by the local authorities) and 35,000 moved to 29 provinces, cities and autonomous regions (with the exception of Taiwan) by themselves.2 In May 1999, 70,000 villagers from the Dam area were resettled to farms in Shanghai (上海), Jiangsu (江苏), Hubei (湖北), Hunan (湖南), Guangdong (广东), Sichuan (四川) and five other provinces and cities. The first problem these settlers encountered was the language of daily interaction. While there was not much difficulty for the immigrants from Chongqing speaking Southwest Mandarin when they were resettled within the same dialect group, for those who 1 Data provided by the State Council’s Three Gorges Project Construction Committee Executive Office. 2 Data provided by the State Council’s Three Gorges Project Construction Committee Executive Office.

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moved far out to where Wu (吴), Gan (赣), Xiang (湘), Min (闽) and Cantonese are spoken, the big difference between these dialects became a great communicative barrier in their daily life. It is well-known that Chinese dialects are rather complex, and any oral communication between the Mandarin speakers and the speakers of those major dialects is virtually impossible. Because of the broad scope of distribution, the scattered habitation, and the different group sizes of resettlement, no investigative data is yet available.

2 Language use In order to empirically examine the linguistic attitude of these migrants toward their original and resettlement places – the language use in their daily communication and linguistic adaptability, and more importantly, the possible linguistic barriers – case studies and questionnaire surveys were conducted among these immigrants in Guangdong, Jiangsu and Hunan provinces. A comprehensive analysis was based on the data obtained from the findings and from available data of previous studies.

2.1 A survey on the resettlement and investigation of the Three Gorges immigrants in Guangdong, Jiangsu and Hunan provinces In the process of migration, Guangdong received a total of 7,009 immigrants, comprising 1,985 households from Wushan (巫山) County of Chongqing Municipality, and placed them at 100-odd settlements scattered in 13 subordinate regions of Huizhou (惠州), Foshan (佛山), Jiangmen (江门), Zhaoqing (肇庆) and Guangzhou (广州). Our investigation was carried out in Zhaoqing and Gaoyao (高要), both belonging to the Guangfu (广府) cluster of the Cantonese area. Jiangsu received 10,383 people of 2,380 households. Those who were resettled at Yancheng (盐城) were mainly from Yunyang (云阳) County of Chongqing, while those resettled at Nantong (南通) were mainly from Wanzhou (万州) of Chongqing. According to the divisions made in the Language Atlas of China, Sheyang (射阳) belongs to the Hongchao (洪巢) cluster of Jianghuai (江淮) Mandarin, Dongtai (东台), Dafeng (大丰), Rudong (如东), Rugao (如皋) and Hai’an (海安) belong to the Tairu (泰如) cluster of Jianghuai (江淮) Mandarin, and Qidong (启东), Haimen (海门) and Tongzhou (通州) belong to Wu group

Language situation of the Three Gorges immigrants of the Changjiang River

113

(Chinese Academy of Social Science and Australian Academy of the Humanities 1987). From August 2000 to July 2004, Hunan Province received four groups of 7,466 immigrants from three towns – Shibao (石宝), Xinsheng (新生) and Dongxi (东溪) – of Zhong (忠) County, Changping (长坪) Village of Wuqiao (五桥) Immigrant Development Zone, Wanzhou (万州) District, and Houba (后坝) Town of Kai (开) County of Chongqing. There are three Chinese dialects distributed in Hunan, namely, Xiang and Gan dialects and Southwest Mandarin, all quite different from each other. Batches of 4,220, 995, and 2,251 immigrants from the Three Gorges were resettled respectively in those three dialect groups (Liu 2007).

2.2 Native immigrant language or native dialect: Maintenance and shift The samples of this study were emigrated from the countryside of Wushan and Yunyanɡ counties, and Wanzhou prefecture, Chongqing, all belonging to the Chengyu cluster, and therefore we took Chongqing dialect as a case representative of this cluster. Data from two investigated spots in Guangdong showed that 100% of the immigrants spoke Chongqing dialect as their mother tongue, 88.3% believed they could use the dialect fluently and accurately, while 11.7% thought their fluency and accuracy were comparatively poor. This might be associated with their understanding of the terms as well as their educational background. From Putonghua, Chongqing, Cantonese and other dialects, 100% of the immigrants chose the second as their major language of communication in daily routines. Among the samples collected in Jiangsu, 93.4% of the immigrants acquired Chongqing dialect as their mother tongue when young. In spite of the different levels of dialect competency, it can be seen from Table 1 that 84.7%, the great majority of immigrants here, could use their native dialect perfectly. Together with 11.1% who used it with less proficiency, the proportion reached 95.8%, while the third remaining criterion (immigrants whose mother tongue proficiency was below average) applied to less than 5%. The number of immigrants who chose Chongqing dialect as one of the languages for daily communication (including Putonghua, local and other dialects) was 485, accounting for 96% of the total. Both investigations discussed above show that the mother tongue of the Three Gorges immigrants, namely Chongqing dialect, was maintained perfectly well and was still being used as the major language for daily communication

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Wang Lei (汪磊) & Tong Qiumei (佟秋妹)

Table 1: The use of their mother tongue by the Three Gorges immigrants in Guangdong and Jiangsu Guangdong

Jiangsu

Subject

Number of people

Percentage (%)

Number of people

Percentage (%)

Fluency and accuracy

53

88.3

426

84.7

Less proficiency

7

11.7

56

11.1

Ability to converse, but not very well

0

0

10

2.0

Understanding, but not speaking much

0

0

9

1.8

Understanding little and not speaking much

0

0

2

0.4

and no evidence of shift has yet been discovered. The same is true with investigations carried out in Hunan. The immigrants there spoke the dialect of Shibao (石宝) Town, which belongs to Southwest Mandarin, while the local dialect of Dajing (大荆) belongs to the Changyi (长益) cluster of Xiang dialect, so there is a wide gap between both speech groups. However, as they had not been resettled for very long, a possible intermingling of the dialects was not yet visible (Liu 2004).

2.3 The immigrants’ use of a second language (Putonghua and new dialect) There are great differences between the mother tongue and the local dialects, particularly Cantonese, Xiang and Wu. When the Three Gorges immigrants were resettled in Guangdong, Jiangsu and Hunan, the first difficulty they encountered in their daily interaction in their new home was language. Did they speak their mother tongue, Putonghua, or the local dialect? Studies revealed that Putonghua, or rather regional Putonghua with a strong Chongqing accent, was the major language form of these immigrants for communicating with the outside. As far as the immigrants’ competence of Putonghua is concerned, our study in Guangdong showed that 48.4% had a level of fluency and 33.3% of less fluency, and the remaining 18.3% were able to speak, but not fluently. The same three groups in Jiangsu were 26.8%, 29.1%, and 27.0%, adding up to more than 80% of the total immigrant population. The striking divergence of 21 percentage points between the immigrants in Guangdong and Jiangsu at the level of fluency might stem from their different

115

Language situation of the Three Gorges immigrants of the Changjiang River

Table 2: The use of Putonghua by the Three Gorges immigrants in Guangdong and Jiangsu Guangdong

Jiangsu

Subject

Number of people

Percentage (%)

Number of people

Percentage (%)

Fluency and accuracy

29

48.34

135

26.8

Less proficiency

20

33.3

146

29.1

Ability to converse, but not very well

11

18.3

136

27.0

Understanding, but not speaking much

0

0

72

14.3

Understanding little and not speaking much

0

0

14

2.8

understanding of the terms used and their own language skills. Meanwhile, it is not hard to see that Putonghua has won widespread acceptance after so many years of promotion as the lingua franca of the modern Han (汉) people and has become the major means of communication among different dialectal groups. People’s Putonghua is being steadily improved so that most of them can communicate in either standard or accented Putonghua. This ability proves rather important for the immigrants’ smooth adaptation to their new settings. They can and are willing to communicate with local people in Putonghua; therefore, if Putonghua becomes prevalent on both sides, there will practically be no language barrier (He & Peng 2006). When asked whether they could speak any local dialects, the immigrants replied that they were still in the beginning phase of learning, for they had only been resettled for six or seven years. The study in Jiangsu produced lower percentages than in Guangdong: 42.9% of the immigrants could understand the local dialects, but did not speak them very frequently, 32.4% could not understand or speak much, 5.6% could neither understand nor speak at all, and 19.1% could meet their basic needs. In spite of these differences, most immigrants could understand local dialects and this will prove to be important for them in the future, in order to adjust to and become one with their surroundings. The investigation in Guangdong indicated that obvious age stratification occurred in the learning and application of new dialects. In Guangdong, 23% of the students aged 7–20 could speak fluent Cantonese, 38.5% could speak it with comparative ease, 23% could speak, but not confidently, and 15.5% could understand, but speak not much, yet there were none who could neither understand nor speak. Expressed in a comprehensible manner, all students could understand their new dialects and nearly 85% of

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Wang Lei (汪磊) & Tong Qiumei (佟秋妹)

Table 3: The use of a second dialect by the Three Gorges immigrants in Jiangsu Subject Fluency and accuracy Less proficiency Ability to converse, but not very well

Number of people

Percentage (%)

1

0.2

35

7.0

60

11.9

Understanding, but not speaking much

216

42.9

Understanding little and not speaking much

163

32.4

28

5.6

No understanding or speaking at all

them could speak them, but the proportion of those who could use Cantonese with relative proficiency was higher. In the stratum of young and middle-aged immigrants in the age range of 21 to 50, both fluency and relative ease in using Cantonese were zero. 28.6% could speak it, but not very well, 14.2% could understand, but not speak much, 52.4% could neither understand it nor speak much, and 4.8% could neither understand nor speak Cantonese at all. That is to say, presently nearly 60% of the immigrants cannot understand local dialects very much or not at all. In the group of young and middle-aged immigrants, this was the highest proportion that could not understand or speak much. Among older immigrants above 50 in age, both fluency and relative ease in using Cantonese dialect were also zero. 9% could speak it, but not very well, 27% could understand though not speak much, 18% could neither understand nor speak much, and 46% could neither understand it nor speak it at all. At present, over 60% can understand very little Cantonese dialect or not at all, and the highest proportion were those who can neither understand nor speak it. In their communication with the local residents, the Three Gorges immigrants developed from complete ignorance to some knowledge of the local dialects. Investigations showed that 25 individuals could completely understand the local dialects, 75 could understand much, and 79 a little, representing respectively 11.4%, 34.2% and 36.1% of the total, adding up to 81.7% of the immigrant population. The remainder were less educated old people who had little contact with the local residents and therefore could not understand the local dialects at all. Evidently, the great majority of immigrants could at least understand the local dialects to a certain extent and a few young and educated immigrants (particularly the young students) could even speak them. We believe that such age stratification is an objective and natural phenomenon in the process of linguistic contact. Due to the differences in age, there

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are discrepancies in social adaptability and contact between different groups of people.

2.4 The link language of the immigrant communities According to our investigation, in the resettlement of the Three Gorges immigrants, Guangdong and Jiangsu adopted the model of “a scattered arrangement in relatively concentrated areas” with slight variations in specific cases. In Guangdong, houses were constructed for groups of 20 households per building; in Jiangsu, however, the immigrants were scattered, three or four households in each village. In this way, new communities of various sizes were formed. And these communities in different regions share the same features in the link language. In Guangdong, immigrants did not use Chongqing dialect in local communication, no matter what age. Instead, an accented Putonghua was generally used with variations in different age groups: 80% of the old immigrants used it while the remaining 20% had never had the opportunity to interact with any local residents at all. Among the young and middle-aged immigrants, 95% spoke Putonghua while 14.3% could speak the local dialects as well. 69.2% of students could speak the local dialects, taking up the first place in the immigrant population, while the remaining 30.8% spoke only Putonghua. In Jiangsu, 51.5% of the young immigrants spoke accented Putonghua, and those who used the local dialects or code switching, came together in the second place. 79.3% of the middle-aged immigrants communicated with the local residents in Putonghua and 8.0% used Chongqing dialect. The aged immigrants were just the opposite: 64.2% spoke their native dialects and 31.1% Putonghua, while none used the local dialects. It can be seen that age differences within the immigrant groups play an important role in their choice of language. In contrast, the Three Gorges immigrants in the area of Xiang and Gan dialects showed a heterogeneous pattern in language use, some of them adopted even trilingualism. Investigations showed that 100% of the immigrants spoke their native tongue at home and among their hometown fellows; in contacting the local residents, 35% spoke the local dialects, 53% Putonghua, and 12% still their native dialects. With people from elsewhere, 92.2% preferred Putonghua, and the remaining 7.8% their native dialects. 12% of the immigrants were monolingual, while 53% were bilingual and 35% trilingual. Therefore, these communities have become multilingual.

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Wang Lei (汪磊) & Tong Qiumei (佟秋妹)

2.5 The immigrants’ linguistic attitude Linguistic attitude, a category of socio-psychology of linguistics, exercises a profound influence on people’s language choice, competence and behavior. People with different linguistic attitudes exhibit different levels of linguistic competence and application. The same individual may show different language abilities and usage in different linguistic settings. Each attitude brings about its corresponding psychological reaction to the mother tongue and other languages, which may in turn hinder an individual’s initiative to learn another language and also affect his learning outcome. Our study in Guangdong showed that languages placed in order of usefulness by the immigrants were Putonghua, Cantonese and Chongqing dialects, respectively 95%, 86.6% and 61.5%. Putonghua was put in the central place, which is closely associated with the middle-aged and old immigrants’ opinion that Cantonese is difficult to learn. When asked “Which language do you hope your offspring to learn and master?”, the order was Putonghua, Cantonese and Chongqing dialects, representing 93%, 88.9% and 60% of the respondents. Compared with the first group of data, Cantonese rose by 2.3 percentage points while the other two dropped. This is a clear demonstration of their understanding of the relationship between the mastery of Cantonese and their future life in this new context. Investigations in Jiangsu revealed various attitudes toward the choice of other languages than Chongqing dialect: 29.8% expressed agreement, 32.4% showed indifference, 23.3% felt uneasy, and 14.5% indicated their aversion. When asked “How do you feel when you are talked to in the local dialect?”, those who disliked it increased to 20.3%, but when asked “How do you feel when you are talked to in Putonghua?”, those who expressed dislike decreased to 8.9%, while those who agreed grew to 38.0%. Those who were indifferent stayed almost unchanged at 23.5%. When it came to the question whether Chongqing dialect could be preserved in the local communities, 54.3% expected it would, 41.9% showed indifference, and merely 3.8% did not hope so. Therefore, it can be seen that these immigrants were quite open to change rather than loyal to their mother tongue. Agreement with and indifference to the change of dialect in communication occupied the biggest proportion, while at the same time, most immigrants still keenly hoped to preserve their mother tongue because it serves as an important link to their birthplace and a mark of their identity and feelings. Concerning the practical functions of Putonghua, Chongqing and the local dialects in the mind of the immigrants, the investigation showed that the order was Putonghua (98.6%), the local dialects (95.2%), and Chongqing dialect

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(86.3%) respectively, and only 13.7% of the immigrants regarded their native dialect as useless. These attitudes affect their behavioral tendency, so when asked whether they would learn Putonghua and the local dialects on their own initiative, 76.1% and 53.1% were positive while 5.2% and 8.2% were negative, and when asked if they expected their offspring to learn Putonghua and the local dialects, 93.8% and 76.9% were positive while zero and 2.4% were negative. Such a utilitarian tendency will have a significant impact on the language orientation of future immigrant communities. However, we have seen that Putonghua enjoys a very high prestige in society as the lingua franca and that immigrants have a keen sense of identity with it.

3 Forecast and prospect Following the theory of linguistic contact and evolution, interaction between the Three Gorges immigrants’ native tongue and the local dialects is inevitable. Such interaction will display different features due to the extent to which these dialects differ from each other and depending on the diversity of these immigrants in social behavior. The speed and strength of their linguistic evolution will show a diversified distribution both in time and in space, progressing in the general direction favorable to the survival of both the individuals and the community. Social life in China is in a fast-developing period. The country’s language policy and planning are shaping the development of the Three Gorges immigrants’ language situation in such a way that it will be different from that of historical immigrants (e.g., the formation of Hakka and the shaping of various dialect islands). After a few years’ social contact and interaction in all aspects with the local residents, there is already the tendency for the Three Gorges immigrants’ language to differentiate in multiple stratifications of age, gender, and the degree of education, and for their language situation to be diversified: Chongqing dialect, accented Putonghua, and the local dialects are code mixed and used alternately to suit the different needs of communication. Correspondingly, the phenomenon of monolingual (speaking Chongqing dialect), bilingual (speaking both Chongqing dialect and accented Putonghua) and trilingual speakers (speaking accented Putonghua, Chongqing and the local dialects) will last for a certain period of time. With the growth of the immigrant offspring and the passage of time, a new type of bilingual will come onto the stage, speaking the local dialects and localized Putonghua; however, this will be a story of quite some time in the future.

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Wang Lei (汪磊) & Tong Qiumei (佟秋妹)

References Chinese Academy of Social Science and Australian Academy of the Humanities. 1987. Language Atlas of China. Hong Kong: Longman. He, Zeyii (何泽仪) & Peng, Ting (彭婷). 2006. Analysis of Cultural Assimilation between the Three Gorges Migrants of Hunan Province and Local Residents. Journal of Three Gorges University, Vol. 1. Liu, Qingsong (刘青松). 2007. A study of the linguistic communication of the Three Gorges immigrants in Hunan (入湘三峡移民语言交际问题研究) (National Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science Project Report). Liu, Yingling (刘英玲). 2004. A Comparison Study of the Lexicon of Early Dialect Contact between Three Gorges Immigrants. MA dissertation, Hunan Normal University. Translated by Liang Xiaopeng (梁晓鹏) Qingdao (青岛) University of Science & Technology [email protected]

Jiang Bingbing (蒋冰冰), Shi Jianhua (施建华) & Wang Yijia (王颐嘉)

13 A survey of the language use at the migrant schools in Shanghai Since the 1990s, the migrant workers’ children studying in Shanghai schools have become such a significant population that they draw growing attention. Statistics show that by the end of 2004 this city had 357 migrant schools and 364,400 migrant children of school age, of whom 210,900 were attending migrant schools and the remaining 153,500 were going to state-run schools. The ratio between the migrant children and the locally registered children reached 2:5 in the period of compulsory education and the ratio of the student population at the migrant schools as compared to state-run primary and junior secondary schools was approximately 1:5 (Shanghai Municipal Education Committee 2005). Migrant schools are generally regarded as marginalized and the official language policy at these schools had not yet been implemented by the administration. From June to October 2006, we undertook a study of assessing the language use at the migrant schools in Shanghai with a view to working out suggestions and providing empirical evidence for policy-making, in order to facilitate the promotion of language policy in this city. Through using the methodologies of interview and a questionnaire survey, we examined whether the teachers and students were aware of the rules and regulations of Putonghua promotion and the standard Chinese characters, and how the official language standards were being observed in these schools.

1 The samples First of all, the research team made a general survey of the situation of language policy promotion in 226 migrant schools distributed in 13 districts and counties of Shanghai City, including whether an agency was established for language work, whether the language standardization was advocated at these schools, how well their teachers did in the Putonghua Proficiency Test, and whether any relevant activities had been organized. 4,878 teachers and 136,284 students were involved in this survey. Basing on the general survey above, we distributed questionnaires at 17 migrant schools sampled from Yangpu (杨浦), Songjiang (松江), Nanhui (南汇), Pudong (浦东) and Chongming (崇明) located in the city, in the rural-urban

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Jiang Bingbing (蒋冰冰), Shi Jianhua (施建华) & Wang Yijia (王颐嘉)

interlinking zone, and in the greater Shanghai area. To participate in the study, we engaged 500 teachers, which accounted for approximately 10% of the total, and 2,000 students from Grade 3 to Grade 9, making up about 1.5% of the student population. 462 valid questionnaires were returned by teachers (92.4%), including 46 language teachers and 69 non-language teachers from secondary schools, and 195 language teachers and 152 non-language teachers from primary schools; the 1,656 valid questionnaires returned by students (82.8%) were answered by 358 Grade 3, 360 Grade 4, 331 Grade 5, and 275 Grade 6 pupils and 124 Grade 7, 117 Grade 8 and 91 Grade 9 junior secondary students. Except those data marked as derived from the sampling survey, all data used in this study were obtained from the general survey. Questions asked in the survey covered the application level and competency of Putonghua and standard Chinese characters, the knowledge of the national and municipal regulations on language, and the participation in activities associated with the language promotion. The questions presented to the teachers included whether they had taken part in the Putonghua Proficiency Test and how much they had scored if their answer was positive. In addition, the campus linguistic landscape in these schools was inspected, and the school officials and some teachers were also interviewed for further information.

2 Findings and analysis Approximately 56% of the migrant students in Shanghai were from Anhui (安徽) province; the rest were from other provinces such as Jiangsu (江苏), Henan (河南), Sichuan (四川) and elsewhere across the country. The ratio between primary school pupils and junior secondary school students was about 4:1. Around 10.4% of migrant school teachers were local retired teachers, and all the other employed were from more than 20 provinces, including Anhui and Jiangsu.

2.1 The working mechanism of language work and the teachers’ and students’ awareness of rules and regulations In order to gauge the teachers’ understanding of the necessity to implement the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written

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123

Chinese Language (hereafter CLL), a question was designed in the questionnaire: “Do you think it is necessary for the state to enforce legislation for regulating the use of a national language and script?” In reply, 58% of the teachers chose “necessary” and 41% chose “essential”, merely 1% showed a negative attitude. This demonstrated that the great majority of the teachers supported language legislation. However, the data from the general survey on the promotion of CLL at 226 migrant schools were not satisfactory, because only 47% of these schools knew about it, while 50% did not know much about it and the remaining 3% showed that CLL was unknown to them. When it came to the Measures of Implementing CLL in Shanghai, the number of migrant schools knowing of it was much reduced, scoring 38%, 55% and 7% respectively. The teachers were aware of the professional requirements regarding language competency, as 44% of them considered the Putonghua Proficiency Test “essential” and 54% regarded it as “necessary”, while only 2% thought it “unnecessary” or “dispensable”. The attitude toward non-standard Chinese characters was different. 52% of the teachers were found supportive of the use of standard characters, 39% showed inadequate understanding, 18% considered it necessary to “keep” traditional characters, and just 1% thought that standardization would not make any difference. As to the question concerning the imposition of standard characters in public places, only 48% of the teachers expressed their agreement, 51% would give occasional heed once in a while, and 1% did not care about it at all. In answering the question “Do you pay any attention to the problems of Chinese characters (e.g. traditional characters, variant characters, miswritten characters, inappropriate and mispronounced characters) in radio broadcasting, television, newspapers, journals and other public media as well as in shop signs and advertisements?”, only 48% gave a positive response. The result of this investigation demonstrated that around one half of the migrant school teachers were not strongly conscious of the regulations that require the use of standard characters. The general survey indicated that 66% of the migrant schools were yet to develop the mechanism of employing Putonghua promotion professionals, revealing that these schools were not active in spreading Putonghua. Further information was obtained by the research team members in the interviews: no school had an office responsible for language work, no school had any signs of Putonghua popularization and standard Chinese character advocacy on the school campus, and no school had received any instructions, inspections or evaluations in language management. It can be seen that there was practically no mechanism to control the work of language and writing in the migrant schools, indicating that these schools are not in a position to carry out the propaganda and implementation of CLL.

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Jiang Bingbing (蒋冰冰), Shi Jianhua (施建华) & Wang Yijia (王颐嘉)

2.2 Language activities A general survey was conducted at these migrant schools on special newspaper columns on the signboard and other activities related to language and writing in the Putonghua Promotion Week. The data indicated that 19% of the schools had no special column entitled Learning Pinyin Every Day (每日一拼) on the signboard, 37% did not take any action in support of the promotion of Putonghua, 39% did not arrange any inspection or assessment of Chinese character standardization, and 48% did not have any propaganda activities during the Putonghua Promotion Week in 2006; 45% of the teachers and 66% of the students did not even know that the Week is in September, and about two thirds of the teachers and students were absent from activities arranged for the Week. It should be pointed out that schools ought to organize language activities even if only for the purpose of improving the quality of Chinese language teaching and learning, since the teaching of Chinese in primary and junior secondary schools serves as the main channel through which Putonghua and standard Chinese characters are learned. But it is a fact that up till now the migrant schools have not given any attention to or taken any action in promoting Putonghua. Meanwhile, the great majority of the migrant schools were found lacking a good atmosphere on their campus regarding activities like recitation, speech and character-writing contests. In such circumstances, the students received hardly any education about the regulations of language and writing or were being offered no opportunity to participate in any such activities.

2.3 Words and expressions on the campus The migrant school teachers and students in Shanghai came from different areas and this exercised a considerable influence on the choice of language for communication on the campus. The survey showed that 42% of the teachers were from Anhui Province, 21.9% were local retired teachers, 10.2% were from Jiangsu Province, and the remaining 26.8% came from over twenty other provinces. The broad geographical distribution of the teaching practitioners made Putonghua the chief language of communication. The survey data revealed that 97% of the teachers spoke Putonghua in their teaching practice, 70% used it after the classes, 64% off the campus, 16% at home, and no case was found that Putonghua was never spoken at all by any of them. 87% of the teachers spoke Putonghua to their students, 62% to their colleagues, 11% to their family members, and 79% to other people. Seen from the point of the linguistic landscape, Putonghua was the most frequently used in teaching practice and the least used at home, while

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no one was found to never “speak Putonghua at all in any situation”. These data served to demonstrate that the great majority of the migrant school teachers used Putonghua consciously in the classrooms; they also understood quite well that it was one of the basic requirements of their profession, and therefore developed the habit of speaking Putonghua on the campus. Table 1 is a summary of the students’ evaluation of their teachers’ use of Putonghua. We learned from the above description that 97% of the teachers spoke Putonghua in the classroom. These teachers can be categorized into two groups: the teachers of Chinese language and those of other subjects, and they can be further divided into two sub-groups: those who speak Putonghua occasionally and those who speak Putonghua most of the time. The percentage of both groups and sub-groups reached 97% on average. This shows a general agreement regarding the teachers’ language of instruction. However, in the students’ opinion, dialects were still used, and in some cases dialects were the predominant language of instruction because only 76% of teachers of Chinese language and 61% of teachers of other subjects spoke Putonghua, while 21% of Chinese language teachers and 36% of other subject teachers generally spoke it. Furthermore, teachers of non-Chinese language classes seemed more likely to resort to code-switching between Putonghua and dialects in the classrooms. The data collected from the sample survey indicated that both teachers and students at the migrant schools were diglossia conscious: they spoke Putonghua more often on campus and other public occasions than in domestic settings. As students grew up, they spoke less Putonghua and more dialect at home with their parents. The highest rate (18%) of Putonghua speaking in communicating with family members was found in Grade 3 children, while the lowest percentage (7%) was in Grade 9. This further explains the gradual development of students’ ability of verbal communication when they grow up and are exposed to richer linguistic environments in their daily life. The questionnaires also covered the attitude of the migrant school teachers and students to Putonghua. With regard to the question “Do you like Putonghua?”, 100% of teachers and 94% of students answered “Yes”. When being asked, “What language do you expect your teacher to speak in class?”, 95% of the students chose Putonghua. In the self-report evaluation of Putonghua proficiency, both teachers and students were fairly positive: 45% of teachers believed they could speak Putonghua “fluently and accurately”, 54% of them thought they could speak it, but “less accurately”, and only 1% found it difficult to communicate in Putonghua, but no one could not speak it at all. As far as the students were concerned, 43% could speak it “fluently and accurately”, 47% could do it with less accuracy, 7% felt some difficulty, and 3% thought they could not.

82 15 2 1 100 67 30 3 0 100

Completely Putonghua Generally Putonghua Generally dialect Completely dialect Total

Completely Putonghua Generally Putonghua Generally dialect Dialect Total

Other teachers

Grade 3

Chinese Language teachers

Grade Classroom Expressions

63 33 4 0 100

75 22 3 0 100

Grade 4

68 28 2 2 100

79 17 4 0 100

Grade 5

48 50 2 0 100

72 23 5 0 100

Grade 6

69 31 0 0 100

84 16 0 0 100

Grade 7

Table 1: Students’ evaluation of the teachers’ language of instruction at the migrant schools in Shanghai (%)

52 46 2 0 100

71 24 3 2 100

Grade 8

62 35 3 0 100

68 28 2 2 100

Grade 9

61 36 2 1 100

76 21 3 0 100

Average

126 Jiang Bingbing (蒋冰冰), Shi Jianhua (施建华) & Wang Yijia (王颐嘉)

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On-the-spot interviews showed that Putonghua was generally used in the classroom, in the school broadcasting, and in the after-class interactions and collective activities, so that, on the whole, a conducive atmosphere was formed for the application of Putonghua. However, the weak enforcement resulted in a very vague consciousness of CLL, so that a considerable number of teachers were not (very) familiar with the relevant regulations; they still followed their instinct and habit in using words and expressions, rather than consciously observing the official requirements. According to our fieldwork, standard characters were used on the plates of these migrant schools, but elsewhere non-standard characters were observed occasionally. For instance, traditional Chinese characters were sometimes written on the scrolls of famous quotations. No special columns or display boards were found to show language promotion activities. On the back wall of classrooms were rarely boards or bulletins. Due to the lack of reliable information obtained from our visits, no conclusion can be made that the application of Chinese characters generally conformed to the rules in these schools.

2.4 The teachers’ language competency As stated above, migrant school teachers understood quite well that speaking Putonghua was one of their basic tasks, and the great majority of these teachers developed the consciousness and habit of using it on the campus and in the classroom, and standard characters were the norm on the school plates. However, the statistical data from our survey revealed that the teachers’ actual Putonghua proficiency and the ability to use standard Chinese characters were not so satisfactory. According to File No. 1 of 2001, issued by the former State Education Commission, all teachers born on 1 January 1954 and onward should participate in the Putonghua Proficiency Test. Chinese language teachers with a score of 2-A or above and non-language teachers with a score of 2-B or higher are considered to be qualified. Among the 462 teachers who returned the questionnaires, 123 were born before 1954; the remaining 339 were born after that year and are therefore required to take the test. The survey showed that a considerable proportion of teachers should have taken part in the test and the average percentage of participants – both Chinese language and non-language teachers – was 32.4%. Of all those who had taken the test, a considerable number failed the test, covering 28.8% of the teachers in this category and 19.5% of the total teaching body. Judging by these findings, nearly 2,000 migrant school teachers ought to

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have passed a Putonghua Proficiency Test and nearly 1,160 were not successful. The teachers who had trouble with Putonghua in their teaching were quite high in proportion. Some of them had one difficulty, while others had several, and those without any difficulty were less than one third of the total. This proved to be consistent with their self-evaluation: 54% chose “less accurate”, 1% “comparatively difficult”, and a respective 24%, 16% and 39% of the teachers had difficulty in “teaching Chinese Pinyin”, “practicing teaching in Putonghua”, and “doing presentations in Putonghua”. Some teachers were rather poor in speaking Putonghua. Regarding the ability of identifying front and back nasal consonants, coronal and retroflex, and tonal errors, only 28% of Chinese language teachers and 18% of non-language teachers were completely correct. The teachers were not very capable in applying standard Chinese characters either. Only 17% of them were completely correct in filling blanks with idioms, and just 63% in correcting non-standard characters. So the situation is not optimistic.

2.5 The students’ language competency The students studying in migrant schools came from diverse locations and were using Putonghua as the major language for daily communication. In spite of this, the students’ dialects still produced significant negative transfer in their language learning and their Putonghua was considerably accented since they generally used dialects in their hometown and were not exposed much to the influence of radio and television programs in Putonghua. It can be seen from the general survey that the migrant school students had great mobility: every year new students joined in and the old students were transferred elsewhere. Statistics showed that the annual mobility rate of all grades was 19%. This was incompatible with standard requirements and consistent learning. Some students were on the move between Shanghai and their hometowns. They spoke Putonghua in Shanghai and switched to their dialects when they returned to their native places; consequently, the development of their proficiency in Putonghua and Chinese characters was inevitably disturbed. The students’ Putonghua proficiency was investigated in the survey in which they were asked to transcribe certain characters, and merely 7% of the students were completely correct. Problems were found in confusing the front and back nasal consonants, for example, the character 兴 (xìng vs. *xìn) and they had a poor knowledge of polyphones, e.g., the character 模 (mú vs. *mó) in 模样 (muyang); the error rate was as high as 63% and 70% respectively. This suggests that the students’ Putonghua was not quite up to the standard. Apart from that, they were also not too competent in using Chinese characters. When asked to

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“circle the non-standard characters in the following words and correct them”, only 33% of the students were able to achieve full marks. It should be noted that most migrant school students came from educationally underdeveloped rural areas where the teaching quality in schools was not so good and they had obviously had a poor foundation of learning. When asked whether they had any difficulty in learning Chinese, the responses varied: 47% felt it difficult to learn Pinyin, 17% had trouble in speaking Putonghua, and 23% thought it hard to learn Chinese characters. Some of them indicated that they had difficulty in two or more of these aspects. Those who had no difficulty in learning Chinese made up approximately 10% of the total. It can be concluded from the above survey that the students had a weak foundation for Chinese language learning.

3 Conclusions According to the study, most migrant schools had little knowledge of the rules and regulations regarding the use of Chinese language and script at both national and municipal levels, and generally placed no importance on language standardization. So far, one third of the migrant school teachers supposed to pass a Putonghua Proficiency Test has not taken it yet, and among those who did take it, half of them failed to be awarded the qualification certificate. Our study reveals that the diversified origins of migrant school teachers and students made it necessary to speak Putonghua on the campus. However, due to a number of factors (the feeble consciousness of regulations regarding the standardization of Chinese characters and words, the poor school conditions, the low level of management, and the low quality of the human resource) the quality of teaching was poor. Moreover, with the limited commitment in organizing activities and exercises to promote the language standard, it was difficult to create a healthy linguistic environment for learning Chinese on the campus.

Reference Shanghai Municipal Education Commission. 2005. Shanghai Education Yearbook: 2005. Shanghai: Shanghai Education Press. Translated by Liang Xiaopeng (梁晓鹏) Qingdao (青岛) University of Science & Technology [email protected]

Yin Jing (尹静)

14 A survey on parents’ attitudes towards maids’ use of dialects The rapid social development and the improvement of the living standard of professional women have spurred the unprecedented demand for maids. Given the close relationship with the family members, the language maids use has become a serious concern, particularly if the maid is employed to look after an infant. Since infancy is the crucial period for children’s pronunciation development, various dialects spoken by maids in domestic settings become an important subject of research. However, there is a lack of convincing data concerning their language situation.

1 Research questions The current survey, designed from the perspective of understanding the environmental factors of better language learning for children, attempted to examine the language situation of maid-babysitters for children, the parents’ attitude toward the importance of the language they use, and the ways their dialects may adversely affect children’s language acquisition. The following questions were asked: 1) Before sending children to kindergarten, who generally looks after them in their parents’ absence? 2) Do parents insist on the use of a certain language by their maids? 3) Do parents worry about the maids’ use of dialects because of the adverse effect on their children’s language development? 4) In which aspects is the negative influence reflected if the answer to Question 3 is in the affirmative?

2 Research methodologies and sampling The research was launched in October 2007, and the questionnaires were composed of open and selective questions. The research targeted the children of intellectual families, dozens of kindergartens affiliated to major universities, and some state ministries and commissions participated in the study as well,

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Table 1: Information of the respondents

Father

Mother

Maid

Other relatives

Aged 25–30

Aged 31–35

Aged 36–40

Aged 41–45

Over 45

304

526

0

32

95

496

217

35

19

Civil servant

Researcher

123

99

Teacher

Medical worker

Legal practitioner

Professional financial advisor

147

32

25

57

Soldier

Private business owner

Worker

Others

19

53

241

66

Junior school and lower

Senior or technical school

Higher school

College undergraduates

Postgraduates

Doctors and higher

0

17

52

473

309

11

including both the private and bilingual kindergartens in Beijing. The socioeconomic status was an important consideration in sampling. 1,000 questionnaires were distributed at parents’ meetings held by the kindergartens and 873 (87.3%) were collected on the spot, of which 862 (86.2%) were valid. To facilitate further data analysis and have a comprehensive knowledge of the parents’ attitude toward maids’ use of dialects, background information such as parents’ gender, age, and occupation as well as their children’s gender, grade and class were also gathered. The results are shown in Tables 1 and 2. Table 2: Information of the respondents’ children Boys

Girls

Top of class

Middle of class

Bottom of class

Care class

417

445

238

226

209

199

The largest group of parents was made up of 473 college graduates, 54.9% of the total. The next big group was 309 postgraduates, accounting for 35.9% of the total. They were further categorized in two age groups: 31–35 and 36–40.

3 Findings and analysis Due to the nature of the job, maids are generally required to be good Putonghua speakers. According to our survey and some interviews, most employers demanded that their maid must speak fluent Putonghua. In actual fact, however,

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some families are not that demanding. When a maid happens to come from the employer’s native place, they usually communicate in dialect out of affection.

3.1 The language used by babysitters Through the analysis of the 862 valid questionnaires, we learned that 42.9% of families employed maids for babysitting, 47.7% of children were cared for by their grandparents, and 9.4% of families sought help from their relatives (see Table 3). 22% of the grandparents could not speak Putonghua at all, or spoke heavily accented Putonghua, and 20.3% of all maids were in the same situation (see Table 4). Table 3: Proportion of day caregivers, parents excluded Frequency Validity

Percentage

1 Grandparent

411

47.7

2 Maid

370

42.9

3 Relative Total

81

9.4

862

100.0

Table 4: Proportion of caregivers often with children, but speaking no Putonghua Frequency Validity

1 Parent

Percentage

33

3.83

2 Grandparent

190

22.04

3 Maid

175

20.30

71

8.24

4 Relative 5 None

393

45.59

Total

862

100.00

3.2 Parents’ attitude towards their family members speaking Putonghua The analysis also revealed that nearly 60% of the parents insisted that their family members speak Putonghua, 19.5% said that they did not care about it, and 21.9% did not request the grandparents to speak Putonghua (see Table 5).

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Table 5: Parents’ attitude to their family members speaking Putonghua Frequency Validity

Indifferent

Percentage

168

19.5

Emphatic

505

58.6

No request to grandparents

189

21.9

No requirement for maids Total

0

0.0

862

100.0

3.3 Parents’ attitude towards their family members speaking dialects Table 6 summarizes the parents’ opinions about the influence of dialects on children’s language development. 50.2% of them thought the influence was considerable, 33.1% thought it was very serious, 11.5% thought it had very little impact, and only 3.4% believed that there was no influence at all. The remaining 1.9% of families did not express a choice. In analyzing open questions, we found three different responses to Putonghua: (1) no family member spoke a dialect; (2) speaking dialects at home was good for children; and (3) children had a strong adaptability, so even if they learned a dialect during childhood, they would switch to Putonghua once they are in the right environment. Some parents indicated they were unsure whether speaking a dialect at home had a positive or negative influence.

Table 6: Parents’ opinions about the negative effects of the family members’ dialects on the child’s language development

Attitude Validity

Missing value Total

Frequency

Percentage

Valid percentage

Cumulative percentage

1 serious

285

33.1

33.7

33.7

2 some

433

50.2

51.2

84.9

3 little

99

11.5

11.7

96.6

4 no

29

3.4

3.4

100.0

Total

846

98.2

100.0

100.0

16

1.9

862

100.0

System

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3.4 The negative transfer of dialects on children’s language development according to parents It can be seen from Table 7 that parents think dialects have an adverse effect on children’s language learning ability in four particular aspects: in pronunciation (498), vocabulary (430), grammar (122) and the pace of picking up a language (190). As the purpose of the questionnaire was to learn which aspects were of greatest influence and all selections were calculated, the total sum surpassed the original 862 valid questionnaires in number. Table 7: Aspects in which parents consider dialects have an adverse effect on children’s language learning Frequency Validity

Percentage

Pronunciation

498

40.2

Vocabulary

430

34.7

Grammar

122

9.8

Speed of mastering a language

190

15.3

1240

100.0

Total

Table 7 shows that pronunciation was considered to be affected the most. A comparison between Putonghua and most Chinese dialects reveals that the greatest difference between them lies in pronunciation; therefore, the most important task in popularizing Putonghua in the country is to solve the problem of pronunciation and the best starting point is in childhood. If children are exposed to dialects from birth, it is very difficult to change that particular way of speaking later on – this problem becomes worse with age. The next important aspect is vocabulary: the same thing may have different names in different places. A case in point is corn, which is variously called 玉米 (yumi), 苞谷 (baogu), 玉麦 (yumai), 棒子 (bangzi), and 苞米 (baomi) in different dialect groups. The third difference between Putonghua and dialects is in grammar, but the difference is small and therefore has the least serious effect. Finally, multilingualism at home was thought to slow down the speed of language acquisition. To sum up, according to parents and in the order of severity, the influence of dialects on children’s language learning is first in pronunciation, and in vocabulary, speed of learning, and grammar. In one of the interviews, a parent told about his personal experience: “I grew up in the countryside and never spoke Putonghua, but now I am getting along well all the same in Beijing. Putonghua doesn’t matter, for language is a tool of communication; as long as you can make yourself comprehensible, it doesn’t matter what language you use.” Some parents were self-conscious and

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lacked self-confidence in social settings because of their heavy dialects. Some parents “regretted having employed a dialect-speaking maid to look after our baby. He was sent to the kindergarten at two and a half. The teachers talked to other kids in Putonghua; my kid is five years old now, but still has a very strong accent, and the words he uses are from that dialect too. We are afraid that he cannot write correctly in the future . . . We were not aware of this problem at the beginning.” Other parents did not think dialects work that way and never paid any attention to it because their whole family speaks Putonghua. From the perspective of the parents’ attitude to the use of dialects by maids, there is basic agreement between the results of the questionnaire survey and the interviews. Furthermore, the better the social status of the parents was, the higher they required the Putonghua proficiency of their maids to be. In the current study, almost all the parents with Master’s degrees or above required that their family members speak Putonghua. This is because a high level of education is associated with high income, top-level social activities, and high-quality family life. Meanwhile, the language maids speak represents to a certain degree the dignity of that family. The higher an education background parents have, the better living environment and education they expect for their children. The language maids use is an important component of the linguistic environment for children; therefore, a better level of Putonghua will exercise a positive influence on children and prevents them from being “rusticized”. From the viewpoint of affective identification, as there is no blood relationship between a child and the maid who takes care of it, the only tie between them is language. If the maid shares the language of the parents, it will be easy to be on intimate terms with the child. Perfect Putonghua and using clear expressions facilitate communication inside a family, and smooth communication brings harmony in turn, which is favorable to a child in its full development. A small number of parents who were indifferent to these concerns spared neither time nor energy to look after their children and readily handed them over to maids. They did not think that children’s development in language had anything to do with Putonghua. They believed that they would learn to speak sooner or later and become a valid part of society as long as they retained their mother tongue. Our investigation revealed, however, that most parents are extremely attentive to this question and eager to know what effect dialects might exert on their children: Is it positive or negative? How serious is it? Further studies are necessary before any convincing answers can be obtained. Translated by Liang Xiaopeng (梁晓鹏) Qingdao (青岛) University of Science & Technology [email protected]

Yin Zhiping (殷志平)

15 The language situation at foreign companies: A case study of Shanghai 1 Introduction Shanghai (上海) is an exemplary metropolitan city on China’s coastal area, and it is the very first Chinese city that opened up to the world economy. It boasts China’s first ever joint venture between China and a foreign investor – China Schindler Elevator Co. Ltd. – established in August 1980. According to a Xinhua (新华) news report of 29 December 2008, there were, by the end of that year, some 33,000 foreign-funded enterprises in Shanghai, which made Shanghai China’s most popular city for attracting foreign investments. Foreign investments in Shanghai come from more than 130 countries and regions in the world, mainly from the United States, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. As of the end of 2007, sole foreignowned enterprises accounted for 75.9% of the total number of foreign-funded enterprises in Shanghai, joint ventures accounted for 18.6%, while 5.2% were Sino-foreign cooperative enterprises, and sole foreign-owned enterprises became the major form of Shanghai’s foreign investments. Shanghai foreign-funded enterprises employ 2,938,200 people, accounting for 32% of the employees in the city. (Wu 2008) Wen Hui Bao (文汇报) reported that by the end of 2008, about 68,600 foreigners were employed in Shanghai, and 80% of them came from only ten countries, namely Japan, the U.S., South Korea, Singapore, Germany, France, Canada, Malaysia, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The positions foreigners in Shanghai are employed in include jobs such as senior management (32.1%), senior technical staff (7%), general managers (45.9%), and general and technical personnel (9.7%). (Chen 2008) International employees, involved in the operation and management of foreign-funded enterprises, work together and interact frequently with local Chinese employees. In order to answer questions such as “How does the language situation in foreign companies look like?”, we formed a research group named “Foreign workplace language situation survey”, and conducted a pilot survey and interviewed foreign workers and staff in various companies. Questionnaires were given to human resource personnel and administrative officers because they had a good understanding of the language situation in their companies.

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2 The samples Apart from central Shanghai, the questionnaires were also distributed to companies in the greater Shanghai area such as Baoshan (宝山), Nanhui (南汇), and Chongming (崇明). In total, eighty foreign-funded enterprises were sampled, including foreign-owned enterprises (78%), Sino-foreign joint ventures (17%), and representative offices (5%). To ensure that the companies surveyed were representative, the survey covered a broad range of businesses. Around 38% of the investigated companies had less than 100 employees, 30% had 100–500 employees, and 32% had more than 500 employees. Most surveyed companies were from Europe and the United States (79%), while the others were from Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia (21%). The surveyed enterprises covered nineteen industries, including machinery, electronics, electrical, automotive, petrochemical, information technology (IT), and professional services industries. The survey focused mainly on the native language, the bilingual ability and the work language situation of the employees at foreign companies. When investing in China, foreign companies usually send their own people to manage the newly established offshore branches. 92% of the surveyed companies have foreign employees, and often two or more of the languages spoken there qualify as mother tongue of the workforce, i.e. some companies are joint ventures of three or more investors of different countries, therefore more than two languages are used as mother tongue of the employees in these companies. Some foreign companies employ not only people from their own countries, but also people from other countries, so there may be three or more languages counted as mother tongue of these employees. Survey data show that English is the work language as well as the mother tongue for two-thirds of the investigated foreign employees; up to 25% of the surveyed have only English as the work language; whereas 7.36% do not use English at work. Employees whose mother tongue is not English come mainly from European countries, and their mother tongues include German, French, and Dutch. However, most of them speak English with high proficiency and they have other foreign languages at their disposal. English-speaking workers who have to use other languages, typically work for German, French, Japanese, or Korean companies, and they usually speak two or more languages. Compared with the EU expatriates, those from Japan and Korea are weak in English proficiency, and although some senior managers demonstrate stronger foreign language skills, they usually do not have to communicate in a foreign language. The survey shows that many foreign employees can speak Chinese to a certain

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extent; for those whose mother tongue is English, Chinese may be their only foreign language. However, they use Chinese only informally, such as in everyday conversations with Chinese staff, and not on important or formal occasions. As for Chinese employees, English is usually their only foreign language, and only a few know other foreign languages, such as Japanese, Korean, German, and French.

3 The language situation in workplaces of foreign investment ventures Language is one of the most important communication tools in the workplace, therefore precise and effective communication is essential for running a business efficiently. The survey has investigated the use of the following six kinds of workplace languages.

3.1 Written formal documents Company documents are mainly corporate management documents, and include the working papers of associations, rules, procedures, operations, and financial reporting. Due to the diverse nature of foreign companies, there are a wide range of features in terms of language use in written formal documents. In general, some documents are solely in English (25%), whereas others are bilingual (Chinese-English 39%, English-Chinese 5%), or in another foreign language (20%), and a small number are entirely written in Chinese (11%). In the companies where the investors are mainly from English-speaking countries, English is usually the sole language in formal documents. When the sole language in formal company documents is Chinese, the investors are usually overseas Chinese. In joint ventures, switching between Chinese and English is normal; English is generally used when documents are concerned with foreign staff, but when they are about the Chinese staff, Chinese is preferred. ChineseEnglish bilingual documents are prepared whenever needed.

3.2 Language at the meetings of company management Management meetings are usually hosted by senior managers and attended by both Chinese and foreign staff. The survey results show that most management

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meetings of Shanghai’s foreign investment companies are held in English (66%), or in Japanese or Korean (3%), and some are a mix of Chinese and a foreign language (17%). Either English or Chinese (17%) is used when foreign staff chat among themselves, whereas Chinese staff normally use Chinese.

3.3 Languages used in E-mails The survey results show that foreign employees usually use English when they write emails (67%); a considerable number of employees use both English and Chinese (25%); and only 5% of emails are written in Chinese: it is pretty rare (3%) that other foreign languages are used in emails. Emails that are solely in Chinese are mainly those where there is no foreign staff involved. Chinese mixed with English occurs mainly between Chinese employees. When technical or managerial staff members communicate by email, they tend to use English; when lower rank workers are involved, Chinese is usually used in emails. In Japanese or Korean companies, emails are usually written in Japanese or Korean because there are rarely any employees whose mother tongue is English, and the Chinese employees, who form the minority, are usually able to speak Japanese or Korean.

3.4 Business contracts Business transactions often involve a variety of contractual documents, including contracts, agreements, letters of intent, orders, project proposals, tenders, and so on. As an important tool for business communication between enterprises, contracts are read by the staff of the foreign-funded enterprises as well as their Chinese trading partners, whose work language is Chinese – therefore, business contracts are mostly bilingual (Chinese-English, 45%). Bilingual contracts will be easily understood by both foreign employees and their Chinese counterparts, which is important in terms of legal disputes. A considerable number of foreign-funded enterprises use English and Chinese interchangeably (24%). When the two parties in the transaction are both foreign-funded enterprises, the contract language may be English only (22%). Among the eighty companies surveyed in the current study, no languages other than English and Chinese were used in contracts.

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3.5 Telephone terminology Considering telephone language, it appears that Chinese is more frequently used than English. However, English is commonly used when making phone calls to companies where the majority of employees are foreigners. The people’s choice of language varies depending on the situation, the interlocutor, or the topic. More Chinese is used when the called is a Chinese, while English is used when calling a foreigner. Phone calls between foreigners and Chinese are mainly conducted in English.

3.6 Daily conversations Daily conversations are mostly conducted in Chinese (43%), sometimes in English (17%), and they switch between Chinese and English quite often (38%); a limited number are in Shanghai local dialects (1%). Conversations in Japanese or Korean (1%) are limited to a small number of Japanese and Korean companies, where Chinese employees can speak Japanese or Korean. Most employees use English with their English-speaking supervisors (80%). Exceptions occur when the Chinese employees are not able to converse in English, and the English-speaking superiors show a high degree of Chinese proficiency (10%).

3.7 Summary For the convenience of communication, employees of foreign companies have to use a language at work that most of them can understand. The survey results show that 37 foreign-funded enterprises clearly defined English as their work language. In other companies, although there are no clear language requirements, English is nonetheless used as the workplace language, which means English has become the most frequently used language, especially in its written form (44%). Less than 10% of written documents are solely in Chinese. Shanghai dialect is not much used in the workplace of foreign companies. This can be explained by the fact that Shanghai has become an international metropolis. We found that Chinese staff tend to accommodate the language need of foreign staff, and in the presence of foreign staff members, the Chinese employees tend to switch to English for the sake of facilitating communication. We investigated the language attitudes of employees at Shanghai foreign companies. Language attitude refers to people’s value judgment and the behavioral tendency of their language use. The survey targets the English proficiency of Chinese and foreign employees in Shanghai.

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Table 1: The English proficiency of employees at foreign investment companies in Shanghai English proficiency

Management staff (%)

Ordinary staff (%)

Speak fluently and accurately

81

44

Speak not fluently/accurately

14

34

Reading, writing, but less listening or speaking

4

18

Reading, writing, but no listening or speaking

0

2

Only reading, no writing, listening or speaking

0

1

None

0

0

Other Total

1

1

100

100

The above table shows that the majority of Shanghai’s foreign employees can speak English, and while some are highly fluent and accurate, others’ proficiency is not ideal. But most are able to communicate in English at their workplaces, and fulfill the requirements of foreign investment companies. The table shows two imbalanced phenomena. The first is the imbalance of the English proficiency between the management and the ordinary staff, and the second is the imbalance between the language skills, that is, most employees are fairly proficient in reading, writing and listening, but not in speaking. The reason for the two imbalances, in addition to the larger problem of foreign language education in China, is the language environment. Management staff has in general more opportunities to interact with foreign employees, and more opportunities of practicing English lead, in turn, to a higher proficiency. The lower speaking proficiency occurs also because employees at foreign investment companies have fewer opportunities to practice speaking than they have of reading, writing, and listening. An excessive use of English may also lead to the decline of the Chinese language. The survey found that although the Chinese language is supposed to be used in legal and management documents, in some foreign-funded enterprises, however, only English is used on such occasions. For example, some companies’ labor contracts are in English. Of course, employees are able to read an English contract, but in the event of disputes, those English labor contracts cannot serve as legitimate documents. In some enterprises, excessive use of English has caused misunderstandings in the workshop because some workers know only basic English that is not good enough for comprehending technical conversations.

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References Chen, Wei (陈惟). 29 December 2008. A summary of foreigners in Shanghai. Wen Hui Bao. Wu, Yu (吴宇). 2008. The “survival rate” of Shanghai foreign investment companies. Xinhua News Agency. http://news.xin huanet.com/newscenter/2008-12/29/content_10577171.htm. Translated by Dong Jie (董洁) Tsinghua University [email protected]

Gao Jianping (高建平)

16 An overview of languages used in Beijing markets catering to foreign customers: A case study of Silk Street Since the beginning of the 1980s, when the economic reform and opening up to the outside world was adopted in China, the number of foreign customers in Beijing has been on a rapid increase. According to the Statistical Communiqué of the 2007 Beijing Economic and Social Development, by the end of 2007, the total number of tourists from overseas had reached 4,355,000 people/visits, an increase of 11.6% compared with that of the previous year. In 2006, 3,826,000 overseas tourists visited Beijing, nearly 500,000 people/visits more than in 2005, an increase of 13.1%. The profits from the tourism industry amounted to US$4.58 billion, an increase of 13.7% compared to the previous year (Bureau of Statistics of Beijing and the Beijing Survey Organization of the National Bureau of Statistics of China 2007). The enormous number of overseas tourists in Beijing has undoubtedly boosted business in Beijing’s markets catering to foreign customers.

1 Introduction 1.1 Markets catering to foreign customers and languages used Retail markets popular among foreign customers in Beijing include Xiushui (秀水) Market; Hongqiao (红桥) Pearl Market; Yashow (雅秀) Market; Yabao (雅宝) Road Market; Panjia Yuan (潘家园), also known as Sunday Market; Laitai (莱太) Market; peddlers’ markets in Wangjing (王府井) and Shunyi (顺义), catering mainly to local Korean residents; and souvenir markets at the Badaling (八达岭) Great Wall and other tourist spots. As overseas tourists are the main customers, languages used in these markets are distinctively different from other markets, in other words, foreign languages are used for most communicative activities. Apart from the Chinese language, shop assistants use more than ten foreign languages, English being the most frequently used. Shop assistants in these markets speak Putonghua with domestic customers, but with their fellow staff members they sometimes speak regional dialects, such as Hui (徽) dialect (Anhuinese), Wu (吴) dialect (such as Shanghainese), and Cantonese.

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1.2 Silk Street (the former Xiu Shui Market) Silk Street, formerly known as Xiushui Market, is located in the so-called “First Embassy District”, east of Jianguomen (建国门). Xiushui Market first appeared as an open street market in the early 1980s, when silk and handicrafts were the major retail commodities. Authorized by the Chaoyang (朝阳) District administration, Xiushui Market was built in 1984. Since then, the market has developed into a garment market well known around the world. The new Xiushui Market Silk Street Tower, which was officially opened for business in 2005, is located at No. 8 Xiushui East Street, Chaoyang district, and there are more than 1,000 stalls in this market. Main commodities sold in Silk Street include traditional silk products, garments and shoes, leather products, and jewelry. Chain stores of time-honored Beijing brands such as Tongrentang (同仁堂, one of the best traditional Chinese medicine shops), Quanjude (全聚德, restaurant famous for roast duck) and Ruifuxiang (瑞蚨祥, clothing shops) are also there. Silk Street is one of the most popular markets in Beijing. It is, perhaps, the best known market targeting foreign visitors in China. During the Sino-Africa Forum held in Beijing in November 2006, more than 2,000 foreign celebrities, including national leaders, visited the Silk Street Market. Shops in Silk Street employ about 5,000 shop assistants who are mainly from the rural areas in Anhui (安徽) and Zhejiang (浙江) provinces. Although most of them have no formal professional training, they have acquired some practical language skills. Some are even capable of speaking more than one foreign language.

2 An overview of the languages used in Silk Street From April to December 2007, a number of investigations were carried out, with the stated aim of obtaining a general picture of the language used in the Silk Street Market. Questionnaires were sent out to 203 shop assistants, who were randomly sampled. Interviews with market management staff, shop assistants, store owners, and their overseas customers were also conducted. This paper reports and analyzes the findings obtained from these investigations.

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2.1 The demographic picture of shop assistants First some general information about the participating shop assistants: A total of 28 male assistants (13.8%) and 175 female shop assistants (86.2%) were sampled. Most of them were migrant workers since 95% of the respondents were working in Beijing with their Hukou (户口, residence permit) registered in their hometowns. One striking feature of the participating shop assistants was their relatively young age: 91.6% were less than thirty years old. With regard to their ethnic background, 91.6% were Han (汉) Chinese and all others came from five other ethnic groups. We assumed that the entire population of shop assistants in the Silk Street Market would be from more than five ethnic groups, since the sample did not cover all the shop assistants working there. This was later proven correct during the interviews.

2.2 Languages used Most of the shop assistants in Silk Street Market are migrant workers whose mother tongues are their local dialects. 108 (53%) of them learned to speak Putonghua during their formal schooling, therefore, most of them could speak fairly good Putonghua before they went to work at the Silk Street Market. 58% of the shop assistants communicate with their work fellows in Mandarin. Another 36% speak a variety of local dialects with each other. The remaining research subjects speak English and other languages with other staff members. Up to 52% of shop assistants communicate with their store owners in dialects. The interview data show that store owners are more willing to hire staff from their hometown. A hometown or home province relationship plays an important role in the market. The reason is obvious – speaking the same dialect helps to enhance the relationship between shop owners and assistants. Furthermore, it allows them to talk with each other without fear of being understood by customers. When speaking with market management personnel, however, shop assistants generally speak Mandarin, only 2.5% of them were found to speak dialects. 99.5% of the shop assistants reported that they speak English with foreign customers. They use English most frequently, followed by Russian, Spanish, Japanese, and Korean. Many of them speak foreign languages when greeting foreign customers, recommending commodities and bargaining with them. English was found to be the most useful foreign language the shop assistants could speak, followed by Russian, Japanese, Korean, and Italian, an observation that was supported by further interview data.

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The analysis also showed that, apart from the foreign languages listed in the questionnaire, a few shop assistants reported that they could speak some “non-mainstream” foreign languages such as Swedish. More than ten foreign languages are spoken in Silk Street. Generally speaking, English was the most convenient and preferred language when trading with foreign customers, as shop assistants perceived themselves to be more fluent and proficient in it compared to other foreign languages. There were four items in the questionnaire concerning how the shop assistants in Silk Street gained a reasonable competence in foreign languages. About 48.0% of the research participants reported that they “learned from teachers at school”, 25% “learned from foreigners at work”, 21.0% “learned from other shop assistants at work”, and 6% “attended training courses”. Interview data also showed that most of the shop assistants started to learn English from junior middle school or even earlier, yet they could hardly put what they had learnt into practice due to poor pronunciation and a limited vocabulary. Nevertheless, their learning experience in school played a positive role in facilitating their later sales practice in English. Eventually, communicating with foreigners on a constant basis and frequent practice in speaking English led to an improvement of their spoken English. This study found that 55% of the subjects spoke English for more than six hours per day.

3 Findings and discussions 3.1 Communicative language functions Since English is the main lingua franca for communication, shop assistants in Silk Street usually speak English to foreign customers. Only the most experienced ones could possibly discern the nationalities of some customers and tried to communicate with them in their particular languages. The data showed that 99% of the subjects greeted foreign customers in English. English was regarded as the predominant language to “make a deal”. As soon as the shop assistants could tell which country a potential customer was from, they would try to switch to the customer’s language during their conversation, even though they could barely utter a whole sentence in it.

3.2 Actual language competence The questionnaire data showed that although most of the shop assistants reported they could speak a number of foreign languages, when asked the question

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“whether they can use that language to make friends, engage in conversations, and read in it”, their responses were as expected and revealed that their foreign language competence was rather low. Most shop assistants had difficulties communicating with their foreign customers during a transaction, which was often not as smooth as when dealing with domestic customers. Despite the fact that most shop assistants reported they could speak English fluently, they all indicated the need to increase their vocabulary and learn more about sentence structure, in the hope of making themselves better understood. In the worst case, shop assistants in Silk Street were capable of doing business with foreign customers by referring to the actual products in the proper context, and communication was often realized with the aid of various nonverbal expressions, including body language such as hand and facial gestures.

3.3 Language acquisition methods The findings revealed that 60% of the shop assistants graduated from junior middle school, with most of them coming from rural areas without proper foreign language education at school. Nevertheless, their foreign language competence was well above the average compared with their rural counterparts, who had received similar schooling with regard to oral communicative skills. This can be attributed to their “learning at work”, the ideal way to master a language. Up to 25.4% of the shop assistants reported that by doing business with foreign customers they not only gained financially, but had also improved their language skills. About 21% of the respondents acknowledged that they had to acquire foreign language skills from their fellow shop assistants in order to deal with foreign customers.

Reference Bureau of Statistics of Beijing and the Beijing Survey Organization of the National Bureau of Statistics of China. 2007. The Statistical Communiqué on the Beijing Economic and Social Development. http://zhengwu.beijing.gov.cn/tjxx/tjgb/tq25797.htm. Wang Ping (王平) Ludong (鲁东) University [email protected]

Mao Liqun (毛力群)

17 Language situation of Zhejiang’s Yiwu Small Commodity Market 1 Introduction Yiwu (义乌) is a rapidly rising business city in central Zhejiang (浙江) Province. Its 2006 socio-economic development index ranks at No. 10 among the top 100 counties (cities). The city’s comprehensive competitiveness evaluation tops the province’s 22 counties/cities. In the year 2008, Yiwu’s per capita disposable income ranked No. 1 in Zhejiang province. The city has a local population of 707,000, and a migrant population of 1,000,000 who come from elsewhere to Yiwu for business. Foreigners living in Yiwu are from more than 100 countries and regions, and domestic businessmen are from across the country and from a variety of ethnic groups.1 Yiwu has become a famous Chinese international commodity center, and has earned its reputation as “An Ocean of Commodities, A Paradise of Shoppers”.

2 The market Since its establishment in 1982, Yiwu Small Commodity Market has moved five times, and has been rebuilt and expanded ten times. It has finished its transformation from open street market to the world’s largest small commodity wholesale market. Operating in a total area of more than four million square meters, the market offers 62,000 trading stands, employs 160,000 people, and has more than 1,700,000 items in stock. It attracts more than 200,000 customers every day, has a cargo capacity of ten thousand tons per day, and exports 500,000 containers of goods per year. The market has more than 400,000 kinds of small commodities across 41 industries, which account for more than four fifths of the global trade, as published by the Organization of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Yiwu market exports to 212 countries and regions all over the world, including Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the United States, and 60% of its goods are for export.2 In 2008, 1 Quoted from http://news.5cchina.com. 2 Official webpage of the Yiwu government. http://ly.yiwu.gov.cn/zwgk/ldjh/200805/ t20080508_116903.html.

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China’s small commodity centers yielded a turnover of 38.181 billion Yuan, and for 18 consecutive years this sector of trading has ranked at the country’s top across all industrial wholesale. Yiwu Small Commodity Center is the international center of goods, information and transportation, and is the country’s largest commodity export center.3 Currently, more than 10,000 buyers from more than 100 countries and regions have their contact persons in Yiwu, and there are over 2,049 formal representative offices being approved by the local authorities.4 The commodities are distributed globally, which greatly promotes international cultural exchange. For example, the city’s bus stops are bilingual (Chinese and English); many shop signs are in English, Korean, and even Arabic. Churches, mosques, and other venues of worship are found across the city; international schools cater to the needs of students from other countries. The streets are populated with American fast food stores, as well as Korean, Japanese and Muslim restaurants. In an international commercial city like this, one can easily overhear conversations in English, Korean, Russian, Arabic, and other languages. The market also offers a foreign language translation service center for the convenience of the merchants. In 2008, the municipal government webpage added three foreign languages, namely English, Korean and Arabic, which increased the openness and transparency of the management considerably and enhanced Yiwu’s international image, too. The webpage of China Yiwu International Commodities Fair is displayed in multiple language versions, including English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Arabic, Japanese and Korean, helping to introduce Yiwu’s small commodities to the world. Currently, the city has more than a hundred schools and centers of foreign language training, and about 100,000 business people are attending foreign language training courses. In addition, there are more than 5,000 foreign businessmen taking Chinese courses in Yiwu.5

3 The survey Between August and December of 2008, our research team visited Yiwu Commodity City several times to conduct a survey. Yiwu was chosen because it shows the typical features of many international trading centers across China. We distributed 1,200 questionnaires to a variety of business people in the city, and the survey results are presented below. 3 Statistics quoted from the Financial Report of the Yiwu Market 2008. 4 Official webpage of the Yiwu government. http://www.yw.gov.cn/zwb/zwgk/ztbd/csjy/200812/ t20081230_165117.html. 5 Statistics quoted from the Financial Report of the Yiwu Market 2008.

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3.1 The sample Of the 1,200 questionnaires, 1,198 were returned valid. 576 of the 1,198 respondents were male (48.1%) and 622 female (51.9%). The sample involved five ethnic groups, including 1,167 Han (汉) (97.4%), Korean, Mongolian, Uygur and Zhuang (壮). There were 1,189 who have Chinese nationality, and 9 respondents were Korean. The actual situation in the Commodity City is much more complicated than what is reflected in the survey. Due to the limitations of the survey, the study could not get access to those who, for example, came from Malaysia, India, the United States, and from Arab countries. The domestic Chinese respondents came from 28 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, including 830 from Zhejiang Province (69.3% of the total), and the rest were mostly from Guangdong (广东), Fujian (福建), Jiangxi (江西), Jiangsu (江苏), Henan (河南), Anhui (安徽), Hunan (湖南), and Hubei (湖北). In terms of age, most respondents were aged between 20 and 49 (92.1%); in terms of education, most respondents graduated from middle school (86.4%); in terms of industry, the survey covers ten industries that employ 61.4% of the workers in Yiwu. As to how long they have been working in the Commodity City, we investigated those who have spent one year in Yiwu (8.8%), those who lived there between one and three years (22.6%), between three and five years (30.4%), between five and ten years (26.6%), between ten to twenty years (9.2%), and more than twenty years (2.3%).

3.2 The language situation Language choices are diverse and users switch readily among various languages and dialects to accommodate the different needs of the interlocutors. Putonghua and English are the most frequently used languages, and Yiwu local dialects are often used as well.

3.2.1 The Yiwu dialects Being varieties of Wu dialects, Yiwu dialects are deeply influenced by those of their neighbors. Yiwu dialects have typically ten tones, and because of this phonological complexity, the local merchants used to travel only within limited areas. However, with the rise of the Small Commodity City, Yiwu dialects have been globalized and are among the main languages for communication in the

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City, where Yiwu local merchants are the major proportion of the business people, who use Yiwu dialects frequently with each other. 52.9% of the respondents never use Yiwu dialects, 9.0% use the dialects less than one hour a day, while 14.9% use the dialects more than five hours a day.

3.2.2 The use of Putonghua Putonghua is undoubtedly the dominant language in Yiwu, given its status as a center of national and international trading. Most workers in this city have completed junior middle school education, and are thus able to converse in Putonghua before coming to Yiwu. Only 10.3% learnt their Putonghua while working in Yiwu. According to the self-assessment of the use of Putonghua, 89.8% of the respondents reported that they can speak Putonghua fluently and accurately, and only 0.8% reported that they cannot speak any Putonghua at all.

3.2.3 Foreign language proficiency Up to 64.4% of the respondents believe that they can use English, of which 2.7% have mastered another foreign language such as Korean, Arabic or Russian. As to the question “How do you learn these foreign languages?”, the survey shows that 57.3% of them learnt the foreign languages in school, and less than 20% taught themselves or acquired them in communication with foreigners. In our investigation, 3.8% are fluent and accurate in their use of foreign languages, 4.3% are fairly fluent and accurate, 14.6% have basic skills, and 7.2% can understand some, but cannot speak. Finally, 28.4% have no foreign language skill at all. Although they cannot speak any foreign language, they have a strong desire to use foreign languages in communication.

3.2.4 Language choice The Yiwu Small Commodity City has an average of 200,000 visitors per day, who are of different nationalities and ethnic groups, and also use different languages. The survey shows that 30.3% of the respondents believe that they can switch freely between languages. We categorize the language choice patterns discovered in Yiwu into the following eight themes:

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a) Languages used with other workers employed in the City: 66.1% of the workers choose Putonghua, 17.4% choose Putonghua and Yiwu dialects, and the rest switch between Putonghua and their home dialects. b) Languages used with the market managers: 79.5% of the respondents speak in Putonghua to the market managers, and another 12.6% switch between Putonghua and local Yiwu dialects. c) Languages used with the traders from the same province: 85.8% choose Putonghua. d) Languages used with the traders who are from different provinces: 73.5% select Putonghua, 7.9% pick English, 5.4% switch between Putonghua and English. These results indicate that some of the respondents misunderstood a questionnaire item – they confused “people from other provinces” with “foreigners”. e) Languages used with foreigners: 43.2% choose Putonghua, 40.6% opt for English, and 5.1% prefer to use both Putonghua and English. f ) Greeting language with foreigners: 39.1% pick English, 32.1% choose Putonghua, 16.2% show a preference for using both Putonghua and English. g) The bargaining language with foreigners: 39.0% choose Putonghua, 31.4% choose English, and 15.4% prefer to use both Putonghua and English. h) The languages used to describe the features of goods to foreigners: 44.7% prefer Putonghua, 28.3% go for English, 13.4% switch between Putonghua and English. It is noteworthy that each of the eight categories has twelve language choices: Putonghua, Yiwu dialects, Wenzhou (温州) dialects, Cantonese, Hokkien, other dialects, minority languages, English, Korean, Arabic, Russian, and other national languages. In addition to Putonghua, English and Yiwu dialects are most frequently used.

3.2.5 Language attitude “Language attitude” means one’s evaluation of a language or one’s behavioral tendency toward the language. Language attitude is important in that it may affect people’s choice of a language and their language behavior. It determines people’s motivation and influences language learning results. We selected Yiwu dialects, Putonghua and English for the respondents to evaluate. The results show that they consider Putonghua the most useful, followed by English, and the Yiwu dialects the least useful. From the perspective

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of linguistic “aestheticism”, they rank Putonghua the most beautiful, English less beautiful, and Yiwu dialects the least beautiful. Such attitudes influence their whole language learning motivation. 70.8% of respondents surveyed are willing to learn Putonghua, 69.3% are willing to learn a foreign language, and 42.2% are willing to learn Yiwu dialects. As for the parental expectation that their children learn another language, 86.9% want their children to learn a foreign language, 84.9% want them to learn Putonghua, and 48.8% want their children to learn Yiwu dialects. In addition, most respondents have a higher expectation of their children’s language competence than of their own. This shows that Putonghua and English are the most practical languages in the daily exchanges and trading activities in the Small Commodity City. Therefore, respondents want their children to master a foreign language and learn Putonghua as well as their home dialects.

4 Conclusion Yiwu is famous for its prosperity and its well developed market. It is the world’s largest commodity distribution center according to the United Nations, the World Bank and other international authorities. Yiwu distributes MIC (Made in China) across five continents, with a dynamic flow of goods and information, which has earned Yiwu the world-wide reputation of being China’s Commodity City. The city has entered a new stage of development, distinguishing itself as a successful model of the “Made in China” economy. Enhancing practitioners’ language abilities and improving the market management are important issues still to be tackled in the accelerating internationalization of the market. Translated by Dong Jie (董洁) Tsinghua University [email protected]

Gao Liqin (高莉琴) & Shayelan Ahata (沙依拉恩)

18 Bilingual education in Altay Prefecture of Xinjiang 1 Basic information The Altay Prefecture of Xinjiang (新疆) Uygur Autonomous Region has an area of 117,000 square kilometers and is located at the northernmost border of northwestern China. It has a population of 637,800 people, constituted of 36 ethnic groups, of whom 323,000 are Kazakhs, an ethnic group embracing 50.6% of the total (Altay Prefecture Bureau of Statistics 2007: 20). Kazakh is the major language used in Altay. In the vast pasture area, over 95% of the herdsmen speak Kazakh, and those who use both Kazakh and Chinese account for merely 5%. Kazakhs who serve in the county-level party and governmental offices and above, can speak Chinese to various degrees, so that no interpretation is necessary at conferences. In the past few years, new office staff were required to be definitely able to use both their native language and Chinese; therefore, young civil servants can use Chinese better nowadays. The minority ethnic clerks on the village level can generally speak Chinese. Altay school education is, to some extent, bilingual. In cities, campus languages are either Kazakh and Chinese or Kazakh and Uygur. After the introduction of On vigorously promoting bilingual education (关于大力推进“双语”教学 工作的决定) (xin dang fa 新党发[2004] 2) in March 2004 by the government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the language of instruction has experienced a radical change, with Chinese being used more frequently in the urban schools and generally in kindergartens. However, Chinese is rarely used at schools in the pasture areas. In the medium and large service industries, minority ethnic employees in traffic, communications, banks, hotels, marketplaces and tourist spots are bilingual, speaking both Kazakh and Chinese very well. In broadcasting and television, Putonghua is used on the Chinese channels and Kazakh on the local language channels. Petty dealers in the town streets bargain either in heavily accented Chinese if they can, or with the aid of hand gestures. In a word, Kazakh is the primary language for communication in Altay; Chinese is mainly used in cities and towns where many bilinguals can be found, and the proficiency level is higher in administration, school education, media, and the service trade.

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1.1 Development of bilingual education In the old days, there were only private schools or primary education in Altay and the teaching of Chinese was intermittent. With the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the first middle school was set up in 1950, the first kindergarten was opened in 1954, basic education became available and the teaching of Chinese was brought into the syllabus. The teaching of Chinese as a whole can be divided into three phases: 1) a single Chinese course, 2) experimental bilingual teaching, and 3) executive bilingual education. Phase 1, from 1950 to 1985: only one course of Chinese for higher grades of primary school up to senior middle school, generally 4–5 periods per week. Phase 2, from 1986 to 2003: the teaching of Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry tentatively taught in Chinese, and experimental bilingual classes opened in minority schools at the initial stage (1950–1985) and bilingual education at the mature stage (1997–2003). Phase 3 started in 2004, when the region introduced On vigorously promoting bilingual education in March to guarantee the implementation of bilingual education. The following year, 2005, witnessed the expansion of bilingual education into preschool education with Suggestions for reinforcing the bilingual education of preschool minority students (关于加强少数民族学前“双语”教育的意见). In order to carry out this policy, the Prefecture produced An executive scheme for vigorously promoting bilingual teaching in Altay (阿勒泰地区关于大 力推进“双语”教学工作的实施方案), proposing that “bilingual teaching in primary and secondary schools using minority languages be expanded from the current science-based courses taught in Chinese, to the teaching of all courses in Chinese except minority languages.” Graduates from these senior middle schools are required to pass Level 8 of the HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test, Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi), or reach the average level of the local Han (汉) students in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, including a certain level of English, without their native language abilities being compromised.

1.2 Current condition of bilingual education At present, there are 17 senior middle schools with 1,031 full-time teachers and 13,554 students. Five of the schools are minority schools, taught by 550 full-time minority teachers (496 are under 45 years old, comprising 90.18%), and the minority students’ population is 7,432 (734, or 9.87%, study in bilingual classes). There are 74 junior middle schools (32 for minority students) with 2,454 fulltime teachers (of whom 1,630 are minority teachers and 1,403, or 86.07%, are

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under 45) and 23,598 students (16,414, or 69.56%, are minority students of whom 2,587, or 15.76%, are in bilingual classes). There are 93 primary schools (50 for minority pupils) with 5,166 full-time teachers (3,610 are minority teachers and 2,817 of them, or 78.03%, are under 45) and 44,833 pupils (32,785 are minority pupils [73.13%] and 4,850 [14.8%] are in bilingual classes). There are 23 kindergartens (including preschool classes) with 8,297 children (Altay Prefecture Bureau of Education 2007). The mode of teaching may be divided into three categories: 1) All courses, except the native minority languages, have been taught in Chinese after the autumn session of 2005; 2) In the experimental classes before 2005, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry were taught in Chinese and the other courses in native minority languages; and 3) In the non-experimental classes before 2005, Mathematics or some Arts courses were taught in Chinese, while in the remaining courses native minority languages were used. All three modes have been practiced in urban schools; at the schools in the agricultural and pasture areas, especially at the latter, the third mode was mostly adopted. All instructional materials and textbooks are published by the People’s Education Press, except those of Chinese and native minority languages. Efforts have been made to set up schools for Han students. In principle, courses designed for bilingual classes and the teaching hours allocated for each subject largely conform to the syllabus for primary and secondary schools in the autonomous region, with proper adjustments made to suit local conditions: 1) All courses other than Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and English are conducted according to the syllabus, with Chinese and a few other courses moderately reduced in class hours; 2) One to two hours are added to Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry in the initial year, i.e. Mathematics in Grades 1 and 7, Physics in Grade 8, and Chemistry in Grade 9, and originally designed hours may be restored later on according to actual conditions; 3) Four hours are arranged for English each week; and 4) Each week, one to two class hours are arranged for technical terms in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. There are altogether 214 schools of all kinds, of which 87 (41%) are for the minority students. There are 9,239 full-time teachers, of whom 6,101 (66%) belong to minority nationalities. Among these teachers, only 299 are capable of bilingual teaching and working at the schools for the Han students. The rest work at the schools for minority students who take college entrance examinations in their native languages (Altay Prefecture Bureau of Education 2007). Taking Habahe (哈巴河) County as an example, approximately 119 out of the 1,000 minority teachers can teach in Chinese, but only 60 of them are actually competent for the job, while less than 30 speak fluent Chinese.

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2 Bilingual students The conditions of bilingual education in various local institutions are discussed below.

2.1 Kindergarten We conducted an investigation at Altay Prefecture Experimental Kindergarten, the oldest of the 23 kindergartens in this area. Founded in 1954, it has been developed into the biggest kindergarten for children of both the Han and other ethnic communities. In addition to its routine assignments, it also serves as a model demonstration and training base for early childhood education. By 2007, it had 72 staff members, 51 of whom were qualified teachers, and twenty child-care professionals (two senior and three junior governesses). There are eleven classes with over 600 children, one third of whom belong to minority groups. Our investigation sampled ten classes and the findings are summarized in Table 1. From the table we can see that 77.3% of the children spoke their mother tongues before entering the kindergarten, 78.3% of them learned Chinese from their teachers and playmates, and 83.5% became bilingual. When enquiring about the nationality of a Kazakh girl in the Middle Class, we used the term 哈族 (Hazu, a shortened colloquial Chinese form of ‘Kazakh’), and she immediately corrected us by saying “我是哈萨克族 (Wo shi Hasakezu, ‘I’m a Kazakh’)” in perfect Chinese pronunciation without any noticeable trace of her mother tongue. This helps to show that a mixed class is favorable to children for learning languages. In such a setting, children acquire a language easily. And it further proves that childhood is the best period for language learning.

2.2 Primary school There are 93 primary schools in Altay, 50 of which are for minority children (mainly Kazakhs). We studied six classes and 117 children at Altay City No. 1 Primary School (A), Experimental Primary School (B), and Geological Primary School (C), and the results are displayed in Table 2. In the above five items concerning the ability to read and write Chinese, the top and bottom rates of positive responses are 82.9% and 69.2%, while the negative responses are only 8.5% and 3.4%, and the average 22.3% and 9.4% respectively. This is the very situation of primary schools: the majority can speak Chinese, those who cannot are the minority, and those between the two groups take up around 20%.

Bottom Class 5

Percentage (%)

97

4

Bottom Class 4

Sum

6

11

Bottom Class 3

4

14

Bottom Class 2

Middle Class 3

Bottom Class 1

11

14

Middle Class 2

6

15

Middle Class 1

12

Senior Class 1

Senior Class 2

Number

Item Number of children Class

77.3

75

4

10

5

14

4

11

11

4

6

6

13.4

13

1

6

6

9.3

9

1

3

5

21.7

21

1

1

1

2

10

6

78.3

76

3

11

5

13

4

12

11

5

6

6

Teachers and schoolmates

Family members

Bilingual

Mother tongue Chinese

Chinese teacher

Family language

Table 1: The bilingual competence of children at Altay Prefecture Experimental Kindergarten

83.5

81

2

11

6

7

3

11

9

15

5

12

Yes

9.3

9

2

1

3

2

1

No

7.2

7

7

A little

Can you speak Chinese with Han teachers?

78.3

76

2

11

6

2

3

11

9

15

5

12

Yes

9.3

9

2

1

3

2

1

No

Do you speak Chinese with classmates?

12.4

12

12

A little

Bilingual education in Altay Prefecture of Xinjiang

161

6

Percentage (%)

Grade 3

117

12

14

Grade 3

Sum

27

Grade 2

C

17

23

Grade 2

Grade 1

24

Grade 1

A

B

Number of pupils

Item Class School

69.2

81

12

12

27

9

8

13

Yes

8.5

10

2

3

2

3

No

Can you read Chinese?

22.3

26

5

13

8

Very little

82.9

97

12

12

27

14

18

14

Yes

7.7

9

2

2

1

4

No

9.4

11

1

4

6

Very little

Can you speak Chinese with teachers?

Table 2: The bilingual competence of primary school pupils in Altay Prefecture

81.2

95

12

12

27

15

17

12

Yes

5.2

6

2

2

2

No

13.6

16

6

10

Very little

Can you recognize the Chinese characters taught by your teacher?

82.9

97

12

13

27

17

17

11

Yes

3.4

4

1

3

No

Can you write Chinese characters?

13.7

16

6

10

Very little

78.7

92

12

12

26

13

16

13

Yes

5.9

7

2

5

No

Can you understand cartoons?

15.4

18

1

4

7

6

Very little

162 Gao Liqin (高莉琴) & Shayelan Ahata (沙依拉恩)

Bilingual education in Altay Prefecture of Xinjiang

163

2.3 Middle school There are 74 junior and 17 senior middle schools, of which thirty-two and five are for minorities (mainly speaking Kazakh). The following findings are based on our investigations at No. 1 High School of Altay: 1) It is a full-time key school founded in November 1950, the only school where the language of instruction is mainly Kazakh, and one of the approved model senior middle schools in this prefecture. Currently it has a student population of 2,000 (approximately 1,600 resident students) from all over the area, constituting 40 classes, out of which 15 are bilingual. 2) It was the first school that had undertaken bilingual teaching experiments in the Prefecture, starting in 1996, and it has seven classes of graduates. With eight years’ experience, it has accumulated outstanding achievements and gained unique features in bilingual education. In the school year of 2001–2002, the Junior Grade 2 experimental class ranked on the top for its average scores and excellence rate for Mathematics and Chinese in the sampling tests held in the area; all 31 students of the first experimental class passed the college entrance examination and continued their education in key universities. Four junior experimental classes have graduated in this school, with 23 students entering special senior classes for students from Xinjiang in other provinces, and the rest continued their studies in senior experimental classes. 3) It offered the earliest bilingual class in Science in the local senior middle school education. To further the executive scheme issued in 2004, a program of trilingual classes of science has been set up for Senior Grade 1 students on the basis of the bilingual experimental class since the autumn of 2005, so that 50% of science courses have become bilingual in the mode of instruction and it is expected that all senior middle school courses will be instructed bilingually in 2011, with the exception of native minority languages and some (non-native language) arts courses (No. 1 High School at Altay Prefecture 2007). A summary about the bilingual junior and senior classes of the school is in Table 3. Table 3 shows that 154 respondents from two grades in the junior department and three grades in the senior department basically reflect the bilingual level of such classes. Six questions were asked. Questions 1 and 3 address the listening comprehension and writing of Chinese, with a positive feedback of up to 99.4% and 100% respectively. Question 2 concerns the writing of native languages with positive responses reaching 98.1%. Questions 4 and 5 ask about the degree of bilingualism both on and off campus and 82.5% and 73.4% reflect the stability of students’ bilingual abilities. Finally, Question 6 is about the choice of language at home and it shows that 72.8% use their mother tongue.

33

153

99.4 0

Sum

Percentage (%)

0.6

1

98

151

33

65

21

21 11

1

1

1.3 0.6

2

2

Can you write in Chinese?

Which language do you use on campus?

Which language do you use outside campus?

Which language do you use at home?

100

154

33

65

22

23 11

9.7

15

3

12

7.7

12

6

6

82

127

33

56

16

11 11

9

14

4

2

6 2

17.5

27

1

6

5

15

73

113

28

57

17

2 9

73

112

31

42

15

16 8

3

6

1

5

23.3

36

2

22

7

2 3

Some are trilingual: mother tongue, Chinese, and English

Not Not very Mother Both Mother Both Mother Both very well Yes No well tongue Chinese languages tongue Chinese languages tongue Chinese languages Remarks

Can you write in your native language?

Not very No well Yes No

Senior Grade 3

21

65

Senior Grade 2

23 11

Junior Grade 2 (1) Junior Grade 3 (3)

Senior Grade 1 (1)

Yes

Item Number of students Class

Do you understand Chinese in Mathematics and Physics classes?

Table 3: The bilingual competence of students in No. 1 Middle School at Altay Prefecture

164 Gao Liqin (高莉琴) & Shayelan Ahata (沙依拉恩)

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This investigation was designed to examine the conditions of bilingual classes: interestingly, students who performed well in Chinese did well in their mother languages, too. The mother tongue was the chief language of communication at home, and both Chinese and the mother tongue were used on and off campus.

3 Analysis and summary Bilingual teaching in kindergartens and primary and middle schools in Altay Prefecture displayed the following two outstanding features:

3.1 Effective promotion and clear understanding of bilingual teaching stimulate students’ enthusiastic participation The importance of bilingual teaching has been repeatedly promoted at conferences and by the news media. The public knows now that it facilitates economic and cultural exchanges between all nationalities, and strengthens the opening, reform and modernization of the minority areas. Furthermore, bilingualism reinforces for all teenagers the consciousness of their motherland and national identity, and it maintains the national integrity and ethnic solidarity. It is an important tool for improving the life of the minority ethnic peoples and promotes the common development, prosperity and progress of all ethnic communities as well as enhances the quality of their education. It is also of strategic significance for the realization of a well-off and harmonious society. At conferences of all types, parents, teachers, students, and other people from all walks of life expressed their understanding of the importance of bilingual education. Most parents were eager to send their children to senior classes, to bilingual classes and schools in other provinces in which Chinese is the media of instruction, and some felt anxious that, possibly, the poor quality of teachers in the transition period might adversely affect their children’s learning. However, the students exhibited a positive attitude and increasing enthusiasm. Among the five questions in a questionnaire regarding the learning attitude of students (mainly junior and senior classes), two received 100% positive answers for the questions: Are you willing to learn Chinese? Do you think Chinese is useful? To the question “Why do you learn Chinese?”, most answers given by pupils were “to play with the Han friends and watch cartoons”; juniors’ answers were “to enter senior classes and good universities in other provinces”;

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Gao Liqin (高莉琴) & Shayelan Ahata (沙依拉恩)

and seniors answered “to gain more scientific knowledge, meet the demands of development, and enroll in good universities in other provinces”. Generally speaking, the feedback was positive. From the autumn of 2005 to 2007, three trilingual programs were developed in Altay, registering 60 schools for the Han and minority nationalities (32.6% of a total of 184 primary and junior middle schools), 265 classes at minority schools (14.7% of all classes for minority pupils and junior students), and 266 classes for children in kindergartens (Altay Prefecture Bureau of Education, 2007).

3.2 Solve the problem of bilingual teachers’ resources actively and effectively The insufficient number and poor quality of bilingual teachers is restraining the development of education in Altay. Facing this difficulty and fully realizing the importance of bilingual teaching, the prefecture authorities issued A scheme for bilingual teacher training in Altay prefecture (阿勒泰地区“双语”师资培训计划), as well as Detailed regulations for bilingual training in Altay prefecture (阿勒泰地 区“双语培训”细则) and other measures, to organize training programs of Chinese, professional skills, teaching methodology, and the Kazakh language for the Han teachers.

References Altay Prefecture Bureau of Education. 2007. Educational Statistics in Altay Prefecture (阿勒泰地 区教育统计分析资料) (2007–2008), to be published. Altay Prefecture Bureau of Statistics. 2007. Statistical Yearbook of Altay Prefecture (2007). Urumqi: Xinjiang People’s Press. No. 1 High School at Altay Prefecture. 25 March, 2007. A report on bilingual teaching at Altay Prefecture No. 1 High School (阿勒泰地区第一高级中学“双语”教学工作汇报). Translated by Liang Xiaopeng (梁晓鹏) Qingdao (青岛) University of Science & Technology [email protected]

Gao Liqin (高莉琴)

19 A survey of languages used by immigrants in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Group The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), known as Bingtuan (兵团) in Chinese, is a unique economic and semi-military governmental organization in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China. According to the Annals of XPCC (The XPCC Annals Press 2006), it covers 4.47% of the area of Xinjiang and has a population of about 2,569,800. The XPCC is a social entity encompassing economic activities such as agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, and it is involved in trading, industrial development, educational and cultural activities, as well as public health. The XPCC shares borders with Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, so it is also tasked with guarding the 2,019 km border area. The population of the XPCC has come from diverse origins. It was first founded in 1954, comprising about 175,400 military personnel and 105,500 staff members, including up to 70,000 “9.25” former Kuomintang soldiers who had surrendered (the event took place on September 25, 1945). Additionally, there were up to 30,000 soldiers from the former Production and Construction Regiment of the Xinjiang Military District of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

1 Language situation This paper reports the language situation in the XPCC from various perspectives. Geographically, the XPCC divisions are located in north and south Xinjiang. In the north Xinjiang XPCC divisions, “Quasi-Henan Dialect” is used for most communicative activities. People in the south Xinjiang XPCC divisions speak “Putonghua with local accents”. From the perspective of dialects used, all XPCC divisions can be classified as either “mono-dialect” or “multi-dialect” units. From the perspective of linguistic choice, the languages used in the XPCC that can be classified as mother tongues are quasi-Henan dialect, and Xinjiang Putonghua. The early XPCC immigrants migrated to Xinjiang mostly from the 1950s to the end of 1966. During that period, the XPCC population increased from 175,000 in 1954 to 1,485,400 in 1966 (The XPCC Annals Press 2006). These immigrants are usually referred to as the first generation of XPCC. They included

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Gao Liqin (高莉琴)

military personnel based in Xinjiang when the XPCC was founded, as well as former “9.25” Kuomintang soldiers who surrendered. The early population before 1966, apart from economic immigrants, also included educated youths from other provinces of China, who had joined the XPCC under the program of aiding the frontier areas campaign, and graduates from higher education and vocational schools who were allocated by the government to the XPCC during this period. From the perspective of linguistics, no matter when the immigrants moved to the XPCC, as long as they were born in Mainland China and had acquired their mother tongue there, they are then referred to as the first generation immigrants. There are basically two ways of maintaining the mother dialects, and each of them leads to a different result: one is to speak the mother dialect individually, which has not affected the languages used in XPCC divisions; the other is to speak a mother dialect as a group, which then has indeed influenced or changed the languages used in the respective XPCC divisions. Nearly all of the first generation of immigrants speak their mother dialects in the XPCC divisions. Although some of them have been living in Xinjiang for more than 50 years, they have not changed their accents. In this case, XPCC divisions are “museums of dialects”, where people can hear various Chinese dialects, and even sub-dialects. In XPCC divisions where a variety of mother dialects coexist, the mother dialects are usually spoken by the first generation immigrants rather than the second generation.

2 Preserving the mother dialects 2.1 Preserving the mother dialects by groups In “mono-dialect” XPCC divisions, the mother dialects have been preserved by groups speaking the same dialects. It is the same in some XPCC divisions where “dialects coexist”. People who still speak their dialects include immigrants from some Mainland city or county and those who used to work in the same factory before migrating to Xinjiang to cultivate frontier lands. The majority of them speak the same dialect in their communities and seldom communicate with people from elsewhere. Therefore, their mother dialects have been preserved, as is the case with immigrants from Tianjin (天津) in Shihezi (石河子) Dyeing and Weaving Factory, and educated youth (知青 Zhi Qing) immigrants from Shanghai (上海) in the XPCC Third Agricultural Division in Kashgar Prefecture.

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The 131 Regiment of the XPCC Seventh Agricultural Division is a good example of preserving its mother dialect as a group in a “mono-dialect” XPCC unit. The 131 Regiment is under the administration of the Seventh Agricultural Division, which is in the north of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The processing plant of the 131 Regiment, established in 1976, was the regiment’s main base of processing agricultural products. There are 120 families in the plant, 80 of whom were originally from Henan (河南), and they account for two-thirds of the plant’s workforce. The processing plant was built in the Gobi desert, where there were no indigenous residents. Residents in the plant are mainly immigrants from Henan who migrated together to Xinjiang. Most of them originated from Shangcai County (上蔡县) of Henan Province, and were aged in their 20s to 30s when they arrived in Xinjiang. Nowadays, almost 40 years later, they have all retired from work. These people still speak authentic Henan dialect, which largely shares the same vowels and consonants with Putonghua. They speak with the tone values of the Henan dialect: high level (13), rising (42), falling-rising (55), and falling (31). Using Henan dialect terms is very popular among them, for instance, they call [膝盖] Xigai, ‘knee,’ bu lao gai er (不老盖儿). The second generation immigrants also speak Henan dialect with the same value of tone pitch, therefore, their dialect still sounds like Henan dialect. However, in terms of the vocabulary for formal communication, they seldom use those very local expressions in their dialect. Even the third generation immigrants speak Henan dialect. Students can speak Putonghua very well at school, and communicate in Henan dialect in their daily life. Their mother tongue, Henan dialect, has been passed on to the third generation. A typical example of an XPCC unit with “coexisting dialects” is the educated youth, who migrated to the Tarim Basin from Shanghai. From July 1963 to October 1966, 97,048 educated youths from Shanghai moved to the XPCC. That movement was also known as “A Million Youths Rusticated to Xinjiang” (Yao 2001: 55). These educated youths were first accepted by the XPCC First Agricultural Division located in the Tarim Basin, the region most populated by Shanghai educated youths of all XPCC divisions. There were a couple of thousands of them in each regiment. By the end of 1965, 40,962 Shanghai educated youths had settled there (Annual office of XPCC First Agricultural Division 1974). Such a large number of young people from Shanghai flooding the regiments of the XPCC First Agricultural Division within a relatively short period of time immediately defined the language situation in their respective regiments. Just like elsewhere in China, they took pride in speaking their dialect because they believed in its special charm and expressiveness. One of the youths, who

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Gao Liqin (高莉琴)

is still residing in Tarim, replied emotionally in the interview that “Ala (阿拉 , Shanghai dialect for ‘I’) will be speaking Shanghai dialect for the rest of my life”. People in the Shanghainese community speak Putonghua to the other staff members who migrated to the regiments earlier on from other parts of China, while within their own group they communicate in Shanghai dialect. The Shanghainese in the XPCC regiments managed to preserve their mother tongue because of their privileged educational background. They were taught in Putonghua at school since childhood. They are all bi-dialectal as they speak both Putonghua and Shanghai dialect, and their children speak Putonghua as well. Some children can speak Shanghai dialect well, whereas others’ proficiency is confined to aural comprehension. Shanghainese have passed on their mother tongue to their second generation. In mono-dialect XPCC regiments, the mother tongues can be passed on to the third generation of migrants; while in multi-dialect regiments, only the second generation can still speak their mother tongues.

2.2 A dominant dialect: Quasi-Henan Dialect A variation of Henan dialect is spoken in many XPCC regiments, especially in those in the north. This variation is referred to in this paper as “Quasi-Henan Dialect”. People of the XPCC regiments refer to it as the language of the XPCC (兵团话, Bingtuan Hua), which is still widely spoken by the second generation immigrants.

2.2.1 Features of Quasi-Henan Dialect The key features of quasi-Henan dialect are as follows: there are no distinctive differences between it and Putonghua in terms of vowels and consonants; the main difference lies not in the classification of tones, but rather in the tone value. In this paper, the differences between quasi-Henan dialect and the present Henan dialects are illustrated by taking Henan Shangqiu (商丘) dialect as an example. In addition to the 22 consonants of Chinese Putonghua, Shangqiu speech has four more not found in quasi-Henan dialect. The phonology system of consonants and vowels in Shangqiu dialect is consistent with that of Putonghua. The number of vowels is the same as in Putonghua, though in some cases, some vowels are pronounced differently. Except for the falling tone, the values of high level, rising, and falling-rising tones in quasi-Henan dialect are

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similar to those in Shangqiu dialect. It is argued in this paper that the system of consonants and vowels, as well as the value of the falling tone, are similar to Putonghua, whereas the values of the high level, rising, and falling-rising tones in quasi-Henan dialect are consistent with those in Shangqiu dialect. Thus the so-called “quasi-Henan dialect” can be defined as a dialectal variant between Henan dialect and Putonghua (Zhang 2005).

2.2.2 Reasons for the Emergence of “Quasi-Henan Dialect” The main reasons for the emergence of the “quasi-Henan dialect” lie in the large number of immigrants from Henan province, the isolated agricultural communities of the XPCC divisions, the open-minded attitude of the XPCC immigrants towards the languages they use, and the easiness of learning and mastering Henan dialect, which belongs to Zhongyuan Mandarin. First of all, a large number of immigrants from Henan Province flooded into the XPCC divisions at a crucial stage of language development. When the XPCC was first established in 1954, there was a population of about 105,500, working in the ten XPCC divisions and units. There were also a large number of young people from Hebei (河北), Henan, Jiangsu, Sichuan (四川), and Shanghai, who migrated to Xinjiang to join the military agricultural production teams. These young people, together with the former 105,500 workers, formed multi-dialect communities. There were no dominant dialects spoken by the majority of those immigrants. From 1956 to 1958, this situation changed with the arrival of a large number of young immigrants from Henan. During that period, more than 100,000 Henan immigrants moved to the XPCC divisions. Most of them were allocated to regiments and divisions in northern Xinjiang. These young people were not well educated and spoke little Putonghua, however, considering the large number of them, their mother tongue eventually came to dominate the others in the multi-dialectal communities. People with other dialects shifted gradually to Henan dialect. It was in the 1960s and 1970s that quasi-Henan dialect took shape. The second reason is the isolation of the agricultural communities of the XPCC divisions. XPCC divisions are self-sufficient mini-societies inspired by the spirit of self-reliance and industriousness. They endeavored to start a new life without asking the government for anything. People had a very hard time during the initial period of the XPCC establishment. They had no time to travel outside of their divisions because of the heavy laboring work and inconvenient transportation. As a rule, the companies would report to their respective XPCC regiments, which in turn reported to the division headquarters. There were only

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Gao Liqin (高莉琴)

rare opportunities of communicating with the local county or municipal government. Consequently, once a dominant dialect was established in these isolated communities, other dialects soon lost their popularity. The third reason is the open-mindedness of the XPCC immigrants towards other languages. In interviews with people who originated from Sichuan, Shandong (山东), and Jiangsu, regarding why they spoke Henan dialect, they replied “it doesn’t matter what dialect we speak, as long as we can understand one another”. This might be the most practical attitude toward using language, and an instinctive insight into communication as well.

2.3 Local Putonghua There are four varieties of local Putonghua, i.e. Putonghua with local accents: Putonghua with an individual accent, Shanghai Putonghua, Putonghua with a Henan accent, and Putonghua with Xinjiang accent.

2.3.1 Putonghua with individual accents Some first-generation immigrants speak Putonghua with the accent of their hometown. Since people from all over the country moved to one XPCC regiment, none of their dialects would dominate the community. There was no other large group of immigrants from the same Mainland provinces, such as the Henan immigrants discussed in 2.2.2. For the purpose of communication, they chose to speak Putonghua with strong accents of their own mother tongue. It is easy to tell where they are from by listening to the “Putonghua” they speak. There could be a wide variety of Putonghua in a single regiment. Take Regiment 73 of the XPCC Fourth Agricultural Division as an example. Located in Gongliu (巩留) County of Yili (伊犁) Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in south Xinjiang, this regiment was a former cannon company of a PLA infantry division that was deployed in Yili to put down rebellions. In 1954, they were transferred to do civilian work in the Golgi region. The Military-Construction Regiment was built in beds of reeds with no aboriginal indigenous residents. The population then was 1,566, and all the immigrants spoke a wide range of dialects. In their communication, they spoke almost all the main Chinese dialects, none of which was strong enough to dominate the others. Often they preferred to speak Putonghua within the regiment, and eventually they developed a sort of Putonghua with individual accents.

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Most of the later immigrants in Regiment 73 came to Xinjiang in the 1960s and 1970s, when speaking Putonghua was advocated nationwide. A large number of these immigrants completed their primary, junior middle, and senior middle school education in this situation, so they acquired a more or less basic knowledge of Putonghua. The second and third generation of immigrants in Regiment 73 could speak Putonghua much better.

2.3.2 Shanghai Putonghua It was mentioned in 2.1 that 100,000 educated youths from Shanghai were rusticated to Xinjiang. Most of them went to south Xinjiang, while a few went to other XPCC regiments (Yao 2001). Shanghai Putonghua refers to the version of Putonghua those educated youths from Shanghai spoke to other XPCC staff members. Since many Shanghai educated youths went to teach in their regiments, Shanghai Putonghua also covers the language they taught in class, and the language their students spoke. Shanghai was one of the first cities in China where speaking Putonghua was advocated. Most of the Shanghai youth immigrants had graduated from junior or senior middle schools; some of them had been admitted into universities. They were settled in Xinjiang because of various reasons. Among the 20,000 educated youths from Shanghai who went to Xinjiang in 1963, about 3,000 graduated from high school (Yao 2001). They were regarded as better educated in the 1960s, compared with the education level of ordinary Chinese people. These young students from Shanghai could speak Putonghua well, though with some Shanghai accent. Many Shanghai youths became teachers in kindergartens, primary schools, junior and senior middle schools because of their better educational background. Most children born in the 1960s in the XPCC regiments were taught by these young Shanghai teachers. In our interview, Ms. Wang from the 13th Regiment of the XPCC First Agriculture Division described her pre-university education in this way: her parents, both illiterate and in their twenties, migrated from Henan to Xinjiang to cultivate the frontier area. She was born in 1967, and her teachers at the childcare center as well as in primary and secondary schools were all Shanghai-educated youths, who were devoted to teaching and spoke Putonghua in class. Neither Ms. Wang nor her three sisters could speak their parents’ Henan dialect. It was from their teachers that Ms. Wang and her classmates learned to speak Putonghua. The only problem is that they could not tell the difference between some initials. For instance, they would pronounce the

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Gao Liqin (高莉琴)

surnames Huang (黄) and Wang (王) in the same way, and this is simply because their Shanghai teachers spoke Putonghua. According to our study, Ms. Wang’s case was very common in the XPCC regiments. In the Tarim reclamation area, where the largest number of Shanghai youths lived, the students who were once taught by Shanghai-educated youth teachers are now in their 40s to 50s. This group of people, whether they are residing in an XPCC regiment or have moved out, still speak Shanghai Putonghua, that is, Putonghua with a Shanghai accent. They cannot tell the difference between phonemes pronounced with a flat tongue or a curled tongue. Since 1986, this situation has changed a lot, as large numbers of Shanghai-educated youths left the XPCC regiments for their hometown, Shanghai.

2.3.3 Henan Putonghua The quasi-Henan dialect discussed in 2.2, which was popular in XPCC regiments in north Xinjiang, sounds more like Henan dialect, while the “Henan Putonghua” discussed in this section sounds more like Putonghua. Henan Putonghua is also popular in many other regiments. Mr. Xie from the 35th Regiment of the XPCC Second Agricultural Division described his language experience as follows: “My parents’ generation could not speak Putonghua, they spoke their own dialects instead. When I was six or seven, the age of going to school, a group of Shanghai-educated youths came to our regiment. Many of them became teachers in primary and secondary schools. Their Putonghua was very good and we learned it from them. The version of Putonghua we spoke was quite standard except for the flat and curled sounds. Children here did not learn their parents’ dialects when they were young. When we went to school from our XPCC company to where the regiment headquarter was, we had to learn a version of Henan dialect because that was the dialect the local residents spoke. If you did not speak the same way, you would be mocked by them. Therefore, we are bi-dialectal.”

Our investigations in other regiments of the XPCC Second Agricultural Division further confirmed Mr. Xie’s description.

2.3.4 Xinjiang Putonghua Now we turn to some of the XPCC division-level units that are located in the municipalities of Xinjiang Autonomous Region. There are also some cases of a combination of divisions and municipalities; for instance, the Eighth Agriculture

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Division Headquarter is also the Shihezi Municipality. In either case, Putonghua is the main speech spoken at the division-level units. This version of Putonghua is slightly different from standard Putonghua. In this paper, it is referred to as “Xinjiang Putonghua”, which is a Xinjiang variation of standard Putonghua. Take Shihezi Municipality as an example, a city that was established by its immigrants in the 1950s. Its population originated from diverse backgrounds from all over the country. It used to be a multi-dialectal city, but currently the first generation immigrants still speak the dialects of where they originated from. All the second generation speaks relatively standard Putonghua regardless of the dialects their parents speak. It is one of the few cities in Xinjiang where people speak the best Putonghua. In Gao and Zhang’s (2006) survey of the languages used in Shihezi institutional agencies – for daily communication, in the media, in families, and on campus – it was found that the current residents in Shihezi usually speak Putonghua. Only a few of them speak dialects when communicating with elder generations who speak dialects themselves. The reasons why Xinjiang Putonghua emerged in places where divisions and municipalities became combined are as follows: Firstly, there is the need of choosing Putonghua for communication in linguistically heterogeneous communities. In this region, cities were founded and developed by XPCC immigrants, and the population structure bears the characteristics of the XPCC. That is, the people living here came from all over the country and spoke a wide range of dialects – no language could play a dominating role when the cities came into being. It might be said that people chose Putonghua on purpose for their communication. Secondly, a high-level language use is needed in division headquarters that are the political, economic, and cultural centers of the divisions. In contrast to agricultural farms isolated from the outside world, the central status of the division headquarters defined the liberal characteristics of local cities. Here, people recognized the practical value and social function of Putonghua and took the initiative for improving their Putonghua competence. For instance, Shihezi city and Shihezi General Reclamation Farm are separated by one main road. In Shihezi Municipality, which is the political, economic and cultural center of the division, people tend to speak Putonghua, while in Shihezi General Reclamation Farm, a grassroots-level unit of agricultural production, people are more likely to interact in quasi-Henan dialect. Thirdly, Xinjiang Putonghua has always been treated as the major language for communication in all central cities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the same applies to XPCC divisions whose headquarters are based in cities and units above the division level.

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3 Conclusion The language situation among XPCC immigrants is rather complicated. 90% of the first generation immigrants communicate with others in the dialects they acquired from their parents. They kept on speaking their mother tongues, although sometimes they would skip some dialectal expressions that were difficult to comprehend for others. Compared with the first generation, the second and third generation immigrants had a better educational background. The second generation immigrants are actually bi-dialectal, and know when to speak Putonghua and when to use dialects. However, a great majority of the third generation immigrants speak only Putonghua and no dialect at all. Zhang (Gao & Zhang 2006) found that up to 84.2% of the third generation immigrants speak Putonghua to their parents at home. On top of the differences between the generations, there are also geographical differences regarding the XPCC language situation. In the divisions in north Xinjiang, “Quasi-Henan Dialect” is spoken by regiments and lower level companies. According to Gao and Zhang (2006), “Quasi-Henan Dialect” still remains the major language for communication in those areas. Up to 83.3% of the second generation immigrants could speak this dialect, whereas in the third generation this number dropped to 10%. Nevertheless, observations show that in some regiments more and more people were switching back to the quasi-Henan dialect. Xinjiang Putonghua is the main language for communication in the XPCC divisions in South Xinjiang. According to Wang (Gao & Zhang 2006), most of the second generation immigrants (up to 85%) could not speak their parents’ dialects, mainly because they were taught to speak Putonghua by Shanghai-educated youth teachers. The third generation as a whole speaks only Putonghua and no dialects any more. Putonghua is widely spoken in all municipal XPCC divisions, whereas in remote XPCC divisions, Putonghua is used less. Up to 90% of all communication in XPCC divisions is done in Putonghua. (Gao & Zhang 2006)

References Annual office of XPCC First Agricultural Division (新疆生产建设兵团农一师史志办公室) (eds.). 1974. Annual of XPCC First Agricultural (农一师志). Xinjiang People’s Publishing House. Gao, Liqin (高莉琴) & Zhang, Xinwu (张新武 ) (eds.). 2006. Research on language situation and Putonghua promotion strategy in Xinjiang (新疆的语言状况及推广普通话方略研究). Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press.

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The XPCC (Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps) Annals Press (eds.) 2006. Annals of XPCC. The Annals Press of XPCC. Yao, Yong (姚勇). 2001. Shanghai educated youth in Xinjiang (上海知青在新疆). Xinjiang: Xinjiang University Press. Zhang, Xinwu (张新武). 2006. A survey of “Quasi-Henan Dialect” and Strategy in Popularizing Putonghua (新疆石河子总场“准河南话”使用情况调查及推普方略研究). Language and Translation (Chinese), Volume 81 (1):31–35. Wang Ping (王平) Ludong (鲁东) University [email protected]

Zhou Tongquan (周统权) & Zheng Wei (郑伟)

20 The English translation of Chinese menus In order to create a favorable language environment and sound atmosphere of international exchange for the 2008 Olympic Games, the Beijing (北京) Municipal Government prepared a set of standards for The English Translation of Bilingual Signs in Public Places,1 including the Chinese Menu in the English Version (hereafter The English Version). The English translation of Chinese menus was regarded as one important component of the Olympic Games language project. On the surface, it was intended to explain Chinese dishes to both athletes and visitors from overseas, otherwise some dish names on restaurant menus may sound rather baffling and ridiculous; on a deeper level, as pointed out in the Foreword to The English Version, a standard Chinese menu in English is very important because it serves both as a window through which the image of the catering industry and the Chinese food culture is presented and as a bridge connecting the service personnel and their customers. After publication of The English Version, translating menus from Chinese into English became a hot topic in the language life of 2008.

1 Genesis In March 2006, the Beijing Municipal Government started to organize the translation of Chinese menus in the hope of producing a standard English version. The work went through four stages before its completion in February 2008 and resulted in the publication of The English Version.

Stage I Deciding on the dish types and making a consistent preliminary English translation The Foreign Affairs’ Office and the Tourist Administration of the Beijing People’s Government set up an “Olympic Games menu” translators’ group of over thirty members, consisting of several senior professors and translators from the 1 See http://www.bjenglish.com.cn/specialreports/english/standard/.

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Subsequently, the School of Tourism, Beijing Union University, together with other relevant institutions, collected 10,000 restaurant menus from which over 2,300 Chinese dishes were chosen for translation. In mid-December 2006, The Standard of English Translation for Menus in Beijing: Discussion Draft (hereafter Draft) was made public.

Stage II Seeking advice for the Draft The English translation of dishes in the Draft was mainly provided by the important hotels and restaurants in Beijing and was guided by discussions between specialists and vocational institutions. It was then uploaded to http://www. beijing.gov.cn/ and http://www.bjenglish.com.cn/ for a 10-day display starting from 20 December 2006, inviting public comments.

Stage III Seeking advice for The English Version (discussion draft) A large number of suggestions were gathered from netizens and with reference to the English translation of the common dishes of restaurants at Houhai (后海), Wangjing (望京) and the central business district, places mostly visited by foreigners. A new version was then brought forward for public discussion, with an increase of over 400 dishes, so that the total number reached 2,753. Further suggestions were collected on the website between 23 August and 1 September 2007.

Stage IV Official release of The English Version Based on the suggestions offered by the specialists and netizens, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Tourism further revised the most problematic translations in The English Version (discussion draft). The work was basically completed with the decision to use the menu translations of Quanjude (全聚德) and five other famous old restaurants in the city. On February 2008, the Foreign Affairs Office officially released The English Version containing 2,862 items, divided into vegetables, staple foods, wines and beverages. The English Version includes 123 cold dishes, 1,057 hot dishes, 391 main foods and snacks, 9 Western appetizers, 14 soups, 79 main courses, 27 kinds of bread, 96 desserts, 95 Chinese wines and liquors, 150 imported liquors, 149 imported wines, and 235 beverages.

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2 Toward an agreement 2.1 Difficulties facing the English translation Translating Chinese dishes into English is a special job because a translator should be familiar not only with food and beverages (including Western-style food), but also with the way raw materials are processed and cooked. For an accurate translation, a few of the best chefs of the country were invited to explain and demonstrate how certain dishes are made so that the translators might gain a better understanding. In spite of that, some dishes are still untranslatable, like 茶菜 (chacai) and 茶汤 (chatang), because even if the translators had the opportunity to taste them personally, they could not accurately describe what they are. According to statistics, there are over 600 edible vegetables growing in China, six times more than what are served on the Western tables. Besides, there are several hundred kinds of poultry, meat, game, and seafood, and a few hundred condiments, and dozens of cooking methods. And it is hard to tell what some raw food stuff is at first glance, e.g., 裙边 (qunbian, ‘turtle rim’), 花胶 (huajiao, ‘fish maw’), 雪蛤 (xueha, ‘forest frog’), etc. The Western-style food attaches stress on nutrition, and the cooking methods are relatively simple and straightforward; the general cooking methods are steaming, boiling, frying, baking, and simmering. Chinese food, however, emphasizes the full play of the five elements: colour, aroma, taste, shape, and impression. Chinese cooking is quite complicated with at least fifty ways of cooking food; some of the fundamental methods include boiling, simmering, stewing, braising, frying, baking, steaming, smoking, and scalding. Some processes are rather painstaking; for example, frying may be further divided into pan-frying, stirfrying, quick-frying, frying plus simmering, twice stir-frying, dry deep-frying, soft deep-frying and crisp deep-frying.

2.2 The conflict between comprehension and cultural implications Chinese food culture has rich connotations and the key issue in translating Chinese dishes is to preserve the cultural elements. However, this is easier said than done. Literal translation usually does not reflect the unique cultural contents of Chinese culinary culture. Behind every Chinese dish there might be a profound cultural flavour, and that is why a complete literal translation of 贵妃 鸡 (Guifeiji, ‘Deep-Fried Chicken’) and 麻婆豆腐 (Mapo doufu, ‘Sautéed Tofu in

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Hot and Spicy Sauce’) robs them of their history and allusions (Pan 2008). “The consistent translation of a Chinese menu into English is a double-edged sword,” noted Zhou Liming (周黎明), a columnist of China Daily. “In removing those absurd mistranslations, the cultural contents of many dishes are thrown away along with them . . . Some English translations are just like a bowl of plain rice: while it has necessary nutrients, it is devoid of flavour” (Controversy was aroused: Culture is lost in the English translation of dishes? 2009). Conversely, if the historical and cultural load is retained in the menu, the translation will be lengthy and tedious, which is against the principle of conciseness. In that case, the translated menu would no longer be a menu at all in the usual sense. For example, 叫化鸡 ( Jiaohuaji, ‘Beggar’s Chicken’ vs. ‘Roasted Chicken Wrapped in Lotus Leaves and Mud’): named according to a legend that a beggar, being without any cooking utensil, wraps a chicken in lotus leaves, covers it with mud and roasts it whole until well-cooked, finding it very delicious; and 佛跳墙 (Fotiaoqiang, ‘A Buddha Jumping over the Wall’ vs. ‘Stewed Shark Fins with Assorted Precious Seafood’): implying that the dish is so delicious that even a Buddha could not resist the temptation and climbs over a wall to steal a bite of it. Such translations are composed of three parts: the literal meaning, the story associated with the dish, and the ingredients and cooking method, reflecting fully the style of a Chinese menu. A translated menu fulfils both practical and cultural functions: the former referring to its ingredients and cooking method, while the latter explains its allusions and implications. With the profundity of Chinese food culture, it is advisable to seek a compromise between these two.

2.3 Discussions on the translating method: Pinyin (拼音) and transliteration? The publication of The English Version immediately triggered a great deal of debate from all sides. First of all, it was thought to be comprehensive and wellmade in general; however, there was still much room for improvement. Improper translations were found in quite a number of dishes, for example, 四喜丸子 (Sixi wanzi, ‘Braised Pork Balls in Gravy Sauce’) was translated as “Four-Joy Meatballs” in which “four-joy” is neither a meaningful translation nor transliteration; 罗汉腐皮卷 (Luohan fupi juan) was translated into “Tofu Rolls” and 素咕噜肉 (Su gulu rou) into “Sweet and Sour Vegetables”, both of which are inappropriate. Some desserts became stomach-turning after translation, for example, 豌豆黄 (Wandou huang) and 雪圆子 (Xue yuanzi) became

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“Pea Cake” and “Snow Balls”, which sound as tasteless as water. A note left by a university student recommended that the Chinese menu should be treated in a similar fashion foreign food is treated in Chinese: transliteration with Chinese Pinyin complemented by explanations in English of its characteristics and story. As an example, he cited “hamburger” and “pizza”, both are transliterated into Chinese as 汉堡包 (Hanbao bao) and 比萨饼 (Bisa bing).2 Some specialists suggested that illustrations be adopted because they are clear and easy, and words would better describe the stylistic features of these dishes. However, the visual approach might be laborious; besides, too many pictures and notes would deprive a menu of its identity. Obviously, both literal and liberal approaches were adopted in the Draft: the translation considered the viewpoint of raw materials and cooking methods. However, this tends to obliterate the essence and features of Chinese food culture to a great extent. For example, 夫妻肺片 (Fuqi feipian, ‘Assorted Beef in Chili Sauce’) was translated into “Pork Lungs in Chili Sauce”, something completely different from what it is. For this reason, phonetic transliteration according to Pinyin and translation according to taste were added in the revised version, e.g., 糖醋鸡块 (Tangcu ji kuai) is renered into “Chicken Braised in Sweet and Sour Sauce”; any dish modified by 宫保 (Gongbao) will become Kung Pao, the Wade-Giles Romanisation; and characteristic local dishes keep their original transliteration, e.g., 馄饨 (Wonton) and 豆腐 (Tofu). Evidently, an element of Chinese culture is preserved in such translations.

2.4 Eight agreed-upon rules of translation Eight rules were finally formulated after extensive public discussion and heated debate among professionals: five for vegetables and staple foods, one for wines and liquors, and two for the employment of grammatical words. 1) The main ingredients form the head word and other ingredients become modifiers, e.g., Mushrooms with Duck Webs (from 白灵菇扣鸭掌 bailinggu kou yazhang, ‘Pleurotus nebrodensis + cover + duck feet’), Bitter Melon in Plum Sauce (from 冰梅凉瓜 bing mei lianggua, ‘Icy plum + cool melon’), etc. 2) The cooking method is followed by the ingredients, e.g. Sautéed Pig Kidney (from 火爆腰花 huobao yaohua, ‘quick-fry + kidney’), Sautéed Shredded Pork in Sweet Bean Sauce (from 京酱肉丝 jingjiang rousi, ‘sauce + meat shred’), etc.

2 See http://bbs.cst.sh.cn/cgi-bin/bbs/bbstcon?board=English&file=M.1190984252.A.

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3) Shape or taste come first, ingredients second, e.g., Crispy Chicken (from 脆皮鸡 cuipi ji, ‘crispy + chicken’), Rabbit-Shaped Mantou (玉兔馒头 yutu mantou, ‘jade rabbit + steamed bun’), etc. 4) Ingredients modified by proper nouns indicating the style, e.g. Cantonese Dim Sum (from 广东点心 Guangdong dianxin, ‘Guangdong + dessert’), Noodles with Soy Bean Paste, Beijing Style (from 北京炸酱面 Beijing zhajiang mian, ‘Beijing + noodle + soy bean paste’), etc. 5) Pinyin or phonetic transliteration, e.g. Tofu (豆腐 Doufu), Jiaozi (饺子 Jiaozi), etc. 6) The plural forms are preferred, e.g. Noodles with Vegetables (蔬菜面 shucai mian, ‘Vegetable + noodle’), Sautéed Lamb Slices with Scallion (葱爆羊肉 cong bao yangrou, ‘Scallion + quick-fry + mutton’), etc. 7) Prepositions are flanked by names of ingredients, e.g. Steamed Beef Ribs in Black Bean Sauce (from 豉汁牛仔骨 chi zhi niuzai gu, ‘Black bean sauce + beef rib’), Japanese Noodle Soup with Seafood (from 海鲜乌冬汤面 haixian wudong tang mian, ‘Sea food + noodle’), etc. 8) Original names for the imported wines and liquors, and registered English names or Pinyin or a combination of both for their domestic counterparts, e.g. Lanhua Zhenpin Erguotou (from 蓝花珍品二锅头 Lanhua zhenpin erguotou), Red Star Zhenpin Erguotou (from 红星珍品二锅头 Hongxing zhenpin erguotou), Jiannanchun (剑南春), Mongolian King (蒙古王 Menggu wang), etc.

3 Implementation and feedback 3.1 Implementation of The English Version After the release of The English Version, the city government issued a directive to put it into practice (A directive of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Beijing Municipal People’s Government and Beijing Bureau of Commerce on standardizing the English translation of Chinese menus in the local catering industry 2008), recommending it to hotels and restaurants rather than forcing them to follow the agreed-upon standard by a fiat. Follow-up studies showed that the standard was well accepted. According to statistics provided by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants, Beijing Tourist Administration, the standard version was adopted at over 800 local starred hotels and restaurants.

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3.2 Public feedback The publication of The English Version marked the end of menu translations without any standard and now everyone can find a complete English version on the Internet free of charge. In Qinghai (青海) province, The English Version was formally published as a book and recommended to all local restaurants. In August 2007, the Shanghai (上海) Restaurants Association started drawing up its English Standards for Chinese Restaurant Dishes and Signs in Shanghai (上海中餐馆菜名与标识语 英语标准) and published it in 2008. An official in charge of the Chengdu (成都) Tourist Administration said they were to further promote Chinese-English bilingual menus and also expand their use in non-starred restaurants and tourist spots.3 On 19 June 2008, the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Quality Supervision published its Local standards for English, Japanese and Korean translations of the famous Sichuan dishes and snacks (四川名菜小吃英、日、韩译法) on its website for discussion. The Tianjin (天津) Cuisine Association followed the example of Beijing by organizing nine specialists for its own version and finished it in two years, with a collection of over 2,400 dishes, wines, liquors, and beverages and a coverage of the eight major traditional Chinese styles of cooking.4

3.3 Different voices In spite of the fact that it has been accepted and widely disseminated, there is still much work to do in order to improve The English Version. There is a suggestion to change its title into A Chinese-English Bilingual English Version, for a divergence exists in the current title between the two languages: 中文菜单英文 译法 means “How to Translate a Chinese Menu into English” while its English title is A Chinese Menu in English. For instance, the translation of 清蒸童子鸡 (Qingzheng tongzi ji) into “Steamed Pullet”, as pointed out by a reader, seems to be inappropriate, for the dish is young chicken rather than pullet. A middle school teacher of English in Zhejiang (浙江) wondered why the word “marinated” is used in the cold dishes of several quite different styles.5 It has also been mentioned that cultural features are not fully reflected in The English Version. This means that the conflict between practical and cultural translation has been far from completely settled. 3 See http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kz=312348265. 4 According to a report at http://www.tech-food.com. 22 July 2008. 5 http://www.foodqs.com/news/gnspzs01/20087251576627.htm. 22 July 2008.

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References A directive of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Beijing Municipal People’s Government and Beijing Bureau of Commerce on standardizing the English translation of Chinese menus in the local catering industry (北京市人民政府外事办公室、北京市商务局关于在本市 餐饮业开展中文菜单英文译法规范工作的通知) ( Jing zheng wai fa [京政外发], File 147). 2008. http://www.bjmbc.gov.cn/web2/fcsArticleDetail.jsp?article_id=12112514920001. Controversy was aroused: Culture is lost in the English translation of dishes? (引起争议：菜名 英译翻没了文化?). 2009. http://bbs.24en.com/thread-133943-1-1.html. Pan, Guijuan (潘桂娟). 2008. Differences between and translation of Chinese and Western Menus (中、西餐菜单的差异与翻译). Market Modernization, Vol. 10. Translated by Liang Xiaopeng (梁晓鹏) Qingdao (青岛) University of Science & Technology [email protected]

Xia Li (夏历)

21 Short message language use report China’s short message services (SMS) market launched officially in 2000 and began a period of increasingly rapid growth. In 2001, SMS services had already become an important source of income for telecom operators throughout the country, and continued to enjoy extreme popularity up to 2007. As of December 2007, the number of cellphone users in China had reached 547,286,000, representing a market penetration rate of 41.6%. Users have increased by 86,228,000 since the end of 2006, which works out to an average increase of 7,185,600 new users each month, who sent over 592,100,000,000 messages, a yearly increase of 37.8%. SMS messages can be divided into two groups according to how they are delivered: point-to-point messages and bulk messages. Point-to-point messages are the “one-to-one” messages cellphone users send to one another; they are a method of interpersonal communication. Bulk messages are messages sent en masse to a certain group of cellphone users by information providers, some organizations and individuals using bulk messaging software; they are a method of mass communication. Based on the content, messages can be further divided into various types, such as love messages, friendship messages, holiday greetings, work greetings messages, and chat messages.

1 Languages used in SMS messages Text messages sent within China can be divided into various categories based on the language (or dialect) used, namely, Putonghua, dialect, ethnic minority language, and foreign language messages. Putonghua is the language most often utilized in messages, and the vast majority of Chinese people send messages in Putonghua, while dialect-only messages are usually sent by people (especially young people) to achieve a humorous effect or to make fun of others. Due to the extensive use of homophones or similar sounds in dialect, such dialect messages tend to be obscure and confusing, and are not easily understood by those who are unfamiliar with the dialect being used. SMS in ethnic minority languages emerged rather late. In 2004, the first cellphone supporting ethnic minority language scripts was launched, opening the gateway for sending and receiving ethnic minority language messages. Foreign language messages are primarily sent among foreigners living in China, or between Chinese people and foreigners. Some Chinese people use foreign language messages among themselves as well, especially young people or students, who often use foreign

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language messages for the novelty, or as a way to practice foreign language skills.

1.1 Dialect messages Dialect messages fully utilize the unique characteristics of the dialect being used, such as Beijing (北京) dialect’s “ya” (丫) and “tei/tui” (忒), Shanghai’s (上海) “chilao” (赤佬), Shandong’s (山东) “xinsi” (寻思), Sichuan’s (四川) “gui’er” (龟儿) and “ha” (哈), and Northeastern dialect’s “zei” (贼), “za” (咋) and “zheng” (整). The following are some examples of dialect messages: 1) Beijing dialect: I know I’m an awful person my baby, just go ahead and kill me. There was a time when true love came and knocked on my door, but I simply ignored her. Afterwards I was completely dumbfounded, for nobody here is better to me than you! Now quit dillydallying, just grab a knife and finish me off quickly. If the Good Lord gave me a second chance, you can be sure I’d be telling her those three words: I freaking love you! If I have to put a time limit on my love, how about 10,000 years, eh? 北京方言：我知道我特该死，你丫宰了我都没的说，以前有份还不赖的 爱情楞在我的跟前儿，我没搭理她，等过后就傻眼了，这鬼地方对我最 好的那个人就是你丫的了，你丫用刀废了我吧，别琢磨了，如果老天爷 能再让我回头，我保准儿会对你丫不停唠叨三个字：我TMD爱你YA! 如果非要我在这份爱上加上个日期，一万年成不成? (TMD: 他妈的) 2) Shandong dialect: A pigeon flying in the blue sky; has enough of suffering, wants to see what he can see; thinking over and over again, nothing there to see; flies to the seaside, sees a little seashell; puts it in his mouth and finds, “Oh, so salty!” 山东方言：蓝蓝的天上飞着一只布噶，受尽了卡达，到处洒嘛，心斯心 斯木油意思，飞到海边捡到一只噶拉，放到嘴里木拉了木拉。厚咸。 (蓝蓝的天上飞着一只鸽子，受尽了磨难，到处看看，想想没有意思， 飞到海边捡到一只贝壳，放到嘴里尝一尝。很咸。) 3) Sichuan dialect: This is a robbery! All men move over to the left, women move to the right, freaks stay in the middle. Hey you, yeah you with the cellphone! What are you looking at? Get in the middle! 四川方言：抢钱了!男的站到左边及，女的站到右边及，变态的在中间立起。 嘿，喊你龟儿的嘛,拿起手机觑啥子觑，到中间及站到! (抢钱了! 男的站到 左边，女的站到右边,变态的站在中间。嘿，喊你呢，拿起手机看什么看， 到中间站着去!)

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1.2 Ethnic minority language messages In 2004, just days before the start of Xinjiang’s (新疆) Eid Al-Adha Festival, Beijing Capital Co. Ltd and China Mobile Xinjiang Branch jointly released the Uygur language cellphone, and its sales began on January 29. This was the first cellphone ever released in China with support for ethnic minority languages. According to Yang Liansi (杨廉斯), the president of Beijing Capital, the phone added support for operations in Uygur language by building on the existing infrastructure for operations in Chinese and English. Moreover, users are able to switch freely between these three languages. The phone was not only able to send Uygur voice messages, but was also equipped with Uygur menus, and an input system for sending text messages in Uygur. In another important development, China’s first cellphone with support for multiple ethnic minority languages was officially revealed at the “Chinese Information Processing Top Achievements Exhibition”, held by the Chinese Information Processing Society of China (CIPS) on November 20, 2006. The phone was jointly developed by Wangdao (网道) Xintong (信通) Digital Technologies (Beijing) and other Chinese cellphone manufacturers and design companies. It supports ten languages: Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur, Kazakh, Korean, Miao (苗), Zhuang (壮), Dong (侗), Dai (傣), and the Yi (彝) language. Users can also operate menus and view prompts in minority languages besides sending and receiving messages.

1.3 Foreign language messages Cellphone operating systems in China primarily support only English and Chinese, thus the majority of foreign language messages are in English. These messages are confined to short texts, as they are subject to the same character length requirements as Chinese messages. For this reason, message senders frequently use abbreviations, emoticons and various other unconventional methods of expression.

2 Characteristics of Chinese language messages 2.1 Conciseness Due to the limit put on text length, the language used in text messages tends to be concise and highly refined, especially in holiday greetings such as those sent

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during the Lunar New Year festival. Such messages make extensive use of alliteration and rhyming, and use long strings of synonyms, near synonyms and antonyms to express related or opposite meanings. Antitheses and parallelisms are also frequently used. As a result, messages possess a rhythmic beauty. For example: “My heart is here, my longing is here; you’ve got it, seen it, smelt it, tasted it; fortune is here, luck is here, wealth is here, Mid-Autumn Festival isn’t here, but I hope my greeting is the first one to come!" (From Funny Text Messages, http://www.duanxins.com/duanxin/d200611/a324. html) 心到，想到，得到，看到，闻到，吃到，福到，运到，财到，中秋节还没 到，但愿我的祝福第一个到。

2.2 Humor Humorous messages come in many different forms. Some use homophones to poke fun at the reader in a deadpan manner, while others start off flattering but later use humorous language to mock the receiver, leaving the punch line until the very end. Still others build up to a climax and then stop abruptly, achieving a condensed humorous effect guaranteed to have readers laughing out loudly. You can reflect a person’s flaws more clearly than a mirror; you are more knowledgeable than Zhuang Zi and more resourceful than Sun Zi. That’s why everyone kindly calls you “nothing but a wannabe”! 1 你比镜子还能反映人的缺点，比庄子还博学多才，比孙子还有谋略，所以大 家亲切地称你 “镜庄孙子”。

2.3 Mixed use of symbols In addition to Chinese characters, a single text message may also include pinyin (拼音), English words, numbers, mathematical symbols, emoticons and other symbols. In this respect, SMS language has many similarities to Internet slang. Indeed, some have considered SMS language to be a “mobile extension” of Internet slang. However, due to limitations inherent to SMS messaging, there 1 Note: If you take the first character in each of the Chinese words “Jingzi (mirror)”, “Zhuang Zi” (an ancient Chinese philosopher), and “Sun Zi” (an ancient Chinese military strategist) and put them together, they form a homophone for the phrase “Jing Zhuang Sunzi” (nothing but a wannabe).

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are still differences between the two. For example, the SMS language tends to be more concise, and does not use emoticons as frequently as Internet slang. Thus, messages are able to achieve such a rich, varied style through unique and entertaining methods of expression.

2.4 Frequent use of nonstandard language The majority of nonstandard language forms found in messages falls into two categories. First, intentional misuse, such as using “di (滴, drop)” for “de (的, of )”, “ou (偶, idol)” for “wo (我, I)”, and “ni qu xian, (你去先, you go first)” for “ni xian qu (你先去, you go first)”. They are frequently seen in messages sent by young people. Second, ignored typos: when inputting messages, users will inevitably make typos from time to time, accidently inputting a homophone instead of their intended character. Senders do not always have time to check their message for errors, or may feel that errors will not impact the reader’s understanding and simply leave them as they are. These characteristic SMS messages are commonly seen in “point-to-point” messaging. Translated by Yang Ronghua (杨荣华) Hehai (河海) University E-mail: [email protected]

He Yang (贺阳) & Guo Jie (郭杰) Revised by Wang Lei (汪磊)

22 Buzzwords vis-á-vis social change in China from 1978 to 2008 Buzzwords are popular, widespread and frequently used terms. They are a social phenomenon as well as a linguistic expression, usually coined around the most popular topics and reflecting the unique characteristics of the time and its cultural values, revealing the true nature of social reality and the prevalent mindset of our society. By analyzing various Chinese buzzwords from 1978 to 2008, this report puts the development of buzzwords over thirty years of reform and opening-up in China in perspective, and identifies the numerous changes in social concepts and social life that took place in China during this period. The corpus in this report is mainly sourced from the four publications below: (1) The Top Ten Catchwords over 30 Years of Reform and Opening-up, rated in the 2008 poll, co-sponsored by Beijing (北京) Evening News and fourteen other media organizations including Sohu.com and Liaoshen (辽沈) Evening News. (2) Popular Words and Expressions in China from 1978 to 2008, edited by Gao Hong (高虹) (2008), a collection of the ten most popular words and expressions for each year over the 30-year period, yielding 300 words in total. (3) Contemporary Chinese Catchwords, edited by Xia Zhonghua (夏中华) (2007), which comprises more than 3,300 catchwords from 1978 to 2006, with rich content covering various aspects of social activities. (4) The Top Ten Catchwords in China, published annually since 2003 by Beijing Language and Culture University, China Association of Press Technicians and the Chinese Information Processing Society of China. Buzzwords quoted in this report are presented in double quotation marks and in some cases with English explanations, such as “Xiahai (下海, quitting public service and going into business)”.

1 Buzzwords vis-á-vis changes in social values Since the reform and opening-up in China, changes in social values have been reflected in the buzzwords of different periods. By observing and analyzing buzzwords with distinct Chinese characteristics, the historical trajectory of the

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change in social values in China over the thirty years of reform and opening-up can be clearly represented.

1.1 The shift from “Two Whatevers”1 to “Whether it is black or white, a cat is good as long as it catches mice” The most far-reaching changes in the mindsets of the Chinese people over the past three decades, since the reform and opening-up, include breaking the ideological shackles of the “Two Whatevers” and the “personal cult”, and reestablishing the ideological lines of “emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts” and “practice is the sole criterion of truth”, which has gained great popularity among the Chinese people. These changes ran through the first years of the reform and opening-up and are still playing a critical role today. For lack of precedence and experience, the reform and opening-up were undertaken in the “darkness” of uncertainty and could only proceed by trial and error. Concerns of deviating too far from socialism were persistently haunting throughout the 1980s and the early 1990s, as expressed in “crossing the river by groping for stones at the bottom”. During his inspection tour of south China in 1992, Deng Xiaoping (邓小平) gave a series of important talks elaborating in depth on important theoretical issues such as the essence of socialism, the criteria of truth, and the relationship between central planning and the market economy. Ever since then, buzzwords and expressions such as “Deng Xiaoping’s talks on his south China tour” and “Development is the fundamental truth” began gaining popularity and spread widely very quickly. These buzzwords facilitated to a great extent the acceptance and support for Deng’s ideas in every household. People are now no longer worried about what the nature of the current economic reform is, whether it is socialist or capitalist. After years of dogmatism and conservative ideology, the trend has been reversed so that judgment is no longer made on the basis of the previous rigidity of the political mindset.

1.2 The shift from “Everyone eats from the same big pot” to “Allow some people to get rich first” In the previous planned economy, the buzzword “iron rice bowl” reflected not only a distribution system, but also the basic attitude of people towards work and the way in which wealth was distributed. 1 “Two Whatevers” refers to “strictly adhering to whatever policies and whatever instructions are given by Chairman Mao”, put forward by Hua Guofeng (华国锋) after Mao’s death.

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With the reform and opening-up, China’s market economy has established itself quickly. Buzzwords and expressions such as “Development is the fundamental truth” and “Allow some people to get rich first” have been widely accepted. Individual interests are fully respected, and the dream of getting rich through one’s hard work is commonly recognized. As people no longer shy away from talking about material gains and consumption, moral ideals and material benefits are no longer placed in opposition to each other. A large number of economic buzzwords abound, such as “Time is money, efficiency is life”, “self-employment”, “moonlighting” and “households with an annual income of ¥10,000”, encouraging everyone to work hard for a happier and better life. With the deepening reforms in the economic and employment systems since the 1990s, people have become more open in their thinking about career paths. A frequent change of jobs has become more commonplace in today’s China, giving rise to two diametrically opposite buzzwords: “being fired” and “jobhopping”, which reflect the changed values and show that the relationship between employees and employers has shifted from a unilateral to a mutual acceptance.

1.3 The shift from “Class Struggle as the key link” to “people-orientation” Under the constraints of the “leftist” thinking before the reform and opening up, incautious remarks could be labeled as “bourgeois” or even “counterrevolutionary” ideas. At the beginning of the reform and opening-up, the focus of the Communist Party and the central government began to shift from the ideology of “Class Struggle” to “economic construction”. Meanwhile, a group of buzzwords arose in the political field, reflecting on the chaos of the “Cultural Revolution” and on “correcting the wrongs”, “rehabilitation”, “bringing order out of chaos”, “false, big, empty and high-pitched speeches”, “trumped-up”, “emancipation of the mind”, “knowledge is power”, and “respect knowledge and respect talent”. These buzzwords demonstrate that human rights were gradually receiving recognition and attention in the new era. The idea that talent and science should be respected became widely accepted. In recent years, a series of buzzwords in relation to improving the livelihood of the people have begun to emerge, including “people-orientation”, “free education”, “preferential agricultural policies”, “medical care for rural residents”, “affordable housing”, “keep price hikes under control”, “basic pension” and “subsidies for low-income groups”. These buzzwords show that the government is attaching greater importance to the livelihood of the people at all levels.

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1.4 The shift from “Excessive pursuit of economic interests” to “Harmonious development between humans and nature” Before the reform and opening-up, people were convinced that human beings had the capability of manipulating everything in nature, outlined in the slogan “We can replace the existing Sun and Moon and make them new”. In the 1970s and 1980s, when the reform and opening-up powered ahead, rapid economic development was given priority at the expense of the natural environment, clearly expressed in “money is everything”. Since the 1990s, with the sustained and rapid development of China’s market economy, the damage caused by the environmental pollution is getting more and more severe. Buzzwords such as “flood”, “water pollution”, “drought”, “landslide”, “sandstorm”, “algae in Taihu (太湖) Lake”, “red tide”, “collapse”, “snowstorm” have all to do with ecological disasters. The natural disasters are so shocking that people begin to reflect deeply on the environmental consequences of “progress” and start to focus on the relationship between economic development and environmental protection. As a result, buzzwords such as “environmental protection in the new century” and “environmental protection”, “eco-city”, “environment”, and “sustainable development” were coined, reflecting a major shift in attitudes towards environmental protection in China. At the beginning of the 21st century, China launched a “Green Storm” campaign, resulting in the growth of a series of green buzzwords, such as “green economy”, “green industry”, “green consumption”, “green marketing”, and “Green Olympics”. Comprehensive social development cannot be achieved without a harmonious relationship between humans and nature – this is the valuable experience gained through various tragedies and disasters. Therefore, “harmonious society” and “harmonious development between humans and nature” have become nationally consensual buzzwords.

2 Buzzwords vis-á-vis structural reform 2.1 Buzzwords and political reform Buzzwords such as “separating the functions of the Party and the government”, “decentralization”, “rule of law”, “capability of the government” and “harmonious society” reflect that the political system in China has evolved over decades of reform and opening-up and embarked on a difficult but fruitful road.

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In the 1990s, further economic development and the steadily growing market economy had created a higher requirement for reform in China’s political system. In 1997, the 15th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party formally put forward the idea of “ruling China by law”. Thereafter, “legal society”, “law awareness,” “the rule of law”, “equality for all before the law” and a series of buzzwords relating to legal systems have emerged, signifying that the concept of “rule of law” has been gathering momentum in China. With the advent of the 21st century and the beginning of political reform, the buzzwords “Three Represents”2, “the ability to govern”, and “harmonious society” became quickly popular and widespread.

2.2 Buzzwords and economic reform The reform and opening-up and the economic restructuring in China over the past thirty-odd years have given rise to numerous buzzwords, from the introduction of the rural household contract responsibility system, the mushrooming of “township and village enterprises”, to the setting up of “special economic zones”; and from “the painful reform of state-owned enterprises” to the official addition of “market economy” to China’s Constitution. In the 1980s, the policy of “allowing some people to get rich first” greatly motivated many people to increase their material wealth. Within a short period of time, “self-employed” businesses sprang up throughout China and “selfemployment” became the buzzword of the time. During the transition into the market economy over the past thirty years, the long-term dependence on the planned economic system and the protection of state-owned enterprises were gradually reduced and removed. This has provided an unprecedented opportunity for economic development, but it has also led to a “trauma” brought about by the massive layoffs in the state-owned enterprises. Buzzwords to reflect such a trauma facing the state-owned enterprises were starting to catch on, such as “laid-off”, “laid-off female workers”, “re-employment”, “staff in their 40s and 50s”, “starting all over again”, and so on. Thanks to the huge success of the economic reform, which has given rise to China’s world-recognized economic strength, China successfully dealt with the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the global financial crisis in 2008, triggered by the U.S. “subprime crisis”.

2 “Three Represents” refers to the official ideology statement put forward by Jiang Zemin (江泽民), stipulating that the Communist Party of China should represent three of the most important segments of society: the advanced social productive forces, advanced culture, and the overwhelming interest of the majority.

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2.3 Buzzwords and reform of the cultural system During the 1980s and 1990s, not dissimilar to other profit-making organizations, economic returns became the focus of businesses and individuals in the cultural industry, too, when the popular word “moonlighting” came into being, reflecting the strong desire that entertainers have for getting rich. During this period, buzzwords such as “pop songs”, “rock music”, the “K Songs”, “karaoke”, “discounted KTV disco”, “break dance”, “ballroom dance”, and “aerobics” made their début and began to dominate as the new norm. Cultural phenomena have become the focus of the 21st century. Consequently, a plethora of popular culture-related vocabulary was incorporated into the everyday discourse of the cultural industry, such as “Intangible Cultural Heritage”, “Fair”, “reform of the cultural system”, “grassroots culture”, “community culture”, “China-France Culture Year”, and “Global Carnival”, etc.

3 Buzzwords vis-á-vis changes in lifestyle 3.1 Economic conditions The past three decades have witnessed the rapidly improving livelihood of the people, as well as the growing economic strength of the country as a whole.

3.1.1 From the ration system to consumer credit and online shopping Prior to and in the early years of the reform and opening-up, the economy in China was very backward, characterized by a chronically short supply of food and other daily necessities, which were rationed via coupons. Hence couponrelated buzzwords were commonplace, such as “available by coupon”, “food stamps”, “cloth coupon”, “pork coupon”, “edible oil coupon”, “sugar coupon” and so on. With the continuous development of the national economy and an increased supply of various products, the ration system came to an end in the late 1980s. Meanwhile, bank cards began to appear and grow rapidly, followed by credit cards, which steadily gained in popularity among Chinese consumers. Hence buzzwords such as “credit card” and “swiping credit cards” became fashionable among consumers when credit cards rapidly developed into a key means of payment. Later on, a new buzzword, “online shopping”, caught on when this new form of electronic commerce entered into the daily life of consumers.

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3.1.2 From “watches, bicycles, sewing machines” to “cars and housing” Changes in the desirability of items by Chinese consumers in different stages of the economic development clearly demonstrate the tremendous changes for the better in the living standard of the Chinese people over the past thirty years. In the 1970s, watches, bicycles and sewing machines were the most desirable and the most luxurious household products that ordinary Chinese people were after. With radio receivers being added to the list later, the buzzword “three big household items” was upgraded to “three moving machines plus one sound box”. In the 1980s, following a progressive improvement of the national living standard in China, the traditional “three big household items” of watches, bicycles, sewing machines were replaced by the new “three big household items” – TV sets, refrigerators and washing machines. In the 1990s, the “three big household items” were in turn updated to three more trendy items – computers, air conditioners and motorcycles. Since then, the buzzword “three big household items” that had enjoyed extreme popularity for at least a decade, was gradually fading away. When China entered the 21st century, “car owners” became a buzzword in large and medium-sized cities, reflecting a trend towards purchasing cars by more and more ordinary Chinese families. Meanwhile, the housing system had been reformed and moved from the traditional housing allocation to privatization and commercialization, making housing a hot topic of common concern. Since the late 1990s, buzzwords associated with housing have become popular – “housing system reform”, “public houses for sale”, “mortgage loans” – all reflecting the changes in the housing system and the concerns that people have about the reform. “Price hikes in housing”, “slaves of the house” and other buzzwords reflect the financial pressure brought upon the individuals who are trying to purchase their own dwelling. “Affordable housing”, “economy housing”, “guaranteed housing”, “housing with price ceilings”, “low-rent housing” and “turning point of housing prices” – these buzzwords reflect the unremitting efforts made by the Chinese government to improve the affordability of housing for the middle and low-income groups.

3.1.3 From only savings to investing in stocks, securities and insurance Before the reform and opening-up, living standards of ordinary people were low and people tended to save as much as possible for a rainy day. As an old saying goes, “Wear clothes for three years when they are new, another three years when they are old, and three more years with patches”.

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In the 1980s, bank savings were the principal means of financial management, and then the issuance of treasury bonds expanded the horizon of financial possibilities. Hence, the financial buzzword “treasury bond” was seen and heard everywhere at that time. With the development of the market economy and the increase in the national income since the 1990s, many people gradually accumulated some money for investment. Meanwhile, there were a much greater variety of investment channels available to all, accompanied by the rise of such buzzwords as “real estate”, “stocks”, “fund”, “insurance”, “real estate corporation”, “investors”, and “shareholders” that have come with the continuous growth of the individual as well as the national income and various financial developments.

3.2 Information dissemination China’s communication industry at the beginning of reform and opening-up was at best backward, with letters and telegrams as the main communication services. In the late 1980s, a new communication tool, the pager (also known as BP machine or BB machine) sprang up. “Call my pager” became soon the most popular buzzword. In the 1990s, the high-end brick-sized cellular phones nicknamed “Big Brother” became a more expensive modern communication tool at about ¥10,000 per handset. Therefore, “a cell phone in the hand and a pager on the belt” became the buzzword and symbol of one’s material wealth and extravagant lifestyle. With the further development of the 21st century information technology, computers became a common tool of everybody in China. “Email”, “QQ”3, “web phone”, “BBS (Bulletin Board System)”, and “blog”, etc., have become widely used buzzwords.

3.3 Traffic and travel “If you want to be rich, build the road to your riches first” – this philosophy became very popular in the 1980s and the 1990s, reflecting the official awareness that “economic development relies on advanced transportation”. The first Chinese highway, the Shanghai-Jiading (嘉定) highway with a length of 18.5 km, was accomplished in 1988. The word “Expressway”, which had previously been little heard of in China, became very common from then on. 3 It is a Instant Messaging System developped by Tencent.

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The past thirty years also saw train-related buzzwords, such as “BeijingKowloon railway”, “escalating the speed of trains”, “high-speed train”, “magnetic levitation train”, “train group”, and “the Qinghai (青海)-Tibet railway”. In the late 1980s, taxi vans began to appear in China and rapidly increased their market share via their low-price advantage, which triggered the buzzwords “taxi vans” and “taking the taxi”. In 1994, the Chinese government started to promote the private ownership of cars. The rapid development of private cars led to huge traffic jams in the cities and “traffic jam” clearly shows public concern and discontent. The increasing popularity of “No Car Day” reflects some nostalgia for the old bicycle era.

3.4 Apparel and cultural life The fashions of different times are often reflective of the openness of a society. “Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen) suit”4, “Western suit”, “red skirt”, “bell-bottoms”, “jeans”, “bat-shaped fashions”, “aerobatics pants”, “T-shirts”, “casual dresses”, “lovers’ suits”, “bikini”, “Korean-style dress” – all these buzzwords represent the improved living standards and changed values of the past three decades. “Western suit”, “red skirt”, “bell-bottoms”, “jeans”, “bat-shaped fashions” were the leading fashions during the 1980s, while “aerobatics pants”, “T-shirts”, “casual dresses” were very popular in the 1990s. Now in the 21st century, Chinese national costumes are rarely seen and even if they are, they usually stay on the sideline as designer clothing has become more and more fashionable. Diametrically opposed to the situation of three decades ago, wearing “zhuangshan” (撞衫, dresses of the same color and style) is rare nowadays, demonstrating that individualized dressing is gaining more and more prominence. The journey through the development of popular songs can also provide a snapshot of the past three decades. At the beginning of the reform and opening-up period, the sweet love songs sung by the Taiwanese pop star Teresa Teng swept through Mainland China, bringing an unprecedented aesthetic sensation to the general public as well as her fans, although her songs were described as “decadent” by government officials at the time. Later on in 1986, Cui Jian’s (崔健) pop song “I have got nothing” broke the restricted thinking mode completely and the people’s pent-up aspiration for the liberalization of the arts was set free. Since the 1990s, the rise of pop music in China has been overwhelming. As a result, many people are no longer content with just listening, they want to sing like a professional singer – hence the popular entertainment and buzzwords “Karaoke”, “discount-style KTV”, “K-songs”, “VCD/DVD”, 4 It is known in the West as the Mao suit (after Mao Zedong).

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“Sing if You Want To”, “Super Female Voice”, and “Super Male Voice”5 came to the fore. For many Chinese people, movies have always been an important part of their cultural life. The early 1980s saw a number of excellent movies reflecting on the Cultural Revolution, such as “A Horse Wrangler”, “Unrequited Love”, and “One and Eight”, which greatly enriched the cultural life of the people that used to be rather scarce before. “A Horse Wrangler” became a hot topic among Chinese families, making the female and male stars in the movie, Cong Shan (丛珊) and Zhu Shimao (朱时茂), household names. Between the mid- and the late 1980s, movies and TV series from Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas countries started to pour in, giving rise to the popular “video theaters” at the time, which were followed by “VCD/DVDs” and “home theaters” that replaced them as the key form of home entertainment, apart from TV programs, of course. People can now stay at home and enjoy movies produced both at home and abroad. In the 21st century, Chinese people enjoy a much greater variety of rich cultural and recreational alternatives that cater to the needs of different age groups, such as singing and dancing clubs for the seniors, “Disney” and other theme parks for the juniors, and a wide spectrum of interests is served by “cultural carnivals”, “academic symposiums”, “web surfing”, “overseas tours”, and “organized tours in one’s own car”. Hence the cultural and recreational needs of different segments of society are adequately met. As a result, the recreational and cultural life in China is becoming much healthier and more harmonious. Translated by Doreen Dongying Wu (吴东英) The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

5 They are all popular TV programs in China.

III Language Focuses

He Rui (何瑞)

23 Chinese elements in the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics The 29th Summer Olympic Games and the 13th Paralympic Games were held with great success in Beijing (北京), China, from 8 August to 24 September 2008. Around 11,000 athletes from 204 countries and regions competed in the Olympics and about 4,200 athletes from 148 countries and regions participated in the Paralympics. Both events set a record in terms of the number of athletes and participating countries (Jin 2008). During the Games, over 40,000 journalists from home and abroad disseminated a real image of China in various languages from Beijing to the rest of the world; more than one million volunteers were awarded and commended for their dedication, hearty smiles and quality language services; ten million local residents, together with people from all over the country, worked enthusiastically on a multilingual Olympics for all visitors. This article will discuss the Chinese language used in the Olympic symbols, in the opening and closing ceremonies, and the sports events of the two Games.

1 Olympic symbols 1.1 Emblems The emblems of the Beijing Games captured the richness and splendor of Chinese culture. Unveiled on 13 July 2008, the emblem of the Beijing Paralympics was dubbed “Sky, Earth and Human Beings”. With the thread of unity and harmony

Figure 1: Emblem of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games Source: Official website of the Beijing Olympic Games. http://www.beijing2008.cn/83/63/ article211716383.shtm.

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of “sky, earth and human beings” running through the design, the emblem fully incorporates Chinese characters, calligraphy and the Paralympic spirit. It embodies the Paralympic motto and reflects the integration of heart, body and spirit in human beings – the core values of Chinese philosophy. The pictograms of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games were named “The Beauty of Seal Characters”. Using the structure of the Chinese seal script, this set of sports icons features the particular movement and dynamism of the 35 Olympic disciplines. “With the strokes of seal characters as their basic form, the pictograms of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games blend the pictographic charm of oracle bone writing and bronze-ware script with the simplification of modern graphics, making them easy to recognize, remember and use.”1 The pictograms of the Beijing Paralympic Games maintain the continuity and consistency of the image design style. Through the crafty application of the sharp contrast between white and black, the Paralympics pictograms display distinct features of movement, graceful charm, as well as dynamism and rich cultural connotations, thus arriving at a harmony and unity of form and content. The continuity of style can be seen in the following illustrations: Different pictograms

weight lifting

archery

volleyball

tennis

shooting

basketball

fencing

Weight lifting

archery

volleyball (sitting)

wheelchair tennis

shooting

wheelchair basketball

wheelchair fencing

Identical pictograms

athletics

swimming

rowing

cycling

sailing

table tennis

equestrian

judo

Figure 2: A comparison between Olympic pictograms and Paralympic pictograms Source: Official website of the Beijing Olympic Games. http://www.beijing2008.cn/20/28/ column212032820.shtml.

1 Pictograms of the 29th Summer Olympics (第29届奥林匹克运动会体育图标). Official website of the Chinese Olympic Committee. http://www.beijing2008.cn/20/28/column212032820.shtml.

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Figure 3: A special road sign for the Games Source: 12 June 2008. Olympic road signs are to be completed by the end of the month. Chinaxwcb. http://news.sohu.com/20080612/n257445294.shtml.

1.2 Road signs The specially designed road signs for the Games use white letters on a blue background, like regular road signs, with Chinese preceding the English. They also feature “Beijing 2008” printed in brush-style font at the top, which makes the signs conspicuous and useful. However, the differing sign systems in use posed problems for the standardization of street nameplates. For example, Lu (路), i.e. “road” or “street”, was translated into Rd on some road signs, while pinyin Lu was kept on others. Not only the street signs, but also an inconsistency between the signage for the bus and metro systems presented a problem. Encouragingly, with the implementation of Signs for Streets, enacted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, this problem is expected to be solved.

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Figure 4: Inconsistent translations of Lu Source: 9 August 2007. Beijing: five-star Olympics, five-star central axis. Tgnet. http://g.tgnet.cn/daolu/BBS/Detail/200708091549917543/.

2 Opening and closing ceremonies The spectacular opening and closing ceremonies of the two Games genuinely impressed the spectators present in the Bird’s Nest as well as viewers across the world. What dominated the galas, was the rich assembly of ancient Chinese language and culture.

2.1 Icons of Chinese culture The opening ceremony began with a contemporary drum sequence by 2,008 Fou (缶)2 drummers. Accompanied by the percussion rhythms of Fous, the drummers began chanting lines from Confucius’ best known saying: “Isn’t it great to have friends coming from afar?” In formation, the drummers lit their drums to form giant digits in Arabic numerals to count down in increments of 10 seconds. The drums then flickered to form the final ten seconds in both Chinese and Arabic numerals to herald in the start of the official opening (Wang 2008). At the closing ceremony, all enthusiastic spectators cheered and gasped as the red streamers were raised from the Memory Tower, revealing the performers arranged in the form of Dancing Beijing, the 2008 Olympic logo.

2.2 He (和) Brush pen, ink, paper and moveable type printing are the carriers of Chinese language and culture, and are pivotal to the time-honored Chinese civilization; moveable type printing, a great invention of ancient China, has been widely 2 Fou is an ancient Chinese percussion instrument.

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Figure 5: Variations of He in the formation Source: 16 August 2008. The secret of the waves of 18-kilo blocks. China Youth Daily.

recognized as a unique contribution of China to the progress of human civilization and cultural transmission.3 In the Writing part of the epic opening, with the help of modern technology, an artistic performance reminiscent of moveable type printing showcased the charm of Chinese traditional culture. It was bound to be an unforgettable experience for the spectators.4 At the center of a giant scroll, a fluid array of movable type blocks consecutively and accurately formed three variations of the character He, i.e. “harmony”. Together with chants from the classical works of Confucianism, the performance perfectly expressed the gist of the Confucian ideal of “harmony is most precious”. The concept of harmony is at the core of Chinese philosophy: the ultimate goal is to help build a harmonious interpersonal relationship and a harmonious relationship between mankind and nature as well; more importantly, He is where the Olympic culture and the Chinese culture meet and blend.

2.3 Opening parade of nations Traditionally, the national team of Greece enters the ceremony first and the host country comes last, while other nations parade in the alphabetic order of the 3 8 August 2008. Zhang Yimou describes the Beijing opening ceremony as romantic (张艺谋解 读北京奥运开幕式称最大特点是浪漫). Xinhuanet. http://news.xinhuanet.com/olympics/200808/08/. 4 Ibid.

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national language of the host country.5 Three proposals were made for the opening procession of the Beijing Olympics. First, since Chinese writing is not alphabetic, it was proposed that the teams proceed by the number of strokes in the first character of their respective countries’ names when written in simplified characters. If two countries start with the same character, the order would be decided by the second character, and so on. Next, Air China’s website lists countries by the alphabetic order of the English names of their major cities. If this system was adopted, foreign audiences might get some idea of the order of their respective countries, but the culture of China as the host country would not be represented; besides, the Chinese audience who does not know English might be puzzled. The third proposal recommended the system of the Chinese version of the UN website, where member states are ordered according to their names in Chinese Pinyin (拼音).6 Polls showed that the vast majority of voters backed this proposal and it topped the list of possible options on Baidu.7 On August 6, 2008, BOCOG announced, “In accordance with the tradition, the national team of Greece will enter first and the Chinese team will come last. The other teams will proceed by stroke order of the first character of their respective countries’ names in simplified characters.” (Luo 2008) If the name of two or more countries has the same first character, then they will be ordered according to the stroke order of the second character. This is a unique measure in Olympic history. This sequence of entering the ceremony highlights the icons of Chinese culture, thus making the Beijing Games different from other Olympiads. This solution helps to consolidate the status of simplified Chinese characters as the official writing of China and assists in spreading the word of its usefulness worldwide. According to the stroke order, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, Russia and the U.S.A. were the 24th, 26th, 137th and 139th to enter, respectively.8 The first Paralympics were held in Rome in 1960. In 1988, the IOC stated that the Paralympic Games must be held in the same city as the Olympic Games. At the Beijing Paralympics, the parade of nations was also arranged in the stroke

5 19 March 2004. Traditions of Olympic opening ceremonies (奥运会开幕式惯例). Official website of the Chinese Olympic Committee. http://www.olympic.cn/olympic/dictionary/2004-03-19/ 113199.html. 6 Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into Latin script in China. 7 7 July 2008. What is the order of the Olympic teams’ entry? (北京奥运会开幕式的入场顺序 怎样安排？) Baidu. http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/57252607.html. 8 9 August 2008. Order of athletes’ march-in will be dictated by stroke order at Beijing Olympics (北京奥运会入场顺序奥运史上首次汉字排序入场). International Entertainment Report.

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order of the countries’ names in simplified characters. As Greece was not the birthplace of the Paralympics, it was not the first to enter; instead, Guinea was the first country to march in and the national team of China was the last to come; Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, and Macao China were the 15th, 17th, and 18th to enter, respectively.

2.4 The leading signs

Figure 6: The leading sign for China at the Beijing Olympics Source: 12 December 2008. Beautiful Chinese volunteer ushers. Memories about Beijing Olympics. http://www.ayh88.cn/olympic/?p=503.

Figure 7: The leading sign for Palestine at the Beijing Paralympics Source: 8 September 2008. Ushers at the Paralympic Closing. Sohu Sports. http://2008. huanqiu.com/exotic/2008-09/220309.html.

The leading signs of the delegations at the Olympic Games had their names written by Chinese brush pen in three languages: French, English and simplified Chinese characters. The writing appeared bold and well-rounded, giving the leading signs a distinct Chinese flavor. As for the Paralympics, names of nations were printed in bold letters in English and Chinese, which was uniform and international, but the flair of the Chinese calligraphy was lost.

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2.5 Multilingual communication In accordance with Olympic tradition and the Olympic Charter, all announcements during the Olympics are made in three languages: French, English and the official language of the host country. When Baron Pierre de Coubertin planned the modern Olympics in 1896, French and English were mandated as the official languages. French is the first official language for the Olympics, and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs was a Beijing Olympic partner. At the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony, announcers spoke in French, English and Chinese; on the leading signs French was written above the other two languages. In the Beijing Paralympics, announcements were made bilingually: English and Chinese; the leading signs were printed bilingually, with English above Chinese. Whether the official Olympic theme song would be performed in English or Chinese remained a secret until the last minute. Prior to the 29th Olympic Games, the theme songs were exclusively sung in English, since English is the most widely spoken language in the world. However, the theme song is more than a song; it is considered the musical label of a country, a nation and a culture. In view of that, some suggested that the Chinese language should have priority; others preferred English because the Olympic Games were, after all, an international event even though China was the host nation. There was another voice that said Chinese and English should be used for the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony, respectively (Hong 2008). As it turned out, the Chinese singer Liu Huan (刘欢) and British singer Sarah Brightman sang from the top of an elevated cerulean globe, in both Chinese and English, the 2008 Olympic theme song – You and Me; the melody and lyrics touched the heart of everyone, regardless of their languages. The speeches made at the ceremonies were multilingual, too. At the Olympic opening, Mr. Liu Qi (刘琪), head of BOCOG, extended a warm welcome in Chinese, English and French, “Beijing Huanying Nin (北京欢迎您)! Welcome to Beijing! Bienvenue Beijing!” IOC president Jacques Rogge spoke a thank you in Chinese, “Ganxie Ni (感谢你)!” At the closing ceremony, Mr. Liu Qi expressed his gratitude in Chinese, English and French, “Xiexie (谢谢)! Thank you! Merci!” Mr. Jacques Rogge expressed similar feelings in English, French and Chinese, “Thank you! Merci! Xiexie!” At the Paralympics opening, Philip Craven, the president of IPC proficiently cited “You Peng Zi Yuan Fang Lai, Bu Yi Yue Hu (有朋自远方来，不亦说乎)?” i.e. “Isn’t it great to have friends coming from afar?” He ended his speech by saying, “Xiexie Xianggang (谢谢香港), Xiexie Qingdao (谢谢青岛), Xiexie Beijing (谢谢北京), Xiexie Zhongguo (谢谢中国)!” i.e., “Thank you, Hong Kong; thank you, Qingdao; thank you, Beijing; thank you, China!”

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Apart from the venues, the Chinese language and culture were also receiving increasing attention and interest from the rest of the world. An Australian commentator said in a live transmission of the closing ceremony that the Chinese gave the world the surprise everyone was hoping for and they did it well. As his commentary finished, he said a goodbye in Chinese: “Zaijian, Beijing (再见，北京)!” (Zhang G. 2008) After watching NBC’s coverage of the opening epic, an US netizen wrote, “They have been saying that parade was not in the alphabetic order but strokes’. I want to see Chinese characters. They look cool, interesting and beautiful . . . NBC should have labeled all the countries with both their English and Chinese names, and the viewers would have understood it.”9

2.6 Fireworks Fireworks went off in Arabic numerals to count down the final ten seconds to the start of the Olympic closing ceremony. The fireworks burst immediately when the countdown ended, forming a gigantic circle in the sky, which symbolized the success of the Beijing Olympic Games.10 At the sequence of Mail it to the

Figure 8: Mail it to the Future Source: Tan Jingjing, Wang Yong. 17 September 2008. Chinese character-shaped fireworks for the first time. Xinhuanet. http://news.xinhuanet.com/olympics/2008-09/17/content_10066785. htm.

9 NBC viewers’ response to opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games (美国人对NBC版开幕 式的评价[转帖]). http://fuxing.bbs.cctv.com/viewthread.php?tid=11868405. 10 25 August 2008. Chinese icons in the two ceremonies (开幕式闭幕式演出遥相呼应：中国 元素贯穿始终). Ind. http://2008.sohu.com/20080825/n259193638.shtml.

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Future at the Paralympic closing ceremony, around ninety thousand spectators and athletes present had their colorful signed postcards delivered to the future. Up in the sky, fireworks burst into the shape of two golden Chinese characters Wei Lai (未来), which means “future”, followed by the silvery English word “future”, and then a colorful envelope lit up the dark sky and expressed the good wishes of this ancient yet modern city for the future (Tan & wang 2008). Mail it to the Future was a perfect ending to the two grand sporting events.

3 Olympic events The superb organization, perfect stadia and wonderful volunteers have won the praise and commendation from athletes as well as from the international media. As IOC president Jacque Rogge said, the Beijing Olympic Games were “truly exceptional”.

3.1 Chinese language and culture Icons of Chinese culture were spotted on the sportswear of some sports powers: Canada had its Chinese translation of 加拿大 ( Jianada) in vertical arrangement on its red sportswear, while Germany printed its Chinese translation of 德国 (Deguo) on the back of its white sportswear, and on its T-shirts a Chinese dragon and four Chinese characters that mean “Thank you Beijing”.11 Nastasia Liukin, winner of the all-round gymnastics gold, appeared wearing a T-shirt with two big Chinese characters 北京 (Beijing) in the front. Beijing Olympic gold medal 10-meter diver Matthew Mitcham had his left arm tattooed with two Chinese characters 完美 (Wan Mei) that mean “perfect”. The Chinese chic became also increasingly popular with the Olympic villagers: many athletes would have a try at Chinese calligraphy and get a Chinese name for themselves. In the eyes of many foreign athletes, the fascinating Chinese characters were mysteriously fashionable and, more importantly, a powerful way to reach the Chinese people. All this demonstrated the increasing attention lavished on the profound Chinese civilization, as well as the recognition and appreciation given to it. On 23 August 2008, the U.S. synchronized swimming team was holding a large placard with “thank you” written on it in Chinese and English as they

11 27 July 2008. Chinese icons on Olympic sportswear (奥运服装刮中国风：德国印汉字 瑞典 借鉴旗袍). Eastday. http://2008.eastday.com/o/20080727/u1a3741531.html.

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Figure 9: 23 August 2008. U.S. synchronized swimming team was holding a large placard with a ‘thank you’ in Chinese and English at the Water Cube. Xinhuanet. http://news.ifeng.com/ photo/2008/huaxu/200808/0823 _4230_742580.shtml.

entered the Water Cube, the iconic venue built for Olympic aquatic sports. Two German athletes held a German national flag with four Chinese characters 北京 你好 (Bei Jing, Ni Hao; Hello, Beijing) on it as the delegation marched into the stadium at the Paralympics opening ceremony. Swedish players raised a banner with “thank you, China” written in Chinese after beating their rival team in the men’s wheelchair basketball at the National Stadium on the first day of the Paralympics.

3.2 The buzz word Jia You Some frequently used Olympic Chinese expressions may be preserved in other languages after the events. A case in point is Jiayou (加油). Foreigners found it hard to understand why the Chinese spectators shouted “Jiayou” instead of “China” when cheering the Chinese team, but later, crowds chanting “Jiayou” in happy unison were almost ubiquitous in the venues. The rhythmic rally call perfectly expressed the support and encouragement for their sporting heroes, who were inspired by the Olympic spirit of “faster, higher, stronger”. Despite its popularity, people got lost in the translation of “Jiayou”, though there are dozens of similar English expressions. “Jiayou” could be loosely translated to mean “come on” or “go, go, go”. As Jia means “add” and You means “fuel”, “Jiayou China” literally means to add

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fuel to China or to refuel China. Li Yang (李阳), founder of Crazy English12, is an advocate for the literal translation (Gui 2008). China Daily, as the best known English daily newspaper in China, has been “adding fuel” to the spreading of “Jiayou” in the world. To convey the exact connotation of “Jiayou”, it takes a hybrid approach. Consider the example of “Ya Mai Jia, Jia You (牙买加，加油)”: both “Jamaica Jia You” and “Go Jamaica” work well. Simon Ailegent, a journalist from the Times, echoed this sentiment: both “Zhongguo, Jiayou (中国，加油)” and “Go China” are viable (Zhang F. 2008). According to linguists, literal translations followed by an explanation or illustrations may work better in terms of such culture-loaded words, so that the loss of meaning can be minimized. Gongfu is a striking example in this regard.

4 Conclusion The importance of spoken and written languages for the cultural continuity of a nation can never be overstated. Chinese language and culture have received unprecedented attention and recognition as a result of China being the host nation for the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics. Currently, the challenge worthy of further consideration and study is how to continue the post-Olympic hype to extend the influence of Chinese culture and language and boost our national image.

References Gui, Jie (桂杰). 23 August 2008. Chinese icons gaining popularity during Olympics (奥运会火了 哪些中国元素). China Youth Daily. Hong, Guang (鸿光). 9 July 2008. English or Chinese: debates on the Olympics (I) (北京奥运会 主题曲该用英文还是中文—奥运系列辩论[第一期]). People. http://bbs1.people.com.cn/ postDetail.do?view=1&id=87181156&boardId=43. Jin, Yafen (晋雅芬), 26 August 2008. Over 4,000 Journalists Report the Beijing Paralympics and 148 Countries and Regions Compete (4000多名记者采访残奥会148个国家和地区参赛). http://www.chinaxwcb.com/index/2008-08/26/content_144078.htm. Luo, Jun (罗俊). 7 August 2008. Opening ceremony has taken on shape (奥运开幕式轮廓初现). People’s Daily Overseas Edition. Tan, Jingjing (谭晶晶) & Wang, Yong (汪涌). 17 September 2008. For the first time Chinese character-shaped fireworks (焰火北京诉说“未来”—地球上空首次绽放焰火汉字). Xinhuanet. http://news.xinhuanet.com/olympics/2008-09/17/content_10066785.htm. 12 Crazy English is a brand name related to a method of learning English in China conceived by Li Yang (李阳).

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Wang, Yong (汪涌). 8 August 2008. An exclusive interview with Zhang Yimou, director of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony (浪漫的中国 梦想的世界—背景奥运会开幕式总导 演张艺谋专访). Xinhuanet. http://news.xinhuanet.com/olympics/2008-08/08/ content_9060804.htm. Zhang, Fang (张放). 25 August 2008. An American translates ‘Zhongguo Jiayou’ (老美给出“中国 加油”的正确英译文). Zhangfang’s microblog. http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_ 4c1c19620100aff1.html?tj=1. Zhang, Guangzheng (张广政). 25 August 2008. Global praise for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (外国媒体盛赞北京奥运会). People’s Daily. Translated by Mao Caifeng (毛彩凤) Southeast University [email protected]

Qu Shaobing (屈哨兵)

24 Language issues in advertising Language is an important mode of communicating the particular message in an advertisement. The present report details a few outstanding language-related issues and problematic phenomena of Chinese advertising in 2007, specifically, deceptive advertising. The Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China has stipulated rules regarding deceptive advertising and governments at all levels have also provided implementation details regarding such misconduct, setting out various rules and regulations; nonetheless, there are still quite some problematic cases including deceptive advertising from more than one kind of product advertisement category. Linguistically speaking, some advertisements are characterized by misleading information, vulgarity in style and deviant language use. Such rule-breaking behavior in the world of Chinese advertising is against the state policy of building up a harmonious society, and thus merits our attention here.

1 A snapshot 2007 was a year of deceptive advertisements, ranging from medical appliances and cosmetic products to weight-loss medicines as well as detergents and beauty salon service industries, and many celebrities were adept spokespersons.

1.1 Deceptive advertising with a celebrity as the spokesperson Celebrity advertising, i.e., hiring a celebrity as spokesperson for advertising a product or service, is commonly used by advertisers. However, if deceptive advertising with a celebrity as the spokesperson comes into play, it catches the special attention of the general public. In recent years, such cases were rather frequent within the Chinese advertising industry. 2007 saw several typical cases, such as talk-back host Guo Degang (郭德纲) being the spokesman for a “Secret Tibetan Weight Manager” (selling a tea to lose weight), movie star Ge You (葛优) for “Yilin” (亿霖, selling wooden products), movie star Fu Yiwei (傅艺伟) for “Master Hu” (selling non-stick frying pans), and former TV hostess Wen Qing (文清) for “Eyes Nanny” (selling myopia-curing appliances). For example: Guo Degang commented exaggeratedly on the TV commercials: “Drink secret Tibetan slimming tea and get rid of your big belly.” “I said secret Tibetan slimming tea is

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Figure 1: The advertisement of Guo Degang being spokesman for “Secret Tibetan Weight Manager” Source: http://bj.news.163.com/07/0628/13/3I306H3U00-3800C8.html.

good because I really lost my weight after drinking it.” “It is beyond my power to decide who to be in CCTV’s Big Spring Festival Show, but it is within my power to determine whether the tea can help me lose weight.” Consequently, many of the audience bought the product to drink it, only to find out that there was none of the expected weight-loss effect after all. On March 15, 2007, CCTV exposed the “secret Tibetan slimming tea” as being involved in deceptive advertising.

1.2 Deceptive advertising in the healthcare product, medicine and medical appliances industries Industries such as healthcare products, medicines and medical appliances, have been notorious for the massive amount of deceptive advertising. Until November 2007, the State Food and Drug Administration reported five instances of serious and frequent deceptive advertising by healthcare producers, and by the medicine and medical appliances industries, which it discovered while monitoring at various provincial, municipal and regional levels. The “Good Sleep & Hypertension Appliance”, produced by Yongxing (永兴) Plaster Factory of Ying City (应城), Hubei (湖北) province, was made for sleeping problems, hypertension, cervical spondylosis, headaches, nightmares, cervical aches and similar symptoms. However, their advertisements claimed that

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“The Chilly Water Stone has over one thousand years of history to cure insomnia. With the addition of precious Chinese medicines, the small pillow has undergone tests and clinical observations in a few large-scale hospitals and has been proven to be safe, convenient and effective. Sufferers of insomnia are now 100% put at ease. In comparison with the traditional products, it is five times more effective to help people fall asleep, and ten times stronger in sleep quality enhancement.” and so on. The offices of the Industrial and Commercial Administration and the Food and Drug Administration at all levels of government, have released reports of false and deceptive advertising of healthcare products, medicines and medical appliances. http://www. news.iader.com has set up a column called “deceptive advertising” to disclose such advertisements; the column was released by various media and also by governments at all levels. From January to November 2007, the column reported approximately 250 false advertisements, including over 160 of healthcare products, medicines, medical appliances and medical institutions, which is 60% of the whole reports. We can clearly observe the severity of the deceptive advertising and the prominence of false language in the advertisements of these industries. From 2001 to 2004, the average number of registered medical appliances by the State Food and Drug Administration reached 7,370 types annually. In stark contrast, however, in 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved only 52 kinds of new medical appliances that used new technology. The excessive number of registered medical appliances in China is due to the inadequacies in the administrative and managerial systems, caused by the process of commercialization of China’s economy.

1.3 Deceptive advertising in other industries In 2007, there were also deceptive advertisements found in the cosmetics and detergent industries, the beauty care and weight-loss industries as well as in the education and training industries. Unilever, P&G, and some other international leading cosmetics and detergent brands have been found to be involved in deceptive advertising. Based on a report of ten illegal cases released by the Shanghai (上海) Municipal Industrial and Commercial Administration Bureau, there is only one case having to do with the securities and investment industries, but the other nine concern global brands in the cosmetics and detergent industries. A shared feature of their advertisements is their absolute promises to customers. For example, the Hair & Shoulders anti-dandruff shampoo claimed to be “effective from the first-time use”.

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Weight-loss advertisements are full of deceptive language, and they appear in quite a number of provinces. The Shanghai Municipal Industrial and Commercial Administration Bureau examined various kinds of weight-loss advertisements, and of 428 in total, 37 ads were found to be deceptive. The ratio of illegality in the weight-loss advertisements was 8.6%, seven times higher than other cases of unlawfulness in Shanghai. There are also cases of deceptive advertising in the education and training industry, primarily in two aspects: first in the ads for training and preparation for college entrance examinations, and the other in the recruitment ads of private colleges and agencies.

2 Major problems The major problems of Chinese advertising language in 2007 were misleading information, vulgarity in style and a non-standard use of Chinese.

2.1 Misleading information Misleading information can be presented in the following ways: 1) Exaggerating the functions of the product. For example, Bangbi (邦比) brand Nose Plaster, produced by Chengdu (成都) Tongjia (通加) Health Technology Co. Ltd., was only effective for expanding the nasal passages and improving sleep disorders caused by nasal obstruction. However, its ad claimed that “nasitis will no longer bother you for as long as five years once Bangbi is used . . . The immune system will be comprehensively repaired and nasal circulation will be normalized after three cycles of application to prevent problem recurrence”, which severely misled the consumers. 2) Changing the name of the product in the ad. For example, “Soft Purified Coronary Heart Capsule”, produced by Jilin (吉林) Yongli (永利) Pharmaceutical Ltd., changed its name to “Saint Prescription of Chinese Medicine (Coronary Heart No. 2)” in the advertisement. 3) Misleading consumers with technical terms and unverifiable claims. For example, the ad for “Efficient Ion-Sensing Pain-Relieving Paste (Taibao Xiaotong Ling, 泰宝消痛灵)” by Guangdong (广东) Taibao (泰宝) Technology Medical Supplies Limited, boasted the product was “French imported ion paste with superior penetration, accurately targeting the lesion area and blocking the formation of swelling. . . Ion induction promotes the micro-circulation and metabolism around local tissue areas and increases the dissolution and absorption”. These words can hardly be fully understood and verified.

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4) Use of paid fake “patients” or celebrities for irresponsible salesmanship. For example, the CCTV host, Wen Qing, spoke for the “Eyes Nanny” brand in the advertisement, saying that “children with mild myopia can recover vision within 1–2 months. . . Children with severe myopia can do away with myopia in 5–6 months”. Such a sales pitch was found irresponsible and fake.

2.2 Vulgarity in the language style The language used in advertising is very important and should be civilized. The Advertising Law of China clearly stipulates that advertisements should be in line with “the requirements of socialist spiritual development and civilization”. However, there are some businesses which operate for profit only and use a vulgar style to appeal to the masses, deviating from the requirements of building a healthy and civilized society. A restaurant in Zhengzhou (郑州) City produced an advertisement with deviant sexually suggestive content. The title of the ad was: “Give me 38 bucks and I will commit myself to you!” The body of the ad listed: “Name: Mermaid; Age: Eighteen; Features: Never disseminate gossip; Hobbies: Sexual intercourse; Motto: You do not know how tasty I am. I am willing to ‘jump through hoops’ for love; Qualification: Business people who drink soup every day.” The advertisement was, in fact, promoting a dish called “Mermaid” for the restaurant. The owner expected this ad would produce a humorous and eyecatching effect, however, the vulgar style was not accepted by a majority of the

Figure 2: A restaurant advertisement in Zhengzhou, Henan (河南) province Source: http://club.comment2.news.sohu.com/r-zz0057-778593-0-0-0.html.

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people in the community and they took action and complained to the authorities about the “deceptive matchmaking advertising”. The problem of vulgarity in advertising language is particularly prominent in selling products of sex drugs and sex toys. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television criticized Sichuan (四川) People’s Broadcasting Station and Chengdu (成都) People’s Broadcasting Station for doing such types of advertising. Prime-time TV programs and commercials were almost X-rated because of expressions such as “Small I do not want, it must be big enough for turning me on”; “Intimate contact arouses unlimited imaginations”, which were shown together with a close-up of fully exposed female breasts. Such incidents are even more prominent in online advertising.

2.3 Non-standard use of Chinese language The phenomenon of non-standard language use in advertising, which deviates from the norms of standard written Chinese, has been there for a long time and it may never disappear, not even in the future; it nonetheless is an issue worthy of our attention. The advertising turnover of Guangzhou (广州) Daily has been ranking first among all the national print media for 13 consecutive years, and it has a considerable impact on the whole media industry. We randomly sampled the ads from Guangzhou Daily on November 27, 2007, and found some non-standard language use there, e.g.: 1) 为纪念中国航天史上的伟大盛事……“嫦娥一號”金幣广东正式发行。 (“嫦娥一号”纯金币) To commemorate the grand historic event in China’s aerospace history. . . “Chang’e One” coins were officially released in Guangdong. (“Chang’e One” pure gold coins) 2) 失传百年秘技重辉奥运首款珍瓷。 (中国红“奥运瓷”) Lost for centuries, occult arts re-glorify the Olympics’ first Jane porcelain. (Chinese Red “Olympic Porcelain”) 3) 恭贺马克·沃伦……为这项历史最悠久的高球盛事写下光辉新一页。 (欧米茄手表) Congratulations, Mark Warren. . . write a glorious new chapter in this oldest golf event. (Omega watches) 4) 12月，不在英伦，在广州西岸，也有这样的风景仪式等待你回家…… 英伦会所，见证名流生活极至。 (雅居蓝湾) In December, not in England, but at the West Bank of Guangzhou, there is also a scenic ceremony waiting for you to come home. . . The clubs of England, witnesses of extreme celebrity life. (Agile ISLAND)

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In example 1) the wording “伟大盛事” (grand historic event) was tautological and in the phrase “嫦娥一號”金幣, the characters for “號” (Number Classifier) and 幣 (currency) used the traditional form of Chinese characters while all other characters in the same sentence use the simplified form. In example 2), the so-called “重辉” (re-glorify) is a raw coinage and the whole sentence is not structured in an accurate or appropriate way. In example 3), the “光辉新一页” (glorious new chapter) is not in the proper word order. In example 4), the expression “极至” (to the extreme) is also a raw coinage. Variant forms of Chinese characters and typos appear often in the language of advertising. We can observe the use of a variant form of “鉅” instead of “巨” in the ad “珠江地产四大名盘金秋鉅献” (four famous Pearl River real estate giants will present this fall) (Yangcheng Evening News on November 22, 2007). Another example of typos in Chinese advertising can be found in the following:

Figure 3: The advertisement billboard is from Yinchuan city, Ningxia (宁夏) Autonomous Region Source: http://news.iader.com/outdoors/2007-06-15/1181868223-d129763.html.

This is a real estate ad in Yinchuan (银川), where advertisers have miswritten “颠峰” to mean “巅峰” (peak).

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3 Reaction and Response from Society 3.1 Public Reaction From June 21 to August 18, 2007, the China Consumer Association and Sohu Business Channel jointly organized an online survey of “public confidence in advertising”, which revealed that more than two thirds of Internet users do not have trust in what is stated in commercials. When netizens were asked “which product category or industry involves the most serious problem and false propaganda”, the highest percentage of the answers went to the “medical industry” (15.0%), followed by “health food”, accounting for 12.8%, with “drugs” coming in third place, making up 9.9%. The “beauty” and “cosmetics” products were also perceived to involve false advertising, accounting for 9.0% and 8.0% respectively. Furthermore, 80% of the Internet users believed that celebrities who are paid to speak for false and deceptive advertising shall be held jointly responsible. In short, the celebrity endorsements of advertising in healthcare food, pharmaceutical products, beauty services and cosmetics industries is the hardest hit by deceptive advertising and is worthy of our special attention. During the “two sessions” of 2007, Chu Yaping (储亚平), at the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, proposed to amend the terms of the Advertising Law to hold concerned parties, such as media and authorities, responsible for the ineffective monitoring, regulation, and release of false advertising. On August 30, 2007, the Jianggan (江干) District People’s Court of Hangzhou (杭州), Zhejiang (浙江), accepted the country’s first false medical advertising cases and found the advertisers criminally responsible, thereby arousing major public concern. The general public also reacted actively to deceptive advertising. Semir Group, a Wenzhou (温州)-based casual dress manufacturer, issued a commercial on the Tencent website on August 2007 with the headline, “I can’t stop global warming, but at least I can look good”. Immediately, the ad stirred wide criticism among the netizens. On September 7, the Semir Group had to issue a letter of apology via the national media for the negative effect of the ad and their “negligence and carelessness of work”.

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Figure 4: The advertisement of Semir Group Source: http://www.enet.com.cn/article/2007/0911/A20070911819295.shtml.

3.2 Response from the Government In January 2007, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the Ministry of Health jointly implemented the modified version of Medical Advertising Management to fix the problem of false and deceptive advertising. The modified version has further clarified the coverage and scope of prohibition for medical advertising. In July, the Ministry of Health held a press conference to inform the public regarding the implementation of Medical Advertising Management and indicated that the fight against false and deceptive medical advertisements is also a test of the departments of the Health Administration and their capacity for enforcing the law and for protecting the interest of the people. In early May, the State Administration of Food and Drugs and the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, revised and updated the Examination Regulations for Drug Advertising and Dissemination Standards for Drug Advertising, which called for administrative enforcement measures to punish illegal ads that extend medicines’ indications, exaggerate their efficacy, and lead to serious fraud and the misleading of consumers. The sale of products with such false advertising will be suspended and manufacturers will be ordered to release an apology and a correction in the relevant local media. Whenever there is an advertising fraud detected, all of the firm’s advertising application numbers will be revoked.

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At the end of May 2007, the State Food and Drug Administration issued a Regulation for Healthcare Food Naming (for trial implementation) that stipulates that false, exaggerated language such as “highly-efficient, speedy recovery,Generation X”, should not appear in the titles of healthcare food products. In November, the State Food and Drug Administration announced the implementation of Credit Management for Drugs, Medical Devices and Healthcare Food, being effective from January 1, 2008. According to the regulation, manufacturers in the above-mentioned industries will be classified according to their credit rating: trustworthy, unreliable, and extremely unreliable, based on the credibility of their advertising content. Furthermore, to fix the problem of deceptive advertising, another measure considered by the State offices in 2007, was to ban celebrity and/or expert endorsement for medical products. The combat against vulgar language in advertisements has been started. On July 30, 2007, the State Administration for Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) issued the SARFT notice to further strengthen the management of radio and television advertising, banning all false and illegal advertisements with vulgar content and style. It stipulated that illegal, deviant, and/or sexually suggestive advertising for medical care, drugs, and health care products is not allowed to be broadcast. In September, SARFT banned the broadcasting of eight types of advertisements related to drugs, medical products, and healthcare products, which contained vulgar language and style. In November, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the State Food and Drug Administration, and the Ministry of Health initiated a nationwide campaign together to fight against advertising for illegal sexual drugs and got rid of such advertising both on- and off-line. Efforts have also been made to tackle the problem of the non-standard use of Chinese. In 2007, both the national and local language-related departments and commercial administrative departments did a great deal of work in this regard. The Working Group on Language Administration in Beijing (北京) appointed 100 examiners to monitor the real-time language use in the major streets and the downtown areas of the city. The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce and Industry stipulated that businesses with a non-standard use of Chinese, such as inappropriate homophonic words used in a corporate name or in advertisements, shall not be registered or officially recognized. Jiangsu (江苏) province banned some real estate advertising with superstitious statements, while Chengdu city in Sichuan province is working on prohibiting real estate advertisements with exaggerations, vague language and/or information greatly deviant from the actual situation. Translated by Doreen Dongying Wu (吴东英) The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Zhang Jun (张军)

25 The case of Zhao C As society develops, the pursuit of personalisation and self-expression is becoming emphasized, and names are often considered suitable labels of personalisation. Consequently, a growing number of obscure given names (GNs) are created, while at the same time, the progression of public life and the scientific management of modern society still needs information-based and standard regulations, including regulations on naming. Therefore, an obvious contradiction between the personal rights to names and the regulations imposed upon names arises. As one of China’s top ten lawsuits in 2008, the case of Zhao (赵) C highlights this contradiction on both legal and institutional levels, and has triggered a lively debate among all walks of society. GNs have once again become a focus of the social use of language.

1 The story 1.1 The cause Zhao C (赵C) was a young man of Yingtan (鹰潭), Jiangxi (江西) Province, and he was born on 18 July 1986. His father picked a rather obscure GN and registered him at birth under the name Zhao C in Yuehu (月湖) District, Yingtan (鹰潭) City. He explained that he chose the GN with an intention to encourage his son to learn English. C was the first letter of the English word China and had a pronunciation similar to the first syllable of the Chinese word xifang (西方, West). He admonished his son not to forget his home country while learning a foreign language and culture. In addition, because many English words begin with the letter C, this name was considered a good indicator for a flourishing family. Zhao C liked his GN because it was simple, rare, and easy to remember. He used it for over 20 years. His classmates gave him the affectionate nickname Xixi (西西), i.e. CC. In 2005, he applied for the first generation ID card under the name Zhao C. On 16 June of the same year, the Public Security Bureau (PSB) of Yuehu District issued him the card (see figure 1 for Zhao C’s first generation ID card). In August 2006, on entering a university in Guizhou (贵州) Province, he applied to update his ID card to a second generation version. However, he was informed by Jiangbian (江边) Police Station in Yuehu District, Yingtan City, that it was not allowable to add the English letter C in his name. He was also

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Figure 1: Zhao C’s first generation ID card (Chen 2008)

informed by the District PSB that the household network management system of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) was not equipped to handle his GN. On 6 July 2007, Zhao C submitted an application to the Yingtan City PSB to maintain his name. The City PSB responded that in accordance with the Notice of the MPS on the new registration forms for ordinary residents and new household booklets (hereafter referred to as the “Notice”), the registration forms and household booklets should be filled in with Chinese simplified characters, released by the State Council, as well as ethnic languages or regionally adopted languages in autonomous regions. The English letter, added in Zhao C’s name, must be changed to Chinese character(s) (Cai & Yao 2008).

1.2 The lawsuit After a few fruitless negotiations with various PSBs, Zhao C was convinced that his right to a name was jeopardised by the Yuehu District PSB and took it to the District People’s Court (hereafter referred to as the “lower court”) in January 2008. He hoped that the lower court would order the defendant to issue him the second generation ID card under the name Zhao C. On 6 June 2008, the lower court held the hearing on Zhao C’s case. During the court session, the lower court considered both the General Principles of the Civil Law (hereafter referred to as the “Civil Law”) and the Law of the People’s

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Republic of China on the Identity Cards of Residents (hereafter referred to as the “Law on ID Cards”). Article 99 of the Civil Law pointed out that citizens had rights to names, and were entitled to determine, use or change them in line with relevant regulations. Interference with, usurpation of and false representation of other citizens’ names should be prohibited (NPC 1986). Article 4 of the Law on ID Cards stated that the second generation ID cards were composed of standard Chinese characters, numbers and symbols. ID cards should be filled in in conformity with national standards. According to local contexts, governments of autonomous regions may determine if, instead of Chinese characters, ethnic language(s) or regionally adopted language(s) be used (NPCSC 2011). C in Zhao C’s name was both an English letter and a letter of the official Romanisation system for Mandarin Chinese (hereafter referred to as “Pinyin”). According to these two laws, the lower court ruled that Zhao C’s GN was in compliance with both the national standard and the laws. In addition, Zhao C had used it for over twenty years, and not presented any problems for the state, society or other people. In the end, the lower court ordered the defendant to allow the plaintiff to maintain his GN and issue him the second generation ID card within a prescribed period (Cai & Yao 2008).

1.3 The refusal Zhao C’s father (also his lawyer) was satisfied with the court ruling. However, the District PSB refused to accept the ruling. A senior officer of the PSB countered that Article 4 of the Law on ID Cards clearly indicated that citizens’ ID cards should be filled in with: 1) standard Chinese characters and 2) numbers and symbols. English letters were not included. The ruling showed that the lower court was not right in its application of the law. An officer of the Household Registration Section of the PSB said that it was technically not possible to enter names, such as Zhao C, into the household network system of the MPS. As long as the national household registration management system did not change, PSBs would not be able to execute the court ruling, even if it was enforced.

1.4 The denouement The Yuehu District PSB appealed the ruling at the Yingtan City Intermediate People’s Court (hereafter referred to as the “intermediate court”) on 22 June 2008. The Yingtan City PSB consulted especially with the Jiangxi (江西) Provincial Public Security Department (JXPSD) regarding the ruling of the lower court. The

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JXPSD ordered its Division of Legal Affairs and Division of Public Order to respond to the Yingtan City PSB. As a precautionary measure, the JXPSD also wrote to the MPS for a consultation, and after some elaborations, the MPS replied: According to the first entry of Article 4, the first entry of Article 7, Article 8, Article 10 of the Law on ID Cards, and Article 9, the second entry of Article 18 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language (hereafter referred to as the Law on Language), names on ID cards should be written in standard Chinese characters in conformity with citizens’ names on their registration forms for ordinary residents or in their household booklets. The Notice (No. 91 [1995]), issued by the MPS, has also explicitly requested that names on ID cards be written in Chinese characters only. When PSBs find the use of non-standard Chinese characters in the name area on registration forms for ordinary residents or in citizens’ household booklets, they should ask the bearers to correct them. There should be no charge for issuing new household booklets, ID cards or certificates (MPS 2008).

On 26 February 2009, the intermediate court held the hearing on Zhao C’s case. Through the court mediation, an agreement was reached by the two parties whereby Zhao C would get a new name by using standard Chinese characters, and the Yuehu District PSB would revoke their appeal, waive the paperwork fee and assist him with related matters. Zhao C’s case was, therefore, satisfactorily closed.

2 Public reaction The name Zhao C and its related administrative disputes and legal proceedings have led to a wide-ranging debate among all walks of society. On 6 June 2008, the New Legal News in Jiangxi Province reported Zhao C’s case in detail (Chen 2008a). This article was soon reproduced by hundreds of news agencies nationwide, among which were news websites, such as www.xinhuanet.com, www.sina.com.cn, www.sohu.com, www.qq.com, and www.163.com, to name a few. More than 10,000 online comments were posted on the first day, and there were also special blog articles and analyses. Central to the heated debate were the questions: Was it legal for PSBs to decline Zhao C’s application for the second generation ID card? Was Zhao C’s name appropriate? Were the court rulings accurate? What was the significance of Zhao C’s case for public order and the society at large? These questions were relevant to several aspects of social life, such as justice and administration, morals and culture, and language and culture as well. “Rights to names” and “regulations on names” are considered the two key components of this case and have divided the interested parties into Zhao C’s supporters and Zhao C’s critics.

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2.1 Zhao C’s supporters Most of Zhao C’s supporters think that rights to names are most important for citizens. According to them, these rights are exclusive and non-transferable, and no one has the right to dictate what names people can or cannot use (Chen 2009). As all individuals’ basic rights, rights to names are protected by the Constitution and Civil Law. They state that all individuals have the freedom to select their names and use them as long as they do not violate any laws, rules, regulations, public order, or good morals. The social significance of Zhao C’s case is that it has attracted wide public attention and strengthened citizens’ awareness of their rights and also how they can protect their rights (Wang 2009). Many online users accept the name Zhao C and acknowledge that personalised names indicate the progress of our era. Machines should be user-friendly and adapt to people rather than the other way round. PSBs should make efforts to improve their network system so that the household registration management system can keep up with the citizens’ needs. Their technical difficulties should not be used as an excuse to limit individuals’ rights to names or personal choices.

2.2 Zhao C’s critics Critics argue that Zhao C has only won the lower court ruling by exploiting a loophole in the law. They admit that loopholes exist in China’s legal system and in the laws and regulations on names as well. Conflicts also occur between lower level and higher level law, departmental regulations and national laws on citizens’ names. However, they argue that this phenomenon only shows that China should primarily improve its legal system and rectify irregular names. Liu Xiqiu (刘锡秋), a senior lawyer of Jiangxi Province and a delegate to the National People’s Congress (NPC), holds that the wording “the numbers and symbols which are in conformity with the national standard” in the Law on ID Cards applies to birthdays, ID numbers and expiry dates on ID cards. C is not a national standard number and can only be used in specific contexts (Anonymous 2008). The fact that Zhao C used a foreign letter as his GN for over twenty years could have been caused by either the errors in his application or through the carelessness of the PSB. However, this lawsuit emphasises the necessity to amend current legislation by introducing something like the Regulations on the Registration of Chinese Citizens’ Names or modifying the Regulations on Household Registration. Updated or amended regulations should be in conformity

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with the provisions on names of the Law on ID Cards. As a result, applications for household registration or ID cards in foreign letters would be prevented in the first place. Some viewers oppose non-standard GNs, due to their negative social consequences and unavoidable damage to cultural values. A number of scholars believe that legal rights to names are a serious matter. Citizens, represented by their names, should first identify with their own culture, bear certain legal and social responsibilities, and be open to social and cultural development (Guo & Li 2009). In line with those scholars, many commentators also believe that personal names should be accountable in both the legal and cultural dimensions.

3 Implications and thoughts The case of Zhao C has shown that GNs, containing letters or symbols, are debatable in contemporary language use and can no longer be treated as an isolated social phenomenon. Most problematic GNs consist of obscure characters or translated western names that impact on the make-up, meaning and pronunciation of characters in GNs, and affect the symbolism and length of GNs as well. Relevant analyses can be found in Language Situation in China: 2006 (RGLSC 2007). In recent years, an increasing number of foreign letters or symbols have been used in GNs. According to media reports, Mr. Hu (胡), a father of Dengfeng (登封) City, named his son Hu D (胡D) and Ms. Chen (陈) of Wuchang (武昌) City named her daughter Chen u You (陈u优). Quite bizarre GNs, such as .COM, @ have also appeared. Many language professionals, experts and scholars advocate certain restrictions and regulations for characters used for GNs. They hold that obscure characters should be avoided and the length of GNs should be controlled (Wang 2003). In June 2007, the MPS drafted the Name Registration Ordinance (first draft) and circulated it within the public security system for comments. This ordinance stipulated that the following characters must not be used for GNs: 1) traditional characters that have simplified counterparts; 2) obsolete variant forms of Chinese characters, except for the variant forms of characters in surnames; 3) self-created Chinese characters; 4) foreign languages; 5) Pinyin; 6) Arabic figures; 7) symbols and signs; 8) characters or letters that do not belong to standardized Chinese characters or ethnic languages. The surname and GN together should contain two to six characters, except for the names written in ethnic languages or those spelt in Chinese or are literally translated into Chinese (of people who are granted a Chinese citizenship or re-obtain their Chinese citizenship) (Anonymous 2008a).

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The characters for GNs may seem to be the individuals’ free choice, whereas in fact, they are closely linked with social language and social management, and must comply with certain restrictions and regulations. Of course, the regulations on names should differ from other rigid regulations due to the fact that problematic GNs usually do not result in direct damage to society and other people. Overall, the case of Zhao C highlights the following three implications:

3.1 Awareness of regulations on GNs and enhancing social responsibility Without a doubt, individuals have the freedom and right to select their GNs. Nevertheless, they should, at the same time, recognise the social nature of GNs before making their decision. In other words, they need to understand that the uniqueness and social value of GNs can only be realised through being in contact with other people and communicating with them. Non-standard names which cannot be pronounced easily are likely to cause some inconvenience for the name-bearers, other people and society, too. Tang Yao (唐垚) ( yáo, 垚 has the same pronunciation as yáo, 尧) is a student. It is reported that his name cannot be properly pronounced by many teachers and the result is that both teachers and the student get often embarrassed (Anonymous 2007). A secondary school teacher in Beijing (北京) complained: “Many students have unusual names that are hard to pronounce, and dictionaries must be consulted to recognise them”. The teacher added that students’ unusual names are a pain in the neck. In order to avoid embarrassment, teachers simply do not ask them any questions.

3.2 Protecting citizens’ rights and freedoms, and improving management Names affect the individuals’ fundamental rights and are protected by national laws. The Constitution and Civil Law specify that citizens are entitled to enjoy rights for their personalities and names, and the laws protect these rights. Nevertheless, like any other rights, rights to names cannot be exercised without any restrictions. While enjoying freedom, citizens need to take into account the social impact of personal names and the feelings of others. In Zhao C’s case, the PSB insisted that the household registration management system was not equipped to recognise foreign letters, such as C. However, the lower court did not side with them. The PSB’s argument was also criticised

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by many Internet users who believed that technical problems should not affect or restrict citizens’ legitimate rights to names. It was suggested that a guiding system on selecting names be established and books, such as A Guide to Names, be compiled. In doing so, not only would the spirit of the Law on Language be maintained, but the public would also understand “in a gentle way” that obscure and strange characters may cause name-bearers and others a lot of inconvenience in real life and at work.

3.3 Collaboration between relevant departments and the improvement of laws and regulations on names Some commentators maintain that Zhao C’s case highlights the absence of precise laws on names and also the lack of a useful standard for names. In accordance with relevant provisions of the Civil Law and the provisions of the Law on ID Cards, which states that “Citizens’ ID cards need to be filled out with standard Chinese characters and numbers or symbols that are in conformity with the national standard”, the lower court ruled that Zhao C’s name was in compliance with these laws and should be accepted by the PSB. However, the PSB argued that the provisions in the Law on ID Cards specified that only standard Chinese characters could be used for name registration, and numbers and symbols could only appear in addresses, dates and ID numbers. In response to this, the lower court argued that the Notice of the MPS was just an administrative regulation on both legal and effective levels and could not replace the higher-level Law on ID Cards. Therefore, it could not be used as court evidence. The court system and the public security system have a different understanding of the use of Chinese characters for names on ID cards because certain legal provisions are not clear and can create conflicts between higher- and lower-level laws. Hence, experts have proposed new laws for personal names in order to establish a necessary standard for names (including the standard for the use of Chinese characters for names) and, at the same time, to ensure citizens’ rights to names are protected.

References Anonymous. 5 July 2007. Name Registration Ordinance. Available at http://learning.sohu.com/ 20070705/n250919244.shtml. Anonymous. 17 September 2008. Zhao C wins court ruling on second generation ID card against Public Security Bureau. Yan Zhao Metropolis Daily. Available at http://news.qq. com/a/20080917/000922.htm.

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Anonymous. 26 March 2008a. Name Registration Ordinance (first draft). Available at http:// www.chinaname.cn/article/2008-3/29838.htm. Cai, Qing (蔡青) & Yao, Wen (姚雯). 28 June 2008. Zhao C wins. Public Security Bureau refuses court ruling and appeals. Available at http://www.jcrb.com/sykd/200806/ t20080628_32567.html. Chen, Huashi (陈华世). 16 December 2008. Public Security Bureau: C is not permissible in given names. New Legal News. Chen, Huashi (陈华世). 6 June 2008a. Zhao C sues Public Security Bureau for second generation ID card. Court to rule in Yingtian today. New Legal News. Chen, Huashi (陈华世). 16 January 2009. Zhao C’s case among China’s top ten lawsuits. Available at http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4d9a5bc80100blbp.html. Guo, Yuanming (郭远明) & Li, Meijuan (李美娟). 26 February 2009. Zhao C’s case attracts public attention and leads to heated debate on rights to names. Available at http://news. xinhuanet.com/legal/2009-02/26/content_10904823.htm. MPS (The Ministry of Public Security). 31 October 2008. Reply of the Ministry of Public Security onfilling in the name areas of ID cards by using non-standard Chinese characters or symbols. Available at http://www.cqga.gov.cn/PublicInfo/PublicView.aspx?intArticleID=10993. NPC (The National People’s Congress). 12 April 1986. General principles of the “Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China”. Available at http://law.baidu.com/pages/chinalawinfo/0/27/ d4f004b19182f31859e0db1b1d71c254_0.html. NPCSC (The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress). 29 October 2011. Law of the People’s Republic of China on Identity Cards. Available at http://law.baidu.com/ pages/chinalawinfo/4/71/52e35700c8f396a98464c2f135107690_0.html. RGLSC (The Research Group of “Language Situation in China”). 2007. Language Situation in China: 2006 (Volume I), pp. 257–264. Beijing: The Commercial Press. Wang, Ning (王宁). 15 July 2003. Standard Chinese characters required for names. China Education Daily. Wang, Pan (王攀). 27 February 2009. Social significance of Zhao C’s case. Available at http:// qzone.qq.com/blog/17169927-1235726635. Translated by Liu Weiming (刘伟明) Trinity College Dublin [email protected]

Wang Lei (汪磊) & He Tingting (何婷婷)

26 The Internet language craze The rapid development of China has sprouted new ideas and concepts that are, in turn, a catalyst for all kinds of crazes, including the Internet language craze. Internet language, in a broad sense, refers to the language used online. It is both the carrier for and an essential component of network culture. Yet what has attracted much public attention is the specific variety of language widely used in web forums and instant messengers, and the words and phrases spreading all over the world through the Internet as initial carrier. Much investigation and exploration are thus required to examine the rapid spread of Internet language, in particular, what is known as火星文 huǒxīnɡ wén (the leetspeak), which has appeared in recent years.

1 The phenomenon of the Internet language craze The smiley face emoticon that has been widely used in online communication “:-)” (rotate clockwise 90 degrees) was created in 1982. Scott Fahlman, at Carnegie Mellon University, was the first documented person to use the emoticon “:-)”, which has been spreading widely via the Internet since then. The simple symbol “:-)” carries complex emotions and adds warmth to online communication. What is worth noting is that derivatives of this emoticon have been coming out in an unending flow.1 It has been almost thirty years since the creation of the smiley face emoticon, yet the Internet language craze and corresponding public attention have been consistently on the rise.

1.1 The popularity of Internet language The Internet language is a linguistic phenomenon that has appeared with the development and widespread use of Internet technology. Internet language, in the form of English abbreviations and emoticons, came into use in China in the mid-1990s, when the Internet first entered people’s lives. Typical examples of English abbreviations are AFAIK (as far as I know),

1 China Computer World. 2002. The 20th Birthday of the Smiley Face “:-)”. Retrieved from http:// www.ccw.com.cn/htm/news1/elife/news /02_9_20_2.asp.

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ASAP (as soon as possible), BTW (by the way), IOW (in other words) and VG (very good); examples of emoticons, usually generated by keyboard symbols, include: -D (grin), |-D (laugh with eyes narrowing to a slit), ;-) (wink), :-I (with a cigarette in one’s mouth), and @>>->– (send you a bunch of roses). Through the popularization of the Internet, Internet language has become localized and Internet slang using Chinese characters and the Chinese alphabetical system (Pinyin) has come into use. Examples include 大虾 dàxiā (literal meaning: big shrimp; an approximate homonym of 大侠 dàxiá ‘great warrior’, network slang meaning: expert), 菜鸟 càiniǎo (literal meaning: green bird; network slang meaning: beginner, novice), 美眉 měiméi (literal meaning: beautiful eyebrows; network slang meaning: pretty girl), 恐龙 kǒnɡlónɡ (literal meaning: dinosaur; network slang meaning: ugly girl), 斑竹 bānzhú (moderator; homonym of 版主 bǎnzhǔ ‘moderator’, but with different tones), mm (abbreviation for 美眉 měiméi ‘pretty girl’), bs (abbreviation for 鄙视 bĭshì ‘despise’), bt (abbreviation for 变态 biàntài ‘jerk’). There is also homonym slang of numbers and metaphors, for example, 88 (拜拜 báibái ‘good bye’), 886 (拜拜了 báibái le ‘good bye’), 7456 (气死我了 qì sǐ wǒ le ‘I am irritated’), 286 (out-of-date CPU, referring to people with a slow response), 555 (呜呜呜 wū wū wū ‘sobbing sound’). The popularity of Internet language has never abated since new slang words are constantly evolving out of the old ones. The popularity of the national singing contest Super Girl spurred another batch of Internet slang words such as 粉丝 fěnsī (a homophonic translation of ‘fans’, meaning literally: rice noodles), PK (literal meaning: player killing; network slang meaning: battle), 玉米 yùmǐ (literal meaning: corn; network slang meaning: fan of 李宇春 Lǐ Yǔchūn, a contestant who later became the winner of the contest). In recent years, new Internet slang meanings have been spreading at lightning speed, e.g. characters like 雷 léi (literal meaning: thunder; network slang meaning: dumbfounded; often used in “雷人”, meaning shocking), 囧 jiǒnɡ (archaic character meaning: a window, hence bright; network slang meaning: embarrassed, shocked), 山寨 shānzhài (literal meaning: fortified mountain village; network slang meaning: fake, cheap copied version of. . .). So far, there have been thousands of Internet slang words created, affecting all walks of life.

1.2 Media attention The media have long focused on the various topics of Internet language. By December 2008, a search with the keyword 网络语言 (wǎnɡluò yǔyán ‘Internet language’) on the search engine Baidu yielded 532,000 entries, 64,000 more

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than a search with the same keyword in December 2005. In the past few years, certain time-related topics have been especially noteworthy, in addition to many reports about the pros and cons of Internet language. Language Studies in China 2006 released 171 new words,2 most of which were used rather infrequently in daily life, such as 白托 báituō ‘entrust’ (homophony of 拜托 bàituō ‘entrust’), 抱抱装 bàobào zhuānɡ ‘baobao clothing’ (‘hug shirt’ worn by members of the Free Hugs Campaign), 冻容 dònɡrónɡ ‘Cyron babies’ (literal meaning: freezing appearance; network slang meaning: Chinese girls beginning anti-ageing treatment as young as two years old, in the hope they will never age), 穷人跑 qiónɡrén pǎo ‘cheap sports car’, 7时代 qī shídài ‘the Era of 7’, when the Chinese currency (Yuan) to US dollar exchange rate decreased from 1:8 to 1:7. Because netizens continued to create such catching Internet expressions, they remained a focal point of social and media attention. Meanwhile, 火星文 huǒxīnɡ wén ‘the leetspeak’ – a special kind of Internet language used only by a small group of people – started to attract public attention. By the end of 2008, searching with the keyword 火星文 (huǒxīnɡ wén ‘the leetspeak’) returned 1,920,000 and 1,340,000 entries on Baidu and Google respectively. Of all the popular Internet slang words in 2008, 山寨 (shānzhài) was probably the most widely used and attracted most public attention. On December 2, 2008, a TV program on the Chinese Central Television Channel 1 (CCTV1), News for 30 Minutes, broadcast a journalistic investigation about 山寨手机 (shānzhài shǒujī ‘knockoffs of big-brand mobile phones’). The attention from this national mainstream media report resulted in the overnight popularity of the word 山寨 (shānzhài).

1.3 Research about Internet language Precise searches in the China Academic Journal’s Full-text Database with 网络 语言 (wǎnɡluò yǔyán ‘Internet language’) as keyword and title item returned 640 entries in 2008, with 153 of them published that same year, accounting for more than a quarter of all the published articles. So far, more than ten books about Internet language have been published in China, including a translated book about Internet language research by a foreign linguist. The approved projects in the Research Project of the 15th Five-Year National Development, entitled National Applied Language Studies, include also projects 2 National Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center. 2007. Language Studies in China 2006. Beijing: The Commercial Press.

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related to Internet language, for example, Research about the present and future of Internet language (YB105-59A), Internet language study (YB105-59B), and Literary language on the Internet (ZC105-60A). The National Social Sciences Fund approved projects related to Internet language studies in 2006, 2007, and 2008: The Internet language monitory corpus: Construction and research (06BYY029), Reasoning and evidence behind Chinese Internet language (07BYY021), and Influence of Internet language on real-life language use: A multi-perspective study (08BYY022).

2 Statistical analysis of Internet language use Internet language research should be based on the analysis of a large-scale corpus. This section will report a statistical analysis on the basis of authentic language use in the network, print, and audio media.

2.1 The corpus The data the corpus is based on were obtained from the network, print, and audio media branches affiliated with the National Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center. The final 122-word list consists of 120 words taken from the 869-word list on the basis of the research findings of network media in recent years and the two added words 沙发 shāfā (literal meaning: sofa; network slang meaning: the first reply to a post) and 雷 léi (literal meaning: thunder; network slang meaning: dumbfounded). The three media outlets searched the selected words in their corpora between 2005 and October 2008 and returned a total of 1.7 billion tokens and 2.13 million texts.

2.2 Classification of Internet slang words The screening process first yielded 260 most-frequently-used Internet slang words and their respective frequencies; the 122 words in the final list were returned by manual search according to the meaning of each individual word and the environment in which each was most likely to occur. The 122 words fall into seven categories. 1. Words introduced to China with the emergence of the Internet and popular English abbreviations. Examples are: AFAIK, B4, bf, bbl, brb, CUL, gf, lol, me2, OBYW, pls, plz, thx, PK. 2. Words created to name the new concepts on the Internet. Examples: 版主 bǎnzhǔ ‘moderator’, as well as its homonyms 斑竹 bānzhú, 班主 bānzhǔ,

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and 班猪 bānzhū, 菜鸟 càiniǎo ‘newbie’, 跟帖 ɡēntiě ‘comment’, 灌水 ɡuànshuǐ ‘to bump a thread’, 置顶 zhìdǐnɡ ‘sticky thread’, 火星帖 huǒxīnɡ tiě ‘posts from Mars; posts about unconventional topics’, 楼主 lóuzhǔ, 拍砖 pāizhuān ‘to pick apart; to express opposite ideas in BBS, blog. . .’, 水王 shuǐwánɡ ‘a person who does nothing but to bump other’s threads’, 抓狂 zhuākuánɡ ‘pushed over the edge’. 3. Traditional words that gained new meanings on the Internet. Examples: 白骨精 báigǔjīng (literal meaning: the White Bone Demon, a monster in the Chinese classical novel Journey to the West; network slang meaning: elite), 纯净水 chúnjìnɡ shuǐ (literal meaning: purified water; network slang meaning: posts with no actual meaning), 打铁 dǎtiě (literal meaning: to forge iron; network slang meaning: to post a thread), 大虾 dàxiā (literal meaning: big shrimp; network slang meaning: expert), 顶 dǐnɡ (literal meaning: top; network slang meaning: to bolster a post), and 雷 léi (literal meaning: thunder; network slang meaning: dumbfounded). 4. Homophonic words, which include Chinese words and the homophonic translations of English words as well as onomatopoetic words. Examples: 粉丝 fěnsī (original meaning: vermicelli made from bean starch; homophonic translation for the English word: fans), 果酱 guǒjiànɡ (original meaning: jam; homophony of Chinese word 过奖 guòjiǎnɡ ‘to flatter’), 灰常 huīchánɡ (homophony of Chinese word 非常 fēichánɡ ‘very’), 霉女 méinǚ (original meaning: unfortunate girl; homophony of Chinese word 美女 měinǚ ‘pretty girl’), and 美眉 měiméi (original meaning: beautiful eyebrow; homophony of Chinese word 妹妹 mèimei ‘young and pretty girl’). 5. Letter words, initials of words according to their pinyin pronunciation in the Chinese alphabetical system. Examples: bs (abbreviation for 鄙视 bǐshì ‘despise’), fb (abbreviation for 腐败 fǔbài ‘to corrupt’ with a network slang meaning of ‘to lead a lavish life such as to have good food, to sing karaoke, or to travel’), FQ (abbreviation for 愤青 fènqīnɡ ‘young nationalists’), GG (abbreviation for 哥哥 ɡēɡe ‘brother’, with a network slang meaning of ‘boyfriend’), and jjww (abbreviation for 唧唧歪歪 jījī wāiwāi ‘to grumble’). 6. Numerical words and Arabic numbers whose pronunciation in Mandarin is similar to certain Chinese or foreign words. Examples: 1314 (homophony of 一生一世 yīshēnɡ yīshì ‘one’s whole life’), 520 (homophony of 我爱你 wǒ ài nǐ ‘I love you’), 5201314 (homophony of 我爱你一生一世 wǒ ài nǐ yīshēnɡ yīshì ‘I’ll love you for my whole life’), 3166 sān yī liù liù (homophony of さようなら sayonara ‘good bye’), and 4242 sì èr sì èr (homophony of 是啊是啊 shì-a shì-a ‘Yes, yes’). 7. Other words, including reduplicated words, anagrams, and code mixing. Examples: 东东 dōnɡdōnɡ (reduplicated word of 东 dōnɡ, a short form for

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东西 dōnɡxi ‘stuff’), 弓虽 ɡōnɡ suī (anagram of 强 qiánɡ ‘strong’), 牛B niúbī (code mixing: pronunciation of English letter B is similar to that of Chinese word 逼 bī, so 牛B is 牛逼 niúbī ‘powerful, excellent’), I 服了U (服了 fú le ‘to admire’; I服了U is code mixing of English and Chinese and has the meaning of ‘I admire you’), 8错 bā cuò (the pronunciation of the Arabic numeral 8 in Mandarin is bā, which is similar to the Chinese character 不 bù ‘not’; 8错 bācuò is 不错 bù cuò ‘good’), +U (the symbol + is pronounced jiā in Mandarin, and U has a similar pronunciation as the Chinese character 油 yóu; +U is thus 加油 jiāyóu ‘cheer up’). In general, the 122 words under investigation here cover the basic types of Internet slang words and can demonstrate the basic developmental patterns of Internet slang words in Chinese. It is for this purpose that we chose words like 粉丝 fěnsī ‘fans’, PK ‘player killing’, 沙发 shāfā ‘the first reply to a post’, and 雷 léi ‘dumbfounded’, which have been very popular in recent years.

2.3 Data analysis Some general patterns emerged from the above analysis, though they did not quite fashion a panorama of the use of Chinese Internet slang words.

2.3.1 The significance of Internet slang words Internet slang words do not carry a big weight in Internet language; a common vocabulary is still the most frequent. For example, among the 50,856,170 tokens in the corpus under study, the previous 122 Internet slang words appeared 37,233 times in the network media; among the 1,457,062,498 tokens in the print media corpus, their frequency in the print media is 498,300; while among the 209,177,765 tokens in the audio media corpus, however, their frequency is only 3,181. It is easy to see from the numbers above that Internet slang words are mostly used on the Internet, and their usage is less in the print and audio media.

2.3.2 Frequency of Internet slang words Altogether, 21 Internet slang words appeared in network news between 2006 and 2008 with a frequency of 606 tokens. They are words with simple and clear

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meanings: 帖子 tiězi ‘post’ (193), 粉丝 fěnsī ‘fans’ (168), PK ‘player killing’ (77), mm ‘girlfriend’ (36), 跟帖 ɡēntiě ‘comment’ (32), 美眉 měiméi ‘pretty girl’ (32), 嘻 嘻 xīxī ‘giggle sound’ (17), 版主 bǎnzhǔ ‘moderator’ (9), 楼主 lóuzhǔ ‘floor host’ (5), 置顶 zhìdǐnɡ ‘sticky thread’ (5), 抓狂 zhuākuánɡ ‘pushed over the edge’ (5), 偶 ǒu ‘I’ (4), 顶 dǐnɡ ‘to bolster a post’ (4), 菜鸟 càiniǎo ‘novice’ (4), 青蛙 qīnɡwā ‘ugly young guy’ (4), 东东 dōnɡdōnɡ ‘stuff’ (3), 斑竹 bānzhú ‘moderator’ (2), 灌 水 ɡuànshuǐ ‘to bump a thread’ (2), 小强 xiǎoqiánɡ ‘roach’ (2), and two other words with a frequency of 1. The frequency of Internet slang words in blogs and forums appeared to be five times and 55 times more than in network news. It can therefore be concluded that Internet forums are the central domain where Internet slang words are most likely used, probably due to the large population of netizens involved, the high level of anonymity, and also high personalization of language use in those forums. Internet slang words appeared least frequently in the audio media – a total of 17 times in the 2005–2008 corpus: 帖子 tiězi ‘post’ (2005: four times; 2006: twice; 2007: five times); 跟帖 ɡēntiě ‘comment’ (2007: twice; 2008: twice); 粉丝 fěnsī ‘fans’ (2007: once). They were mostly used in news reports about Internet life. The news data come from CCTV News and News and Newspaper Abstract by the Central People’s Broadcasting Station. Internet slang words appeared in other TV programs at a frequency of 3,485, out of which 205 tokens were found in news programs. Specifically, these words were 沙发 shāfā ‘the first reply to a post’, 雷 léi ‘dumbfounded’, 抓狂 zhuākuánɡ ‘pushed over the edge’, 置顶 zhìdǐnɡ ‘sticky thread’, 小强 xiǎoqiánɡ ‘roach’, 贤 惠 xiánhuì ‘idle, capable of nothing’ (original meaning: [of a woman] virtuous); the homophony of two Chinese characters 闲会 xiánhuì, a short form for the expression 闲着什么都不会 xián zhe shénme dōu bú huì ‘idle and capable of nothing’), 嘻嘻 xīxī ‘giggle sound’, 稀饭 xīfàn ‘like’ (original meaning: porridge), 哇噻 wāsài ‘exclamation sound’, 帖子 tiězi ‘post’, 坛子 tánzi ‘forum’ (original meaning: jar), 跟帖 ɡēntiě ‘comment’, 粉丝 fěnsī ‘fans’. All the Internet slang words used in the audio media have a clear meaning and pronunciation. In other words, audio media are selective in using Internet slang words to meet the basic requirements of vocal transmission and clarity. None of the popular words of the numerical type, Roman letters, and mixed codes frequently used on the Internet were found to have appeared in the audio media.

2.3.3 High-frequency Internet slang words Most Internet slang words, though still in use, appear at a low frequency. The top 10 of the high-frequency Internet slang words are summarized in Table 3.1.

3,392 3,299 2,212 1,193 806 676 540 507

偶 ǒu ‘I’

帖子 tiězi ‘post’

mm měiméi ‘pretty girl’

沙发 shāfā ‘the first reply to a post’

斑竹 bānzhú ‘moderator’

粉丝 fěnsī ‘fans’

嘻嘻 xīxī ‘giggle sound’

版主 bǎnzhǔ ‘moderator’

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 31,845

7,629

顶 dǐnɡ ‘to bolster a post’

Total

粉丝 fěnsī ‘fans’

11,591

楼主 lóuzhǔ ‘floor host’

1

2

抓狂 zhuākuánɡ ‘pushed over the edge’

PK ‘play killing’

拍砖 pāizhuān ‘to pick apart; to express opposite ideas in BBS, blog. . .’

灌水 ɡuànshuǐ ‘to bump a thread’

36,952

419

440

488

572

968

1,715

美眉 měiméi ‘pretty girl’ 菜鸟 càiniǎo ‘novice’

1,867

3,881

11,154

15,448

版主 bǎnzhǔ ‘floor host’

跟帖 ɡēntiě ‘comment’

帖子 tiězi ‘post’

Print Media

Internet

Table 1: Top 10 Internet slang words in three different types of media

灌水 ɡuànshuǐ ‘to bump a thread’

抓狂 zhuākuánɡ ‘push someone over the edge’

白骨精 báiɡǔjīnɡ ‘elite’

PK ‘play killing’

菜鸟 càiniǎo ‘novice’

美眉 měiméi ‘pretty girl’

跟帖 ɡēntiě ‘comment’

版主 bǎnzhǔ ‘floor host’

粉丝 fěnsī ‘fans’

帖子 tiězi ‘post’

Audio Media

2,878

25

26

27

31

62

75

106

153

1,153

1,220

246 Wang Lei (汪磊) & He Tingting (何婷婷)

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As Table 1 shows, the high-frequency words are closely related to group and interpersonal communication on the Internet. For example, words like 版主 bǎnzhǔ ‘moderator’, 斑竹 bānzhú ‘moderator’, and 楼主 lóuzhǔ ‘floor host’ emerged as a result of communication in Internet forums; words like 帖子 tiězi ‘post’, 顶 ding ‘to bolster a post’, and 沙发 shāfā ‘the first reply to a post’ are existing Chinese words that are given new meanings in their circulation on the Internet; 嘻嘻 xīxī ‘giggle sound’ appears as a compensation for Internet communication via an unspoken language; 粉丝 fěnsī ‘fans’ originated from the audio media (the TV show Super Girls by Hunan Satellite TV) and gained popularity via the Internet; mm, the initials of 美眉 měiméi ‘pretty girl’, is very easy to type on a keyboard and is the representative of a number of high-frequency letter words. The print and audio media show great homogeneity in their use of Internet slang words. Except 粉丝 fěnsī ‘fans’ and 白骨精 báiɡǔjīnɡ ‘elite’, all other words originated from the Internet, reflecting the characteristics of online communication and showing a remarkable expressive power.

3 Conclusion Undoubtedly, Internet language has exerted some influence on language use in the other media and in real life. The study of the driving forces for the Internet language craze is an important topic. To pursue fast and effective information exchange online by following the principle of economic language use, Internet users tend to employ abbreviated and newly-created language forms, the conciseness of which is highly adapted to the keyboard input, replacing the traditional expressions in lexicons. Henceforth, we see CU as a replacement for ‘see you’ and emoticons as symbols of our momentary feelings. Some system developers even designed emoticons for convenient input interactions, such as “:-D” for happiness and “ (︶︿︶) ” for sadness, to meet the needs of online communication. Internet communication is highly individual- and entertainment-oriented and characterized by language with strong personal and distinctive features rather than language restricted by social and conventional rules, which in turn has contributed to the popularity of language as a game in the virtual world as well as the playful use of graphic symbols. On the whole, the immediacy and anonymity of Internet communication has led to the distinctiveness and liveliness of Internet language, making it a hot topic in linguistic studies and the wider community. Su Yunwen (苏蕴文) Indiana University [email protected]

Wang Lei (汪磊)

27 The three buzzwords: 山寨 (Shanzhai), 雷 (Lei), and 囧 (Jiong) In the ‘buzzwords-of-the-year’ competition for 2008, 山寨 “Shanzhai”, 雷 “Lei”, and 囧 “Jiong” were rated as having been the most frequently used buzzwords. The present paper attempts to answer the following questions: How have these three words gained such a wide popularity in 2008? They initially appeared online and rapidly spread to other media, penetrating various spheres of social life in China, eventually winning the award of “buzzwords of the year”. How did these three words resurrect, i.e., turn from the state of being neglected and dying to the present state of being hot and thriving?

1 山寨 “Shanzhai” (Cottage) In the recently published Commonly Used Vocabulary of Contemporary Chinese Language (draft), 山寨 “Shanzhai” is in the 13,722nd place among a total of 56,008 words(The research group of Commonly Used Vocabulary of Contemporary Chinese 2008: 63). Nonetheless, it has become the first of the top ten Chinese media buzzwords and won various annual competitions of buzzwords in 2008 that were administered by the National Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center and by a variety of media establishments. We can truly say that “Shanzhai” has been the fastest-spreading, most-circulated word and the most controversial word of 2008 as well. Using “Shanzhai” as the keyword search on Baidu (China’s largest search engine) and Google yielded a result of 41,100,000 and 36,900,000 texts respectively. Its frequency of use has far surpassed any other word we have retrieved and 2008 has therefore been called “Shanzhai Nian” (the Year of “Shanzhai”). Using “Shanzhai Nian (年)” as keyword search on Baidu and Google, 18,800 and 23,900 texts were found respectively.

1.1 Evolution of “Shanzhai” According to the Contemporary Chinese Dictionary, “Shanzhai” has two meanings: (1) place with a defensive fence in a forest; (2) fortified village in a mountainous area (Language Institute of the China Academy of Social Sciences 2005: 1187).

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Wang Lei (汪磊)

The use of “Shanzhai” has undergone a process of gradual change and evolution. The shift from its original meanings, as listed in the dictionary, to the present meaning that made it a buzzword, happened first in Hong Kong between the 1950s and 1960s, when Hong Kong was at the beginning stage of its economic development. At that time, many small-scale factories were built in the mountainous areas of Hong Kong and were thus called “Shanzhai Chang (山寨厂)” (Cottage Factory). The phenomenon of “Shanzhai Chang” does not exist in Hong Kong anymore, but the word “Shanzhai” became prevalent as it took on the new meaning, referring to the industry and technology of producing products based on forging and/or cloning others’ brands. The practice of “Shanzhai” usually involves copying the functions and designs of prestigious brands to recreate a low cost product for consumers. For the past few years, the semantics of “Shanzhai” has been extended to also mean “civil/non-governmental, non-standard or non-mainstream”, in contrast to “official/governmental, standard or mainstream”. On the Chinese Mainland, the buzzword “Shanzhai” was first found in an article published as early as April 21, 2005, named “Dumplings Queen Zang Jianhe (臧建和), a hawker-turned-businesswoman tycoon”, on the website of China Industrial Economic Information. Between 2000 and the first half of 2008, the search for “Shanzhai” yielded only eight hits out of a total of 250 search results. In the second half of 2008, however, “Shanzhai” appeared in 61 texts out of 99 search results, claiming 62% of the searched texts. In addition, “Shanzhai” with the new meaning has also appeared in 1,021 texts by searching the Phoenix website. Similarly, before the first half of 2008, “Shanzhai” in its buzzword meaning appeared only in twelve texts out of 141 search results. The first use of “Shanzhai” in its buzzword sense appeared in fact on 24 March 2008 in the Evening News article, Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality Supervision located a number of inferior Shanzhai mobiles (knockoffs). Nonetheless, in the second half of 2008, out of 880 search results, a total of 758 texts contained “Shanzhai” in its new, metaphorical meaning, giving it a massive share of 85%. In short, the word “Shanzhai” has experienced a phenomenal development during the year 2008. From the second half of 2008, the new meaning of this buzzword has far surpassed its original meaning and uses.

1.2 Why “Shanzhai” has become so hot and popular The term “Shanzhai” has become hot through the Chinese Internet, and we can explain this as an interdependent relationship between language and society. In

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the process of the socio-economic development of Hong Kong, some people in Hong Kong created the new usage of “Shanzhai Chang”. With the transfer of “Shanzhai Chang” to Mainland China, “Shanzhai” was given a new meaning when products produced by simple equipment or technology were termed “Shanzhai products”. The recreation of “Shanzhai” with its multiple implications can be taken as a multi-level “resonance” in the pluralistic social and cultural context of today’s China. First, unlike words such as “模仿/Mofang” (copy), “盗版/Daoban” (piracy), “假冒/Jiamao” (fake), “侵权/Qinquan” (infringement), “恶搞/Egao” (mischief), which have negative or derogatory connotations, “Shanzhai” is an absolutely neutral word that appeals to the psychological needs and expectations of some people. Furthermore, both the original meaning of “Shanzhai” and its new meaning share the core sense of being related to “civilians” and “grassroots”. This sense echoes naturally and fully with the characteristics and discursive practices of the Chinese Internet, which is civilian- and pluralisticallyoriented. The word “Shanzhai” has become very hot and welcoming, thereby completing its process of “legitimation”. At present, the phenomena and issues related to “Shanzhai” have not only raised concerns from linguists, but have also created heated debates and discussions in the political, economic, legal, and legislative domains. One significant debate program on Phoenix TV, Hong Kong – Yihu Yixi Tan (一虎一席谈, Tiger Talk) – held a good debate on 25 December 2008, where contending points of view regarding the “Shanzhai” culture were expressed and argued.

2 雷 “Lei” (Thunder) “Lei” (thunder) as a noun is well known to all Chinese. However, in 2008, the word “Lei” took on a variety of meanings different from its dictionary sense, and has become unusually active in the Chinese cyber world. “Lei”, the buzzword, is no longer a noun, but rather serves as verb or adjective to express an intense degree of shock or impact – as if being struck by lightning – which has been brought about by some unexpected behavior or matter. For example, it is used in expressions such as “the super-Lei dress styles of the international stars”. As a buzzword, “Lei”, with its various metaphorical extensions of meaning and usage, has been well accepted by the Chinese netizens, and has been used to express and describe special emotions with full linguistic modality and sophistication.

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Wang Lei (汪磊)

Up till now, there has been no agreed source of all the metaphorical uses of “Lei”. “Leiren” (雷人, thunder person): while some scholars believe that the source is not researchable, others think that it originates either from one dialect in the Zhejiang (浙江) region and/or from some foreign language. Regarding “Leidao” (雷到, thunder arrives), it originates from a Japanese cartoon in which the characters were struck by “intense radio waves” and the cartoon fans described this as being “Leidao” (struck by thunder). “Lei”, in its original meaning, is the sound emitted by an electrical discharge in the clouds, and people are most familiar with the word in the form of a noun. In addition, “Lei” has also been used with a metaphorical extension to refer to a “shaking sound like thunder” and “great communicative impact like thunder”. For example, we say “Leibang” (雷谤, slander by rumor), “Leishi” (雷市, busy and crowded market/downtown), “Leichu” (雷出, stunning speech), “Leizao” (雷早, hubbub), “Leihu” (雷呼, noisy snoring), “Leitan” (雷叹, big sigh), “Leixiang” (雷响, thunder-like rumble), and “Leiqi” (雷起, sudden descent/rise), etc. Here, the use of “Lei” is an adverb modifying a verb. However, the buzzword “Lei” on the Chinese Internet today can function as a verb or an adjective. It is noticeable that the openness and information intensity on the Chinese Internet has allowed much more space and diversity for producing linguistic variations and change.

3 囧 “Jiong” (Gloomy Expressions) Unlike the buzzword “Lei”, 囧 “Jiong” was not at all known to the general public before 2008 because it had already “passed away” as an ancient Chinese character. We are not able to find this word in the two authoritative dictionaries of contemporary China: the Xinhua Dictionary and Contemporary Chinese Dictionary. “Jiong”, written in seal character, i.e., in an ancient Chinese calligraphy style, should look like . One may ask who and in what context such use of 囧 “Jiong” was initiated on the Chinese Internet, leading to its pervasive use in 2008? The exact answer has not been easy to find, though it is said that the word first appeared and became popular in Taiwan’s BBS (Bulletin board system) community. What we intend to examine in this article are the various meanings the Chinese netizens have given this character. Through preliminary investigation of the use of the character 囧 “Jiong”, we believe that it is an ancient word whose sound and meaning are beyond the comprehension of ordinary contemporary Chinese people and that the Internet

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Figure 1: The definition of 囧 “Jiong” in the Chinese Characters Dictionary (汉语大字典)

usage of 囧 “Jiong” was based primarily on the form of the character font. The outer frame of this character is a “口” (mouth) that looks like a square face, the prevalent facial type of the Chinese. The inner part of the character is shaped like the Chinese character “八” (eight), also called “eight-shaped eyebrows”, symbolizing sadness and/or bad luck. Such interpretations of the character (see Figure 1) have a strong association with the icons expressing emotions, such as and , that are frequently used on the Internet. 囧 “Jiong” also shares the same pronunciation with another Chinese word, 窘 “jiong”, which means “embarrassing/embarrassed”. This explains why it is so

Figure 2: The homepage of the website named “Jiong8” and “jionger”

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Wang Lei (汪磊)

Figure 3: “Jiongjiongjiong forum” from http://www.mtime.com

Figure 4: The pictures of original emotion from http://jionger.com

frequently used to express various meanings associated with “being speechless”, “being depressed”, “being gloomy”, “being sad”, and “being helpless”, etc. Moreover, the particular shape of this buzzword’s character allows ample space for people to further extend and re-interpret its meanings according to the different content and contexts it is placed in, hence many websites have adopted 囧 “Jiong” as the prefix or suffix of their domain names. At present, 囧 “Jiong” is being used for a wide range of expressions. It can also be modified by an adverb, e.g., “最囧” (most Jiong), “很囧” (very Jiong),

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“够囧” (quite Jiong), and “超囧” (super Jiong), etc. It can also be used to modify a noun such as “囧人” (Jiong person/people), “囧事” (Jiong matters), and “囧图” (Jiong pictures), etc. It can even stand alone, making up an exclamatory sentence: 囧 (Jiong)! Furthermore, 囧 “Jiong” can be used to depict various facial expressions. In short, a culture of using 囧 “Jiong” has been formed on the Chinese Internet that is fully resonant with the value of multimodalities in contemporary social communication.

References Language Institute of the China Academy of Social Sciences. 2005. Contemporary Chinese Dictionary (5th edition). The Commercial Press. The research group of Commonly Used Vocabulary of Contemporary Chinese. 2008. Commonly Used Vocabulary of Contemporary Chinese (draft edition). The Commercial Press. Translated by Doreen Dongying Wu (吴东英) The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Yang Erhong (杨尔弘)

28 Chinese catchwords of the year (2007–2008) 1 Corpora sources The Chinese catchwords of the year 2007 were generated from the monitoring corpus of 2007, which was compiled by the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center (NLRMRC), and included textual data of 15 mainstream newspapers, programs of five mainstream broadcast stations, nine mainstream TV stations, and five website portals. The Chinese catchwords of the year 2008 were derived from the 2008 annual version of the NLRMRC, which covers the print media, broadcast media, and the Internet.

2 Catchwords of the years 2007 and 2008 The Chinese catchwords of 2007 encompassed twelve categories: a comprehensive category, current affairs in domestic politics, current affairs in international politics, economy, science and technology, social life, culture and entertainment, education, a special topic on the Beijing (北京) 2008 Olympic Games, finance, building a harmonious society, and people’s livelihood. For each category, the most popular top ten catchwords were selected to represent the characteristics of the corresponding domain. Being usually regarded as the epitome and concise form of the catchwords of the year, the ten catchwords in the comprehensive category, however, were picked from the other eleven categories. Contrary to the 2007 selection, the Chinese catchwords of 2008 were categorized into 14 groups, half of which were used previously, while the remaining half were specific to featured topics in 2008. The selection and release of the catchwords of 2008 was the same as in 2007. The following are the top ten catchwords of the comprehensive category of 2007 and 2008.

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Yang Erhong (杨尔弘)

2.1 Top 10 catchwords of 2007 【十七大】shíqídà, ‘the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China’. 【嫦娥一号】chánɡ’é yīhào, ‘Chang’e-1 lunar orbiting satellite’. 【民生】mínshēnɡ, ‘people’s livelihood’. 【香港回归十周年】Xiānɡɡǎnɡ huíguī shí zhōunián, ‘the 10th Anniversary of Hong Kong’s Handover’. 【CPI上涨】CPI shànɡzhǎnɡ, ‘CPI rise’. 【廉租房】liánzūfánɡ, ‘low-rent housing’. 【奥运火炬手】àoyùn huǒjùshǒu, ‘Olympic torch bearer’. 【基民】jīmín, ‘fund holder’. 【中日关系】zhōnɡrì ɡuānxì, ‘Sino-Japanese relations’. 【全球气候变化】quánqiú qìhòu biànhuà, ‘global climate change’.

2.2 Top 10 catchwords of 2008 【北京奥运】Běijīnɡ àoyùn, ‘Beijing 2008 Olympic Games’. 【金融危机】jīnrónɡ wēijī, ‘financial crisis’. 【志愿者】zhìyuànzhě, ‘Olympic volunteers’. 【汶川大地震】Wènchuān dà dìzhèn, ‘Wenchuan Earthquake’. 【神七】shénqī, ‘Shenzhou-7 space craft’. 【三聚氰胺】sānjùqínɡ’àn, ‘melamine (referring to melamine-tainted milk)’. 【改革开放30周年】ɡǎiɡé kāifànɡ sānshí zhōunián, ‘the 30th Anniversary of China’s Reform and Opening up’. 【降息】jiànɡxī, ‘interest rate cut’. 【扩大内需】kuòdà nèixū, ‘expansion of domestic demands’. 【粮食安全】liánɡshí ānquán, ‘food safety’.

3 Annual variations Compared with the top 10 catchwords of 2006, the number of categories of catchwords of 2007 increased from eleven to twelve. These newly added special

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topics, including education, the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, finance, building a harmonious society, and people’s livelihood, highlighted the themes and characteristics of the social life in 2007. “和谐社会” (héxié shèhuì, Harmonious society) topped the top ten catchwords in the comprehensive category of 2006. As this concept was expanded further in 2007, a special topic, building a harmonious society, emerged at the top of the top 10 catchwords of 2007. In 2007, the new concept of “生态文明” (shēnɡtài wénmínɡ, ecosystem culture) was proposed to promote the oneness of man and nature. The terms “服务型政府” ( fúwùxínɡ zhènɡfǔ, service-oriented government) and “预防腐败局” (yùfánɡ fǔbài jú, Bureau of Corruption Prevention) were advanced, with the aim of improving the relations between governments and citizens; “轨道交通” (ɡuǐdào jiāotōnɡ, rail transit construction), “最低生活保障制度” (zuìdī shēnɡhuó bǎozhànɡ zhìdù, protection system for the basic cost of living allowances) and “社区卫生服务” (shèqū wèishēnɡ fúwù, urban community health services) help promote urban harmony; “农民专业合 作社” (nónɡmín zhuānyè hézuòshè, specialized farming cooperatives) further rural harmony; and finally, “劳动合同法” (láodònɡ hétónɡfǎ, Labor Contract Law) and “带薪休假” (dàixīn xiūjià, paid leave) benefit the working classes. “民生” (mínshēnɡ, people’s livelihood) ranked third in the comprehensive category, with the emergence of a large number of related catchwords resulting in a new special topic with the same name as in the catchwords of 2007. New expressions reflect old concerns. For instance, “people’s livelihood” of 2007 involves many aspects: “经济适用房” ( jīnɡjì shìyònɡ fánɡ, flats for low-andmedium-wage households) and “廉租房” (liánzū fánɡ, low-rent housing) mirror housing matters, “交强险费率浮动” ( jiāoqiánɡxiǎn fèilǜ fúdònɡ, floating premium rates for Compulsory Vehicle Liability Insurance) refers to transportation, “居民基本医疗保险” ( jūmín jīběn yīliáo bǎoxiǎn, basic medical insurance for residents) is an urban area problem, and “农村合作医疗” (nónɡcūn hézuò yīliáo, rural cooperative medical service) refers to the medical care system in rural areas. Other popular expressions are “手机单向收费” (shǒujī dānxiànɡ shōufèi, one-way toll collection for mobile phones) in telecommunications, “个税起征点” (ɡèshuì qǐzhēnɡ diǎn, individual income tax threshold) in taxation, “农村低保” (nónɡcūn dībǎo, rural minimum living standard welfare), and “惠农政策” (huìnónɡ zhènɡcè, the policy of supporting agriculture and benefiting farmers) in farming. Furthermore, the new “法定节假日” ( fǎdìnɡ jiéjiàrì, mandatory holidays) show respect for traditional Chinese culture and conform to public opinion, and the first “民生净福利指标” (mínshēnɡ jìnɡ fúlì zhǐbiāo, index of the net benefits of people’s livelihood) manifests the humanitarian administrative concept. The 17th Party Congress gave priority to the development of national education and the construction of a powerful nation with tremendous human resources,

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both of which became core tasks for improving the people’s living standard. On the one hand, the policy of “师范生免费教育” (shīfànshēnɡ miǎnfèi jiàoyǜ, free education for students enrolled in teacher education programs) and “农村义务 教育” (nónɡcūn yìwù jiàoyù, rural compulsory education) secured necessary funds; also “绿色通道” (lǜsè tōnɡdào, green channels) were set up for poor students’ enrollment, showing that ordinary people actually shared fair education opportunities. On the other hand, the repayment of “助学贷款” (zhùxué dàikuǎn, student loans) was testing student borrowers’ integrity, while increasing admission competition from “港校” ( ɡǎnɡxiào, universities in Hong Kong) brought pressure upon higher learning institutions in mainland China; the “网游防沉迷系统” (wǎnɡyóu fánɡchénmí xìtǒnɡ, prevention system of indulging in online games) hailed the slogan “拒绝沉迷，健康上网” ( jùjué chénmí, jiànkānɡ shànɡwǎnɡ, refuse to indulge, surf temperately). The widespread use of these expressions indicates that national education attracts wide concern and is regarded as the duty of the whole society. Besides, while higher learning institutions started to carry out “创业教育” (chuànɡyè jiàoyù, entrepreneurial education), elementary and secondary schools made great efforts to promote “校园集 体舞” (xiàoyuán jítǐwǔ, campus group dancing). In-depth quality education was implemented as another focus. The twists and turns of the financial markets in 2007 spectacularly boosted quite a lot of catchwords concerning finance, and prompted the setting up of a new sub-category within the economic category. The People’s Bank of China raised “加息” ( jiāxī, interest rates) six times in one year, which hit a nerve of the masses. Technical terms spread quickly and were learned by ordinary people, terms such as “QDII基金” (QDII jījīn, QDII fund), “股指期货” ( ɡǔzhǐ qīhuò, stock index futures), “认沽权证” (rènɡū quánzhènɡ, put warrant), “第三 方存管” (dìsānfānɡ cúnɡuǎn, third-party custody system), “次级抵押贷款” (cìjí dǐyā dàikuǎn, sub-prime mortgage lending), “理财产品” (lǐcái chǎnpǐn, financial products), etc. China’s “基金” ( jījīn, fund) mania produced countless “基民” ( jīmín, fund buyers) and the whole nation’s swarming into stock exchanges created “新股民” (xīn ɡǔmín, new stock investors). The catchword “CPI上涨” (CPI shànɡzhǎnɡ, CPI rise), adopted in the comprehensive category, was not only stimulating the nerves of the citizens, but also testing the countermeasures of the government. The arrival of “倒计时一周年” (dàojìshí yì zhōunián, the one-year countdown) made the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games the hottest issue in the sports news of 2007. The special topic of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games temporarily replaced the sports category and “奥运火炬手” (àoyùn huǒjùshǒu, Olympic torch bearer) topped the rank in the comprehensive category. The “上海特 奥会” (Shànɡhǎi tèàohuì, Shanghai Special Olympic Games) was the biggest

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catchword of all time. “好运北京” (hǎoyùn Běijīng, Good Luck, Beijing) and “奥运测试赛” (àoyùn cèshìsài, Olympic test games) tested the soft- and hardware of the Beijing Olympic Games. The catchwords “金镶玉” ( jīnxiānɡyù, gold mounted jade) medal, the Beijing “奥运火炬” (àoyùn huǒjù, Olympic torch), “祥云” (xiánɡyún, cloud of luck) and the global “奥运火炬” (àoyùn huǒjù, Olympic torch) relay route were publicly released in 2007. When the “奥运门票” (àoyùn ménpiào, tickets for the Olympics) began to sell at home, it was much too hard to get one. Moreover, the “微笑圈” (wēixiàoquān, smiling wristbands) for Olympic volunteers and the activities of the nation-wide “无车日” (wúchērì, Car-Free Day) showed clearly that China was making all-round and serious efforts to prepare for the coming Olympic Games. Translated by Yang Jiang (杨江) Hunan (湖南) University of Science and Technology [email protected]

Hou Min (侯敏)

29 Chinese neologisms of the year (2007–2008) 1 Introduction Neologisms, as the visible linguistic manifestations of social change, serve to highlight the dynamic changes in a given language. Therefore, studies on neologisms are always considered an important task in monitoring language change. To have a practical grasp of the uses of neologisms, the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center (NLRMRC), adopting a semi-automatic extraction method, conducted several surveys and compiled statistics of the uses of Chinese neologisms for the year 2007 and 2008. The corpus for each year of the surveys is sourced from the corresponding annual National Language Resources Monitoring Corpus, including text materials collected from print and Internet media, and transcriptions of broadcasting programs. In total, the 2007 corpus encompasses 1,363,747 text files, with a total of 1,236,120,162 character tokens and 1,007,053,180 Chinese character tokens. The 2008 corpus consists of 1,441,090 text files, with a total of 1,273,286,677 character tokens and 1,032,847,155 Chinese character tokens. The neologisms were confined to vocabulary appearing in the mainstream media such as newspapers, radio and TV programs, and Internet News, while those neologisms prevailing only orally or among BBS were excluded. It is worth mentioning that in order to check and confirm the identity of the neologisms, search engines like Baidu and Google were employed to track down the date of every neologism’s initial occurrence.

2 Features of Chinese neologisms of the year 2007 and 2008 In total, 254 neologisms were obtained for the year 2007, and 359 neologisms for the year 2008. In general, they have the following features: (1) A polysyllabic tendency: The mean length of words has increased. Word length is a distinct feature of vocabulary. For Chinese, word length is usually measured by the number of Chinese characters or by the phonetic

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syllables representing Chinese characters, which, in most cases, is the same. In this paper, neologism length is counted by character: a Chinese character as well as a Roman letter or a digit is regarded as a character. The wide coverage of the lengths of the neologisms in 2007 ranged from two to eight characters, among which the three- and four-character neologisms were obviously dominant, as the former accounted for 37.00% and the latter for 28.74% of the total. Meanwhile, two-character neologisms encompassed only 18.50% despite the fact that, in general, two-character/syllable words and expressions have a dominant position in Chinese vocabulary. Five-character neologisms covered 10.63%, while six-character neologisms and above made up only a small portion of the total. Of the 359 neologisms of 2008, three-character neologisms reached 47.63%, scoring 10% higher than in 2007; four-character neologisms covered 27.85%, approximately 1% lower than in 2007. Furthermore, two-character neologisms accounted for only 15.32%, 3% lower than in 2007. (2) Analogy was widely used to form word families. Word family refers to a set of words sharing a common morpheme. Among the 254 neologisms of 2007, there are 70 neologisms that obviously belong to certain word families, accounting for 27.55% of the total. Quasi-suffixes such as 族 (zú, tribe, e.g. tribe of marry-upon-graduation students), 客 (kè, person, e.g. online shopper), 奴 (nú, slave, e.g. marriage slave), 友 ( yǒu, friend, e.g. gay), 门 (mén, scandal, e.g. the Discrimination Scandal), 吧 (bā, bar, e.g. chewing bar), 日 (rì, day, e.g. Comity Day) were among the most prevalent. (3) Major social events gave rise to clusters of neologisms. In 2007 and 2008, China witnessed a series of major events, which created clusters of neologisms that built a mapping relationship with social life and social events. Taking the year 2008 as an example, the most iconic were the word clusters of “5·12地震” (wǔyīèr dìzhèn, the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake), “北京奥运会” (Běijīnɡ àoyùnhuì, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games), “金融危机” ( jīnrónɡ wēijī, financial crisis) and “三鹿奶粉事件” (Sānlù nǎifěn shìjiàn, Sanlu Milk Scandal). (4) The Internet boosted the emergence and development of neologisms. For example, the 359 neologisms of 2008 included 66 neologisms that were gathered from the Internet. These neologisms were initially used on Internet forums or blogs by netizens and became popular overnight. Then they spread rapidly from the Internet news to other forms of the media, showing the explosive force of Internet communication. The most distinct word family markers

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include 山寨 (shānzhài, copycat), 雷 (léi, shocking) and 囧 ( jiǒnɡ, embarrassment or ponderousness).

3 Excerpts from Chinese neologisms of 2007 (1)【黑砖窑事件】hēi zhuānyáo shìjiàn, ‘the Illegal Brick Kiln Incident’. (2)【快男】kuàinán, ‘Happy boys’, i.e. short for the TV show Happy Boys’ Voices. (3)【快乐男声】kuàilè nánshēnɡ, ‘Happy Boys’ Voices’, which refers to the above TV show. (4)【次贷】cìdài, ‘subprime mortgage’. (5)【入联公投】 rùlián ɡōnɡtóu, ‘joining the UN Referendum’, i.e. the referendum of Taiwan’s application for joining the UN. (6)【定投】dìnɡtóu, ‘fixed investment’, i.e. periodically settled closed-end investment of funds. (7)【道德模范】dàodé mófàn, ‘Moral Model’. (8)【去功能化】qù ɡōnɡnénɡhuà, ‘disablement’, i.e. disabling the nuclear reactor/facilities in North Korea. (9)【次贷危机】cìdài wēijī, ‘the Subprime Mortgage Crisis’. (10)【红色清真寺】hónɡsè qīnɡzhēnsì, ‘red mosque’, i.e. ‘Lal Masjid’. (11)【免费师范生】miǎnfèi shīfànshēnɡ, ‘free tuition for students in a teacher education program’. (12)【次级债危机】cìjízhài wēijī, ‘the subordinated subprime Debt Crisis’. (13)【区域限批】qūyù xiànpī, ‘Regional Restriction for vetting non-cyclic economic development projects’. (14)【牛钉】niúdīnɡ, ‘unremovable nail’, i.e. diehard anti-mover (a person who doesn’t want to move). (15)【和谐号】héxiéhào, ‘Harmony Motor Train’, i.e. China High-speed Railway. (16)【大小非】dàxiǎofēi, ‘Non-tradable Share’. (17)【D字头】D zìtóu, ‘initial D’, i.e. electric multiple-unit trains, using the letter D as their initial name. (18)【次级贷】cìjídài, ‘subprime mortgage’. (19)【次级房贷】cìjí fánɡdài, ‘subprime housing mortgage’. (20)【晒工资】shài ɡōnɡzī, ‘divulging one’s salaries online’.

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4 Excerpts from Chinese neologisms of 2008 (1)【山寨】shānzhài, ‘copycat’. (2)【三聚氰胺】sānjùqínɡ’àn, ‘melamine’. (3)【堰塞湖】yànsèhú, ‘barrier lake’. (4)【艳照门】yànzhàomén, ‘the Nude Photo Scandal’. (5)【两房】liǎnɡfánɡ, ‘two houses’, i.e. the short form of Fannie and Freddie of the US financial institutions collapse. (6)【5·12汶川大地震】wŭyīèr wènchuān dà dìzhèn, ‘May 12 Wenchuan Earthquake’. (7)【问题奶粉】wèntí nǎifěn, ‘problematic milk’, i.e. melamine contaminated milk powder. (8)【限塑令】xiànsùlìnɡ, ‘the ban on free plastic bags’. (9)【特殊党费】tèshū dǎnɡfèi, ‘special Party member dues’, i.e. donations from the Party members for the Wenchuan Earthquake refugees. (10)【范跑跑】Fàn Pǎopǎo, ‘Mr. Running Fan’, named after a middle-aged school teacher who abandoned his students and ran away alone when the earthquake happened in Wenchuan. (11)【山寨版】shānzhàibǎn, ‘copycat version’. (12)【限塑】xiànsù, ‘to ban the use of free plastic bags’. (13)【上网本】shànɡwǎnɡběn, ‘netbook’. (14)【雷人】léirén, ‘to shock’. (15)【山寨春晚】shānzhài chūnwǎn, ‘copycat New Year’s Gala’. (16)【奥衫】àoshān, ‘Olympics T-shirts’. (17)【雷】léi, ‘thunder’, i.e. ‘to shock’ or ‘overwhelming’. (18)【中国故事】zhōnɡɡuó gùshì, ‘the Story of China’, i.e. a display of various regions and ethnic culture activities in China in the Olympic Park during the Beijing Olympic Games. (19)【山寨文化】shānzhài wénhuà, ‘copycat culture’. (20)【囧】jiǒnɡ, ‘a graphic description of embarrassment’. Translated by Yang Jiang (杨江) Hunan (湖南) University of Science and Technology [email protected]

IV Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan

Wong Pui Kwong (王培光)

30 New shifts in the medium of instruction policy of Hong Kong There were two changes in the school medium of instruction (MOI) policy in Hong Kong in recent years. The first one was an adjustment in MOI policy in secondary schools, and the second one was the assistance provided to some primary and secondary schools for adopting Putonghua (PTH) as the MOI for Chinese language subjects that were previously conducted in Cantonese. The first change eliminated the bifurcation of English secondary schools (i.e. schools that adopted English as the MOI, often referred to as “EMI schools”) and Chinese middle schools (i.e. schools that adopted Chinese as the MOI, often referred to as “CMI schools”). Any CMI school that fulfilled the requirements laid down by the Education Bureau could increase the time of learning English in general subjects, some classes could even use English as the MOI, just like EMI schools. The second change concerned the Education Bureau, which had been providing financial assistance to forty primary and secondary schools since 2008, to facilitate their implementation of PTH as the MOI of Chinese language subjects. A detailed elaboration of these two changes is given below.

1 Adjustment in the medium of instruction policy in secondary schools 1.1 Background Secondary schools in Hong Kong used to be classified into EMI and CMI schools. Traditional CMI schools used English only in English language lessons, while all other subjects were taught in Chinese. The opposite was practiced in EMI schools, where Chinese was used as MOI in Chinese language, PTH and/or Chinese History subjects, but English as MOI for all other subjects. By 1997, there were altogether 300-odd EMI schools, and less than a hundred CMI schools. In the same year, the government implemented the Mother-Tongue Education Policy and all secondary schools should, in principle, adopt Chinese as the medium of instruction for all subjects at junior secondary level. To become an EMI school, schools had to seek approval from the Education Bureau for teaching general subjects in English. As a result, many of the original EMI schools failed to meet the criteria laid down by the government. They had to follow the government’s Mother-Tongue Education Policy and be reclassified as CMI

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schools. After re-adjustment of the MOI, there were 114 EMI schools and 334 CMI schools in 1998. The three criteria that the schools were required to meet included: (1) students should have the ability to study through the medium of English; (2) teachers should have the capability to teach through the medium of English; and (3) the school concerned should have sufficient strategies and resources to support EMI practices. In terms of the learning outcome, most secondary school students were found more suitable for mother-tongue education than learning. In the past decade, the Hong Kong government has endeavored to promote mother-tongue education in schools, since the policy was believed to enhance student interest in learning and to generate positive learning outcomes. By 2008, after the Mother-Tongue Education Policy had been implemented for one decade, the government introduced the Policy on Fine-Tuning the Medium of Instruction for Secondary Schools, realizing that it was high time to revisit the MOI issue. Under the new policy, schools were no longer bifurcated into CMI and EMI schools in a straight manner. Instead, they were allowed more freedom and room to fine-tune their MOI according to the condition of the schools and their students, so that schools could create better opportunities to facilitate English learning for their students.

1.2 Causes As described above, the CMI schools were those that adopted mother-tongue education. In the context of Hong Kong and in the eyes of most Hong Kong citizens, mother tongue referred to Cantonese. Mother-tongue education was considered successful since students studying at CMI schools tended to have a stronger interest in learning and performed better in activities that demand creativity and high-order thinking. However, since many CMI schools used to adopt English as MOI before implementation of the Mother-Tongue Education Policy, a change in the MOI resulted in a substantial reduction of contact hours with English during class time. There was criticism of the subsequent decline of students’ English standard not long after the implementation of the policy. Even though parents generally agreed that their children studied better in their mother tongue, they too were anxious about the seeming decline of their children’s English ability owing to their limited exposure to English during lesson time. Enabling students to reach a high standard of English proficiency was the common wish of the parents, teachers, government and people from various sectors of the society. After listening to the views of different stakeholders, the Education Bureau decided to fine-tune the medium of instruction

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for secondary schools so as to enhance the students’ English ability, which would have the following advantages: (1) strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a modern international city and a global financial center; (2) strengthen personal ability in accessing information wrapped in English for meeting the challenge of globalization; (3) further personal employment opportunities; (4) increase the chance of gaining a placement in universities at which EMI teaching is commonly adopted. The Mother-Tongue Education Policy underwent a review in 2008. In December 2008, the then Secretary of Education, Mr. Michael M. Y. Suen, announced the decision of the government to fine-tune the MOI for secondary schools in a speech delivered to the Hong Kong Association of Heads of Secondary Schools. “Fine-tuning” meant that EMI schools could more or less retain their MOI arrangement, while CMI schools could increase contact hours for Englishlearning activities.

1.3 Mode As introduced by Mr. Michael Suen in his speech (2008), the MOI fine-tuning framework allowed schools the flexibility to exercise a school-based professional decision to adopt a diversified MOI approach comprising “by class”, “by group”, “by subject” and “by session” arrangements depending on the condition of the schools, the needs of the students and qualifications of the teachers. Within the same school, the MOI arrangement could vary from class to class, subject to subject, and session to session. Under the new policy, the bifurcation of schools into CMI and EMI would also be removed.

1.3.1 Criteria of using English as MOI Schools that were originally required to follow the CMI route have now the flexibility to adjust their MOI in various ways, provided that they meet the following three criteria: (1) Students’ ability In 2004, the Education Bureau commissioned a research team to conduct studies to assess the percentage of secondary year 1 (S1) students in Hong Kong

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capable of learning through the English medium. It was found that only students at the top 40% of the student population had the ability to learn in the medium of English. The Education Commission of Hong Kong released a Report on the Review of the Medium of Instruction for Secondary Schools and Secondary School Place Allocations in the following year (Education Commission 2005: 22), pointing out that: . . . The Study reveals that currently about 32%–40% of S1 students in Hong Kong are able to learn through English. Having carefully studied the comments received, we consider that there is research backing for the 40% threshold and that a more lenient approach in setting the threshold is warranted given the present circumstances in Hong Kong. (Bold face in original report.)

The Working Group suggested that the 40% could be identified on the basis of students’ internal assessment results as scaled by the existing pre-Secondary 1 Hong Kong Attainment Test. The scaled results of all students proceeding to S1 would then be put into a pecking order. The students in the top 40% would then be taken as having the ability to learn through English. A school wishing to adopt EMI teaching had to have no less than 85% of its S1 intake belong to the top 40% group. For example, a 34-student-class was only eligible for EMI teaching if it had at least 29 students in the top 40% group. (2) Teachers’ capability The Education Commission’s Review Report (Education Commission, 2005:31) stipulated that teachers who planned to deliver subjects in English “should be able to communicate the subject content to students intelligibly in English and that their use of English should have no adverse impact on students’ acquisition of the English language”. (3) Availability of support strategies and measures Schools using English as MOI should “purposefully and strategically provide a language environment conducive to learning English”. The strategies include (Education Commission 2005: 36): 1. strengthening the learning and teaching of the English subject according to the English ability of the students concerned, so as to enhance the English ability of the students to better facilitate their learning of other subjects taught in the medium of English; 2. creating an English-rich environment to ensure that students have ample opportunity to be exposed to English inside and outside the classroom; 3. developing bridging programs to help S1 students switch from CMI learning at primary level to EMI learning at secondary level;

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4. strengthening English learning across the curriculum by encouraging collaboration among teachers of English language and other subjects, to ensure that students had the confidence to use English in the learning of various subject contents.

1.3.2 Increasing the percentage of lesson time in English It was recommended in the Report on the Review of the Medium of Instruction for Secondary Schools and Secondary School Place Allocations (Education Commission 2005: 69) that schools that adopt Chinese as the MOI at junior secondary level should consider allocating more lesson time for conducting extended learning activities in English in a progressive manner on top of the regular English language lessons. More specifically, schools should choose to allocate not more than 15%, 20% and 25% of the total lesson time at S1, S2 and S3 respectively. The Education Bureau subsequently adjusted this recommendation by allowing schools to allocate 25% more time to English activities in all junior secondary years. Since CMI schools had also the flexibility to adopt EMI for certain subjects or certain classes, the original labeling of EMI versus CMI schools became redundant.

1.4 Response Parents had always preferred EMI schools over CMI schools, just like the word “English” had always carried a symbolical positive labeling effect. As a result of the implementation of the MOI fine-tuning policy, the bifurcation of secondary schools into EMI and CMI schools was eliminated, together with the simple labeling effect. This outcome was not insignificant, since the policy seemed now a much more important and critical move than being only a simple “finetuning” of the MOI practices, as was claimed in public discourse. Thus, both pro-and-con positions were triggered.1 1 The Chairman of the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research, Michael Tien, criticized that the change was too controversial. He considered that the switch to EMI, as proposed by the fine-tuning policy, violated the principles of education that advocated the use of a language most familiar to the students as MOI in order to facilitate their learning. Liu Ah-chuen, Chairman of the Hong Kong Subsidized Secondary Schools Council, echoed his comment. Liu said the by-subject or by-class classification would result in a labeling effect, too. Some teachers were also worried about their capability of preparing sets of Chinese and English teaching materials at the same time. (Ming Pao 24 December 2008.)

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Under the fine-tuning policy, schools were given more room for a flexible arrangement of the MOI. They were encouraged to work out a school-based language policy under which they decided the number of subjects and the percentage of English use entirely by themselves. The term “fine-tuning” was used to illustrate that the major MOI policy had not been changed, for instance, the prescribed criteria for EMI teaching was still in force. Adjustment was only made to the number of subjects or classroom time allocated to English activities. The fine-tuning policy was supported by most stakeholders who believed that students with different abilities and needs should be provided with more opportunities for English exposure in a progressive manner at the junior secondary level. This would help to build a bridge between secondary and tertiary education that commonly adopted the EMI approach. The hope was that after the fine-tuning, schools would evolve from the EMI/ CMI streaming to accommodate multi-model and school-based MOI arrangements. This would facilitate the stable development of the mother-tongue education. Some stakeholders also pointed out that the fine-tuning of the MOI in schools should be implemented in stages to guarantee effective learning on the part of the students. In other words, schools should be given the autonomy and discretion of working out their own school-based MOI pattern, based on the actual conditions of the schools (including teacher capability and supporting measures).

2 Assistance provided to primary and secondary schools for using Putonghua as Medium of Instruction for the Chinese language subject In 2008, the Education Bureau introduced a plan for “Assisting primary and secondary schools to implement PTH as Medium of Instruction for the Chinese language subject” (the Plan). In the same year, the Education Bureau issued a research report entitled Conditions required for implementing Putonghua as Medium of Instruction for the Chinese language subject (the Report), compiled by the Standing Committee of Language Education and Research (SCOLAR). Important points of the Plan and the Report are given below.

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2.1 Assisting schools to implement “PMI for the Chinese language subject” plan 2.1.1 Background and application Back in 1999, the Curriculum Development Council of Hong Kong published an important document entitled A Holistic Review of the Proposed Hong Kong School Curriculum Reforms. It proposed the long-term goal that PTH should be adopted as the medium of instruction (PMI) for the Chinese language subject. Working on this target, in 2008 SCOLAR launched the “Scheme to Support Schools in Using PTH to Teach the Chinese Language Subject (CLS)”. Under the scheme, financial support would be provided to forty primary and secondary schools each year for three consecutive years. Applications would be accepted in four phases from 2008/09 to 2011/12. Any primary or secondary school could submit an application to SCOLAR, outlining the availability of their own human resources and supporting facilities. Schools should allocate 50% of the total class time of the Chinese subject to PTH teaching to qualify for application. They also had to meet the following four criteria: (1) development of a plan showing the determination of the school to systematically use PTH to teach CLS; (2) after completion of the three-year period, there should be at least five classes across three levels that had consistently used PTH as MOI for CLS; (3) the teachers that use PTH to teach CLS should acquire at least Second Level Grade B in the PTH Proficiency Test, or satisfy the Language Proficiency Requirement for PTH teachers; and (4) formation of a core teaching team to facilitate successful implementation of the schools’ PMI plan. The teaching team should comprise at least two teachers whose primary major is in the teaching of CLS. SCOLAR would then identify forty primary and secondary schools based on the following four types of information provided by the schools on the application forms: (1) School information, including the number and percentage of Chinese classes taught in PTH; the distribution of the classes; number of Chinese teachers; members of the teaching team; and information on the use of PTH in other subjects apart from Chinese language and PTH. (2) Implementation of PTH teaching and PMI for CLS in the school in the past two academic years (2006/07, 2007/08). (3) Long-term plan of the school for the implementation of PMI for teaching CLS, including its future plans upon completion of the three-year plan: Would the entire school adopt PMI for the teaching of CLS? If not, how long would it take to reach the target? What were the estimated number of classes and the relevant arrangements?

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(4) Reasons for adopting PMI in teaching CLS; preparations of the teachers; creation of a favorable learning environment on campus; curriculum planning; professional support; and evaluation of the effectiveness of adopting PMI for CLS; etc.

2.1.2 Methods Schools that were identified by SCOLAR as meeting the criteria for financial support would be provided with a stand-in teacher for three years to reduce the workload of the teachers involved in the plan. SCOLAR would provide the following four kinds of support (SCOLAR 1998): (1) Assist schools in the implementation of their school-based projects by using the experience and expertise of researchers and teachers from Mainland China and Hong Kong; (2) Each participating school could join collaboration and exchange programs for three years. In the first year, experienced teachers from the Mainland would provide on-site visits to the schools for two days per week. Local teachers who were experienced in using PTH to teach CLS would also pay visits to schools to assist them in planning and implementing their schoolbased projects. In the second and third year, local teachers would provide support on a consultative basis and follow up the progress of using PTH to teach CLS in all schools. They would also consolidate school experiences and achievements and provide feedback to schools. Participating schools would form a “school network” and open classes to each other for observation and experience sharing purposes. (3) Organize professional development training programs for participating teachers, for the enhancement of their teaching and ability in administration. The format of the training programs includes workshops, seminars and short courses. Some of the programs will be open to other schools that did not join the scheme. (4) Arrange exchange programs to provide a platform for local teachers to exchange views and share experiences with Mainland teachers. The exchange and class observation activities would be open to schools outside the scheme. For evaluation of the effectiveness of the scheme, SCOLAR would review the performance of the participating schools on a regular basis, by collecting and analyzing relevant information such as exam papers, writing exercises and speech samples of students, result sheets of the Chinese language subject, as

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well as video clips on class activities. Participating schools should share their experiences of using PTH to teach CLS with other schools, and open up at least twenty classes for observation for teachers from other schools during the second and third year of the plan (SCOLAR 1998).

2.2 Research report on the conditions of using Putonghua as medium of instruction for the Chinese language subject SCOLAR had also conducted research on the effectiveness of using PTH in the teaching of CLS. A research report entitled Factors Affecting the Use of Putonghua to Teach Chinese Language in Hong Kong Primary and Secondary Schools was published in July 2008. The study was carried out in twenty primary and secondary schools that used PTH to teach CLS (PMIC), with the aim of examining the factors affecting the successful implementation or otherwise of PMIC, so that schools that intended to implement PMIC could draw conclusions from it. The study found that the effectiveness of PMIC was determined by the following six factors (SCOLAR 2008):

2.2.1 Capacity of teachers The number and quality of available teachers was considered an important factor for using PTH to teach CLS. The teachers concerned should possess a sufficiently high PTH standard and show confidence in teaching. The study discovered that the teachers’ confidence in PMIC had a direct bearing on its implementation. Teachers were therefore required to possess at least Second Level Grade B in the Putonghua Proficiency Test in order to qualify for PMIC.

2.2.2 Attitudes and strategies of school management “School management” refers to the sponsoring bodies, management committees, supervisors and heads of schools. The management’s attitude regards their vision of and support for PMIC, as well as their leadership in the course of its implementation. It was found that in some schools the sponsoring bodies had already put in place a school policy of implementing PMIC, while others merely encouraged teachers to do so without formulating any firm policy on it. With the support of the management, schools could adopt a holistic approach in aspects such as the adjustment of the curriculum, creation of a favorable language

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environment, provision of support for learning and teaching, and teacher enhancement. A clear direction with detailed methods and procedures of implementation could also be easily drawn up if the management was supportive. It was also found that schools normally consulted parents before switching the MOI. Some schools organized PTH courses for parents with a view to alleviating their concerns about their children learning CLS in PTH. This could also assist parents in helping their children with their homework and study.

2.2.3 Language environment All participating schools agreed that a Putonghua-rich environment would facilitate the effective implementation of PMIC. This could be achieved by: (1) using PTH as MOI for subjects like Chinese language, Chinese literature and Chinese history; (2) using PTH as MOI for all subjects except English language; (3) organizing PTH promotional activities such as having a PTH day, PTH week or PTH month; a PTH forum; PTH radio and TV station, etc.; (4) using PTH as the language of communication at school.

2.2.4 Students’ learning ability In the process of implementing PMIC, students’ readiness for learning CLS in PTH should be taken into consideration. In some of the participating schools, Pinyin (拼音) classes were organized for new students to accustom them to the learning of PTH. In some schools, efforts were made to cater for students who were less competent in listening and speaking in PTH. For instance, listening and speaking courses were designed for these students; Cantonese was used in teaching, or small class teaching was implemented for them.

2.2.5 Arrangements for curriculum, teaching methods and teaching materials When schools were considering switching their MOI from Cantonese to PTH, necessary adjustments in the curriculum, teaching methods, assessment measures and teaching materials should be made. According to the study, there were two modes of curriculum with respect to teaching CLS in PTH. They were (1) CLS and PTH subjects were combined into one single subject; and (2) CLS and PTH remained as two separate subjects. While most primary schools went for the

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combination mode, secondary schools tended to adopt the separation mode. The adoption of either mode hinged on whether or not the teachers could integrate and coordinate a proper relationship between the two subjects.

2.2.6 Teaching and learning support Most participating schools provided different types of support as far as possible to facilitate the implementation of PMIC, such as sponsoring teacher training, hiring additional teaching assistants, and soliciting the support of expert consultants and parents. All such support was found to be useful, in particular the support provided by expert consultants. It was therefore recommended that resources be allocated to schools that were interested in or were practicing PMIC, as well as provide an on-site support service to assist these schools in grooming curriculum leaders, in developing a suitable curriculum and teaching materials, and in working out effective teaching strategies.

References Education Commission, Hong Kong SAR Government. 2005. Report on the Review of the Medium of Instruction for Secondary Schools and Secondary School Place Allocations. Retrievable at http://www.e-c.edu.hk/tc/reform/resources/ MOI&SSPA_report_Eng.pdf. Suen, Michael M. Y. 2008. Speech at the Seminar on fine-tuning the medium of instruction for secondary schools in Hong Kong, organized by the Hong Kong Association of Heads of Secondary Schools on 5 December 2008. Retrievable at http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/ about-edb/press/speeches/sed/2012/20081222150441.html. Standing Committee on Language Education and Research. 1998. Introduction to the Scheme to support schools in using Putonghua to teach the Chinese language subject. Retrievable at http://www.language-education.com/chi/doc/Download_PMIC-Intro_C_2010.11.pdf. Standing Committee on Language Education and Research. 2008. Conditions required for implementing Putonghua as medium of instruction for the Chinese language subject. Retrievable at http://www.language-education. com/chi/rc_pthstudy_08.asp; also at http://www. legco.gov.hk/yr07-08/english/panels/ed/papers/edcb2-2588-1-e.pdf. Translated by Chan Shui-Duen (陈瑞端) The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (香港理工大学) [email protected]

Chan Shui-Duen (陈瑞端)

31 Language policy and language education for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong 1 Hong Kong’s language environment and language policy 1.1 Hong Kong’s demographic distribution and language ecology According to the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), as of 2006, 95% of the total Hong Kong population was ethnic Chinese. Other ethnic groups accounted for only 5%. The following table illustrates this demographic distribution:1 Table 1: Demographic distribution of Hong Kong’s population 2001

2006

Ethnic Group

Population

Percentage

Population

Percentage

Ethnic Chinese

6,364,439

94.87%

6,522,148

95.0%

142,556

2.13%

112,453

1.6%

Filipino Indonesian

50,494

0.75%

87,840

1.3%

Caucasian

46,584

0.69%

36,384

0.5%

Japanese

14,180

0.21%

13,189

0.2%

Indian

18,543

0.28%

20,444

0.3%

Nepali

12,584

0.19%

15,950

0.2%

Thai

14,342

0.21%

11,900

0.2%

Pakistani

11,017

0.16%

11,111

0.2%

Other Asians

12,835

0.19%

12,663

0.2%

Others

20,835

0.31%

20,264

0.3%

6,708,409

100%

6,864,346

100%

Total

1 Extracted from the 2006 Population By-Census conducted by the Census and Statistics Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. More detailed information can be retrieved from http://www.bycensus2006.gov.hk/FileManager/TC/ Content_962/06bc_summary_ results.pdf.

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The above statistics show that there were about 340,000 non-ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong, Filipinos being the largest group of 112,000 people, accounting for 1.6% of the total population. Indonesians came next, numbering approximately 87,000 people or 1.3% of the total population. The majority of these two groups came to Hong Kong to work as domestic helpers. Another ethnic group of a rather large proportion is Caucasian, accounting for 0.5% of the total population – mainly British, Europeans, Americans, and Australians. The remaining non-ethnic Chinese population, with the exception of the Japanese and Koreans, consists mainly of people from South-Asian countries such as India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Each of these groups accounts for roughly 0.2% of the total population. Before 2001, Hong Kong’s society did not have much knowledge about the ethnic minorities who worked and lived in the city. The 2001 Population ByCensus was the first attempt to collect data about these “ethnic groups”.2 It showed that the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong could be broadly categorized into two main groups – one group was made up of the British, Americans, Europeans, and Australians, with a median age of 34, who had mostly tertiary education and worked as professionals with median monthly incomes ranging from 50,000 to 60,000 Hong Kong Dollars. The other group consisted of people from Southeast Asia with a median age of 31; 60% were aged between 25 and 44. Only 25% of them had tertiary education, and 75% were members of the labor force. They were mainly “unskilled workers” working in the field of community, social and personal services, comprising a very large proportion of Filipino and Indonesian domestic workers. The median monthly income of this group was only HK$3,680. Domestic helpers were mostly women. Excluding the income generated by them, the median monthly income for Asian males was much higher at HK$13,000. However, the difference between what their European, American, and Australian counterparts were earning was still very large, about HK$40,000. The Japanese and Koreans were the largest segment of the remaining ethnic minority groups and presented a similar scenario as the British and Americans, who had a higher education and also higher monthly incomes. As far as their socio-economic status is concerned, the Europeans and Americans living in Hong Kong belong to the middle or upper class of the social hierarchy. They speak English and use it as dominant language. Most of their 2 A report, entitled Hong Kong 2001 Population Census Thematic Report – Ethnic Minorities, was published by the Census and Statistics Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, based on the information obtained from the by-census. The full version of the report can be retrieved from http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/FileManager/EN/Content_41/ ethnic.pdf.

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children study in international schools in Hong Kong, where the medium of instruction (MOI) is either English or their respective mother tongue. According to Hong Kong’s SAR Government data, as presented in the 2006 Hong Kong Year Book (HKSAR Government 2007), as of September 2006 there were 55 international schools in Hong Kong, and 15 of them were established by the English Schools Foundation (ESF). During the colonial era, the main function of these schools was to provide a bridge for the children of the British officials who worked in Hong Kong, enabling them to further their studies when they returned to their homeland. Because of this historical factor, member schools of the ESF were in the majority among the international schools in Hong Kong. They are still accepting a certain amount of subsidies from the Hong Kong government until today. The rest of the international schools were all privately owned and financially independent. Their syllabuses were also different than those of Hong Kong’s mainstream education. They offered overseas education programs for countries like Great Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Korea, and Singapore, providing 36,900 places. Since they did not receive any subsidy from the government, most of these schools charged very high tuition fees that ordinary citizens cannot necessarily afford. In contrast to the Caucasians, ethnic minorities from South and Southeast Asia were facing an entirely different situation. We shall leave the domestic helpers from the Philippines and Indonesia aside for the moment, since they form a special group. The remaining South Asians living in Hong Kong were mostly less well educated, earning a much more modest monthly income. Many of the males were laborers, while the females were mostly housewives – a large portion of them was illiterate. Having a relatively low socio-economic status, most of them could not afford to send their children to prestigious international schools. Because a large number of South Asian families planned to reside permanently in Hong Kong, receiving a local education and integrating into the local community appeared to be the wisest choice for them. Before 2004, most South Asian children studied in the 15 schools designated by the Hong Kong government, which enroll primarily non-Chinese-speaking (NCS) students. In terms of providing the students with the necessary training to mingle with the local community – in particular studying Chinese, the lingua franca of Hong Kong – the learning outcomes at these designated schools were far from satisfactory. One major reason was the heterogeneous student mix at such schools, which took in students with all sorts of ethnic backgrounds. English was often used as the MOI during class time as well as for communication among students who did not share a common native language. The Chinese standard of these students also varied a lot, partly a result of multiple entry levels

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and multiple starting times of the Chinese programs. It was extremely difficult for the teachers to plan the curriculum and design the learning activities. Therefore, South Asian students studying in these schools were commonly found to be very weak in Chinese. Many of them were unable to use the language for both study and employment purposes, even after studying it for years. Despite the fact that Hong Kong is a Chinese society with abundant resources of spoken and written Chinese easily accessible in every aspect of life, a lot of South Asian adults living in the city have still difficulties in speaking or writing Chinese, and are therefore not able to provide their children with any support in terms of learning Chinese. Like many immigrants in other parts of the world, South Asian minorities in Hong Kong tend to live in compact communities for the better preservation of their own customs and religious practices. But precisely because of the differences in customs and religious practices between the South Asian minorities and the dominant Chinese community, the closeness of the former has prevented their integration into the local community and learning Chinese via daily contact with the local people. It is not uncommon to find South Asian students, who were born and brought up in Hong Kong, struggling with Chinese expressions, both orally and in writing, after graduating from high school. Their inability to use Chinese has greatly handicapped them in seeking academic advancement and good jobs. Unlike their Chinese counterparts, who can improve the conditions for upward social mobility through the empowerment of education, these ethnic minorities can only stay at the lower end of the social hierarchy. Between 2000 and 2004, several surveys on the life and employment of South Asian minorities were conducted by some social science departments of Hong Kong tertiary institutions, social worker organizations and pressure groups.3 The survey results revealed that South Asian minorities found it generally difficult to adapt to the life in Hong Kong. They often felt discriminated against 3 Such surveys include: Survey on education, need and social adaptation for South Asian youths in Hong Kong, conducted by the Outreach Social Work Team of Yang Memorial Methodist Social Service, Yau Tsim Mong Integration Center for Youth Development in 2000; the Hong Kong Racial Discrimination Study Series II: Ethnic Minorities, conducted by the Society for Community Organization in 2001; Research Report on the Comparative Study on the School Life Adaptation of School-Age New Arrivals: Mainland China and Southeast/South Asian Countries, issued by Hong Kong Unison in 2001; A Study on Outlets for the South Asian Ethnic Minority, conducted by Yang Memorial Methodist Social Service,Yau Tsim Mong Integration Center for Youth Development in 2002; A research report on the life experience of Pakistanis in Hong Kong, issued by Ku Hok-bun and Chan Kam-wah of the Center for Social Policy Studies of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and HKSKH Lady MacLehose Center in 2003; Employment survey for South Asians in Hong Kong, conducted by the Department of Applied Social Studies of the City University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Unison in 2003; and Survey on life adaptation and the degree of satisfaction of South Asian children in Hong Kong, conducted by Save the Children Hong Kong in 2003.

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and marginalized. The major reason for such a feeling was the language barrier. Owing to this language barrier, most South Asian children encountered tremendous difficulties in adapting to school life, building up a social network and seeking social service support. Some failed to obtain sufficient information from the labor market for successfully seeking employment opportunities. Others, who managed to obtain the information, were simply rejected because of their inability to communicate in Cantonese or written Chinese. This lack of language ability made it also difficult for them to conduct daily activities such as shopping and seeking medical services. Theoretically speaking, the language barrier of the ethnic minorities could be eliminated through the medium of education. However, apart from the MOI issue as mentioned above, the current language situation and language policy of Hong Kong is also unfavorable to these ethnic minorities, creating an even higher hurdle for them in the course of learning Chinese.

1.2 Language situation and language policy in Hong Kong’s bilingual society Cantonese is the dominant language, used by the majority of ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong. According to the 2001 Population By-Census, the number of Hong Kong citizens who claimed Cantonese as their usual language amounted to 89.2% of the total population. The figure went up to 90.8% in the 2006 Population By-Census, showing the persistent popularity of Cantonese, irrespective of the political change that had taken place in 1997 when the sovereignty of Hong Kong was returned to China. English, albeit the chief official language in Hong Kong for a long period of time during the colonial era, was used regularly only in the government and business sectors, but not in the daily communication of most Hong Kong people. Its popularity was slowly decreasing after the 1997 handover. The same downward trend was also observed for other Chinese dialects and other languages, while the percentage of those using Putonghua as the usual language stayed relatively stable at 0.9–1.1%. The figures in the Table 2 show the distribution of the usual language use among Hong Kong residents.4 As these were only self-reported figures on “usual language use”, they do not reflect the whole picture of the language situation in Hong Kong.

4 The figures are taken from the 2006 Population By-Census: Summary Report. The figures do not include people with no Chinese language ability. More detailed information can be retrieved from http://www.bycensus2006.gov.hk/FileManager/TC/Content_962/06bc_summary_results.pdf.

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Table 2: Distribution of Hong Kong citizens’ usual language 1996

2001

Usual language

Number

Cantonese

5,196,240 88.7%

Putonghua

Percentage Number

2006 Percentage Number

5,726,972 89.2%

6,030,960 90.8%

65,892

1.1%

Other Chinese dialects

340,222

5.8%

English

184,308

3.1%

73,879

1.3%

79,197

1.2%

72,217

1.1%

5,860,541 100%

6,417,739

100%

6,640,344

100%

Other languages Total

55,410

Percentage

0.9%

60,859

0.9%

352,562

5.5%

289,027

4.4%

203,598

3.2%

187,281

2.8%

Before the handover of sovereignty, English was the chief official language of Hong Kong and widely used in government and commercial organizations. The mastery of English was considered the key to success and to a brighter future. Consequently, starting from the 1970s, English was commonly adopted as the medium of instruction by an increasing number of secondary schools in Hong Kong, with the view of providing students with a more favorable environment for learning English. Such schools were often referred to as “English secondary schools” or EMI (English as the medium of instruction) schools, which were much sought after by students and parents alike. In the 1990s, most secondary schools in Hong Kong named themselves EMI schools, although there were great discrepancies in their level of English usage and the English ability of their students. During those years, Chinese was confined to everyday usage only and was less common in formal contexts. This linguistic situation was labeled “diglossic” by sociolinguists, where English was the high variety and Cantonese the low variety, while written Chinese was somewhere in between. Each of these languages had its own role, displayed different communicative functions, and was complementary to the others (Cheung 1984, 1992; Tsou 1984). After the sovereignty handover, Chinese became the chief official language of Hong Kong, while the status of English as another official language was retained.5 The change of policy has resulted in a change of the relative position of Chinese and English. On the one hand, Chinese is used more frequently in political and business domains. For instance, Legislative Council meetings held after 1997 were mostly conducted in Cantonese. Cantonese is also used increasingly in court interrogations and written Chinese is used to compile verdicts. In the effort of raising the status of written Chinese, Cantonese has also gained much more room for development. Cantonese, being a Chinese dialect used 5 According to Article 9, Chapter 1 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, “in addition to the Chinese language, English may also be used as an official language by the executive authorities, legislature and judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.” Chinese is given more weighting, judging from the way the text was constructed.

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primarily by Hong Kong people in informal contexts, has extended its usage from a low variety confined to daily communication, entertainment and social discourse, to becoming a “comprehensive” variety that can also be used in formal contexts such as the political, judiciary and business domains. It is probably the only case, so far, among the Chinese-speaking societies that a regional dialect has gained even higher vitality, rigor and status than Putonghua. On the other hand, English remains another official language of Hong Kong, and is used in a wide range of activities of the government and commercial organizations. In the daily life of Hong Kong and in all sorts of public domains, written English is used side by side with Chinese. For example, almost all road signs, street names, signs in shopping malls, bus route signs, and restaurant menus are presented in both Chinese and English. English is the medium of instruction for all tertiary institutions and most English secondary schools. Legislative Councilors can choose to deliver their speeches in English. Various professions prepare bilingual versions in both Chinese and English for all important official documents. Sometimes only the English version is available. A simultaneous interpreting service is provided for most important press release conferences in both the government and business sectors. In compliance with the trend of globalization, Hong Kong’s society generally calls for a labor force that is equipped with good English skills to meet the challenges of a knowledgebased economy, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of Hong Kong as a world trade center. The government also advocates the nurturing of young talents with multiple language skills. For instance, in its Report No. 6, the Education Commission has laid down a framework for secondary school graduates to be proficient in writing both English and Chinese, and being able to communicate confidently in Cantonese, English and Putonghua. This policy is often referred to as “biliteracy and trilingualism”. Some scholars have pointed out that the language policy of “biliteracy and trilingualism” and the way Chinese and English are used in the major domains of communication, has enabled the government to meet both the needs of internationalization and localization, since the two languages take up different roles and display different functions in different areas (Yang, 2002). However, such a language environment and the prevailing language policy have also placed great demands on language education.

1.3 Language education and the medium of instruction Hong Kong, as an international trading center and a British colony for over one hundred years, has been a city where English played a dominant role in government and business domains. However, Hong Kong people used English primarily in formal settings and seldom as means of communication in their daily

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lives. Despite the fact that almost all Hong Kong children start to learn English as early as kindergarten level, the learning outcomes have not been particularly satisfactory owing to a number of rather complicated reasons, among them the lack of a favorable environment for daily practice. Before 1997, even though most secondary schools were labeled EMI schools, many students failed to use English effectively for communication and for the learning of other subjects. Some teachers also failed to use English effectively for class instruction. In the 1980s, the Hong Kong government has sought advice from international consultants regarding the language education and MOI issues in Hong Kong. The Education Commission and the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) had jointly set up a Working Group to review the MOI of schools. The Working Group conducted a questionnaire survey in June 1996. As indicated by the survey findings, mother-tongue education was found to be much more effective in terms of reducing difficulties in students’ learning process, enhancing students’ learning motivation, and improving creativity, critical and high-order thinking. Students who learned through their mother tongue were more eager to express themselves and to participate in discussions. Their relationship with the teachers was also better. There was, therefore, an appeal for mother-tongue education among educators. The Education Bureau (formerly known as the Education and Manpower Bureau), after considering the views of the consultants and other stakeholders, had come to the conclusion that all schools should adopt mother-tongue education at junior secondary level, and issued a guideline on the medium of instruction in 1988. Secondary schools that planned to adopt EMI had to meet the three prescribed criteria of student ability, teacher capability and support measures. As a result, 114 public sector secondary schools that had a long history of being EMI schools were allowed to continue with their MOI provision and carry the name of EMI school. The remaining 300-odd schools had to change their medium of instruction from English to Chinese, at least at the junior secondary level, and were renamed CMI schools. The regulations laid down by the government regarding the MOI issue have triggered mixed reactions from schools, as well as a heated debate from various sectors of society. On the one hand, the public generally agreed that mothertongue education enabled students to better master concepts of the content subjects thoroughly and develop high-order thinking effectively at the earlier stages of education. On the other hand, owing to the lack of an English-rich learning environment, schools became the only places where students could have closer contact with English. If the medium of instruction was changed to Chinese, then students’ opportunity for practicing English would further decrease, which

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would in turn weaken their English ability, and subsequently reduce the competitiveness of Hong Kong in areas like global trade and international finance. The dilemma of picking an appropriate medium of instruction and the related debates went on for decades, yet the government’s attitude doesn’t seem to have changed.

2 The language education problem of South Asian minorities 2.1 Chinese as L1 and L2 The language education and MOI issue used to affect only local students. However, the appeal for an equal education opportunity for ethnic minority children has become stronger in recent years. The ten designated primary schools and five designated secondary schools could only provide a limited choice for the ethnic minorities. They demanded an equal opportunity of school place allocations similar to what was offered to local students. To answer their appeal, the Education Bureau granted the ethnic minority students equal rights to join the “Central Allocation System” in 2004, through which the minorities could choose any other public-sector school on top of the 15 schools designated for NCS students. Consequently, local schools started to enroll NCS students from 2004 onward. Although the number of such NCS students was still relatively small, new elements were introduced to the student body and problems started to emerge that the schools had never encountered before. The education problem, language and Chinese learning problem of the South Asian students were no longer internal problems of the designated schools, but became a challenge for teachers and schools in a much wider context. In principle, all school-aged children should enjoy equal rights and receive the same level of education regardless of their ethnicity and background. But in reality, a policy of equal education opportunities is always difficult to implement. According to the statistics of the Education Bureau, there were altogether 8,000 NCS students (excluding exchange students or foreign students studying at universities) studying in local schools in 2006. Among them, South Asian students constituted the largest proportion, including Pakistanis (37.7%), Filipinos (17.7%), Nepalese (15.9%), and Indians (13.7%). Much smaller groups of 100– 200 people were Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Japanese, and Caucasian. The figures of the 2006 Population By-Census (The Census and Statistics Department 2007) show that of all the South and Southeast Asian students, the

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Thai group used Cantonese most, while most Filipinos used English. Indonesian students also tended to use English as their usual language, with a substantial number of them also using Cantonese. Indians spoke mostly Hindi, followed by English. Nepalese students spoke primarily their native language while Pakistanis, Bengalese and Sri Lankans used mostly Urdu. Since Chinese is used as MOI in most primary schools in Hong Kong, children from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bengal and Sri Lanka who speak very little Chinese, inevitably encounter difficulties in first mastering the language itself and then learning the other subjects through this language. Filipinos who were relatively competent in English seemed to be more fortunate, but they also faced the same challenge if they did not manage to get enrolled in EMI schools. On top of the MOI issue, the learning of Chinese is in itself a daunting task for most ethnic minority children. In terms of the surrounding conditions, those who were accepted by local schools seemed to enjoy a better Chinese learning environment since there were more chances for interactions in Chinese. These children might be able to learn the spoken language more easily, but following a curriculum designed for local students who learn Chinese as their first language – with demanding criteria in all the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing – was a mission impossible for many ethnic minority children. A battle was won by gaining equal opportunity rights in choosing the schools, yet the ethnic minority children had to fight another battle after entering the schools they picked. Since the number of NCS students accepted by local schools varied to a large extent, and the school policies also differed from each other, some schools might be able to provide this special group of students with extra support, and some might not. Some schools managed to offer the NCS students a modified curriculum, or even a special learning program, while other schools could only offer minimum help such as short-term after-school tuition. Regardless of the different kinds of extra assistance, most schools require that NCS students follow the same curriculum as the local students and use the same set of textbooks. Therefore, some students in Chinese classes of local schools learn Chinese as their L1, others as L2, very often in the same setting. Are there any differences in teaching Chinese as L1 or L2? If there are, what are they? Many Chinese teachers were at a loss how to answer such questions. In the mainstream education system of Hong Kong, the teaching of Chinese as L2 was never considered because the duty of teaching Chinese to NCS students has always been taken up by teachers of international schools or the designated schools. The majority of local Chinese language teachers simply lacks the exposure to or experience of teaching Chinese to speakers of other languages. Neither can one find suitable instructional material targeting school-age

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L2 learners of Chinese. When schools are suddenly required to take up the teaching of Chinese for more and more South Asian students, it is not surprising to find disappointing results. Besides, ethnic minority students were often short of other favorable conditions that were available to local students, i.e. the availability of parental support. Almost all notices and letters from schools to parents of local students were written in Chinese, which was incomprehensible to most NCS parents. They had a limited involvement in their children’s school education since they had difficulty communicating with the teachers, and were ignorant of many of the school policies and activities. Many of the parents also had different expectations about their children’s education, as well as a different attitude towards diligence, which was much appreciated and encouraged by Chinese parents. The lack of a suitable curriculum and the lack of family support were probably the main causes of the awkward predicament that the ethnic minority children were facing. What made the problem even more complicated was the introduction of Putonghua as a core subject of the school curriculum in 1998 by the Education Bureau. In the long history of Chinese education in Hong Kong, Cantonese, the lingua franca of the ethnic Chinese residing here, was the default MOI for the Chinese language subject. All local students learned written Chinese through Cantonese. Since the introduction of Putonghua into the school curriculum, Putonghua was taught in most schools as a separate subject side by side with the Chinese language subject, or as the MOI of the Chinese language subject in schools that had a sufficiently strong teaching team equipped with a high level of Putonghua proficiency. Behind such different practices stood also the debate of what role Cantonese and Putonghua should play in the Chinese curriculum. Should there be a division of labor between Cantonese and Putonghua? If yes, what function should each espouse and what learning outcomes should each contribute to? How could one plan for the transition and coherence between Cantonese, a spoken dialect, and standard written Chinese that is based primarily on Putonghua, now that Putonghua was taught at the same time? Most school teachers and curriculum planners failed to provide any suitable answers to such questions. Furthermore, traditional Chinese characters were taught in schools throughout the history of Hong Kong. In recent years, however, the Education Bureau encouraged all schools to introduce simplified characters, which were not popular in Hong Kong. Like all other local students, NCS students who studied in mainstream local schools had to abide by the language policy of “biliteracy and trilingualism”, i.e. be able to write in both Chinese and English, and be able to speak Cantonese, English, as well as Putonghua. At the same time, they

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also had to know how to write traditional characters and understand texts composed in simplified characters (写繁识简). What a huge burden! Some pressure groups therefore urged the government to run more EMI schools for ethnic minority students, so that at least the English speakers could benefit while they stayed in the mainstream education system.6 After 2004, the education problems of the ethnic minorities started to attract the attention of the general public and they were subsequently included as agenda item at a number of Legislative Council meetings. They have also become a frequent topic for blog entries or special posts published by the office webpage of some Legislative Councilors. The ethnic minority language learning issue was a major event in the 2007 language life of Hong Kong.

2.2 Government and civil society support for ethnic minorities Regarding the ethnic minority education issue, the position of the Government is to provide as many channels, opportunities and resources as possible to facilitate the integration of minority children into the mainstream society, instead of introducing a new curriculum in the public school system, based on the children’s native languages. Neither is the government prepared to develop a Chinese L2 curriculum specifically for these students, worrying that such measures would in fact deter the ethnic minorities from integrating into community life and mingling with the local students. If a large proportion of the South Asian students plan to stay permanently in Hong Kong, proficiency in Chinese is a necessary requirement for both further study and for employment. Providing the ethnic minorities with a less demanding Chinese L2 curriculum may help to make life easier for them and minimize some of their worries, but that would not release them from the predicament they are trapped in because of their Chinese deficiency. What the government plans to do is to develop a supplementary guide to the existing Chinese curriculum for NCS students to facilitate a schoolbased adjustment of the curriculum during the process of implementation. The government is also planning to introduce the GCSE (Chinese) examinations of London Examinations, designed basically for UK students who learn Chinese as L2, so as to provide the NCS students in Hong Kong with more accreditation choices. 6 For example, on 4 January 2006, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Integrated Nepalese Society has sent an official letter entitled Views on the education of ethnic minority children to the Chairman of the Panel on Education of the Legislative Council. It is recorded in the Legislative Council document No. CB (2) 806/05-06 (02).

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In 2007, the Education Bureau has also introduced a number of measures to help improve the current situation of the NCS students. These measures include:7 – Providing the fifteen designated schools – ten primary and five secondary – with more substantial support, enabling them to take better care of the NCS students; – Commissioning tertiary institutions to run support centers to provide supplementary tuition for NCS students who need extra support; – Commissioning tertiary institutions to conduct training courses for Chinese language teachers who teach Chinese as a second language; – Offering four-week bridging courses during summer for newly arrived Primary One NCS students. This service will be gradually extended to students in senior years. The above measures have been implemented progressively, with the outcomes still unknown. However, the unveiling of the language and education problem of the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong has created a platform for the government, scholars, educators, and people from different sectors of the society, to re-examine the effectiveness of the Chinese language education with respect to various types of learners. More thorough discussions and an in-depth investigation are expected.

References Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR Government. 2007. Population By-Census Reports. Cheung, Yat-shing. 1984. Social Functions of Chinese and English in Hong Kong (in Chinese). Chinese & English Language Teaching, 3. Cheung, Yat-shing. 1992. The form and meaning of digraphia: the case of Chinese. In Bolton, K. & Kwok, H. (eds.) Sociolinguistics Today. Routledge. HKSAR Government. 2007. Hong Kong Year Book 2006. Retrievable at http://www.yearbook. gov.hk/2006/en/index.htm. Tsou, Benjamin K. 1984. How can language education suit the changing society of Hong Kong? (in Chinese). The Language Journal, 12. Yang, Tsung-Rong Edwin. 2002. Language problems and language policy of Hong Kong – Also on the effect of Hong Kong’s language policy on the Hakka ethnic groups (in Chinese). In Proceedings of the conference on language policies – multiculturalism and ethnic equality, held on 26–27 September 2002 at Tamkang University Taiwan. Translated by Chan Shui-Duen (陈瑞端) The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected] 7 The measures were introduced on the website of the Education Bureau of the HKSAR Government at http://www.edb.gov.hk/.

Shao Zhaoyang (邵朝阳) & Chen Qian (陈骞)

32 Legal language of Macao During the transitional period prior to the return of Macao’s sovereignty to China, there were three major issues that Macao’s society needed to address. They were: the official status of the Chinese language, localization of the legal system, and localization of civil servants – the first concern being the key issue among the three. During the colonial period, Portuguese was the only official language of Macao. It was the language used in legislative and judicial procedures, and mastery of Portuguese was a mandatory requirement for the recruitment of civil servants. Against such a historical background, legal translation was the only means to localize the legal system. At present, the practice of the so-called bilingual legislation is nothing more than translating the legal texts written in Portuguese to Chinese. Bilingual legislation in its real sense had not come into being in the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Macao until 2007, eight years after its return to China, and 15 years after the official status of the Chinese language was confirmed. Therefore, the problem of Chinese legislature and the related legal implications have become the key issue in the localization of Macao’s legal system.

1 Background: From monolingual Portuguese to the bilingual use of Portuguese and Chinese in the legislative language of Macao Macao was only a small fishing village at the southern edge of China before the 16th century. It was part of China’s territory from the time of the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC) and the Chinese government exercised governance since then. Official documents, bulletins, rules and regulations were all compiled in classical Chinese during successive dynasties. Even after the arrival of the Portuguese in Macao by the 16th century, when this village was subsequently “rented” to them as a permanent trading port, Chinese was still used as the major language in administration and legal procedures. It was recorded that Chinese was used in all government documents and official inspections in areas put under the jurisdiction of the Xiangshan (香山) County during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (Liu 1994). After the Opium War, Macao was gradually taken over by the Portuguese, subsequent to the weakening of the Qing Imperial Government. When Macao was finally regarded as an “overseas province”, i.e. “colony” of Portugal by the

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mid-19th century, the officials and clerical staff of the Qing government were expelled. Not long after that, Portugal declared Macao her colony independent of Chinese sovereignty. Portuguese was then used as the only official language of Macao. The use of Portuguese in legislative and judicial domains has a long-term impact. Under the Portuguese rule, the law of Macao was developed based on the Portuguese law, which follows the civil law tradition of continental European legal systems, and the entire judicial system operated almost exclusively in Portuguese. Even though Chinese residents amounted to 97% of Macao’s total population, the language used by this large portion of the population enjoyed no official status at all. The Macao Official Gazette1, which recorded and published the legal provisions of Macao as well as contents of government documents, contained no single entry of Chinese before the announcement of the Joint Declaration of the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Portugal on the Question of Macao (in short, the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration) (Macao Foundation 1997). The court officials and prosecutors were mainly Portuguese, who used only the Portuguese language in lawsuits. Chinese citizens of Macao and their language enjoyed no legal status, neither were they granted any rights. This situation persisted for a long time, resulting in an insurmountable distance between the Chinese and the Portuguese in terms of mutual understanding and communication. This has also had a negative impact on the social development of Macao. To ensure a stable transition after the return of Macao’s sovereignty to China, the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration stated clearly that apart from using Chinese, the Macao SAR government could also use Portuguese, which is considered another official language, side by side with Chinese. The long history of Portuguese being the sole official language of Macao thus came to an end. Considering that the legal language of Macao was not the native language of most Macao citizens, the most urgent issue to be solved during the transitional period prior to the handover was the translation of Macao’s legal provisions from Portuguese to Chinese. The task was an arduous one, given the sizable volume of the legal texts. On top of the so-called “Five Major Codes”, there were various other codes, laws and ordinances. It was reported that from 1910 to 1994, 1,623 legal documents were announced by the Official Gazette, of which 265 were included in the local law (Mi 1996). The legal translation work was a tremendously difficult task for the Macao SAR Government.

1 The Macao Official Gazette was the earliest Portuguese newspaper that posted official documents.

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Starting from 1987, the Macao Government endeavored to send its Chinese staff to Lisbon to learn Portuguese, while at the same time sending some Portuguese to Beijing to learn Putonghua. Training courses of Portuguese and Putonghua were also organized locally for civil servants, with the aim of providing basic language training for future translators. Official forms, ID documents and important legal documents were eventually compiled in both Portuguese and Chinese. From 1992 onward, important ordinances published in the Official Gazette were all provided with Chinese translations. Simultaneous interpreting was provided for criminal lawsuits trialed by the Collegial Bench starting from June 1994. A similar service was extended to include civil lawsuits processed by the Collegial Bench. The resumption of the official status of the Chinese language in the legal system of Macao implies that Chinese citizens in Macao were granted equal political rights. However, extensive use of Chinese in the legal domain was still rare, since numerous technical problems in translation were still unresolved and norms of using Chinese in the legal domain had yet to be formalized.

2 Current practice in the use of judicial language As mentioned above, Portuguese was used as the only working language in judicial departments of Macao in the long history of Portuguese rule. The vast majority of Macao citizens involved in lawsuits had to face different types of difficulties and challenges, and was often placed at disadvantaged positions as a consequence of not knowing Portuguese. Their litigation right was not safeguarded in most circumstances. The Chinese saying, “never set foot in a government office while alive, just like never set foot in hell after death”, arguably describes the attitude of a lot of Chinese living in Macao, who simply avoided as much as possible being involved in lawsuits. To eradicate such embarrassing situations and to ensure that the policy of localizing the civil servants was put into effect, an increasing proportion of officials of Chinese origin were recruited by judicial departments. As of July 1997, eleven locally trained judicial officers were appointed as judges and prosecutors of the Criminal Court, Collegial Bench and Sole Tribunal. In two court cases processed in the same month, the adjudication as well as the interrogation of the accused was conducted in Cantonese and Putonghua respectively by the locally-trained judges. The cases were handled much more efficiently without having to go through the tedious process of simultaneous interpreting. It was a big step towards the officialization of Chinese in the judicial domain of Macao.

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As far as the courts of Macao are concerned, three judges are currently appointed to the Court of Final Appeal, two of whom are Chinese; five judges are appointed to the Court of Second Instance, and three are Chinese. Chinese judges take up more than two thirds of all positions at the Court of First Instance. Obviously, the scenario is entirely different from the days when court judges were exclusively Portuguese. By scrutinizing the languages used in legal cases having been processed in the past four years, the frequency of Chinese in compiling verdicts or related instructions has increased in Sole Tribunals of most Primary Courts. Such cases included: civil and criminal cases involving juveniles, criminal cases involving simple procedures, ordinary criminal cases handled by the Sole Tribunal, cases involving labor-capital illegal activities, and divorce cases. According to the latest issue of the Court Report of the judicial year 2005– 2006, much effort was employed by the Macao Government to promote a Portuguese-Chinese bilingual practice in cases processed by courts at different levels. Table 1: Hearing dates at court and language used in court cases processed during 2005–2006 Ratio of language use (%) Court

Days of hearing

Chinese

Portuguese

Bilingual

Court of Final Appeal

77

13

21

66

Court of Second Instance

94

5

95

–

Court of First Instance

284

45

38

17

Administrative Court

260

71

29

–

Source: Macao SAR Government (2007). Court Report of the judicial year 2005–2006.

During 2005–2006, a total of 30 verdicts and decisions of the Collegial Bench of the Court of Final Appeal were compiled in both Chinese and Portuguese, which was 79% of the total concluded cases for the year, indicating a significant increase as compared to the 30% of the previous year. For the remaining cases, four Collegial Bench verdicts were compiled in Portuguese since both parties involved knew Portuguese. In the judicial year of 2005–2006, the establishment of judges at the Court of Second Instance remained unchanged. Of the five judges, two were Portuguese who could only conduct the litigation process in Portuguese. The language choice in the proceedings was also restricted by the language used in the documents prepared by the court of the first trial. The Court of Second Instance was therefore comparatively less ready to adopt Chinese as the working language.

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Having said that, the other three judges with Chinese-Portuguese bilingual proficiency processed all cases they came across and compiled the non-final-appeal verdicts in Chinese. Litigations that involved litigants and interested parties were processed in Chinese or Chinese-Portuguese by officials of the Court of Second Instance. Yet Chinese was used most frequently in the Court of First Instance and the Administrative Court where cases had their first trial. During 2005–2006, among the 5,612 verdicts produced by the Court of First Instance, 2,133 verdicts were conducted in Portuguese, 2,505 were conducted in Chinese, while 974 were in Chinese-Portuguese. The figures indicate that apart from Portuguese judges, most local judges used Chinese in compiling verdicts. This was particularly so for minor civil cases, for which 90% of the verdicts were written in Chinese. Verdicts of criminal cases compiled in either Chinese or Chinese-Portuguese amounted to 74%. In contrast, only 39% of civil case verdicts compiled by Portuguese judges, who had restricted mastery of Chinese, were in Chinese or Chinese-Portuguese. A gradual increase of Chinese usage could also be observed in the work of the Administrative Court. A total of 95 concluded cases were recorded in 2005–2006, of which 39 were concluded in Portuguese, and more than half were processed in Chinese. As a general principle of language choice in court proceedings at all levels, when issuing written notifications and conducting specific measures, judiciary staff should take into consideration the condition of the litigants, then choose a single language, either Chinese or Portuguese, while at the same time providing oral or written translations, so as to ensure that the legal rights of the litigants are guaranteed, and that the case is processed efficiently. If the litigants know Chinese, the verdicts are normally written in Chinese. By 2001, the Court of Macao had set up a committee on bilingual language use in courts under the Committee of Judges. The bilingual committee has already developed bilingual forms for the following: normal processing procedures of civil cases, divorce litigation procedures, mutually-agreed divorce procedures, inheritance clearance procedures, minor offense litigation procedures, and criminal verdict notifications. The format and operation for all sorts of court documents were also standardized. Besides, a simultaneous interpreting service was introduced before the handover. If a communication barrier was found between the litigants and the agents ad litem, or between the litigants and the judges, the court would make a choice between Chinese and Portuguese based on the actual situation. Complete and timely simultaneous interpreting or translation services would be provided for on-the-spot interrogation and related legal documents under the condition that the procedural law was strictly followed.

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3 Legal translation work In a society where bilingualism is practiced, legal translation is inevitably a key issue that needs to be addressed. Language and law were two important aspects of the wider issue of the sovereignty handover that the Macao SAR government had to handle with care. The addressing of such issues involved the cultivation of bilingual experts specializing in legal translation, who unfortunately were scarce in Macao. The Office of Legal Translation was set up in Macao in 1989, carrying out plans of translating laws and ordinances from Portuguese to Chinese, to ensure that both languages could enjoy equal legal status. It is stated in Article 9, Chapter 1 of the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China that “in addition to the Chinese language, Portuguese may also be used as an official language by the executive authorities, legislature and judiciary of the Macao Special Administrative Region.”2 Undoubtedly, legal translation is a particularly important means for the implementation of the Basic Law. To achieve the purpose, a huge amount of work had been conducted by the legislative organizations in the past years. There were 52 items of law issued in both Chinese and Portuguese in 1991, the number was increased to 166 in 1992, to 210 in 1993, and it dropped to 187 as of 22 November 1994. Furthermore, the percentage of laws, ordinances and orders accompanied by parallel Chinese texts was 41%, 3% and 1% respectively in 1988. The percentage was raised to 100%, 100% and 17% respectively by 1993. In the past, the official documents of the Macao Portuguese Government were mainly translated by the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs. After the establishment of the Legal Translation Office of the Macao Government, legal translation work was gradually taken up by the Office instead. At present, apart from a small number of non-legal documents that are handled by translation firms, most laws, ordinances and codes are translated by the Office of Legal Translation. The Chinese translation of the existing Macao laws can be categorized into three types: the first type are translations published by the Macao Government before 1992, when Chinese had no official status. Those translations were not taken as legal specifications to be followed, although they were treated slightly higher than texts for referential use only. Among the translated texts, those processed after 1987 by the Office of Legal Translation were of higher quality, containing more standard language use. Improper use of language and mistakes

2 Government Printing Bureau of Macao SAR. Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Retrieved from http://bo.io.gov.mo/bo/i/1999/ leibasica/index_uk.asp.

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were found in texts translated by other units before and after 1987, generating a negative effect on the standardization of the legal system. The second type consists of texts translated and issued by the Office of Legal Translation after the official status of Chinese had been confirmed in 1992. Such translated texts were translated from the laws recorded in Portuguese and announced by the Governor. Although the draft translated texts were deliberated on by Legislative Councilors and Consultative Committee Members, and endorsed by the Legislative Council, the final Chinese texts did not go through a proper approval procedure by the Legislative Council. Therefore, it is doubtful whether or not they could be treated as equally valid as the Portuguese original texts. The third type consists of translated Chinese texts composed by newspaper agencies, civil organizations and academic institutions, the quality of which varies substantially. For such reasons, compiling a set of systematic and extensive PortugueseChinese glossary for legal translation is the most important task of the Office of Legal Translation. Not long after the establishment of the Office, the first Portuguese-Chinese, Chinese-Portuguese glossary of legal terms with 1,200 entries was published by the Office of Legal Translation in 1992. This glossary, entitled Glossário Juridico Português-Chinêse, turned out to be a very useful reference for translation of legal documents. An online version of the Glossário Juridico Chinêse-Português/Português-Chinêse was also prepared. It has been constantly updated by the Office in recent years, and a revised printed copy will soon be published. Thanks to the unremitting effort of the Office of Legal Translation, the Macao Government managed, to a large extent, to issue important laws in both Portuguese and Chinese, pushing a big step forward in the decolonization of the legal system. Such effort also facilitates the spread and understanding of legal knowledge among the Macao citizens, ensuring that their legal rights are protected. That said, there still exist various kinds of practical problems in legal translation that need to be solved. Legal translation, similar to translation of scientific texts, literary work, official documents, news and advertisements, is highly technical and specialized. It is thus relatively difficult to handle. Numerous special jargons are used in legal procedures that require a high degree of precision and accuracy to prevent distorting the meaning of the legal documents concerned. It is highly demanding for the translators to come up with a translated text that contains the same level of precision and accuracy as the original text.

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4 Existing problems In executing the Macao legal language planning policies, there are several pressing problems that should be addressed. For instance, there is a lack of legal language experts in Macao; the notion of “Chinese” in the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region needs to be clearly defined; and the norm and standard of Chinese legal texts has not yet developed. These problems are further discussed below.

4.1 Legal language experts The language expert required in the legal domain of Macao should possess a combination of skills, namely profound knowledge of the legal profession, as well as a high proficiency level in both Chinese and Portuguese. Such kind of an expert is in severe shortage, partly as a consequence of the dominance of the Portuguese language during the colonial era, and partly owing to the lack of effort expended on the training of translators after the handover. Unlike some other colonial rulers who forced cultural policies on their colonial subjects, the Portuguese government did not pay much attention to the teaching of Portuguese to the Chinese citizens of Macao. In the past, Portuguese was only taught as a mandatory subject and used as the medium of instruction in a limited number of government schools that enrolled primarily locally born Portuguese. It was seldom a compulsory subject in the curriculum of most private schools. Only because of the need for bilingual experts arising from the handover, the Directorate of Education extended its governance right to cover private schools, promoting the setting up of Portuguese promotion centers. Portuguese was gradually listed as an elective subject in some private schools. However, the lack of bilingual experts was an immediate obstacle for the transition of the Macao legal system that school education was not able to remove within a short period of time. Chinese was understood by only a small number of Portuguese-speaking citizens, and similarly, only a small number of Chinese residents understood Portuguese. The majority of locally born Portuguese, even though many of them were proficient in Cantonese, had only limited knowledge of written Chinese. Below is a brief account of the situation before the handover: Firstly, there was basically no Chinese official in the Macao court and prosecution system before the handover as a consequence of the language barrier. Legal workers comprised primarily Portuguese or locally-born Portuguese. According to the statistics from 1 October 1994 (Mi 1996), there were 87 lawyers and 13 trainee solicitors in Macao. Among them, the nine lawyers who formally started

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their own business were all locally-born Portuguese. Among the registered trainees, only one was of Chinese descent, but was actually a locally-born Portuguese. Secondly, lawyers, prosecutors, legal experts and professors working for the courts, prosecution institutions, government organizations and the Law Faculty of the University of Macao were mostly recruited from Portugal. Highly qualified and experienced legal workers were in acute shortage in Macao. Those with knowledge of the Chinese language were even rarer. Thirdly, the training of legal experts started late in Macao, and failed to meet the demand of the society. The law program provided by the University of Macao in the past simply followed the Portuguese legal system. Restricted by the medium of instruction, Chinese-speaking students often found it difficult to pursue their studies due to insufficient language proficiency. In 1989, more than 100 students were recruited by the Law Faculty3 of the University of Macao and only less than 70 students managed to progress to Year 2. The number of students who stayed until the final examination dropped further to 17. The main reason for their dropping out was their inability to cope with the language problem. As a result, the first two cohorts of graduates of the law program were mainly locally-born Portuguese. A Hong Kong legal expert pointed out that the privilege enjoyed by the legal profession is an obvious outcome when legal knowledge and legal service are being monopolized. In a legal system where a foreign language is used as the primary language, this privilege is merged with and strengthened by the privilege of the lawyers who speak this foreign language. The mysteriousness of laws, deriving from their complexity and technicality, is further exaggerated by expressing them through the use of a foreign language (Chen 1989). The restricted use of language in the legal domain of Macao has generated a number of problems: it hindered the promotion and development of the Portuguese language, and at the same time prevented the adoption of the Chinese language in administrative and legal domains.

4.2 Chinese: Putonghua or Cantonese? The notion of “Chinese” is not clearly defined in both the Joint Declaration of the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Portugal on the Question of Macao and the Basic Law of the Macao Special 3 The Faculty only provided law programmes in Portuguese at that time. A Chinese stream was added after the handover.

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Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. It is not clear what type of Chinese should be used in the litigation processes of the courts. Should the spoken language be Cantonese or Putonghua? Should the written language be modern standard Chinese or classical Chinese? A “biliteracy and trilingualism” policy was thus adopted by the Government. The written forms refer to written Chinese and written Portuguese, while the spoken forms refer to Cantonese, Putonghua and spoken Portuguese. In contexts such as Legislative Council meetings or court interrogations, simultaneous interpreting in all the three spoken languages has to be provided, although there is no legally binding use of these spoken languages. In Macao, the use of Cantonese is unlike the use of a dialect in other parts of China. Before the handover, it was the lingua franca of most Macao citizens while Putonghua, the standard national language, was much less popular. Civil servants of Macao spoke very poor Putonghua and a large portion of the population was “afraid” of speaking it. It was only after the handover that learning Putonghua became a must, following the closer contact between people of Macao and mainland China. At the beginning of the 21st century, Cantonese is still commonly used in daily communications of Macao citizens, but the use of Putonghua is becoming more frequent. Modern standard Chinese has also gained in popularity in daily usage, and the general fluency in it is rising. In the legal domain, both Cantonese and Putonghua are used. Cantonese is generally used in interrogation processes, while modern standard Chinese based on Putonghua is used in concluding the cases and in making judgments. It is anticipated that this situation will last for a long period of time.

4.3 Standardization of translated Chinese legal texts As of 2007, the five major Codes of Macao were all provided with a Chinese translation and almost all legal articles have been translated as well. What remains to be settled is the standardization of the translated texts. Grammatical errors and problematic expressions can easily be spotted in many translated legal documents. Some of the texts are incomprehensible because of the improper mix of Portuguese and Cantonese grammar, classical and modern expressions, and words carrying ambiguous meanings.

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5 Prospect: Building up of a bilingual legislation concept The core and key issue of the Chinese-Portuguese bilingual legislation in Macao is the bilingual processing of legal ordinances, executive papers and judicial documents. In terms of legislature, all local laws of Macao are now promulgated in both Chinese and Portuguese with equal legitimacy. Legislative Council meetings are all provided with a simultaneous interpreting service in both Chinese and Portuguese. Motions put forward by the Government and Legislative Councilors are compiled in both languages. Those submitted in either Chinese or Portuguese will be translated into the other language before they are put forward for discussion. In terms of the judiciary, Chinese judicial officers who process cases involving Chinese litigants will use Chinese in the court, prepare related documents in Chinese, and make reference to the Chinese version of the laws. Similarly, Portuguese will be used by Portuguese judicial officers involving Portuguese litigants. Judging from the actual practice in recent years, the bilingualism policy has been maintained by means of translation. In 1992 and 1993, the statement “should there be any discrepancy between the Chinese and Portuguese version of all texts in the Official Gazette of the Macao Government, the correct interpretation is the Portuguese version” was put on the first page of the Official Gazette. Although the statement was deleted after the announcement of the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, this change did not truly reflect the relationship between the translated Chinese text and the original Portuguese text in terms of legal legitimacy. The assumption that there is no legal translation problem whenever there is a Chinese version of the laws is simply misleading. During the transitional period, the translation of legal texts from Portuguese to Chinese should only be regarded as a temporary measure. There is always a possibility of distorting the meaning of the original text once it is translated into another language – this is precisely the problem of legal translation in Macao. By strictly following the structure of the source text with the aim of maintaining the original meaning, the translated version, full of expressions deviating from the norm of Chinese grammar, always turned out to be unreadable or unintelligible. There are huge differences between Chinese and Portuguese in terms of phonological and syntactic structure and a direct translation has proven problematic. In the daily communication of Macao citizens the situation is further complicated by the use of Cantonese, which is different from standard Chinese

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Shao Zhaoyang (邵朝阳) & Chen Qian (陈骞)

in a number of aspects. Dialectal influences can be commonly found in written Chinese produced in Macao. All these factors add up to create huge challenges for legal translation workers. A Chinese legislation, i.e. the construction of laws in Chinese, should be the ultimate goal. Only by doing this can the cultures of both Chinese and Portuguese be fully reflected in the legislative process, and due respect be paid to the cultural tradition of the majority of Macao citizens. This is also the way to strengthen the legal system of Macao. Otherwise, bilingual legislation will just be an empty promise.

References Chen, Albert Hung Yee. 1989. Laws expressed in a foreign language: the Hong Kong example. Challenges of the transitional period. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. Joint Declaration of the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Portugal on the Question of Macao. 1996. Macao: Macao Foundation. Liu, Xianbing (刘羡冰). 1994. Language situation and foreign language communication in Macao before and after the founding of the port. Zhongguo Yuwen, 1. Mi, Yetian (米也天). 1996. The similarities and differences of the legal transition issues between Macao and Hong Kong and their relative policies. The legal institutions of Macao and the civil law system. Beijing: China University of Political Science and Law Press. Translated by Chan, Shui-Duen (陈瑞端) The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Yu Guilin (余桂林)

33 Language situation in Taiwan Language policies and changes in Taiwan (台湾) in 2007–2008 showed the following characteristics:

1 Language policies 1.1 “Rectification of names” launched by the DPP authorities 1.1.1 Revision of names denoting China When the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power, it spared no effort to launch a campaign of a so-called “rectification of names”. As a result, the year 2006 abounded with a number of such activities, for example, China Airlines (华航专机) was changed to Mandarin Airlines, and the following year witnessed such events more frequently. A case in point was the change of Chunghwa Post (中华邮政) into Taiwan Post (台湾邮政) in February, the estimated cost of which was at least one billion new Taiwanese Dollars. Meanwhile, revisions were made in laws, agreements and contracts of the postal service, as well as in the registration of brand names, designs, land and the premises concerned. In the same month, the Chinese Petroleum Corp was renamed CPC Corporation, Taiwan (CPC) and the Central Bank of China was renamed the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The Taiwanese authorities claimed that confusion was avoided with the new English versions. In March, 中国造船公司 (China Ship Building Corporation) acquired its new name: 台湾国际造船股份有限公司 (CSBC Taiwan). It was alleged that approximately 20 million new Taiwanese Dollars were spent on it. However, the Taiwanese authorities claimed that much money was saved by leaving the English name unchanged, and no adjustments needed to be made for the business on the international market.

1.1.2 Revision of names associated with Chiang Kai-shek In 1996, 介寿路 ( Jieshou lu, ‘Long live Chiang Kai-shek Road’) was changed into 凯达格兰大道 (Kaidagelan dadao, ‘Ketagalan Boulevard’), and 介寿馆 ( Jieshou guan, ‘Long live Chiang Kai-shek Hall’) into Presidential Office Building (总统府

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总统府). In 2006, Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (中正国际机场) became Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (台湾桃园国际机场), and in March 2007, it was decided the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正 纪念堂) be renamed the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall (国立台湾 民主纪念馆). On 19 May, the new name was hung up while the original name was covered up with drapery. This was opposed in various forms by the National Party (NP) and the People First Party. The Taipei municipal government tentatively determined it was a historic site and recommended an entrance fee to the departments concerned; and on 7 June, both parties abolished the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall Regulations through the legislative institution. In December, certain departments of the Taiwanese government decided to remove the plaque bearing 大中至正 (Dazhong zhizheng, ‘Great Centeredness and Perfect Uprightness’), which contains Chiang Kai-shek’s style name 中正 (Zhongzheng), and replace it with the inscriptions of 自由广场 (Ziyou guangchang, ‘Liberty Square’). The DPP authorities completed the change on the eighth of the month amidst opposition from the municipal government and many people.

1.2 The National Party’s revision of the “anti-Mainland” policy 1.2.1 Chunghwa Post restored its name On 28 May 2008, the department of communications of the new executive authorities of Taiwan issued a new release, proclaiming that the characters 中华 (Zhonghua, ‘China’) would be on stamps in August and that in principle, the inscriptions 中华民国邮票 (Zhonghua minguo youpiao, ‘Republic of China Postage stamp’) would be restored in the future (The characters Chunghwa are to be restored on the stamps in Taiwan in August 2008). On 1 August, the Taiwan Post board conference was held to pass the rehabilitation of the original name and it completed the procedure of submission to the ministry and restored its old signboard three days later, with the characters 台湾邮政 (Taiwan youzheng, ‘Taiwan Post’) removed from over thirty post offices, ATMs and service vehicles all over Taiwan (The original sign of Chunghwa Post Company in Taiwan will be resumed on the fourth 2008).

1.2.2 Implementation of the “anti-mainland” teaching syllabus postponed The new syllabus to be implemented in 2010 triggered considerable controversy in all circles in Taiwan. Zheng Ruicheng (郑瑞城), head of the local education

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administration, promised a postponement on 29 May 2008 and requested relevant departments to do a final research before giving a definite answer in the near future. It was reported that the new syllabus stipulated that the fundamental Chinese teaching materials should be made optional, instead of compulsory as it was previously, and some anti-mainland content in the new syllabus had caused widespread dispute in Taiwan. Considering that the students and their parents are eager to know whether such a policy is to be enforced or not, Zheng expressed his intention to shelve the plan for the moment and called for discussions before making a final decision (Wang & Shen 2008).

1.3 Bringing back Hanyu Pinyin (汉语拼音, the Mainland Chinese Phonetic Alphabet) to transcribe Chinese 1.3.1 The strife between Tongyong Pinyin (通用拼音) and Hanyu Pinyin On 26 July 1999, when in office, the National Party established the Office of Education Reform and Promotion to adopt Hanyu Pinyin for transcribing Chinese characters. However, when the Democratic Progressive Party came into power, the reshuffled National Languages Committee vetoed Hanyu Pinyin on 16 September 2000 and passed a system called Tongyong Pinyin (通用拼音, ‘General Chinese Phonetic Alphabet Plan [GCPAP]’), claiming that it conformed to Taiwanese customs and was highly compatible with indigenous languages.1 In 2002, following the imposition of the new scheme, the education authorities of Taiwan distributed copies of Practical Guideline for Chinese Transcription (中文 译音使用原则) all over the island, but failed to carry it out. Therefore, a great deal of confusion was created as a consequence of the different systems that prevailed in different areas.

1.3.2 Reintroduction of Hanyu Pinyin In June 2008, when interviewed by the press, Zhenɡ Chouyu (郑愁予), a wellknown Taiwanese poet, remarked that reconsideration should be given to Hanyu Pinyin developed in Mainland China and adopted by most people around the world, including the world-famous Library of Congress in America, so that the 1 This scheme was devised by Yu Boquan (余伯泉), who is a researcher from the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.

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practice in Taiwan can be aligned with the international standards, regardless of ideological matters. With regard to this proposal, Zeng Zhilang (曾志朗), who was responsible for administration affairs in Taiwan, was very supportive and stressed that it was ill-advised not to give any heed to the fact that many countries had adopted Hanyu Pinyin as the standard both in Chinese language teaching and in academic journals (Zhang & Lin 2008). On the other hand, the implementation of Tongyong Pinyin proved to be unsuccessful. At the very beginning, 19% of the administrative personnel represented in the programs of land utilisation and requisition also expressed their opposition to the new scheme. Meanwhile, the Gaoxiong (高雄) DPP municipal authorities proposed the use of Hanyu Pinyin in order to conform with the rest of world (He 2008). On 20 December, the Taiwanese administration issued the newly revised Practical Guideline for Chinese Transcription, Clause 2 of which establishes Hanyu Pinyin as the major system to transcribe Chinese characters with, and Article 2 of Clause 4 encourages the application of Hanyu Pinyin in transcribing names in passports and household registrations. Clause 6 sets out the principle of Chinese character Romanisation on the basis of Hanyu Pinyin, and Clause 7 stipulates that Hanyu Pinyin ought to be taken as the criterion with the exception of some established and conventional cases.2

1.4 The National Party’s efforts to enlist traditional Chinese characters into the World Cultural Heritage List It was reported that Liu Zhaoxuan (刘兆玄), head of the Taiwan Cabinet, expressed his intention to apply for the inclusion of traditional Chinese characters in the list of World Cultural Heritage. For this purpose, a task group would be set up after the Spring Festival to make joint efforts with major universities across the world and they hoped to achieve the objective in four years. Zeng Zhilang, who is in charge of this program, remarked that it was touching to see that publishers like Oxford University Press use traditional Chinese characters – that fact triggered the current effort (Li Shunde 2008).

2 Available at http://www.edu.tw/files/site_content/M0001/yuanze.pdf.

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2 Language policies in education 2.1 Local language teaching In order to strengthen indigenous awareness and reduce the importance of Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan, the DPP government ordered the department of education to formulate and enforce a series of language policies and measures favorable to its long term strategy of independence.

2.1.1 The first batch of recommended Min-Nan (闽南语, or Manlam ngy, or Hokkien) words The education department of the DPP authorities claimed to have spent approximately four years to draw up a list of the basic words of Min-Nan in Taiwan and the department completed the first list of words for recommendation to clear up confusion in local teaching materials. The list was made public on 30 May 2007, showing etymological entries, pronunciation, Mandarin counterparts, and examples for each word. It also claimed that work was still under way toward a longer list of 2,000 common words.

2.1.2 Fulfilling the formulation of a “Six-Year Plan for the Aboriginal Language Renaissance” As part of its overall pro-independence policy, the Taiwan Cabinet of the DPP authorities studied and formulated a program entitled the “Six-Year Plan for the Aboriginal Language Renaissance”, the first scheme of this kind, which started in 2008. The intention was to record the traditional orally-inherited words in a written form, so as to endow them with longer life and grant them the right as a legitimate language, which is considered significant for the development of a diverse culture in Taiwan. The “Six-Year Plan” envisages ten duties to be carried out: 1) to complete the linguistic regulations of aboriginal languages; 2) to establish agencies to encourage aboriginal languages; 3) to compile national language dictionaries and aboriginal language teaching materials; 4) to promote the research and development of aboriginal languages; 5) to train personnel to revitalise the aboriginal languages; 6) to promote the domestication, tribalization and communalization of the aboriginal languages; 7) to implement the teaching of aboriginal languages with the aid of various communications media

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and digital technology; 8) to organize the testing of aboriginal language competence and accreditation; 9) to train personnel to collect and compile national folk customs and modern ballads; and 10) to educate translators of important policies, orders, and aboriginal languages (Zhang 2007).

2.1.3 The certificate test of aboriginal language competence To encourage the learning of aboriginal languages, the native students are offered favorite treatment when they enter senior middle schools or higher education by awarding bonus marks of 25% of their total scores if they participate in the proficiency test and 35% of their total scores if they pass the test. The first test was held on 10 March 2007 with listening comprehension (60%) and speaking (40%). 9,700 aboriginal graduates took part in it and the questions were played on audiotapes and answered in the students’ native languages.

2.2 Redefining Guoyu (国语, ‘National Language’) On the morning of 29 March 2007, the Committee of Education and Culture of Taiwan’s Legislature discussed the “national language development policy”, and the Committee of Cultural Construction of Taiwan’s Administration, Taiwan’s Education Administration and other organizations made their special reports to an inquiry. The NP member and legislator Lu Xiuyan (卢秀燕) pointed out that the essence of the Law of National Language Development is to respect all native languages, so that Taiwanese, Hakka, and aboriginal languages should all be called Guoyu. Considering the fact that some people regarded Beijing Mandarin as Guoyu, she was doubtful whether it should be called a foreign language if the current local language textbooks were to be changed to Guoyu? The DPP member and legislator Guan Biling (管碧玲) voiced her dissatisfaction with the names of various languages. She criticized the great confusion found in the reports of the education department when so many current Guoyu were mentioned: Hanyu (汉语, ‘Chinese language’), Huayu (华语, ‘Overseas Chinese language’), Beijing hua (北京话, ‘Beijing Mandarin’), Taiyu (台语, ‘Taiwanese’), Min-Nan (闽南语, or Manlam ngy, or Hokkien), Heluo hua (河洛话, ‘Hô-ló language’), and Fulao hua (福佬话, ‘Hok-ló Hokkien’) (Yan 2007).

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3 The problem of “unsuitable words” 3.1 Origin “Unsuitable words” was a term preferred by the education department of Taiwan when the DPP came to power. In 2007, the DPP education authorities pointed out there was great confusion in the use of words in the primary and secondary school textbooks since the time they were permitted nongovernmental compilation, and consequently, the students got considerably confused. The easily-confused words appeared mostly in the context of history. To ameliorate this situation, Du Zhengsheng (杜正胜), who was in charge of the education department, instructed that specialists be authorized to examine those textbooks and the Historical Society of Taiwan was eventually entrusted with this job. In July, a 348-page report was submitted with more than 5,000 “unsuitable words” found in all textbook editions of primary and secondary schools. The words in this category included: 国父 (ɡuofu, ‘father of the nation’), 国画 (ɡuohua, ‘national painting’), 国字 (ɡuozi, ‘national characters’), 国剧 (ɡuoju, ‘national theater’), 古人 (ɡuren, ‘ancient people’), 中日(甲午)战争 (Zhong ri jiawu zhanzheng, ‘Sino-Japanese War’ [1894–1895]), 两岸 (liang’an, ‘across the Strait’), and 台湾地区 (Taiwan diqu, ‘Taiwan region’). Over 2,000 Chinese place names without the prefix 中国 (Zhongguo, ‘China’) were also on the list. The report was then distributed to textbook compilers and publishers for reference.

3.2 Classification of “unsuitable words” The so-called “unsuitable words” may be classified into two major types: common abbreviations, and idiomatic expressions. Examples of the former like 国字 (ɡuozi, ‘national characters’), 国画 (ɡuohua, ‘national painting’), and 国乐 (ɡuoyue, ‘national music’) were to be changed into the more specific 中国字 (Zhongguo zi, ‘Chinese characters’), 中国画 (Zhongguo hua, ‘Chinese painting’), and 中国音乐 (Zhongguo yinyue, ‘Chinese music’). Since the DPP government opted for two independent countries on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, places in China proper and Taiwan were expected to bear the label of 中国 (Zhongguo, ‘China’) and 台湾 (Taiwan, ‘Taiwan’) respectively. The latter is more complicated than the former. For example, the geographically-based 海峡两岸 (Haixia liang’an, ‘across the Taiwan Strait’) covered in the report was proposed to be written as 一边一国 (yi bian yi ɡuo, ‘a country on each side’) or 两个国家 (liang ge guojia, ‘two countries’). According to the report, 古人 (ɡuren, ‘the ancients’), should be changed into 中国古人 (Zhongguo ɡuren, ‘the ancient Chinese’). As

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it is often claimed that the culture across the Strait is in origin related by blood rather than annexed abruptly, it is easy to perceive the intention of the Taiwanese authorities to cut off the umbilical cord between the two sides (A change of 5,000 words to de-sinicise primary and high school textbooks of Taiwan 2007).

3.3 Standards of examination The standards of examination, according to the analysis of the Taiwanese media, are comprised of the following: 1) Non-neutral terms smacking of deliberate commendation or derogation, regardless of historical facts, should be abandoned. For example, 国父孙中 山先生 (ɡuofu Sun Zhongshan xianshenɡ, ‘our National Father Dr. Sun Yat-sen’) should be changed into 孙中山先生 (Sun Zhongshan xianshenɡ, ‘Dr. Sun Yat-sen’). 2) Terms of self-dwarfing or unclear subject consciousness like 台湾地区 (Taiwan diqu, ‘Taiwan region’), 全省各地 (quan shenɡ ɡedi, ‘all over the province’), and 两岸 (liang’an, ‘both shores’) were regarded as unsuitable. 3) The name China, ignoring historical fact and the political status quo, should be corrected. For example, 我国 (woguo, ‘our country’) in 王羲之是我国著 名的书法家 (Wang Xizhi shi woɡuo zhuming de shufajia, ‘Wang Xizhi is a famous calligrapher of our country’) should be rephrased using the word 中国 (Zhongguo, ‘China’) to replace 我国 (woguo, ‘our country’). 4) Proper names in different political periods of Mainland China and Taiwan should be modified by the country’s name. For example, 余光中，福建省 永春县人 (Yu Guangzhong, Fujian sheng Yongchun xian ren, ‘Yu Guangzhong was born in Yongchun County of Fujian Province’), is not precise enough, so 原籍中国 (yuanji Zhongguo, ‘China in origin’) should be added at the end. 5) Timelines and dates of personages and events in Taiwan during the Japanese occupation, e.g., the 23rd year of the Republic of China in the Japanese reign, should be changed into 1934 A.D., i.e. the Western calendar, without reference to the Qing Dynasty or the Republic of China. 6) Inexact words like 国字 (ɡuozi, ‘national characters’), 国画 (ɡuohua, ‘national painting’), 国剧 (ɡuoju, ‘national theater’), and 古典诗词 (ɡudian shici, ‘classical poetry’) ought to be specified as Chinese by prefixing them with 中国. 7) Words related with ancient China, such as 历史上 (lishishang, ‘in history’), 古时候 (ɡushihou, ‘in the old times’), 古代 (ɡudai, ‘ancient times’), 上古时 代 (shanggu shidai, ‘remote ages’), 老祖宗 (laozuzonɡ, ‘forefathers’), and 古人 (ɡuren, ‘the ancients’), which are not self-explanatory, should therefore display the word China as well.

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It was also suggested in the report that Chinese should be called 华夏民族 (Huaxia minzu, ‘Cathay’) before the emergence of the term 中华民族 (Zhonghua minzu, ‘China’) in the modern era; 外省人 (waisheng ren, ‘people from other provinces’) should be reclassified as 中国各省随中华民国政府迁台人士或新 住民 (Zhongguo ge sheng sui Zhonghua Minguo zhengfu qian Tai renshi huo xinzhumin, ‘people of different Chinese provinces who migrated to Taiwan following the Republican government; or new inhabitants’); 国历 (ɡuoli, ‘national calendar’) be changed into 阳历 ( yangli, ‘solar calendar’), and 中外游客 (Zhongwai youke, ‘Chinese and foreign tourists’) into 国内外游客 (ɡuoneiwai youke, ‘domestic and foreign tourists’) (A change of 5,000 words to de-sinicise primary and high school textbooks of Taiwan 2007).

4 The language and literature of folk activities 4.1 The cultural communication between Taiwan and Mainland China 4.1.1 The simplified Chinese advertisements at Tainan (台南) City In 2007, tourists from Mainland China were permitted to visit Taiwan. In response to this policy change, Tainan City had made its preparations by printing 100,000 copies of simplified Chinese DM (Direct Mail) advertising leaflets. The municipal government announced that these advertisements were to be placed at all scenic spots and key traffic stations of the city. Previous DM in Chinese had adopted the traditional Chinese characters in addition to Japanese and English, and the simplified Chinese version was added with a similar introduction to the city’s unique features (Li Zhonɡwei 2007).

4.1.2 The simplified Chinese characters in restaurant menus In July 2008, direct flights began between Mainland China and Taiwan. In order to effectively attract and entertain visitors from Mainland China, the foodservice industry organized training programs to familiarize their staff with the idiomatic language usage of Mainland Chinese, some restaurants even prepared introductions and tourist booklets in simplified Chinese. Brief introductions, signs and tourist maps in simplified Chinese were made available at Tayih Landis Hotel of Tainan and at the Hotel Tainan (Ruan 2008).

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4.1.3 The publication of word books Despite the fact that Chinese is spoken across the Taiwan Strait, there is a considerable difference in vocabulary. Prior to the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games, a book entitled Expressions Across the Strait (两岸词语实时通) was published in Taiwan. Compiled by Kang Zhaoxiang (康照祥), a senior press professional, the book contains words with definitions, examples and their counterparts from Taiwan, and was intended to help the local people learn some commonly used words across the Strait. Words like 猫腻 (maoni, ‘trick’) and 软 肋 (ruanlei, ‘Achilles’ heel’) are Mainland expressions and therefore remain incomprehensible to Taiwanese; 白骨精 (baigujing, ‘White Bone Demon’), originally the Skeleton Demon in the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West, became the abbreviation for 白领+骨干+精英 (bailing + gugan + jingying, ‘white collar + backbone + elite’); and 主观题 (zhuguan ti, ‘subjective questions’) is called 申论题 (shenlun ti, ‘essay tests’) in Taiwan (Gao 2008).

4.2 Emphasis on the traditional Chinese culture 4.2.1 A proposal to increase the proportion of ancient Chinese language teaching The education administration of the NP authorities in power has made a tentative decision to add more hours of national language and increase the proportion of ancient Chinese language by 45% in Syllabus 98 (Senior High School Curriculum Syllabus of 2009). The Chinese Language Instruction Rescue Alliance held that this was insufficient and called for replacing Syllabus 98 and the Syllabus 95 in current use (Senior High School Curriculum Syllabus of 2006) with Syllabus 84 (Senior High School Curriculum Syllabus of 1995). In the Syllabus 95, traditional Chinese accounts for 45%, while in Syllabus 84 and in another earlier version the proportion was 65% and 70% respectively. The Alliance also requested that the Selected Readings of the Analects of Confucius and the Book of Mencius become an independent compulsory course, and that the national language classes be increased to five (Zhang 2008).

4.2.2 The flight attendants’ use of Chinese dialects The weekend charter flights across the Taiwan Strait started on 1 July 2008, and the airlines of Taiwan made meticulous preparations to impress all new passengers

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with an excellent service. The first flight attendants of China Airlines and Mandarin Airlines spoke fluent Shanghainese, Cantonese and Min-Nan dialects and most passengers were very satisfied (Chen 2008).

References A change of 5,000 words to de-sinicise primary and high school textbooks of Taiwan (改掉5000 用词台湾中小学教科书全面去中国化). 23 July 2007. http://www.huaxia. com/tw/sdbd/ zq/2007/00654997.html. Chen, Liangren (陈俍任). 2 July 2008. The weekend chartered flights to Taiwan woo passengers through speaking various dialects of Mainland China (周末包机比贴心，台湾航空流利大 陆方言迎宾). United Daily News. Gao, Dalin (高大林). 6 August 2008. Corresponding Words and Expressions from across the Strait hit the shelves, taking advantage of the Beijing Olympic Games (赶搭奥运热《两岸 词语实时通》台湾上架). http://www.chinataiwan.org/xwzx/bwkx/200808/ t20080806_717501.htm. He, Mingguo (何明国). 17 September 2008. Chinese transliterations in Hanyu Pinyin without being complemented by the Official Phonetic Alphabet (中文译音采汉语 不补助通用). United Daily News. Li, Shunde (李顺德). 18 December 2008. Seeking encouragement from all universities that traditional Chinese characters be put on the World Heritage List by UNESCO (正体字申遗 我争取全球大学连署). United Daily News. Li, Zhongwei (李仲维). 8 October 2007. Simplified Chinese DM will be introduced to cater for customers from the Mainland (迎接大陆客行销府城 南市简体字DM将出炉). Central Daily News (Electronic Version). Ruan, Qiwen (阮琦雯). 20 June 2008. Restaurant menu reprinted in simplified Chinese to win the Mainlanders (抢攻陆客，饭店换菜单、改简体字). China Daily News. The characters Chunghwa (中華) are to be restored on the stamps in Taiwan in August (台湾发 行邮票自八月起全部改回“中华”字样). 29 May 2008. http://news.xinhuanet.com/tw/ 2008-05/29/content_8276384.htm. The original sign of Chunghwa Post Company in Taiwan will be resumed on the fourth (台湾“中华邮政”4日将挂回旧招牌). 1 August 2008. http://www.chinanews.com.cn/tw/ jjwh/news/2008/08-01/1332669.shtml. Wang, Jinsheng (汪金生) & Shen, Peng (沈鹏). 29 May 2008. Taiwan Authorities will postpone the “anti-mainland” education syllabus (台当局将暂缓施行“去中国化”教育大纲). http:// news.xinhuanet.com/tw/2008-05/29/content_8277374.htm. Yan, Guangtao (阎光涛). 29 March 2007. The new language policy was formulated and the blue legislators asked: Is the national language to be called a foreign language? (语言政策制 定 蓝委质疑国语将改称外来语). Central Daily News (Electronic Version). Zhang, Dazhi (张达智). 11 May 2007. The revised 6-year scheme of aboriginal languages is to be implemented next year (原民语言振兴6年计划 明年起推动). Central Daily News (Electronic Version).

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Zhanɡ, Jinhong (张锦弘) & Lin, Jiaqi (林嘉琪). 9 June 2008. Zhenɡ Chouyu’s proposal: adopting hanyu pinyin in Chinese character transliteration (郑愁予建议：中文译音 可采汉语拼音). United Daily News. Zhang, Xiaofeng (张晓风). 5 October 2008. Traditional Chinese in senior high school national language courses should rate higher than a proportional 55% (高中国文文言文比例应 大于55%). Central Daily News (Electronic Version). Translated by Liang Xiaopeng (梁晓鹏) Qingdao (青岛) University of Science & Technology [email protected]

Jiang Zixia (姜自霞) & Li Qiang (李强)

Appendix 1 A record of major Chinese language events (2007) Introduction The list below covers the major events of China’s language life in 2007–2008, it is not concerned with any research of language per se. It was chiefly collated from the following sources: Yuwen Xinxi (语文信息, ‘Information of Language and Writing’), Yuyan Wenzi Zhoubao (语言文字周报, ‘Language and Writing Weekly’), Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (语言文字应用, ‘Applied Linguistics’), Zhongguo Yuwen (中国语文, ‘Chinese Language and Writing’), Minzu Yuwen (民族语 文, ‘Minority Languages of China’), Hanyu Xuexi (汉语学习, ‘Chinese Language Learning’), Hanyu Xuebao (汉语学报, ‘Chinese Linguistics’), Yuyan Jiaoxue yu Yanjiu (语言教学与研究, ‘Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies’), Shijie Hanyu Jiaoxue (世界汉语教学, ‘Chinese Teaching in the World’), Dangdai Yuyanxue (当代语言学, ‘Contemporary Linguistics’), Guhanyu Yanjiu (古汉语 研究, ‘Research on Ancient Chinese’), Yuyan Kexue (语言科学, ‘Linguistic Sciences’), Cishu Yanjiu (辞书研究, ‘Lexicographical Studies’), Zhongwen xinxi xuebao (中文信息学报, ‘Journal of Chinese Information Processing’) and Zhongguo Yuyan Wenzi wang (中国语言文字网, www.china-language.gov.cn), etc.

January 7 January: The opening ceremony of the Research Center for Chinese Writing Regulation and Standardization, co-founded by the Ministry of Education and Beijing (北京) Normal University, and the inaugural meeting of the Center’s Academic Committee were held at this university. 12 January: The top-ten buzzwords in China’s newspapers, broadcasting and television of 2006 were jointly released by China National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center (hereafter CNLR), Beijing Language and Culture University, Communication University of China, and the Chinese Information Processing Society of China.

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16 January: The Editorial Department of Yao Wen Jiao Zi (咬文嚼字, ‘Biting Words and Chewing Characters’) released the top ten errors of the highest frequency and broadest coverage in Chinese writing. 16–19 January: The Cross-Strait Conference on Biological Terms was held in Taipei by the China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies (hereafter CNCT) and the K. T. Li Foundation for the Development of Science and Technology, Taiwan. 24–26 January: The 4th Chinese Digitization Forum of Greater China was jointly held in Macao by authorities of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.

February 1–4 February: The 11th National Symposium on the Information Processing of Minority Languages and Scripts was held by the Chinese Language Information Processing Society of China at Xishuangbanna (西双版纳, alias Sipsongpanna), Yunnan (云南) province. 6 February: The founding conference and the first work meeting of CNCT’s Examination Committee on Pedagogical Terms were held in Beijing. 7 February: The 7th session of the Advisory Board of the State Language Commission was held in Beijing. 8 February: The State Language Commission issued written consent to CNCT, naming Roentgenium ( in Chinese) a standard character. 12 February: The Research Planning Steering Group and the Examination Committee of Language Norms (Standards) of the State Language Commission held their leadership transfer meeting in Beijing. 13 February: The Comprehensive Language Knowledge Base (CLKB) designed by the Institute of Computational Linguistics, Peking University, was technically evaluated and awarded the First Prize of the Scientific and Technological Advancement Award of the Ministry of Education. 27 February: The Confucius Institute at Saint Joseph University, the first Confucius Institute in the Arab countries, was co-founded by Shenyang (沈阳) Normal University, China, and Saint Joseph University, Lebanon.

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March 6–7 March: The State Language Commission held its annual work meeting of 2007 in Beijing. 9 March: The International Mother Language Day 2007, organized by UNESCO, was celebrated in Beijing. 12 March: A notice concerning the transmission of the Seminar Summary of Chinese Language Teaching Reform in the Institutions of Higher Learning was issued by the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education. 22 March: The inaugural conference of CNCT’s Subcommittee on Terms in Environmental Science and Technology was held in Beijing. 23 March: China Radio International (CRI) and the Office of the Chinese Language Council International (hereafter Hanban) signed their memorandum of cooperation with the Office of Cultural Exchange of the Federal Normal University of Russia in Beijing to open the CRI Confucius Classroom. 29 March: The State Ethnic Affairs Commission of the People’s Republic of China (hereafter SEAC) issued the 11th Five-Year Plan of Minority Ethnic Affairs with a view to building a database for the endangered minority languages and their writings after due investigation, collection, research and systematization. 30 March: CNCT held its Standing Committee’s 2007 annual conference. 30 March: The Office of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee issued the notice of the Scheme of Establishing the Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages.

April 9 April: The opening ceremony of the Confucius Institute Headquarters was held in Beijing. 10 April: The Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission passed the 11th Five-Year Plan of the State Language Work. 14–15 April: The First Symposium on the Contact of Languages and Dialects in China was sponsored by Minzu (民族) University of China, Shanghai (上海) Normal University, Xiamen (厦门) University, and held by Quanzhou (泉州) Normal University in Quanzhou City, Fujian (福建) Province.

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15 April: The first batch of the Business Chinese Test (BCT) was officially started in twenty universities and colleges in China. 16 April: The poll entitled “Describing China and the World of 2006 with One Character and One Word”, launched by the CNLR Network and its Media Branch, the Commercial Press, and sina.com was declared closed, with the result that 炒 (chao, ‘hype’) and 和谐 (hexie, ‘harmony’) were chosen for China and 乱 (luan, ‘chaos’) and 石油 (shiyou, ‘petroleum’) for the world. 18 April: The 2nd Summit Forum “Languages and Nations”, sponsored by Language Information Administration of the Ministry of Education (hereafter LIM), was hosted by Shaoxing (绍兴) University and held at Shaoxinɡ City, Zhejiang (浙江) Province. 20 April: The Chinese Language Information Processing Society of China held the Symposium on Chinese Language Information Processing Strategy in Nanning (南宁) City, Guangxi (广西) Province. 21–22 April: The inaugural Editors-in-Chief Forum of the Linguistics Journals in China, co-sponsored by the Institute of Linguistics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the School of Liberal Arts of Renmin University of China, and the Commercial Press, was hosted by Shaoxing University in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province. 24 April: An agreement was signed at the Chinese Embassy in Russia by the Chinese ambassador representing Hanban and Kazan Federal University, Russia, in order to create the Kazan Confucius Institute. 30 April: The General Office of the Ministry of Education issued the 11th Five-Year Plan of the Language Application and Research of the State Language Commission.

May May: The office of the Lhasa Tibetan Language Commission, Tibet Autonomous Region, set up a working group with the aim to monitor and verify public Tibetan scripts in the city. 10 May: The 1st World Confucius Institute Forum was held at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan. 14–16 May: A seminar on language training for minority ethnic teachers was jointly conducted by the Department of Language Planning and Administration of the Ministry of Education (hereafter LPA), and the Department of Culture and Propaganda of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission in Kunming (昆明) City, Yunnan Province.

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16–21 May: The 5th International Symposium on English Language Teaching in China and the 1st Conference of China Applied Linguistics, co-sponsored by the China English Language Education Association, China Sociolinguistics Society, and Beijing Foreign Studies University were held in Beijing. 23–24 May: The 3rd Symposium on the Chinese Putonghua Proficiency Test and the 1st Working Forum for the Directors of Putonghua Test Centers in China, sponsored by the Institute of Applied Linguistics of the Ministry of Education, were held at Fuzhou (福州) City, Fujian Province. 25 May: The Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language Regulations of Guizhou (贵州) Province was approved in the 27th Session of the 10th People’s Congress Standing Committee of Guizhou Province. 31 May: Measures for the Implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region was approved in the 28th Session of the 10th People’s Congress Standing Committee of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region.

June June: Hanban approved to build 101 “primary and secondary school bases for the overseas promotion of the Chinese Language”. 8 June: A special law-enforcement examination on the application of the Mongolian language and writing was promulgated by the People’s Congress Standing Committee of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. 9–10 June: The International Forum on the Promotion of Chinese Language within the Multicultural Framework of the World was held at Tongji (同济) University, Shanghai. 29 June: The retreat for a general survey of the languages used in China sponsored by LIM, was held by and in the Beijing Language and Culture University. 30 June: The first interview-simulating oral examination of C.TEST, developed by the Chinese Proficiency Test Center of Beijing Language and Culture University, was formally held.

July July: The journal of Yuyan Wenzi (语言文字, ‘Language and Writing’), run by the State Language Commission, was published for internal reference.

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1–3 July: The International Conference on Multilingual Information Processing 2007 was held at Yanji (延吉) City, Jilin (吉林) Province. 2–6 July: A research group organized by the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of the National People’s Congress, the Ministry of Education, and the State Language Commission, conducted a survey on the implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language. 20–23 July: The Lhasa High Level Seminar on the Application and Research of Sino-Tibetan Languages and Writings, co-sponsored by the Office of the Tibetan Language Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Institute for Social Economy of China of the Tibetology Research Center, and the Office of Applied Linguistics, was hosted by the Office of the Tibetan Language Committee of Tibet in Lhasa. 28 July: The Measures for the Implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language in Shaanxi (陕西) Province was approved in the 32nd Session of the 10th People’s Congress Standing Committee of Shaanxi Province.

August 1–15 August: The first Putonghua proficiency training class for minority teachers of the Chinese language was held at Xilingol League in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. 3–6 August: The intermediary heat and final of the 6th “Chinese Bridge” (汉语 桥) Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students, sponsored by Hanban and hosted by Jilin Provincial Steering Office of the Chinese Language International Promotion and Education Bureau, was held at Changchun (长春), Jilin Province. 6–8 August: The 9th National Symposium on Computational Linguistics ( JSCL2007), sponsored by the Chinese Information Processing Society of China, was held at Dalian (大连) City, Liaoning (辽宁) Province. 8 August: The signing ceremony of the China Center for Linguistic and Strategic Studies, co-built by LIM and Nanjing (南京) University and the Chinese Lexicography Research Center, co-built by LIM and Ludong (鲁东) University, was conducted in Beijing.

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7–11 August: The 12th National Symposium on Minority Languages Translation, sponsored by the Department of Culture and Propaganda of the State Minority Ethnic Affairs Commission, China Ethnic Languages Translation Center and Translators’ Association of China, was hosted by the Minority Ethnic Affairs Commission of Heilongjiang (黑龙江) Province, in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. 11–20 August: The National Training Class for Minority Languages Translators sponsored by the Department of Culture and Propaganda of the State Minority Ethnic Affairs Commission was hosted by the China Minority Languages Translation Center in Beijing. 13 August: The National Conference of the Steering Group Office Directors of the Putonghua Promotion Week was held at the Ministry of Education by the State Leading Group Office of Putonghua Promotion Propaganda Week and LPA. 14 August: The agreement on building the world’s first Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine was signed by Hanban and London South Bank University of the United Kingdom. 14 August: The 9th Recitation Contest for the Adolescents from Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong and Macao, and the Award-giving Ceremony entitled “The Melody in Harmony”, sponsored by the Shanghai Returned Overseas Chinese Association and Shanghai Language Professionals’ Association, were held in Shanghai. 16 August: The State Language Commission Press Conference on the Language Situation in China (2006) was held in Beijing. 17 August: A List of Standardized Chinese Characters (规范汉字表) (draft for examination) was approved by the leading group of A List of Standardized Chinese Characters. 29 August: The State Language Commission publicized the State Language Commission’s Decision on Commending the Excellence in Collective and Individual Efforts in Language Work. 31 August: The State Language Commission issued the State Language Commission’s Notice on Approving the First Name List of National Model Schools of Language Standardization.

September September: A campaign entitled “Treasure Our Mother Language: Let’s Work Together to Improve the Look of Our Cities”, was conducted by LPA.

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4 September: The Ministry of Education held a press conference on the conditions of Putonghua promotion and initiated the Information Management System of the National Putonghua Proficiency Test. 7 September: The opening ceremony of the Confucius Institute, jointly run by Dalian University of Foreign Languages and Novosibirsk State Technical University, was held in Russia. 8 September: The 5th CNCT Plenum and the 20th Anniversary of its founding took place in Beijing. 9 September: The National Bureau of Sports in China issued A Notice on the Standardization of Transliterating the Names of Chinese Athletes. 9–15 September: The 10th National Putonghua Promotion Week was conducted nationwide. 12–13 September: The National Language Resources and Applied Linguistics Summit Forum 2007, sponsored by LIM, was hosted by Beijing Language and Culture University in Beijing. 16 September: The first test of the national Hanzi Yingyong Shuiping Ceshi (汉字 应用水平测试, or HZC, ‘Proficiency Test of Chinese Character Use’) was held in Shanghai. 25 September: The founding conference of CNCT’s Examination Committee on Legal Terms was held in Beijing. 28 September: The authorization ceremony of the first Confucius Institute in Indonesia, jointly run by Hainan (海南) Normal University and Bina Terampil Insan Persada (BTIP), Indonesia, was conducted in the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia. 28 September: The working conference of mainland China and Taiwan over terms in atmospheric sciences was held in Xiamen City, Fujian Province.

October 10–15 October: The 5th National Language Planning Seminar sponsored by the Institute of Applied Linguistics of the Ministry of Education and hosted by Liaoning University was held in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province. 13–15 October: The 7th International Conference on Chinese Language Information Processing was jointly held by the Chinese Information Processing Society of China with the Singapore Chinese and Oriental Language Information

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Processing Society, and Wuhan (武汉) University in Wuhan City, Hubei (湖北) Province. 29 October, 1 & 2 November: The Specialist Committee on A List of Standardized Chinese Characters (规范汉字表) (draft for examination) held three meetings, seeking advice in various areas. 30 October: The founding conference of CNCT’s Examination Committee on Terms in Sociology was held in Beijing. 30–31 October: The 8th International Seminar on Chinese Characters sponsored by the Institute of Applied Linguistics, the Ministry of Education and Hanban was hosted by the Communication University of China in Beijing.

November 1 November: The CCCPC Ministry of Propaganda, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation, and the General Administration of Press and Publication of the People’s Republic of China jointly issued the Notice of the CCCPC Propaganda Department, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation, and the General Administration of Press and Publication of the People’s Republic of China on Furthering Support for the Publication in Minority Ethnic Languages. 3 November: The founding conference of CNCT’s Examination Committee on Economics Terminology was held in Beijing. 3–4 November: The International Seminar on Language Testing 2007, sponsored by Beijing University of Foreign Studies, was held in Beijing. 4–5 November: The 4th National Young Scholars’ Seminar on Natural Language Processing was held at Suzhou (苏州) City, Jiangsu (江苏) Province. 5 November: The State Language Commission held an on-the-spot meeting on the administration of languages by law in Shanghai. 9 November: The opening ceremony of the China Center for Linguistics and Language Strategic Studies (CCLASS) and the National Language Strategy Summit Forum 2007 were held at Nanjing University. 16–18 November: The Forum of Global Chinese Language sponsored by the National Institute of Education of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and the Overseas Chinese Language Research Center of Jinan (暨南) University was held in Singapore.

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23 November: The Measures of Implementing the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language in Hebei Province was approved in the 31st Session of the 10th People’s Congress Standing Committee of Hebei (河北) Province. 24–28 November: The China Minority National Languages and Writings Achievement Exhibition and the International Seminar on Minority Languages of China, co-sponsored by the Department of Culture and Promotion of SEAC and LIM, were hosted by Minzu University of China in Beijing. 26 November: The Ministry of Transportation issued the Prohibited Expressions in the Law Enforcement of the Transportation Administration.

December 1–2 December: The 3rd Lexicography Conference of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, co-sponsored by Nanjing University and the Higher Education Press, was held at Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province. 1–3 December: The National Conference of Minority Languages and Writing Standardization was held in Kunming City, Yunnan Province. 6 December: The first On-Air Confucius Institute was officially established at China Radio International. 8–10 December: The 3rd Cross-Strait Modern Chinese Symposium, co-sponsored by Nankai (南开) University, Hong Kong Lingnan (岭南) University, and the Institute for Linguistics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was held in Hong Kong. 11 December: The 2nd Confucius Institute Conference was held in Beijing. State Councilor Chen Zhili (陈至立) graced the meeting and delivered the keynote speech. 18–19 December: The opening ceremony of the Chinese Lexicography Research Center, co-built by LIM and Ludong University, and the 1st Chinese Lexicography Forum were held at Yantai (烟台) City, Shandong (山东). 20–22 December: The 1st Forum of the Applied Linguistics Department Directors in China, co-sponsored by the Institute of Applied Linguistics, the Ministry of Education, and Hanban, was hosted by Beihua (北华) University in Jilin City, Jilin Province. Zhao Qinping (赵沁平), Director of the State Language Commission, attended the forum.

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23 December: The Putonghua Proficiency Test, conducted at the Ordnance Engineering College, marked its expansion from non-military to military colleges and universities. 28 December: The editorial department of Yao Wen Jiao Zi (咬文嚼字) published the top ten errors of the highest frequency and broadest coverage in Chinese written texts (2007). Translated by Liang Xiaopeng (梁晓鹏) Qingdao (青岛) University of Science & Technology [email protected]

Jiang Zixia (姜自霞) & Li Qiang (李强)

Appendix 2 A record of major Chinese language events (2008) Introduction The list below covers the major events of China’s language life in 2008 rather than the research on language per se. It was chiefly taken from Yuwen Xinxi (语文信息, ‘Information of Language and Writing’), Yuyan Wenzi Zhoubao (语言文字周报, ‘Language and Writing Weekly’), Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong (语言 文字应用, ‘Applied Linguistics’), Zhongguo Yuwen (中国语文, ‘Chinese Language and Writing’), Minzu Yuwen (民族语文, ‘Minority Languages of China’), Hanyu Xuexi (汉语学习, ‘Chinese Language Learning’), Hanyu Xuebao (汉语学 报, ‘Chinese Linguistics’), Yuyan Jiaoxue yu Yanjiu (语言教学与研究, ‘Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies’), Shijie Hanyu Jiaoxue (世界汉语教学, ‘Chinese Teaching in the World’), Dangdai Yuyanxue (当代语言学, ‘Contemporary Linguistics’), Guhanyu Yanjiu (古汉语研究, ‘Research on Ancient Chinese’), Yuyan Kexue (语言科学, ‘Linguistic Sciences’), Cishu Yanjiu (辞书研究, ‘Lexicographical Studies’), Zhongwen Xinxi Xuebao (中文信息学报, ‘Journal of Chinese Information Processing’) and Zhongguo Yuyan Wenzi Wang (中国语言文字网, www.chinalanguage.gov.cn), etc.

January 4 January: The 8th session of the Advisory Committee of the State Language Commission was held in Beijing (北京). 8–9 January: The Seminar on Chinese Information Techniques and Chinese Characters for Primary and Middle School Teaching, sponsored by the Chinese Information Processing Society of China, was held in Beijing. 14 January: The top ten popular expressions in the media of 2007 were released by Beijing Language and Culture University: Shiqida (十七大, ‘the 17th CPC National Congress’), Chang’e yi hao (嫦娥一号, ‘Chang’e 1, the first lunar probe’), minsheng (民生, ‘people’s livelihood’), Xianggang huigui shi zhounian (香港回归十周年, ‘the tenth anniversary of the return of Hong Kong’), CPI

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shangzhang (上涨, ‘rise’), lianzufang (廉租房, ‘low-rent house’), Aoyun huoju shou (奥运火炬手, ‘Olympic Games torchbearer’), jimin (基民, ‘fund fan’), Zhongri guanxi (中日关系, ‘Sino-Japanese relationship’), and quanqiu qihou bianhua (全球气候变化, ‘global climate change’). 18 January: The Languages of China, compiled by the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was published.

February 6–10 February: The TV series Hanyu Pinyin 50 Nian (汉语拼音50年, ‘50 Years of Chinese Pinyin’) by the Department of Language Planning and Administration, the Ministry of Education (hereafter LPA) was broadcast on Shandong (山东) Satellite Television. 15 February: The China National Committee on Terms in Science and Technology (hereafter CNCT) held its annual Standing Committee meeting of 2008. 28–29 February: The State Language Commission held its working conference of languages and writings of 2008 in Beijing. 29 February: The online annual keywords collection with the title of “Checking Chinese Language 2007”, co-sponsored by the China Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center (hereafter CNLR) Network and Media Branch, the Commercial Press, and sina.com, drew to a close with 涨 (zhang, ‘rise’), 民生 (minsheng, ‘people’s livelihood’), 油 (you, ‘petroleum’), and 全球变暖 (quanqiu biannuan, ‘global warming’) taking the first place of national characters and words and international characters and words respectively in 2007.

March 1 March: The Symposium on Hanzi Yingyong Shuiping Ceshi (汉字应用水平测 试, or HZC, ‘Chinese Character Application Level Test’) was held by the LPA and the Language Information Administration, the Ministry of Education (hereafter LIM) in Beijing. 8–9 March: The 1st National Seminar on the Business Chinese Test, jointly sponsored by the University of International Business and Economics, Higher Education Press and Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, was held at the University of International Business and Economics.

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25–27 March: The 6th International Symposium on China Sociolinguistics, cosponsored by the China Sociolinguistics Society and the Department of Chinese and Bilingualism of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, was held in Hong Kong.

April 1 April: An evening party entitled “Our Festivals – Classic Chinese Chanting: Clear and Bright”, co-sponsored by the CCCPC Department of Propaganda, the Office of the Central Steering Committee for the Building of Spiritual Civilization, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, and the State Language Commission, was held in Nanjing (南京) City, Jiangsu (江苏) Province. 4–7 April: The seminar on the contemporary development of traditional Chinese linguistics was held at Sichuan (四川) Normal University. It was co-sponsored by the Beijing Normal University Research Center for Folklore Classics and Chinese Characters , the School of Liberal Arts, Beijing Language and Culture University, and the School of Liberal Arts, Sichuan Normal University. 10 April: The State Language Commission held its annual plenary meeting of 2008. 10 April: The Southeast Asia Chinese Language Teachers’ Training Class 2008, sponsored jointly by the Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs of the State Council with the Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs, Shanghai (上海) Municipal People’s Government, was hosted by the School of Chinese as a Foreign Language on its campus at Shanghai Normal University. 11 April: The celebration activities of the 2008 United Nations Year of International Languages and the 9th International Mother Language Day were held at Beijing Language and Culture University. 21 April: The Symposium Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Scheme for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, sponsored by LIM and hosted by the China Association of Applied Linguistics, was held in Beijing.

May 12 May: The Symposium on the Coordination of Chinese Standard Characters was jointly organized and held by LIM and the Chinese Character Branch of the National Technical Committee on Language and Writing Standardization.

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17–18 May: The 1st Symposium on the Normalization of Legal Language, sponsored by the Expert Committee on the Legal Language Standardization Research in China, was held at the Beijing College of Politics and Law. 19 May: The Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission organized an inspection team on the use of words and expressions in some Olympic venues in Beijing. 30 May–2 June: The 16th Annual Conference of the International Association of Chinese Linguistics was held at Peking University. It was co-sponsored by the Institute of Linguistics, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Department of Chinese Language, and the Research Center of Chinese Linguistics, Peking University.

June 3 June: The launching ceremony of the China-EU language exchange program (EU window) was held at the EU headquarters. 4 June: The State Language Commission organized a department coordination meeting on normalizing the font style of Chinese characters. 10–14 June: The 2nd National Training Program on the Standard Application of Sci-tech Terms in Publications was held by CNCT and the Education and Training Center of the State Press and Publication Administration at Wuhan (武汉) City, Hubei (湖北) Province. 14 June: The Opening Ceremony of the 1st session of the Chinese Language Teachers’ Training Program for Southeast Asia was jointly held by the Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs of Guangdong (广东) Province and Wuyi (五邑) University, Guangdong. 18 June: The 1st Giant Cup Contest of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing for Primary and Middle School Students in China was initiated in Beijing. It was co-sponsored by the China Children’s Press & Publication Group of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, the Specialized Committee of Primary Education and the Specialized Committee of Junior Secondary Education of the Chinese Society of Education. 20–23 June: A symposium entitled “The Trend of Linguistics Journals in the Information Era” was jointly sponsored by the Commercial Press and the Editorial Department of Chinese Linguistics and held at Huazhong (华中) Normal University.

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23 June: CNLR’s Branch Center of Language Minorities was established, copresided by LIM, the Department of Education, Science and Technology of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Department of Newspapers and Periodicals of the State Press and Publication Administration, and Minzu (民族) University of China. 28–29 June: The Annual Conference of the Chinese Linguistics Association in Xinjiang (新疆) and the Symposium on Chinese, Bilingualism, and Linguistics, sponsored by the Chinese Linguistics Association in Xinjiang, were held at Xinjiang Medical University.

July 5–7 July: The 1st International Symposium on Overseas Chinese Dialects was held at Jinan (暨南) University. It was co-sponsored by the Research Center of Chinese Dialects, Department of Chinese, Jinan University and the T. T. Ng Chinese Language Research Center, Chinese University of Hong Kong. 9 July: The LPA held a Seminar on the Translation of Culture-Loaded Chinese Terms in Foreign Communications. 12–14 July: The 1st Annual Conference of the Chinese Rhetoric Society of the World (hereafter CRSW) and the International Symposium on Chinese Rhetoric sponsored by CRSW was held at Qufu (曲阜) Normal University. 15 July: The State Language Commission and CNCT held a press conference at the Commercial Press releasing the terms of the Olympic Games. 17–18 July: In response to an invitation, the State Language Commission organized specialists and the Division of Competition Venues of the Management Department of the Olympics to jointly examine the words and expressions used in major Olympic venues and the Olympic Village. 29–30 July: The National Conference of Training and Exchange on the Construction of a Language Network was held at Nanjing Institute of Science and Technology. It was sponsored by LIM and hosted by Zhongguo Yuyan Wenzi Wang and the Language Commission of Jiangsu Province.

August 13 August: The LPA held a special meeting on the proper use of Chinese Pinyin and foreign languages on public signs.

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27–30 August: The 14th Annual Academic Conference of the China Linguistics Association, sponsored by the Association, was held by Wenzhou (温州) University. 31 August–1 September: The 9th National Minority Languages Translation Conference and the working conference of the directors and secretaries-general of the National Translators’ Association of Minority Languages were held in Nyingchi (林芝), Tibet Autonomous Region.

September 2 September: The Examination Committee of Language Standards, State Language Commission, examined and approved the Specification for Identifying Indexing Components of GB13000.1 Chinese Characters Set. 14–20 September: The 11th National Putonghua Popularization Propaganda Week was launched throughout the country. 17–18 September: The Demonstration Conference on the Building of China’s Oral Language Corpus Pilot Project and the Scheme of Language Resource Preservation in Jiangsu was held at Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province. It was sponsored by the State Language Commission and hosted by the Language Commission of Jiangsu Province. 26 September: The annual conference of the Xinjiang Translators’ Association and the 18th International Translation Day Commemoration were held by the National Language Work Commission of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in Urumqi.

October October: The Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission published the draft version of the Lexicon of Common Words in Contemporary Chinese. 8–11 October: The 2nd National Minority Youth Symposium on Natural Language Processing was held by the Institute of Intelligent Machines in Hefei (合肥), Anhui (安徽) Province. It was co-sponsored by the Chinese Information Processing Society of China, the School of Mongolian Language, University of Inner Mongolia, and the Institute of Artificial Intelligent Machines, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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11 October: The pilot project of Building China’s Oral Language Resource Corpus was launched in Suzhou (苏州) , Jiangsu Province. 17–21 October: The 7th National Chinese Lexicology Symposium was held at Hebei (河北) University, sponsored jointly by Hebei University and the Commercial Press. 23–24 October: The 5th Chinese Digitization Forum was held in the Institute of Chinese Characters of Anhui University, co-sponsored by the Research Center for Chinese Writing Regulation and Standardization of Beijing Normal University and the Center of Chinese Character Font Design and Research of Peking University. 23–25 October: The 2nd International Symposium on Stylistics and the 6th National Symposium on Stylistics, sponsored by the China Stylistics Society, was held at Shanghai International Study University. 24–26 October: The International Symposium on Pinyin Teaching was jointly held by LPA, the Department of Basic Education II of the Ministry of Education, and the headquarter of the Confucius Institute to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Promulgation of the Scheme of Chinese Phonetic Alphabet. 24–26 October: The 12th China Contemporary Linguistics Symposium was held at Huazhong Normal University. It was co-sponsored by the Institute of Linguistics, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Editorial Department of Contemporary Linguistics, the School of Foreign Languages, Huazhong Normal University, the Research Center of Language and Language Education, Huazhong Normal University, and the Department of Linguistics and Contemporary Languages, Chinese University of Hong Kong. 24–27 October: The 8th Annual Conference of the Lexicographical Society of China and the 2nd Award Ceremony for Lifetime Achievement in Lexicography were held at Changshu (常熟) City, Jiangsu Province. 25 October: The HZC was piloted in Hebei Province. 27 October–14 November: Led by the LPA, three survey teams were formed by LIM, the Department of Higher Education, the Institute of Applied Linguistics, and Changchun (长春) University to begin a special inspection of the application of Internet language, foreign words, and letter words in Beijing, Jilin (吉 林), Zhejiang (浙江), Hubei, Guangdong, Chongqing (重庆), and Ningxia (宁夏).

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Jiang Zixia (姜自霞) & Li Qiang (李强)

November 7 November: The International Symposium on Forensic Linguistics and the 5th Annual Conference of the China Forensic Linguistics Society, sponsored by the Research Center of Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, was held on its campus. 10–11 November: The working conference of the China Language Standardization was held in Beijing. 16 November: The HZC was piloted in Tianjin (天津), Liaoning (辽宁), Heilongjiang (黑龙江), Shanghai, Jiangsu, Shandong (山东), Henan (河南), Hunan (湖南), Yunnan (云南), and Ningxia. 22–24 November: The 2nd Symposium on Language Textbooks was held at Wuyishan (武夷山) City, Fujian (福建) Province. It was co-sponsored by CNLR’s Language Textbook Branch and the People’s Education Press, and coordinated by the Language Commission of Xiamen (厦门). 30 November: The Summit Forum on Chinese Characters, Calligraphy and Culture was held in Beijing. It was hosted by the Institute of Chinese Calligraphy of Capital Normal University and co-sponsored by LIM, the China Education Society, and Capital Normal University of Beijing.

December 5–11 December: The 6th International Forum on Cognitive Linguistics, sponsored by the Research Center of Linguistics, School of Foreign Languages, Beihang (北航) University, was held in Beijing. 7 December: The 1st Linguistics Forum of the Greater China Region, co-sponsored by the Macao Social Progress Society, the Hobbs Journal Office, Macao, and Macao Linguistics Association, was held at Macao. 9–11 December: The Global Confucius Institute Conference 2008, themed “Confucius Institute and Education Globalization”, was held in Beijing. 11 December: LPA and National Education Examination Authority (NEEA) jointly held the founding conference of the Academic Committee of the Chinese Proficiency Test in Beijing. 15 December: The 9th International Symposium on Teaching Chinese as a Second Language was jointly held in Beijing by Hanban (汉办) and the headquarter of the Confucius Institute, and the International Society for Chinese Language Teaching.

Appendix 2

339

15 December: The first Chinese culture program of China Education Television was broadcast on KyLin Television of North America; the opening ceremony was held at KyLin Television Co. on the following day. 17 December: The pilot broadcasting ceremony of the Yellow River Television Confucius Institute, the first Confucius Institute on television, was conducted at Taiyuan (太原), Shanxi (山西) province. Trial broadcasting commenced on the following day. 22 December: The founding ceremony of CNCT’s Examination Committee on the Terms in World History was held at the Institute of World History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 20 December: The Editorial Department of Yaowen Jiaozi (咬文嚼字) released the top ten Chinese language errors of the highest frequency and broadest coverage in 2008. Translated by Liang Xiaopeng (梁晓鹏) Qingdao (青岛) University of Science & Technology [email protected]

Contents (Chinese version 2007, Volume I) General Remarks Part I Language Work The The The The The

Latest Development of the Chinese Language Work Tenth National Putonghua Promotion Week Current Situation of the Ethnic Languages Work Standardization of Terminology International Dissemination of Chinese Language

Part II Special Focus The Chinese Language Education in Higher Learning Institutions The Language Situation in Civil Aviation The Language Situation in the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Lines The Progress of the Construction of the Language Environment for the Beijing Olympics The Construction of the Language Environment for the Shanghai World Expo A Survey of the Dialects Used by Immigrants from the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River A Survey of the Dialects Used by Immigrants in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps The Language Use in Markets for Foreigners – A Case Study of the Beijing Silk Street Market The Language Use in Text Messages Pluricentric Language: The Korean Language

Part III Hot Topics The Craze of New Words The Popularity of Less-Used Languages in Foreign Language Teaching Issues Concerning the Language Used in Advertisements

342

Contents (Chinese version 2007)

Part IV Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan The Language Policy and the Language Education for Ethnic Groups in Hong Kong A Survey of Learning Chinese as a Second Language among Ethnic Students in Hong Kong Legal Languages in Macau The Current Language Situation in Taiwan

Part V International Experience The Recent Development of the UNESCO Language Policy The Development of Language Planning in Australia The Foreign Language Policy; Programs and Challenges in New Zealand The Language Policy and Planning in Nigeria Issues of Language Diversity on the World Wide Web

Appendices Regulations on Translating the Names of the Chinese Sports Delegations Comparison Table for Translating the Names of the International Famous Athletes in Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan, and Singapore List of Local Language Organizations A Chronology of Language Events

Index of Tables and Figures Index of Terms Index of Personal Names Postscript

Contents (Chinese version 2007)

343

Contents (Chinese version 2007, Volume II) A Survey of Chinese Words and Expressions in Newspapers, Radio, Television and the Internet (News)

Appendices Table 1 Table 2 Table 3

Table 4 Table 5 Table 6 Table 7

Glossary of Chinese Words Used in Newspapers, Radio, Television and the Internet (News) Comparison of the Frequency of the Most Used 20 Chinese Characters across Newspapers, Radio, Television and the Internet (News) Comparison of Words Not Found in the 2,500 Chinese Words in the List of the Commonly Used Chinese Words of Level 1 in 2005, 2006 and 2007 Comparison of Words Not Found in the 3,500 Words in the List of Commonly Used Words of Modern Chinese in 2005, 2006 and 2007 Comparison of Words Not Found in the 7,000 Words in the General Word List of Modern Chinese in 2005, 2006 and 2007 Comparison of Words Not Found in the General Word List of Modern Chinese in 2005, 2006 and 2007 List of High-Frequency Words Used in Newspapers, Radio, Television and the Internet (News)

Neologisms of the Year in Newspapers, Radio, Television and the Internet (News)

Appendix Table 8

Neologisms of the Year 2007 in Newspapers, Radio, Television and the Internet (News)

344

Contents (Chinese version 2007)

Popular Words and Phrases of the Year in Newspapers, Radio, Television and the Internet (News) A Survey of Words and Expressions Used in Chinese Websites Keywords and Expressions of the Year and their Interpretation A Survey of the Use of Chinese Characters and Language in Chinese Primary and Secondary Textbooks under the New Curriculum

Appendix Table 9

Glossary of 3,000 Basic Chinese Words in Chinese Textbooks under the New Curriculum

Technical Terms Used in the Monitoring and Research of Language Resources (2008 edition)

Appendices Index of Tables and Figures Index of Technical Terms

Postscript

Contents (Chinese version 2008, Volume I) General Remarks Part I Language Work New Developments of the Chinese Language Work Activities for the 50th Anniversary of the Scheme of the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet The Global Spread of Chinese The Course Standard of the Chinese Language: To Facilitate Research and Steady Implementation The Sign Language Work for 90 Years

Part II Special Focus The Multilingual Scenario of the Beijing Olympics The Language Used for Post-Earthquake Psychological Assistance The Change of Buzzwords and Social Shift in Three Decades of Reform and Opening-Up Issues of Legislative Language Language Standardization in Criminal Tribunals Language Conservation for Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection The Language Situation in Foreign Investment Enterprises: The Case of Shanghai The Linguistic Situation in China’s Small Commodity City of Yiwu, Zhejiang Province A Survey of the Language Planning in Schools for Children of Migrant Workers in Shanghai A Survey of the Attitude towards Dialects Used by Domestic Maids The Bilingual Teaching and Harmonious Society in the Altay Region in Xinjiang Setting a Standard for the English Translation of Chinese Restaurant Menus

Part III Hot Topics Chinese Elements of the Olympic Games The Case of the Name of Mr. Zhao C Internet Language Craze The Buzzwords Shanzhai “山寨”, Lei “雷” and Jiong “囧”

346

Contents (Chinese version 2008)

Part IV Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan A New Trend of Language-Education Planning in Hong Kong Recent Developments in the Language Situation in Taiwan Teaching Chinese as a Second Language in Taiwan

Part V International Experience 2008, International Year of Languages The Overseas Spread of the Chinese Language: 2007–2008 The Chinese Language Teaching in Malaysia The Evolution of the Language Policy in India Language Policy and Language Conflict in Georgia Center for Advanced Study of Language in the University of Maryland, USA: Serving the Government

Appendices Comparison Table for the Names of World Capitals and their Translation into Chinese A Chronicle of Language Events

Index of Tables and Figures Index of Terms Index of Personal Names Postscript

Contents (Chinese version 2008)

347

Contents (Chinese version 2008, Volume II) A Survey of Chinese Words and Expressions in Newspapers, Radio, Television and the Internet (News) The Survey Report The General List of Words A List of High-Frequency Words

A Survey of Neologisms of the Year The Survey Report The List of Neologisms Popular Words and Phrases of the Year Used by the Chinese Media A Survey of Special Words and Expressions Used in Chinese Websites A Survey on Chinese Characters and Language in the Primary History and Geography Textbooks under the New Curriculum Technical Terms Used in the Monitoring and Research of the National Language Resources (2009 Edition)

Appendices A Survey of Words and Phrases Used by the Chinese-Language Media in Southeast Asia The Survey Report A List of Special Chinese Words and Phrases Used in Southeast Asia Index of Tables and Figures Index of Technical Terms Postscript

Postscript The English version of Language Situation in China is a collaborative project between the Commercial Press in China and De Gruyter in Germany. The first volume was published concurrently in Berlin and New York in April 2013. Its global distribution not only contributes to linguistic and academic exchange and interaction between China and the world, but also makes official views of the Chinese government heard globally. This is obviously a milestone in introducing Chinese linguistic life to the outside world. Designed and compiled by the Language Information Administration of China’s Ministry of Education, the Report on Language Situation in China is released in the regular annual press conference of the Ministry. As the major part of the Green Paper of Chinese Language Situation it has been very influential and widely considered a cultural landmark. Some key concepts such as “linguistic life”, “linguistic resource”, “linguistic service”, “linguistic industry” were first introduced in the Report in China. These terms are nowadays not only well accepted by the Chinese academia, but have also begun to draw attention from the overseas linguistic community. The current volume of the English version is the collation of the contents selected from four books of the Chinese version of Language Situation in China of 2007 and 2008, with volume I and II for each year. To meet the reading culture of the international audience, we rearranged and revised the Reports of the years 2007 and 2008 and changed the date from 2007–2008 (according to the contents) to 2008–2009 (according to the year of publication). The current volume is also unique in its exploratory nature, including the reorientation of the table of contents, engaging bilingual specialists for manuscript translation, and providing an “international expression of Chinese academic knowledge”. The current English version is the product of a joint effort by a large number of people. Dr. Anke Beck, Vice President of the Humanities Division of De Gruyter, made many trips to China and played a crucial mediating role. Professor Li Yuminɡ (李宇明) of Beijing Language and Culture University and editor-inchief of the reports, and Professor Li Wei (李嵬) of the University of London offered specific academic advice. Professor Guo Xi (郭熙) of Jinan University, Guanɡdonɡ, Associate Professor Xu Xiaoyinɡ (许小颖) of Beijing Normal University, and Dr. Zhou Hongbo (周洪波), Deputy General Editor of the Commercial Press, spent countless hours modifying and revising the Chinese manuscript. Dr. Zhao Shouhui (赵守辉) of the University of Bergen, Prof. Yao Xiaopinɡ (姚小 平) of Beijinɡ Foreign Studies University, and Mr. Rudolf Salzlechner (师鲁道) a bilingual specialist from Australia provided the valuable service of proofreading

350

Postscript

the English manuscript. Associate Professor Xu Xiaoyinɡ of Beijinɡ Normal University and editor Dai Wenyinɡ (戴文颖) of the Commercial Press coordinated the work, and the translators worked extremely hard to meet the tight timeline. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of them! It is our sincere hope that the English version of Language Situation in China will serve as a window for the world to learn and understand the language situation in China. Editing Department The Commercial Press September 2013

Editorial Teams of the English Edition Editor

Li Yuming (李宇明) Ministry of Education [email protected]

English Editor

Li Wei (李嵬) University of London [email protected]

Associate Editors

Guo Xi (郭熙) Jinan University [email protected] Zhou Hongbo (周洪波) The Commercial Press [email protected] Zhou Qingsheng (周庆生) Chinese Academy of Social Sciences [email protected]

Editorial Assistants

Xu Xiaoying (许小颖) Beijing Normal University [email protected] Dai Wenying (戴文颖) The Commercial Press [email protected]

Translation Advisors

Zhao Shouhui (赵守辉) University of Bergen [email protected] Yao Xiaoping (姚小平) Beijing Foreign Studies University [email protected] Rudolf Salzlechner (师鲁道) Wuhan Textile University [email protected]

Index academic discipline 38–40 advertising 219–228, 315 – deceptive advertising 219–222, 226–228 airport 65–72 Altay 157–166 attitudes 118, 119, 131–136, 141, 156, 196, 277 Audio Resource Database 15, 23–24 bargaining 147, 155 bilingual 25–30, 59, 65, 66, 68, 74, 76, 78, 79, 104–108, 117, 119, 132, 138–140, 152, 157–166, 179, 185, 212, 285, 287, 295, 298–300, 302, 305–306 – bilingual education 29–30, 74, 157–166 – bilingualism 29, 78, 79, 163, 165, 300, 305, 333, 335 biliteracy 287, 291, 304 blogs 245, 264 buzzword 23, 193–201, 249–254, 319 campus 106, 122–129, 157, 163–165, 175, 276, 333, 338 catchword 193, 257–261 cellphone 187–189 Changjiang River 111 character token 263 Chiang Kai-shek 307, 308 Chinese Bridge 60, 62, 63, 64, 324 Chinese character 4, 10, 11, 15–20, 22, 26, 44, 45, 54, 68, 69, 76, 102, 103, 109, 121–123, 124, 127–129, 162, 190, 193, 206, 210, 211, 213–215, 225, 230–232, 234, 236, 240, 244, 245, 252, 253, 263, 264, 291, 309–310, 315, 325–327, 331– 334, 336–338 – General Table of Standardized Chinese Characters 15, 16, 19 Chinese classics 8, 9, 11, 12 Chinese culture 54, 59, 62, 103, 104, 183, 205, 208–210, 214, 216, 259, 316, 339 Chinese descent 303 Chinese dish 179, 180, 181

Chinese language 4, 5, 10, 12, 18, 53–64, 65, 69, 78, 101, 124–129, 142, 145, 189, 205, 208, 212, 213, 214, 216, 224, 269, 274–278, 290–293, 295, 297, 300, 303, 310, 316, 323, 324, 339 Chinese menus 179–185 Chinese staff 139, 140, 141, 297 Chunghwa 307, 308 civil aviation 65, 66, 70, 71 code-switching 125 Confucius Institute 4, 53–64, 320, 321, 322, 325, 326, 328, 337, 338, 339 – Hanban 53–64, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 327, 328, 338 copying (see also 山寨, Shanzhai) 250 corpus 193, 242, 244, 245, 257, 263, 336, 337 counseling 89–98, 105, 110 court ruling 231, 232, 233 – criminal 81–87, 226, 297–299 – defendant 81–87, 230, 231 – defender 81–87 cross-reference 37, 38 cultural heritage 17, 198, 310 cultural life 201–202 Democratic Progressive Party 307, 309 dialect 4, 22, 24, 67, 71, 74, 75, 79, 90, 101, 105, 111–119, 125–129, 131–136, 141, 145–156, 167–176, 187, 188, 252, 285– 287, 291, 304, 306, 316, 317, 321, 335 – dialect group 79, 111, 113, 135 – Yiwu dialect 153–156 – Minnan dialect 67 – Cantonese 67, 78, 112–116, 118, 145, 155, 269, 270, 278, 285–287, 290–291, 297, 302–305 diglossic 286 dish name 179 dissemination 46, 53–64, 200 earthquake 8, 89–97 economic reform 145, 194, 197

354

Index

Education Bureau 269–274, 288–293, 324 emblem 102–103, 205–206 emoticon 189, 190, 191, 239, 240, 247 English 19, 33, 66–72, 75–78, 104–110, 138–142, 145–149, 152–156, 158–164, 179–185, 189, 190, 193, 207, 210–216, 229–231, 239–244, 269–278, 281– 293, 307, 315 English ability 270–272, 286, 289 error rate 128 ethnic language 15, 23, 25–31, 230, 231, 234, 325, 327 ethnic minority 13, 14, 67, 281–293 ethnic minority language 13, 187, 189 exaggerating 222 examination 37–41, 49, 58, 61, 107, 108, 159, 163, 222, 227, 292, 303, 314, 323, 325 – Examination Committee 320, 326, 327, 336, 339 Expo 2010 Shanghai 102–104, 108 family member 124, 125, 131, 133, 134, 136, 161 feedback 15, 60, 92, 94, 95, 163, 166, 184, 185, 276 fine-tuning 270, 271, 273, 274 Finger alphabet of Chinese phonetic transcription 44 foreign customer 145–149 foreign employee 138–142 foreign investment 137, 139–142 foreign-funded enterprises 137–142 foreigner 4, 137, 141, 148, 151, 154–155, 187, 215 General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) 66, 68, 69 given name 22, 229 Haibao 103–104 handover 258, 285, 286, 296, 299–304 harmonious society 29, 165, 196, 197, 219, 257, 259 Hong Kong 12, 20, 29, 38, 258, 260, 269– 279, 281–293, 320, 325, 328, 331, 333, 335, 337

HSK 61, 158 humorous 187, 190, 223 ID card 229–236 immigrant 111–119, 167–176, 284 implementation 5–7, 10, 11, 15, 31, 44, 45, 108, 109, 123, 158, 184, 207, 219, 227, 228, 269, 270, 273, 275–279, 300, 308, 310, 323–324 information era 334 ingredient 182–184 interaction 77, 89, 94, 111, 114, 119, 127, 247, 290 internet 33, 185, 250–255, 264 – internet language 239–247, 337 – internet slang 190, 191, 240–247 – internet user 226, 236 Kazakh 157, 160, 163, 166, 172, 189 kindergarten 131, 132, 136, 157–166, 173, 288 labor force 282, 287 language – language affairs 25, 29, 30 – language competence 75, 149, 156, 312 – language education 4, 18, 46, 59, 142, 149, 273, 274, 283–293, 323, 337 – language environment 3, 22, 27, 28, 31, 101–109, 142, 179, 272, 278, 281, 287 – language event 319, 331 – Language Information Processing Society 320, 322 – language life 3, 25, 29, 30, 292, 319, 331 – language of instruction 125, 126, 157, 163 – language planning 6, 21, 29, 49, 101, 302, 322, 326, 332 – Language Policy 21, 119, 121, 274, 281, 285, 287, 291 – language resource 15, 20–22, 336, 337 – language service 19, 21, 66, 68, 71, 101, 102, 107, 205 – language situation 18, 21, 22, 23, 73, 74, 111, 119, 131, 137–139, 151, 153, 167, 169, 176, 285, 307, 325

Index

– language standard 12, 17, 18, 21, 81, 83, 84, 101, 121, 129, 325, 334, 336, 338 – Language use 6, 22, 23, 27, 65, 80, 75, 81, 82, 89, 91, 112, 117, 121, 133, 139, 141, 146, 157, 175, 187, 189, 205, 219, 223, 224, 228, 234, 239–247, 285, 295–300 – language work 7, 22, 27, 105, 121, 123, 321 – aboriginal language 311–312, 317 – endangered language 27 – general sign language 45, 46 – judicial language 81 – legal language 5, 81, 295–303, 334 – national language 24, 317 – national language resource 22 – National Language Resource Monitoring and Researching Center 21, 22, 23, 242, 249, 257, 263, 319, 326, 332 – sign language 43–48, 68 – written language 15, 18, 45, 81, 304 law 40, 81–87, 101, 108, 109, 196–197, 219, 223, 226, 227, 229–236, 259, 296–306, 307, 312, 328 – Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language (Language Law, CLL) 5, 6, 9, 16, 41, 69, 84, 104, 108, 122, 232, 236, 323, 324 – Law on ID Cards 231–236 legal translation 295, 296, 300–301, 305, 306 Legislative Council 286, 287, 292, 301, 304, 305 Lhasa 67, 73–79, 322, 324 lifestyle 198, 200 linguistic competence 92, 118 litigation 297–299, 304 living standard 131, 199, 201, 259, 260 Lyon’s hand gestures 43, 44 Macao 20, 211, 295–306, 320, 325, 338 maid 131–136 management 3, 5, 9, 11, 15, 18, 20, 28, 35, 53–56, 61, 78, 87, 108, 123, 129, 137, 139, 142, 146, 147, 152, 156, 200, 227– 228, 229–235, 277–278, 326, 335 Mandarin 111–114, 147, 171, 231, 243, 244, 307, 311, 312, 317

355

mascot 48, 102–104 medium of instruction (MOI) 269–279, 283– 289, 302, 303 migrant schools 121–129 Ministry of Education 3–13, 15–24, 25–26, 30, 44, 45, 58, 319–328, 332–324, 336–337 minority people 74 – Hui 73–74, 145 – Mongolian 14, 25, 30, 40, 73, 74, 153, 184, 189, 323, 336 minority teachers 13–14, 158–159, 324 misleading 219, 222, 227, 305 mobile 189, 190, 241, 250, 259 mobility 78, 128, 284 morpheme 264 mother tongue 107, 113, 114, 118, 136, 138– 140, 147, 160, 161, 163–165, 167–176, 267–274, 283, 288 multiethnic 29 multilingual 26, 29, 56, 65–67, 101, 117, 135, 205, 212, 324 national identity 165 navigation 66, 71 negative effect 134, 226, 301 neologisms 263–266 netizen 12, 180, 213, 226, 241, 245, 251, 252, 264 non-standard 34, 85, 123, 127, 128, 129, 222, 224, 228, 232, 234, 235, 250 Olympic Games 3, 8, 19, 47, 55, 59, 62, 64, 103, 104, 179, 205–216, 257–261, 332, 335 Organizing Committee 7, 9, 47, 102, 103 overseas tourist 145 parent 125, 131–136, 156, 165, 173–176, 270, 273, 278–279, 286, 291, 309 passenger 65–72, 73–77, 316, 317 personalisation 229 Phonetic Alphabet (Pinyin) 3–5, 43, 70, 71, 76, 104, 129, 182–184, 190, 210, 231, 234, 240, 243, 278, 309, 310, 332, 333, 335, 337

356

Index

political reform 196, 197 Portuguese 295–306 primary school 8, 14, 53, 62, 108, 122, 158– 162, 173, 278, 289, 290 prosecutor 81–86, 296, 297, 303 psychological assistance 89–98 psychotherapist 89 public security 229–236 Putonghua (PTH) 3, 4, 9, 13, 26, 65–67, 69, 71, 74–79, 105–106, 108, 111–119, 122, 123–129, 132–136, 145, 147, 153, 154– 156, 157, 167–176, 187, 269, 274–278, 285–287, 291, 297, 303, 304, 324, 336 – Putonghua Proficiency Test 8, 9, 10, 105, 106, 121, 122, 123, 127, 128, 129, 277, 323, 326, 329 – Putonghua promotion 8, 9, 11, 106, 121, 123, 124, 325, 326 – accented Putonghua 115, 117, 119, 133, 172–175 Qinghai-Tibet railway 73–79 Quasi-Henan Dialect 167, 170, 171, 174, 175, 176 recipient 92–98 regiment 167–176 resettlement 89, 111, 112, 117 Roman letter 70, 245, 264 secondary school 8, 9, 14, 16, 55, 57, 60, 62, 63, 121, 122, 124, 158, 159, 173, 174, 235, 260, 269–275, 277, 279, 286–289, 313, 323 Shanghai 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 26, 30, 43, 47, 55, 67–72, 101–110, 111, 121–129, 137– 142, 168–176, 185, 188, 200, 221, 222, 250, 260, 317, 321, 323, 325, 326, 327, 333, 337, 338 Shanghai citizen 105–108 shop assistant 145–149 shop owner 147 short message services (SMS) 187, 190, 191 Silk Street 145–149 simultaneous interpreting 287, 297, 299, 304, 305

slang 190–191, 240–247 Small Commodity 151–156 social reality 193 social value 193, 194, 235 special topic 257, 259, 260 spoken language 212, 290, 304 spokesperson 219 standard 3–14, 15–31, 57, 59, 66, 69, 70, 77, 101, 104, 108, 109, 110, 115, 121, 122– 124, 128, 129, 175, 179, 184–185, 229, 231, 232, 233, 236, 302, 304, 310, 314, 323, 328 – standard characters 123, 127–129, 333 standardization 4–12, 17–21, 25, 27, 35–41, 45–47, 65, 71, 81–87, 121, 123, 124, 129, 207, 301, 304, 319, 325–326, 328, 333, 334, 337, 338 State Language Commission 5–12, 16–24, 25, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 327, 328, 331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 336 street market 146, 147, 151 survey 12, 22, 26, 28, 30, 33, 47, 74, 75, 112, 121–129, 131, 132, 136, 137–142, 145, 152–156, 167–176, 226, 263, 284, 288, 323, 324, 337 survivor 92 syllable 45, 229, 264 Taiwan 20, 30, 36–39, 67, 71, 111, 202, 252, 307–316, 320, 326 Taiwan Strait 36, 37, 38, 39, 71, 313, 316 Taiwanese Dollar 307 technology 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22–24, 28, 33, 34, 37–41, 47, 48, 60, 138, 200, 209, 221, 239, 250, 251, 257, 312, 320, 321, 332, 335 term 17, 19, 33–42, 113, 115, 136, 139, 140, 159, 160, 169, 193, 222, 226, 250, 251, 259, 260, 320, 274, 301, 305, 313, 314, 315, 321, 326, 327, 332, 334, 335, 339 terminology 17, 19, 33–42, 71, 141, 327 text message 187, 189, 190 The Standard of English Translation for Menus in Beijing 180 Three Gorges 111–120 Thunder (雷, Lei) 251–252

Index

Tibetan 20, 25, 26, 67, 73–78, 189, 219, 220, 322, 324 ticket 68–76, 261 Tongyong Pinyin 309, 310 tourism industry 65, 145 tourist administration 179, 184, 185 tourist guide 77–79 translation 19, 29–31, 34, 36, 105, 109, 110, 152, 179–185, 208, 214–216, 240, 243, 295–306, 325, 335, 336 – English translation 109–110, 179–185 transliteration 37, 182, 183, 184 trilingual 75, 76, 117, 119, 163, 164, 166

verdict 81, 84, 85, 87, 286, 298–299 volunteer 9, 47, 54, 57, 58, 89, 90, 105, 107, 205, 211, 214, 258, 261 – volunteer teachers 57, 58 vulgar 66, 219, 222–224, 228 word family 264 workplace 137–142 Xiushui Market 146 Yiwu (义乌) 151–156 Zhao C 229–236

Uygur 7, 13, 14, 20, 25, 26, 30, 67, 153, 157, 167, 169, 175, 189, 336

357

囧 (Jiong) 254–255 雷 (Lei) 251–252 山寨 (Shanzhai) 249–251