The Language Situation in China: Volume 4 2012–2013 9781501511592, 9781501517419

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The Language Situation in China Volume 4

Language Policies and Practices in China

Edited by Li Wei (李嵬)

Volume 6

The Language Situation in China Volume 4. 2012–2013 Editor-in-Chief: Li Yuming (李宇明) Associate Editors: Guo Xi (郭熙), Zhou Hongbo (周洪波), Zhou Qingsheng (周庆生) English Editor: Li Wei (李嵬) Editorial Assistants: Xu Xiaoying (许小颖), Dai Wenying (戴文颖) Translation Advisors: David C.S. Li (李楚成), Chan Shui Duen (陈瑞端)

The Commercial Press

ISBN 978-1-5015-1741-9 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-1-5015-1159-2 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-1-5015-1141-7 ISSN 2195-9838 Library of Congress Control Number: 2012040712 Bibliografic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliografic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2019 Walter de Gruyter, Inc., Boston/Berlin and the Commercial Press, Beijing, China Typesetting: Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd. Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck www.degruyter.com

Li Yuming (李宇明)

Scientific protection of ethnic languages Foreword to The Language Situation in China: Volume 4 As shown by the latest research, China, home to 56 ethnic groups, has more than 100 languages and nearly 30 written languages in use. The spoken and written languages are the cultural treasures of the Chinese communities, facilitating communication domestically and internationally. The languages are also important thinking tools for the Chinese, recording the history and culture of all ethnic groups in China. Therefore, the languages should be treated equally and respectfully; they should be cherished, scientifically protected, and fully utilised.

1 Establish a scientific perspective on language In China, the equality of positions and the complementarity of functions are the general phenomenon and basic principle of language planning. Language equality is crucial to China’s ethnic equality policy; it is the embodiment of the spirit of the Constitution and a manifestation of the universal values of “equality for all”. However, language equality means that languages have the same political status and equal positions, in real life, different languages have different functions. (1) Different languages differ in their situations. Some languages are used by a large population; while others are used by fewer people. Some communities share a common language; however, some have not yet formed one. In some areas, dialects are widely used, while other areas show no appearance of dialects. Some languages have a written form but not others. Whereas some languages were used in a large number of written documents, others are only passed on verbally. Some languages can be used in primary, secondary, and higher education; some at primary and secondary levels, while some only in primary education. (2) Due to various historical factors, the use of different languages varies. Some languages are widely used throughout the entire nation; some are only used in the autonomous regions or in special occasions by certain members of certain ethnic groups. Some languages are widely used by the newspapers, books, radio programmes, television shows, movies, and other media outlets, appearing in every facet of social life; however, some are used only in limited areas or only in the family setting. Some languages are learned and https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-201

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used by other ethnic communities on top of their original ethnic speakers; while some are endangered, abandoned even by their original users and are therefore under threat of extinction. Regardless of its usage, each language plays a certain role in life. Moreover, the functions of different languages are complementary. Putonghua is the common language used by the Han Chinese and serves as the national lingua franca. Therefore, Putonghua is used as a communication tool between people who speak different dialects or belong to different ethnic groups. Putonghua is also a crucial communication medium in education, press and publication, administration, public service, science and technology, military affairs, as well as other fields. In international settings, Putonghua is the official language of China. However, it is impossible for the citizens to use Putonghua on every occasion. There are situations in which minority languages, Chinese dialects, and foreign languages are the most suitable medium of communication. It is undoubtedly true that every language has an irreplaceable role to play. Strengthening the scientific protection of ethnic languages is by no means hindering the functions and promotion of Putonghua. While advancing the popularisation and standardisation of Putonghua, attention should also be paid to the functions and protection of minority languages and Chinese dialects. China has a wealth of language resources. If language relations can be handled well, the language resources will become the nation’s precious cultural assets. However, if the relations are mismanaged, conflicts will emerge and the resources will turn into troubles. It is inevitable that language conflicts occur in multilingual nations. The key to addressing this issue is to treat the languages concerned from a scientific perspective. ‘The promotion and standardisation of the national common language’ are complementary to “the scientific protection of ethnic languages”. The national common language and ethnic languages are interdependent yet internally coherent entities; they should not be isolated from or seen as in competition with each other. Therefore, it is only rational to establish an effective mechanism to adjust language functions so as to resolve language conflicts and maintain a harmonious and orderly language environment. Having a scientific perspective on language is a prerequisite for the scientific protection of ethnic languages.

2 Formulation of a scientific language protection plan The scientific protection of ethnic languages is an undertaking that involves many parties. It is far-reaching and urgently needed. A scientific plan is necessary to

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complete the task. The first step of language protection planning is to seek legal protection and consolidate popular awareness of language protection through publicity, education, demonstration, and other means. The priorities also include establishing an effective and efficient coordination mechanism, as well as planning for concrete and effective measures. The second step is to thoroughly understand the current situation of different ethnic languages and formulate realistic protection plans accordingly. For instance, for the few endangered languages, preservation should be given priority and comprehensive surveys on language facts should be conducted as soon as possible. In addition, for languages that are becoming extinct, a permanent database should be set up. Similar to compiling a list of intangible cultural heritage, it is also feasible to establish a directory of language inheritors. The preservation of certain endangered languages relies on them being passed down by grandparents to grandchildren. Establishing language protection zones or language museums are also means to rescue minority languages. For languages that show signs of shift or loss, education and social space should be encouraged to revitalize them. For the rather vigorous languages, the main task is to maintain their vitality at the political, educational and usage levels. Thirdly, the planning of language protection requires concerted efforts of experts, volunteers, and the whole society. The plan should be sustainable, in keeping with sociolinguistically viable language functions. Language protection methods should be compatible with the economic and cultural development. Society’s awareness of language protection should also be taken into consideration with a view to keeping undue demands from society in check. Fourthly, language protection involves both ethnic groups and individuals. The protection methods should be adopted according to the will of language users. Consensus-building should be duty-bound and reached through consultation in order to avoid imposing domineering views on people.

3 Adoption of scientific language protection methods Language is used by humans. Therefore, language protection must be peopleoriented. Language and culture are closely related. Language is the foundation of culture yet language is also cultivated and developed by culture. Giving that language also carries cultural elements, language protection methods should take language users into consideration. The integration of humanity, language, and culture is methodologically significant to language protection. There are many ways to protect languages and they should be reviewed and analysed comprehensively. The methods should be chosen cautiously based on the national

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conditions, in keeping with the spirit of close-knit integration of humanity, language, and culture. Special emphasis should be placed on the use of modern language technology. Modern language technology includes digital technologies such as audiorecording, photography, video-recording, and the construction of databases and corpora. To protect ethnic languages, it is necessary to establish appropriate technical standards, develop and optimise related software, build technology packages, as well as pay attention to the selection of suitable hardware. In addition, it is crucial to conduct personnel training regarding technical standards, the use of hardware and software, and other related issues. An innovative and well-equipped team is the key to successful language revitalization. A notable case that is worthy of learning is that the State Language Commission is currently taking the lead in the construction of the ‘Audio Database of Chinese Language Resources’. In the Internet era, greater attention should be paid to harnessing the Internet with a view to facilitating real-life projects through the virtual world. Advocating language protection and broadcasting related news online is effective in increasing society’s awareness and participation in language protection. In addition, promoting research on language use online helps inject vitality into ethnic languages. Moreover, virtual language museums and exhibitions allow more people to take advantage of the results of language protection. It is also of great significance for netizens to get involved in the specific projects of language protection, such as providing audio data, as well as photos and videos of regional customs and culture. Nowadays, the Internet is well-developed and the number of netizens has exceeded 500 million. Moreover, the once abstract concepts such as cloud computing and the Internet of Things have been put into practice. Therefore, the role of the Internet should not be underestimated.

4 Exploring benefits of language protection Language protection is beneficial in terms of the following three aspects: Firstly, language protection benefits the society. Once the protection measures are in place, it is necessary to assess whether the language environment is more harmonious, the national language fully exercises its functions, the language users are satisfied, language conflicts have been diminished, and the endangerment of languages has been halted. Secondly, language protection creates economic benefits. Although language protection is not free of cost, it is, to a certain degree, beneficial to the economy. For instance, language protection boosts the development of the cultural industry

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such as press and publication, tourism, convention and exhibition, and language arts. At the same time, by protecting languages, new occupations and industries will emerge. Moreover, the language information industry will be advanced thanks to the induced use of language resources. Academic benefits should indeed be taken into account. Language protection itself is a highly academic topic; it propels the development of linguistics, folklore, cultural anthropology, and information science. Language resources generated through language protection can be used not only for academic research but also for the improvement of many academic disciplines. It requires a thorough understanding of the generated benefits to ensure languages are well protected. Language protection plans should be designed cautiously. The indexes of the utilisation of benefits should be used in language protection. Language protection and development are interdependent. Whether language protection is sustainable depends on how the benefits it generates are put to creative and meaningful use through incessant exploration. Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Contents Li Yuming (李宇明) Scientific protection of ethnic languages   V Foreword to The Language Situation in China: Volume 4

Part I Language work Ministry of Education 1 Outline of the National Mid- and Long-term Reform and Development Plan on Spoken and Written Languages (2012–2020)   3 State Language Commission 2 Twelfth Five-year Research Plan of the State Language Commission  General Office of the State Council 3 Confucius Institutes Development Plan (2012–2020) 

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Yi Jun (易军), Zhou daojuan (周道娟), Wang Qi (王奇), Rong Hong (容宏), Meng Qingyu (孟庆瑜), Zhang Yan (张艳), Hao Aqing (郝阿庆), and Zhai Zhiguo (翟志国) 4 Language application management   29 Yi Jun (易军), Zhou Daojuan (周道娟), Wang Qi (王奇), Rong Hong (容宏), Meng Qingyu (孟庆瑜), Zhang Yan (张艳), Hao Aqing (郝阿庆), and Zhai Zhiguo (翟志国) 5 Language and information management   35 Chen Zhangtai (陈章太) and Xie Junying (谢俊英) 6 To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the promulgation of the National Law of Standard Spoken and Written Language   43 Li Yuming (李宇明) 7 Raise the language awareness of society   51 Foreword to The Language Situation in China 2013 (Chinese version)

Part II Special research Sun Chunying (孙春颖) and Guo Xi (郭熙) 8 International dissemination of the Chinese language  

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Wang Chunhui (王春辉) 9 The United Nations Chinese Language Day  Wen Qiufang (文秋芳) 10 China’s foreign language capacity 

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Li Xianle (李现乐) 11 The economic value of language in Nanjing’s service industry  Chai Xingsan (柴省三) 12 Society-oriented language tests 

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 103

Li Qin (李勤), Huang Xuejun (黄学钧), and Zhang Jianguo (张建国) 13 Protection of the intellectual property rights of digital Chinese fonts 

 111

Ding Shiqing (丁石庆) 14 Decline and protection of the mother tongues of the northern ethnic groups   121 Zhou Qingsheng (周庆生) 15 Cross-border ethnic minority languages 

 131

Liu Yanhong (刘艳虹), Gu Dingqian (顾定倩), Cheng Li (程黎), and Wei Dan (魏丹) 16 Survey on the use of Braille   147 Zhang Xiuyan (张秀彦), Chen Fang (陈芳), and Guo Xi (郭熙) 17 Language situation of foreign residents in Xiaobei Road, Guangzhou 

 159

Mao Liqun (毛力群) and Ying Ling (应玲) 18 Language use of the military   169

Part III Language focuses Xie Junying (谢俊英) 19 Dialects protection debate 

 183

Zhao Chunyan (赵春燕) and Zhou Hongbo (周洪波) 20 A heated debate on lettered expressions in Chinese dictionaries 

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Contents 

Wang Lei (汪磊) and Mou Yan (牟岩) 21 Microblogging and its language  汲传波 (Ji Chuanbo) 22 Place-renaming fever 

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 215

Chan Shui-duen (陈瑞端) 23 Changes and usage of languages in different societal domains in Hong Kong   233 Su Jinzhi (苏金智) 24 Survey on the use of Putonghua in Macau  Yu Guilin (余桂林) 25 Language situation in China Taiwan 

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 257

Dai Hongliang (戴红亮) and Yang Shujun (杨书俊) 26 Analysis of the use of language through the eighth population census of China Taiwan   267 Wang Lei (王磊), Yang Erhong (杨尔弘), and Wang Jia (王佳) et al. 27 Popular words and phrases   277 Hou Min (侯敏), Zou Yu (邹煜), and Teng Yonglin (滕永林) 28 New words and phrases in 2011–2012, and a comprehensive survey of new words and phrases in 2006–2010   287

Appendix Mao Liqun (毛力群) and Mao Xiaojing (毛筱静) Memorabilia of language work in 2011   301 Bai Juan (白 娟) and Li Qiao (李 俏) Memorabilia of language work in 2012 

 309

The People’s Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Notice on further regulating the use of ethnic minority languages and Chinese   317

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Contents (Chinese version 2012) 

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Contents (Chinese version 2013) 

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Editorial Teams of the English Edition  Index 

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Part I Language work

Ministry of Education 1 Outline of the National Mid- and Long-term Reform and Development Plan on Spoken and Written Languages (2012–2020) Preface Spoken and written languages are the most important human communication tools and information carriers. Language is a vital force that propels the development of society. Language projects are essential, comprehensive, and social, affecting every citizen. Language is an important component of cultural inheritance and social development; it is crucial to national and ethnic unity; it concerns the enhancement of the quality of citizens and the holistic development of people; it plays a significant role in the national development strategy. China’s language work is now faced with new demands due to the goals of establishing an affluent society, enhancing the country’s soft power, and accelerating the modernisation of education. The government should establish and strengthen cultural awareness and the nation’s confidence, strive to fully develop the written and spoken languages used in the nation. Language should be used as a tool to establish a well-off society and facilitate the rejuvenation of the Chinese community.

1 Guiding principles The government should vigorously promote and standardise the use of the national standard language and, at the same time, scientifically protect the ethnic minority languages. Moreover, language infrastructure and management should be strengthened. In addition, the nation’s language capabilities and the citizens’ language proficiency should be enhanced so as to build a harmonious language environment. Attention should also be paid to the modernisation of education in order to strengthen the power of the socialist and culturally-powerful nation and energize the development of the spoken and written languages.

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2 Objectives and missions 2.1 Overall objectives By 2020, Putonghua will be widely used throughout the country. The standardisation of the application of Chinese characters will be further improved. The Pinyin system will better perform its functions. Language regulations and standards will basically meet the needs of society and the level of informatisation will increase. The management of language will be comprehensively improved and the establishment of a management service system will be completed. The scientific protection of the spoken and written languages of all ethnic groups will be strengthened. Language inheritance will facilitate the promotion of the outstanding Chinese culture. The national language capabilities will be significantly enhanced. The language ability of citizens will be greatly improved. Hence, a harmonious language environment will be in place by then.

2.2 Main missions 2.2.1 Promote and popularise the national common language The publicity and education about the National Law of Standard Spoken and Written Language (the Law) should be strengthened. The Law should be incorporated into the education system so as to deepen the knowledge on language laws and language standardisation possessed by teachers, officials, as well as people who work in the press, publishing, broadcasting, film and television, and public service industries. All citizens should have an understanding of the national common language. The nation’s common language should be further popularised. By 2015, Putonghua will be widely used in cities in China. In addition, in rural areas, teachers, students, as well as the young and middle-aged population will be targeted for the popularisation of Putonghua and the basic standards of Chinese character usage. By 2020, the national standard language will be commonly used throughout the country and major communication obstacles will have been eliminated. The promotion and popularisation of the national common language in ethnic areas should be accelerated. The publicity and training of Putonghua should be strengthened and bilingual education should be actively and steadily promoted. By 2020, bilingual teachers in ethnic minority communities should

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meet the requirements for teaching Putonghua. In addition, ethnic minority students who have completed compulsory education should be able to master the common language. The implementation of the Chinese Pinyin Programme should be intensified. The teaching of Pinyin in schools should be strengthened. The Pinyin system should act as a tool for the spelling and phonetic transcription of Chinese. In addition, the system should further fine-tune its functions on occasions where Chinese characters are inconvenient or unable to use. The Pinyin system should also facilitate information processing, international exchange, international Chinese education, and overseas Chinese education.

2.2.2 Advance the regulation, standardisation, and informatisation of language The standardisation of spoken and written languages should be bolstered. Language regulations should be scientific so as to further improve the language standardization system. The relationship between language regulation and language development should be handled properly. The government should conduct in-depth studies of the patterns how the regulations are formulated and implemented. Moreover, the government should step up its support for the promotion, popularisation, and application of language regulations. Attention should be paid to the advancement of language standardisation. The coordination and management of language standards should be improved. The hierarchy and mechanism of language standards should be further enhanced. The formulation of the basic standards of the national common language and minority languages should be accelerated and upgraded. The focus should be on the amelioration of standards for language applications, the standards for language evaluation and certification, the common sign language and Braille, as well as the use of foreign languages. In addition, the government should pay attention to the standards of education, information processing, radio, film and television, press and publication, the compilation of dictionaries, as well as public services. It is also crucial to have timely review and revision of the standards. Language informatisation should be enhanced. Language projects for Chinese information processing should be pushed forward. Moreover, information processing should serve as the core of the key technologies in order to tackle the challenges ahead. By doing so, the key technologies will enjoy independent intellectual property rights, with a view to improving Chinese information processing. In addition, the establishment of language databases, resource libraries, and learning platforms should not be ignored.

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2.2.3 Strengthen the supervision and services of language use The supervision and inspection of language use in society should be strengthened, especially in schools, institutions, press and publication, broadcasting and film, public service industries, as well as public places. The language used in cultural and information technology products, such as teaching materials, books (especially dictionaries), and film and television programmes, should also be monitored. In addition, the management of the use of foreign languages should be enhanced. By doing so, the standardisation of the Chinese translation of foreign languages can be achieved. The monitoring of and guidance for the language environment should be improved, so as to ensure that language used on the Internet, mobile phones, and other new media follow the standard norms. A monitoring platform will be established to track and study the new phenomena and new issues emerging in the language environment, eradicate non-standard language usages, facilitate the healthy development of the language environment, and form an environment that is conducive to appropriate language usage. Language consultancy services should be organized and managed effectively. A platform for such services should be constructed using modern information technologies and other means, with a view to providing language services such as responding to inquiries concerning language policies, regulations, standards, and proper usage.

2.2.4 Enhance citizens’ language abilities Attention should be paid to the enhancement of citizens’ language capabilities. A national evaluation system for the use of the common language should be established. Society should attach greater significance to language learning, the ultimate goal being steady improvement of its citizens’ language abilities. People who have received primary education should have the ability to speak Putonghua, as well as to use the standard Chinese characters and Pinyin. Citizens with secondary or higher education should have a corresponding proficiency level in the national common language; they should also have a stronger capability of communicating in Putonghua and standard Chinese characters. Society’s awareness of language regulations should be further strengthened. Citizens should consciously use Putonghua and standard Chinese characters in public settings.

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2.2.5 Protect ethnic languages scientifically The government should deal with various language relations appropriately, properly handling the relationships between the national language and Chinese dialects, traditional Chinese characters, as well as minority languages. In addition, the use and learning of these varieties should not be ignored. The government should strive to create a law-abiding, healthy and harmonious language environment. Society should acknowledge the importance of language resources and language protection. In addition, various activities that are in line with public interest should be carried out periodically so as to educate people about language resources and the scientific protection of language. The scientific research and development of ethnic language resources should be bolstered. The government should propel the digitisation and promote the sharing of language resources, and to ensure that the cultural and economic functions of such resources are fully and rationally utilised. The government should establish and upgrade language resource databases, exploring the scientific methods for the use and protection of dialects. Modern Technology should be used to record and preserve the endangered languages used by ethnic minority groups.

2.2.6 Disseminate the outstanding Chinese culture As the carrier of the excellent Chinese culture, the languages in China should fully exert their functions. Society should organise activities such as Chinese classics writing and recitation competitions. Education about Chinese cultural heritage and revolutionary traditions should be strengthened. In addition, the quality and morality of citizens should be enhanced. Exchanges with Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan should be expanded and deepened. A concerted mechanism for the use of spoken and written languages should be established. Academic and cultural exchanges regarding language should be stepped up. Services should be provided to residents of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, facilitating their learning and use of Putonghua. International Chinese education should be supported. The training of Chinese language teachers worldwide, the compilation of Chinese teaching materials and teaching related research should be strengthened. Moreover, the promotion of relevant Chinese proficiency tests should be continued so that Chinese

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language and culture can extend its impact around the world. The Chinese Pinyin Programme should continue to play a leading role in the development of both international and overseas Chinese education. The status of the Chinese language in the world should be uplifted. Chinese should become one of the official working languages of relevant international organisations and conferences. The influence of Chinese in international academic communities should be expanded. Language and cultural exchange and cooperation with other countries should be intensified.

2.2.7 Strengthen the legal framework of language The government should study and revise the law and strive to complete its revision by 2020. In addition, the government should track existing and study emerging language issues in a timely manner. Based on the research results and the actual needs, the government should formulate regulations through legislation. The enforcement of language laws should be stricter so as to encourage citizens to use languages in accordance with the laws. The relevant laws and regulations should be implemented with care.

3 Key projects 3.1 Popularisation 3.1.1 Language standardisation The government should continue the language standardisation model school project. The standards for national and provincial model schools should be designed exemplarily. The establishment of the model schools should be an important part of the monitoring of education quality, university teaching evaluation, and the evaluation of the model schools at all levels. The evaluation of urban language projects should continue to be conducted. Adhering to the principle of “emphasising the construction, focusing on the process, and highlighting the actual results”, the government should adjust and improve the evaluation index system and strengthen the guidance, inspection, and supervision of cities that have not yet reached the standard. Second-tier cities will complete the evaluation by 2015 and third-tier cities by 2020. Re-evaluation

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is required to encourage cities to maintain their performance standards and to seek continual improvement towards meeting the standards. The standardisation of language should be considered as an important part of the establishment of civilised cities; it should be incorporated into the evaluation of the performance of the government and officials. The government should ensure that standards of language regulations are met in different regions. Cities should serve as the core and lead the rural areas to gradually approximate the level of standardisation in the region. Based on the actual conditions, the provincial language departments should, step by step, formulate regional language standardisation projects and carry out pilot projects. Language standardisation in the key industries should be promoted, especially in schools, government departments, press and publication, broadcasting, film and television, and public service industries. The model units for language standardisation should be assessed timely. Moreover, attention needs to be paid to language standardisation and Putonghua training and tests for military personnel.

3.1.2 Training on the national common language Putonghua training designed for teachers and principals should be enhanced. New teachers should be able to meet the Putonghua requirements in order to obtain teaching qualifications. All teachers must take the Putonghua Proficiency Test. In primary schools, secondary schools, and kindergartens, the principals and teachers who have not met the requirements should receive training and strive to meet the standards. National and provincial training on Chinese classics recitation and reading for key teachers should be carried out. Language training is also required for those who work in the related industries. Training on the national common language should be incorporated into the staff training of schools, government departments as well as public service industries such as press and publication, broadcasting, film and television. In addition, the training should be intensified. Regarding multi-level language use training, its rigour should meet the training requirements for different occupations and positions. Migrant workers should also receive training in Putonghua. The government should encourage employers, labourers and employment service providers, and the relevant departments in places where the mobility and movement of migrant workers is marked to carry out Putonghua training for migrant workers and improve their employability.

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3.2 Infrastructure 3.2.1 Infrastructure for language standardisation The government should strengthen the management of language standardisation. A long-term mechanism for language standardisation and normalisation needs to be established. In addition, a language standardisation system that is in line with the law is required. The technical standards, management standards, and work standards for language should be integrated into a sound, composite standard system. The formulation and revision of language standards should be enhanced. Attention should be paid to the formulation and improvement of the national common standards and the assessment standards for Chinese characters, Putonghua phonetics, geographical names, scientific and technical terminology, and the translation of foreigners’ names. Moreover, in the field of public services, the government should also conduct research on language standardisation in foreign language translation and international Chinese language education. China should lead the formulation of the international standards for the Chinese language and characters. Language standardisation should be strengthened, focusing on nurturing talents to define and monitor international standards.

3.2.2 Construction of language databases and corpora The government should build holographic databases for the ancient and modern Chinese characters with a view to balancing the use of ancient and modern Chinese characters, including those characters used abroad. Also, the databases are conducive to enlightening us on the evolution of Chinese characters, the promotion of the cultural heritage of Chinese writing, and the popularisation of written Chinese and its use around the world. A database for China’s 100-year history of language standardisation and regulations should be established, not only for the sake of archiving, but also showcasing the nation’s language standards and regulations in the past century. Dynamic corpora of the nation’s language resources should be developed and made accessible to users nation-wide. The government should step up its efforts in constructing language corpora, among other goals to better monitor language resources in print media, audio media, online media, and educational materials. The quality of Modern Chinese Corpora should be reviewed and uplifted periodically.

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3.2.3 Survey on the national language situation Surveys on the sociolinguistic conditions of the nation should be conducted. The government should investigate the use of spoken and written languages in specific areas to formulate policies that can support the local socioeconomic development. The use of language in institutions, press and publication, radio and film, public service industries should be investigated. In addition, language policies and services should be specifically designed to meet the demands of these industries. Attention should be paid to the use of sign language and Braille, the formulation of sign language and Braille standards, as well as the quality of special education. The government should also study the language used in new media, including the use of loanwords and letter words on the Internet and mobile phones. Research on the language used in virtual spaces should be kept up-to-date, with a view to exploring coping strategies and formulating relevant policies where necessary. Language-focused censuses should be systematized and conducted periodically, covering the use of Putonghua, the use of Chinese characters, the use of Pinyin, types of Chinese dialects, dialect distribution, dialect speakers, and changes in the use of dialects. Similar surveys are needed for ethnic minority languages and their dialects, the distribution of their speakers, local neologisms and lexical change such as semantic shift. In addition, general surveys on the distribution and use of cross-border languages are necessary. It is equally important to conduct surveys on the use of foreign languages in the nation. The government should strive to include the use of spoken and written languages in the national census and other related surveys. In short, there is room for revamping existing Chinese language databases and creating new ones. A multimedia language map and updated report on China’s language situation should be published periodically. The government should step up its efforts to leverage the development, use, and sharing of the data collected from language censuses.

3.3 Supervision 3.3.1 Supervision and services of language use The language situation in China should be monitored more carefully. The actual language use and hot language issues should be scrutinized and elucidated. New phenomena in the language environment should be analysed to facilitate the identification of discernible trends and predict the direction of further development.

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 Ministry of Education

Reports on the language situation should be published periodically. Coping strategies of any language problems identified should be grounded in high-quality data collected through fine-grained research. Chinese character learning platforms are required to integrate Chinese character standards and resources. By doing so, primary and secondary school teaching, the learning of written Chinese by the citizenry, and international Chinese education can benefit from a mode of delivery characterized by information sharing and technology-assisted language teaching methods. There should be a clearer focus on the construction of language supervision platforms and test verification systems. The use of language in media, publications (in particular textbooks and reference books), public places, information technology products, and Chinese character input systems are subject to the testing, certification, supervision, and management of standard compliance. National language consultancy service platforms and language use service systems should be established. The government should provide free consultation services to various groups of stakeholders in society regarding language policies as well as the regulations and standards of language use. The standardisation of online language and new words and phrases should be strengthened, while the monitoring, standardisation, review, and publication of the Chinese translation of foreign languages should be conducted with rigour.

3.3.2 National language emergency services and language assistance services The government should provide national language emergency services and establish mechanisms for soliciting and providing assistance. According to the national strategic needs, key language policies should be designed to tackle international affairs and emergency events. A national pool of multilingual talents should be set up. In addition, the government should facilitate the planning of foreign language learning and use. In preparation for national language emergency cases, effective mechanisms for recruiting and retaining language professionals in specific fields is primordial. Language professionals should be able to provide language support and services regarding the geographical names of the nation’s maritime areas and other territories, as well as the names of celestial bodies. There should be a mechanism for garnering support from language experts in society. A pool of volunteer language talents should be compiled, whereby timely assistance from bilingual and multilingual personnel may be solicited if and when necessary.

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3.3.3 Promotion and standardisation of sign language and Braille The formation of sign language and Braille standards should be accelerated. The regulation, standardisation, and informatisation of the national common sign language and Braille should be strengthened. The national standards for the common Braille should be revised and updated periodically, and the requirements for sign language and Braille translators should be defined clearly. Where necessary, the government should study and develop sign language and Braille for ethnic minority groups. The use of sign language and Braille should be popularised. With the help of the curriculum reform in special education schools, the government will promote the use of the national common sign language and Braille. Organisations should be established to provide sign language and Braille services, including translation, voice reading, and audio notification, to people with visual and hearing impairment. Research on sign language and Braille should be intensified. Emphasis should be placed on nurturing high-level sign language and Braille professionals working in a specialized, designated research institution, probably within the infrastructure of a national research centre for sign language and Braille.

3.4 Ability enhancement 3.4.1 Construction of evaluation systems for language applications The Putonghua Proficiency Test, Chinese Character Usage Test, and Chinese Proficiency Test should be promoted and improved. The informatisation and resource construction for Putonghua training and tests should be accelerated. In addition, the computer-assisted Putonghua Proficiency Test should be promoted. Moreover, the Putonghua Proficiency Test Outline should be revised in due course. It is also necessary to have a series of Putonghua learning materials. The development and implementation of the standards of Putonghua tests for primary and middle school students are also significant. The government should revise and improve the Outline for the Chinese Character Usage Test, improving the test system and strengthening its publicity. In addition, the revision and improvement of the Chinese Proficiency Standards and the Outline of Chinese Usage Test should be informed by the pilot experience. All this will contribute to enhancing the quality of Chinese language tests.

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 Ministry of Education

3.4.2 Enhancement of students’ language abilities Young children’s Putonghua proficiency should be improved. Kindergartens should create a free and relaxing environment for Putonghua communication, guiding children to learn, listen to, and express themselves clearly in Putonghua. Schools should cultivate children’s interests in reading and help them to develop good reading habits. Students’ language abilities should be nurtured. Primary and secondary schools should teach according to the language curriculum, strengthening the teaching of word recognition, character writing, oral communication, reading, and writing. In addition, the government should strengthen the teaching and learning of standard Chinese character writing in primary and secondary schools. Attention should be paid to the development of the four skills among primary and secondary school students, with the enhancement of listening, reading, and writing skills being the main goal. Moreover, vocational schools at secondary and postsecondary levels should design language-related courses scientifically, focusing on improving students’ Chinese language appreciation ability, writing skills, and communication skills. Students’ language proficiency and their competence to use spoken and written languages should be enhanced. Standards for evaluating students’ use of language should be established and improved. Different levels and categories of evaluation standards for primary, secondary, and high school students’ language usage abilities should be developed. Oral expression and Chinese character writing should be incorporated into language teaching and evaluation.

3.4.3 Enhancement of citizens’ language abilities Teachers’ language competency should be enhanced. It is crucial to incorporate the requirement on using the national common language into teacher qualifications. Language should be an important component of teacher training. Teachers’ language use ability should be improved comprehensively. The language competency of relevant professional communities should also be enhanced. The language standards for professionals in relevant industries, such as schools, institutions, press and publication, broadcasting, film and television, and public service industries, should be upgraded. Multilingual abilities should be promoted among citizens. Beginning with the national common language, a reasonable plan should be formulated to address citizens’ needs for multilingual development, and to create a favourable environment for improving their multilingual abilities.

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 15

3.5 Scientific protection 3.5.1 Records and preservation of ethnic language resources The government should establish audio databases for Chinese language resources. The databases should be designed scientifically and planned holistically. The databases will facilitate research into and the collection of audio language resources in Putonghua, Chinese dialects, and minority languages. Furthermore, the databases will enable us to better manage, preserve, develop, utilise, and scientifically protect the language resources of various ethnic groups in China.

3.5.2 Informatisation of ethnic minority languages The standards of ethnic minority languages should be established. Toward normative use and informatisation, the benchmarking of the standards of ethnic minority languages is needed urgently. In addition, projects concerning the standardisation of the terminology of minority languages should be rolled out with caution. The primary goal of setting up minority language databases is to archive and organise the historical and cultural information of ethnic minority languages systematically. The government needs to build databases for ethnic minority cultures and large-scale corpora for the traditional languages used by ethnic minority groups.

3.5.3 Rescue and protection of endangered ethnic minority languages Support should be given to the National Ethnic Affairs Commission for completing the investigations of 20 endangered languages spoken by ethnic minorities and for publishing the Protection of Ethnic Minority Languages in China Series.

3.6 Cultural heritage 3.6.1 Recitation, writing, and speaking activities involving Chinese classics The government should encourage schools to carry out Chinese classics writing and speaking activities. Chinese classics recitation and writing platforms should

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 Ministry of Education

be established and attract people to participate. Resource banks for Chinese classics writing and recitation should also be built.

3.6.2 Cooperation and exchange with the Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan regions Putonghua learning, training, and test services should be provided to citizens in Hong Kong and Macau. According to the needs of the people in the two Special Administrative Regions (SAR’s), the government should provide support for them to take the Putonghua Proficiency Test and for local teachers to receive Putonghua training. The summer Putonghua exchange programmes for students from the Mainland and the two SAR’s should also be supported by the government. Moreover, joint research on Putonghua training and tests should be encouraged. Cross-strait language and business exchanges should be promoted. The government should encourage the two parties to (1) compile reference books for the Chinese language; (2) improve the construction of the Chinese Language Knowledge Base; (3) establish cross-strait language think tanks; (4) implement Putonghua training tests; (5) organise cross-strait language seminars and cultural exchange forums; (6) continue to carry out research on the standardisation of terminology and proper nouns; (7) examine the variant pronunciations of Chinese words; (8) develop a reliable conversion system between simplified and traditional Chinese characters; (9) develop word correspondence databases; and (10) implement cross-strait youth language and cultural exchange programmes. Overseas Chinese should be encouraged to come to China to learn Chinese. Overseas Chinese language teacher training programmes such as summer camps should be organised to help them better understand their homeland. The government should strengthen the promotion of Putonghua training and tests worldwide by stimulating cooperation with overseas institutions specialized in providing Putonghua training and administering Chinese oral proficiency tests. The scope of overseas Chinese language training should be further expanded. The government should facilitate the integration of the training and tests of the national common language, international Chinese language education, and overseas Chinese language education. Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

State Language Commission 2 Twelfth Five-year Research Plan of the State Language Commission According to the spirit of the Outline for the Mid- and Long-term Reform and Development of the Spoken and Written National Language (2010–2020) and the current needs of language reform and development, the State Language Commission of the People’s Republic of China (“SLC”) put forward the guidelines, main objectives, and direction of its scientific research within the period of the Twelfth Five-year Plan.

1 Guiding principles In the process of implementing the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language and Outline for the Long-term Reform and Development of the Spoken and Written National Languages (2010– 2020), SLC will aim at facilitating the development of the spoken and written national language, focusing on the normalisation, standardisation, and informatisation of the language. Scientific research bases and language engineering will serve as the foundation for reform and innovation, providing strong research support to enhance the nation’s language ability and build a harmonious language environment.

2 Main objectives SLC should improve the nation’s research on its spoken and written language. The research will provide academic and scientific support for China to adjust its guidelines and policies regarding languages, formulate regulations and standards, enhance the management of language application, and improve the citizens’ language proficiency. The commission should pay close attention to both social and linguistic environments, and have a thorough understanding of the language situation in the country. The commission should also take the initiative

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-002

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 State Language Commission

to meet the language needs of various fields and regions in order to balance the development of society, language, and people’s lives.

3 Key research directions 3.1 Research on language strategy, planning, and policies Language strategy is an integral part of a nation’s development strategy. Since entering the new century, many countries have formulated and implemented policies, legislation, and projects that are directly related to their language capabilities. In the era of globalisation, the world associated language with national security and global competitiveness. China is a unified and multiethnic country, where languages are various, language resources rich, and language situation complicated. For China, careful planning and comprehensive research on language strategies are conducive to the management of languages, national solidarity, and social harmony. It is, therefore, necessary for the commission to investigate the essential language strategies and the relations between various languages. The role of language in national identity, ethnic identity, and cultural identity is also worth studying. Cross-border linguistic affairs in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the overseas Chinese communities should be dealt with. Moreover, SLC should examine the language strategies and policies as well as the social and language environments in different countries. SLC should, based on the examination, launch scientific projects to tackle major language issues.

3.2 Language normalisation and standardisation SLC should construct normative standards for the common and minority languages used in China and explore strategies for the standardisation of the spoken and written language. The formulation and improvement of following areas should be accelerated: (1) the basic standards of common and minority languages; (2) evaluation and certification standards for language application; (3) rules for Braille and sign languages; (4) standards for the international education of Chinese language; and (5) standards for the use of foreign languages. The commission should also focus on the establishment of the much-needed standards for education, information processing, press and publication, the compilation of

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dictionaries, radio, film and television broadcasting, and public services. Moreover, Geographical names, as well as scientific and technological terms should be standardised. SLC should establish the international standards of the spoken and written Chinese language, as well as create a system to examine and certify the standards.

3.3 Research on language environment and language management SLC should bolster the study of the language situation in China, strengthen research on the language used by the new media, intensify the monitoring and research on the use of languages, examine the correlations between language and public opinion, as well as facilitate the healthy development of the language environment. The commission should launch research on the legal systems and mechanisms that regulate the use of the spoken and written language. Attention should also be paid to research on Putonghua promotion and use of foreign languages. Putonghua Proficiency Test (Pŭtōnghuà Shuĭpíng Cèshì, PSC), Chinese Character Usage Ability Assessment (Hànzì Yìngyòng Shuĭpíng Cèshì, HYSC) and their management should be aided by information and intelligent technology. SLC should conduct research to see how PSC and HZC can assist employee recruitment. The use of sign language and Braille should be explored with a view to establishing a dynamic monitoring system. SLC should study the methods for the popularisation of linguistic science. It is of equal importance to establish language application consulting platforms, language policies and regulations enquiry systems, language standards application service systems, and language examinations and training systems.

3.4 Research on language education and language skills Language skills are essential to people’s overall development. SLC should conduct research on mother tongue education, bilingual education in ethnic minority areas, international Chinese language education, as well as the language acquisition of hearing-impaired and blind people. In addition, the commission should inquire into the criteria and mechanism for evaluating language abilities with a view to enhancing the citizens’ language capabilities. The commission should also conduct research on the role played by the spoken and written language in the dissemination of Chinese culture and establishment of the common spirit shared by the Chinese communities.

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 State Language Commission

3.5 Research on language resources construction and Chinese information processing Chinese information processing is a significant part of the intelligent sensing technologies. Such research should tap into the Internet to consolidate language resources and improve the integration capacity of the processing platforms. SLC should focus on the advancement of the semantic processing technology, particularly on Chinese semantic analysis system for the Internet. By doing so, China’s capacity of utilising online information will be improved. The commission should work on the key technologies of Chinese information processing and innovate the technologies and their products, so that the core technologies can enjoy intellectual property rights; and the international standards of Chinese information processing can be established with China as the major contributor. In addition, the Chinese computer input method should be normalized and enhanced to facilitate the construction of digital font databases and the development of Chinese information processing and the informatisation of the nation. SLC should focus on the information-processing side of the spoken and written language development, and knowledge bases, corpora, and resource bases at the national level. The commission should also construct audio databases for Chinese language, as well as large-scale corpora for traditional common languages of the ethnic minorities. Emphasis should be placed on the development and utilisation of language resources, as well as the provision of services to society. Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

General Office of the State Council

3 Confucius Institutes Development Plan (2012–2020) (Issued by the General Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China [2012] No. 52) This plan was constructed to facilitate the development of the Confucius Institutes (“the Institutes”); strengthen the exchange and cooperation between China and other countries; as well as thoroughly utilise the Institutes as a cultural exchange platform.

1 Background Due to China’s rapid economic and social growth, as well as significant increase in its international status, countries around the world have placed greater importance on building friendly relations and co-operating with the fast-growing nation. Chinese, thus, has become a language prominently used in international settings. In order to cope with the demand, the Confucius Institutes strive to disseminate Chinese culture and knowledge. The scale of the Institutes has grown and the teaching quality has been gradually enhanced. Several projects launched by the Institutes have been popular worldwide, encouraging China and other countries to jointly create new models of language exchange. Having paved a new path for Chinese culture to enter into the world, the Institutes have taken a huge leap forward and their stories demonstrate the successful cultural and educational exchange between China and other countries. Hence there is no doubt that the Institutes have significantly promoted the Chinese language internationally, strengthening the friendships between China and other countries. By the end of 2011, a total of 358 Confucius Institutes and 500 primary and secondary Confucius Classrooms (“the Classrooms”) had been established in 105 countries, with half a million registered students. However, the Institutes are unable to fully satisfy the global demand for learning Chinese. The Institutes lack high-quality teachers and appropriate teaching materials; it is in urgent need of improvement and better integration of its resources. In an increasingly globalised world, people are more aware of cultural diversity. Understanding different cultures has become crucial for national development. China’s growth, thus, has drawn worldwide attention. The depth and https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-003

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 General Office of the State Council

richness of Chinese culture are now welcomed and appreciated by many people around the world. More and more countries have incorporated the learning of Chinese into their education systems. Moreover, learning Chinese has become a way of maintaining a cultural link with the ancestors for overseas Chinese people. Hence, the number of Chinese learners around the world has rocketed. Improving the services of Confucius Institutes will open the door to more educational exchanges and cooperation between China and foreign countries, and further enhance the internationalisation of China’s education. An internationalised education system is able to cultivate talented people, who will, in turn, facilitate collaborations between China and other countries in various fields. Furthermore, the Institutes are able to demonstrate China’s civilization, democracy, openness, and progress, helping the world to understand and recognise the nation’s achievements. China should make full use of the favourable conditions to refine and upgrade the Confucius Institutes.

2 General requirements 2.1 Guidelines The Institutes should foster China’s diplomatic relations and cultural exchange, seizing opportunities and distributing resources appropriately. Teaching Chinese should be the main focus of the Institutes. The quality of the schools should be prioritised for the Institutes to function as a comprehensive platform for cultural exchange. Through the Confucius Institutes, the world will have easier access to Chinese language and culture, which in turn will help China cultivate stronger friendships with other countries.

2.2 Principles The Institutes should be scientifically positioned, with distinctive characteristics. The teaching of Chinese should merge with cultural exchange organically. The curricula should be designed according to the needs of different countries and areas. Efforts should be made to launch unique Cultural-exchange activities. The Institutes should endeavour to cope with diverse learner needs in various countries. The Confucius Institutes should seek support from the government and operate as a private organisation. A general plan is required to improve the

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policies and measures. The Institutes should prioritize their efforts on public welfare, emphasize their non-governmental nature, and stimulate motivation among service-providers to provide quality teaching services. Sino-foreign co-operation and Institutes-internal development should never be compromised. Chinese teaching should be perfected by co-operation between the schools, enterprises, and associations in China and other countries. The Institutes should standardise their names and regulations. The str○engths of China and other nations should all be employed in developing the Institutes. The Institutes need to abide by local laws and respect local cultural customs, building joint management systems with the local authorities. Serving the local people and generating mutual benefits are the Institutes’ goals. The Institutes, as cultural exchange platforms, should fully exert their functions, intensifying the exchanges among different civilizations and providing financial, educational, and cultural services to the local people.

2.3 Goals By 2015, the number of Confucius Institutes in the world will reach 500, together with 1000 primary and secondary Confucius Classrooms. The number of the students for face-to-face teaching will reach one million, and the online-teaching programs will attract 500 thousand registered students. The number of full-time and part-time qualified teachers will reach 50 thousand, among which 20 thousand teachers will be sent from China and the rest will be recruited from the host countries. The Confucius Institutes will also reach out to the local communities through the Internet, radio broadcasting, and television programmes. By 2020, the Confucius Institutes will become a global phenomenon, with unified quality standards, standardised examination certifications, while the selection and distribution of teachers will be regulated. The basic principle is to form a team of qualified full-time and part-time Chinese and foreign teachers that can adapt to their students’ needs. The teaching materials for the Chinese language should be published in different languages in order to facilitate access to as many nations as possible. The aim of the Institutes is to establish a global network for the promotion of Chinese language and culture. Through the joint efforts made by the governments and people of China and other countries, the Institutes will be perfected, and the Chinese language widely learnt and used.

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 General Office of the State Council

3 Main missions 3.1 Highlight the priorities and improve the quality of the Institutes A rational plan is essential to make the Confucius Institutes diverse and widereaching. The Institutes should be tailored to the needs of the host countries, with the teaching of Chinese being the main task. They should strive to become the regions’ Chinese teaching centres, Chinese teacher training centres, and Chinese proficiency test centres. Institutes with sufficient resources are encouraged to conduct advanced Chinese teaching and research on modern China in order to become an important academic platform for people to acquire in-depth knowledge of China. The Institutes should adapt to students’ diverse learning needs, featuring programs such as business, Chinese medicine, martial arts, cooking, art, and travelling. In some countries, Chinese teaching, cultural exchange, and vocational training ought to be conducted simultaneously, not only helping students to learn Chinese language and culture but also improve their vocational skills. The Confucius Classrooms should be linked to the education systems of the host countries. The Classrooms should facilitate the career development of overseas students studying in China. This will make the Institutes more effective and attractive. In addition, a sound quality evaluation system is needed to ensure a smooth exit in the event that the operations of the Institutes in the host nations are deemed no longer appropriate.

3.2 Promote quality teaching and establish sound human resources systems It is suggested that the Institutes accelerate the formation of high-quality management teams. The appointment of the full-time Directors should be well thought through. Only educated, virtuous, and dedicated people with excellent managerial and coordinative skills can be selected. The Chinese Directors should be chosen from the outstanding and middle-level staff in Chinese partner universities. Moreover, attention should be paid to the pre-inaugural and on-the-job training of the Directors. The recruitment of professional teachers is also of great importance. The Institutes should formulate international standards for Chinese language teachers and issue teaching certifications. The evaluation of the teachers’ duties (titles) should be in line with the worldwide trends of Chinese language education. The

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Institutes should cultivate qualified and high-quality teachers to cope with students’ diverse learning needs. Sino-foreign Confucius Institutes should act as the main providers of Chinese language teachers. University graduates and overseas Chinese can also be recruited to form volunteer teaching groups that have long-term or even life-long dedication to the Confucius Institutes. The training of local teachers in the host countries should be intensified. The scale of the “Confucius Institute Scholarships” should be expanded in order to attract more young people worldwide to pursue a master’s degree in Chinese International Education. In addition, the Institutes should strive to facilitate teacher training in the Chinese language schools overseas, as well as support and encourage the overseas Chinese to engage in Chinese teaching. The recruitment of volunteer teachers should be widened, targeting university graduates, postgraduates, and PhD students who major in humanities and social science subjects. The volunteers are also entitled to better remunerations. The focus should be on the selection and cultivation of professional Chinese teachers and managerial personnel.

3.3 Compile international Chinese teaching materials and establish teaching resources systems The Institutes should set the curriculum standards and guidelines for the compilation of Chinese textbooks worldwide. The Confucius Institutes, together with other sectors, should take the initiative to create informative, interesting, and versatile teaching materials of Chinese language and culture. The Institutes should also be dedicated to developing various supplementary cultural reading materials, multimedia teaching materials, practical teaching tools, and reference books. The Institutes around the world are encouraged to produce local textbooks and materials in order to meet the different needs of the local children, primary and secondary school students, university students, and professionals. In the host nations, the local teachers should attend training workshops on the effective use of teaching materials. Moreover, teaching methods for the Chinese language require reform and innovation. The construction of a database of teaching exemplars is an effective measure to achieve such goals. The teaching of the Chinese language should also be tailored to the local cultures of the host countries so as to overcome the obstacles caused by language and cultural differences. The teachers should explore different ways that allow non-native speakers to easily understand and accept the Chinese language and culture. The Confucius Institutes Journal should expand its readership by having different language versions, richer content, and higher quality.

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 General Office of the State Council

3.4 Establish a sound Chinese language examinations system The existing international language tests provide the Institutes with good experiences and exemplars to conduct market planning and operation, and to investigate ways of developing a variety of examinations. Teaching and examinations should be aligned. Paper tests, computer tests, and online tests should also be aligned to satisfy Chinese learners of different ages and different communities, so as to achieve worldwide recognition of the examinations. The large-scale Chinese tests around the world should be certified in order to establish a global Chinese language examinations system.

3.5 Conduct cultural exchange The Institutes should endeavour to strengthen the cultural exchange and collaboration between China and other countries. The Confucius Institutes are encouraged to organise Chinese culture exhibitions and Chinese book corners to promote Chinese cultural products. The Institutes should conduct unique cultural activities to introduce China’s history, culture and development to the world. The Institute is also a platform that allows China to absorb the outstanding cultural achievements of other countries.

4 Key projects –

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–

Build teacher training bases; rely on colleges and universities in China to strengthen international Chinese education and promote the bases; enhance teacher training; jointly set up a Chinese teaching major in foreign universities and colleges; build several teacher training bases; and focus on the training of the local Chinese language teachers in various countries. Establish volunteer talent pools; expand the admission of students for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL) and non-English language subjects; enrich the courses taught in TCFL by adding more literature, history, and philosophy courses; encourage the students in humanities and social science programs to attend TCFL courses; expand the range of volunteers; and establish an overseas internship mechanism for the Master’s students in international Chinese education. Compile international Chinese language textbooks; set up a steering committee for the compilation of teaching materials and a working group that contains Chinese and overseas experts; jointly develop regional and multilingual textbooks with overseas high-quality universities or colleges; and work closely with

3 Confucius Institutes Development Plan (2012–2020) 

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the publishers in China and abroad to create a textbook supply chain, which will be tasked with compiling textbooks and research books on teaching methods. Upgrade the online Confucius Institutes by expanding the languages used; establish a digital platform for the dissemination of Chinese language and culture; help Chinese learners around the world to learn Chinese online with their mother tongues as the languages of instruction; and encourage the Institutes around the world to conduct distance learning. Launch the “Confucius China Studies Program”; attract outstanding youth around the world to visit and study in China by funding research projects and studies; encourage well-established universities in the world to create posts in China Studies; subsidise the publication and translation of outstanding works that introduce China; and support the Confucius Institutes in various countries to organise academic conferences on Chinese culture. Build several model Institutes that demonstrate the expansion of student admission, the improvement of teaching quality, and the increase in social influence. Build a stronger brand image; showcase expert speeches, university students’ performances, and Chinese language textbooks exhibitions; organize high-quality “Chinese Bridge” competitions for students of different levels; increase the size of summer (winter) camps in China for overseas primary and secondary school students as well as ‘visit China’ programs for overseas primary and secondary school principals.

5 Protection measures 5.1 Increase funding The funding mechanism of the Confucius Institutes should be multi-channelled. The Institutes should broaden funding resources and gain financial support from various enterprises, individuals, and other sectors in China and overseas. The funds management system of the Institutes should be improved. The review, auditing, and performance evaluation mechanism of the project funds provided by China should be optimised.

5.2 Strengthen co-ordination and collaboration The Board of Directors of the Confucius Institute Headquarters (“Hanban”) is the highest decision-making body of the Confucius Institutes responsible for

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formulating and revising the Institutes’ regulations, assessing development plan and strategies, reviewing annual report and work plan of the headquarter, and studying the major issues concerning the development of the Institutes. The standing director units should make full use of different departmental functions to integrate resources, perform duties conscientiously, and give full support for the development of the Institutes. Hanban, as a daily office of the Board of Directors, should strengthen its services and management for the Institutes, and bolster research on their sustainable development. It should also formulate quality standards for international Chinese language teachers, teaching materials, courses, and examinations. The inspection and supervision of the Confucius Institutes should be intensified. Hanban should also consider setting up pilot regional service centres that provide information and services in order to facilitate the sharing of teaching resources in the regions.

5.3 Fully utilise opportunities The regions concerned should thoroughly use the mechanisms of economic and trade cooperation between China and other countries, as well as those of partner cities and schools, to support the participation of their universities, secondary and primary schools in developing the Confucius Institutes (and the Classrooms). Relevant parties should act in accordance with this plan, devising practical and functional measures to execute the requisite tasks. Relevant higher education institutions should be the backbone of the development of the Institutes. They should incorporate the Institutes into their overall development plan and key tasks so as to ensure well-organized and well-arranged operations that are overseen by specialists. Overseas Chinese enterprises should support the construction of the Institutes. Enterprises that have sufficient resources are encouraged to provide scholarships for the students of the Institutes and prioritise those who had studied in the Institutes during recruitment. Large-scale corporations with sizable local employers that meet the condition of setting up schools are encouraged to set up their own Confucius Institutes. Hanban should work with overseas authorities to ride on the enthusiasm of social forces in education to provide tax incentives and funding to attract various sectors both in China and abroad to support the Institutes’ further development. Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Yi Jun (易军), Zhou Daojuan (周道娟), Wang Qi (王奇), Rong Hong (容宏), Meng Qingyu (孟庆瑜), Zhang Yan (张艳), Hao Aqing (郝阿庆), and Zhai Zhiguo (翟志国)

4 Language application management

On 20 January 2011, the Symposium on the 10th Anniversary of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language (“the Law”) was held in Beijing by the National People’s Congress Education, Science, Culture, and Public Health Committee, the Ministry of Education, the State Language Commission (“SLC”), and the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council. The purpose of the symposium was to summarise the achievements and experience obtained from the implementation of the Law over the past 10 years. The symposium also blueprinted a legal system regulating languages; it also discussed the medium- and long-term scientific development of the spoken and written language. Prior to the publication of the Outline for the Long-term Reform and Development of the Spoken and Written National Language (2010–2020) (“the Outline”), 30 relevant departments of the Central Government and the State Council, 20 relevant departments and public institutions of the Ministry of Education, senior leaders of SLC, members of the Advisory Committee, and experts in the related fields had all been consulted. In addition, a briefing on the revision of the Outline had been held based on the opinions collected. The Outline had been revised for more than 20 times in keeping with the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Sixth Plenum of the 17th CPC Central Committee. The finalised version was then approved by the 35th meeting of the Party Group of the Ministry of Education and issued by the Ministry of Education and SLC on 4 December 2012. The Outline is an important instruction that guides China’s present and future language tasks. The Outline is also the first comprehensive, purposeful, and clear guidance issued in the history of China’s language planning.

1 Breakthrough in Chinese proficiency test The Chinese Language Proficiency Test (Hànyŭ Nénglì Cèshì, HNC) is the first language assessment in China that comprehensively examines Chinese listening, speaking, reading and writing ability. The test aims to evaluate the Chinese proficiency of those who use Chinese to conduct basic daily tasks, study, and work. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-004

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In addition, the test serves as a reference for different communities to enhance their Chinese learning and language skills. Businesses could also assess employees’ language skills through HNC. HNC has witnessed a major breakthrough. On 24 December 2011, the pilot tests were launched in Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Yunnan, Nankai University, and several other places (schools). The pilot tests were divided into level 4 and level 5. There were 2,442 candidates, which consisted of students, teachers, civil servants, soldiers, peasants, company employees, freelancers, and retirees.

2 Computer-aided Putonghua proficiency test By the end of 2012, apart from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China had piloted and implemented the Computer-aided Pŭtōnghuà Shuĭpíng Cèshì (“PSC”, i.e. the Putonghua Proficiency Test). Across the nation, the number of the test administrators who were aided by computers had reached 2.9 million, leading to a total of 8.87 million people. In the year 2012, in China, a total of 4.801million people attended PSC, among which there were 131,000 civil servants, 374,000 teachers, 4.012 million students, 4,504 people who work in the field of radio and television, and 279,000 people from other sectors. By the end of 2012, a total of 44.528 million people had been tested throughout the nation. A total of 1,481 test centres had been set up, including 390 municipal test centres, 1,046 university centres, and 45 corporate centres. In China, there are currently 1,310 PSC test supervisors and 54,766 PSC test assessors, among which there are around 50,010 state-level assessors.

3 Standardised Chinese writing education The Department of Language Application Management of Ministry of Education continues to extensively promulgate the standardised Chinese writing education. To achieve its goal, the department held the ‘The Chanting of China • 2011 National Standardised Chinese Characters Writing Competition for Global Chinese Students’. Moreover, in early 2011, a forum on standardised Chinese writing education was held. The forum attracted more than 170 participants, including the representatives from all levels of educational departments of the

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government, staff from governmental departments responsible for the spoken and written language, the heads of primary and secondary schools, and calligraphy teachers. The attendants exchanged their experience in Chinese writing education and discussed a sustainable mechanism and methods to strengthen the education on standardised Chinese writing. In addition, the department had conducted an assessment on schools that specialized in standardised Chinese writing education in China. As of June 2011, the department had received the applications from 2,046 primary and secondary schools across the country. Upon the initial evaluation conducted by the experts, a total of 313 schools were selected as ‘schools with specialised national standardised Chinese writing education’. The department also instructed relevant institutions to organise training for teachers of standardised Chinese writing and calligraphy. In November 2011, sponsored by the Department of Language Application Management, the first training was held in Beijing, with Xiling Seal Engraver’s Society Publishing House, and Standardised Chinese Writing Specialised Committee of the Association for the Newspapers Periodicals of Chinese Language as the orginzers. The training was attended by around 100 participants including primary-school Chinese language teachers, as well as specialised and part-time Chinese writing teachers.

4 Nation-wide Putonghua Promotion Week The theme of the 14th Putonghua Promotion Week (“Putonghua Week”) is to ‘enhance the nation’s common language application abilities and promote the excellent Chinese tradition and culture’. The opening ceremony was held in Ordos, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on 11 September 2011. The closing ceremony was held in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region on September 17. The two autonomous regions gathered their residents to carry out bilingual reading events, using the nation’s common language and the ethnic minority languages spoken in the regions. Li Weihong, Vice Minister of Education and Director of SLC, also attended activities held in the Putonghua Week and delivered important speeches. ‘My Grandfather and me’, a non-commercial TV advertisement, and pictorial posters such as ‘Read the Classics and Inherit the Civilization’ and ‘My Grandfather and me’, are the promotional materials for the latest Putonghua Week. The materials were widely publicised by the media and the primary units. In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the promulgation and implementation of the Law, as well as to create an appropriate social atmosphere for

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using the standardised spoken and written language, the Office of the Leading Group for the nation-wide Putonghua Week also held the ‘National DoublePromotion Microblogs Competition’. The competition received 5,736 posts, including around 2,700 traditional blogposts and approximately 3,000 micro-blogposts. A total of 1,020 contestants were awarded and 50 schools won the Outstanding Organisation Award. The opening ceremony of the 15th Putonghua Week was held on 15 September 2012 at the China Millennium Monument in Beijing. Yuan Guiren, Head of the Putonghua Week Leading Group and Minister of Education, attended the ceremony and delivered a speech, which summarised the experience gained in promoting Putonghua in the past 15 years and put forth new requirements for Putonghua promotion. During the Putonghua Week, Li Weihong, Vice Minister of Education and Director of SLC, was conducting research on Putonghua promotion in Hebei. During the Putonghua Week, newspapers, radio stations, television stations, the Internet, and the mobile media focused on broadcasting news related to language laws, regulations, guidelines and policies, as well as the activities in the week. ‘News Network’, a news programme of China Central Television (“CCTV”), broadcasted the opening ceremony. The non-commercial advertisement ‘Popularising Putonghua Relies on Everyone’ was broadcasted by CCTV, the local television stations, and major websites. The promotional posters received good publicity and were widely published in major media outlets and distributed in different regions.

5 ‘National Training Plan (2012)’: Putonghua training for the bilingual teachers of ethnic minority groups In 2012, with the strong support of the Department of Teachers’ Affairs of Ministry of Education, Putonghua training for the bilingual teachers in the ethnic minorities communities was formally included in the ‘National Training Plan for Primary and Secondary School Teachers’ (“National Training Plan”). The training was conducted by 10 schools (institutes), including Xinjiang Normal University. From July to September, to ensure the training quality, the provincial-level departments responsible for language affairs and the host schools (institutions) organised and conducted the training conscientiously. More than 1,000 bilingual teachers from remote areas have received training.

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6 Cross-strait cooperation in the compilation of Chinese language reference books Great progress has been made regarding the cross-strait cooperation in compiling Chinese language reference books. The two parties agreed to jointly publish Chinese language reference books in Beijing and Taipei in early February 2012. In addition, the ‘Chinese Language Knowledge Base’ website was officially launched. The printed sample of the Mainland China and Taiwanese versions of Modern Chinese Cross-Strait Dictionary was also published. The two parties discussed the publication and expansion of Modern Chinese Cross-Strait Dictionary, as well as the connection mechanism of the cross-strait website. The parties also agreed on and confirmed the English translation of certain keywords in the joint reference books, as well as conducted research on dictionary compilation and the translation rules for scientific and technical terms. In 2012, the cross-strait collaboration on Chinese language reference books achieved initial results. The launch ceremonies of Modern Chinese Cross-Strait Dictionary were held simultaneously in Mainland China and Taiwan on 8 February. Xu Jialu, the chief consultant of Chinese language reference books, Ye Kedong, Deputy Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China, and Li Weihong, Director of SLC, attended the ceremony in Beijing. Ma Ying-jeou, the leader of Taiwan, attended the event in Taipei. During the ceremonies, the two parties opened up both the Mainland and Taiwanese versions of the ‘Chinese Language Knowledge Base’ website. The Mainland version of Modern Chinese Cross-Strait Dictionary was published by Higher Education Press in August. In 2012, the cross-strait dictionary compilation group, website group, information technology group, technical terminology group, and liaison group conducted timely work in strict accordance with the memorandums of the previous meetings, and steadfastly pushed forward various projects.

7 Standardisation of the Chinese translation of foreign languages In 2012, with the approval of the State Council, the mechanism for Joint InterMinisterial Meetings for Chinese Translation (“Joint Meetings”) was officially established. The Joint Meetings was to be led by SLC and consisted of 10 units, including the Publicity Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (“CPC”), Compilation and Translation Bureau of the CPC Central Committee,

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Civil Affairs, State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, General Administration of Press and Publication, Xinhua News Agency, and Chinese Academy of Sciences. The main functions of the Joint Meetings are: (1) coordinate the translation of proper names, such as the names of foreigners, places, and objects; (2) formulate translation rules; (3) standardise the existing Chinese translation of foreign words and their abbreviations; and (4) review new Chinese translation of foreign words and their abbreviations. The inaugural meeting of the Experts Committee of the Joint Meetings (“Expert Committee”) was held on 20 June in Beijing. Li Weihong, Convenor of the Joint Meetings, Vice Minister of Education, and Director of SLC attended the meeting and delivered a speech. The Convenor pointed out that, in recent years, there has been a surge in loanwords in Chinese language. On the one hand, the borrowings have enriched and cultivated Chinese language, increased the nation’s acceptance of the advanced technologies around the world, as well as enhanced the East-West cultural exchange and communication. On the other hand, issues such as inconsistent translation and non-standardised usage have worsened, leading to difficulties in communication. The issues have aroused widespread concern in various communities; hence, great importance was attached to the use of loanwords by the central leadership. In addition, the Office of the Joint Inter-Ministerial Meetings for Chinese Translation and the Experts Committee were also established to clarify the job responsibilities. The two bodies have collected and edited the first batch of the Chinese translation of foreign languages. Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Yi Jun (易军), Zhou Daojuan (周道娟), Wang Qi (王奇), Rong Hong (容宏), Meng Qingyu (孟庆瑜), Zhang Yan (张艳), Hao Aqing (郝阿庆), and Zhai Zhiguo (翟志国)

5 Language and information management 1 Approval of the review of the Standardized Chinese Character List by the executive meeting of the State Council The design of and research on the Standardized Chinese Character List (“the List”) started in 2001 and was revised and submitted to the State Council in 2011. On 17 August, the List was approved by the State Council Executive Meeting and awaited further review before its release. The List is crucial to the implementation of the National Law of the Standard Spoken and Written Language (“the Law”). In the age of information, the List regulates Chinese characters in order to cater for the linguistic needs of different sectors in society. The design and implementation of the List is of great significance to the standardisation of the national common spoken and written language, as well as the prosperity of the economic, social, cultural and educational sectors.

2 Guidelines for the Translation of Foreign Languages in Public Service Areas: Research and design features Adhering to the work plan of the Ministry of Education and State Language Commission (SLC), the Guidelines for the Translation of Foreign Languages in Public Service Areas (“the Guidelines”) was developed. The Guidelines concerns four languages, including English, Russian, Japanese and Korean, covering more than ten fields such as transportation, tourism, entertainment, sports, health, commerce, trade, catering, and accommodation. In addition, the government cooperates with cities which are going to organize major domestic and international events to conduct language environment planning. The compilation and promulgation of the Guidelines is of great importance in regulating the use of foreign languages in public service and strengthening China’s soft power. On 19 May, 2011 https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-005

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the launch ceremony and expert seminar on the Guidelines were held in Beijing. The participants discussed in detail the significance and principles of establishing the Guidelines, as well as issues concerning standard names, areas for application, stylistic rules, and translation techniques. In 2012, the Guidelines was approved by the Standardization Administration of China (SAC), signifying its completion. The Guidelines was later appraised by the Experts Committee in October and approved by the Evaluation Committee for Language Standards of SLC in December. The improvement of the foreign language translation in public service is crucial to China’s opening up to the outside world. The use of appropriate translation is of paramount importance in spreading China’s ideology and improving the nation’s image. According to the plan, the Guidelines concerns English, Russian, Japanese, and Korean, covering the fields of transportation, tourism, entertainment, sports, health, commerce, trade, catering, and accommodation. The content includes the rules and examples of foreign language translation used in public service.

3 Standardization of Putonghua pronunciation in the new century The Table of Putonghua Variant Pronunciations was published more than two decades ago and has been crucial to the standardisation of Putonghua Pronunciation. Due to the development and changes that happened in the language environment, there emerged new demands and requirements regarding the standard pronunciation, which should be enriched and improved. The Seminar on the Standardization of Putonghua Pronunciation in the New Century was held in Beijing on 26 May 2011. The participating experts discussed in depth the contents, principles, methods, and results of establishing the standard pronunciation. On 28 October, the establishment ceremony of the Putonghua Pronunciation Standardization Committee was held in Beijing. The committee consisted of experts from the fields of linguistics, pedagogy, Putonghua studies, radio hosting, scientific and technical language, geographical names, and minority languages. Li Weihong (李卫红), Vice Minister of Education and Director of SLC joined the ceremony and delivered a speech. In 2012, the rules of Putonghua pronunciation standardization were basically completed. The revision of the Table of Putonghua Variant Pronunciations had been successful. The Seminar on Putonghua Toneless and R-Coloured Words took place, allowing the participants to discuss the phonetics, vocabulary, grammar, and pragmatics of the toneless and r-coloured words. In addition, the participants

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gave their opinions and suggestions on the modification and improvement of the lists of toneless and r-coloured words. The Seminar was attended by around 30 experts from the Working Group on the Rules of Standard Pronunciation and Revision of the Table of Putonghua Variant Pronunciations, Secretariat of Putonghua Pronunciation Standardization Committee, and experts sent by the higher institutions in China. Moreover, the Seminar propelled the construction and publicity of the website for the standardization of Putonghua pronunciation. The work on the standardization of Putonghua pronunciation is of great significance to the improvement of the Putonghua pronunciation, as well as the popularisation and standardisation of the national language. In the new century, the basic principles and overall direction of the standardization of pronunciation will be set in order to modify and improve the Table of Putonghua Variant Pronunciations published in 1985. By doing so, the standard Putonghua pronunciation system will be established to meet the needs of the modern language environment.

4 Amendment of the international standard Romanization of Chinese Language The 39th Meeting of ISO/TC46 (the Information and Documentation Technical Committee of the International Organization for Standardization) was held in Berlin, Germany, from 7 May to 12 May 2012. The amendment of the standard Romanization of Chinese Language proposed by China received support from 21 out of the 32 member countries of the Working Group on Transliteration. The ISO Central Secretariat later approved the proposal. Led by China, experts from China, the United States, Canada, Germany, Russia, formed a revision group. The revision is crucial to the popularisation of the Chinese pinyin system, which is of great importance to China’s language sovereignty.

5 Release of the General Rules for Punctuation and other standards General Rules for Punctuation, General Rules for Writing Numerals in Printed Texts, Basic Rules of the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet Orthography, and the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet Spelling Rules for Chinese Names was submitted to SAC for approval in January 2011.

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General Rules for Writing Numerals in Printed Texts was released on 29 July 2011 and implemented on 1 November 2011. General Rules for Punctuation was released on 30 December 2011 and implemented on 1 June 2012. The Chinese Phonetic Alphabet Spelling Rules for Chinese Names was published on 31 October 2011 and put into effect on 1 February 2012. The rules were urgently needed and their publication has facilitated the standardisation of language application in all fields in society.

6 ‘Twelfth Five-Year’ scientific research projects of SLC In April 2011, SLC released the Notice of Issuing the Twelfth Five-Year Research Plan of the State Language Commission, Guidelines to the ‘Twelfth Five-Year’ Plan Research Projects of 2011, and Management of the State Language Commission Research Projects (2011 edition). The notice indicated the launch of the ‘Twelfth Five-Year’ research projects. After qualification examinations, online reviews, Q & A sessions, reviews, and public announcements, a total of 136 research projects were set up in 2011. In November 2012, SLC issued the Notice of the Application for the Significant State Language Commission Research Projects of 2012. Five major annual bidding projects were confirmed after being reviewed: (1) Research and Construction of Citizens’ Language Education Outline; (2) Research on Citizens’ Common Language Abilities and Enhancement Strategies; (3) Construction of National Sign Language Corpora; (4) Current Status, Development Trends, and Countermeasures of Cross-Strait Language Environment; and (5) Role of Mother Tongue and the Construction of Harmonious Language Policy. A total of 12 working groups from 9 research institutes across China participated in the bidding. The final decision was made after going through the following process: working groups’ reports, expert questioning, expert evaluation, and secret ballot. After the evaluation, the research projects set up in 2012, including self-financing projects launched by the regional language commissions according to the regional needs, added up to 60.

7 Establishment of the audio databases of Chinese language resources In 2011, the construction of the audio databases of Chinese language resources commenced with the Shanghai (上海) database, Beijing database, and Liaoning (辽宁) database. The establishment of the Shanghai database started on 24

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March. The construction of the Beijing database started on 27 May. The work on the Liaoning database commenced on 20 December. In 2012, the construction of the audio databases made significant progress as planned. The development of the Guangxi (广西) database began on 24 May. Following the footsteps of Jiangsu (江苏), Shanghai, Beijing, and Liaoning, Guangxi became the fifth region and the first autonomous region in China that proceeded with the construction. In June 2012, regarding the Jiangsu audio database, the investigation and recording of the 70 survey spots were completed. Subsequently, the storage and preservation of the data commenced. Based on the previous work, the recording of the oral culture in Jiangsu began. The collection of data in the 12 survey spots in Shanghai had also been completed. On 17 May, Beijing held a debate on the project and started the construction of the database. Meanwhile, Liaoning province had finished collecting data in the survey point in Dalian (大连).

8 Report on the Language Situation in China On 12 May, 2011 the Ministry of Education and SLC released Language Situation in China: 2010, which was the sixth annual report on the language situation published by the Ministry and the Commission. The overall language situation in 2010 was: (1) the central government attached great importance to the spoken and written languages; (2) bright spots of language projects were highlighted; (3) the general public paid great attention to the language situation; (4) microblogging, new words and phrases, as well as popular expressions became the new means of information transmission; (5) the use of language in disaster rescues and humanitarian operations gained public attention; (6) the international language situation came under the spotlight; (6) the State Language Resource Monitoring and Research Centre simultaneously published multiple documents about the use of Chinese characters in the media, use of words and phrases in the media, use of surnames in the media, survey of the language textbooks for Uyghur basic education, and survey of language teaching materials in Tibetan secondary schools; and (7) concrete data was obtained through research on Chinese blogs. On 29 May, 2012, Language Situation in China: 2011 was published by the Ministry of Education and SLC. The general language situation of 2011 was: (1) the central government highly valued the works concerning the spoken and written languages; (2) the vision and scope of works related to national languages were expanded; (3) the promotion and standardisation of the national common language were strengthened and the scientific protection of minority languages witnessed steady progress and

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yielded fruitful results; (4) disabled people’s language rights were well protected; (5) the general public paid close attention to the language situation; (6) attention was paid to the linguistic problems stemming from internationalisation and marketization; (7) cross-strait academic exchange regarding language was active; (8) the State Language Resource Monitoring and Research Centre simultaneously released documents about the use of the national common language in the media, use of language in Chinese blogs, survey on the use of language in the Tibetan media, as well as the data obtained from the survey of the teaching materials of mathematics and science in basic education, survey of the language teaching materials for Uyghur high schools, survey of the sanguage teaching materials for Kazakh primary schools, and survey of the language teaching materials Chinese Language in Malaysian primary schools. The release of Language Situation in China: 2011 has attracted great attention from major media outlets. Apart from serving as a guide, the report recorded the actual language situation in the year, reflected the actual status of China’s language environment of the year, and advocated the national language policies.

9 Annual summary of the language situation Co-sponsored by the State Language Resource Monitoring and Research Centre, the Commercial Press, Sina.com, and China Youth Daily, the 2011 Chinese Language Inventory was held on 14 December at the Commercial Press. ‘monitoring (控)’ and ‘cannot bear to be hurt (伤不起)’ were the most popular expressions in China, while ‘debt (债)’ and ‘European debt crisis (欧债危机)’ are the most frequently used internationally. Chinese Language Inventory was influential in promoting Chinese words and phrases, becoming an important cultural event and news. In addition, the Inventory has become a means for the Chinese to understand China and the world. The 2011 China’s Top 10 Popular Words and Phrases in the Media was published by the State Language Resource Monitoring and Research Centre, Beijing Language and Culture University, Communication University of China, Central China Normal University, China Association of Press Technicians, Chinese Information Processing Society of China, and Commercial Press on 14 December at a press conference. Top ten words and phrases are identified in 15 categories, including general, domestic politics, international politics, international affairs, economy, science, technology, society, culture, education, sports and entertainment, features on the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, features on people’s livelihood, features on the property market, features

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on social issues, and features on food safety. The top ten words in the ‘general’ category are ‘the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (中国共产党建党90周年)’, ‘the opening of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan (‘十二 五’开局)’, ‘culturally powerful nation (文化强国)’, ‘food safety (食品安全)’, ‘rendezvous and docking (交会对接)’, ‘Japan’s massive earthquake (日本大地震)’, ‘European debt crisis (欧债危机)’, ‘Libya situation (利比亚局势)’, ‘Jobs (乔布斯)’, and ‘Durban Climate Change Conference (德班气候大会)’. On 14 December, the 2011 China’s Top 10 New Words and Phrases in the Media was released by the State Language Resource Monitoring and Research Centre, the Communication University of China, Beijing Language and Culture University, and the Commercial Press. ‘Cannot bear to be hurt (伤不起)’, ‘clouding agent (起云剂)’, ‘tiger mother (虎妈)’, ‘governmental microblogs (政务微博)’, ‘Beijing spirit (北京精神)’, ‘to walk, turn, and change (走转改)’, ‘micro-film (微电影)’, ‘name-adding taxes (加名税)’, ‘Taobao style (淘宝体)’, and ‘cloud TV (云电视)’ are the top ten new words of the year.

10 International exchange and cooperation in language projects The International Symposium on the Comparative Study of Language Policy and Planning in China and France was held at Beijing Language and Culture University from 3 September to 4 September, 2012. The Symposium was one of the important events of the Sino-French Language Year. Organised by the Beijing Language and Culture University, the Symposium was sponsored by the Ministry of Education of China, SLC, Embassy of the French Republic in China, French Foreign Culture and Education Bureau, French Foreign Ministry, and French Ministry of Culture. Li Weihong, Vice Minister of Education and Director of SLC, and Sylvie Bermann, French Ambassador to China, both attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. In addition, around 170 leaders and experts from the Ministry of Education of China, SLC, Embassy of the French Republic in China, French Foreign Culture and Education Bureau, French Foreign Ministry, and French Ministry of Culture attended the ceremony. The symposium was the first collaboration between China and France in the field of language. The event has indeed enriched and added colour to the ‘Sino-French Language Year’. The Symposium on Sino-EU Language Cooperation was held in Beijing on 1 December, 2012 and supported and organised by SLC. The symposium was the third symposium on language cooperation between China and the EU, which was a landmark activity under the framework of the Sino-EU cultural exchange

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mechanism that put multiculturalism and Sino-EU language collaboration into practice. In addition, experts attended international conferences, such as the 2012 ASEM Speech Diversity Forum held in Jakarta from 4 September to 5 September. Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Chen Zhangtai (陈章太) and Xie Junying (谢俊英)

6 To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the promulgation of the National Law of Standard Spoken and Written Language On 20 January 2011, government bodies, including the National People’s Congress Education, Science, Culture, and Health Committee, Ministry of Education, State Language Commission (SLC), and Legislative Affairs Office, gathered at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and jointly held the “symposium of the 10th anniversary of the promulgation of the National Law of Standard Spoken and Written Language”. The symposium summarised the achievements and experience gained in the past 10 years since the launch of the National Law of Standard Spoken and Written Language (the Law). The symposium also culminated in a blueprint of the language planning, the medium- and long-term scientific development of language projects, and the construction of a harmonious language environment in China. The symposium was important and impactful, demonstrating the fruitful results yielded by the implementation of the Law. The symposium also highlighted the profound changes that happened to the languages used in China and indicated the even more prominent combination of language subjectivity and diversity. The Law is the first language-specific law in China and one of the very few language laws in nearly 200 nations in the world. The Law was approved by the 18th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 9th National People’s Congress on 31 October 2000. In October 2000, the State Chairman ordered the implementation of the Law. On 1 January 2001, the Law was put into practice. In the past 10 years, the enforcement of the Law has achieved remarkable results, fully reflecting its distinctive and dynamic features. The Law has also played a major role in China’s communication, national solidarity, national unity, economic prosperity, cultural development, civilisation, modernisation, informatisation, and internationalisation. In commemorating the 10th anniversary of the promulgation of the Law, Liu Yandong (刘延东) delivered a speech (the Speech) on behalf of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. Acknowledging the trends of the era and combining the national conditions and language situation in China, Liu discussed in depth the significance of the Law. The Speech also comprehensively summarised the outstanding achievements and valuable experiences gained from the Note: The information cited in this article is mainly from the speech given by Liu Yandong at the “symposium of the 10th anniversary of the National Law of Standard Spoken and Written Language”, the Report on Language Work, and the related public news. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-006

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implementation of the Law over the past 10 years. Liu emphasised the importance and urgency of the promotion and popularisation of the national standard spoken and written language. The significance of the work done for languages was also highlighted. Moreover, Liu expounded the national language policies and specifically stated the direction of the future work. The Speech was a summary of China’s recent language projects and an appeal for innovation in the new era. Therefore, the Speech was of great significance in the history of China’s language development.

1 Promotion and popularisation of the national standard language 1.1 Intensive promotion and popularisation of the national common language The Speech pointed out that: “strengthening the promotion and popularisation of the national common language is a strategic measure to safeguard national sovereignty and dignity. The action reflects the nation’s core interests. We must fully understand the significance of the improvement of language situation from the perspective of the development of the party and the state. We should also increase the sense of responsibility and urgency for the popularisation and application of the national common language.” “Because they are crucial to the cultivation of a resourceful nation and the modernisation of socialism with Chinese characteristics.” “They are necessary for the dissemination of Chinese culture and the strengthening of the nation’s soft power.” “They are urgently needed for the protection of national solidarity and unity, as well as the construction of a common spiritual homeland for the Chinese communities.” “They are necessary for the nation to meet the new demands of the era and to facilitate the informatisation and standardisation of language.” “They are essential to the advancement of the legal system for language and to the eradication of the current problems.” In the Speech, Liu discussed the above “urgent needs” in detail.

1.2 Innovative language tasks Liu then proceeded to discuss the future language projects and pointed out that: “the implementation of the Law is a long-term strategic task. We should consider

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the 10th anniversary of the Law a starting point for the rule of law. The construction of a legal system for language should be accelerated; the mechanism should be improved; the key points should be highlighted, and attention should be paid to reform and innovation. We should continuously strive to understand the language situation and resolve the newly-aroused issues. The Law should be implemented thoroughly so as to facilitate the scientific development of the spoken and written languages.” Liu mentioned five specific tasks: “Firstly, we should intensively promote and popularise the national common language. ……prioritise it and consider it the core of the language tasks.” “Secondly, we should comprehensively improve the citizens’ language ability, establishing a sound scientific evaluation system, which serves as an important reference for the measurement of the citizens’ language usage capabilities.” “Thirdly, we should strengthen language standardisation and informatisation and do that in line with the Law.” “Fourthly, we should consolidate the supervision of social language and strengthen language services.” “Fifthly, we should bolster language exchange and cooperation.”

2 Issues concerning the scientific management of language relations China has been undergoing reform and opening up, and the nation is moving toward modernisation, informatisation, and internationalisation. Therefore, the citizens’ mobility has increased, making communication more frequent and language more influential. Consequently, people’s ideas and social lives have witnessed profound changes, leading to an active, rich, and complex language environment in China. As a result, language relations have changed, giving rise to many heated debates and issues, including: (1) the relations between Putonghua, the standard Chinese characters, and the minority languages; (2) the relationship between Putonghua and Chinese dialects; (3) the relationship between simplified and traditional Chinese characters; (4) the relationship between Chinese and foreign languages; (5) the promotion of the standard Chinese Braille, which is crucial to the interests of 30 million blind people; and (6) new words, popular words, Internet slang, letter words, and loan words. Liu’s speech directly addressed the hot topics and problems that have emerged in China. Liu thoroughly explained the national language policies and discussed the issues at the policy level. In the Speech, suggestions on how to appropriately manage language relationships were given.

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 Chen Zhangtai (陈章太) and Xie Junying (谢俊英)

2.1 Issues concerning the national common language and minority languages China is a unified, multi-ethnic, multilingual, and multi-dialect country with large barriers to communication. Therefore, in every period of its history, China made an effort to popularise a common language and achieved certain results. However, up until the first half of the last century, there had been no fundamental change in the language situation. The nation remained monolingual, with minority languages or dialects being predominately used in daily communication. The national common language was used only by a few people and on a few occasions, playing a secondary role in the language environment. After the founding of the P. R. of China, the nation started attaching great importance to the promotion of Putonghua. The popularisation of Putonghua has become the focus of both the government and the society. The Chinese government has put forward legislation to vigorously promote Putonghua. Putonghua has then been legally recognised as the national common language. In addition, the country has established policies and laws to ensure the equality of all ethnic languages. In relevant laws and regulations, it is clearly stated that: “all ethnic groups have the freedom to use and develop their own spoken and written languages.” The above language policies are in line with China’s national conditions, as well as its social and language situation. The legislation is in accordance with the actual use of languages by the citizens, effectively protecting the development of Putonghua and various ethnic languages. Therefore, a diglossic environment that combines subjectivity and diversity has gradually come into shape. In other words, Putonghua has become the dominant language in China, with minority languages being used in certain occasions and exerting different functions. The language environment has since remained harmonious, healthy, and stable. There have been no language conflicts and problems nation-wide. It is safe to say that China’s language planning is successful and has been applauded both at home and abroad. The Speech, from the legal and political perspectives, discussed in depth the relationships between Putonghua, the standard Chinese characters, and the minority languages in the new era, taking into account the actual language environment. Liu pointed out that: “With its vast territory and large population, China has a large number of ethnic groups, languages, script types, and dialects. Therefore, the popularisation of the national common language is crucial to China’s inter-ethnic and inter-regional exchanges, as well as the economic and cultural development.” “Strengthening the popularisation and promotion of the national common language is a strategic measure to safeguard national sovereignty and dignity, as well as a way to demonstrate the country’s core interests.” “Promoting the national common language, fully utilising its role as a carrier of Chinese

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culture, and treating it as a distinctive symbol of Chinese culture are necessary for the economic and cultural exchanges among ethnic groups; the common language is directly related to the historical and cultural identity, as well as the inheritance of the Chinese, linking the Chinese communities together.” “Education on the national common language is conducive to the communication and exchange between various ethnic groups; it is also beneficial to the economic and social development, especially education and science, in ethnic enclaves; it facilitates the unity and prosperity of different ethnic groups; it plays a significant role in safeguarding national solidarity and unification and is in line with the fundamental interests of the majority of the ethnic minorities.” “The intensified bilingual education and Putonghua promotion have been playing an irreplaceable role in the educational development in ethnic enclaves, the exchanges among ethnic groups, the consolidation of the equal, united, co-operative, harmonious, and socialist ethnic relations.” The new circumstances “require us to respect the developmental patterns of language and value the dialectical unity of subjectivity and diversification. Under the premise that the national common language plays a leading role, the ethnic languages should be managed in accordance with the law…… so that the languages can exert their functions and demonstrate their strengths in accordance with the law and, therefore, ensures the harmony and health of the language environment.” “The rights for the ethnic minorities to learn and use the national common language and their minority languages are sacred and granted by the law.” “Bilingual education in ethnic areas urgently needs to be improved.”

2.2 Issues concerning Putonghua and Chinese dialects The Chinese language is the common language used by Han Chinese. Putonghua is the normalized spoken standard of the Chinese language as well as the common language used in China, demonstrating the fundamental characteristics and functions of a national lingua franca. The Chinese language, however, includes numerous large and small regional dialects that are distinctive from each other. The amount of dialects has caused great language barriers to communication and has affected the development of various industries, hindering social progress and national security. It is undeniable that the dialects also have their social and cultural value; they serve the people in the dialectal areas, inherit Chinese and local cultures, enrich Putonghua and sustain its vitality. Due to various complex internal and external reasons, dialects are constantly changing. With regard to their recent development and change, some dialects have gradually become more powerful, others have slowly weakened, with a few

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dialects becoming endangered. However, it is safe to say that the majority of the dialects have maintained a steady growth, with their vitality on the rise. Such patterns of development are a natural outcome of the evolution of language. Nevertheless, some people believe that the weakening of certain dialects is the result of the adverse influence of Putonghua and should be treated as social problem. The Speech also elaborated on the relationships between Mandarin and dialects. Liu emphasised: “the language policies promulgated by the Party and the nation are clear and sustainable. We must step up their publicity so that they can be known, observed and implemented by the whole society. The purpose of promoting Putonghua according to the law is to overcome communication barriers and facilitate exchanges rather than discriminating against dialects and prohibiting their use. It is natural for dialects to exist and have their own developmental patterns and values. Dialects will, undoubtedly, continue to exist in dialect areas or regions for a long time to come. In addition, Chinese dialects, especially the endangered ones, should be investigated, collated, developed, and put to meaningful use with the help of modern technologies, such as constructing audio databases. The Speech is important and insightful, expounding as much as elaborating the national language policy. The Speech provided the principles as well as directions for resolving problems related to Putonghua and Chinese dialects.

2.3 Issues concerning Chinese language and foreign languages After the founding of New China, due to the constraints and influences of various domestic and foreign factors, attention or time dedicated to foreign languages was insufficient. The longstanding absence of a detailed plan to groom talents with expertise in foreign languages resulted in inadequate foreign language teaching, insufficient training for foreign language talents, unsatisfactory foreign language abilities, and a lack of foreign language experts. Therefore, the foreign language capabilities of the nation were unable to catch up with the development of the society. Since the commencement of reform and opening-up, the situation has undergone radical changes. The nation and the general public have attached importance to the use and learning of foreign languages. Hence, “foreign language fever”, especially “English fever”, has emerged, occasionally affecting the use and acquisition of the national language. The impact brought about by foreign languages has worried some people; they believe that Chinese language learning and use have weakened and is undergoing a crisis. Liu, in the Speech, also provided an important explanation on the study and use of foreign languages. Liu pointed out: “for foreign language acquisition and

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utilisation, we must understand that they are crucial to the further expansion and consolidation of our relationships with other countries. They are also essential for us to learn advanced foreign science and technology and the achievements made by human civilisations; thus, we should encourage and support foreign language learning. However, over-emphasising foreign language learning and overusing the languages inappropriately, especially ignoring or damaging the learning and use of the national languages, should be rectified and regulated in accordance with the law.” Liu’s message was clear, policy-driven, and pertinent. The Speech will play an important role in resolving problems related to foreign languages.

2.4 Issues concerning the scientific management of language problems New words, buzzwords, letter words, loan words, and Internet slang are all heated sociolinguistic topics in recent years. The new types of language concern many sectors in society and their usages are complicated. Therefore, there are different opinions both within academia and in society regarding how best to cope with those concerns. The Speech did not address each of the items in detail and only provided principles. Liu pointed out that the use of the languages must be “monitored and researched. The Society needs clear instruction regarding how to use the languages appropriately and absorb their essence and vitality with a view to enriching the vocabulary and expressions of the nation common language and facilitate the healthy development of the national language.” As for the traditional and variant Chinese characters, the Speech stated that: “the introduction of the standard Chinese characters does not mean that the use of traditional and variant characters is prohibited on all occasions. The Law also contains regulations targeting traditional and variant Chinese characters.” “We must deal with the issues regarding traditional Chinese characters in accordance with the law, subject to the premise that the national common language plays a leading role.” The Speech attached great importance to sign language and Braille, emphasising that: “sign language and Braille are spoken and written by the hearing and visually impaired people. Therefore, they are crucial to the interests of the 30 million deaf and blind citizens and, thus, socially influential. As they are specialised languages, it is necessary for us to plan holistically, provide solid instructions, conduct high-quality research, establish regulations, and start promotion work timely.”

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3 Implementation of the National Law of Standard Spoken and Written Language At the end of the Speech, Liu put forward clear requirements for the implementation of the National Law of Standard Spoken and Written Language: “the implementation of the Law is complex, involving all aspects of society with considerable impact on our future. Therefore, we must, from a strategic and global perspective, strengthen the organisation, coordination, and promotion of the implementation of the Law.” Four specific requirements were raised: (1) to strengthen leadership and clarify responsibilities; (2) to reform, innovate, and improve the mechanisms; (3) to strictly enforce the Law and strengthen its supervision; and (4) to step up publicity and cooperation.

4 Conclusion In the ten years since the implementation of the Law, China’s language situation has improved steadily and the nation has made remarkable achievements. The framework of language law has been gradually improved and undergone healthy development. The legal framework has effectively normalized, standardised and informatised the languages used in China, propelling the popularisation of the national common language. In addition, in the era of modernisation, language law has provided protection for the national common language in society, thereby allowing it to better exert its functions. The various commemorative activities and related events of the 10th anniversary of the National Law of Standard Spoken and Written Language not only facilitated its thorough implementation and the healthy development of the language environment, but also promoted China’s language-focused endeavors, as well as the nation’s language policies and regulations. Such events and activities are able to educate the general public about the Law, eliminate any misunderstanding in regard to the need for language legislation, and allow more people in society to understand the importance of the Law. The anniversary is of great significance to the elevation of language standards and abilities nationwide, the enhancement of the nation’s cultural strengths, the standardisation and informatisation of the country’s languages, the harmonious language relations, the healthy and harmonious language environment, and the development of language resources. Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Li Yuming (李宇明)

7 Raise the language awareness of society Foreword to The Language Situation in China 2013 (Chinese version) In 2011, at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, a decision was made to ‘vigorously promote and regulate the use of the national common language, as well as the scientific protection of minority languages’. Prior to the decision, in the Outline of the National Medium- and Longterm Education Reform and Development Plan released in July 2010, the State Council stated explicitly that it is necessary to ‘cultivate foreign language talents’. The statements written in the two documents sum up the language policies regarding the national common language, minority languages (including dialects used by ethnic minority groups), foreign language education, and the use of foreign languages. The Outline of the National Mid- and Long-term Reform and Development Plan of Spoken and Written Languages (“the Outline”) issued by the Ministry of Education and State Language Commission (“SLC”) in 2012 stipulated the overall objectives, specific tasks, and steps to be taken for the promotion and regulation of the national common language. The Outline also concerned the scientific protection of minority languages, preservation of endangered languages, and surveys on the language situation in China. The Outline has improved laws that regulate languages, constructed a harmonious language environment, and strengthened language services. Moreover, the Outline placed special emphasis on the standardisation and informatisation of language, putting forward new concepts and projects to cultivate the citizens’ language capabilities. The above government documents and the requirements stated therein are both practical and of great significance in history. The series of documents and requirements are pragmatic, addressing the actual problems that currently exist in the language environment. For instance, the current popular writing styles feature empty talks, cut-and-dried contents, fake information, brags, and regurgitation. It is evident that the information providers are indifferent to who the information receivers are, while the receivers manifestly misunderstand the meaning of the information. If the problem remains unresolved, it will become incurable, threatening the nation’s development. Moreover, the speed of urbanisation in China is astonishing, the urbanisation rate having reached around 50%. The rapid process is rewriting the language map of China, as well as creating new language tasks and issues. However, urban language planning is often overlooked. Urban planners usually https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-007

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consider only the use of English. The neglect of language planning restricts the information dissemination of the government, making information transmission in cities uncoordinated and disorganised. Consequently, migrant workers or foreigners are likely to lose their right to receive information. In addition, cultural products, in every aspect, tend to lack substance. Despite having the ambition of building a ‘new countryside’, the governors of the rural areas rarely concern themselves with the loss of languages. The leaders lack the awareness of minority language protection. As a result, certain minority languages and dialects are in danger of extinction. On the whole, due to various reasons, China is faced with the excessive use of vulgar language, solidification of writing styles, absence of language services, lack of language talents, loss of language resources, and conflicts between languages. The documents and requirements mentioned above are the right medicine to cure the symptoms suffered by the nation; they are conducive to resolving language problems and building a healthy language environment. The documents and requirements are of great significance in history. Firstly, the documents were compiled based on China’s previous achievements rather than appear randomly. For instance, the promotion of Putonghua has always been part of the national strategy. Thanks to more than 50 years of or even a good century’s continuous efforts, currently more than 70% of the citizens can understand and speak Putonghua to a certain degree. Putonghua is not only the common language used by the Han Chinese but also legally recognised as the ‘national common language’; hence, it has been spread widely and naturally. On this basis, after the success of its vigorous promotion, it is only logical to advocate the standardisation of Putonghua. The importance of the documents can also be illustrated by their emphasis on foreign language education. China’s modern foreign language education, an important part of modern education and a crucial element of the nation’s modernisation, started from the late Qing Dynasty. Over the past 100 years, the country has cultivated a large number of foreign language talents, which is an outstanding achievement. While China is connecting with the world, the functions of foreign languages are undergoing major changes. The use of foreign languages was previously restricted to managing diplomatic affairs and learning new knowledge from other countries. However, foreign languages are now also used in the workplace. Providing services to foreigners in China and international institutions both involve using foreign languages. The expansion of the functions of foreign languages has given birth to new issues such as a lack of variety in languages, irrational language distribution, and absence of all-round foreign language talents. It is apparent that ‘cultivating a variety of foreign language talents’, as suggested in the documents, is proposed based on the existing foreign language education.

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Secondly, based on the direction China and the world are heading, the documents and requirements provide refined and forward-looking statements on the nation’s language policies. There are many factors that affect the language situation in China, among which cultural vitality, urbanisation, internationalisation, and informatisation are the most prominent. Language and culture being so intimately related, languages should not be considered problems awaiting to be solved. Being an inseparable part of culture, languages should be treated as resources and be treasured. In addition, attention should be paid to strengthening the construction of language resources using modern information technology. Language resources should fully exert their functions in both social and cultural sectors. Moreover, the power of language recognition cannot be ignored. The development of language and culture in the border areas should be intensified, allowing cross-border languages to be used in building friendly relations with the neighbouring countries. Global Chinese language education should also be bolstered and used to connect the Chinese communities around the world. Furthermore, taking into consideration the development of the world and China, the documents highlighted the increase in the nation’s and citizens’ language capabilities, improvement of language engineering and language standardisation, emphasis on research on the national language situation, and the shaping of a harmonious language environment. The items mentioned in the documents are undoubtedly strategic and progressive in this regard. To complete the ambitious language planning requires the continuous efforts of the whole society. The government should put forward appropriate language policies and formulate the rules how languages are to be used. The government also needs to take effective measures and release relevant information. The academic community should pay attention to the language situation of the country, value research on language planning, and provide academic consultation for the nation’s language projects. Academic issues concerning language should be incorporated into the education system. New disciplines should be developed to cultivate new language talents and build academic platforms in support of national language planning. In addition, language planning should be tailored to different regions and industries due to differences in local language customs and issues. To accomplish the above tasks, there exist many problems to be solved and numerous difficulties to be overcome. The fundamental problem, however, is that the whole society lacks even the most basic language awareness. This critical issue may be illustrated by a few examples below. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China states that “the State promotes the nationwide use of Putonghua”. There also exists the National Law of the Standard Spoken and Written Language (“the Law”). Nevertheless, very few law scholars have dealt with this clause in the Constitution, nor have they been

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aware of the existence of the Law. Several language-related policies were introduced without seeking advice from language experts and language management departments. In addition, although many elected representatives have made proposals and suggestions in the interests of the nation and citizens, which reflects progress towards democracy, they seldom express concern about language issues. Moreover, among the very few language policies proposed, some were ad hoc and short-sighted. China, a country that has numerous languages and dialects, suffers from many natural disasters. Disaster prevention and relief inevitably requires language support. In China, the rescues of earthquakes and disasters have been adversely affected by language barriers. However, lacking language awareness, the relevant personnel failed to learn from the experience. A language handbook of disaster prevention and relief has yet to be compiled and published. Language economy is significant importance to the national economy. Research conducted by Swiss economists shows that the economic contribution of languages to the Swiss Gross Domestic Product is approximately 10%. In the age of information, language will create even greater dividends. However, the economics departments of China have not collected statistics regarding the revenue-generating potential of languages, let alone enlightening us on the language industry, language professions, and language economy. Although scholars have done related research and called for attention, there has been no feedback from the government. A lack of response reflects a critically low level of language awareness. In China, a city once selected several outstanding advertisements, among which some used ‘愛’ and ‘親’, two traditional Chinese characters, as their main themes. The advertisements stated that ‘the character love (愛) can be simplified, but how can one love (爱) without heart (心)’ and ‘relatives (亲人) need to see (见) each other frequently to get close (亲近)’. The designers of the advertisements were undoubtedly creative; however, they have inadequate language awareness. The designers did not view simplified Chinese characters in the correct way. The explanation of the formation of the character ‘爱’ was also misleading. In fact, in the traditional character ‘愛’, ‘心’ as a component does not mean heart or emotion. Many media outlets (including the well-known ones) use ‘位’ as quantifier for criminals, corrupt officials, and thieves. However, ‘位’ is used to show respect to the person concerned. The misuse of the quantifier demonstrates a lack of language awareness among many media practitioners. Some people miswrite words and do not feel at all embarrassed; some even make fun of their mother tongue, while others have highly subjective views about letter words and foreign languages. Furthermore, many primary schools do not prioritise Pinyin teaching,

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ignoring orthography, word segmentation, and capitalisation. As a result, the use of Pinyin in society has not yet been standardised. Language awareness, language policies, and language behaviours are the backbones of language planning. Language awareness is the realisation of the meaning of language in one’s life, workplace, community, and country. Without language awareness that is in line with the national language environment, it is impossible to come up with scientific language policies in keeping with the national conditions. Without effective language policies, it is impossible to cultivate language behaviours that are beneficial to the country and its citizens; it is also futile for languages to exert their social, political, cultural, and economic functions. In short, raising society’s language awareness should be our top priority at present. Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Part II Special research

Sun Chunying (孙春颖) and Guo Xi (郭熙)

8 International dissemination of the Chinese language 1 Chinese international education In 2012, International Chinese teaching made a fruitful achievement and gained wide recognition although the international promotion of the Chinese language faced difficulties in different aspects.

1.1 Sustainable development of Confucius Institutes 1.1.1 Increasing number of Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms By the end of 2012, over 400 Confucius Institutes were established worldwide, 42 more than the previous year. In addition, more than 500 Confucius Classrooms at primary and secondary educational institutions were set up, 35 of which were newly added. The total number of registered students therefore reached 650,000 (China Network Television 2012a). According to the data provided by The Ministry of National Education (France) in March 2012, 33,000 French secondary students are learning Chinese this year, among which 29,605 are studying in France secondary schools, 3,100 students are studying in 480 French International schools outside the country. Besides, 16,000 university students and 2,000 primary school students are learning Chinese at different levels in France.

1.1.2 Distinctive Confucius Institutes In 2012, different types of Confucius Institute were established, such as Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Tourism Confucius Institute, the Music Confucius Institute as well as the Confucius Institute for Dance and Performance (China Network Television 2012b). In the same year, the application for establishing the first Confucius Institute for Agriculture by Nanjing Agricultural University in collaboration with Egerton University was officially approved (Farmers’ Daily 2012). Moreover, United Kingdom has been preparing for the Sports Confucius Institute. The Shaolin Kungfu tour, which showcased https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-008

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the traditional Chinese martial arts, was held by the Confucius Institute at the University of Venice in Italy. It attracted a lot of attention. Furthermore, tens of thousands of people were lured to watch the Chinese cultural performances demonstrated by students in the Confucius Institute at the University of Rome. The Confucius Institute for Business London at the London School of Economics and Political Science has introduced Chinese cultural knowledge to financial professions to enrich their careers. Meanwhile, London Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine has been promoting Chinese medicine and culture, offering opportunities for students to carry out Chinese clinical placement, and providing BS-MS Programs. Hence, the Institute has helped Chinese medicine to enter the National Health Service in the United Kingdom (China Radio International 2012).

1.1.3 Specific Chinese courses for different learners Confucius Institutes in many countries have been collaborating with the local government actively to offer a variety of Chinese courses, which target different learners. For instance, Confucius Institute at the University of Khartoum in Sudan provided Chinese courses to civil servants in the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Culture, and Presidential Palace as well as the Sino-Sudan Friendship Association in 2012. These courses, designed for government officials, are rather influential. Besides, Confucius Institute at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies has been cooperating with the Yeongdeungpo-gu Office in South Korea to offer some “Daily Chinese” courses at Seonyu High school for the general public, including basic, elementary, intermediate Chinese conversations, as well as a preparation course for Hanyu Shuping Kaoshi level 4 (HSK4), which is the Chinese proficiency test for non-native speakers (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, December 28). It enabled the Chinese language to become part of the social life and spread among the public widely. Moreover, Chinese Language Education Center of Confucius Institute at the Kansai Gaidai University in Japan held a Chinese seminar for senior secondary students to experience Chinese language teaching at the Kyoto Furitsu Koyokoto School (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, December 10). Confucius Institutes have also held a number of Chinese culture courses. For example, the Confucius Classroom at Traimit Wittayalai High School in Thailand hosted “the 6th Chinese culture courses” for students to experience. As a result, more people could closely observe the Chinese culture (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, August 20). The Confucius Institute at the University of

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South Carolina in the United States launched an Autumn Taiji course, a Chinese martial arts course, allowing Taiji to take root in the university (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, December 7). The Confucius Institute at the University of Milan in Italy organized a seminar on “Cinematic Language and Chinese movies” and a course on the appreciation of Chinese movies as well as Chinese subtitling, which enabled students to fully understand the history and development of Chinese movies while acquiring the skills (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, December 11).

1.1.4 Chinese experiential activity The Confucius Institute at Kyrgyz National University successfully assisted Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang, China to hold a Chinese Commodity Fair in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. In this event, 3 local Chinese teaching centers of the Confucius Institute each recruited more than 10 students to work as volunteer translators (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, November 29). In addition, the Confucius Institute at Kasetsart University joined other Chinese departments of 4 universities in Thailand to launch a Chinese camp with the theme “graduation exchange” for university students (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, December 5). The Confucius Institute at the University of Yaounde II in Cameroon held a “Chinese Bridge” summer camp for Cameroon secondary school and college students to learn Chinese, and to experience the Chinese culture in the Zhejiang Normal University (Zhejiang Normal University website 2012). The “Chinese Bridge” summer camp for Botswana students enabled participants to go to Beijing and Shanghai for 4 weeks to undergo cultural exchange (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, August 17). The first Chinese class in the Confucius Classroom at Srinakorn School in Thailand was held in Jinan University in Guangzhou, where high school students joined the HSK Autumn Camp, experienced Chinese arts such as martial arts, dancing, paper-cutting, and knotting. They also learned daily Chinese conversation and visited several scenic spots (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, September 24). Moreover, Students of the Moscow State University joined a study tour to visit Beijing, Xi’an and Chengdu for 10 days. They underwent cultural exchange with same-age Chinese students had a taste of social life in a Chinese society, and organized a Photo Exhibition to strengthen their understanding of China (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, October 19b). The “2012 Confucius Institute Spring Festival Gala” was held by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban), showcased at Confucius Institute Online,

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featuring performances jointly produced by 831 Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms from 138 countries. The event received tremendous attention.

1.2 Spread of Chinese language 1.2.1 Chinese courses in the foreign education system By June, 2012, Chinese courses had been offered by more than 3,000 schools in 109 countries. The United Kingdom announced that Chinese would be a compulsory course for all primary students starting from 2014 (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, June 29). Cadet College Petaro was the first secondary school that listed Chinese as a compulsory course in the southern province of Pakistan (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, October 10). Serbia started to promote Chinese courses in primary and secondary schools (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, May 30).

1.2.2 Active collaboration in Chinese projects Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) has set up a “Confucius New Sinology Scheme” at 14 universities in China. 6 programs have been confirmed, including Joint Ph.D., Ph.D. in China, “Understanding China” Visiting Scholar, Young Leadership, and International Conference and Publication Grant. Meanwhile, eight research areas will be covered, including studies of Confucius Institutes, language, literature and art, history and philosophy, sociology, politics, economics, education, international relations, and cross-cultural studies. Universities in China have used Confucius Institutes (classrooms) as a platform to look for partnership actively. For example, South China University of Science and Technology is in collaboration with several schools in the area of studying abroad, Chinese language camp, teacher training, etc., to support the development of Chinese education in southern Thailand (Chinanews 2012, August 8).

1.2.3 Varieties of Chinese contests The final of the 11th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students and the 5th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for International Students were successfully held in China. Several countries

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also organized the “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for University, secondary and primary students, some of which successfully held the Chinese competition in other areas. For example, Buenos Aires of Argentina held a knowledge contest to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Argentina-China diplomatic relations (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, August 28). The Mathematical Grammar school in Belgrade held the final of the Chinese proficiency and Chinese culture competition for Serbia secondary students (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, June 5). The Confucius Institute at Phuket held the second Chinese Character Input Competition at Surat Thani Campus of Prince of Songkla University in Thailand (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, November 21). The Confucius Classroom at Srinakorn School in the Songkhla Province of Thailand organized the Chinese singing competition in southern Thailand (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, June 13).

1.2.4 Attention gaining of Chinese media The first Chinese newspapers Hua Lu Weekly was published by the Confucius Institute in the College of Education at University of Rwanda in October 2012 (Confucius Institute Headquarters Website 2012, October 19a). A Chinese Education Program was broadcast by Nile TV International in November 2012, attracting a lot of attention from the general public in Egypt (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, November 11). These Chinese media will help to spread the Chinese language in the world.

1.3 Chinese teaching materials and staff In 2012, Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) and Confucius Institutes across the world held training courses on the use of Chinese teaching materials so as to introduce and promote some materials published by Hanban in recent years, such as New Practical Chinese Reader, Happy Chinese (Kuàilè Hànyŭ) and Learn Chinese with Me. These training courses normally include Chinese teacher training with a view to providing a platform for teachers of Chinese to share their experience and learn from each other. It also offered opportunities for them to make suggestions on issues such as localization of teacher training and compilation of teaching materials, as well as application of modern technologies in the realm of education. Studies of traditional Chinese culture make up the major components of the teaching materials. In December 2012, Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban)

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launched the first teaching materials featuring refined traditional Chinese culture as the major content – Audio-visual Readings in Traditional Chinese Culture and Course Book Series on Traditional Chinese Culture. It means that Chinese educational institutions are prepared to introduce Chinese culture across the world systematically. It also indicates that Confucius Institutes will shift their foci from teaching Chinese to introducing Chinese culture, resulting in a significant change in International Chinese education. For example, the illustrated Spanish edition (teens version) of the Dream of the Red Chamber was recommended by the Confucius Institute at Autonomic National University of Mexico, which attracted a number of Chinese learners and Mexican sinologists (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, November 22). At the 41st London Book Fair held in April 2012, Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) released newly published teaching materials and readers on Chinese culture, such as New Concept Chinese, A Good Man in China and Confucius Cartoon Story Readings. 18 Confucius Institutes and Confucius classrooms in the United Kingdom also exhibited their self-developed teaching materials, such as Edexcel GCSE Chinese, Chinese in Steps, ULearnChinese, Improvement (Jìnbù), and Business Chinese (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, April 18), marking the beginning of external development of Chinese teaching materials. In November 2012, the Confucius Institute at Chulalongkorn University joined the academic festival held at that University for the first time, featuring an exhibition of Chinese books and capturing the interest of many students and teachers (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, November 26). Moreover, Confucius Institutes also accept donation of reference books and teaching resources as supplementary materials by the general public. For instance, China Central Television presented the large-scale series Program 30°N, Across China to the Confucius Institute to help overseas Chinese learners to better understand the Chinese society (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, September 7).

1.4 Popularity of Chinese examinations In 2012, Hanyu Shuping Kaoshi (HSK) remained popular among the Chinese learners. For example, 2,965 candidates from Chiang Mai University in Thailand attended the exam in 2012, 1,000 more than the figure 1931 in 2011. The number of test-takers broke the record in some Confucius Institutes in some countries, such as the Confucius Institutes at the University of Lisbon in Portugal and Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. Besides, more and more candidates took the Business Chinese Test (BCT) and Youth Chinese Test (YCT). Confucius Institutes in many countries such as Pakistan, Jordan and Zambia held the first Youth Chinese Test (YCT) in 2012.

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Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) and Chinese Testing International held the 1st training in the standardization and management of online Chinese examinations, which laid a solid foundation for the upcoming Internet-based Test. Apart from organizing Hanyu Shuping Kaoshi (HSK), Business Chinese Test (BCT) and Youth Chinese Test (YCT), Chinese Testing International was authorized by the committee of the United Nations Chinese program to compile the Chinese Test items again, after 2010, for the United Nations Chinese Language Proficiency Exam (LPE), which target their staff members all over the world (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, October 25).

1.5 Chinese: A strategic language Followed by the all-round development of China and the effort made by the Confucius Institutes, more and more people started to understand China and Confucius Institutes. The United States Department of State listed Chinese as one of the strategic languages and invited Chinese tutors to teach in America (Confucius Institute Headquarters website 2012, July 24). Besides, the Federal government of the United States classified Putonghua as a language of “special needs”, and offered a professional development plan to teachers. These actions have aroused U.S. students’ passion in learning Chinese. The number of students who range from grade 7 to grade 12 in public schools surged from 20,000 to 60,000 within 3 years. It is estimated that more than 100,000 students are learning Mandarin in both public and private schools in the United States (People’s Daily 2012).

1.6 International Chinese education in China In 2012, four new records were registered, including the total number of international students in China, the number of their countries or areas of origin, the number of home schools for accepting international students, and the number of students receiving Chinese Government Scholarships. There were totally 328,330 international students in China, a year-on-year growth of 12.21%. Among them, 133,509 students were taking degree courses, 12.35% more than the previous year, accounting for 40.66% of international students. 36,060 students were receiving postgraduate education, a growth of 18.71% compared to 2011. The remaining 194,821 students took non-degree courses. Despite the fact that 91.24% of international students in China are selffinanced, the number of students who received Chinese government scholarships

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increased by 3,081, with a year-on-year growth of 11.99% (Zhejiang Online News 2013). Their countries of origin reached 200. The top 15 countries are Korea, the United States, Japan, Thailand, Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, France, Mongolia, Germany, Malaysia and Singapore. Among them, Russia and Indonesia surpassed Vietnam and took the fifth and sixth place respectively; meanwhile, Malaysia overtook Singapore and ranked 14th. International students studied in 31 Provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, except Taiwan, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macau Special Administrative Region. Among them, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Shandong, Hubei and Fujian are the 10 most popular destinations for international students, mainly at 690 universities, research institutions or other educational institutions (Baidu 2012).

2 The work progress of Chinese Education In 2012, the progress of Chinese Education were demonstrated in two aspects. First, China scaled up her support for Chinese education. Second, motivated by the various developments in their home country, overseas Chinese were encouraged to take more an active role in promoting Chinese education.

2.1 Motivation and support from China On 9 April, the Minister of Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of China (OCAO) stated in the opening ceremony of the 6th Conference for Friendship of Overseas Chinese Associations that the Office would expand Chinese education actively, strengthen collaboration and enhance exchange with educational institutions in different countries, and strive to introduce Chinese education into the local mainstream education system. In addition, OCAO would also strengthen teacher training to nurture talented teachers through different channels, such as operating degree courses, theme-based training, distance teaching, as well as lecture tours. Moreover, the Chinese teaching materials will be further optimized by developing and focusing on the indigenous, multimedia and online materials in order to cater for the diverse needs of overseas Chinese youths. The office plans to invite 100,000 overseas Chinese youths to join various “root-seeking” and culture-focused summer and winter camps within five years, the purpose being to arouse their interest in experienced and learning Chinese culture. Besides, the

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OCAO shall encourage and support its local offices and Chinese teaching bases to develop their strengths and step up collaboration. Cooperation and exchanges with foreign governments and public schools on Chinese education in various forms would also be conducted.

2.1.1 Cooperation and exchanges On 3 March, “China-Taiwan Collaborative Innovation of Chinese Education Conference” was hosted by the China Overseas Exchange Association at Huaqiao University of Fujian Province. The conference focused on the cooperation mechanism between mainland China and Taiwan, exploring suggested solutions to overcome difficulties in deepening collaboration between high schools in the two areas, and exchanging perspectives toward Chinese Education development, etc. On 12 September 2012, five colleges subordinated to the OCAO (Beijing Chinese Language and Culture College, College of Chinese Language and Culture of the Jinan University, Chinese Language and Culture College of Huaqiao University, The Guangxi Overseas Chinese School and Kunming Huawen School) held a Chinese education conference in Kunming. The conference probed deeply into the strategies of developing their strengths independently, stepping up collaboration and promoting Chinese education effectively in keeping with the latest development. Some inter-school cooperation was launched after the conference. On 7 November, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the OCAO and the Parliament of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia. With the Mou, the two parties intended to support New South Wales students to learn Chinese and promote cultural exchange between the two countries. The MoU provides more opportunities for youngsters to learn Chinese, and to strengthen the bonds between NSW community offices and the Chinese community in Australia. According to the MoU, the OCAO and the local NSW government would support Chinese language schools with equipment and venues available in the NSW community so as to provide better conditions for teaching Chinese.

2.1.2 Appointment of government-sponsored expatriate Chinese teachers In 2012, over 730 government-sponsored Chinese teachers were sent by the OCAO to different countries. Assigning outstanding Chinese teachers to overseas countries helps to alleviate the critical problem of Chinese teacher shortage, so that Chinese teaching could proceed normally in those countries. The government-sponsored

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teachers can also demonstrate good teaching for the local teachers, thus improving the teaching quality of the schools they are attached to.

2.1.3 Overseas Chinese teacher training Despite the fact that an increasing number of expatriate teachers have been sent, the problem of insufficient Chinese teachers in overseas countries could only be addressed by training and localizing Chinese teachers in those countries. In 2012, different forms of overseas Chinese teacher training have been conducted. The OCAO invited over 3,400 Chinese teachers to attend training programs in China, and organized a group of lecturers to provide training to teachers in Italy, Australia, and New Zealand. Around 7,000 Chinese teachers were trained. In addition, the OCAO entrusted several universities such as Liaoning Normal University, Hunan Normal University, Yunnan Normal University, Jinan University, Huaqiao University, Shanghai Normal University, and Central China Normal University to offer full-time or correspondence courses on Chinese language education, Chinese language, and teaching Chinese as a foreign language. 472 students have graduated from the bachelor degree programs or top-up degree programs so far, and 484 students are currently studying the courses. The OCAO and other government departments also offer scholarships and grants for students. In order to encourage Chinese teachers to retain the post and to inspire more people to contribute to Chinese education, the OCAO invited 166 excellent teachers from overseas to join training programs in China in 2012. These teachers were also offered opportunities to explore the Chinese culture in places with rich cultural resources, visit scenic spots and historical sites, and to gain first-hand experience of the Chinese culture. Hosted by the Chinese Language and Culture Education Foundation of China, and supported by Beijing Overseas Exchange Association in collaboration with Yanjing Professional Culture School in Beijing, the launching ceremony of “2012 distance training for Chinese teachers” was held in Beijing. The live launching ceremony was broadcast simultaneously in Bandung and Jakarta in Indonesia, as well as Lisbon in Portugal. Around 300 overseas Chinese teachers in Indonesia and Portugal were trained through distance education in their own country.

2.1.4 Establishment of Chinese teaching bases The OCAO has started to establish Chinese teaching bases in China since 2000. By 2012, the number of Chinese teaching bases reached 41. Provinces such as

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Henan and Gansu were among the first batch to obtain approval from the OCAO to launch Chinese teaching bases. Some provinces and cities have set up Chinese teaching bases by themselves. For example, the Yunnan Provincial Government approved the establishment of 13 Chinese teaching bases in the first around. Fujian province set up 10 Chinese teaching bases in the second around, surging the total number of Chinese teaching bases in the province to 43. Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province, the hometown of many overseas Chinese, has launched 17 Chinese teaching bases, of which 3 were directly under OCAO, 5 under Zhejiang Province, and 9 under Wenzhou City. The different Chinese teaching bases have provided increasing support to overseas Chinese education. Jinan University and Huaqiao University have each established an overseas Chinese education research institute. They strive to make a breakthrough in several areas, including investigation of current situation of Chinese education, the compilation of Chinese teaching materials, authentication of teachers’ qualifications, and test of Chinese language proficiency. Huaqiao University also established a Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Education, which aims to build their own brand through different types of cooperation. Beijing Chinese Language and Culture College, which has been established for 62 years, set up a Research Center of Overseas Chinese and Chinese Teaching. The schools aims to make use of their new campus to integrate resources for constructing a research center for Chinese teaching theories, Chinese teacher training, and a Chinese culture center for overseas Chinese youths to experience the culture. In 2012, about 80 groups of teachers and students joined the training and experiential activities. The total number of participants was around 2,500.

2.1.5 China Root-Seeking Camp “China Root-Seeking Camp” is the key branding activity held by the OCAO for overseas Chinese youths. It is mainly classified into three groups: (i) regular camps jointly held by the OCAO and its local offices; (ii) distinctive camps held by Chinese teaching bases, and authorized by the OCAO, such as dancing camp, martial arts camp, and elite camp.; (iii) camps that are hosted by the OCAO itself, for instance, summer camp for foreign families with adopted Chinese children. In 2012, the participants of a series of “China Root-Seeking Camp” for overseas Chinese youths reached 20,000. Meanwhile, an online platform for summer camps was established for participants and potential organizers to instantly receive all the messages on summer camps. The events adopted game-based teaching, which are popular among overseas Chinese youths, their parents, as well as teachers.

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2.1.6 Chinese culture contests for overseas Chinese youths “Chinese culture contest for overseas Chinese youths”, originally “Chinese culture knowledge competition for overseas Chinese youths”, is a branding activity created in 2008. The contest is a comprehensive one, aiming to arouse overseas Chinese youths’ interest in learning Chinese and Chinese culture, and to strengthen their understanding of their motherland. In 2012, in order to enhance the effectiveness and influences of the activity, OCAO upgraded the contest and officially renamed the contest based on three years of experience holding the competition. The 2012 contest attracted more than 36,000 young Chinese from 19 countries. The semi-final and final, with the winter camp for winners of preliminary rounds in their division, were held from 31 December to 26 December 2012 in Xiamen. 65 winners from 13 countries contended for the 12 awards, including groups and individual awards.

2.1.7 Localization of Chinese teaching materials Promoting the localization and diversification of Chinese teaching materials was the focus in 2012. According to MA Rupei, the Deputy Director of the OCAO at a symposium on the overseas Chinese education model schools and Chinese teaching organizations, the OCAO would step up research on the localization of teaching materials, and strive to finish the preliminary localization and diversification of Chinese teaching materials in around five years with a view to meeting the diverse needs of overseas Chinese school,. The preliminary development of the main Chinese teaching materials ranging from kindergarten to middle schools has been finished. The publication of Chinese teaching materials has reached 2,000,000 for two consecutive years. The teaching resources cover over 50 countries with a sizable population of overseas Chinese.

2.2 Overseas development 2.2.1 Development of overseas Chinese education model schools Overseas Chinese schools are the main institutions for disseminating Chinese language and imparting Chinese education. The OCAO has selected several overseas Chinese education model schools to promote overseas Chinese education. In addition, more resources will be injected and more effective measures will be put in place. According to the head of the OCAO, based on the principle

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of “maturate, construct, and complete in phases”, and the experience gained in founding 104 overseas Chinese education model schools, the office would spend another 5 years to establish 300 more overseas Chinese education model schools. The office would gradually turn them into the overseas Chinese education model bases to spread Chinese culture. Besides, the OCAO would aid 100 Chinese schools that are either newly established or are operating under difficult circumstances by providing some essential materials for them to improve the operating conditions and to overcome the difficulties. The OCAO would also subsidize some key national or regional Chinese education organizations annually, and to meet the increasing needs of Chinese teachers and students by providing 200 Chinese schools with books and audio-visual products for launching “The Shining Chinese Library”. In 2012, a large number of teaching materials and books have been distributed to these overseas organizations. On 27 November 2012, the OCAO held the first symposium on overseas Chinese education with the participation of the model schools and Chinese teaching organizations. Apart from officers of the OCAO, around 300 representatives of several organizations, including overseas Chinese education model schools, the main Chinese teaching organizations, Chinese teaching bases in China and the local OCAO took part in the symposium held in Nanning. The discussion focused on the development of Chinese education in the new era in four areas, including how to accelerate the construction of overseas Chinese education model schools, how to play their roles, how to tighten the bonds between the OCAO and foreign countries where overseas Chinese assembled, and how to collaborate to build a favorable environment for the development of Chinese education. The symposium provided a platform for Chinese teaching bases in China and overseas Chinese education model schools to enhance understanding, strengthen communication, and to examine the mutual assistance policy. Chinese teaching bases in China made use of their geographical advantages, personal strengths and business edges to provide project-based assistance to overseas Chinese education model schools to overcome various difficulties.

2.2.2 “Chinese Culture Land” Summer Camp “Chinese Culture Land” Summer Camp is another branding activity aiming to strengthen the understanding of Chinese culture launched after the China Root-Seeking Summer Camp. Jointly held by the OCAO and China Overseas Exchange Association, and based on the characteristics and needs of overseas Chinese youths, model Chinese teachers were sent abroad to support the camps. The camps provide a series of courses for overseas Chinese youths including

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Chinese knowledge, Chinese martial arts, Chinese folk music, Chinese folk dance, Chinese Calligraphy and Chinese painting. It helps to strengthen their understanding of the extensive and profound Chinese culture. These events were designed in accordance with the interest and the aptitude of the participants and have adopted a “happy teaching” strategy. Since 2011, OCAO has cooperated with its overseas branches to hold “Chinese Culture Land” Summer Camps in different overseas countries on a trial basis, with a view to overcoming limitation in terms of places, age, time and cost, so as to enable more overseas Chinese youths to participate in the events. In 2012, OCAO joined hands with its local branches and the Chinese teaching bases of 18 provinces to organize “Chinese Culture Land” Summer Camps in the cities of 15 countries located in Europe, North America, Australia and Southeast Asia, attracting around 7,000 participants.

References Baidu. 2012. Statistic report on the international students’ study in China in 2012(2012 年全国来华留学生简明统计报告). Retrieved from http://wenku.baidu.com/ view/744932e0551810a6f5248654.html. China Network Television. 2012a, December 17. 42 Confucius Institutes are newly added this year (今年全球新增孔子学院42 所). Retrieved from http://news.cntv.cn/ world/20121217/104923.shtml. China Network Television. 2012b, December 17. Confucius Institutes in Europe: Adapted to the local culture and shows a unique feature(孔子学院欧洲行:因地制宜,各地孔院渐 成特色). Retrieved from http://tvcntvcn/video/C10616/a640024c33c14047948de9a d0f5d4e13. Chinanews. 2012, August 8. Confucius Classroom in Southern Thailand helps to promote collaborative project on Chinese language(泰南国光中学孔子课堂助推泰南汉语项目合作). Retrieved from http://www.chinanews.com/hwjy/2012/08-08/4093550.shtml. China Radio International. 2012, April 17. London Confucius Institute for traditional Chinese medicine promotes the Chinese medicine and culture(伦敦中医孔子学院走“特色办 学”新路宣传中医药和中国文化). Retrieved from http://gb.cri.cn/27824/2012/04/1 7/5311s3644761.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, April 18. London book fair: Hanban promotes “going global” of Chinese language teaching materials (伦敦书展:国家 汉办推动中国汉语教材“走出去”). http://www.hanban.edu.cn/article/201204/18/ content_428039.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, May 30. Serbia started to popularize Chinese courses in primary and secondary schools(塞尔维亚中小学普及汉语课程项目正式启 动). Retrieved from http://sinhalese.chinese.cn/newschinese/article/2012-05/30/ content_438403.htm.

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Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, June 5. Confucius Institute holds Chinese proficiency and Chinese culture competition for Serbia secondary students(塞尔维亚孔子 学院举办中学生中华文化和汉语知识竞赛). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/ article/2012-06/05/content_439674.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, June 13. First Chinese singing competition in southern Thailand was held in Songkhla(首届泰国南部中文歌唱比赛在合艾举行). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/article/2012-06/13/content_441847.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, June 29. Obstacles of spreading Chinese and its culture(中华文化走出去,汉语负重续前行,由表及里,仍待破题). Retrieved from http:// www.hanban.edu.cn/article/2012-06/29/content_444821.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, July 24. US Department of State: Chinese is a critical language, teachers from China are invited to teach in the US (美国国务院:视 汉语为“关键语言”,邀中国教师赴美授课). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/ article/2012-07/24/content_450412.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, August 17. Botswana students join summer camp to learn Chinese and experience its culture(博茨瓦纳师生来华参加夏令营,学 汉语体验文化之旅). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/article/2012-08/17/ content_455499.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, August 20. Confucius Classroom at Traimit Wittayalai High School in Thailand hosts Chinese cultural courses(泰国岱密中学孔 子课堂举办中国文化特色体验课程). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/ article/2012-08/20/content_455774.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, August 28. Knowledge contest to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Argentina-China diplomatic relations successfully held in Buenos Aires(中阿建交40周年知识竞赛在布宜诺斯艾利斯成 功举办). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/article/2012-08/28/content_456822. htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, September 7. CCTV sent series program to Confucius Institute(央视向孔子学院赠送大型系列节目《北纬30°中国行》). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/article/2012-09/07/content_458787.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, September 24. Students of Confucius Classroom at Srinakorn School in Thailand join experiential activities in Guangzhou(泰国 国光中学孔子课堂高中实验班赴广州参加活动). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu. cn/article/2012-09/24/content_461372.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, October 10. Compulsory Chinese course begins in a secondary school in Pakistan(巴基斯坦首个中文必修课在信德省一中学开课). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/article/2012-10/10/content_463794.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, October 19a. First Chinese newspaper is established in Rwanda(卢旺达首份中文报纸诞生). Retrieved from http://www.hanban. edu.cn/article/2012-10/19/content_465634.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, October 19b. Moscow State University organizes photo exhibition on China Tour(莫斯科大学举办中国之行摄影展). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/article/2012-10/19/content_465586.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, October 25. Chinese Testing International is authorized by UN to set questions for Chinese proficiency test(汉考国际受托命制联合 国中文水平考试试题). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/article/2012-10/25/ content_466708.htm.

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Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, November 11. Commencement of Chinese education program on Nile TV was widely reported in Egypt(埃及多家媒体报道尼罗河电视 台汉语教学节目开播仪式). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/article/2012-11/16/ content_471435.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, November 21. Confucius Institute at Phuket holds 2nd Chinese Character Input Competition(用现代科技之力推动中文教学 普吉孔子学院第二届汉字输入大赛). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/ article/2012-11/21/content_472290.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, November 22. The Confucius Institute at Autonomic National University of Mexico recommends illustrated Spanish edition of the Dream of the Red Chamber(墨西哥国立自治大学孔子学院推介《红楼梦》西 班牙语少年插图版). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/article/2012-11/22/ content_472508.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, November 26. Confucius Institute at Chulalongkorn University exhibits Chinese books(朱大孔子学院“校园行”中文图书展亮 相朱拉隆功大学学术节). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/article/2012-11/26/ content_472855.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, November 29. Confucius Institute at Kyrgyz National University promotes learning Chinese in the local society(吉尔吉斯国立民族 大学孔子学院让汉语教学走进社会大课堂). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/ article/2012-11/29/content_473446.htm Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, December 5. Confucius Institute of Agricultural University organized four Chinese camps for university students in Bangkok (农业大 学孔子学院举办曼谷四校大学生中文营). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/ article/2012-12/05/content_474134.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, December 7. Taiji takes root in the University of South Carolina(中华太极文化扎根美国南卡大学). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu. cn/article/2012-12/07/content_474773.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, December 10. Confucius Institute at the Kansai Gaidai University successfully held a Chinese seminar in the Kyoto Furitsu Koyokoto School(关西外大孔子学院在京都府立向阳高中成功开设汉语体验课). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/article/2012-12/10/content_474851.htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, December 11. University of Milan holds courses on the appreciation of Chinese movie and Chinese movie subtitling(光影之中传 米兰国立大学孔子学院开设中文电影字幕制作与赏析 荧幕经典,字里行间译中国文化 课程). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/article/2012-12/11/content_475220. htm. Confucius Institute Headquarters website. 2012, December 28. Confucius Institute at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies successfully held “Daily Chinese” courses(韩外大孔 子学院仙游中学“生活汉语”课程顺利结课). Retrieved from http://www.hanban.edu.cn/ article/2012-12/28/content_478351.htm. Farmers’ Daily. 2012, September 7. The first Confucius Institute for Agriculture to be established in Nanjing Agricultural University(南农大将建首个农业特色孔子学院). Retrieved from http://szb.farmer.com.cn/nmrb/html/2012-09/07/nbs.D110000nmrb_03.htm. People’s Daily. 2012, November 22. US: Putonghua is a language of “special needs” (美 指定普通话为“特需”语言,学生热衷学中文). Retrieved from http://www.haiwainet. cn/n/2012/1122/c232579-17754778.html.

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Zhejiang Normal University website. 2012, July 12. Confucius Institute at the University of Yaounde II holds “Chinese Bridge” summer camp(“汉语桥—喀麦隆大中学生夏令营”在校 开营). Retrieved from http://www.zjnu.edu.cn/news/common/article_show.aspx?article_ id=14944. Zhejiang Online News. 2013, March 2. 400,000 students go overseas to study in 2012, incoming overseas students also break the record high(2012年近40万人出国 留学,来华留学人数再创新高). Retrieved from http://edu.zjol.com.cn/05edu/ system/2013/03/02/019181346.shtml.

Translated by LAM Wing Shan The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Wang Chunhui (王春辉)

9 The United Nations Chinese Language Day In order to promote the equal use of the six official languages of the United Nations (“UN”), namely Chinese, Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish, while celebrating multilingualism and cultural diversity, the UN Department of Public Information launched the UN Language Days in 2010. As a result, the UN offices around the world organise six celebratory events annually to commemorate each of the UN working languages. The six UN Language Days include (1) French Language Day on 20 March, the establishment day of Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie; (2) Chinese Language Day on 20 April, the Grain Rain of the 24 solar terms used by the Chinese; (3) English Language Day on 23 April, the date traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare; (4) Russian Language Day on 6 June, the birth date of Alexander Pushkin; (5) Spanish Language Day on 12 October, the anniversary of the discovery of the American continent by Columbus in 1492; and (6) Arabic Language Day on 18 December, the anniversary of the incorporation of Arabic into the UN official working languages by the UN General Assembly.

1 Origin of the UN Chinese Language Day In order to decide the date for the UN Chinese Language Day (“Chinese Day”), the relevant UN organisations contacted the Ministry of Education of China. Upon careful research led by the ministry, the Chinese Day is set on the Grain Rain of the Chinese 24 solar terms. At the decision-making seminar, the participants believed that the creation of Chinese character by Cang Jie is extraordinary and worthy of acknowledgement. In China, legend has it that the Yellow Emperor issued an imperial edict in the late spring and early summer, declaring that Cang Jie was successful in his creation of the Chinese characters and calling for his subjects to learn the characters. Cang Jie’s outstanding work had moved the God. The God then ordered the Heavenly Armies to open the granary in heaven, creating a millet rain on the earth and saving humans from famine. Later, people named the day ‘Grain Rain’, which then became one of twenty-four solar terms. The Grain Rain (around 20 April in the solar calendar) represents Cang Jie’s great achievement in the creation of the characters. Being the representation and https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-009

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embodiment of profound Chinese culture, the day was chosen to be the Chinese Day and is of great significance to the promotion of China’s culture and international status.

2 Chinese Language Day of 2010 The Chinese Day has been held for three consecutive years since 2010. The first celebration of the Chinese Language Day was unveiled on 12 November 2010 at the UN headquarters in New York. More than 100 people attended the opening ceremony, including Kiyotaka Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information and Coordinator for Multilingualism, Li Baodong, Permanent Representative of China to the UN, Peng Keyu, Consul General of China in New York, the UN diplomats from multiple countries, the UN staff, and other guests. The main activities on the 2010 Chinese Language Day included Chinese information exhibitions, the opening ceremony of the Chinese Language Day, and a lecture on Chinese culture.

2.1 Chinese information exhibitions The UN departments that are related to Chinese language, such as the Chinese Translation Office of the General Assembly, Chinese Interpretation Section, Chinese Verbatim Reporting Section, UN Chinese website, UN Chinese Radio Broadcasting, Chinese Language Teaching Department and UN Bookshop, held events to promote and introduce the Chinese language. Various Chinese books, calligraphy works, paintings, teaching materials, and other promotional materials were on display. The books and materials were provided by Zhejiang Publishing United Group, China Publishing Group Corp., China National Publications Import and Export (Group) Corporation, Hangzhou Publishing Group, and New York Xinhua Bookstore; they were then donated to the UN Chinese Book Club after the exhibitions.

2.2 Opening ceremony of the Chinese Language Day Kiyotaka Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, and Li Baodong, Permanent Representative of China to the UN, both

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delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. The staff and diplomats who were studying in the UN Chinese classes recited ‘Plain Tune (Qīng Píng Diào 清平调)’ written by Li Bai, a well-known Chinese poet. In addition, the UN choir, which once performed at the Shanghai World Expo, sang the Chinese song ‘Jasmine (Mòli Huā 茉莉花)’. Moreover, the aforementioned publishing groups donated books to the Chinese delegation and the UN Chinese Book Club. On behalf of the Confucius Institutes Headquarters (“Hanban”), Peng Keyu, the Chinese Consul General in New York, also presented books as gifts to the UN staff who were studying Chinese.

2.3 Lecture on Chinese culture The lecture on Chinese culture was titled “The Origin and Development of Chinese Characters” and given by Fan Yuzhou, a history professor at Nanjing University. Simultaneous English interpretation was provided during the lecture. Apart from the above activities, Yan Gongda, Member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (“CPPCC”) and Vice Chairman of China Calligraphers Association, and painter Xu Juntao also showcased Chinese calligraphy works and paintings. In addition, Wan Fang and Wan Huan, daughters of Cao Yu, a reputable Chinese playwright, took part in the Chinese Language Day during their visit to Columbia University to attend the ceremonial symposium of the centenary of Cao Yu’s birth.

3 Chinese Language Day of 2011 The second Chinese Language Day was launched at the UN headquarters in New York on 20 April 2011. Kiyotaka Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Li Baodong, Permanent Representative of China to the UN, Li’s wife Lu Hailin, Peng Keyu, Chinese Consul General in New York, Permanent Representatives to the United Nations, staff of the United Nations Secretariat, and many distinguished guests attended the ceremony. The ceremonial events on the 2011 Chinese Language Day were far richer than that of the previous year. On behalf of Hanban, Peng Keyu donated ‘Chinese Cultural Experience Center’, a multimedia machine, to the UN, allowing the UN diplomats and staff to learn Chinese more efficiently and have a deeper understanding of Chinese culture. Meanwhile, Henan Education Press donated a batch of dictionaries and

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study materials to the Permanent Mission of China at the UN. In addition, New York Xinhua Bookstore presented several books to the Chinese Book Club of UN Staff Recreation Council. Unveiling the opening ceremony for the 2011 UN Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition, a significant event of the second Chinese Language Day, professor Zhou Bin introduced Chinese calligraphy through a calligraphy workshop. Musicians from the China Conservatory of Music held a folk music concert, performing with the erhu, bamboo flute, dulcimer, zither and lute. A martial arts group from Henan province performed dances from Han and Tang Dynasties, Shaolin kung fu, and folk music. Deborah Farrow, the author of Dreaming in Chinese, a book about travelling in China and learning Chinese, held a meet and greet. The UN departments relating to Chinese language, such as the Chinese Translation Office of the General Assembly, Chinese Text Processing Unit, Chinese Interpretation Section, Chinese Verbatim Reporting Section, UN Chinese website, UN Chinese Radio Broadcasting, Chinese Language Teaching Department, and UN Bookshop were all active participants in the celebratory events of the Chinese Language Day. The second Chinese Day had many sponsoring organisations. The dictionaries and promotional materials for the guests were provided by Henan Education Press. The Chinese Cultural Experience Center was gifted by Hanban. The China Conservatory of Music kindly provided music CDs. The drinks reception was sponsored by the Permanent Mission of China to the UN.

4 Chinese Language Day of 2012 The celebration of the third Chinese Day was held on 19 April 2012 at the UN headquarters in New York. More than 180 people, including Li Baodong, Permanent Representative of China to the UN, Vijay Nambiar, UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Myanmar, Stephane Dujarric, Deputy Communications Director for the UN Secretary-General, diplomats from various countries, and staff in the UN Secretariat attended the ceremony. In his speech, Representative Li Baodong congratulated the UN Department of Public Information for successfully organizing two Chinese Language Days. Events such as Chinese painting and calligraphy exhibitions, book fairs, lectures, and performances allowed the participants to have a better understanding of Chinese language, one of the oldest languages, and to appreciate its beauty, simplicity, depth, and breadth. Through the activities, the participants also had

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chances to explore Chinese culture. The Chinese Language Day used the language as a medium, bridging communities of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In addition, Li expressed his gratitude to the Department of Public Information for its strong support to the Chinese Language Days. Li also stressed that the six different Language Days carried out by the department demonstrate the UN’s effort in promoting multiculturalism, harmony, and co-prosperity; therefore, they are of significant importance. Li believed that the UN Language Days will continue to evolve, facilitating cultural exchange, peace, development, and prosperity of the world. Li and Wang Lan, Deputy Director of Chinese Health Qigong Association, as well as other distinguished guests attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Chinese Language Day. The ceremony also included Chinese dance, music, and qigong performances. At the same time, the exhibition of ‘Female Script’ works, a Chinese calligraphy exhibition, and a lecture on Chinese culture were held. The dance performances included the Han Chinese double-fan dance ‘Sing for Tomorrow’s Beijing’, and the cheongsam dance ‘The Beauty of Taihu’. The concert featured the song ‘Spring of Xinjiang’ and was performed by Hong Weilian, the former chief violinist of the Central China Orchestra. The lecture was presented by the renowned scholar Gao Zhiqi and the theme was ‘Chinese Definitions and Applications of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism’. Meanwhile, a series of traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy exhibitions were held, showcasing the works done by the well-known calligrapher Lei Mingdong, painter Wang Yuxia, calligrapher Shi Xuduo, and calligraphy and seal cutting artist Zhang Wanxin. Comparing the three Chinese Language Days, it is evident that: (1) the number of participants has increased year by year; (2) the activities have become richer and more varied; and (3) the celebration has become more inclusive, incorporating not only Han Chinese culture but also cultures of different ethnic groups. The celebration of the Chinese Language Day has indeed become more successful, attracting more and more participants. Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Wen Qiufang (文秋芳)

10 China’s foreign language capacity With the acceleration of economic globalisation and China’s reform and opening up, China’s politics, economy, culture and military have experienced rapid development and generated tremendous impact on other countries. The speedy development of the nation has made foreign languages one of the indispensable resources of China. When the use of foreign languages is favourable to national interests, foreign languages become significant to a nation’s competitiveness and soft power. Developed countries, especially the United States, attach great importance to the cultivation of its foreign language capacity. Since entering the 21st century, led by the military, the U.S. has been strategically developing its foreign language capability. The U.S. has made huge investments in its foreign language plan, making it well-designed, effective, wide-ranging, and influential. In contrast, China, from the central government down to the general public, pays little attention to the nation’s foreign language capacity. In order to bring the issue to the forefront, this article will explain China’s foreign language capability by comparing the nation with the U.S.

1 National foreign language capacity National foreign language capacity refers to the ability of a country to use foreign languages to handle various matters. The ability does not depend on the absolute number of people who master foreign languages in a country, nor on the degree of the popularisation of foreign language education. The basic criterion for measuring the ability is the types and quality of foreign language resources that a country has access to. It is difficult for a country to predict the exact time and place where incidents that require the use of certain foreign languages will occur, an example being the engagement of South Korean troops with Somalian pirates on 21 January 2011. During the event, the troops from South Korea captured five pirates, among which there were one Arabic speaker and four Somali speakers. Due to the language barriers, when taking evidence, the court had to first translate Korean into English, then English into Somali. Considering it was a legal matter and the northern part of Somalia used to be a British colony, South Korea planned to hire a professional translator from the United Kingdom to help. However, if the pirates held important information about the security and military intelligence of South Korea, it would have been inappropriate to get foreign personnel involved. This incident shows that, regarding foreign language capabilities, nations need https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-010

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to take into consideration all the languages in the world. Whether it is common or uncommon languages, nations should always have language talents that are ready to help. Nations should have a wide range of language talents, who not only are specialised in the languages in question but also have a thorough understanding of the cultures and nations in which the languages are used. National foreign language capability includes three components: the constituent elements, the forms of capability, and the conversion mechanisms (see Figure 10.1). The constituent elements of a nation’s foreign language capability are the types and quality of the foreign languages used in the nation. There are three forms of a nation’s language capability, including the potential capability, the current capability, and the future capability. There are two conversion mechanisms, including the state’s control over the foreign language resources, as well as the planning and implementation of the resources, with the former turning the potential capability into the current capability and the latter transforming the current capability into the future capability. Foreign language resources can be categorised into natural and artificial language resources (see Figure 10.2). Natural language resources refer to the resources that exist without government’s additional investment. For instance, non-English speaking immigrants are the natural foreign language resources of the United States. Artificial language resources refer to language resources generated from systematic education, such as the graduates of foreign language majors in China. In addition, the types of foreign language resources are divided into monolingual Constituent elements

Form of existence

Conversion mechanism

Potential capability

National foreign language capabilities

Types of foreign languages Quality of foreign languages

Current capability

Future capability

The state’s control over the foreign language resources The planning and implementation of the resources

Figure 10.1: Theoretical framework of national foreign language capacity Resource: Wen, Qiufang, Su, Jing, & Jian, Yanhong. 2011. The Theories and application of national foreign language capacity 《国家外语能力的理论构建与应用尝试》 ( ). Foreign Languages in China, Volume 3, pp.4–10.

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The Basic Element of National Foreign Language Ability

Artificial language resources

Types of foreign language resources

Natural language resources Monolingual resources

Depth

Language proficiency

Oral/written forms

Quality of foreign language resources Breadth

Multilingual resources

Number of registers Number of dialects

Figure 10.2: The Basic elements of national foreign language capacity Resource: Wen, Qiufang, Su, Jing, & Jian, Yanhong. 2011. The Theories and application of national foreign language capacity 《国家外语能力的理论构建与应用尝试》 ( ). Foreign Languages in China, Volume 3, pp.4–10.

and multilingual resources. Monolingual resources refer to foreign language talents that speak only one foreign language, while multilingual resources refer to language talents specialised in two or more foreign languages, for example, the UN officials are required to be proficient in both English and French. The quality of foreign language resources can be determined by their depth and breadth. Depth refers to the language proficiency possessed by foreign language talents, including elementary, intermediate or advanced. Breadth has three sub-categories: whether the foreign language concerned has spoken and/or written form; the registers that the language talents can handle (e.g. diplomacy, news, law, military, business, etc.); and the number of dialects mastered by the language talents.

2 Types of foreign language resources The U.S. is relatively richer in foreign language resources. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the number of non-English-speaking U.S. citizens reached 55 million, accounting for 17.7% of the total population, with more than 380

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languages used. Nevertheless, the U.S. is also abundant in artificial foreign language resources. On the surface, foreign language education is overlooked by the Americans. For example, when Roth Holt, Member of the US Congress, submitted the National Security Language Act in December 2003, he pointed out that, from high schools to universities, 99% of the American students studied European languages, while very few people chose to learn languages that are not commonly used (Holt 2012). However, there were as many as 276 uncommon foreign language courses offered by American universities (O’Connell and Norwood 2007). Harvard University alone offered more than 90 foreign language courses (Chen 2011). China is not an immigrant country, with almost zero natural foreign language resources. However, taking into account the cross-border languages and the languages used by the overseas Chinese, the nation’s natural foreign language resources are by no means scanty. China is geographically connected to 14 countries. Over 30 cross-border languages are used by the citizens living in the border areas. The overseas Chinese can be seen all over the world, among which there are 3,570,750 people living in America, 28,175,752 in Asia, 1,618,640 in Europe, 570,625 in Oceania, and 136,865 in Africa (China Strategic Network 2012). In addition, a large number of foreign nationals have been living in China for a long time, and some of them have obtained Chinese citizenship. Therefore, it is safe to assume that there are hundreds of natural foreign language resources used in China. By contrast, in China, artificial foreign language resources, especially for uncommon languages, lack variations. Beijing Foreign Studies University, one of the most well-established schools nationwide, has no more than 50 foreign language courses. Although the citizens’ foreign language proficiency has increased significantly since the reform and opening up, the number of foreign language courses has remained insufficient. At present, there are about 300 million English learners in China, while other language learners are fewer than 3 million, with the majority learning Japanese, Russian, German, French, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, and other common languages. In addition, the nation suffers from a severe shortage of foreign language personnel who possess knowledge of different industries and foreign cultures, which hinders China’s diplomatic relationships and international exchange. For instance, there are very few Chinese diplomats who master Afghanistan dialects. Moreover, China has far fewer people who master Pashtu than those in the United States (Lu 2006). Due to a lack of accurate data, it is difficult to examine the types of multilingual resources in both China and the United States. However, it is logical to assume that the multilingual resources in the U.S. should be richer than that in

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China. The U.S. is an immigrant country. Parents in America are likely to speak two different languages (other than English), creating favourable conditions for the future generations to acquire foreign languages. Moreover, the global mobility of Americans is much greater than that of Chinese. For example, an American who has worked in Germany for four years after working in France for five years is likely to be fluent in both French and German.

3 Quality of foreign language resources In terms of the quality of foreign language resources, insufficient data makes it difficult to compare China and the U.S. The scattered data suggests that the artificial foreign language resources in the U.S. should be of higher quality compared to those in China. As early as the 1960s, in the U.S., foreign language education started incorporating the teaching of cultural and regional knowledge. The Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century promulgated in 1999 highlights the importance of language exchange, cultural communication, relevant knowledge, comparative abilities, and community activities (Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century 1999). The level 3 of the US Interagency Language Roundtable Scale (0–5 scale) requires that the nation’s foreign language talents should be able to read difficult articles, understand idioms, dialects, and formal speeches, as well as use the language effectively on different occasions, including daily life, social events, and professional activities (Spellings and Oldham 2008). In the U.S., the learning standards and the requirements of the intermediate and advanced foreign language talents reflect the needs and importance of foreign language capacity. However, the quality of the foreign language resources in the U.S. is, in fact, similar to that in China. Many articles pointed out that the U.S. military, intelligence agencies, and multinational corporations lack professionals with expert knowledge in certain foreign languages, cross-cultural awareness, as well as regional affairs (Committee for Economic Development 2006). In China, foreign language education has long been associated with linguistics and literature. The cultivation of cultural awareness and the teaching of regional knowledge have been ignored. This is particularly serious in the teaching of uncommon languages. Currently, all foreign language majors in China are included under the discipline of foreign language and literature. Regional research is often ignored and marginalised, or even considered heretical. Opportunities for applying the existing foreign language resources in China are also very limited. For instance, on 8 July 2010, in China Youth Daily, an article titled

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“Shortage of Talents to Impede Chinese Enterprises Going Out” (Dong 2010) stated that: “throughout the country, there are only around 2,000 professionals who can fluently speak foreign languages and who possess the legal knowledge needed to negotiate business and conclude contracts with foreign clients. There are even fewer lawyers who specialised in international law, international trade law, and WTO rules. Even in Shanghai, one of the most internationalised cities in China, only 50 out of more than 5,000 lawyers have such qualifications and abilities.” In China News, an article published on 27 May 2010 with the title “Shortage of Qualified Personnel Constrained China’s Tourism Industry from Going Out” (Zhou 2010) pointed out that due to a lack of senior management personnel that are fluent in foreign languages, while China has 50,000 tourism enterprises, only 15 of them have expanded internationally. Phoenix Satellite Television once reported that the exchanges between the commanders of China and Russia in the joint military exercise in 2005 could only rely on poor-quality translation, which hindered their joint operations. At present, China has only a handful of people working in the low-ranking positions in the United Nations. Due to the absence of high-quality multilingual speakers in China, there are only very few Chinese who occupy important positions in the UN. With the increase in China’s contribution to international organisations, there will be an increase in the number of Chinese who work in such organisations. Consequently, the scarcity of highly-competitive and highly-qualified foreign language speakers in China will become more and more marked.

4 Management of foreign language resources Without proper control, foreign language resources, abundant or not, are useless. In this regard, the U.S. government has taken measures to manage its language resources. Since 1958, the United States Department of Education has commissioned a private academic organisation, the Modern Languages Association (MLA), to conduct regular surveys of foreign language resources. By 2010, MLA had organised 22 surveys of foreign language learning in the higher education institutions in the U.S. On 8 December 2010, MLA released the data of foreign language learning in the higher education institutions in 2009, covering 2,514 universities in the U.S. and including 99% of the higher education institutions. In the U.S., between 2006 and 2009, the number of students who chose to learn languages other than English had increased by 6.6%. MLA also reported the number of learners in each of the 15 languages in 2009 and compared the numbers to that in 2006 (MLA 2010).

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Entrusted by the government, MLA used the data from the U.S. National Census to create a US language resources database named “U.S. Language Map”. The census has two forms, one is the national census which takes place every 10 years and the other is the annual American community survey (sampling). The language database provides the backgrounds of the 47 million non-English speakers in America. In the database, one can find the number of people who use a certain language in each state, region, city, town, and postal district. The database also makes it possible to compare the ratio of the number of people who speak the same language in two states or regions. Moreover, the database allows one to compare the language distribution of different age groups or different years. Since 2010, the U.S. Language Map has included the admission situation of foreign language majors in various higher education institutions in America. The database shows the language majors offered by the higher education institutions and their distribution in different states. One can visit http://arcgis.mla.org/mla/ default.aspx for detailed information. In addition, the U.S. military has recently established a language preparation index system, which provides real-time online data. The system carries out supply and demand analysis and identifies the language resource gap of the entire army. With the aid of the system, the leaders are able to assess risks, examine risk reduction measures, and make well-informed decisions. In 2010, during the rescue of the earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and Turkey, the U.S. military leaders used the system to locate the foreign language talents in the troops, listing out the names of the people who speak the languages, their language proficiency, and their affiliations. China lags far behind the U.S. in terms of managing its foreign language resources. China conducts neither regular surveys nor annual tracking of the resources. It is evident that the nation faces many difficulties in transforming its potential foreign language capability into the current capability. China’s language surveys so far have been targeting mainly the use of the national common language, ethnic minority languages, simplified Chinese characters, Chinese dialects, traditional Chinese characters, and the Chinese pinyin system. After the founding of New China, the Chinese government conducted two large-scale language surveys respectively in the 1950s and late 1990s, none of which took foreign language resources into consideration. Currently, China has no official records of the distribution of foreign language resources, no statistics on the annual admission of foreign language students and the number of existing foreign language teachers, let alone the dynamic data. The relevant data can only be found in the China Education Yearbook published by the Ministry of Education annually. The book records only the number of foreign language teachers in the higher education institutions, as well as the admission quota and the number of graduates of

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foreign language majors, with no detailed classification of the foreign languages. Moreover, the data listed in China’s Foreign Language Education Development over 30 Years of Reform and Opening-up published by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press in 2008 were all derived from the estimated statistics provided by different language teaching and research institutes (Dai 2008). In addition, the cross-border languages and the language resources provided by the overseas Chinese, two significant parts of China’s natural language resources, are beyond the government’s control.

5 Planning of foreign language resources At present, the planning of foreign language resources in the U.S. has two levels, each with a distinctive goal. The national-level planning focuses on safeguarding national security by enacting a variety of legal provisions or government documents. The state- or metropolitan-level planning aims to enhance regional economic competitiveness. The two levels are, in fact, moving towards different directions. At the national level, the U.S. federal government put forward around 10 relevant laws and regulations. The statutory instruments legitimise the annual financial projection of the government and provide a material basis for the implementation of the laws. Take the Article 6, International and Foreign Language Studies Section, of the US Higher Education Act as an example (Kuenzi 2008), in 2007, the federal government allocated more than 93 million US dollars to the relevant projects, of which more than 28 million US dollars were spent on funding the National Center for Language and Regional studies. Moreover, the funding of the National Language Resource Center reached 4.8 million US dollars. In addition to the legislation, the federal government has issued several official documents related to language resources. The promulgation and implementation of the documents were usually led by the White House with the help of the relevant government departments. For instance, led by the White House, the Ministry of Education, State Department, Department of Defense, and Director of the National Intelligence made concerted efforts to formulate and put into practice the National Security Language Initiative proposed by the U.S. President in 2006. Although different departments execute different projects, the projects belong to the same programme that benefited the whole society. The projects covered the K-12 students, undergraduate students, postgraduate students, professionals, and foreign language teachers. The projects were well-connected with one another (Spelling and Oldham 2008).

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It is worth emphasising that, after entering the 21st century, the U.S. Department of Defense has published two strategic plans related to foreign languages, including the Defense Language Transformation Roadmap (Roadmap) promulgated by the U.S. Department of Defense in February 2005 (DoD 2005) and the newly published Department of Defense Strategic Plan for Language Skills, Regional Expertise, and Cultural Capabilities: 2011–2016 (Strategic Plan) (DoD 2011). The Roadmap is a detailed plan for improving the foreign language capacity of the US Department of Defense in response to unconventional wars such as anti-terrorism. The Strategic Plan is an ambitious blueprint for the development of the Department of Defense over the next five years. The Department considered both documents important milestones in its foreign language strategy. At the state and metropolitan levels, some states have established the Language Roadmap Committee. On the one hand, the purpose of the Committee was to have a comprehensive understanding of the state’s linguistic needs and formulate feasible solutions to meet the demands. On the other hand, the Committee organised language summits that allow the language talents and the recruiters to communicate and exchange ideas. According to the survey results and summit discussions, the members of the Committee then redrafted the Roadmap. In Texas (Abraham and Phillips 2007), a 27-member Language Roadmap Committee was established, of which about half of the members came from educational institutions and the rest from corporations or other organisations. In June 2007, a one-day language summit was held in the capital, Austin, attracting around 60 participants. The participants could be categorised into: (1) recruiters from large, medium and small-sized companies, as well as from the state and local government agencies; (2) suppliers of talents from the education departments, language training units, and the federal government. The two sides discussed the foreign language planning of the state and the region. As a result, Texas’s Roadmap covers the foreign language planning for the next 15 years (2007–2022). China’s planning for its foreign language resources is usually published in the form of government documents. From the 1950s up to the present, over 10 official documents related to foreign languages have been issued by the government, including (1) Decision on the Nation’s Russian Colleges jointly issued by the State Council and Central Military Commission in 1952; (2) Report on the Seven-Year Planning of Foreign Language Education and Outline of the Seven-Year Planning of Foreign Language Education drafted by the Foreign Affairs Office of the State Council in the 1960s; (3) Suggestions on Strengthening Foreign Language Education published by the Ministry of Education and approved by the State Council in the 1970s; (4) Suggestions on Strengthening the Foreign Language Education in High Schools published in the 1980s; (5) Guidelines on Actively Promoting English Courses in Primary Schools promulgated by the Ministry of Education in January

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2001 (Ministry of Education Website 2001); and (6) Revised version of the Teaching Requirements of University English Courses published in 2007 by the Ministry of Education (Department of Higher Education 2007). Each document demonstrates the Chinese government’s macro-level control of the development and creation of the nation’s artificial foreign language resources. The planning of foreign language resources in China is also sometimes announced by the leaders of the nation. For instance, in September 1961, Vice Premier Chen Yi (陈毅) gave a speech to the students of Beijing Foreign Studies University, systematically expounding the guidelines, policies, and learning methods of foreign languages in China. In 1970, Premier Zhou Enlai (周恩来) spent five nights discussing foreign language education with representatives of the teachers and students from the foreign language departments in the universities in China such as Beijing Foreign Studies University and Peking University (Fu 1986). The government documents and the speeches given by the leaders share a common goal, which is to improve the foreign language proficiency of the citizens, to harness advanced foreign science and technology, and to catch up with developed countries. More than 60 years after the founding of New China, the country has undergone tremendous changes and shifted from being local to being international (Li 2010). Therefore, for the national foreign language capability and the citizens’ proficiency in foreign languages, China should make its resource planning international and reflect the nation’s power. Unfortunately, the term “foreign languages” does not appear in the Outline of the National Plan for Medium- and Long-term Talent Development Plan (The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China & the State Council website 2010b), not even once. The term appears twice in the Outline of the National Plan for Medium- and Long-term Education Reform and Development (The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China & the State Council website 2010a). In Chapter 16, the paragraphs related to the foreign students in China state that: “implement preparatory education for the foreign students, increase university and college courses taught in foreign languages, continue to improve the quality of education for the foreign students in China.” It is safe to assume that the increase of “the courses taught in foreign languages” concerns only the foreign students in China. In Chapter 21 of the same document, the paragraphs regarding the major projects and pilot reform of “international education exchanges and cooperation” state that: “execute plans that allow foreign students to study in China, increase the number of foreign students, cultivate a variety of foreign language talents, and support the development of the Confucius Institutes.” “Cultivate a variety of foreign language talents” is placed in an inconspicuous position. Moreover, judging from the context, “foreign language talents” in the paragraphs seems to refer to foreign students.

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6 Suggestions Based on the above comparison, it can be concluded that there exist prominent issues in regard to China’s foreign language capability, which is lagging far behind the rapid development of the nation. The main issues can be summarised into the following four points: (1) the number of foreign languages, especially uncommon languages, is inadequate; (2) the quality of foreign language resources is low, with very few high-quality foreign language talents; (3) the control of foreign language resources is insufficient, with no unified coordination or management at the governmental level; and (4) the long-term planning for the development and use of foreign language resources is non-existent. The author suggests that the relevant government departments should take prompt action and effective measures to cope with various problems concerning the nation’s foreign language capability build-up. Otherwise, a lack of foreign language talents and skills will hinder the nation’s growth politically, economically, culturally and militarily, while putting the healthy development of many organisations and sectors at risk.

References Abraham, I. & Philips, E. 2007. Language roadmap for the 21st century Texas. http:// texaslanguagesummit.org/downloads/summit_notes.pdf. Chen, Yulu (陈雨露). 2011. Strengthening research; cultivating talents; establishing majors of uncommon languages (深化研究培养人才加强非通用语专业建设). People’s Daily (19/09/2011). P. A2. China Strategic Network. 2012. The distribution of the overseas Chinese population (世界华 侨华人人口分布数据). Retrieved from http://www.chinaiiss.com/info/html/huaren1.htm (01/02/2012). Committee for Economic Development. 2006. http://ced.isuelab.org/research/0/program/ Annual%20Reports/filter/title. Dai, Weidong (戴炜栋). 2008. China’s foreign language education development over 30 years of reform and opening-up (改革开放30年中国外语教育发展丛书). Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Department of Higher Education website. 2007. Revision of the teaching requirements of university English courses (大学英语课程教学要求). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. DoD. 2005. Defense language transformation roadmap. http://www.defense.gov/news/ Mar2005/d20050330roadmap.pdf (01/2005). DoD. 2011. DoD strategic plan for language skills, regional expertise, and cultural capabilities. http://prhome.defense.gov/READINESS/DLO/STRATPLAN.ASPX (18/06/2011). Dong, Wei (董伟). 2010. Shortage of talents to impede Chinese enterprises going out (人才短板 阻碍中国企业走出去). China Youth Daily. P. Economy & Lifestyle (08/07/2010).

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Fu, Ke (付克). 1986. A history of foreign language education in China (中国外语教育史). Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Holt, R. D. 2012. Introduction of national security language act. http://www.fas.org/irp/ congress/2003_cr/hr3676.html. Kuenzi, J. J. 2008. CRS report for congress foreign language and international studies: Federal aid under Title VI of the Higher Education Act. http://www.hsdl. org/?view&doc=89469&col=limited (09/01/2008). Li, Yuming (李宇明). 2010. Thoughts on China’s foreign language planning (中国外语规划的若 干思考). Journal of Foreign Languages, Volume 1. Lu, Ziwen (鲁子问). 2006. Lessons learned from the national security objectives of the U.S (美国外语政策的国家安全目标对我国的启示). Foreign Language Policies. Socialism Studies, Volume 3. Ministry of Education Website. 2001. Guiding suggestions on actively promoting English courses in primary schools (教育部关于积极推进小学开设英语课程的指导意见). Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.cn/publicfiles/busines/htmlfiles/moe/moe_711/200407/665.html. MLA. 2010. Enrolments in languages other than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, Fall 2009. http://www.mla.org/2009enrolmentsurvey. O’Connell, M.E. & Norwood, J.L. (Eds.). 2007. International education and foreign languages: Keys to securing Americans future. Washington, D.C.: The National Academes Press. Spellings, M. & Oldham, C. A. 2008. Enhancing foreign language effectiveness in the United States: Preliminary results of the national security language initiative. htp://www.ed.gov/ about/inits/ed/competitivenes/nsli/about.html (08/2008). Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century.1999. Lawrence, Kansas, USA: Allen Press Inc. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China & the State Council.2010a. Outline of the national plan for medium- and long-term education reform and development (2010–2020) (国家中长期教育改革和发展规划纲要 (2010–2020)). Retrieved from http:// www.gov.cn/jrzg/2010-07/29/content_1667143.htm (29/07/2010). The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China & the State Council. 2010b. Outline of the national plan for medium- and long-term talent development plan (2010–2020) (国家中长期人才发展规划纲要 (2010–2020)). Retrieved from http://www.gov.cn/ jrzg/2010-06/06/content_1621777.htm (06/06/2010). Zhou, Yin (周音). 2010. Shortage of qualified personnel constrained China’s tourism industry from going out (人才缺乏制约了中国旅游业走出去). China News. Retrieved from http:// www.chinanews.com/life/news/2010/05-27/2308902.shtml (27/05/2010).

Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Li Xianle (李现乐)

11 The economic value of language in Nanjing’s service industry The economy of service industry is one of the most essential indicators that measures the level of modern socioeconomic development. Rapid development of the service industry sector is closely related to language service as it is necessary for ensuring the quality of the service delivered. For certain service sectors, language service does not act as the core but it helps ameliorate and facilitate the core service. This report will analyze the economic value of language in Nanjing’s service industry from the perspectives of service providers and consumers.

1 Survey sample The sample of the survey mainly comes from six districts in Nanjing, which is Gulou (鼓楼), Xuanwu (玄武), Baixia (白下), Jianye (建邺), Xiaguan (下关) and Qinhuai (秦淮); part of it also comes from Qixia (栖霞), Yuhuatai (雨花台) and Jiangning (江宁). The survey is divided into two parts, with one focusing on the service provider (Questionnaire 1) and another focusing on the service receiver or client (Questionnaire 2). The respondents of questionnaire 1 are workers from the nine above-mentioned districts that engage in catering, accommodation, retail, finance, tourism, telecommunications and other service industries. The respondents of questionnaire 2 are citizens from the six above-mentioned districts in Nanjing. For questionnaire 1, a total of 572 questionnaires are distributed; of the 550 returned questionnaires, 491 questionnaires are valid. For questionnaire 2, a total of 337 questionnaires are distributed; 315 of the 333 returned questionnaires are valid. The distribution on the sample service units of the industry are as following: 93 units from the catering sector, accounting for 18.9% of the whole sector; 74 units from the lodging sector (15.1%); 86 units from the retail sector, (17.5%); 69 units from the tourism sector (14.1%); 98 units from the finance sector (20.0%); 56 units from the telecom industry, (11.4%); 15 units from other sectors (3.0%). The distribution on the size of the sample units are as following1: 216 units are in large 1 When determining the scale of the surveyed units, this study referred to the “Statistical standard for large and medium sized and small enterprises” according to the State Statistics Bureau, https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-011

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scale (44.0%); 136 units in middle scale (27.7%); 131 units in small scale (26.7%); 8 units from others (1.6%).2

2 Language situation of service industries 2.1 Language training and language investment The language training programs for service personnel in different units are mainly targeted at training their trade lingo of the service industry. According to the survey, 48.1% of the respondents consider language training programs to be “frequent” or “often”, whereas 9.6% consider them to be “occasional”; 13.4% choose “seldom” and 28.9% choose “never”. From the perspective of the scale of the units, among the units of different scales, language programs vary in frequency (Table 11.1). Among them all, the proportion of units that “frequently” or “often” provide language training programs account for 53.3% of the sample for the large ones and 55.1% for the medium sized ones. Nevertheless, only 31.3% of the small units provide frequent training to their staff. It can be seen that there is a great divergence between small and large or middle-sized units but not so much between large and medium-sized ones. In other words, large and medium-sized units provide better language training programs in terms of frequency. Table 11.1: The frequency of language training service provided by service units of different sizes. Scale of service units Large Middle Small Others Total

The frequency of language training (%)

Total (%)

Frequent

Often

Occasional

Seldom

Never

22.7 30.1 15.3 0 22.4

30.6 25.0 16.0 62.5 25.7

10.2 8.8 9.2 12.5 9.6

13.9 16.2 10.7 0 13.4

22.7 19.9 48.9 25.0 28.9

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

and the National Statistical Bureau Website (http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjbz/t20061018402369829. htm) in May 22, 2003 / May 09, 2011.Also incorporated is our understanding based on observation of the actual surveyed units. 2 “Other” refers to a service unit for which differentiation in scale is unnecessary, such as government service departments. The sample size is too small for any statistical analysis to be viable (same below).

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Table 11.2 shows the languages of the training programs offered in different service units. According to the self-report, among those units that provide language training programs, Mandarin constitutes 57.2% of the total sample and foreign languages comprise 10.4%, whereas Mandarin plus foreign languages account for 1.6% and Nanjing dialect account for 0.4%. From the perspective of distribution of target languages among programs offered in various units, medium-sized units concentrate on Mandarin and large units focus on foreign languages; the large ones also take up a larger proportion in providing Mandarin plus foreign languages programs and a similar trend is found in the middle ones (second high). Overall, small units provide fewer training programs for all language types. Table 11.2: The target languages provided by service units of different sizes. Scale of service units

Large Middle Small Others Total

Target Languages (%)

Total (%)

Mandarin

Foreign Language

Nanjing Dialect

Mandarin plus foreign language

Not provided

55.1 71.2 45.0 75.0 57.2

17.6 6.6 3.1 0 10.4

0 0 1.5 0 0.4

2.8 1.5 0 0 1.6

24.5 20.6 50.4 25.0 30.3

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Language investment also includes language requirements during recruitment and evaluation of language abilities in performance appraisal. According to Table 11.3, 50.9% of the respondents stated that language abilities are required by the units during recruitment but only 25.1% believe that their language performance is being evaluated when undergoing staff appraisal. It can be seen that though many organizations take note of their workers’ language abilities (hence there are language requirements for candidates), seldom do they evaluate them in reality, which is why the service personnel’s language abilities are seldom given sufficient attention. This is in line with the above survey that frequency of language training is low. From the perspective of language investment for service personnel, apart from what has already been acquired, participating in training programs is another fundamental way to enhance language abilities of service personnel. According to the survey, respondents who “frequently” and “often” participate in training programs offered by their affiliated units account for 13.2% and 18.7%

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Table 11.3: Language requirements for candidates and evaluation of language abilities in job assessments. Language requirements Percentage Evaluation of language abilities for candidates in performance appraisal Yes No Uncertain Total

250 172 69 491

50.0 35.0 14.1 100.0

Percentage

123 232 136 491

25.1 47.3 27.7 100.0

respectively; those who join fee-paying programs only account for 13.7%. The result reveals that service personnel is not so devoted to enhancing their language abilities, which may be closely related to the lack of language abilities evaluation in performance appraisal.

2.2 Willingness of consumers to pay for language service Whether or not consumers are willing to pay for good language services directly demonstrates the economic value of language.3 A question is thus designed for this survey, “If A and B are companies providing similar service in venues with the same condition, only that A offers better language services and the charge is slightly higher, which choice would you prefer?” This question aims at exploring more about the economic value of language (See Table 11.4). As can be seen in Table 11.4, the percentage of respondents choosing A out of better language service is higher than B; more consumers prefer A to B in the aspects of “unique and warm language style”. “Standard text materials” is also ranked higher than “standard Putonghua ”. Consumers who place emphasis on all three aspects take up the highest percentage. It is reported that consumers are willing to pay for better language services even the price is “slightly higher” and this reveals the currency value of language services. Due to the difficulty in measuring the exact value of language services, the extent of “slightly higher” as accepted by consumers is shown in percentage. The survey question is “If you choose A for the above question, what is your acceptable range for the “slightly higher” charge (You will choose B if the charge exceeds it)?” 3 The concept of “willingness to consume” is borrowed from the concept of “willingness to pay” in economics according to Liang Xiaomin (梁小民), 2001, Principle of Economics, volume 1, 144–146, Peking University press, 2nd Edition.

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Table 11.4: Willingness of consumers to pay for language service (%). Individual items in which A is better

A B Both A and B Unsure Total

Standard Putonghua

Standard text materials

Unique and warm language style’

45.1 13.7 31.1 9.8 100.0

53.0 14.6 24.8 7.6 100.0

65.4 10.8 19.0 4.8 100.0

A is better in all three items

77.5 7.3 7.6 7.6 100.0

As shown in the last column of Table 11.5, 11.6 or 11.7 after a stepwise accumulation of percentages,4 91.1% of consumers consider “below 5%” as an acceptable range, which means the value of language services is worth “below 5%” of the original services or goods; 54% consider “6–10%” and 24% consider “11–20%” to be reasonable while merely 2.9% can accept “20–30%”. This survey further looks into consumers’ willingness to purchase language services from the perspective of age, income, attentiveness to language services and so on. The figures show that age is a strong indicator of consumer purchase willingness. According to Table 11.5, “below 5%” and “6–10%” together take up the biggest chunk while elder consumers tend to choose “below 5%” and younger ones mainly choose “6–10%”. In addition, the proportion of consumers aged below 50 who accept “6–10%” is significantly higher than consumers aged above 50. For those who prefer B (refuse to pay for better language services), consumers aged above 40 take up a larger proportion than those aged below 40. The figures make it clear that the factor of age influences the willingness to purchase language, younger people are willing to pay more for better language services. From the point of view of consumers’ income, medium and low income consumers (below 3,000 yuan) tend to choose language services priced below 5% while medium and high income consumers (above 3000 yuan) can accept 6–10%. Consumers with more than 3,000 yuan income (12.5%, 13.9% and 24.3%) take up a larger proportion than those with less than 3,000 yuan (8.3%

4 Consumers who are able to accept higher level service prices (for example, “6% to 10%”) would accept lower level service prices (such as “below 5%”) as well. Therefore, the statistical percentage of low level service prices is the accumulation of the statistical percentage of high level service prices.

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Table 11.5: The relationship between age and language services with “slightly higher” prices. Ages

The extent of language services with “slightly higher” prices (%) Below 5%

6–10%

11%–20%

20.6 41.4 32.7 33.3 33.3 52.4 61.5 37.1

55.9 40.5 46.2 40.5 31.0 28.6 15.4 40.0

17.6 12.6 13.5 14.3 2.4 4.8 0 11.1

Below 20 21–30 31–40 41–50 51–60 61–70 Above 71 Total

21%–30%

Total (%)

(Skipped)

2.9 3.6 3.8 0 2.4 0 7.7 2.9

2.9 1.8 3.8 11.9 31.0 14.3 15.4 8.9

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Table 11.6: The relationship between consumers’ income and language services with “slightly higher” prices. Monthly income

The extent of language services with “slightly higher” prices Total (%) Below 5% 6%–10% 11%–20% 21%–30%

Below 2000 yuan 2000–2999 yuan 3000–3999 yuan 4000–4999 Yuan 5000–10000 Yuan 10000 yuan above Total

39.1 41.8 32.5 38.9 24.3 50.0 37.1

39.1 38.8 47.5 41.7 35.1 50.0 40.0

8.3 7.5 12.5 13.9 24.3 0 11.1

(Skipped)

1.5 6.0 2.5 0 5.4 0 2.9

12.0 6.0 5.0 5.6 10.8 0 8.9

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Table 11.7: The relationship between consumers’ concern about greetings and language services with degree of “slightly higher” prices. Consumers’ concerns with greetings

The extent of language services with “slightly higher” prices (%) Below 5% 6%–10%

Strongly concerned Concerned Neutral Not concerned Strongly not concerned Total

27.5 29.9 40.8 59.1 75.0 37.1

45.5 48.6 35.2 27.3 0 40.0

Total (%)

11%–20% 21%–30% (Skipped) 10.0 11.2 12.0 4.5 25.0 11.1

5.0 5.6 0.7 0 0 2.9

12.5 4.7 11.3 9.1 0 8.9

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

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and 7.5%) in choosing 11%-20%.5 We can see that the socioeconomic status of consumers is closely related to the willingness of consumers to pay for language services. Consumers with higher incomes can accept language services of higher prices. From the point of view of the relationship between consumers” concern about greetings and willingness of consumers for language services (see Table 11.2–11.7), the proportion of consumers who are “strongly concerned” and “concerned” with greetings (27.5% and 29.9%) are apparently less than consumers who select “neutral” and “not concern” (40.8% and 59.1%) among those who choose “below 5%”. Consumers who are “strongly concerned” and “concerned” (45.0% and 48.6%) take up a larger proportion than consumers who select “neutral” and “not concern” (35.2% and 27.3%) among those who choose “6–10%”. The proportion of consumers who are “strongly concerned” and “concerned” is also apparently higher than consumers who choose “not concerned” among those who select “11–20%” and “21–30%”.6 We can see that the overall trend is that consumers who care more about language services tend to accept higher prices for language services.

3 Problems and analysis 3.1 The problems of economic values of various languages and dialects In recent years, the economic values of foreign languages have gained more attention, which has been proved by the development of language education (training) and the translation service industry. Nevertheless, the economic value of Putonghua fails to receive widespread attention from the society. This survey reveals that not only do foreign languages, but also Putonghua has significant economic values in the service industry, as proven by the willingness of consumers to pay for language services. In addition, this survey has revealed the problem of dialect services which deserves attention. Some of the consumers reflect that Nanjing dialect is demanded by the elderly. Although the elderly takes up a smaller proportion among all consumers, the service industry and service units also have to confront

5 “more than 10000 yuan income” has too few sample samples for statistical analysis to be viable. 6 “Totally not concerned” has too few sample samples for statistical analysis to be viable.

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the difficulty in satisfying the language consumption demand by the elderlies who do not speak Putonghua but Nanjing dialect only. It can be seen that dialect services have economic values as some local television stations broadcast in dialects and certain restaurants feature dialect services.

3.2 Problem of language investment Language has fundamental economic value which demands related service units and personnel to invest and develop it. The results of this survey show that language investment varies with the scale of service units in response to language-related training programs. On the other hand, service units have requirements for employees during recruitment, but language abilities are not being assessed in performance appraisal. This shows that service units do not pay full attention to language services and do not fully realize the economic values of language and language services.

3.3 Diversity of language service consumer groups The above survey reflects that consumers are willing to choose consumption venues which provide good language services with slightly higher prices. This reveals that language services clearly has economic value and shows the feasibility and necessity of developing the economic value of languages. The survey also reflects the willingness of consumers to pay is closely related to their age, income, concern about language services and so on, and different language consumer groups have their own characteristics of consumption. In order to exploit the economic value of languages and provide good language services, the diversity of language service consumer groups should be taken into account. Translated by MAN Yun Hui, Charlene The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Chai Xingsan (柴省三)

12 Society-oriented language tests Language tests evaluate the language proficiency possessed by the candidates. In China, the major types of society-oriented language tests are foreign language tests, tests of Chinese as a first language, tests of Chinese as a second language, and minority language tests. This article does not cover foreign language tests.

1 Tests of Chinese as a first language The influential and comprehensive Chinese language tests designed for Chinese citizens include Chinese proficiency test for the professions (Zhíyè Hànyŭ Cèshì, “ZHC”) and Chinese proficiency test (Hànyŭ Nénglì Cèshì, “HNC”). Special Chinese language tests include proficiency test on Chinese character usage (Hànzì Yìngyòng Shuĭpíng Cèshì, “HZC”) and Putonghua proficiency test (Pŭtōnghuà Shuĭpíng Cèshì, “PSC”).

1.1 Zhíyè Hànyŭ Cèshì (ZHC) ZHC was developed and held by the Occupational Skill Testing Authority of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the People’s Republic of China. This nation-wide language test aims to measure the candidates’ (mainly native Chinese speakers’) Chinese proficiency when engaging in professional activities. The test has two versions, among which ZHC (expert) is suitable for university students and graduates who major in the Chinese language, as well as teachers who teach Chinese (as a first language) or related subjects. ZHC (professional) is designed based on the expert version; however, it targets students from secondary and advanced vocational schools in China. The professional version also takes into account the needs of the people in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and ethnic minority regions, focusing especially on the candidates’ language proficiency in the workplace and professional settings. The version directs secondary and advanced vocational schools to focus on improving their students’ competence to meet the demands of employers and increase the employment rate.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-012

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In 2011, a total of 22 ZHC tests were held in 82 test sites, spreading through 17 provinces and cities in China. The number of candidates reached 16,289.1 The number for each province and city is shown in Table 12.1. Table 12.1: Number of candidates of ZHC in 2011. Province

Beijing

Fujian Heilongjiang

Number of 96 109 candidates Province Shandong Shanxi Number of candidates

3475

1890

1917

Hubei

1596

2787

Shaanxi Shanghai Zhejiang Henan

Hebei

561

319

Jilin Jiangsu Liaoning

2480

7898

1256

120

Inner Mongolia 100

Sichuan & Chongqing 171 1474

Resource: ZHC Test Center (http://www.zhc.cn/)

1.2 Hànyŭ Nénglì Cèshì (HNC) HNC is a national Chinese proficiency test designed by the Ministry of Education and State Language Commission and organised by the National Education Examinations Authority of the Ministry of Education. The test assesses the candidates’ ability to use Chinese in daily lives, schools, and the workplace, encouraging Chinese learning through examinations and evaluation. HNC covers the four skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing – in order to comprehensively evaluate the candidates’ Chinese proficiency. The test is conducted multimodally, including audio recordings and video-clips. Except for the written test, the rest of the exams are conducted using the computer. The computer-simulated scenarios can effectively evaluate the candidates’ language skills. The test was introduced in 2008. After several trials, HNC was officially launched in July 2011 and piloted in several parts of China. The non-compulsory, non-selective and non-profit-making test is beneficial to the general public, providing an authoritative and professional language ability assessment. HNC issues language certificates to individuals and organisations, providing incentives for the candidates to improve their Chinese skills. In addition, the test is driven by a knowledge-based language curriculum, which is designed to help the testees become skills-oriented and to facilitate effective application of language knowledge.

1 ZHC Test Center (http://www.zhc.cn/).

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1.3 Hànzì Yìngyòng Shuĭpíng Cèshì (HZC) HZC is a standardised language test organized and held by the Ministry of Education and State Language Commission. This specialised language test is designed for native Chinese speakers; it is applicable to civil servants, editors, journalists, proof-readers, data entry clerks, school teachers and students, secretarial and office staff, advertising personnel, operators of Chinese subtitling machines, as well as those who have jobs that require one Chinese language application or another. Those who want to understand their level of character usage can also take the test. The test aims to measure the candidates’ Chinese reading, writing, and other related skills, including the mastery of the form, pronunciation and usage of the characters stipulated in the syllabus of the test. To pass the test, candidates are expected to recognise certain Chinese characters, master their Putonghua pronunciations as recorded in prestigious dictionaries, understanding their meanings, and use them accurately in different scenarios. In 2011, the number of HZC candidates was 17,122.2

1.4 Pŭtōnghuà Shuĭpíng Cèshì (PSC) PSC is designed and implemented by the State Language Commission, aiming to popularise the common national language of China and enhance the nation’s Putonghua proficiency. PSC is not concerned with the candidates’ eloquence; it assesses only their accuracy level in using the standard Chinese language.

2 Tests of Chinese as a second language Chinese language tests for the non-native speakers are designed for foreigners and minority ethnic groups. The tests for foreigners and overseas Chinese include Chinese proficiency examination (Hànyŭ Shuĭpíng Kăoshì, “HSK”), the new Chinese proficiency test (New Hànyŭ Shuĭpíng Cèshì, “New HSC”), Chinese oral proficiency test (Hànyŭ Kŏuyŭ Shuĭpíng Cèshì, “HKC”), and test of practical Chinese (“C.TEST”). Chinese examination for ethnic minorities (Mínzú Hànyŭ Kăoshì, “MHK”) is the main Chinese test for ethnic minority groups.

2 HZC Committee.

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2.1 Mínzú Hànyŭ Kăoshì (MHK) MHK is implemented by the Department of Minority Education of the Ministry of Education. The test is designed by the MHK Research Group and held by the MHK Exam Board. Specific matters concerning the test are supervised by the MHK Committee and the relevant provincial and municipal education departments. The test examines ethnic minorities’ ability to use Chinese to communicate, socialise, complete daily tasks, study, and work. In 2011, the number of MHK candidates in Qinghai, Jilin, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and other provinces and autonomous regions amounted to 111,972.3

2.2 Hànyŭ Shuĭpíng Kăoshì (HSK) HSK is a standardised national test, examining the Chinese proficiency of nonnative speakers (including foreigners and overseas Chinese). The test is organised by the HSK Exam Committee, with research and test design being conducted by the HSK Center of Beijing Language and Culture University. HSK is a certificate examination; candidates who achieved the required scores will receive the corresponding HSK certificates. The test is categorised into three levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. By the end of 2011, nearly 2 million candidates in more than 130 countries had taken part in HSK. In China, a total of 48 test sites have held 5 HSK exams and the number of candidates has reached 20,787.4 The number of candidates for each level is shown in Table 12.2. Table 12.2: Number of Candidates for HSK in 2011. HSK (beginner) Number of Candidates

428

HSK (intermediate)

HSK (advanced)

17216

3143

Total 20787

Source: HSK Center of Beijing Language and Culture University

2.3 New Hànyŭ Shuĭpíng Cèshì (HSC) The launch of the new HSC is made possible by Hanban, the Confucius Institute Headquarters. Experts in Chinese language teaching, linguistics, psychology, 3 MHK Committee. 4 HSK Center of Beijing Language and Culture University.

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and education measurement, after fully investigating the situation of overseas Chinese teaching, designed the test based on HSK as well as the findings of the latest international language test research. The exam is a standardised international Chinese test, assessing the non-native speakers’ Chinese fluency in daily lives, schools, and the workplace. The test contains written and oral exams, which are independent of each other. In 2011, the total number of students who participated in the New HSC, both in Mainland China and overseas, exceeded 170,000.5 The number of candidates for each level is shown in Table 12.3. Table 12.3: Number of Candidates for New HSC in 2011.

Mainland China Overseas Total

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Band 4

Band 5

Band 6

Total

274 8675 8931

755 13979 14734

2504 16609 19113

11635 27561 39196

18018 36514 54532

12975 23520 36495

46161 126840 173001

Resource: Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters

2.4 Hànyŭ Kŏuyŭ Shuĭpíng Cèshì (HKC) HKC is the result of attempts made by the Ministry of Education and National Language Committee to set up a multi-dimensional language test and meet the worldwide demand for Chinese learning. The efforts gave birth to a standardised Chinese test, which aims to examine the Chinese oral competencies of non-native speakers and overseas Chinese. The National Language Committee entrusted Tianjin (天津) Language Center with the research, development, and implementation of HKC. From form to content, the test relates to everyday life and fully reflects Chinese culture, successfully combining the twin-purpose of examination and application. From the most basic to the broader and wider areas of life, the test helps the candidates to solve problems in their daily lives and obtain satisfaction at both spiritual and cultural levels. In addition, HKC incorporates the essence of Chinese culture, forming a three-dimensional test system. The candidates, through the test, will first have a basic understanding of China, then be able to travel throughout China, then, eventually, become an expert on China.

5 Hanban/ Confucius Institute Headquarters.

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2.5 Test of practical Chinese (C.TEST) C.TEST is used to test non-native speakers on their Chinese language ability in social life and daily work. The test concerns the candidates’ Chinese fluency when dealing with issues related to business, trade, culture, education and other international occasions. C. TEST has the authority to formally recognise the candidates’ ability to use Chinese in different scenarios. The test was developed and designed by the HSK Center of Beijing Language and Culture University, a language testing institute. C.TEST is particularly suitable for non-native speakers who wish to look for jobs, attempt promotion, or explore vocational training opportunities based on their Chinese proficiency as recognized by the testing authority. In 2011, the total number of people attending C.TEST in Mainland China and overseas was 412.6

3 Mínzú Hànyŭ Kăoshì (MHK) In addition to foreign language tests, tests of Chinese as a first language, and tests of Chinese as a second language, in order to preserve national cultural heritage, fully utilise national language resources, and facilitate the promotion and application of minority languages in the new era, some provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions have been conducting MHK for ethnic minorities. The development and implementation of such a test is an attempt made by China to standardise the tests for minority languages. The Zhuàng language proficiency test (“VSSG”) and Mongolian standard pronunciation test (“MSPT”) are two major tests for the languages used by ethnic minorities.

3.1 Mongolian standard pronunciation test (MSPT) In order to strengthen the standardisation and informatisation of written and spoken Mongolian, MSPT was launched jointly in 2004 by the Inner Mongolia Ethnic Affairs Commission, State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television, Department of Education, and Department of Culture. The test aims to train and assess professionals who use Mongolian in the workplace. MSPT is crucial to the promotion of the standard Mongolian language in China. The test is also of paramount importance to the scientification and standardisation of the promotion of

6 HSK Center of Beijing Language and Culture University.

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Mongolian. MSPT is not concerned with the candidates’ knowledge about standard Mongolian pronunciation; nor are they tested on their understanding of Mongolian culture or their eloquence. The test focuses on whether the candidates’ Mongolian pronunciation has reached the required standard, with an appropriate proportion of vocabulary and grammar. The test contains only verbal examinations, including: (1) reading vowels and consonants; (2) reading vocabulary; (3) reading phrases with adjunct words; (4) reading short passages; and (5) conducting conversations. Candidates will be given written materials in the first four parts. The final part provides only a topic for conversation. Candidates who have achieved the required test scores will be given a “Mongolian Standard Pronunciation Certificate”. MSPT is a criterion-referenced test that uses the standard Mongolian language as reference to assess the candidates’ Mongolian pronunciation. Mongolian announcers, TV hosts, kindergarten teachers, primary and secondary school teachers, students who graduated from teacher training schools, university lecturers, actors and actresses in Mongolian films and TV shows, members of the Ulan Muqir Tropes, and other Mongolian-speaking professionals are now required to obtain a certificate in order to qualify for their jobs. In other word, MSPT is also a test for qualification certificate. In 2011, 11 examinations were held in 14 test sites in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The total number of candidates for that year reached 2,500.7

3.2 Zhuàng language proficiency test (VSSG) Commissioned by the Guangxi Ethnic Languages Working Committee, VSSG was jointly designed and carried out by the Minzhu University of China, Guangxi University for Nationalities, Guangxi Zhuanwen school, and other organisations. The test aims to assess students of Zhuàng (壮) ethnicity for their fluency in the Zhuàng language. VSSG, a standardised test at the provincial and ministerial level, assesses the candidates’ ability to use and is designed to enhance their proficiency in the Zhuàng language. The test was first introduced in 2010. In 2011, several of the test sites in Guangxi have completed the mock tests and topic analysis. The test is used to improve the teaching of the Zhuàng language, serving as a recruitment reference for students from related majors, governmental units, and employers in the business sector. Moreover, VSSG makes the Zhuàng language more practical and closer to the general public. According to the VSSG promotion plan, 2012 to 2014 are the pilot period for the test. In 2012, Nanning (南宁) will be

7 Inner Mongolia Ethnic Affairs Commission, Mongolian Language Committee of Inner Mongolia.

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 Chai Xingsan (柴省三)

the first city to conduct the pilot tests. VSSG will be progressively formalised and standardised from 2015 onwards. During the pilot period, only the written exams will be held; the oral exams will be conducted in due course. Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Li Qin (李勤), Huang Xuejun (黄学钧), and Zhang Jianguo (张建国)

13 Protection of the intellectual property rights of digital Chinese fonts

In 2012, the protection of the intellectual property right (“IPR”) of digital Chinese fonts became the focus of attention of the media and the general public. The increased awareness was the result of a motion titled The IPR Protection of Digital Chinese Fonts, which was jointly submitted by the former President and Academician of Peking University Mr. Xu Zhihong (许智宏) and other 30 deputies of the National People’s Congress (“NPC”) at the NPC and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (“CPPCC”) Computers have become common communication tools. Digital Chinese fonts have not only become a significant part of the cultural and creative industries, but also intellectual property (“IP”) products with distinct Chinese characteristics. However, presently, the neglect of font copyright and poor legal protection is detrimental to the font industry in China.

1 Current situation of the Chinese font industry Prior to the computer era, the font industry roughly consisted of font designing and type metal casting. From the 1920s to the end of the 1970s, China had a total of three type-casting factories; together they owned 463 sets of equipment and 1084 workers, with an annual output of 34.57 million moulds. The industry boasted its considerable size. For instance, the output value of the two type-casting factories in Shanghai reached 13 million yuan in 1987 (Zhang et al. 1999). From the 1920s to the 1980s, the laser phototypesetting technique developed by Professor Wang Xuan (王选) enabled the font industry to enter the computer era. At that time, the purpose of font development was to facilitate the printing industry and the digitisation of typefaces (e.g. STFangKai Black). In short, the industry was dedicated to transferring Chinese characters from papers to computers. The 1990s is the golden age of the font industry in China. Due to the advancement of the typesetting technology, there was a great demand for computerised fonts. There were dozens of large and small domestic font manufacturers, among which Foundertype (方正), Hanyi (汉仪), SinoType (华文), Huaguang (华光), ZhongYi (中易), Stone (四通), and Great Wall (长城) were the most well-known. Different font manufacturers used different typesetting systems. Foundertype adopted the newspaper typesetting system. China Research Institute of Printing https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-013

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 Li Qin (李勤), Huang Xuejun (黄学钧), and Zhang Jianguo (张建国)

Science and Technology used the book typesetting system. Different systems were incompatible. Thus, the manufacturers focused only on developing their own fonts. During the period, Chinese fonts experienced a growth from 100 to 130 designs.

1.1 Pirated fonts and the disastrous business losses Fonts and the font industry have long been unfamiliar to the public. A common misconception is that fonts are the products of the appearance of computers. In China, the majority of the people knows little about the manufacture of fonts. “Many believe that it is just as simple as constructing a house or building toy blocks – as if patience is the only requirement. In fact, creativity is of vital importance to font designing.” A most basic simplified Chinese font should contain 6763 Chinese characters. A more complex set can lead up to more than 70,000 characters. With every stroke and every character being carefully designed, a team needs at least 1 to 5 years to complete the whole set. Unfortunately, piracy and weak legislation have resulted in massive business losses for font manufacturers. Since 2000, due to the popularisation of personal computers and the Internet, piracy has, again, become a huge threat to the industry. In 2007, Foundertype, in cooperation with actress Xu Jinglei (徐静蕾), launched a personalised font named ‘Jinglei Simplified’. The very next day after the launch, the pirated version could already be found on the Internet and charged only 10 yuan. Since the launch, Foundertype sold only slightly more than 2000 sets. Meanwhile, according to Foundertype’s calculation, no less than 1 million sets were illegally downloaded online. Baidu’s search results for ‘Foundertype fonts download’ and ‘Foundertype typefaces download’ consist of 27,800 and 33,800 pages respectively, containing more than 60,000 download links. However, none of the links was authorised by the company. “It is difficult to contact those small websites that provide illegal download links. When we finally contacted and reported them, they shut down the websites and registered a new domain name. It is almost impossible to stop piracy”, said a font manufacturer. According to the relevant statistics, the font industry in South Korea enjoys an annual income of 30 million US dollars. Meanwhile, Morisawa Inc., a Japanese font company, boasts an annual income of more than 100 million yuan. Moreover, Monotype, an American font corporation with an annual income of more than 100 million US dollars, has been listed on the Nasdaq. In China, however, font manufacturers are still struggling for survival due to serious piracy problems (Sina.com 2011). At present, in Mainland China, there are only 5 remaining digital

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Chinese fonts companies that have more than 10 staff members. In addition, most of the companies find it hard to sustain their businesses.

1.2 Sluggish font development and the loss of talents According to a survey conducted in 2011, the number of fonts in Japan had reached 2,973. The number of fonts in Taiwan was 296, and 106 in Hong Kong. Having the largest group of Chinese characters users, Mainland China only had 421 fonts, lagging far behind Japan. The sluggish development of fonts in China is far from meeting the demands of the related industries and the rapidly increasing aesthetic standard among the Mainland Chinese. Upon a careful examination of the current cultural works in Mainland China, it is evident that, due to either the lack of choice or the absence of aesthetic sense, the fonts in many of the cultural products are unable to reflect the nation’s prosperous economy and rich civilization. In recent years, China has been suffering from a serious loss of font designers. Many of the designers have changed their career, and the new designers hesitate to enter the field. The lethargic industry is the main cause of losing a large number of talents. The industry fails to provide a reasonable income for the designers. Currently, there are less than 100 font designers in China. In 1987, Lu Huaping (陆华平), a font designer in the Shanghai Research Institute of Printing Technology, became the first and the last Chinese who won the first prize in Morisawa Type Design Competition. Lu’s winning work was a font consisting of than 100 characters in the Chinese clerical style (lì shū). Lu then proceeded to design more than 8,000 Kanji characters for Morisawa Inc., and the font was named ‘Lu’s Clerical Script’ (‘Lù Lì’). At that time, the standard rate offered by Morisawa Inc was 14 US dollars per character. However, the once-renown designer has already changed his career path and abandoned the font industry. In an interview, Lu stated frankly: “nobody’s doing it if there’s no money”. Graphic designers will always be ‘self-employed’ in the font industry. “In China, I can’t feed my family and myself through font designing’ because ‘the majority of the people is unwilling to pay for the design,” said Lu.

1.3 Inadequate protection of rights and the lack of legal support The core of font rights lies in copyright, which can be enjoyed by both software and art works. The success of the Japanese font industry is the result of the

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nation’s strong publishing industry and its sound copyright protection. In China, there is no clear law that set the principles, standards and methods for determining the types of right. In the informationalised world, fonts, being newly-developed and high-tech, lack sufficient legal support in China. It is evident that China’s inconsistent judiciary practice regarding copyright has resulted in different or even conflicting court decisions. Foundertype’s legal battle between Blizzard and P&G lasted for several years. Witnessing a 30-year-old company fighting in courts has made it even more intimidating for the small font manufacturers in China to defend their rights. Many of the small-sized font companies have little knowledge of right protection. Even if the companies wish to defend their rights, they are often discouraged by the immense legal fee.

1.4 China’s font industry crisis Currently, there are not many Chinese fonts available, and most of which were designed decades ago. The few newly-launched fonts can hardly catch up with the progress made by the design industry. Cultural products, such as press, publications, graphic design, and text interfaces, are the victims of such imbalance. The beauty and visual effect of cultural products are impeded, holding back the growth of the related cultural and creative industries. While Chinese companies are still struggling to protect their rights and interests, foreign font manufacturers have set their foot in China for long-term profits. Monotype, a well-established American company, acquired China Type Design Limited, a font company based in Hong Kong. The acquisition enabled the US font giant to sell fonts in Mainland China. The Japanese font maker IWATA has already submitted their designs to the relevant agencies in China for licenses. SCREEN, another Japanese font company, has already been licensed and started their business in China. Sun Le (孙乐), Vice Chairman and Secretary General of Chinese Information Processing Society of China, has expressed his concern: “It will be tragic that, one day, the only way for us to obtain digital Chinese fonts might be to purchase from the manufacturers in the United States, Japan, and other countries.”1

1 The speech given by Sun Le, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of Chinese Information Processing Society of China in The China-United States Intellectual Property Adjudication Conference.

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2 Protection of Chinese font copyright Severe piracy issues, an unfavourable environment for copyright protection, and the users’ lack of awareness of fonts’ intellectual property have together hindered the growth of the font industry in China. The difficulties of protecting copyright in China are due to the absence of legislative measures. The missing of a protection mechanism for font copyright has impeded the competitiveness of the font industry.

2.1 Appeals from different fields Strengthening the protection of the intellectual property of Chinese fonts, standardising and regulating the font industry, and encouraging the society to respect fonts’ intellectual property rights have become the common demands of the different industries. The appeals are also the necessary actions to take for the development of the font industry in China. On 24 April 2011, more than 50 font designers launched and signed an initiative named ‘Promotion of Chinese Culture and the Protection of Chinese Computer Fonts’, calling for stronger legal protection. The initiative was supported by dozens of people, including Ni Guangnan (倪光南), President of Chinese Information Processing Society of China; Tan Ping (谭平), Vice President of China Central Academy of Fine Arts; Zhang Yongquan (张涌泉), Vice President of The Chinese Etymology Association; Zhang Shuangru (张双儒), Executive Vice President of Printing Technology Association of China; Yuan Shouqi (袁守启), Director of Chinese Calligraphers Association; Wang Xu (王序), a reputable designer; and actress Xu Jinglei. During the NPC and CPPCC in 2012, 30 NPC deputies, including Xu Zhihong, a member of NPC Standing Committee and former Headmaster and Academician of Peking University, jointly submitted a proposal titled Protection of the IPR of Digital Chinese Fonts. In addition, Huang Shuyuan (黄书元), President of People’s Publishing House; Yu Yongzhan (于永湛), former Deputy Director General Administration of Press and Publication; Shi Feng (石峰), former Deputy Director General Administration of Press and Publication; Nie Zhenning (聂震宁), former Chairman of China Publishing Group Corp.; and other CPPCC members together submitted a similar proposal.

2.2 Heated debate of the Copyright Law amendment On 31 March 2012, the National Copyright Administration revised the draft of the Copyright Law and solicited public opinions. The incident attracted the attention of the whole society.

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Chinese Information Processing Society of China and its Chinese Character Information Processing Committee, together with font manufacturers registered in the United Nations and several font designers held a press conference in Beijing on April 23, calling for the revision of the Copyright Law (draft) and legal protection for computer fonts. The font industry, collectively, put forward an amendment proposal: In regard to the definition of artworks stated in Article 4, Item 8 of the Detailed Implementation Rules of the Copyright Law, contents regarding ‘font designing (or ‘font painting’)’ should be added, indicating ‘artworks refer to painting, calligraphy, font designing, sculpture and other two- or three-dimensional works that use lines, colors, or other methods to create aesthetic significance’. In addition, it should be clearly stated that computer fonts are software. The participants, including experts, designers and manufacturers, pleaded to “eradicate the issue by improving the Copyright Law and effectively strengthening the protection of the IP of Chinese fonts”. Only by doing so can China build a favourable environment for the IP of Chinese fonts, increase the proactivity and creativity of font businesses and designers, and ensure that the font industry stays strong and sustainable.

2.3 Dispute over font IP: China v the United States At the end of May 2012, The China-United States Intellectual Property Adjudication Conference was held in Beijing by the China Law Society. During the session about copyright, many experts, scholars and legal professionals discussed the protection of the copyright of Chinese fonts, with particular attention to the court case regarding China and the United States’ dispute over the IP of Chinese fonts used in information technology.

2.3.1 The China-United States case In 2007, Blizzard developed the Chinese version of the popular game ‘World of Warcraft’(魔兽世界), without obtaining the relevant permissions. The game extensively used five fonts launched by Foundertype, including FZjianzhi and FZxihei. Foundertype quickly took the incident to the court, suing Blizzard and related Chinese companies for copyright infringement. In February 2010, the first-instance verdict was announced. To Foundertype, the outcome was a mixture of good and bad. The High Court of Beijing ruled in favour of Foundertype. However, the court decided that the defendants need only to pay 1.40 million yuan for compensation and 50,000 yuan for legal

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expenses. The compensation was far from what Foundertype had claimed. Moreover, Foundertype’s litigation expenses had reached 2.08 million yuan, and its attorney fees, notary fees and other expenses had been run up to over 1 million yuan. In the China-United States Intellectual Property Adjudication Conference, Professor Zhang Ping (张平) from the Intellectual Property School of Peking University stated: “the compensation of IP infringement in China is too low and the expenses for litigation is extremely high – which put IPR protection in peril. Therefore, we strongly urge to increase the compensation for such infringement.” Zhang pointed out that the compensation for IP infringement has been witnessing an upward trend every year internationally. IP infringers should bear a similar amount of compensation in China as they do in the rest of the world. It is unreasonable that the infringer pays a compensation of 200 or 400 million US dollars in other countries, yet pays much less money when the case is being reviewed by the court in China.

2.3.2 Protection methods for computer fonts Chinese characters are hieroglyphs, which are different from the alphabets used in the West. Thus, different approaches should be used to protect digital Chinese fonts. In addition, due to the cultural differences between China and the West, Western programs and models of protecting alphabetic characters are not suited for China. Therefore, for Chinese fonts, there is an urgent need to establish a protection mechanism that is the most suitable for China’s environment and culture. Ni Guangnan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, believes that Chinese fonts should be considered computer software and should be protected by the Copyright Law. Similarly, the creative and original calligraphy should be copyrighted like artworks. To promote the originality in the cultural industries, the law should safeguard the rights and interests of the copyright owners.2 Zhang Jin (张今), Professor of the China University of Political Science and Law, shares a similar view. Zhang equates the artistic computer fonts with Chinese calligraphic works, believing that they are both an artistic form of Chinese handwriting. It requires a certain level of originality to create font designs that can

2 The speech given by Academician Ni Guangnan in The China-United States Intellectual Property Adjudication Conference on 29 May 2012.

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be conceptually separated from the shape and meaning of the Chinese; therefore, the fonts should be copyrighted. Computer fonts are computer programmes that organise and utilise fonts. A computer, after installing computer fonts, is able to display the fonts in applications and its operating system, as well as print them out. Hence, computer fonts, as a software, should also be copyrighted.3 Lu Shan (卢山), Judge of Intellectual Property Court of Intermediate People’s Court of Nanjing of Jiangsu Province, stated that originality is the core of the current Copyright Law and the art works under its protection. Fonts that have aesthetic value, display distinctive features, and are created independently should be protected by the Copyright Law.4

2.4 Protection of “FZxianren” In 2011, netizens discovered a unique font drew with chalk by Cui Xianren (崔显 仁), a 50-year-old disabled farmer. Foudertype was informed of the person and started looking for the farmer through Chinese microblogging platforms. Cui was eventually found and he signed the “Agreement for Commission Art Works” with the company shortly after. The agreement stated that Cui’s font will be included in the data base of Foundertype, and will be named FZxianren (Figure 13.1). Founderype also agreed to pay 50,000 yuan in advance to improve the elder’s living conditions while he was working on the font. The company also promised that all the profits gained within 50 years after the launch belong to Cui.

2.4.1 Expenses and income of FZxianren By the end of 2011, Cui, as requested, completed 1,000 basic Chinese characters. Five staff members from Foundertype then started working on the font based on the characters. 1,000 digital characters were completed after six months’ hard work. The remaining 5763 characters (a set of font consists of 6,763 characters) were the joint work of Foundertype’s designers and Cui, with the assistance of computer-aided design software. The font will be launched in 2013, with an expected investment of 500,000 to 1 million yuan.

3 The speech given by Professor Zhang Jin in The China-United States Intellectual Property Adjudication Conference on 29 May 2012. 4 The speech given by Judge Lu Shan in The China-United States Intellectual Property Adjudication Conference on 29 May 2012.

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Figure 13.1: FZxianren font sample. Source: Official weibo account of Foundertype, http: //e.weibo.com/fangzhengziku.

As to whether the cost can be recovered, Foundertype stated that the creation of FZxianren is more of a charitable project. The company wishes to use their expertise to improve the farmer’s life. Moreover, the font industry can attract more attention; and the beauty of Chinese characters can be appreciated by more people. Currently, FZxianren has begun to create value for Cui, the creator. At the end of 2011, a media in Changsha (长沙), Hunan (湖南) Province, spent 1,000 yuan to purchase five characters, “越活越开心” (‘live happier and happier’), for their New Year special issue. With the completion of FZxianren database, the elder will enjoy the right to the income of the font for the next 50 years. FZxianren will, then, enter more people’s lives and create even more value.

2.4.2 Implications of the story of FZxianren The story of FZxianren is of great significance to the standardisation of the font industry. Whether Cui is able to support himself relies on a sound legal system that eradicates pirated fonts and promotes licensed fonts. Similarly, comprehensive

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 Li Qin (李勤), Huang Xuejun (黄学钧), and Zhang Jianguo (张建国)

legal protection is the key to a healthy font industry. A reasonable law is crucial for China to keep and cultivate talented designers, who, under legal protection, can create more fonts and strengthen the cultural industry.

References Sina.com. 2011. Initiative signed by 50 designers to protect Chinese fonts. Retrieved from http://tech.sina.com.cn/it/2011-04-24/17465443686.shtml (2011, April 24). Zhang, Shudong et al. 1999. The general history of Chinese printing. Beijing: Printing Industry Publishing House.

Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Ding Shiqing (丁石庆)

14 Decline and protection of the mother tongues of the northern ethnic groups According to Ethnic Minorities Development Plan (2011–2015) released by the state on June 20, 2011, ethnic minority groups refer to the 28 ethnic groups with a total population of 300,000 or less in China1, including the 14 ethnic minorities in the north: Tu, Xibe, Kyrgyz, Daur, Salar, Tajik, Evenki, Bonan, Russian, Yugur, Uzbek, Oroqen, Hezhen, and Tatars.2 The above-mentioned ethnic groups mainly reside in Heilongjiang (黑龙江), Jilin (吉林), Liaoning (辽宁), Inner Mongolia, Gansu (甘肃), Qinghai (青海), and Xinjiang (新疆). In addition, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Evenki, Russian, Uzbek, Oroqen, Hezhen, and Tatars are cross-border ethnic groups. This article3 investigates the language preservation of seven ethnic groups, including Xibe, Daur, Salar, Evenki, Bonan, Russian, and Oroqen. The purpose of this report is to illustrate the decline of the social functions and linguistic functions of the mother tongues of the northern ethnic minority groups in China and propose language protection measures.

1 Weakened social functions of the mother tongues According to the data collected from the field survey, the mother tongues of the seven ethnic minority groups (“seven small minorities”) are declining in different speeds, which can be observed in the following aspects.

1 Official Website of the Central Government. (1 July 2011). http://www.gov.cn/gzdt/2011-07/01/ content_1897797.htm. 2 Please refer to Ethnic Minorities Development Plan (2011–2015). The 14 Southern ethnic minority groups are Gelao, Jingpo, Blang, Maonan, Pumi, Achang, Nu, Gin, Jino, De’ang, Monba, Derung, Gaoshan, and Lhoba. 3 National Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science. The Northern Ethnic Minority Groups of China: Language Preservation Model Case Studies (中国北方人口较少民族语言保持模 式个案研究) (No. 07BYY020). https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-014

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1.1 Limited mother tongue learning methods The survey results suggest that, for the “seven small minorities”, the acquisition times and acquisition methods of mother tongue are basically the same. The majority of the groups pass down their mother tongues through the teaching of the older generations. The languages used by the Daur, Salar, Evenki, Bonan, and Oroqen have no scripts and are not taught in school. Therefore, the teaching of their mother tongue relies on the elder’s word of mouth (see Table 14.1). Such a way of learning, in fact, weakens the use of the mother tongue. Table 14.1: Acquisition times and methods of teaching the mother tongue (%). Ethnic Group

Daur Evenki Salar Oroqen Bonan

Acquisition time

Acquisition method

Since After attending After working Taught by the Socialising Others childhood school older generation 100.0 95.52 99.2 70.9 93.0

1.49 0.8 8.1 6.0

0.5 21.0 1.0

 99.0  81.0  100.0  80.5  100.0

1.0 19.0 12.6

6.9

Ethnic groups that have scripts and previously had bilingual education, such as Xibe and Russian, nowadays tend to have limited ways to learn their mother tongues due to sociocultural changes, the decline of bilingual education, or the fact that the students and parents are actively choosing to learn Chinese.

1.2 Decrease in the number of mother tongue speakers According to the survey, the numbers of people who are proficient in their mother tongues in the “seven small minorities” have significantly decreased. In addition, the aging of mother tongue speakers has become apparent. The populations of Oroqen, Bonan, and Russian are significantly smaller than that of other ethnic minorities. Therefore, the numbers of people who are proficient in their mother tongue are generally smaller. The proportion of mother tongue speakers in the Bonan community is declining. According to the data concerning Bao’an Sanzhuang (保安三庄), all of the Bonan people in Meipo (梅坡) now use Chinese; some of the Bonan people in Gānhétān (甘河滩) also speak Chinese. Whereas in Dadun village (大墩村) where the mother tongue has been reserved

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relatively well, the majority of the mother tongue speakers are older than 60. In the village, the number of mother tongue speakers between the age of 20 to 39 is decreasing. Although there still exist 10 to 19-year-old mother tongue speakers, according to the results of language tests, most of them can only conduct simple everyday conversations. When discussing more complex topics, the Bonan people express themselves clearer in Chinese. Most of the Bonan people over the age of 60 believe that the Bonan language spoken by the young people in their 20s and 30s is very different from that of theirs and contains a lot of Chinese. Moreover, the grandchildren of the older generation have gradually lost their ability to speak the Bonan language. The aging of the Bonan speakers is evident. The elder Bonan people generally hold a pessimistic attitude toward the future of the Bonan language.

1.3 Loss of the language environment in families In the “seven small minorities”, the intergenerational transmission of their mother tongue has gradually disappeared. On the one hand, due to the increase in the number of intermarriage between different ethnic groups, ethnic minority families have lost the environment for using their mother tongue. The phenomenon is more noticeable in ethnic groups with smaller populations, such as Oroqen, Russian, and Bonan. On the other hand, living conditions may play a role in the decline in mother tongue transmission. In areas where the Daur, Xibe, Salar, and Evenki people live side by side with one another, for various reasons, even families with members exclusively from the same ethnic group tend to use their mother tongue less frequently. The frequency of the use of mother tongue is related to the age of the speaker. Table 14.2 illustrates the decrease in frequency of the use of mother tongue in the Daur families in Tacheng (塔城), Xinjiang. Table 14.2: Intergenerational use of languages in the Daur families in Tacheng. Interaction

Speak mother tongue only

Speak Chinese only

Number of Percentage Number people of people With grandparents With parents With siblings With children With grandchildren

167 171 113 28 16

76.96 57.38 35.42 9.15 6.87

5 15 77 166 162

Speak other ethnic languages

Percentage Number of people 2.30 5.03 24.14 54.25 69.53

3 9 11 5 3

Percentage 1.38 3.02 3.45 1.63 1.29

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As shown in Table 14.2, the usage frequency of mother tongue in different generations declines with the decrease in seniority, with 76.9% down to 6.87% from grandparents to grandchildren. On the other hand, the use of Chinese varies from 2.3% to 69.53% from grandparents to grandchildren. As a correlate of rapid social development, there will be more and more people who speak Chinese in all ethnic groups. Minority languages will gradually become weak languages even at home. However, in the long run, minority languages will still exert certain functions. Such a language shift phenomenon is the result of language competition and the dynamic evolution of language in multilingual environments.

1.4 Weakening of the mother tongue environment in the community A relatively stable environment for a mother tongue consolidates and enhances an individual’s ability to speak it. An unfavourable environment, however, may be detrimental to an individual’s capability of using his or her mother tongue. According to the survey, due to the different populations, ethnic groups such as Daur, Xibe, and Salar have reserved their native languages relatively well compared to other minority groups. Whereas ethnic minorities such as Oroqen, Russian, and Bonan demonstrate significant generational differences regarding the use of their respective mother tongues, which are spoken only among people within the same ethnic group. The survey results of the Oroqen people in the Lesser Khingan area indicate that among the 174 survey participants, only 38 people (21.84%) are able to speak the Oroqen language on general occasions. For various reasons, even at home, in villages, or in the workplace, there are very few people who speak the Oroqen language. The data of Table 14.3 shows that although the use of the Oroqen language has increased on occasions such as “greeting people of the same ethnicity”, “chatting with people of the same ethnicity” and “attending ethnic minority events”, its usage rate is very limited. In addition, it is difficult to guarantee the regularity of the events.

1.5 Other reasons for the weakening of language functions Although an ethnic minority group may have its own written language, its language may still deteriorate. For instance, although the Xibe community in Qapqal Xibe autonomous county, Xinjiang, implements Xibe-Chinese bilingual language education, the number of schools that teach Xibe is very small. In addition, the Xibe language is only taught from the first to third grade of primary

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Table 14.3: Use of mother tongue by the Oroqen in Lesser Khingan. Speak only the Oroqen language At home In villages and the workplace Greeting people of the same ethnicity Chatting with people of the same ethnicity Thinking (talking to oneself in one’s mind) Attending ethnic minority events

Speak the Speak the Oroqen Oroqen language language less frequently frequently

Never speak the Oroqen language

3(4.05%) 0(0.00%)

4(5.41%) 4 (5.41%)

35(33.78%) 34(45.95%)

42(55.76%) 3(48.65%)

4(5.48%)

25(34.25%)

30(41.1%)

14(19.18%)

3(4.11%)

22(30.14%)

32(43.84%)

16(21.92%)

4(5.48%)

19(26.03%)

14(19.18%)

36(49.32%)

9(12.33%)

22(30.14%)

26(35.62%)

16(21.92%)

school. Moreover, due to the limited class hours and pressure to learn other subjects, three years later, without consolidation and strengthening, Xibe will be quickly forgotten by the students. The Qapqal News, a newspaper written in the Xibe language, has 100 issues throughout the year, with an annual subscription of 1,300 to 1,500 copies. The majority of the subscribers reside in the county, and the local government requires every local government official to subscribe to it. The newspaper contains insufficient information and severely lags behind the trends, hence most of the Xibe people subscribe to but without reading it. The Xibe radio programme is broadcast once a day for 15 minutes; the Xibe language TV programmes are broadcast every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with each programme lasting for 30 minutes and is limited to news. Although the Russians have a written language, the schools at the survey site have failed to maintain their Russian language education due to various reasons and have not yet resumed the teaching of Russian.

2 Decline in the linguistic functions of ethnic minorities’ mother tongues At present, the linguistic functions of the mother tongues of the “seven small minorities” have also deteriorated:

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2.1 Slowdown of the reaction to the common vocabulary in mother tongues The result of the vocabulary test in the field survey suggests that, regarding mother tongue fluency, there exist significant differences in the age range of the speakers across the “seven small minorities”. That is, proficiency in their mother tongue and the reaction time both decline as the age decreases. According to the result of the vocabulary test of the Daur language in Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner in Inner Mongolia, the majority of the participants stated that they still remember the frequently used vocabulary during their childhood, even though the words are not so commonly used now. However, a longer reaction time is sometimes required. The following words are extracted from the vocabulary test designed for the 23 to 35 age group and are either unanswered or required multiple hints: ‘heel’ dʒaodʒaa, ‘saliva’ ʃullu, ‘area between eyebrows’ saniku, ‘eyelid’ kurməlt, ‘eye socket’ oruŋgu, ‘shank’ ʃirəm, ‘calf’ baltʃə, ‘cheekbone’ intərt, ‘Adam’s apple’ boluŋkuu, ‘throat’ xoil, ‘trachea’ huaam, ‘hair whorl’ xurgə, ‘temple’ tʃokən, ‘nerve’ mədrəl, ‘each’ kurtʃin, ‘everywhere’ birgii, ‘great-grandchild’ ʃomul, ‘matchmaker’ dʒautʃ, ‘ten million’ miaŋ tum, ‘100 million’ tumun tum, ‘thimble’ dallə, ‘sifter’ ʃirk, ‘fence’ xaadie, ‘rafter’ ʃargəl, ‘dew’ suidur, ‘dust’ tuaarəl, and ‘Lantern festival’ katʃin (Ding 2009).

2.2 Forgotten vocabulary The survey shows that many ethnic minorities have only a vague memory of certain terms of their respective mother tongues, with a declining sensitivity toward the languages. Moreover, some middle-aged and elderly people with higher mother tongue proficiency have to have hints before coming up with archaic words, uncommon words, special words, animal and plant names, tool names, function words and abstract words, titles of family members’ names that are uncommonly used (Ding 2009).

2.3 Changes in grammatical structure The Russian language spoken in Ergun is affected by the decline of its functions and the influence of the Chinese language. Certain grammatical structures of Russian have undergone mutation, such as the deterioration of grammatical functions, the simplification of genders and numbers, the loosening of agreements,

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the simplification of syntactic structures, and the conversion of certain word orders from free to fixed. It can be concluded that the Russian grammar used in Ergun has been simplified.

2.3.1 Simplification of agreements Горячий (горячей) водой мою.(ga’rjatʃjij(ga’rjatʃjej)va’dɔj’mɔju.) ‘I wash my face with hot water.’ The relationship between the adjective, pronoun, and noun in the above sentence is inconsistent.

2.3.2 Simplification of nouns Real-life data: У их много дочери. (ujix’mnɔga’dɔtʃjerji.) ‘They have many daughters.’ Standard Russian: У них много дочерей. /u njix’mnɔga datʃje’rjej./ In the above sentence, the noun дочери (‘dɔtʃjerji) ‘daughter’ after the numeral has no declension and is in the first nominative case form.

2.3.3 Simplification of predicates Real-life data: Я одеть ребёнка. (ja a’djetj rje’bjɔnka.) ‘I help my children to dress.’ Standard Russian: Я одену ребёнка./ ja a’djenu rje’bjɔnka./ Unlike standard Russian, the verb Одеть does not change its form in Ergun Russian.

3 Conclusions 3.1 Decline of mother tongues Firstly, the deterioration of the functions of mother tongues is caused by multiple factors. Among all the reasons, the more important ones are the “language acquisition, consolidation, and strengthening methods” and the “relationships between the shrinking opportunities and declining frequency of using the mother

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tongues.” The decay of the functions is likely to occur at all stages of mother tongue transmission and reinforcement. Secondly, the decline of the functions will lead to the decay in language structures. The major symptoms are the speakers’ slow responses to common words, the loss of words, and grammatical mutations. Thirdly, the preservation and decline of mother tongues varies among the “seven small minorities”. However, the minority languages are witnessing a declining trend. The numbers of mother tongue speakers and families have plummeted. The ethnic languages’ role in families and communities will be further suppressed.

3.2 Language preservation and protection 3.2.1 Language preservation An important prerequisite for language protection is to have groups of fluent speakers (such as families and communities). Only a favourable environment for mother tongue preservation can ensure that mother tongues are passed down, consolidated, and strengthened, and that the languages have the potential to survive and develop. It can, therefore, be concluded that language protection and preservation have an organic relationship, with the latter serving as a precondition of the former.

3.2.2 Loyalty and attitude towards language The speakers’ loyalty and attitude towards their respective mother tongues is another important prerequisite for language protection, which must rely on the general public. The members of ethnic minority groups should participate and pay attention to language protection. The community should promote the use of mother tongues by ethnic minority groups, building an environment in which mother tongues are frequently used for communication. By doing so, an individual’s mother tongue ability nurtured and developed at home can be further consolidated and strengthened in the community.

3.3 Legal protection of ethnic minority languages It is necessary to respect and ensure the rights to use and develop minority languages in accordance with the relevant national laws and regulations. It is also

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crucial to vigorously carry out bilingual education in ethnic minority communities, as well as establishing language protection and conservation zones in the communities that preserve their languages well. For endangered languages, modern technologies should be fully utilised to mobilize experts to conduct field surveys, record-keeping, and audio recordings, using documentations and audio databases to scientifically preserve and protect minority language resources. Regarding language protection and maintenance, to avoid mistakes, the government and related departments should pay close attention to and study the language protection policies of other countries. Canada and Australia, in particular, can provide useful information and references to China regarding language maintenance and protection.

3.4 Establishment of a harmonious language environment Language protection requires the cooperation and mutual support of all sectors in society. Critical actions carried out by the government play an important role in creating an external environment for language protection and maintenance. For best effect, local ethnology associations, government departments in charge of ethnic affairs, and various ethnic minority groups play a crucial role by serving as a vital network that helps maintain the historical and cultural heritage of ethnic minority groups, and coordinate concerted efforts of the government and the general public. Under the above-mentioned conditions, China’s common language Putonghua and regional languages, strong or weak, can and should complement each other, exist in harmony, survive, and flourish.

Reference Ding, Chiqing (丁石庆) (Ed.). 2009. The Current Situation and Development of the Daur language spoken in Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner (莫旗达斡尔族语言现状与发展 趋势) (please refer to paragraph 5 in chapter 5). Beijing: Commercial Press.

Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Zhou Qingsheng (周庆生)

15 Cross-border ethnic minority languages There are 55 ethnic minorities in China, of which 33 live across the borders. There are 14 countries bordering China. The nation has 22,000 kilometres of land borders, of which over 19,000 kilometres are in the ethnic minority areas. The purpose of this report is to provide information about the cross-border minority languages in China, including the ethnic minorities and their languages identified before the 1980s. The report does not concern the ethnic groups and their languages recognised after the 1980s, such as the Tuvan language used by the Tuvans in Xinjiang (新疆) and the Khmu language spoken in Yunnan (云南) by the Khum people. In addition, the report does not cover the cross-border distribution of Chinese dialects. For example, the Hakka dialect (客家话) is called Guogan language (果敢语) in the Shan State of Myanmar; the Central Plains Mandarin and Lanyin Mandarin (兰银官话) are called Donggan language (东干语) in Central Asia. A total of 33 cross-border minority languages are included in this report, including Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur, Miao (苗语), Yi (彝语), Zhuang (壮语), Bouyei, Korean, Yao (瑶语), Hani, Kazakh, Dai (傣语), Lisu, Wa (佤语), Lahu, Jingpho, Kyrgyz, Blang, Gelao (仡佬语), Achang, Tajik, Nu, Uzbek, Russian, Evenki, Palaung, Gin, Tatar, Derung, Oroqen, Nanai, Monpa, and Lhoba. Following international practice and also for convenience, in this report, non-powerful languages spoken by more than 150,000 people in a country will be referred to as “large languages”, whereas non-powerful languages used by 150,000 or less than 150,000 people in a country are categorised as “small languages”.

1 Domestically weak and outwardly strong This category refers to languages that are used by the minorities in China which are the dominant, official, or main languages used in the neighbouring countries. Such ethnic minority languages include Mongolian, Kazakh, Korean, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Gin, and Russian.

1.1 Mongolian The Mongolian language is spoken in Mongolia, the Russian Federation, and Kyrgyzstan. In China, Mongolian is mainly used in provinces and autonomous https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-015

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regions such as Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Qinghai (青海), Gansu (甘肃), Liaoning (辽宁), Jilin (吉林), and Heilongjiang (黑龙江). The language is used across entire Mongolia, Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russian Federation, as well as the Issyk-Kul State in Kyrgyzstan. The Mongolian population in the world is approximately 10 million, of which 5.98 million (figure from 20101), more than half of the population, reside in China. Mongolia has around 2.8 million Mongolian residents and Russian has about 900,000. The standard Mongolian used in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is different from that in Mongolia. Chahar, a variant of Mongolian, is used in China. However, in Mongolia, people speak Khalkha Mongolian. In China, people in Inner Mongolia use the traditional Mongolian alphabet, whereas in Mongolia and Russia, the Cyrillic letters (also called the Slavic or Russian letters) are used.

1.2 Kazakh Kazakh is mainly used in Xinjiang, Gansu, and Qinghai. The language is also spoken across Kazakhstan, Karakalpak and Tashkent provinces in Uzbekistan, Orenburg and Chelyabinsk in Russia, as well as some areas in Mongolia. There are about 16 million Kazakhs around the world, with the majority (10.09 million) living in Kazakhstan. The number of Kazakhs in China is 1.46 million (figure from 2010). Whereas Uzbekistan has around 800,000 Kazakhs and Russia has approximately 650,000. There are more than 100,000 Kazakhs living in Mongolia. Kazakhs from China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia are able to communicate with each other. The Kazakh language in China could be broadly divided into southwestern and northeastern dialects. Kazakh is written in the Arabic alphabet. However, Kazakh in Kazakhstan has been written in Slavic letters since 1940.

1.3 Chosŏn-ŏ (Korean) Chosŏn-ŏ (朝鲜语, Korean), is called Hanguk-eo (韩国语, Korean) in Korea. It is mainly used in the Korean Peninsula, which includes the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (around 22.6 million people in 2009) and the Republic of Korea 1 In this article, the populations of the ethnic minorities in China follow the “figures from 2010”, which are based on statistics reported in 2010 China Population Census (Volumes 1, 2, and 3) edited by the Population Census Office of the State Council and the Population and Employment Statistics Division of the National Bureau of Statistics and published by the China Statistics Press in 2012.

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(48.5 million people in 2009). Korean is also spoken in northeastern China (1.9 million people2 in 2000), the Russian Far East (220,000 people), Uzbekistan (170,000 people), and Kazakhstan (100,000 people). There are approximately 80 million Koreans worldwide, among them around 76 million are native Korean speakers. The majority of Korean speakers reside in North Korea and South Korea in East Asia. The two nations’ Korean speakers account for more than 90% of the Korean speakers worldwide. The written form of Korean is also known as Yànwén (谚文) and Guówén (国文). It is called Hánwén (韩文) in South Korea. The official documents issued in South Korea use Hánwén exclusively. Certain texts, surnames, or the names of South Korean citizens in newspapers might contain some Chinese characters. North Korea and Koreans in China have successively eliminated the use of Chinese characters in 1948 and 1954 respectively. The two nations now use only the Korean alphabet.

1.4 Kyrgyz The Kyrgyz language is used mainly in Kyrgyzstan (3.8 million people), Uzbekistan (250,000 people), the Russian Federation (100,000 people), Tajikistan (80,000 people), Afghanistan (30,000 people), Kazakhstan (10,000 people), and the Xinjiang region in China (160,000 people3 in 2000). There are more than 4 million Kyrgyz people all over the world, with about 85% living in Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz language in Xinjiang, China, is divided into northern and southern dialects and written in the Arabic alphabet. Since Kyrgyzstan became independent of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Kyrgyz language has been identified as the national language. Some politicians have proposed to use the Latin alphabet to write Kyrgyz yet without success. Nowadays, the Kyrgyz language is still written in the Cyrillic alphabet.

1.5 Uzbek The Uzbek language is used mainly in Uzbekistan (27.35 million people), Afghanistan (3.5 million people), Tajikistan (1.1 million people), Kyrgyzstan (740,000 people), Kazakhstan (370,000 people), Turkmenistan (260,000 people), the 2 According to the 2010 Population Census, there are 1.83 million Koreans in China, which was 100,000 fewer than 10 years earlier. 3 According to the 2010 Population Census, there were 180,000 Kyrgyz people in China.

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Russian Federation (120,000 people), and the Xinjiang region in China (12,000 people4 in 2000). There are more than 33 million Uzbek people in the world, of which 83% live in Uzbekistan. The Uzbek people in China live in different parts of Xinjiang, most of whom can also speak Uyghur or Kazakh on top of their own language. The Uyghur and Kazakh languages written in the Arabic alphabet are commonly used in the region. Uzbek is the official language of Uzbekistan. Until 1927, the Uzbek language used in Central Asian had long been written in the Persian-Arabic alphabet. In 1927, the Latin alphabet was used, but it gave way to the Cyrillic alphabet from 1940 to 1992. After Uzbekistan gained its independence in 1992, its education institutions, currency, governmental websites, and street signs started having Uzbek written in the Latin alphabet.

1.6 Tajik Tajik is the national language of Tajikistan and spoken by the largest ethnic group in the nation (the plain Tajik people). However, Tajik is a minority language in China (used by the plateau Tajik). The majority of Tajik speakers are in Afghanistan (8.35 million people), Tajikistan (6.1 million people), Uzbekistan (1.4 million people), Pakistan (220,000 people), the Russian Federation (200,000 people), Kyrgyzstan (4.7 million people), and the Xinjiang region in China (41,000 people5). There are more than 29 million Tajik people around the world. The Tajik language used in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and West Pakistan belongs to the Indian-Iranian languages and is very similar to Persian. The Tajik language used in western Xinjiang belongs to the Sarikoli (meaning “the plateau”) and Wakhi languages of the Pamir language group of Southeastern Iranian languages, which are commonly spoken across the Pamirs. Heavily influenced by the Uyghur and the Chinese languages, Tajik in China differs greatly from that in Tajikistan. By contrast, the varieties of Tajik used in the countries on the Pamir Plateau are similar to each other. The Tajik people in China speak Uyghur in schools, with some using the Uyghur Arabic alphabet to write Sarikoli.

4 According to the 2010 Population Census, there were 10,569 Uzbek people in China. 5 According to the 2010 Population Census, there were 51,000 Tajik people in China.

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1.7 Gin The Gin language, also known as the Vietnamese language, is mainly used in Vietnam (74 million people in 2008), Cambodia (600,000 people), Laos (100,000 people), Malaysia (87,000 people), the Philippines (27,000 people), Thailand (20,000 people), Taiwan (120,000 to 200,000 people), and the Guangxi (广西) Zhuang Autonomous Region (22,000 people6 in 2000) in China. The total population of the Gin people in the world is around 77 million. The Gin language used in China is not much different from northern Vietnamese. Thus, the residents in the two areas experience little difficulty in communication.

1.8 Russian It has been confirmed by the Chinese government that the Russians in China form a minority group. The Russian language is mainly used in the Russian Federation and its neighbouring countries. The total population of the Russians worldwide is about 160 million, of which 115.8 millions live in the Russian Federation, 4.48 million in Kazakhstan, 620,000 in Uzbekistan, 600,000 in Kyrgyzstan, 140,000 in Turkmenistan, and 68,000 in Tajikistan. In China, there are 15,000 (figure from 2010) Russians residing in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia, and Heilongjiang. Russian is spoken by more than 140 million native speakers worldwide. When China was on friendly terms with the Soviet Union, Russian was taught as the first foreign language in the schools but was later replaced by English.

2 Domestically large and outwardly large Languages that fall into this category are the ethnic minority languages that are “large” in both China and the bordering countries, with the number of speakers in both areas exceeding 150,000. This kind of cross-border language is mainly used in China’s southwest and the mid-south border areas; most of them are spoken across 3 or even more countries. The ethnic minority languages that belong to the category include the Zhuang language, Uyghur, the Miao language, the Hani language, the Yao language, the Wa language, the Dai language, the Lahu language, and the Lisu language. 6 According to the 2010 Population Census, there were 28,000 Gin people in China.

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2.1 Zhuang language The Zhuang language is the largest minority language in China. There are 16.92 million Zhuang people in China (figure from 2010), the majority residing in Guangxi, Yunnan, Guangdong (广东), and Guizhou (贵州). The Zhuang people can also be found in northern Vietnam (2 million people). The language is spoken by more than 10 million people worldwide. In China, the Zhuang language is divided into the northern and southern dialects. The southern dialect is generally the same as the Tay-Nung language used in northern Vietnam; it is safe to say that they are the same language. The migration of the Tay people to Vietnam from China happened relatively early; therefore, they are heavily influenced by the Vietnamese culture. The Nung immigrants arrived at Vietnam only two to three hundred years ago and, thus, share similar traits with the Zhuang people in China.

2.2 Uyghur The Uyghur language is mainly spoken in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (10.06 million people in 2010). The total number of Uyghur speakers in the world is more than 14 million, of which 4 million people (Li 2003) reside in countries bordering or connecting to China, such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan. There are three Uyghur dialects used in China, including Central, Hotan, and Lopnor Uyghur. Central Uyghur is considered the standard Uyghur, with the Ili-Urumqi pronunciation as the standard pronunciation. The Uyghur language is currently written in the Arabic alphabet and commonly used in governmental affairs, social activities, radio and television programmes, news and publications, literature and art, ethnic education, as well as science and technology.

2.3 Miao language The Miao language could be divided into three major dialects, including Xiangxi (湘西) (1 million people), Qiandong (黔东) (2 million people), and Chuanqiandian (川黔滇) (more than 3 million people). In China, the Miao language is mainly used in Hunan (湖南), Sichuan (四川), Guizhou, and Yunnan, with a total of 9.42 million speakers (figure in 2010). Outside of China, the language is used in Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. The Miao language spoken in Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand is, in fact, the Chuanqiandian dialect. In Vietnam, there are 560,000 Miao people, also known as the Hmong, who moved from Yunnan and Guangxi two to three hundred years ago.

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2.4 Hani There are 1.66 million Hani people in China (figure from 2010). The Hani language is used in Yunnan province in China, Shan State in Myanmar, as well as the northern parts of Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. The total number of Hani speakers is 1.75 million. Hani is divided into three dialects, including Ha-Ya, HaoBai, and Bi-Ka. The Ha-Ya dialect is spoken in southern Yunnan (around 1 million people), Laos (706 million people), Myanmar (at least 200,000 people), and Thailand (60,000 people). Ha-Ya speakers migrated from south-central Yunnan to the southwest 400 years ago, and eventually reached their present location. The 10,000 Hani people in northern Vietnam migrated from Jinping (金平) and Lüchun (绿春) counties in Yunnan more than 300 years ago. The Hao-Bai dialect is spoken in north-central Yunnan by 120,000 people. The Bi-Ka dialect is spoken in the southwestern part of Yunnan by 300,000 people.

2.5 Yao language There are 2.79 million Yao people in China (figure from 2010). The Yao language is an umbrella term for the languages used by the Yao ethnic group in Southern China, including the Iu Mien, Bu-Nao, and Lakkia language. There are around 1.4 million Iu Mien speakers, with 700,000 residing in China, 500,000 in Vietnam, and the rest in Laos and Thailand. The Vietnamese Yao live along the Vietnam-Laos border, reaching some provinces along the northern coast. The Yao people in Vietnam were immigrants from Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan; the immigration started in the Ming Dynasty.

2.6 Wa language There are around 1.3 million Wa speakers in the world, many of whom live in Yunnan province in China (39 million people7 in 2000) and the Wa Special Region II (Shan State, more than 600,000 people). In addition, Wa communities can also be found in the mountains in northern Thailand (20,000 people) and northern Cambodia. In China, the Wa language can be divided into three distinctive dialects, including Parauk, Awa, and Vo.

7 According to the 2010 Population Census, there were 420,000 Wa people in China.

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2.7 Dai language The Dai language is mainly spoken in China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand, with a total of 2 million speakers. The Dai language used in China can be categorised into Tai Nüa (also known as Dehong Dai), Tai Lü (also known as Tai Lue), Tai Hongjin, and Tai Don (also known as Thai Khao), which are used mainly in Yunnan and some counties in southwestern and southern China. In China, the number of Dai speakers has reached 910,0008 (figure from 2001). The total population of Dai speakers is 650,000, of whom 540,000 live in China and nearly 100,000 reside in Shan State in Myanmar. In China, the Dai script is called Daibengwen (傣绷文). There is a total of 700,000 Tai Lü speakers in the world, 280,000 of whom live in China, 200,000 in Myanmar, 130,000 in Laos, 80,000 in Thailand, and 5,000 in Vietnam. The number of Tai Hongjin speakers has reached 136,000, with the majority living in the basins of the Yuan (元江) and Jinsha River (金沙江) in China. There are 500,000 people who speak Tai Don, of whom more than 10,000 live in China, 280,000 in Vietnam, and 200,000 in Laos.

2.8 Lahu language The number of Lahu speakers in the world is 680,000, with the majority living in southwestern Yunnan (400,000 people9) in China, Shan State and Wa State in Myanmar (160,000 people), northern Thailand (100,000 people [Zhu 2011]), Luang Namtha in Laos (150,000 people), and Lai Châu in Vietnam (5,300 people). The ancestors of the Lahu people in Vietnam migrated from Jinping and Lüchun in Yunnan two to three hundred years ago. In the second half of the 19th century, the Lahu people moved from Yunnan, China to Luang Namtha and Bokeo in Laos. In China, the Lahu language has two varieties, including Lahu Na and Lahu Xi. Lahu Na speakers account for more than 80% of the total population of Lahu speakers.

2.9 Lisu language The Lisu language is used mainly in China’s Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, with its speakers in China exceeding 700,000 (figure from 2010). Outside of China,

8 According to the 2010 Population Census, there were 1.26 million Dai people in China. 9 According to the 2010 Population Census, there were 480,000 Lahu people in China.

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there are 400,000 Lisu speakers (figure from 2007) in Kachin State and Shan State in Myanmar, 55,000 speakers (figure from 2006) in the northern part of Thailand, and 6,000 speakers (figure from 2008) in India. The total number of people who use Lisu language in China and other countries is 1.16 million.

3 Domestically large and outwardly small Ethnic minority languages that belong to this category are considered “large languages” in China, with more than 150,000 speakers; however, they are deemed as “small languages” in China’s bordering countries, with 150,000 or fewer speakers. In other words, the majority of the speakers of such languages are in China and only a small number of them live in other countries. In China, the ethnic minority languages that belong to this category are Tibetan, Yi, and Bouyei.

3.1 Tibetan The majority of Tibetan speakers are in China, with a total population of 6.28 million (figure from 2010). In addition, there are 2.71 million Tibetan people (figure from 2010) living in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Outside China, the Tibetan language is mainly used in Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. The four countries have not yet had accurate statistics of their Tibetan populations; however, it is estimated that there are 120,000 to 130,000 Tibetan people living in the four areas (State Council Information Office 2003). The Tibetan language has three major subvarieties, including Central Tibetan (also known as the Lhasa dialect), Khams Tibetan (also known as Dégéhuà, 德格话 and Chāngduōhuà, 昌多话), and Amdo Tibetan. There exist certain difficulties in communication between people who speak different Tibetan dialects. However, they find it easy to read the Tibetan alphabet, which can be used across different Tibetan dialects. The alphabet preserves the ancient Tibetan pronunciation.

3.2 Yi The Yi language is mainly used in Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Guangxi in China, with six different dialects, including the northern, eastern, southern, south-eastern, western, and central Yi dialects. The current Yi population is

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8.71 million (figure from 2010). There also exists a relatively small number of Yi people (around 30,000 [Yunnan China Comfort Travel Group]) living in Vietnam (10,000 people [Fan 1999]), Myanmar, Laos (1430 people [Huang 2006]), and Thailand. In addition, there are 3,307 (figure from1999) Lolo people, a branch of the Yi community, residing in Vietnam. The Lolo people migrated from Yunnan, China to their current location in Vietnam after the 16th century and are genetically related to the Yi people in China. The Lolo people reside in Ha Giang, Cao Bằng, and Lao Cai provinces. The ancient Yi script is known as Cuànwén (爨文) in China. In 1980, the State Council approved the implementation of the pilot programmes for the standardisation of the Yi script in the Yi Autonomous Region in Liangshan (凉山), Sichuan. Outside China, there still exists a few Guide for Soul (《指路经》) and ancient Yi texts in countries where the Yi people can be found.

3.3 Bouyei The majority of Bouyei speakers are in China and they can mainly be found in southern Guizhou. The total number Bouyei speakers in China has reached 2.87 million (figure from 2010). Outside China, the majority of the Bouyei people (25,000 people [Institute of Ethnology of the Committee for Social Science of Vietnam 1986]) live in Ha Giang and Lao Cai provinces in Vietnam. The ancestors of the Bouyei people in Vietnam immigrated from China’s Guizhou province, through Yunnan province, to their current location in the 19th century. Originally, the Bouyei language had no script. In the 1950s, the Chinese government facilitated the creation of the Bouyei script. However, the government failed to popularise the script. Chinese characters are now commonly used by the Bouyei people.

4 Domestically small and outwardly strong This category includes ethnic minority languages that are considered “small” (150,000 or fewer speakers) in China. However, the languages are seen as “large” (150,000 or more speakers) in the bordering and connecting countries of China. To put it simply, there is only a small number of the speakers living in China and a large number of them living in other countries. The ethnic minority languages that belong to the category are Jingpho, Tatar, Palaung, and Lhoba.

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4.1 Jingpho The Jingpho language, known as the Kachin language in Myanmar, is spoken in Yunnan, China, as well as Kachin State and Shan State in Myanmar, with a population of 1 million. There are 130,00010 (figure from 2000) Jingpho people residing in Yunnan and their common languages are Jingpho (40,000 speakers), Zaiwa (80,000 speakers), Lashi (1,000 speakers), Lhao Vo (4,000 speakers), and Borana (500 speakers). In Kachin State and Shan State in Myanmar, there are 690,000 Jingpho speakers, 100,000 Lhao Vo speakers, 30,000 Zaiwa speakers, and 30,000 Lashi speakers. Two different writing systems are adopted by the Jingpho people, including the Jingpho alphabet and the Zaiwa alphabet. The Jingpho alphabet is phonetic and was created by missionary Johnson and his wife in the 19th century. The Jingpho alphabet is commonly used by the Jingpho communities in Yunnan and Myanmar. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Chinese linguists reformed the writing of the Jingpho language. The Zaiwa alphabet was created in 1957 and is now used in the Zaiwa-speaking zone in the Dai and Jingpho Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan, China.

4.2 Tatar The Tatar language is also known as Dàdáyu (鞑靼语) in China. There are around 5.53 million Tartar speakers worldwide, with the majority living in the Republic of Tatarstan of the Russian Federation, areas near the Volga River Basin, West Siberia (approximately 5.521 million people), and Xinjiang province in China (more than 4,800 people11, figure from 2000). In 2001, the government of the Republic of Tatarstan decided to adopt the Turkish alphabet, a Latin-script alphabet. The decision to switch to the Latin script was rejected by the court in February 2005. The Cyrillic script then continued to be used in the area. The Tatars in China use an Arabic-based script. Apart from a certain proportion of the elderly, the majority of the Tatars in China use the Kazakh or Uyghur languages.

10 According to the 2010 Population Census, there were 140,000 Jingpho people in China. 11 According to the 2010 Population Census, there were 3,556 Tatar people in China.

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4.3 Palaung The total number of Palaung speakers is approximately 500,000, with the majority residing in Kachin State and Shan State in Myanmar (480,000 people), Yunnan province in China (more than 10,000 people12), Thailand’s northern provinces (5,000 people), and Laos. The Palaung people in China were formerly known as the Benglong people and later changed to the current name. In addition, most of the Palaung people in China can speak Dai, Chinese, Jingpho, and Wa; few of them understand the Dai script and most of them are able to use Chinese characters. The Palaung people in Myanmar and Thailand have always been called the Benglong and most of them speak Burmese or Thai.

4.4 Lhoba The Lhoba language is mainly spoken in the bordering counties of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Luoyu (珞瑜) area, which is now illegally occupied by India. The total number of the speakers is around 200,000. In the areas where China has total control, there are more than 3,000 Lhoba speakers13. In addition, more than 600,000 Lhoba people live in the Indian-occupied area in the south of the McMahon Line. Moreover, the Lhoba communities can also be seen in Nepal and India. The Lhoba people do not have their own script; a few of the Lhoba communities have adopted the Tibetan alphabet.

5 Domestically small and outwardly small Languages that fall into this category are the ethnic minority languages that are “small” in both China and its bordering countries, with a total of 150,000 speakers or less on each side. In other words, the use of such languages in China and its bordering countries is uncommon, leading to the danger of extinction. The category contains Blang, Achang, Evenki, Monpa, Nu, Derung, Oroqen, Gelao, and Hezhe.

12 According to the 2010 Population Census, there were 20,556 Palaung people in China. 13 According to the 2010 Population Census, there were 3,682 Lhoba people in China.

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5.1 Blang The Blang language is mainly spoken in Yunnan province in China, Shan State in Myanmar, Chiang Rai province in Thailand, as well as Luang Namtha and Tshopo provinces in Vietnam. In Myanmar, there are around 50,000 Blang people (figure from 2001), who are also called “Lāzú (拉族)” by the local people. In Thailand, the number of the Blang people, also locally known as “Lăārén (鲁阿人)” or “Lāwărén (拉瓦人)”, is around 1,300 (figure from 1995). In Laos, the Blang people belong to the Lao Theung, a local ethnic group, and the population has reached around 2,000 (figure from1995) (Zhao 2011). There are 110,000 Blang people living in China (figure from 2010). The Blang language in China is categorised into two dialects, including Blang and A’erwa. Some Blang people in China also speak Dai, Wa, or Chinese, with some of whom using Chinese characters and the Dai script.

5.2 Achang The Achang language is mainly spoken in Yunnan province in China and Shan State in Myanmar. There are about 80,000 Achang people in the world, 39,000 of whom live in Yunnan (figure form 2010). In Shan State, there are around 35,000 Achang people (figure from 2000), who is locally known as “the Maingtha”. The Achang language has no script and is divided into three dialects, including Lianghe (梁河), Longchuan (陇川), and Luxi (潞西).

5.3 Evenki The Evenki language is spoken in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Heilongjiang province in China, Selenge province in Mongolia, and the Krasnoyarsk Krai region in the Russian Federation. The Evenkis have a total population of more than 60,000. Among them, 30,875 are in China (figure from 2010), 30,545 in Russia (figure from 2000, excluding the Oroqen people), and 1,000 in Mongolia (figure from 1995). In China and Mongolia, the Evenki language has three varieties, including Haila’er, Old Barag, and Olguya. In Russia, the language can be divided into southern, eastern, and northern dialects. The east-central Evenki dialect in Russian is similar to the Oroqen language in China. The Oroqen language is defined as an independent language in China; it is, however, considered as a dialect of the Evenki language in Russia. Evenki does not have its own script. In China, the Manchu script was previously used to write Evenki. Nowadays, Mongolian and the Mongolian script

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 Zhou Qingsheng (周庆生)

are commonly used in the pastoral areas, whereas Chinese and Chinese characters are used in the agricultural and mountain areas. In linguistics research and textbooks, the international phonetic symbols or the self-made Latin alphabet is usually used to write Evenki. In Russia, from 1930 to 1931, Evenki started to be written in the Latin alphabet; from 1936 to 1937, the Cyrillic script came into use.

5.4 Monpa The Monpa language is spoken mainly in Lhoka and South Tibet in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The Monpa people has a population of 50,000, of whom 10,561 are in the areas actually controlled by China (figure 2010). There are two Monpa dialects used in the Chinese-controlled area, including the northern and southern dialects. The rest of the Monpa people reside in the Indiancontrolled area (the Indian occupants named the area “Arunachal Pradesh”). A small number of Monpa people can be seen in Nepal and Bhutan. Monpa has no script and the Tibetan script is commonly used.

5.5 Nu Nu is a language used by the Nu people; it is spoken in Yunnan province and Tibetan area in China. The population of the Nu people is 37,000 (figure from 2010). Outside China, the Nu people can be found in Kachin State in Myanmar, with a population of approximately 30,000 (National Ethnic Affairs Commission website 2006). There are four major divisions of the Nu people in China, with four different languages being used respectively, including Nusu, Zaozou, Along, and Anu. The differences in the four dialects are significant. Therefore, the Nu people in different divisions cannot communicate with each other. The language has no script.

5.6 Derung Derung is used by the Derung and Nu people. The language is spoken in Kachin State in Myanmar, Yunnan province and Tibetan area of China, as well as the Derung River basin near the China-Myanmar border. There are around 30,000 Derung people in Myanmar and 6,930 in China (figure from 2010). The language has two main dialects, of which one is used by the Derung people and the other by the Nu people. The two dialects are not very different from each other, resulting in few communication barriers.

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 145

Throughout history, the Derung language has no written form. In 1951, the Rawang people in Myanmar created the Rawang script. In 1983, the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the People’s Republic of China, in cooperation with the Derung intellectuals, drafted a Latin alphabet for the “Derung Phonetic Transcription Scheme” based on the Rawang script. The scheme began in the same year as it was drafted; the Derung language textbooks and other books written in Derung were subsequently published.

5.7 Oroqen The Oroqen language is spoken in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Heilongjiang province of China, as well as the highlands in the west of Lake Baikal in the Krasnoyarsk Krai region of the Russian Federation. There are around 30,000 Oroqen people in Russia, and 8,659 in China (figure from 2010). The language is considered a minority language in China. However, Oroqen is defined as an eastern dialect of the Evenki language. The number of people who speak Oroqen in China is around 2,100 (Nie 2003). The Oroqen language has no script. From 1930 to 1931, Russia began using the Evenki script based on the Latin alphabet to write Oroqen. From 1936 to 1937, The Latin alphabet was replaced with the Cyrillic script.

5.8 Gelao The Gelao language is mainly spoken in Guizhou province, Yunnan province, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in China, as well as Ha Giang province in Vietnam. The population of the Gelao people in China is nearly 550,000 (figure from 2010), with 96.43% living in Guizhou. However, the number of Gelao speakers is 6,000. In Vietnam, the number of the Gelao people has reached 1,845 (figure from 1999). The ancestors of the Gelao people in Vietnam migrated from Guizhou and other places during the Qing dynasty. There exist noticeable differences between the Gelao dialects. The Gelao language does not have its own script. Most Gelao people speak Chinese and use Chinese characters.

5.9 Hezhe (Nanai) The Hezhe language is spoken in Khabarovsky Krai, Russia, and Heilongjiang province in China, with a population of approximately 5,800. The Hezhe people

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 Zhou Qingsheng (周庆生)

in Russia is called “Nanai”, with a total population of 12,000. In China, there are 5,354 Hezhe people (figure from 2010). The Hezhe language does not have a script. In the Qing dynasty, the Manchu script was used to write Hezhe. However, Chinese characters are now commonly used. The Cyrillic alphabet is used to write the Hezhe (Nanai) language in Russia. To this day, there remain 13 schools that teach Nanai in Khabarovsk.

References Fan, Honggui (范宏贵). 1999. Cross-border ethnic groups in China and Vietnam (中越两国的跨 境民族概述). Ethno-National Studies, 6. Huang, Xingqiu (黄兴球). 2006. Differentiation and features of the cross-border ethnic groups in China and Laos (中老跨境民族的区分及其跨境特征论). Journal of Guangxi University for Nationalities, 3. Institute of Ethnology of the Committee for Social Science of Vietnam. 1986. Ethnic minority groups in northern Vietnam (越南北方少数民族) (Fang, Honggui, Trans.). Guangxi: Institute of Ethnic Studies of Guangxi University for Nationalities. Li, Anshan (李安山). 2003. Overseas ethnic minority Chinese: Immigration, recognition, and population (少数民族华侨华人: 迁移特点、辨识标准及人数统计). Overseas Chinese History Studies (华侨华人历史研究), 3. National Ethnic Affairs Commission website. 2006. The Nusu people (怒族). Retrieved from http://www.seac.gov.cn/col/col319/index.html (2006, April 7). Nie, Hongyin (聂鸿音). 2003. Ethnic minority languages in China (中国少数民族语言). Beijing: Language & Culture Press. State Council Information Office. 2003, June 10. Comments on the U.S. report on the so-called Tibetan issues (评美所谓“西藏问题报告》). People’s Daily (overseas edition). Zhao, Yongsheng (赵永胜). 2011. The overseas distribution and populations of the cross-border ethnic groups in Yunnan and Southeast Asian countries (云南与东南亚国家的跨境民族 及其在境外的分布和人口). Journal of Yunnan Minzu University, 7. Please also refer to the Yunnan Ethnic Minorities website: http://www.yn21st.com/show.php?contentid=7258 (2011, August 3). Zhu, Yanhua (朱艳华). 2011. Comparison of the use of the national common language by the China-Thailand cross-border Lahu community (中泰跨境民族拉祜族兼用本国通用语现状 之比较). Journal of Yunnan Normal University, 2.

Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Liu Yanhong (刘艳虹), Gu Dingqian (顾定倩), Cheng Li (程黎), and Wei Dan (魏丹)

16 Survey on the use of Braille

In China, there are tens of millions of hearing-impaired (deaf) and visuallyimpaired (blind) people. Sign language and Braille are the special languages used by the deaf and the blind; they are also an important part of the national written and spoken languages. Therefore, the popularisation and standardisation of sign language and Chinese Braille have become an urgent language task concerning disabled people.1 The design of the current Chinese Braille (current Braille) and Two-Cell Chinese Braille (Two-Cell Braille) systems in China were led by Huang Nai (黄乃). The current Braille has been in use for 60 years since it was introduced in 1953; it is easy to learn and simple to use. However, the system contains obvious flaws. For instance, the phonetic symbols are not regulated. In addition, a large number of homonyms can only be understood by referring to the context, making the current Braille difficult for certain groups (i.e. masseurs) to learn. Two-Cell Braille was designed to overcome the shortcomings of the current system and was piloted in several schools for the blind. However, Two-Cell Braille is even more troublesome to acquire due to its numerous symbols and complicated rules; thus, it is accepted only by certain groups of blind people. Moreover, the inconsistency of sign language and Braille has brought about many inconveniences to the blind and the deaf in their study, daily lives, and work. In order to popularise the common sign language and Braille, as well as regulate their research, in November 2011, the China’s Disabled Persons’ Federation, Department of Language Application Management of the Ministry of Education, and Second Division of Ministry of Basic Education commissioned the National Center for Sign Language and Braille to conduct a sampling survey on the use of sign language and Braille in China. The survey was included in the twelfth five-year national spoken and written language projects. The survey was the first attempt made by China to understand the use of sign language and Braille in

1 On 20 January 2011, Liu Yandong (刘延东), at the symposium commemorating the 10th anniversary of National Law of Standard Spoken and Written Language, requested to: “organise the planning and strengthen the instruction to promote the common sign language and Braille, as well as regulate the research.” In May of the same year, the Twelfth Five-Year Plan for China’s Disabled Persons was approved and put forward by the State Council to “increase the support for sign language and Braille.” https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-016

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 Liu Yanhong (刘艳虹), Gu Dingqian (顾定倩), Cheng Li (程黎), and Wei Dan (魏丹)

the country. This report shows the part of the survey that concerns the use of Braille. The findings could provide empirical evidence and academic references to support policy formulation, language planning, and Braille standardisation.

1 Survey method 1.1 Survey respondents The respondents of the survey are divided into six categories: (1) students with hearing disabilities at all levels of special schools (deaf students); (2) visually-impaired students at all levels of special schools (blind students); (3) teachers who use sign language as the medium of instruction (the sign language teachers); (4) teachers who use Braille as the medium of instruction (the Braille teachers); (5) hearing-impaired adults who have graduated from schools (deaf adults); and (6) visually-impaired adults who have graduated from schools (blind adults). Among the respondents, there were 9,583 deaf students, 2,709 teachers who use sign language, 949 deaf adults, 1808 blind students, 530 teachers who use Braille, and 370 blind adults.

1.2 Sampling method This survey adopted a mixed sampling method that combines stratified sampling with cluster sampling. The stratified sampling made reference to the 2006 Second National Sampling Survey on Disabled People. Firstly, 18 provinces (autonomous regions and direct-controlled municipalities) were selected, including Beijing (北京), Hebei (河北), Henan (河南), Hunan (湖南), Fujian (福建), Gansu (甘肃), Guangdong (广东), Jilin (吉林), Jiangsu (江苏), Inner Mongolia, Liaoning (辽宁), Shandong (山 东), Shanxi (陕西), Shanghai (上海), Sichuan (四川), Xinjiang (新疆), Yunnan (云南), and Zhejiang (浙江). Secondly, 3 to 4 prefecture-level cities (including capital cities) were selected in each province (autonomous region or direct-controlled municipality). Lastly, a school for the deaf (blind) people or a special school tailored to the blind or the deaf was then selected in every sampled city in each sampled province (autonomous region or direct-controlled municipality). For cluster sampling in compulsory education, the researcher selected deaf students in Grade 5 and above, blind students in Grade 3 and above, as well as teachers who use sign language and Braille to teach. In special higher education institutions and the secondary vocational schools belonging to the system of China Disabled Person’s Federation, the researcher selected full-time students

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 149

with hearing disabilities or visual impairment, as well as teachers who use sign language and Braille as the medium of instruction. Regarding adults with disabilities, the researcher mainly selected the working units or organisations where the blind and deaf work in the sample area. Due to the difficulty of sampling deaf and blind adults, the researcher also selected disabled people from 9 provinces and cities in additional, including Hubei (湖北), Anhui (安徽), and Jiangxi (江 西). Almost all of the categories have a response rate of over 90% (see Table 16.1).

1.3 Questionnaire compilation, distribution, and collection For questionnaire compilation, a basic framework was first established by the experts. In order to collect relevant data, the experts discussed and confirmed the five dimensions of the questionnaires, including the use of Braille, Braille assistive tools, the occasions where Braille is used, Braille learning, the difficulty of Braille reading, and the attitude towards the improvement of Braille. At the same time, the background information of the subjects was collected. Following these dimensions, the experts then designed questionnaires, such as the Questionnaire on the Use of Braille for Blind Students, Questionnaire on the Use of Braille for Teachers, and Questionnaire on the Use of Braille for Blind Adults. After completing the first draft of the questionnaires, the experts conducted a small-scale pilot test in which each question underwent frequency analysis. Based on the result of the pilot test, unreasonable questions were removed and the appropriate ones were kept, thus improving the reliability and validity of the questionnaires (see Table 16.1). Table 16.1: Questionnaire distribution and collection.

Questionnaires distributed Questionnaires collected Response rate (%)

Blind students

Teachers

Blind adults

Total

2,000 1,808 90.4

600 530 88.3

400 370 92.5

3,000 2,780 90.3

1.4 Statistics SPSS18.0 was used for the statistical analysis. Descriptive analysis on the data of different groups as well as factor analysis for describing variability among influencing factors were conducted.

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 Liu Yanhong (刘艳虹), Gu Dingqian (顾定倩), Cheng Li (程黎), and Wei Dan (魏丹)

At present, although the current Braille and Two-Cell Braille are both in use, the findings demonstrate that 84.7% of blind students, 80.9% of the teachers, and 67.6% of blind adults use Braille, whereas Two-Cell Braille is rarely adopted by the groups, with a respective usage rate of only 5.0%, 4.0%, and 10.5%. In addition, there are few people who use both the current Braille and Two-Cell Braille (see Table 16.2). Further analysis suggests that the proportion of blind high-schoolers who use Two-Cell Braille is significantly higher than that of other students. The usage percentage of Braille among the teachers who teach arts and vocational courses is evidently higher than that of the teachers responsible for science subjects. The proportion of blind adults under 30 years of age that use Two-Cell Braille is significantly lower than that of blind adults aged 30 to 50 years. The usage rate of Two-Cell Braille among blind adults over 50 years old is notably lower. The difference may be the result of the termination of the trial on Two-Cell Braille in blind schools.

2 Braille writing tools and contexts of their use Braille writing tools include Braille slates, styluses, typewriters, imprinters, and copying machines. The survey data shows that slates and styluses are the most widely used, with 76.6% of the teachers, 91.4% of blind students, and 86.5% of blind adults using them. Braille typewriters are the second most-used tools, with a usage rate of 8% among both blind students and adults. Meanwhile, the teachers’ usage rate of the typewriters reaches approximately 30%. The higher usage rate among the teachers is due to their relatively higher chance to use the typewriters for teaching purposes. Almost no blind students use Braille imprinters and copying machines; in addition, the usage rate among the teachers and blind adults is less than 5%. Blind students usually learn to use Braille at school. Whereas the majority of blind adults read (71.6%) and write (69.2%) in Braille while learning, blind adults also use Braille fairly often (42.4% reading and 37.8% writing) when engaging in daily tasks. For blind adults, the use of Braille in the workplace is less common (41.6% reading and 34.8% writing). A further analysis suggests that the usage percentage of Braille also varies according to the occupations of blind adults. For instance, blind adults who are engaged in Braille publishing have the highest chance to read and write in Braille while working. Blind masseurs, however, have the least opportunities to read Braille at work. The teachers mainly read and write Braille when compiling exam papers and teaching materials, as well as marking

%

84.7 80.9 67.6

No. of people

Blind students 1,531 Teachers 429 Blind adults 250

91 21 39

No. of people 5.0 4.0 10.5

% 63 17 59

No. of people 3.5 3.2 15.9

% 109 59 19

No. of people 6.0 11.1 5.1

% 1,794 526 367

No. of people 99.2 99.2 99.2

%

Current Braille Two-Cell Braille Current and Two-Cell Braille None of the two Systems Respondents

Table 16.2: Usage frequency of Braille for different groups.

14 4 3

No. of people 0.8 0.8 0.8

%

1,808 530 370

No. of people

100 100 100

%

Non-respondents Participants

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 Liu Yanhong (刘艳虹), Gu Dingqian (顾定倩), Cheng Li (程黎), and Wei Dan (魏丹)

Table 16.3: Frequency of Braille reading and writing for the teachers (multiple choices allowed).

Reading Writing

Marking assignments

Designing Compiling exam papers assignments and teaching materials

No. of people

No. of people

%

284 53.6 430 81.1

%

No. of people

%

120 22.6 232 43.8

328 298

61.9 56.2

Other No. of people

No response %

87 16.4 51 9.6

No. of people

%

14 2.6 11 2.1

Note: The total sample size is 530 people

students’ assignments. Although the teachers will also use Braille when designing the assignments, the usage rate is fairly low (see Table 16.3). Upon further examination, it can be observed that the occasions where the teachers use Braille are related to the grades of the students and the subjects they teach. In general, the lower the grade, the more frequent the use of Braille by the teachers. This might be because blind students receiving lower grades are in the critical period of learning Braille. In addition, the teachers who teach cultural subjects, such as mathematics and languages, are more likely to use Braille compared with the teachers who teach vocational courses.

3 Braille learning methods The majority of blind students and adults learn Braille in school. However, the teachers’ means of learning Braille vary. The survey results suggest that the main Braille learning methods for the teachers are “learning from colleagues” and “selfstudy”, with the former accounting for 44.3% of the teachers and the latter taking up 42.1%. Some teachers also attend “pre-vocational Braille training” and “training courses”, with the former taking up 34.5% of the teachers and the latter 20.9% (see Table 16.4).

Table 16.4: Braille learning methods for the teachers (multiple choices allowed). pre-vocational Learn from Training Self-study Other Braille training colleagues courses No. of people (N) Percentage

183 34.5

235 44.3

111 20.9

223 42.1

25 4.7

No response 4 0.8

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 153

4 Difficulties in reading Braille There are similarities and differences regarding the difficulties encountered by the blind students, teachers, and blind adults when reading Braille. “Difficult pronunciation” is the main hurdle reported by blind students, teachers, and blind adults alike. The teachers believe that “word segmentation” is harder to grasp than “the meanings of words”. By contrast, the blind students and blind adults found ‘the meanings of words’ more difficult to learn than “word segmentation” (Table 16.5 ). The differences in perceptions may result from the characteristics of different groups. The teachers have normal vision and can understand the meanings of words by referring to Chinese characters, while blind people are unable to do so. Upon closer scrutiny, the teachers with a college degree or above found the “pronunciation” the most difficult,, while the teachers with a qualification at secondary level consider the “word segmentation” the most difficult. When reading Braille, the biggest difficulty encountered by the teachers with teaching experience in primary school is the “word segmentation”, followed by “pronunciation”. However, the teachers who have never taught in primary school have a totally opposite experience from those who have.

5 Attitudes toward and suggestions for improving Braille More than half of the blind students, teachers, and blind adults believe that Braille needs to be improved. A deeper analysis reveals that blind students from the higher education sector have the highest proportion of respondents who believe that Chinese Braille “needs” to be enhanced. The teachers with less than 10 years of teaching experience and higher academic qualifications are more active in improving Braille. Among blind adults, the 40–50 age group have the highest percentage of respondents who suggest Braille “needs” further improvement. In addition, blind people who have a higher education level or who are engaged in Braille publishing are more willing to improve Braille. In terms of the specific measures, all groups state that “adding more footnotes for each word” and “adding tone marks more frequently” should be prioritised, followed by “increasing word concatenation and reducing word segmentation” and “adding tone mark to every word” (Table 16.6 ).

280

208

Blind adults

1,102

Teachers

Blind students

61.7

55.8

63.4

78

54

370 23.1

10.8

21.2

%

No. of people

No. of people

%

Meanings of words

Pronunciation

45

149

195

No. of people

13.4

29.7

11.2

%

Word segmentation

Table 16.5: Difficulties in reading Braille for different groups.

6

19

72

No. of people

Other

1.9

3.8

4.0

%

337

502

1,739

No. of people

91.1

94.7

96.2

%

Respondents

33

28

69

No. of people

8.9

5.3

3.8

%

Non-respondents

370

530

1,808

No. of people

100

100

100

%

Participants

154   Liu Yanhong (刘艳虹), Gu Dingqian (顾定倩), Cheng Li (程黎), and Wei Dan (魏丹)

57 19.2

10.8

19.2

%

73

174

388

No. of people

19.7

32.8

21.5

%

Increase word concatenation and reduce word segmentation

57

27

127

No. of people

15.4

5.1

7.0

%

Concatenate every word with no word segmentation

96

265

1,046

No. of people

25.9

50.0

57.9

%

Add more footnotes for each word

29

32

135

No. of people

%

7.8

6.0

7.5

Others

Note: The total number of blind students is 1,808; the total number of the teachers is 530; the total number of blind adults is 370.

71

262 49.4

137 37.0

Teachers

Blind adults

No. of people

348

%

Add tone mark to every word

981 54.3

Blind students

No. of people

Add tone marks more frequently

Table 16.6: Improvement method for Braille suggested by different groups.

21

27

77

No. of people

5.7

4.1

4.3

%

No response

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 Liu Yanhong (刘艳虹), Gu Dingqian (顾定倩), Cheng Li (程黎), and Wei Dan (魏丹)

6 Conclusions 6.1 Obstacles brought about by the use of the two Braille systems Established earlier and easier to learn, the current Braille has become popular among blind people. The results of this survey demonstrate that the majority of the blind students, teachers, and blind adults use the current Braille. At the same time, Two-cell Braille is used by a certain percentage of blind students in secondary and high schools, the teachers who teach cultural courses, and middle-aged blind adults. The parallel use of the current and Two-cell Braille has brought about many inconveniences to blind people in their study, daily lives, communication, and Braille publishing. The situation also hinders the development of Braille, which in turn damages the dissemination of those cultural practices. The status quo needs to be changed as soon as possible.

6.2 Nationally standardised Braille: An urgent need for the blind and the educators More than half of the respondents in different groups believe that Braille “needs improvement.” Further analysis shows that the teachers’ willingness to improve Braille decreases with increasing teaching experience and higher qualification. This may be because the older teachers have become accustomed to the teaching content and methods; thus, they are not keen on the reform of Braille. Better-educated teachers mainly teach high-performing students and, therefore, teach them through speaking rather than using Braille. As a result, teachers with a higher educational attainment tend to ignore any suggested improvement in Braille. Blind adults aged 40–50 with a higher education level and a job in Braille publishing show stronger enthusiasm towards the advancement in Braille, which might be related to the nature of their work. In addition, all the groups believe that “adding more footnotes for each word” and “adding tone marks more frequently” should be prioritised. This attitude reflects the problems resulting from the non-standardised marking of the tones. In view of its popularity, the current Chinese Braille should serve as the foundation for the standardisation of the national Braille.

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6.3 Inadequate pre-vocational Braille training for teachers engaged in the education of the blind The results of this survey also point toward a lack of pre-vocational professional development for teachers who teach blind students. Once they start teaching, most of the teachers can only learn Braille from their “colleagues” or through “selfstudy”, and their ability to use Braille still needs to be polished. This is related to the fact that many teachers in schools for the blind do not have a background in special education needs. Therefore, there is a need to act in accordance with the State Council’s Suggestions on Strengthening the Nurturing of Teaching Staff (issued by the General Office of the State Council [2012] No. 41), which states that: “the nurturing of special education teachers should focus on the improvement of professional skills, the quality of the training for special education teachers, and the management of special education teachers.” (Ministry of Education website 2012) Based on the requirements stated in that document, the ability to use Braille should be included in the qualifications for special education teachers. Braille training should also be highly valued and incorporated into the pre-vocational training as well as on-the-job training for special education teachers.

References Ministry of Education website. 2012. http://www.moe.gov.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/ moe/moe_1778/201209/141772.html.

Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Zhang Xiuyan (张秀彦), Chen Fang (陈芳), and Guo Xi (郭熙)

17 Language situation of foreign residents in Xiaobei Road, Guangzhou Since China’s reform and opening up, social transformation and accession to the World Trade Organization, there is a rising trend for foreigners to reside in China. According to statistics, the population of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan residents and foreigners who have lived or ascertained to have lived in Guangdong province for more than three months is no less than 310 thousands (State Statistical Bureau 2011). Clusters of foreigners of considerable scale have been formed in economically developed cities, for instance, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan. Among all, the situation in Guangzhou is the most complicated. To resolve language problems in foreign residential areas in China has become a new issue for current urban management and should by no means be neglected.

1 Basic situation 1.1 Foreign residents in Guangzhou According to the relevant data of Guangzhou Borders Inspection Station (Yu 2010), in 2010, the number of foreigners who entered or departed from Guangzhou via each port in Guangzhou was 4.08 million in total, of which 28,296 were foreign residents in Guangzhou. In terms of origins, foreigners came from developed countries such as Europe, the US, Japan and South Korea (54.5%), from middle east countries (6.1%), from African countries (7.8%) and others (31.6%). In terms of nationalities, the top five countries are Japan, South Korea, the US, India and Canada, totaling 45.9%. In terms of identities, the family category (including adopted children) takes up the largest proportion, accounting for 38.1%. Employees of foreign enterprises is the second largest, accounting for 23.6%, followed by overseas students (18.2%), permanent delegates (12.5%), foreign tutors and experts (4.8%) and others (2.8%). Since the 1990s, foreign residents in Guangzhou have formed five cluster areas gradually, which is ‘Sanyuanli area’ (三元里片), ‘Huangshi East to Huangshi Central area’ (环市东–环市中片), ‘Tianhubei area’ (天河北片), ‘Ersha Island area’ (二沙岛片) and ‘Panyu area’ (番禺片) (Li, Xue, and BrownA 2008). Apart from that, the number of foreigners that scatter around in Guangzhou is small. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-017

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 Zhang Xiuyan (张秀彦), Chen Fang (陈芳), and Guo Xi (郭熙)

According to a survey (Huang and Ning 2008), the overall Chinese language proficiency of foreign residents in Guangzhou is comparatively weak. Among 550 samples surveyed (foreigners), 37.4% of the respondents ‘do not know any Chinese’; 50.7% ‘understand certain Chinese terms that are used in daily life’; ‘understand Chinese slightly’, ‘familiar with Chinese’ or ‘skilled in Chinese’ together account for 11.7% in total. Over half of the respondents believe language barrier is the biggest obstacle for them while living in Guangzhou. Regarding the choice of learning methods, there are various tendencies for foreign residents from different countries. Foreign residents such as those from Europe, Japan, South Korea, India prefer regular schools and training institutions for learning Chinese. On the other hand, foreign residents from Africa and North Asia are less likely to choose regular training institutions but tend to learn Chinese through real life communication with Chinese.

1.2 Xiaobei Road (小北路) and African residents in Guangzhou Xiaobei Road is located in Yuexiu (粤秀) district, Guangzhou. Its surroundings represent one of the districts in Guangzhou that have the highest concentration of foreign population with Africans and North Asians of African descent being the majority. Guangzhou people tend to associate Xiaobei Road with African residents when that district is mentioned to them.

1.2.1 Formation of clusters In the 1990s, Canton fair and the Guangzhou wholesale economy continued to attract Arabian businessmen to Guangzhou. Around 2000, Africans and Northern Asians of African descent started to follow the footsteps of Arabs to Guangzhou, with 2003 to 2005 being the peak period for Africans to be engaged in trading activities in Guangzhou (Zhen 2009). The African population who legally resides in Guangzhou is more than 2,000 at present while the African population of long term residence1 who live in Guangzhou legally or illegally is more than a few thousand.

1 Long term residence refers to a continuous stay of more than 6 months.

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1.2.2 Distribution of Africans Africans in Guangzhou mainly cluster in five areas, which are ‘Train Station to Sanyuanli’, ‘Huanshi East to Huanshi Central’, ‘Shishi Church’ (石室教堂), ‘Panyu’ and ‘Dongpu’ (东圃). Apart from that, the number of Africans that scatter in various areas in Guangzhou is small (Hong 2009). Among the five above-mentioned clusters, the cluster in ‘Huangshi East to Huangshi Central area’ is the earliest cluster formed by Africans and it is located near the foreign trade area. Currently, it is the district which consists of the highest number of Africans in Guangzhou and is called ‘the Brooklyn of Guangzhou’. Of all districts, the African community near the Xiaobei Road district is the most active one. Xiaobei Road is located near the train station, the original site of the China Export, Commodities Fair and many wholesale markets. It is the district in which foreign trade activities took place during the earliest period and merchants from Hong Kong chose to open their stores at Xiaobei Tianxiu Mansion (天秀大厦). Around 1997, African merchants started to move from North East Asia to Guangzhou, clustering at Xiaobei Road district (Li, Xue, Du, and Zhu 2009). It attracted many African merchants to stay in Guangzhou. At present, within a radius of one kilometer from the Xiaobei Road area, there are many commercial high rises where a large number of African merchants live, for instance, Tian Xiu Mansion, Xiushan Building (秀山楼), Ceramic Mansion (陶瓷大厦) and National Dragon Mansion (国龙大厦) (see Figure 17.1 and Figure 17.2). Therefore, the everyday language situation of Africans at Xiaobei Road and it surrounding area is the most representative.

Figure 17.1: Arabian restaurant in Xiaobei: Saba Restaurant.

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 Zhang Xiuyan (张秀彦), Chen Fang (陈芳), and Guo Xi (郭熙)

Figure 17.2: Signboard in Xiaobei.

For the peripheral communities of Xiaobei Road, the foreign communities on the northern and the southern sides of Huangshi East Road have developed into rather different areas. The southern side of Huangshi East Road consists of a commercial district for China-Africa trading, including Tian Xiu (天秀) Mansion, Xiushan (秀山) Building, Sino Africa Trade City and Xiaobei Road. As for residential districts on the south side, such as Tianxiu district, it is a better residential environment with more decent looking buildings. The Africans who live in this district are usually wealthier. For Bao Han Zhi Street (宝汉直街) on the northern side of Huangshi East Road, it is a slum area with a very high population density. The living environment is poor and the income level of the African residents is usually lower.

2 Language use of Africans 2.1 Language background Among the long term foreign residents in Guangzhou, the language situation of Africans is the most complicated one. Their origins cover virtually all parts of Africa, including Guinea, Benin, Mali, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Ghana in West Africa, Congo and Angola in Central Africa, and Tanzania and Kenya in

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East Africa. They use languages such as Swahili, French, English, Arabic, Portuguese and other African languages. They usually engage in trading of high mobility products (Li, Xue, Du, and Zhu 2009). Some of them are illegal immigrants, illegal residents and illegal merchants, so called “three I’s”.

2.2 ‘Ask for direction’ study and result Due to the complexity of foreign residents’ living conditions in the Xiaobei districts, our research team has adopted the ‘asking for direction’ approach in researching the basic situation of foreigners in Xiaobei districts. Two persons are paired up to randomly pick African pedestrians to ask for directions in Mandarin, with one being in charge of asking directions while the other observes. Afterwards, they immediately fill out the questionnaire with information on the interaction as accurately as they can. At the same time, we also investigate their functional use of Chinese in a range of situations, level of proficiency of Mandarin and needs for Mandarin learning through observations and interviews. The result shows that the respondents’ functional use of Mandarin is limited, their Mandarin abilities are low and their perceived need for Mandarin learning is regarded as not urgent. Of the 30 respondents, most of them try to evade or reply us perfunctorily when we ask for directions and enthusiastic response is rare. Throughout the data collection process, there are only four successful cases, which account for 15.3% of the total respondents, while the failure cases are 26, accounting for 86.7%. The Africans in Xiaobei districts mainly come from Africa and their mother tongues are variously French, English, Arabic and Portuguese; the proportion of English native speakers is small. Therefore, when they reside in China, most of them choose to communicate with Chinese people in English.

2.3 Solutions to ease communication barriers under various occasions After conducting research on the daily life of foreigners in Guangzhou around commercial buildings, hospitals, restaurants and the markets near Xiaobei Road, we found that their language situations show various characteristics in different fields. 2.3.1 Commercial activities Most of the Africans in Xiaobei districts visit China for commercial activities. Foreign trade has become the main business direction of Tian Xiu Mansion, Guo

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Long Mansion, Sino African Trade City, Xiushan Building and Xiao Bei Road Garment Street, and foreign merchants are their major business partners. Research shows that English is the major language used among foreign merchants when engaged in trading activities in Xiaobei. Simple English is widely used in trading activities and Chinese merchants would take the initiative to use English in an attempt to attract foreign merchants, introduce commodities and negotiate prices. Some of the merchants are escorted by a Chinese interpreter and most of them visit China for the first time. They hope to overcome communication barriers and get acquainted with the business landscape in China with the help of the interpreter.

2.3.2 Dining The large number of Muslim restaurants in Xiaobei district is one of the major reasons for Muslim Africans to cluster there. A survey reveals (Zhen 2009) that at least half of the Africans residing in Guangzhou are Muslims and Muslim restaurants serve as important social venues for them. Our research group has found that the customers of Muslim and Arabian restaurants in Xiaobei districts are mainly foreigners and the restaurants are fitted in Arabian style and decor. The menus are in Arabic and waiters serve with Arabian etiquette in English and Arabic. Observation has also taken place at markets, supermarkets, restaurants, mobile stalls, security kiosks, laundry shops and long-distance telephone kiosks around the Xiaobei district, revealing some daily interactional patterns between the Chinese and foreigners. After interviewing the shop owners, we found that Africans in Xiaobei mainly use English to interact with Chinese. The Chinese trading with them will take the initiative to name prices in simple English, very few foreigners can communicate in Chinese. In the grocery markets, Chinese merchants use simple English (such as numerals) to bargain with foreign customers; only a small number of foreign housewives can use simple Chinese to bargain.

2.3.3 Medical consultation Interactions between doctors and patients are significant in daily life. We have observed and investigated Tai’an Hospital (泰安医院) (a community hospital) in Xiaobei and have found that conversations between medical staff and foreign patients are often a mixture of Chinese and English. If the patients understand neither Chinese nor English, they are usually accompanied by an English or a Chinese interpreter to facilitate communication with the doctors. Seldom do foreign residents visit hospital for medical services. Self-diagnosis is carried out

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for general diseases. Foreign residents are reluctant to visit the hospital; if they do, they may also adjust the doctor’s prescription.

2.4 Chinese learning methods Regarding Chinese learning, most of the Africans believe it is not necessary to learn from professional institutions and tend to learn Chinese through daily communication with local Chinese. According to our survey, African businessmen are more likely to employ interpreters with working experiences, foreign trade experiences or with some prior training in English. Not only do these interpreters provide language services to African businessmen, but they also familiarize their employers with the business in trading markets in Guangzhou and help them source goods as fast as possible. They are the pivots and bridges between African businessmen and their Chinese counterparts.

3 Problems and solutions 3.1 Problems 3.1.1 Unclear language situation of foreigners in foreign community The current law does not impose any language requirements on immigrants or applicants for residence in China. The lack of registration and examination of the language situation of immigrants has also led to a lack of clarity in the language situation of foreigners in China. Nowadays, most countries with mature and complete immigration systems take language proficiency assessment as a crucial criterion when assessing immigrants’ applications, yet no such requirement is imposed on immigrants in China.

3.1.2 Lack of pertinent language services for foreigners in China With the increasing number of foreign immigrants, foreigners have gradually become an important part of the urban population in China’s central cities. The administrative department has the responsibility and obligation to provide pertinent language services with a view to enabling foreign immigrants to get used

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to working and living in China. The survey has found that Guangzhou and other cities in China still do not provide any relevant service or measure. Regarding the management of foreign affairs, China tends to cope with the situation by training up minority language talents, yet with the rising number of foreigners, the language situation will become more complicated. Relying on minority language talents to cater to the need of language service is far from enough. At present, most of the Africans in Guangzhou hire interpreters to communicate with the Chinese for work-related or other purposes. However, the management and regulation of institutes or individuals providing interpreting services are far from established. Besides providing relevant language services, attention should also be paid to the provision of Chinese learning services because the native languages of foreigners in China are complex, while training up language talents cannot guarantee the provision of language services for all foreign languages.

3.2 Suggestions Firstly, a good understanding of foreigners’ language situation is needed, especially the use of Chinese by immigrants and foreigners on extended stay. Secondly, the language situation of foreigners in China should be investigated systematically, and relevant language policies and laws formulated accordingly. When formulating relevant language policies and laws, foreigners in China should also be taken into consideration. Thirdly, there is a need to train up more minority language talents. Fourthly, Chinese learning services should be provided. According to the current situation, Chinese language learning services should be so designed as to facilitate learners’ adaptation to their work, study and living in China by learning Chinese.

References Hong Hu (洪鹄). 2009. The distribution of the Black population in Guangzhou (广州黑人分布 图). Nandu Weekly (南都周刊), August. Huang Shiding (黄石鼎) and Ning Chaoqiao (宁超乔). 2008. The investigation report on the living conditions of foreigners in Guangzhou, China (在穗外国人生活状况调查报告). In Tang Yingwu (汤应武) and Jiang Nianyun (蒋年云) (eds.), The social development report of China 2008 (中国广州社会发展报告[2008]). Social Science Documentation Press. Li Zhigang (李志刚), Xue Desheng (薛德升) and BrownA. 2008. Social space analysis of the Black communities in Guangzhou Xiaobei Road (广州小北路黑人聚居区社会空间分析). Acta Geographica Sinica (地理学报), 2.

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Li Zhigang (李志刚), Xue Desheng (薛德升), D u Feng (杜枫) and Zhu Ying (朱颖). 2009. Social space for migration under globalization: A case study of Xiaobei Black District in Guangzhou (全球化下“跨国移民社会空间”的地方响应 以广州小北黑人区为例). Geography Research (地理研究), 4. State Statistical Bureau website (国家统计局网站). 2011. Data of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan residents and foreigners registered in the Sixth National Census of 2010 (2010年第六次全 国人口普查接受普查登记的港澳台居民和外籍人员主要数据). http://www.stats.gov.cn/ tjfx/jdfx/t20110429_402722585.htm (April 29, 2011). Yu Yanqun (于雁群). 2010. Exploration and reflection on the management of foreigners in the trend of feform and opening up (改革开放思潮中的外国人管理的探索和思考). Guangdong Public Security Research (广东公安研究), 3. Zhen Jinghui (甄静慧). 2009. Africans in Guangzhou (非洲人在广州). Nan Feng Chuang (南风窗), 9.

Translated by MAN Yun Hui, Charlene The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Mao Liqun (毛力群) and Ying Ling (应玲)

18 Language use of the military The language used by military personnel in their daily lives has distinctive characteristics. This article investigates the use of military language by the soldiers in active service, a small number of the veteran soldiers, and the demobilised army cadres in Ningbo (宁波) in Zhejiang (浙江) province. The survey includes the appellations and vocabulary used in military camps.

1 Appellations in the military camps 1.1 Standard appellations In military camps, there are have systematic regulations and requirements for basic military operations, the installation of barracks and camps, even dress code and housekeeping. The rules and unified styles are often considered “standard” (制式). Living in a standardised and highly regulated environment, the daily life of a soldier has also been moulded into a standardised routine. Article 74 of the latest Internal Administration Regulations of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (signed and issued by Hu Jintao [胡锦涛], Chairman of the Central Military Commission on 3 June 2010) regulates the appellations of military personnel: (1) soldiers should address each other by titles, surnames with titles, or titles with the word “tóngzhì” (同志, comrade); (2) chiefs and soldiers of higher rankings can address their subordinates and peers by their names or names with the word “tóngzhì”; (3) soldiers of lower rankings can address their superiors as “shǒuzhǎng” (首长, chief) or “shǒuzhǎng” with the word “tóngzhì”; (4) in public places and when the person’s title is unknown, soldiers can address each other by their military ranks with the word “tóngzhì” or “tóngzhì” alone.1 The ways soldiers address each other can be generally divided into the following nine types (Table 18.1). On informal occasions, soldiers sometimes use humorous and friendly appellations. However, in formal settings, the standard appellations will be used.

1 Internal Administration Regulations of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army issued internally in August 2008. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-018

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 Mao Liqun (毛力群) and Ying Ling (应玲)

Table 18.1: Appellations used by soldiers to address each other. Occasions

Alternative appellations

Examples

General

Surname + title Title + “tóngzhì”

Gao liánzhǎng (高连长, ‘Gāo company commander’) Liánzhǎng tóngzhì (连长同志, ‘company commander comrade’)

The superiors address their subordinates or soldiers in the same rank address each other

Name Name + “tóngzhì”

Xu Sanduo (许三多) Xu Sanduo tóngzhì (许三多同志, ‘Xu Sanduo comrade’)

The subordinates address their superiors

“shǒuzhǎng” “shǒuzhǎng” + “tóngzhì”

Shǒuzhǎng (首长, Chief) Shǒuzhǎng + tóngzhì (首长+ 同志, ‘Chief + comrade’)

Rank + “tóngzhì” “Tóngzhì”

Shàoxiào tóngzhì (少校同志, ‘major comrade’) Tóngzhì (同志, ‘comrade’)

Restricted

Contextual

1.2 Non-standard appellations and their characteristics The non-standard appellations refer to the casual names used among military personnel. The choice of informal appellations differs according to the contexts and subjects (see Tables 18.2 to 18.5). Table 18.2: Appellations of soldiers in military camps. Appellations

Explanations

Appellation

Explanations

Xīnbīng dànzi (新兵 蛋子, ‘new eggs’)

Male soldiers

Xīnbīng piànzi (新兵 片子, ‘new slices’)

Female soldiers

Lǎobīng yóuzi (老兵 油子, ‘old oil’)

Careless and undisciplined senior soldiers

Cìtóurbīng (刺头儿兵, ‘thorn’)

Soldiers who have incorrect ideologies

Xióngbīng (熊兵, ‘bear soldier’)

Soldiers who have poor military skills

Nāobīng (孬兵, ‘coward’)

Soldiers who are cowardice and have poor military skills

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Table 18.2 (continued) Appellations

Explanations

Appellation

Explanations

Hòuménbīng (后门兵, ‘back-door soldier’)

Soldiers who joined the Chinese Communist Party or got promotion due to family wealth

Lǎoxiāng (老乡, ‘old fellow-townsman’)

The size of a town is considered larger in the military than that of the general public.

Xiǎoguǐ (小鬼, ‘goblin’)

Name used by officers to call young soldiers

Lǎopàozi (老炮子, ‘old gun’)

Sergeants

Table 18.3: Appellations of officers in military camps. Appellations

Explanations

Appellations

Explanations

X máo X (X毛X)

A name created according to the numbers of bars and stars on the epaulette. It is often used by soldiers to address the officers in the basic units.

Hóngpáiér (红牌儿, ‘red card’)

A name that refers specifically to trainee soldiers. When the trainees are assigned to military camps from military academies, they have to go through a training period, in which their badges are a red card.

N hào/ N bǎshǒu (N号/ N把手, ‘number N/ N hands’)

The name is often used to address people in charge of troops. The common expressions include yībǎshǒu (一把手, ‘leader no. 1ʹ), èrbǎshǒu (二把手, ‘leader no. 2ʹ). Qībǎshǒu (七把手, ‘leader no. 7ʹ) is rarely seen.

Title + zuò (座)

The combination is mostly used to address cadres above the regimental level, such as jūnzuò (军座, ‘army commander’) and tuánzuò (团座, ‘regimental commander’)

Tóuér/ lǎobǎn (头儿/ 老 板, ‘head/ boss’)

The term imitates the ways employees address their employers. In the military, the term is often used by soldiers to call the senior leaders who they have close relationships with.

Surname + abbreviation of title

A combination that is used more commonly between soldiers at the same level; it is also used by soldiers to address cadres who work in the basic units, such as Yángpái (杨排, ‘Yáng platoon’) and Zhānglián (张连, ‘Zhāng company’).

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Table 18.3 (continued) Appellations

Explanations

Appellations

Explanations

Abbreviation of title + fù (副, ‘deputy’)

A relatively common name for cadres in the basic units, such as bānfù (班副, ‘deputy squat leader’) and liánfù (连 副, ‘deputy company leader’).

Lǎo (老, old) + title

Due to promotions and the changes of employment, the mobility of personnel in military camps is high. The appellation is mostly used by the former subordinates to address their ex-superiors, such as lǎoshīzhǎng (老师 长, ‘old division commander’) and lǎozhèngwěi (老政委, ‘old commissar’).

Name of the level + shǒuzhǎng (首长, ‘chief’)

The combination is often Lǎoshǒuzhǎng used to address cadres above (老首长, old the regiment level, such chief) as shīshǒuzhǎng (师首长, ‘division chief’)

The name is mostly used to address elder leaders.

Table 18.4: General appellations in military camps. Constituents Examples of the Appellations

Explanations

Surname/ forename

Haipeng (海鹏), Sanduo (三多), Zhang (张)

Xiǎo (小, little) + surname

Xiaozhang (小张, ‘little Zhang’), Xiaosong (小宋, ‘little Song’)

Constituents of the Appellations

Examples

Explanations

The use of Lǎo (老, old) + surname or surname forename alone makes it friendly and simple. The format is commonly used among soldiers.

Laozhang (老张, ‘old Zhang’), Laoli (老李, ‘old Li’)

The combination is used mostly between peers, although it is sometimes used for soldiers of higher rankings to address elder soldiers to show respect.

The combination is mostly used by the superiors to call their subordinates

Zhaoxiong (赵兄), Sanduo lao di (三 多老弟)

The combination is often used among soldiers in the same level and have close relationships.

Surname/ forename + xiōng (兄, ‘older brother’)/ lǎodì (老弟, ‘little brother’)

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Table 18.5: Appellations for the family members of military personnel in military camps Appellations

Explanations

Appellations

Explanations

Āyí (阿姨, ‘auntie’)

The term is used by soldiers to address the wives of military personnel; age is irrelevant.

Sǎozi (嫂子, ‘sister-in-law’)

A term used by officers to address the wives of their superiors

Jūnjiěfū(军姐 夫, ‘military brother-in-law’)

The husbands of female military personnel

Jiāshǔ (家属, ‘family member’)

A term used by the superiors to address the lovers of their subordinates

Liáojī (僚机, ‘peer’s plane’)

The term used by air force Xiǎoliáojī (小 officers to address the wives 僚机, ‘peer’s of military personnel little plane’)

The term used by air force officers to address the children of pilots

As shown in Tables 18.2 to 18.5 above, the non-standard appellations have several characteristics. Firstly, there exists an apparent hierarchy. Although the informal appellations sound more friendly and relaxed than the formal ones, they still exhibit the hierarchical nature of the military. For instance, the slightly humorous expression “X máo X” (X 毛X) is only used to address cadres working in the basic units; whereas the senior officers are called “N bǎshǒu” (N把手, ‘leader no. N’) and “title + zuò (座)”. Moreover, the appellations for the family members of officers are different from those of soldiers. Soldiers address the wives of officers “auntie”. However, officers of lower rankings address the wives of high-ranking officers as “sister-in-law”. Secondly, explicitly mentioning sex-related phrases or topics is considered a taboo. On the surface, the Chinese tend to avoid talking about sex; military camps are no exception. Many young men in the barracks express their feelings toward marriage and sex surreptitiously, inexplicitly, or even jokingly. Such an attitude is also reflected in the appellations used. For instance, newly-joined male soldiers are called “dànzi” (蛋子, ‘eggs’) and their female counterparts are referred to as “piànzi” (片子, ‘slices’) Thirdly, vulgar language is popular. This might be because using crude language is seen as exerting power in the military. Expressions such as “nāobīng” (孬兵, ‘coward’) and “xióngbīng” (熊兵, ‘bear soldier’) demonstrates the importance attached to authority and power. However, it is undeniable that with the increase of the quality of military officers and the deepening of the concept of “people-oriented”, expressions that are insulting to soldiers, such as “cìtóurbīng” (刺头儿兵, ‘thorn’), have gradually disappeared. Moreover, the appellations used

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among solders have demonstrated a close relationship with fellow townsmen and a respect towards elder leaders.

2 Vocabulary used in military camps Confidentiality, intimacy, and distinctiveness contribute to the characteristics of the military language, making it more special than other kinds of language. The codelike military language is, in fact, a common memory shared by soldiers and veterans. The semantic change in military terms, the field-specific meanings derived from everyday expressions, and the unique vocabulary used in the military make up the major part of the military language.

2.1 Semantic change in military terms The application of military vocabulary in soldiers’ daily lives is the transfer of the standard military language to casual communication among the servicemen. The transformation gives new meanings to the standard military terms. The shift in meanings is a major feature of the military language and also an important part of military culture. The following sections will introduce the semantic changes of the terms used in troops, military terminology, and general terms. 2.1.1 Semantic change in the vocabulary used in troops See Table 18.6. Table 18.6: Semantic change in the vocabulary used in troops. Military terminology

Original meaning

New meaning

Tàbù (踏步, ‘march on the spot’)

Stand upright, with both feet lifted and landed alternately without moving forward ①

No new progress in work or training

Shāoxī (稍息, ‘stand at ease’)

Change from standing to resting posture ②

Do not interfere or do not worry

Xiànghòuzhuǎn (向后 转, ‘about face’)

The term is pronounced as “xiànghòu – zhuăn” and is used to command soldiers to make a turn when standing still ③

Leave the army (change of career or retire)

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Table 18.6 (continued) Military terminology

Original meaning

New meaning

Qíbùzǒu (齐步走, ‘march’)

A command that keeps the team organised and march with a synchronised pace ④

Progress together or disregard merits

① Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 2011. Contemporary Chinese dictionary (5th edition) (现代汉语词典), p.1315. Beijing: The Commercial Press. ② Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 2011. Contemporary Chinese dictionary (5th edition) (现代汉语词典), p.1201. Beijing: The Commercial Press. ③ Li, Suming (李苏鸣). 2006. Research on the military language (军事语言研究), p. 215. Beijing: The People’s Armed Police Press. ④ Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 2011. Contemporary Chinese dictionary (5th edition) (现代汉语词典), p.1069. Beijing: The Commercial Press.

2.1.2 Semantic change in military terminology See Table 18.7. Table 18.7: Semantic change in military terminology Terminology

Original meaning

New meaning

Liǎngjìnsān(两进三, ‘two to three’)

A term used to describe the speed of a naval vessel, meaning two engines change up to the third gear at the same time ①

Two people turning into three, referring to child birth

Pāomáo (抛锚, ‘drop anchor’)

Release the anchor of a ship or other water vehicle, securing the ship or vehicle in place ②

Things are suspended or halted for certain reasons

Bǎdìng (把定, ‘bear steady’)

A nautical term, referring to the temporary stability of bearings

Controlling and understanding the development of things

Kàomǎtóu (靠码头, ‘docking’)

Bring a ship into the dock after completing the voyage ③

The crew reunited with their family members

Fàngdānfēi (放单飞, ‘solo fly’)

Pilots independently execute flying missions after meeting the requirements of the training ④

Flight crew’s free time

Zhuǎnchǎng fēixíng (转场飞行, ‘coursechanging flight’)

A plane takes off from one airport and lands at another airport ⑤

A group of people go out for dinner and encounter their acquaintances, so the group send a few representatives to make a toast to the acquaintances

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Table 18.7 (continued) Terminology

Original meaning

New meaning

Quántiānhòu (全天 候, ‘all weather’)

Pilots who are capable of executing missions under simple and complex weather conditions during daytime and night-time ⑥

Capable of adapting to all situations

Yóufēng (油封, ‘oil seal’)

A component used to seal the oil and isolate the parts that need lubrication from the output parts to avoid leakage ⑦

The leaving of one’s spouse that leads to the suspension of one’s sex life

Guàdàng (挂档, ‘shift up the gear’)

A term for driving, meaning moving up the gear ⑧

Confirming the person that one is in love with

Quēshǎo zhìdòngqì (缺少制动器, ‘missing a brake’)

The lack of brakes ⑨

A person stubbornly going his own way

Léidá (雷达, ‘raider’)

An electronic equipment used to detect targets using electromagnetic waves ⑩

A person who is good at finding out gossips

Wúxiàn gùzhàng (无线故障, ‘wireless failure’)

Failed wireless information transmission 11

Breaking up with one’s romantic partner

① Chen, Yunchuan (陈允传). 2007. Memory of military camps in China (中国军营记忆), p.357. Jinan: HuangHe Publishing House. ② Li, Suming (李苏鸣). 2006. Study on the military language (军事语言研究), p. 215. Beijing: The People’s Armed Police Press. ③ Refer to ① ④ Xia, Juan (夏娟). 2006. Military dialects: Air forces (军营方言词典·空军系列). Life of People’s Liberation Army (解放军生活), 7. ⑤ Refer to ④ ⑥ Li, Suming (李苏鸣). 2006. Study on the military language (军事语言研究), p. 216. Beijing: The People’s Armed Police Press. ⑦ Zhou, Gang (周刚). 1990. Application of military language in real lives and the cultural mindset (军语生活化与文化心态). Chinese Language Learning (汉语学习), 56. ⑧ Refer to ⑦ ⑨ Refer to ⑦ ⑩ Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. (2011). Contemporary Chinese dictionary (5th edition) (现代汉语词典), p.825. Beijing: Commercial Press. ⑪ Refer to ①

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2.1.3 Semantic change in general military terms See Table 18.8. Table 18.8: Semantic change in general military terms General military term

Original meaning

New meaning

Dāngè jiàoliàn (单个教练, ‘individual coach’)

To conduct teaching and training with an individual ①

To have a chat with an individual

Qīngzhuāng (轻装, ‘light infantry’)

Troops temporarily reduce their equipment to improve their mobility ②

Abandon emotional baggage

Jīběn wéihù (基本维护, ‘basic maintenance’)

The basic maintenance and inspection of weapons

Grooming and dressing up

Jìnrù yīděng (进入一等, ‘enter the top’)

A battle entering into the top preparation mode ③

Intense work

① Xiang, Yin (向音). 2005. Study on the modern military language in China (我国当代军事语言 研究). Wuhan: Wuhan University Press. ② Li, Suming (李苏鸣). 2006. Study on the military language (军事语言研究), p. 215. Beijing: The People’s Armed Police Press. ③ Zhou, Gang (周刚). 1990. Application of military language in real lives and the cultural mindset (《军语生活化与文化心态》). Chinese Language Learning (汉语学习), 56.

The above examples suggest that metaphors are an important tool for the semantic change in the military terms. For instance, “kàomǎtóu” (靠码头, ‘docking’) is used to describe the reunion of seafarers and their loved ones; the term “zhìgāodiǎn” (制高点, ‘commanding elevation’) means showing great foresight; the term “jīguānqiāng” (机关枪, ‘machine guns’) is used when a speaker is speaking very fast. Phrases such as “qíbùzǒu” (齐步走, ‘march’) and xiànghòuzhuǎn (向后转, ‘about face’) capture the distinctive features of specific behaviours and extend them semantically. In addition, “taking words literally” is also another means to achieve sematic change. For example, “liǎngjìnsān” (两进三, ‘two to three’), in a literal sense, means the shift from number two to three, which is interpreted as “have a child”. Another example is the phrase “shāoxī” (稍息, ‘stand at ease’), the original meaning of which focuses on “ease” and is, therefore, semantically transformed into “do not intervene or do not rush”. It is safe to assume that common semantic change has reinforced the mystery and personality of the military.

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2.2 Variations of general terms in the military Universal terms familiar to the general public are sometimes given new meanings by the army and the meanings are closely related to the unique military life style. The military language is unintelligible to the general public; whereas everyday expressions are often appropriated to express meanings specific to the military context, although they may sound obscure to the general public. For instance, “dòufǔkuài” (豆腐块, ‘dried bean curd’), a term ever so familiar by the Chinese, is used to describe well-folded bedsheets in the military. “Huíniángjiā” (回娘家, ‘visiting the parental home’) refers to soldiers who have been transferred or have retired returning to their original units. To female soldiers, the term “basic units” specifically means “male squads”. The phrase “yǒuqíngkuàng (有情况, ‘something is happening’) means emergency muster; “tì guāngtóu” (剃光头, ‘shaved head’) refers to missing the target during shooting practices; “yā chuángbăn” (压 床板, ‘press the bed board’) means staying in bed late or escaping training; and “shàngbăng” (上榜, ’on the list’) refers to being outstanding or under-performing in the housekeeping competition. Therefore, it can be concluded that word meanings are not unalterable and will change according to the contexts. Soldiers are always able to create their own “codes”, which enrich the language used by the general public and also bring joy to soldiers’ lives.

2.3 Vocabulary exclusively used in military camps In the military language, apart from semantically-changed words and the reinterpretation of common language, there also exist words that are created by military personnel and reflect the unusual life style. For instance, some words are related to the daily lives of soldiers, including “wǎndiǎnmíng” (晚点名, ‘evening roll-call’), “yèxùn” (夜训, ‘night training’), “tǐxùn” (体训, ‘physical training’), “qǐchuánghào” (起床号, ‘reveille’), “chápù” (查铺, ‘bed check’), “cháshào” (查哨, ‘sentries inspection’), and “zìwèishào” (自卫哨, ‘self-defence sentry’). In addition, the military has created words to describe festivals and gatherings, including “gòngtóng kètí” (共同课题, ‘common task’), “jiēqián jiāoyù” (节前教育, ‘pre-holidays education’), “bāngchú” (帮厨, ‘kitchen helper’), “shōujià” (收假, ‘end of holidays’), and “lāgē” (拉歌, ‘solders’ singing competition’). Words that are related to the training of soldiers include “màopào” (冒泡, ‘making mistakes’), “diàoliànzi” (掉链子, ‘drop the ball’), “shùnguǎi” (顺拐, ‘simultaneously move one’s unilateral arm and leg’), “liūhào” (溜号, ‘sneak away’), “guàhuā” (挂花, ‘wounded’), and “jiāogōngliáng” (交公粮, ‘grain rendering’). Regardless of their origins, terms used by the military reflect the unique military culture and mindset.

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2.4 Internet slang in the military The isolation of the military does not have much impact on soldiers’ understanding of the Internet language. More than 83% of the soldiers said that they would use the Internet language. Among those who claimed that they know the Internet slang very well, 37% of the people use it frequently. Therefore, it is evident that the Internet language is rather widely used in the military.

3 Conclusions Standardisation, secrecy, and the warrior nature create the unique language used by the army for daily communication. The distinctive features of the military language can be seen especially in the appellations and words used in military camps, which are worthy of attention. On the one hand, in an era which emphasises openness and diversity, the military’s everyday language absorbs the trends, enriching itself and reflecting even minute changes in the daily lives of military personnel. Compared with relatively fixed military terminology, the daily language is versatile and casual. The openness and inclusiveness of the daily language have undoubtedly added colours to the life of the army. On the other hand, with the continuous development of the modern military culture, swearing and cursing have gradually been curbed. Nowadays, the use of military language tends to be more regulated and humane. Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Part III Language focuses

Xie Junying (谢俊英)

19 Dialects protection debate In 2012, a few dialect-related issues became the hot topic in town. They were announcing bus stops in local dialects, teaching dialects at school and prohibiting the use of dialects in the companies.

1 Announcing bus stops in dialects in public transport vehicles 1.1 Cause Announcing bus stops in dialects was originated in southern regions. At the end of 2011, announcement in dialects was tested on Bus no.785 in Shanghai (上海), which had a significant effect on perceptions of the general public regarding the use of dialects in society. By the end of 2012, Shanghai dialect has been used on seven bus routes. According to a survey, apart from Shanghai, many cities were trying or have been using local dialects for stops announcement on buses. It has become a trend all over China. As a matter of fact, Cantonese had been used in bus stops announcement in Guangdong (广东) province before Shanghai’s practice. Xiamen (厦门) dialect has also been included in the announcement at Xiamen Airport. Then, the same policy has been implemented in other cities like Hangzhou (杭州), Suzhou (苏州), Nanjing (南京), Wenzhou (温州), Haining (海宁), and Ningde (宁德). Besides, when the Suzhou subway first started operation, some of the citizens suggested including the Suzhou dialect in the announcement on top of Putonghua and English. However, the practice was abandoned because the travelling time between stations was too short for a multilingual announcement.

1.2 Views from different parties Making announcements on public transport vehicles in the local dialect has both supporters and opponents. Overall, most of the locals in different provinces support the scheme. Nevertheless, the situation in Suzhou differs. The announcement in https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-019

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the local dialect is the most popular among the older generations, especially the elderly natives. On the other hand, some immigrants and non-local passengers are less concerned about it as they are not familiar with Suzhou dialect (Jiangsu Sina 2011). According to a survey on announcing bus stops in Wuxi (无锡) dialect, 67% of the netizens supported the scheme because it promoted and protected Wuxi dialect, while 16.7% indicated that it was unnecessary (Huang 2012).

1.2.1 Supporting arguments The supporters believed that the scheme affected far more than just bus stops announcement, but also culture protection. It preserved and promoted local culture, and served as one of the ways to protect dialects. The supporters from Shanghai said, “Embraced by the authentic Shanghai dialect; tourists could truly feel that they have arrived in Shanghai”. Furthermore, announcing bus stops in the local dialect created a sense of solidarity for the locals (Dongri Binghua 2011).

1.2.2 Opposing arguments The opponents believed that it was unnecessary to have the announcement in the local dialect as there were only a limited number of senior citizens who did not speak Putonghua. Moreover, it affected the clarity of announcement as the in-out period of buses and subway was too short for a trilingual announcement. Also, the population of senior citizens who only understood their dialect were too small to be a matter of concern (Shen 2012). News report on language issues also revealed another opinion: non-local passengers could feel distant if they do not understand the announcement in the local dialect on the bus. Thus promoting the use of dialects on public transport vehicles is unnecessary (Huang 2011). Cheng Ligeng (程立耕), a scholar of cultural studies, wrote an article blog entitled, “Shanghai, You should at least let me know where I am” (上海,你不能 让我连报站名都听不懂), to oppose the protection of Shanghai dialect. He argued that non-locals would be confused when they hear the announcement in dialects. “It is not sensible. Shanghai is a metropolis in which a lot of non-locals and foreigners are working”, he said, ‘What language would you speak when you visit or work in Shanghai? I can’t even know where I am if I don’t understand Shanghai dialect. It is unfair to me” (Cheng 2009).

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Announcing bus stops in the local dialect(s) caused much controversy in Nanjing. A great number of people agreed that the protection of dialects should not contradict the promotion of Putonghua. Using Nanjing dialect in announcement might confuse tourists. Some people even accused bus companies of being overly concerned with trivial matters. They would rather have their service improved (Shen and Xu 2013).

1.3 Analysis As a matter of fact, ‘announcing bus stops in dialects’ does not mean to announce only in dialects but to include both Putonghua and dialects, or to use Putonghua, English and dialects. Whether it is in Shanghai, Jiangsu (江苏) or Fujian (福建), people who supported or objected the scheme both held similar justifications. The supporters are usually concerned about the cultural values embodied in dialects, the emotion they express and the promotion of dialects, while the opponents were more concerned about the actual needs and the development of the city. From the perspective of language function, announcing bus stops in dialects favours senior locals who only speak dialects. It also creates a sense of solidarity for both junior and senior citizens who speak Putonghua. Moreover, it is undeniable that not only does the scheme facilitate communication on public transport vehicles, but it also carries symbolic values. Since dialects carry cultural values, the scheme represents the unique characteristics of different regions and features of distinct local customs. From the perspective of promotion and applicability, it takes time to determine its sustainability, as well as the feasibility, effectiveness and suitability of the policy towards the protection of dialects. From the perspective of the reality and development, the degree of modernisation is rapidly increasing in tandem with the population mobility and the process of urbanisation. The languages used on public transport vehicles should be universal and simple enough for everyone to understand. As Putonghua is the accepted national language in China, using dialects on public transport vehicles is controversial. Before the implementation of the automatic bus stop announcement system, the announcement was made manually, in which different languages could be used to cater for the needs of different passengers. The automatic bus stop announcement system has standardised the languages used on public transport vehicles. Although it caters for the need of the majority, the customisation of the announcement is sacrificed. On public transport vehicles, more languages for announcement does not mean better service. For passengers, the primary concern is to receive messages accurately. If the time for a multilingual announcement is insufficient to facilitate clear message transfer, the bus

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company should consider the opinions and satisfy the needs of the majority. The announcement in dialects is after all a public service. Thus the general opinion has to be prioritised.

2 Teaching dialects at school 2.1 Causes News related to teaching dialects at school have been reported as early as in 2004. In 2012, the proposals from the representatives of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the committees of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) were related to the use of dialects at school, which aroused public concerns. In the proposal entitled “The importance of pre-schooling education for resuming Shanghai dialect” (恢复上海方言生机, 重在学龄前教育) by Qian Cheng (钱程), the committee member of Shanghai CPPCC suggested that a one-hour ‘Shanghai dialect training session’ should be conducted in public Kindergartens so that children could learn native Shanghai dialect from games and stories. He also proposed to train a group of teachers specialised in Shanghai dialect. Chen Yanchun (陈燕纯), a committee member of Suzhou CPPCC, emphasised the importance of speaking Suzhou dialect with children from kindergarten onward. In the proposal entitled “Launching dialect lessons at school and including Wenzhou dialect in school textbooks” (学校课堂设 “方言课”,中小学 课本有 “温州话”) by Xu Xiangxiao (徐象笑), the committee member of Wenzhou CPPCC, expressed concerns about the risk of losing Wenzhou dialect. He suggested opening dialect lessons at school to protect Wenzhou dialect from vanishing. In fact, dialect lessons and courses have been set up in some regions in China. The Suzhou Institute of Trade and Commerce has assigned Suzhou dialect as one of the compulsory courses in some programmes. Students cannot graduate if they do not complete the compulsory dialect course. This is the first tertiary institute in Suzhou to consider a dialect course as a graduation requirement. According to The survey on languages used in the economic zone on the west coast of the Taiwan Strait (Haixi Economic Zone) conducted by the State Language Commission in 2012, trials of Minnan dialect and culture-focused lessons have been launched in both Quanzhou (泉州) and Xiamen in Fujian. In the first stage, Minnan dialect lessons were set up in 13 secondary schools, ten primary schools and eight kindergartens in Xiamen (State Language Commission 2012).

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2.2 Views from different parties 2.2.1 Supporting arguments Zhou Changji (周长楫), a scholar from Xiamen University, expressed his view in an interview in 2009 as follows: “Early childhood education is the key strategy for saving Minnan dialect and culture. It is crucial to nurture children’s interest in learning local dialect so that they can proceed from the elementary level to a more profound level gradually” (Ming et. al. 2009). Zhang Jie (张杰) from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics pointed out that “dialects are linked to lifestyles and memories. It helps us to understand the lives of ancestors and history of our hometown and develop a sense of belonging” (Yan 2012). A kindergarten teacher also expressed her support to the policy thus: “To love our hometown, you not only have to understand its culture, landscapes and traditions, but also its dialect. As a dialect is the fundamental element that reflects the local culture, it is imperative to teach the local dialect to preschool children in an appropriate manner” (Yu 2011). The view of a netizen ‘Biao Ke’ (彪客) was also typical: “The best way to protect (Shanghai) dialect would be to start from education at school; more specifically from early childhood education in order to guarantee that they can speak their dialect before school age”, “The Education departments should establish dialect training programmes for teachers in phases. In order to protect dialects from the fountainhead, regulations have to be set up to make sure teachers use Putonghua in lessons and speak the local dialect with students after class” (Biaoke 2012).

2.2.2 Opposing arguments In the survey with Xinhua Daily, Dong Jian (董健), Professor from the Arts Faculty of the Nanjing University, was opposed to the dialect training policy. “Promoting dialects is out of steps with the times.” “It is a kind of a counterculture” (Wu, Cao, and Liu 2012). An article published in Southeast Business argued against the dialect education policy. “In my view, there is no point being concerned about losing dialects, nor does it make any sense to offer dialect lessons at school. The vitality of dialects may be attributed to daily usage, not to classroom teaching” (Southeast Business Daily 2013). Wan Ren (皖人), the writer of the article “Is it possible to save dialects through education?” (方言能通过课堂传下来吗?) in China Art News indicated that “teaching dialects at school looks innovative. However, it is more of a gimmick than an

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effective method. Neither offering a new course nor using the local dialect directly as the medium of instruction is appropriate. People learn dialects naturally. It is too much to revert to teaching dialects at schools” (Wan 2013).

2.3 Analysis Promoting dialects at school has received the support or consent of the local government. Some measures have even been taken officially. There is no doubt that dialect teaching is part of local education, as well as a constituent part of language education. Nonetheless, Putonghua is to be used as the medium of instruction according to the language and education regulations. If dialects are taught at school, there will be an awkward situation of teaching dialects in Putonghua. Moreover, it is still uncertain whether teaching dialects at school could prevent them from vanishing. There are several problems to be investigated carefully before implementation, including ways of tackling the contradiction between teaching dialects and using Putonghua, the national language, as the official medium of instruction, the effectiveness of the current practice and the attitude of students, parents, teachers and the society to such practice. Shanghai, Jiangsu, Fujian were the provinces which first started teaching the local dialect at school. However, their practices seemed to be deficient regarding teaching modes and contexts. Experts hold different views; there is a lack of clear teaching plans from the education departments of different regions. Moreover, teachers, students and parents have not reached a consensus on dialect education. The issue needs serious consideration as it is complicated. In-depth investigation has to be carried out as soon as possible in order to better understand the actual implementation, the regional differences, and the attitude of the general public. Besides, the government should clarify the nature, features and scope of the scheme followed by standardising the teaching mode and contents. As a result, policies corresponding to relevant regulations and effective measures can be adapted to meet the actual needs.

3 Prohibiting the use of dialects in the workplace 3.1 Cause A netizen ‘Xiao Ku’s rabbit’ posted a thread “Losing your job if you slip out of Suzhou dialect in the company” (在公司一不小心嘴里蹦出几个苏州话, 饭碗就没了)

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on ‘Gu Su Cha Guan’ (姑苏茶馆) of the forum ‘Suzhou 19th Floor’ on 14th May 2012 (Xiao Ku’s rabbit 2012). The post mentioned that an announcement on prohibiting the use of dialects was made by the company he works for apparently to facilitate a harmonious relationship between colleagues. “Speaking dialects in the office is not allowed. Once found, you will be fired”. It also mentioned that a colleague received a warning because of speaking in a dialect in the corridor. After that, the company issued a warning that any violators would be laid off directly. The post sparked a controversy after it was published. More than 5,000 netizens read the post in just a few days. It was reported by both online and offline media swiftly. A feature report in the ‘Social News Column’ entitled “Revelation of speaking Suzhou dialect in the workplace leads to dismissals” (网帖曝苏州一公 司 “方言禁令” 说苏州方言要开除) was firstly made by the Yangtze Evening Post. It was then reproduced, reported or commented by China News, People’s Daily Online, NetEase, Hexun.com, Ifeng.com and Legaldaily.com immediately, which touched off a heated discussion by a large number of people.

3.2 Views from different parties Xinhua Net conducted an online survey entitled “Is it appropriate to speak dialects at work?” on 20th May. It consisted of two questions. The first one was “When will you speak in a dialect generally?” and the second one was “Do you think speaking a particular dialect at work is suitable?”. The findings published by Xinhua the next day showed that 62.3% of the netizens interacted with their family at home or with acquaintances in their dialect; 10.1% used their dialect with colleagues at work; 3.6% spoke with strangers in their dialect in public settings; 12.3% spoke only their dialect while 11.5% spoke only Putonghua in any condition. For the second question, 49.8% of the netizens indicated that they were totally fine to speak in their dialect at work provided that their work performance was not affected. On the other hand, 50.2% thought that Putonghua should be used in public settings (Zhang 2012). There were 3,205 netizens participating in the survey by Xinhua Net. The percentages of supporting and opposing the use of dialects at work were roughly the same. Although the survey revealed that more than half of the netizens thought Putonghua should be used in public areas, it also reflected the tolerance for the use of dialects at work. The company in question would issue warnings or even dismiss staff if they were found speaking their dialect at work. Whether the prohibition of dialects can enhance the relationships between colleagues is highly debatable.

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3.2.1 Opposing arguments Some netizens indicated the use of the same dialect might improve the communication efficiency between colleagues. Besides, speaking the same dialect enhanced rapport dealing with clients. In addition, chatting with colleagues in dialect during the break privately would not affect one’s work performance.

3.2.2 Supporting arguments On the other hand, some netizens pointed out that labour mobility was on the rise as China is undergoing rapid development. A lot of workers come from various provinces. Communication problems may arise if workers speak their home dialects. It may be a hindrance with regard to the efficiency of work and collaboration between colleagues in the workplace. Most netizens agreed that it was more appropriate to speak Putonghua at work. The company had the right to request their workers to refrain from speaking in their dialect in the office. However, the company in Suzhou mentioned above was too strict in forbidding the use of dialects at work. Issuing warning or even dismissing staff as punishments were excessive. From the perspective of corporate management, it was sensible to prohibit the use of dialects at work. It enhanced communication efficiency and was in line with the language norm in the workplace. Nonetheless, speaking a few sentences in one dialect or another was normal in many cases. It was unnecessary to issue warnings and dismiss the violators.

3.3 Analysis The controversy of prohibiting the use of dialects at work can be attributed to various social issues. At a macro-level, protecting dialects is a way to protect the cultures of a region. For the sake of conserving a nation’s language resources, the ban on dialects seems to be contrary to the preservation of dialect cultures. At a micro-level, the controversy is probably due to the extensive advocacy of dialect protection in Suzhou. Objectively, every act in a legal-rational society should be ruled by law. Forbidding dialects in the company is a corporate behaviour. As long as the behaviour is legal, the company has the right to decide which language(s) should be used for communication with due regard for its development and management.

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4 Further thoughts Dialect protection is crucial for preventing dialects from transforming, decaying or even perishing. Initiatives to protect dialects could be traced back to the end of the 20th century, which was an academic issue. With the coming of 21th century, it has been discussed extensively. Furthermore, actions have already been taken in some regions to protect dialects. Dialects spring up in the Chinese movie industry and are gaining popularity among film and movie directors. Some dialects could be found in Chinese movies. For example, Northeast dialect in “Gun N’Roses” (黄金大劫案), Sichuan dialect in “Design of Death” (杀生), Henan dialect in “Back to 1942” (一九四二) and Wuhan dialect in “Feng Shui” (万箭穿心). The whole movie “White Deer Plain” ( 白鹿原) was even filmed in Shaanxi dialect. Dialects were used to create a comic effect and made characters more appealing to the locals. As a result, the movies are closely integrated with the local cultures. At the same time, it increased the social influence of dialects and played a vital role in dialect protection consequently (Zhang, Wang, and Mosiqige 2012). After analysing the public opinions of the three dialect issues in 2012, the situations were found variant for different people and regions. It involved not only the macro level such as national interests, language policies and plans but also the micro level like regional cultures, social psychology and people’s emotions towards dialects. The debate significantly revealed the complexity of language values. They are the value of the language as a communication tool, the enactment of identity through language choice, the regional culture carried by the language and the commercial value the language symbolised, and so on. As for a modern society with diverse values, language policy and planning should go well beyond the social roles and status of the languages and dialects in question. It was discovered that many provinces carrying out bus stop announcements in the local dialect are mainly located along the Yangtze River Delta region, the same provinces which implemented dialect education at school (Shen 2012). By evaluating the opinions of different stakeholders, what remains obscure is the conflict between the natives and the new residents on one hand, and the tension between urban development and preservation of a city’s characteristics and culture. Against the background of rising mass mobility and diversified values, the dialect debate reflects people’s craving for cultural roots, the protection of their hometowns, and the consolation of their souls. It also reflects the needs for safeguarding the characteristics and regional features of cities, big and small. Despite the regional characteristic of dialect protection, it has become increasingly important for the society. In a high information-flow era, language problems

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may trigger social conflicts between different classes. As a matter of urgency, it is time to understand the intricacies of the dialect issues. The government should formulate and carry out an effective and comprehensive language policy in keeping with the development of the society and the country. It is high time that the government clarify the position and status of languages and dialects, and strengthen language planning at the regional level.

References Biaoke (彪客). 2012. In the inheritance and resumption of Shanghai dialect (再议上海话的传承 与恢复). NetEase Blog. Retrieved from http://blog.163.com/tiger_cat/blog/static/1774830 65201254111843399/. Cheng, Ligeng (程立耕). 2009. Shanghai, you should at least let me know where I am (上海, 你不能让我连报站名都听不懂). Sohu Blog. Retrieved from http://dssvip.blog.sohu. com/133875601.html. Dongri Binghua (冬日冰花). 2011. My thought on making bus stop announcements in dialects (公交车用 “方言” 报站的随想). Sina Blog. Retrieved from http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/ blog_65b19bcb0102dtt2.html. Huang, Mengjia (黄梦佳). 2011. Comments on bus stop announcements in the local dialect on bus No. 785 diverge (785路 “上海闲话” 报站褒贬不一). Sohu.com. Retrieved from http:// jiangsu.sina.com.cn/news/jsgd/2011-12-19/1819.html. Huang, Wanyu (黄菀彧). 2012. Do you accept announcements made in Wuxi dalect? (无锡话报 站, 你 Hold 住吗?) Xinhua Net. Retrieved from website: http://wx.xinhuanet.com/201212/12/c_114001516.htm. Jiangsu Sina. 2011. The popularity of the dialect announcement trial on six bus routes in Suzhou (苏州 6 条公交线路首试方言报站受欢迎). In Retrieved from http://jiangsu.sina.com.cn/ news/jsgd/2011-12-19/1819.html. Ming, Xiaoli (明小莉) et al. 2009. Early childhood education is the key point for saving Minnan dialect by Dr. Zhou Changji, the Minnan dialect expert (闽南语专家周长楫教授: 抢救闽南 方言要从娃娃抓起). TaiHai Net. Retrieved from http://www.taihainet.com/news/xmnews/ shms/2009-07-17/430814.html. Shen, Bin (沈彬). 2012. Bus stop announcements in the local dialect and the imagined dialect community (方言报站与想象的共同体). The Time Weekly (时代周报), 206. Retrieved from http://www.time-weekly.com/story/2012-11-08/127732.html. Shen, Jiazhen (沈家珍) and Xu Yuanyuan (徐媛园). 2013. Bus stop announcements in Nanjing dialect on bus route No. 2 starts today (2 路公交车今起用 “南京话” 报站). Yangzi Daily (扬子晚报). Retrieved from http://news.jschina.com.cn/yzwb.htm. Southeast Business Daily. 2013. Should dialects be taught in school? (方言该不该进入课 堂?). Retrieved from http://daily.cnnb.com.cn/dnsb/html/2013-05/16/content.599223. html?div=1. State Language Commission. 2012. Enhancing the development of the Haixi economic zone by new language policy: The survey on language policy ssed in the economic zone on the west coast of the Taiwan Strait (Haixi Economic Zone) (创新语言服务举措给力海西社会发 展 海西经济区语言文字使用情况调研报告) (unpublished).

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Wan, Ren (皖人). 2013. In is it possible to save dialects through education? (方言能通过课 堂传下来吗?) China Art News (中国艺术报). Retrieved from http://www.cflac.org.cn/pl/ plyw/201305/t20130520_191098.html. Wu, Hongmei (吴红梅), Cao Xuchao (曹旭超), and Liu Qingchuan (刘庆传). 2012. Is it appropriate to teach dialects at primary and secondary schools? (方言培训该不该走 进中小学校) Xinhua Daily. Retrieved from http://xh.xhby.net/mp2/html/2012-02/28/ content_516130.htm. Xiao Ku’s rabbit (小酷家的兔子). 2012. Losing your job if you slip out of Suzhou dialect in the company (在公司一不小心嘴里蹦出几个苏州话, 饭碗就没了). ‘Gu Su Cha Guan’ of forum ‘Suzhou 19th Floor’ (苏州 19 楼论坛姑苏茶馆). Retrieved from http://suzhou.19lou.com/ forum-922-thread-124001336990677544-1-1.html. Yan, Yunxia (颜云霞). 2012. Protection of dialects is not only a language issue (方言保护, 不只 是语言问题). Xinhua Net. Retrieved from http://news.xinhuanet.com/book/2012-12/06/ c_124054314.htm. Yu, Yan (庾燕). 2011. Dialect education in kindergarten (幼儿园的方言教学). Wujiang News. Retrieved from http://www.wjdaily.com/node/xjz_jbwz/2011-1-10/1319050550.html. Zhang, Jinlong (张晋龙). 2012. The research by Xinhua: 49.8% indicated it is fine to speak the local dialect at work (新华调查:49.8%的网民认为上班时间可以说方言). Xinhua Net. Retrieved from http://news.xinhuanet.com/society/2012-05/21/c_123166059.htm. Zhang, Suqin (张素芹), Wang Zhenguo (王振国), and Mosiqige (莫斯其格). 2012. The spark in dialects highlights the city characteristics (方言大爆炸凸显地域风骨). 21CN. Retrieved from http://news.21cn.com/caiji/roll1/2012/11/20/13716966.shtml

Translated by CHAN Hiu Yan The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Zhao Chunyan (赵春燕) and Zhou Hongbo (周洪波)

20 A heated debate on lettered expressions in Chinese dictionaries Lettered expressions refer to Chinese phrases that are partly composed of Roman letters and partly Chinese characters, or those phrases that are completely formed by Roman letters. Examples of the first category include AA zhì (AA制, ‘go dutch’), B chaō (B超, ‘Brightness-mode ultrasound’), T xù (T恤, ‘T-shirt’), X guāng (X光, ‘X-ray’) and kǎ lā OK (卡拉OK, ‘karaoke’), whereas the second category includes CT (Computer Tomography), NBA (National Basketball Association), GDP (Gross Domestic Product), and CPI (Consumer Price Index), etc. In the contemporary era of increasing globalization and informatization, the use of lettered expressions in Chinese has been an issue of concern in Chinese society today. Published in 1996, Xiàndài Hànyǔ Cídiǎn (现代汉语词典,‘the Contemporary Chinese Dictionary’, hereafter “CCD”) recorded 39 expressions beginning with Roman letters in its appendix for the first time. The number of such entries has increased to 142 in the 4th edition (2002), 182 in the 5th edition (2005), and 239 in the 6th edition (2012). Considered as one of the great milestones of the Chinese culture project, CCD is the first medium-sized dictionary that prescribes the usage rules of Chinese vocabulary. Currently in its 6th edition, CCD has already undergone five revisions. It has also been printed for more than 400 times, selling 50 million copies in total. Published in July 2012, the 6th edition of CCD was highly commended by Chinese media and readers, especially for its new entries and senses given to existing words that reflect modern life and social changes in China. However, the latest edition of CCD does not include such fashionable vocabulary as shèng nán (剩男, ‘leftover men’) and shèng nǚ (剩女, ‘leftover women’), but collects lettered expressions, such as CT, NBA, GDP and CPI instead. This has also sparked a great controversy among readers.

1 A short summary of the debate 1.1 Hundreds of Beijing scholars’ allegation of CCD’s violation of the law On 28 August 2012, hundreds of scholars from Beijing signed an open letter, which was addressed to the State Language Commission (hereafter “SLC”) and https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-020

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General Administration of Press and Publication (hereafter “GAPP”). In the letter, they complained about the inclusion of Chinese expressions starting with Roman letters, such as “NBA”, in the 6th edition of CCD published by the Commercial Press (hereafter “CP”) and decried such practice as violating the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language. The open letter unleashed a heated debate among the public and the scholars on whether some words formed by Roman letters should be included in a Chinese dictionary (Zhang 2012). On 20 September, hundreds of calligraphers jointly signed a letter of complaint to departments such as SLC again and appealed to them not to include Roman letters in the contents of a Chinese dictionary (Wang and Wang 2012). On 27 September 2012, more than a hundred education practitioners jointly wrote a letter to national departments such as SLC, et al, requesting them to strictly prohibit the inclusion of lettered expressions or Roman letters in Chinese language dictionaries published in the People’s Republic of China. (Hu 2012)

1.2 Responses from Institute of Linguistics of CASS and the Commercial Press On 29 August 2012, the Institute of Linguistics of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (hereafter “CASS”) and the Commercial Press (hereafter “CP”) held a forum on “Entries of lettered expressions in CCD” (《现代汉语词典》字母词条 目专家座谈会). At the forum, experts on spoken and written languages from colleges and universities in Beijing, research institutes and different publishers shared their views toward the inclusion of lettered expressions in CCD and critiqued views and the proposal of these education practitioners. (Zhuang 2012a) On 29 September, the Institute of Linguistics CASS and CP held another forum on “The controversy on lettered expressions” (关于字母词风波的思考). Experts who attended this discussion provided an academic rationale for including lettered expressions in CCD and pointed out that the alleged illegal practice of including lettered expressions in Chinese dictionaries as outlined in the open letter was unfounded and resulted from a lack of knowledge of the special nature and function of reference books. (The Commercial Press 2012b)

1.3 Discussions on the event from relevant media and academic conferences On 29 and 30 August 2012, the Internet forum “A Stronger China” hosted by People’s Daily Online invited all parties concerned to an exclusive interview and

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organized an online exchange of views with Internet users. On 6 September 2012, People’s Daily Online again invited them to a debate broadcast live on the topic of “Whether the inclusion of lettered words in the 6th edition of CCD is legal or not” (第6版《现汉》收录西文字母词违法之争正反双方说分明) online, which drew enthusiastic responses from the Internet users (People’s Daily Online 2012). At the same time, various mass media in China, including websites, television stations, newspapers and radio broadcasts, had followed up with the issue and reported various views from different sectors of the society on the topic. For instance, Sina Weibo (Microblog) created a hashtag “Controversy on including Roman letters in the new CCD” (新版《现汉》收录英文引争议) and invited both scholars and Internet users to join the online discussion. China Education Daily created a new column entitled “Should Chinese dictionaries include lettered expressions or not?” (汉语词典该不该收录西文字母词大家谈) to provide an opportunity to teachers and fans in language studies to voice their views on the issue. China Newsweek launched a special issue entitled “Battle for protecting Chinese language” (汉语保卫战) in its 33rd volume (published on 7 September 2012) to analyze the incident in depth from different perspectives. In addition, some conferences and periodicals on linguistics also joined the debate. For example, the nature and identity of lettered expressions were discussed at designated panel sessions at the National Conference on Lexicology held in Jinan (济南), Shandong (山东), Conference on Chinese Sociolinguistics held in Tianjin (天津), and the Annual Conference of Beijing Language Association. Moreover, special columns on the issue of including lettered expression in Chinese dictionaries were set up in some periodicals, such as Studies of the Chinese Language (中国语文), Journal of Chinese Sociolinguistics (中国社会语 言学) and Journal of Beihua University (北华大学学报), etc.

2 Bone of contention 2.1 Is it legal for CCD to include lettered expressions? Some people argued that the inclusion of 239 entries of the so-called “words beginning with Roman letters” violated Article 11 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language, which states that “Publications in Chinese shall be in conformity with the norms of the standard spoken and written Chinese language.” (汉语文出版物应当符合国家通 用语言文字的规范和标准) (Wu 2012) Furthermore, it also violated relevant provisions in the Regulations governing the Administration of Publication (Order No.

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594 of the State Council) of the State Council and Notice of More Regulations on the Use of Languages in Publications (XCZ No. [2010]11) of the GAPP. Some people responded to the accusation by saying that rules and regulations were the only yardstick against which the legality issue shall be judged. There were no such rules that prohibited the use of lettered expressions in the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language. A relevant notice issued by the State Council only emphasized the importance of standardizing the usage of lettered expressions, but it did not contain any provisions that prohibited its use. Therefore, there is no evidence whatsoever that can prove the so-called illegality of CCD. On the contrary, these laws and documents include provisions and contents that ran counter to the allegations of the accusers. (Luo 2012) For example, the second half of Article 11 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language states that “Where foreign languages need to be used in publications in Chinese, necessary explanatory notes in standard Chinese shall be provided.” (汉语文出版物中需要 使用外国语言文字的,应当用国家通用语言文字作必要的注释) (The State Council website 2005) This clause not only indicates that China does not forbid the use of lettered expressions, but it also points out when explanatory notes shall be added for these expressions. From this perspective, the appendix of “lettered expressions beginning with Roman letters” in CCD has greatly benefited its readers by providing the explanatory notes of lettered expressions in standard spoken and written Chinese language for those who would like to use lettered expressions. The chief editor of the 6th edition of CCD stated that “We do not support the proposal of prohibiting the use of lettered expressions, but we do support the idea of not overusing them. In CCD, there is a note within brackets under ‘the main body of the dictionary’ stating ‘expressions beginning with Roman letters’. This explanatory note indicates that we regard ‘lettered expressions’ as a special category, which has a different status from Chinese vocabulary. Since there are no such rules or regulations that would prohibit the use of lettered expressions, it is only a technical issue whether to include these expressions in an attached document or in an appendix. This has nothing to do with whether CCD is legal or not”. (Jiang 2012a)

2.2 Can Chinese dictionaries include lettered expressions? Some people argue that CCD is a printed dictionary of the Chinese language, not an English dictionary or a Chinese-English dictionary. Hence, CCD should follow its name strictly by excluding some Chinese expressions with Roman letters

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that do not look like typical Chinese language at all. (Fu 2012a) Otherwise, the standards for spoken and written Chinese language and Chinese characters will be undermined since foreign languages such as English could become part of Chinese and even replace Chinese characters. (Zhang 2012) Some supporters of the practice replied that CCD is not an ordinary Chinese dictionary, but an authoritative reference book on the Chinese language designed to reflect the contemporary usage of vocabulary and provide definitions of lexical entries for its readers. Since lettered expressions are actually used in reality, it is necessary for dictionaries to include them in an appropriate way so that readers can find out their meanings. Statistics reveal that around 3,000 lettered expressions are used today, but only 239 of them (about 7.2%) have been included in the 6th edition of CCD. This shows that the editors exercised great caution and judgement when selecting lettered expressions for inclusion in the dictionary. (The Commercial Press 2012a) Since the late Qing dynasty, China has already started to include phrases involving Roman letters in Chinese dictionaries, such as Ciyuan Xubian 《 ( 辞源》 续编, an expanded version of Ciyuan) published in 1931, Cihai (辞海) draft edition in 1965, and Cihai 2nd edition in 1979, etc. It is just a continuation of such a practice for the 3rd edition of CCD published in 1996 to include lettered expressions in an attached document. It is a common practice among dictionary compliers throughout the world to include loanwords from foreign languages. For instance, there are a number of direct borrowings of French and German vocabulary in English dictionaries, which even keep intact some words originated from the Japanese and Chinese lexicons, such as the word “karaoke” from Japanese. The chief editor of English-Chinese Dictionary (英汉大词典), Professor Lu Gusun (陆谷孙), commented that, “in my opinion, the paramount purpose of language is communication, not preservation. All the problems could be solved easily from this standpoint.” (Shi 2012)

2.3 Translating before borrowing, or doing both at the same time? Some people claimed that they totally agreed that Chinese language should borrow elements from foreign languages so as to enrich itself and make it more creative. But they completely disagreed with the way of borrowing used by CCD. According to them, the principle should be “translating before borrowing”, which means lettered expressions should be translated into Chinese before they could be collected in Chinese language dictionaries. However, the current lettered expressions in CCD are original English words that have not been translated into

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Chinese. Since Chinese language is abundant with different nuanced expressions, it should be possible to translate any foreign language into Chinese satisfactorily. (Fu 2012c) Some other people replied by saying that the idea of “translating before borrowing” is too idealistic to be put into practice. What if we could not find a proper Chinese translation for a loan word for the moment? Should we refuse to use it until a proper translation becomes available, or should we think of its translation while using it directly as a loanword at the same time? The answer of course is that we should do both things at the same time. On one hand, we have experts and organizations to translate loan words into Chinese or create abbreviations based on them; on the other hand, we should also allow those expressions to be used in society even when appropriate Chinese translations for them are temporarily not available. We believe that users of these expressions can surely create more idiomatic-sounding Chinese equivalents as time goes by. (Jiang 2012b) In fact, the localization of loan words into Chinese is a dynamic process. It usually follows the routine procedure of first direct copy, then some combination of Chinese and foreign elements, and finally successful localization. Take the localization of the word “e-mail” as an example. We used the English word directly at the very beginning. Later, we slowly changed the word to Chinese characters with a homophonic translation yī meì ér (伊妹儿). Now we generally use the word diàn yóu (电邮), which means ‘electronic mail’ literally. (Zhuang 2012b) Thus, it would be naïve to ignore the gradual localization process and insist that the loan words can be translated into Chinese immediately, as it is in line with neither the objective facts nor the usage patterns of lettered expressions before the localization process is complete.

2.4 Is it high time that the Chinese language be “protected”? Some people argued that Chinese people would be misled that English could be used along with Chinese if lettered expressions become legalized and standardized expressions. Once this becomes reality, English will prosper and spread rapidly at the expense of the Chinese language ecologically, in the worst scenario leading to its demise eventually. The more Chinese people use English in their daily life, the stronger is the likelihood that their language habits will change. (Fu 2012b) Accordingly, within a matter of 300 years or even 100 years, the Chinese language would disappear because English would eventually replace it. (Fu 2010) Some people responded by saying that the use of lettered expressions is a natural consequence of language contact resulting from the basic need for communication. One need only to examine the robustness and resilience of the

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Chinese language and culture in Taiwan and Hong Kong, former Japanese and British colonies for 50 and 150 years respectively, despite the status of Japanese or English being the official languages during the colonial era. There is no way that the Chinese language and culture, with their long history and tremendous vitality, would be easily changed by a few hundred lettered expressions. In short, that the Chinese language risks being drowned by a few hundred lettered expressions is absolutely ridiculous. Such a thought would only undermine our creativity, to the detriment of the smooth and healthy development of the Chinese language, spoken or written. (Jiang 2012c) Throughout the world, it is rather common for non-Roman-letter languages to borrow Roman letter acronyms. For example, Slavic languages such as Russian, Tajik, Kazakh and Kyrgyz, and some other languages such as Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Thai and Greek, all use English acronyms in their written languages. Countries that have adopted the Roman alphabet, such as Spain, Germany, Netherlands, France, Poland and the Republic of Uzbekistan, also borrow acronyms from English words directly. In China, some ethnic minorities with their own written languages and some overseas Chinese also use these English acronyms frequently. Some experts pointed out that the statement of “Chinese language crisis” was just an unnecessary worry, reflecting their believers’ lack of global insight and international horizons. In today’s information age, the information highway is leading us to every corner of the world, allowing us to reach out to hundreds and thousands of families. The well-developed transportation network is changing the earth into a global village, characterized by speedier and more efficient communication between different countries and regions. Under such circumstances, information symbols such as ATM and SOS could hardly be avoided in electronically mediated communication worldwide. Since these symbols are used in every language all over the world, Chinese people should also understand them and know how to use them properly. (Lu 2013)

3 Reflections on related issues 3.1 The status of lettered expressions in the Chinese lexicon In addition to transliteration and free translation, which are two frequently-used methods to translate foreign vocabulary, there is another method called “translation through graphic borrowing”, whereby the original word forms in a foreign language are borrowed directly. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, a

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large number of words have been adapted from Japanese into Chinese. Most of the foreign vocabulary words have found their way into the Chinese language and become standard expressions in the contemporary Chinese lexicon. (Li 2013) Words that are translated through graphic borrowing into Chinese may sound quite special to some Chinese readers. Nevertheless, they have made inroads into Chinese because they are supported by some social and linguistic forces in the society. Since translation through graphic borrowing has its natural constraints, foreign words borrowed into Chinese in this way tend to have limited currency. Of around 3,000 lettered expressions which are being used in the media, including newspapers, radio broadcasts and televisions, only less than 100 are familiar to and frequently used by the general public. (Zhuang 2012b) Some experts believe that, if lettered expressions as a form of graphic borrowing are regarded as translations, which now constitute a part of the Chinese lexicon, then their existence in the Chinese language should be regarded as normal, rather than unusual, or even abnormal. Graphic borrowings are just like the other translations into Chinese: they will undergo some transformation in their usage, namely, progressively getting more and more attuned to preferred Chinese language practices by undergoing transliteration, before being localized or domesticated through free translation. (Li 2013)

3.2 The function of dictionaries The principal task of either diachronic or synchronic dictionaries is to record linguistic facts in a society and to truly reflect the usage of the lexicon of the era. At the same time, the most fundamental task, even for prescriptive Chinese dictionaries, is to record and describe the features of the language in use. Dictionaries are not rules and regulations governing how the word in a language should be used. Instead, they implement or guide linguistic norms and standards with their detailed definitions and descriptions of word usage. Dictionaries should also embody norms through which readers can find solutions to their problems. It is an unquestionable duty of CCD that it should collect lettered expressions selectively: due to its positioning and function. Moreover, for all the lettered expressions collected in CCD, main definitions are provided along with their Chinese translations if available, whereas only supplemented definitions are given to their corresponding lettered expressions. It is a norm for dictionaries in China to provide both main definitions and supplementary definitions for lettered expressions with Chinese translations. (Jiang 2012a) According to some experts, lettered expressions included in Chinese dictionaries are those that have found their way to Chinese, but not all lettered

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expressions available in Chinese are included. CCD only collects 239 entries of lettered expressions from a total of around 69,000, accounting for a mere percentage (no more than 0.3%). The highly selective process reveals the normative function of dictionaries, in addition to their primary function of description and recording. The purpose is to appeal to the general public that lettered expressions should not be overused. (Zhuang 2012b)

3.3 Issues of health and purity of languages The concept of “linguistic purism” (hereafter “purism”) in modern linguistics calls for the protection of languages against any undue influence of external factors, which include influence from other dialects or languages, such as loan words or changes triggered by variation in spoken languages. Some linguists regarded this concern as unnecessary, since they believed that languages will change inexorably in accordance with development in the sociocultural environment and collective psychological conditions. (Crystal 2000) In fact, there are always foreign elements in all languages, without exceptions. The only difference lies in the number of these elements. Since the late Qing dynasty, three foreign elements that have been added to written Chinese language, namely, Arabic numerals, letters of the Latin alphabet and new punctuation marks. These three sets of symbols are commonly used in today’s Chinese publications in addition to standard Chinese characters. The chapter “standard spoken and written Chinese language” in the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language states that these three sets of symbols can be used in Chinese publications legally. (Su 2012) Some experts are of the opinion that it is necessary for a nation to borrow cultural elements from other nations or regions so as to enhance the richness and maintain the vitality of its own culture. The same practice applies to its language, too. We do not support the idea of absolute purism. Instead, we should actively borrow and introduce beneficial and helpful cultural elements from other nations with an open mind, while maintaining the cultural characteristics of our home country throughout the borrowing process. The same attitude should prevail regarding the inclusion of lettered expressions in CCD. (Jiang 2012c)

3.4 Ideology in language Since the late Qing dynasty, two schools of thought, one supporting reform and opening up and the other conservatism and traditionalism, have been co-existing

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and competing with each other openly or secretly. The competition between these two schools of thoughts, which could be rather intense sometimes, can also be seen in areas such as national policies on languages and in social lives. The critics who are against the inclusion of lettered expressions in CCD linked this issue back to the Romanization of Chinese, which they oppose vehemently. Their logic of thinking thus can be traced back quite clearly: against the Romanization of the Chinese language – against the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet Scheme – against lettered expressions. (The Commercial Press 2012b) MA Weidu (马未都), a famous collector, commented that, “In my opinion, the problem of collecting lettered expressions in CCD is even more serious than the loss of Diaoyu Islands to Japan. Lost territories such as this may be reclaimed, but cultural invasion will be passed down from generation to generation. And there would be no way back if the situation continues even for just one generation.” “Inclusion of Roman letters in dictionaries is equal to cultural capitulation, a problem even more serious than allowing a wolf to enter your house. The practice of including Roman letters in dictionaries could be simply taken as a naïve decision, but it could also be seen as an act of cultural treason.” (Fu 2012c) Populism is a thought that can instigate people to do irrational things under the name of patriotism. The incident of including lettered expressions is actually related to some of the recent events, including the proposal of restoring the usage of traditional Chinese characters, advocating that children should study the classics, and resisting national education by building private schools, etc. This issue is not only related to spoken and written Chinese, it is also about the direction to which China and Chinese culture are heading. (The Commercial Press 2012b)

References Crystal, David (ed). Shen, Jiaxuan (沈家煊) (trans.). 2000. A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics (4th ed.) 《现代语言学词典》[第4版]). ( Beijing: The Commercial Press. Fu, Zhenguo (傅振国). 2010, February 28. English is seriously invading Chinese: Will the Chinese language disappear in 300 years (英语,正在深度侵入汉语:300年后汉语会消亡 吗?). Wen Hui Newspaper (文汇报), p. 8. Fu, Zhenguo (傅振国). 2012a, August 28. Battle for protecting the Chinese language (Part 43): Accusations from a hundred scholars in Beijing on the 6th edition of CCD published by the CP for violating the law due to the inclusion of the so-called “words beginning with Roman letters” (首都百余学者联名举报商务印书馆第6版《现代汉语词典》正文所谓“西文字母开 头的词语”内容违法·汉语保卫战之43). Fu Zhenguo’s Blog. Retrieved from http://blog.voc. com.cn/blog_showone_type_blog_id_777139_p_1.html. Fu, Zhenguo (傅振国). 2012b, September 4. My views on lettered expressions (左看右看字母 词). Wen Hui Newspaper (文汇报), p. 00B.

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Fu, Zhenguo (傅振国). 2012c, September 9. No 869: Contemporary Chinese (第八百六十九篇· 现代汉语). Sina Blog. Retrieved from http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_5054769e0102e30l. html. Hu, Zhanli (胡占莉). 2012, September 27. CCD was under fire and criticized by education practitioners again (“现汉”再遭教育工作者举报). Legislative Evening Newspaper (法制晚 报), p. A34. Jiang, Lansheng (江蓝生). 2012a, September 5. Rebuttal of the allegation of CCD being illegal to include lettered expressions turns out to be too easy (《现汉》收录字母词违法之说不值 一驳). Chinese Social Sciences Today (中国社会科学报), p. B01. Jiang, Lansheng (江蓝生). 2012b, September 8. One of the reasons for including lettered expressions: their Chinese translations are not immediately available (收录字母词原因之 一是汉语译名跟不上). China Education Daily (中国教育报), p.2. Jiang, Lansheng (江蓝生). 2012c, September 22. Innovations to written Chinese vocabulary: On the nature and identity of lettered expressions (汉语词语书写形式的革新—谈谈字母 词的身份与规范). A Presentation given at the 8th International Conference on Chinese Sociolinguistics held in Tianjin Foreign Studies University. Li, Yuming (李宇明). 2013. Translation through graphic borrowing and lettered expressions (形 译与字母词). Zhongguo Yuwen (中国语文), 1. Lu, Jianming (陆俭明). 2013. It is time to stop talking about “Chinese language crisis” (“汉语危 机论”可以休也). Zhongguo Yuwen (中国语文), 1. Luo, Haoling (罗皓菱). 2012, August 29. Reponses from the chief editor: how come it is illegal? (修订主持人回应:违法一说从何而来) Beijing Youth Daily (北京青年报), p. B7. People’s Daily Online. 2012, September 6. A heated debate on whether it is legal to include Roman letters in CCD among Jiang Lansheng, Li Minsheng and others (江蓝生、李敏生等 激辩《现代汉语词典》收录西文字母词是否违法). Retrieved from http://fangtan.people. com.cn/n/2012/0906/c147550-18939402.htm. Shi, Jianfeng (石剑锋) (quoted). 2012, August 29. Protective action will lead to a stagnant Chinese lexicology (做出阻挡的姿态,将导致汉语封闭化). Oriental Morning Post (东方早 报), p. B1. Su, Peicheng (苏培成). 2012, August 30. A controversy started by experts on including lettered expressions in CCD: We should look at the issue with an open mind (以开放心态看待《现 汉》收录字母词). Guang Ming Daily (光明日报), p. 3. The Commercial Press. 2012a, August 29. Forum on “Entries of Lettered Expressions in CCD” 《现代汉语词典》字母词条目专家座谈会). ( The Commercial Press. 2012b, September 29. Forum on “The controversy on lettered expressions” ( “关于字母词风波的思考”研讨会). The State Council website (中国政府网). 2005, August 31. The law of the People’s Republic of China on the standard spoken and written Chinese language (中华人民共和国国家通用语 言文字法). Retrieved from http://www.gov.cn/ziliao/flfg/2005-08/31/content_27920.htm. Wang, Nan (王南) and Wang Tingting (王婷婷). 2012, September 20. Hundreds of calligraphers jointly signed an open letter appealing for prohibiting the inclusion of lettered expressions (in Chinese dictionaries) (百名书法家联名禁字母词). Legislative Evening Newspaper (法制 晚报), p. A30. Wu, Yue (吴越). 2012, August 31. Is it illegal to include lettered expressions? (收录字母词违法了 吗?)Wen Hui Newspaper (文汇报), p. 5. Zhang, Fen (张棻). 2012, August 28. Hundreds of scholars’ allegations of CCD’s violation of the law (百余学者举报新版《现汉》违法). Beijing Evening Newspaper (北京晚报), p. 19.

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Zhuang, Jian (庄健). 2012a, August 29. A controversy started by experts on the inclusion of lettered expressions in CCD: We should look at the issue with an open mind《现汉》收录 ( 字母词引专家争议以开放心态看待). Guang Ming Daily (光明日报), p. 3. Zhuang, Jiang (庄健). 2012b, August 30. A controversy between experts on whether to include lettered expressions in CCD: We should look at the issue with an open mind《现汉》收录 ( 字母词引专家争议以开放心态看待). Guang Ming Daily (光明日报), p. 3.

Translated by TANG Yiming The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Wang Lei (汪磊) and Mou Yan (牟岩)

21 Microblogging and its language 1 Microblogging Microblogs are used for the sharing, dissemination, and acquisition of information based on user relationships. The users can form personal communities through WEB, WAP, and other means. Microblogs allow the users to update and instantly share texts containing approximately 140 words. The earliest and best-known microblogging platform, Twitter, was founded in the United States. According to the relevant public data, as of January 2010, Twitter had attracted 75 million registered users worldwide. In May 2007, Wang Xing (王兴), the founder of Xiaonei (a Chinese social media website), launched Fanfou (饭否), the first microblogging services provider in China. On 28 August 2009, Sina, one of China’s four major web portals, started public beta testing and later became the first portal to provide microblogging services. Being promoted by celebrities, Sina quickly attracted a large number of users. 244 days after the beta testing, more than 10 million users had registered. (Peng 2010) Within just six months, ‘scarf (围脖)’, the nickname of microblogging given by the Chinese, had made its way to become the most popular Internet vocabulary. Microblogs became a sensation in China’s Internet industry. Witnessing Sina’s success, Sohu, NetEase, and Tencent also started their own microblogging platforms, which soon became mainstream. As of December 30, 2010, the number of microblog users in China was 63.11 million, with the 13.8% usage rate among Internet users. In the same year, the usage rate of mobile microblogs had reached 15.5%. (China Internet Network Information 2011) Hence, 2010 was crowned “China’s first year of microblogging”. By the end of 2011, the number of netizens in China had reached 513 million while the number of microblog users had reached 250 million, an increase of 96% compared to the previous year. Moreover, the usage rate of microblogs among Internet users was 48.7%. (China Internet Network Information 2012) Thus, 2011 was called “China’s first year of microblogging applications”.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-021

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2 Features of microblogging language Microblogs do not require much time and energy to manage. As long as the users have access to the devices, they can use the Internet, mobile network, or SMS to access microblogs at any time. A micro-blogpost is usually limited to 140 words, which is the restriction set by Sina and Tencent. NetEase sets its word limit to 163 words. Swisen has expanded its word count to 333. Sohu, however, has no word limit. Word limit is a restriction; however, it makes writing blogposts easier and simpler. There is no need to compose titles and arrange paragraphs. Writers, scholars, or ordinary Internet users can all express their feelings and views through posts with a length of a text message. In fact, short blogposts are, to a large extent, in harmony with people’s lives in the Internet era. The publication of micro-blogposts is simple and diverse. With the help of mobile Internet and SMS, the users can instantly publish blogposts at any time. The short, versatile, and fast published micro-blogposts allow the users to become information sources. In addition, the platforms provide information dissemination and sharing functions, allowing the users to follow each other. The number of followers a user has equals to the number of people who are interested in the user’s updates. Every single published blogpost will be shared by the user’s followers and those who the user follows, resulting in fission-like information transmission. Such a mode of transmission is highly effective, making it difficult for traditional communication channels to compete against. By providing a space for free speech, microblogs also extend the flexibility of online language. In a broad sense, the language used in microblogs is a hybrid of codes and texts. That is, the users use online symbols and texts extensively to express themselves. Moreover, the small size of micro-blogposts helps the users avoid circumlocution and redundancy. Therefore, compared to that of traditional blogs and bulletin boards, the information contained in microblogs is more direct, straightforward, and less likely to cause defamiliarization. Thus, even without contexts, micro-blogposts can still be understood. In addition, the popular terms and emoticons used in microblogs have become familiar to average netizens.

3 Microblogging and social life Microblogging styles (微博体), as the name suggests, are special writing styles created for short blogposts. The styles are widely adopted due to the popularity of microblogs.

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Microblogging has a grass-roots appeal, is popular, entertaining, fast-growing and derivative; therefore, it can be categorised as an online pop culture. Netizens are indifferent to the length and tone of micro-blogposts. More attention is paid to the posts’ potential of being trendy, ludicrousness, and imitability. Many of the Internet slang compilation competitions, such as Lihua-style (梨花体), Vancl-style (凡客体), and bullet-style (子弹体) phrase compilation contests, were related to the popular microblogging styles in certain periods. Microblogging styles feature the use of sarcastic, ironic, ridiculous or exaggerated tones to comment on events or people. Microbloggers tend to subtly and cynically express their opinions or views that cannot be explicitly conveyed, in order to criticise or ridicule certain social phenomena. The language used in microblogs is lively and yet sharp. The contents are entertaining yet thoughtful and critical. The spread of microblogging language stems from imitation. Netizens are able to release their feelings and thoughts through the fresh and vivid microblogging language and the flexible and diverse sentence structures. It is undeniable that microblogging language has brought vitality into the realm of social language. In 2011, various microblogging styles appeared, among which the ‘Taobao style’ (淘宝体) was the most widespread, the most influential, and the most controversial. The following paragraphs will use the ‘Taobao style’ and its derived texts as examples to explore the popularity of microblogging styles and their impact on social language.

3.1 Taobao style and its variations The term ‘Taobao’ (淘宝) is no stranger to the Chinese. The northern Chinese often say “What have you taobaoed?” (淘到什么宝贝). In The Contemporary Chinese Dictionary (现代汉语词典), the definition of ‘tao (淘)’ is “seeking and purchasing in the flea market”, with a footnote stating the word is dialectal. (Dictionary Office of the Language Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 2011:1332) ‘Taobao.com’ (淘宝网), a well-established online shopping website, borrowed the term as its name. Founded in May 2003 by Alibaba Group, ‘Taobao.com’ had become the largest shopping site in Asia by 2006. The popularity of the website gave birth to online terms such as ‘team’ (团), ‘order within seconds’ (秒杀), and ‘honey’ (亲). Due to the significant increase in the number of online shoppers and the stronger influence of Taobao.com, the communication between the buyers and sellers on the website has slowly formed a certain pattern. The commonly used terms and expressions include ‘Honey, XXX’ (亲, XXX), ‘XXX, honey’ (XXX, 亲), ‘Free delivery!’ (包邮哦), and ‘Good reviews!’ (好评哦). Netizens have given the expressions the nickname ‘Taobao style’ (淘宝体). The style, with many of its variations, then

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gradually became popular in Chinese society. One can now hear the term ‘honey’ both online and off-line. However, it was not until the appearance of the ‘police Taobao style’ that the style became a sensation. On 12 June 2011, a young Beijing police officer with an online alias ‘Mister police’ (police先生) wrote a micro-blogpost that humorously expressed his feelings about the police work (see Figure 21.1). The hilarious post was written in Taobao style, combining solemnity and humour. Netizens fell in love with the post, extensively forwarding and commenting on it.

Figure 21.1: Screenshot of Mr. Police’s Sina microblog. Source: http://weibo.com/shawn65?from=otherprofile&wvr=3.6&loc=infweihao (2011, June 12).

On 8 July, a professional anime artist with an online name “MTJJ” published a series of comics, which were based on the policeman’s blogpost. The series was titled ‘Police Taobao Style (Enhanced Version): From Everyone’s Complaints’. The comics were simple, containing a police officer, a criminal, and a sentence. Police: “Honey, why do you want to commit a crime?” / “Oh honey, still trying to run away? Run and I’ll pull the trigger” / “Oh honey, ten-year imprisonment is already a discount price for your crime” / “Oh honey, you can surrender to enjoy a 20% discount” / “Those who surrender with partners or in group have a 60% discount”/ “Oh honey, the imprisonment package now contains free meals and accommodation and it comes with a joined silver bracelet” / “Oh honey, it is now off-season so you can enjoy a single room with private bathroom” / “Oh! Imprisonment in China can enjoy free shipping” / Oh honey, your imprisonment has expired! Hope to see you again” / “Oh! Do remember to give us a five-star review after you get out, honey.” Prisoner: “I’ll never commit any crimes again!” / “Ah! Dafaq! My heart cannot take this anymore!”

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The series was published in the form of micro-blogposts, containing both graphics and texts. Netizens could not help laughing when reading the comics, resulting in the series, alongside with hundreds of comments, being forwarded for thousands of times. At that time, the use of the police Taobao style could only be seen in individual microblogs. However, the style was later adopted for official use. For instance, in mid-July 2011, Nanjing University of Science and Technology sent Taobao-style text notifications before sending formal admission letters to the freshers. There was also a case where the police in several regions published Taobao-style public security information and warnings on their verified official microblogs. Moreover, on 1 August 2011, ‘Little Messenger of Diplomacy (外交小 灵通)’, an official account registered in Sina’s microblogging website, released Taobao-style recruitment posts for the China-Japan-Korea Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat.

3.2 Pros and cons of adopting the Taobao style for official accounts The three variations of Taobao style given in the above paragraphs illustrate the impact of online writing styles and microblogging styles on real life and social language. However, it is important to view and utilise such impact appropriately to avoid any abuse. The use of language, be it spoken or written, is limited to the occasion, object, content, form of communication, purpose, and intended effect. The two earliest variations listed above, although known as the ‘police Taobao style’, were published in personal microblogs. The information producers were individuals, with no specific target audience and communication purposes. Thus, such adoption of the Taobao styles should be regarded as personal linguistic behaviours, which happened to entertain both the producers and the receivers. The text notifications were sent by Nanjing University of Science and Technology to individual high school graduates born in the 1990s. Sending notifications and congratulations before the official admission letter was in itself a casual and friendly act. Also, the use of online platforms that are liked by and familiar to the young generation was, nonetheless, a rational attempt made by the authorities. Arrest warrants are orders issued by the Public Security Bureau to arrest criminals at large. The warrants are considered official documents, which usually have a fixed style. A Taobao-style arrest warrant, however, uses ‘honey’ to refer to criminals. Such a warrant also uses ‘discount’, ‘customer service hotline’,

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‘reservation’, ‘packages’, and other business terms. Moreover, the warrants contained an excessive use of auxiliary words, such as ‘oh’ and ‘ah’, as well as the Internet slang ‘follow me’ (粉我). Such expressions undoubtedly obscured the boundary between the police and criminals, damaging the solemnity of the judicial system. The inappropriate adoption of the Taobao style made law enforcement hilarious, leading to the removal of the micro-blogposts. After all, for law enforcement, humanisation does not equal to entertainment orientation. On the other hand, the police in Chengdu (成都), Zhengzhou (郑州), and other regions once put up traffic signs, stating: “Oh honey, pay attention to avoid the pedestrians!” and “Oh honey, please stop or proceed according to the traffic lights!” (see Figure 21.2 and Figure 21.3). Such a tone helped to bring the police and civilians closer, making people realise that being civilised on the streets is an ordinary and casual act. In this case, the effects imposed by the style are different from that of the Taobao-style arrest warrants. The use of non-traditional means of communication by an individual or a company, such as using microblogs to post recruitment information, will generally be accepted by most of the Internet users. However, as an official microblog for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ‘Little Messenger of Diplomacy’ adopted the Taobao style, starting its posts with ‘honey’ and ending it with ‘no free delivery’ (不包邮). Moreover, ‘yes or nah’ (有木有), a phrase derived from the ‘roaring style’ (咆哮体), was placed in the middle of the blogposts, coupled with several emoticons. The blogpost translated the diplomatic information into casual online slang, which might appear to be citizen-friendly and yet was, in fact, the entertainment-orientation of diplomatic affairs. Diplomatic affairs are never trivial. Diplomatic language reflects the dignity of a country. Therefore, the micro-blogposts published by the official account ought to respect the national language.

Figure 21.2: Screenshots of traffic signs in Taobao style Source: Baidu picture.

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Figure 21.3: Screenshot of traffic reminder in Taobao style prompt from traffic police in Ebian (峨边). Source: Baidu picture, http://image.baidu.com/i?ct=503316480.

“In microblogs and BBS, using new words and phrases is not a problem. However, in real life, the use of the terms is still debatable. For example, using “honey” in arrest warrants and school admission notifications can be somewhat inappropriate. Although the posters had good intentions and wished to be closer to their audience, the posts lacked seriousness that official documents should have. Such posts appeared to be untrustworthy or could even be considered tacky. Moreover, not everyone understands the Taobao style, nor would everyone find it acceptable.” (GuangMingWang 2011) Online language stems from the Internet but is not limited to online space. Such language interacts and affects people’s lives in multiple ways. Whatever the genre, its language is strongly self-regulatory. Only when online language is used appropriately and naturally can it develop healthily and normally, and microblogging language is, undoubtedly, no exception.

References China Internet Network Information (中国互联网络信息中心). 2011. Statistics report of the Internet development in China (中国互联网络发展状况统计报告). Retrieved from http:// www.cnnic.cn/research/bgxz/tjbg/201101/P020110221534255749405.pdf.

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China Internet Network Information (中国互联网络信息中心). 2012. Statistics report of the Internet development in China (中国互联网络发展状况统计报告). Retrieved from http:// www.cnnic.net.cn/dtygg/dtgg/201201/W020120116337628870651.pdf. Dictionary Office of the Language Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (中国社会科学院语言研究所词典编辑室) (eds.). 2011. Modern Chinese Dictionary (5th ed.) (现代汉语词典[第5版]) .Beijing: The Commercial Press. GuangMingWang (光明网). 2011. Head of the Department of Language Application and Administration of the Ministry of Education: No everyone accepts ‘Taobao style’ (教育部语用司司长:不是所有人都能接受“淘宝体”). Retrieved from http://culture.gmw. cn/2011-11/20/content_3002567_2.htm (retrieved on 11/ 11/2011) . Peng Shaobin (彭少彬). 2010. Sina’s microblogs starts the first year of China’s microblogging (新浪微博叩开了中国微博元年大门). Sina website. Retrieved from http://tech.sina.com. cn/i/2010-11-16/10464870829.shtml.

Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

汲传波 (Ji Chuanbo)

22 Place-renaming fever Geographical names carry rich cultural information, including politics, economy, history, geography, language, as well as people’s lives and interactions. In addition, the names are also a linguistic resource. Geographical names are related to all aspects of society and should not be easily amended. However, in recent years, changing place names has become trendy: In January 2010, the Southern Sky Column (南天一柱) in Zhangjiajie (张家界) was renamed “Hallelujah Mountain” due to the movie “Avatar”; on 28 September 2010, Luxi (潞西) city in Yunnan (云南) province was officially renamed “Mang City” (芒市); in December 2010, Xiangfan (襄樊) city in Hubei (湖北) was renamed “Xiangyang” (襄阳); In May 2011, the fourth teaching building of Tsinghua University was given the name “Jeanswest”.1 Moreover, there were also heated debates about whether to change the names of certain places or not. For example, on 28 September 2011, the abbreviation of Hubei businessmen were changed from “E shang” (鄂商, ‘E businessmen’) to “Chu shang” (楚商, ‘Chu businessmen’), leading to an intensive discussion whether the abbreviation of Hubei should be changed from “E” (鄂) to “Chu” (楚). The episodes of renaming seemed to be endless and have caused a lot of discussions in society. In particular, “Xiangfan” being changed to “Xiangyang”, Tsinghua University’s fourth-education building being given the name “Jeanswest”, and whether Hubei in short should be “E” or “Chu” have become the focus of media attention for a while. There were also fierce debates on the Internet regarding these topics. Starting from the above three cases, this report will review the renaming events since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and provide suggestions that are conducive to a harmonious language environment.

1 From “Xiangfan” to “Xiangyang” On 9 December 2010, Xiangfan city in Hubei organised a renaming meeting and declared that, started from the following day, the name “Xiangfan” would be changed to “Xiangyang”. Although only a single word would be changed, the

1 According to the Regulations on the Management of Place Names (Ministry of Civil Affairs [1996] No. 17), the name of the building is included in the management of place names. In addition, the teaching building of Tsinghua originally had the name “the fourth teaching building” and was later renamed “Jeanswest”. Therefore, this article will include and discuss the event. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-022

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event immediately caused controversy on the Internet. The pro-renaming people believed that: “Though a single word, it shows the courage and the determination to retrieve the history!” Whereas the opponents questioned: “Is it necessary? Is there any scientific basis for that?” (Zhang Hongwei 2011) The following paragraphs are the online surveys conducted by the wellknown media outlets regarding the renaming of the city: According to the survey conducted by IFeng, a total of 42,844 people participated in the poll. There were 21,342 people (49.8 %) voting for renaming “Xiangfan” as “Xiangyang”. 15,306 people (35.7%) expressed reservation about the proposed change, while 6, 189 people (14.4%) felt neutral about the renaming. (IFeng.com 2012b) Tencent·Dachu’s survey showed that 28,207 people (42.22%) voted for, 30,274 people (45.32%) voted against, while 8,323 people (12.46%) were neutral about the proposed renaming. (Tencent·Dachu 2012) Xinhuanet also conducted an online survey and the results were as follows: 4,426 respondents (43.4%) supported the name change; 5,685 people (55.8%) objected the idea; 75 people (0.74%) believed that there was no definite answer. (Xinhua net 2012a) The results of the three surveys indicated that: regarding the renaming of Xiangfan, in the IFeng’s survey, the supporters outweighed the opponents by 14.1%; in Dachu’s survey, the number of the opponents was almost equal to that of the supporters, exceeding by a mere 3.12%; in Xinhuanet’s survey, the opponents surpassed the supporters by 12.4%. Judging from the results, there were indeed two different opinions regarding the renaming of Xiangfan. The numbers of the supporters and the opponents were similar. The following sections will analyse the main arguments put foward by the both sides, along with their specific comments.

1.1 Supporters Li Hui (李辉), a reporter of the People’s Daily (人民日报), had been pushing for the “Why Xiangfan not Xiangyang” campaign in 2001. (Li 2001) Dong Guodong (冻国 栋) believed that renaming Xiangfan city as Xiangyang was a nod to the place’s historical and cultural traditions. Throughout history, the status of Xiangyang has always been higher than that of Fancheng (樊城). By renaming the city, the historical and cultural heritage of Xiangyang would be highlighted and the influence of the city would be expanded. (Gao and Zhang 2010) Scholar Pei Yu (裴钰) believed that Xiangfan is well-known for its history and culture. Hence, the restoration of its “original name” would be conducive to the cultural value and spirit of the city. Pei thought that it was good for the city to return to its origins. Therefore, the renaming of Xiangfan as Xiangyang could not be blindly criticised. (Gao and Zhang 2010)

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1.2 Opponents Liu Dehong (刘德鸿), a member of the Institute of Modern History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believed that the reason for choosing the name “Xiangfan” was because Xiangyang town and Fancheng town have merged to become a city. Xiangyang is only a part of the new city. Using the name Xiangyang is, in fact, dismissing Fancheng. In Liu’s opinion, Fancheng also has a long history and rich cultural heritage. Many ancient literary and cultural works, including history books and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义), brings up Fancheng whenever Xiangyang is mentioned. (Liu 2010) However, Chen Lirong (陈礼荣) argued that, according to Liu’s logic, it seems that the name of a place must include all the related ancient places to “preserve the historical and cultural value”, such as Guiji (会稽) in Shaoxing (绍兴), Zhifu (芝罘) in Yantai (烟台), Bianliang (汴梁) in Kaifeng (开封), as well as Yiling (彝陵) in Yichang (宜昌). (Chen 2010) In 2010, Xiangfan’s announcement of the renaming was made fun of by netizens. On Mop.com, there were 15 popular quotes that had received 164,418 hits by 14 December 2011, including “Qiao Feng (乔峰), Guo Jing (郭靖), and Huang Rong (黄蓉) are satisfied with the result......it is recommended that Hubei be renamed Chu (楚), and Xiangyu (项羽) should be brought back to govern the place!”, “I heard that the State Council approved the renaming of Xiangfan to Xiangyang. According to this logic, we should simply change Xi’an (西安) to Chang’an (长安), Beijing (北京) to Beiping (北平), Nanjing (南京) to Jinling (金陵), Kaifeng (开封) to Dongjing (东京), and Hebei (河北) to...” (Yiyezhiqiu 2010) In addition, in Zhang Hongwei’s (张宏伟) article titled “Renaming Xiangfan to Xiangyang: A multi-million dollar a word”, he argued that the renaming includes the revision of various maps, official seals, certificates, and signs, and all of which will incur costs. The entire administrative cost would be at least 100 million yuan.” (Zhang Hongwei 2011) After this article was published in Hua Shan Daily (华商报), Online media such as Xinhua, People, YNET, Sohu, Southcn, Sina, and Tencent republished and made the article become an important reason for many netizens to question the renaming.

2 Nameplate of the Jeanswest building On 23 May 2011, the Chinese and English signs of the Jeanswest building were hung on the wall of the fourth teaching building of Tsinghua University. A nameplate was also attached onto the wall to introduce the brand (see Figure 22.1). The renaming soon became controversial. The university stated that the naming

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Figure 22.1: The Jeanswest building in Tsinghua University. Source: Sina. 2011. http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2011-05-24/030322516711.shtml (24 May 2011).

of campus buildings is a common practice for schools around the world to raise funds. Some students of the university and netizens believed that it is normal to seek donations for campus buildings; however, giving a teaching building a name of a clothing brand hinders the academic atmosphere on campus. On 27 May, the newly-hung Jeanswest nameplate was removed due to the paint smeared on it. Tsinghua University stated that the nameplate would not be re-installed; however, the words “Jeanswest Building” would not be removed. The controversy of the Jeanswest nameplate triggered a heated debate about whether using corporate names damages the spirit of universities. The following sections are the online surveys regarding the University’s renaming event. IFeng has a total of 4 options for the question: “What do you think of renaming the building in Tsinghua University as ‘Jeanswest Building’?” A total of 76,524 people participated in the online voting. Option (1) was “Approved; Tsinghua needs more funds for its development” and received 1,084 votes (14,2%). Option (2) was “Disapproved, naming a building for teaching with the name of a commercial brand is adverse to Tsinghua University” and received 55,529 votes (72.6%). Option (3) was “Neutral, however, the brand does not match Tsinghua’s image” and received 8,384 votes (1%). Option (4) was “Hard to say” and received 176 votes (2.3%). (IFeng 2012a) The results of Xinhua’s polls on the renaming are as follows: “Disapproved, it is too commercial” received 8,670 votes (70.4%), while “Does not matter, it is for the development of the school” received 3,638 votes (29.6%). (Xinhua net 2012b)

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The above results suggest that the majority of netizens were opposed to the idea of giving the name “Jeanswest” to the building in Tsinghua University. On People.com, a post titled “Do you approve the renaming of a teaching building in Tsinghua University as ‘Jeanswest’ and allow enterprises to step into campuses?” had 140 follow-up posts and had been read 17,229 times. (People.com 2012a) The members of Tianya Club (天涯社区) had a dedicated post with 837 replies and had been read 94,353 times. (Tianya Club 2012) (the above statistics were dated 10 March 2012) The data shows the popularity of the topic on the Internet. The majority of netizens disapproved “Jeanswest” as the name of the building in Tsinghua. The following paragraphs analyse the views of the supporters and the opponents through the commentary.

2.1 Supporters’ views An article published in Southern Metropolis Daily (南方都市报) stated that “there is no need to focus on the compatibility of corporate donations.” The controversy over Tsinghua’s Jeanswest building was mainly because the company was not high-end and, therefore, was incompatible with the stature of Tsinghua University. Such a way of thinking assigns corporations to certain categories and is, in fact, a form of discrimination. This kind of attitude is no different from “tufthunging”. The Economic Observer (经济观察报) stated that “it is unnecessary to require corporations to donate altruistically.” As long as the companies are law-abiding, they are all qualified as donors. Whether a company is international or not should not be the requirement for donors. The reason why many people objected the name “Jeanswest” was because they believed a low-end brand is not compatible with Tsinghua, a top university. Such a snobbish attitude is discriminatory towards business and commerce. Moreover, saying that Tsinghua was not short of money and, therefore, should not accept the donation is not a legitimate argument to oppose the renaming. Some university students also supported the renaming. The students believed that “the renaming harms no one”. There is nothing wrong with the donation made by Jeanswest as long as it is used to improve university education. (Li and Wang 2011)

2.2 Opponents’ views An article published in People’s Daily argued that universities should adhere to their quest for loftiness, otherwise the national spirit will have no support to fall back on. Beijing Times (京华时报) stated that “standards of corporate donors

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should be established.” When a building in a 100-year-old elite school, such as Tsinghua, is going to be named after a corporation, the corporation should be carefully selected. Universities should consider if the corporate images are compatible with the culture of the schools. Schools should also establish their own standards for corporate donors. Xinmin net (新民网) published an article which suggested that the controversy over donations and renaming in China’s universities is mainly due to the lack of a management system. Only when universities operate independently can they resist the invasion of materialism and vulgarization. Otherwise, donations and renaming will always remain controversial.2 Some undergraduates believed that the renaming carried out by Tsinghua, a prestigious 100-year-old school, will undoubtedly be imitated by others. Using “Jeanswest”, a fashion brand, to name a building in Tsinghua is bound to be considered a business move. (Li and Wang 2011)

3 Abbreviation of Hubei: “E” or “Chu”? On 28 September 2011, Zhao Xiaoyong (赵晓勇), Head of Hubei Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce, announced at a press conference that, with immediate effect, businessmen from Hubei will be referred to as “Chushang”. Shortly afterwards, on 8 October 2011, at the press conference organised by the provincial government of Hubei, the Hubei Association of Jing Chu revealed that experts and scholars would conduct research on the topic of “Is the abbreviation of Hubei E or Chu?” (Yang 2011) In Hubei, the rumour of name change from “E” to “Chu” was spreading like wild fire, leading to disputes among the general public. The following paragraphs outline the result of the online surveys conducted by the online media regarding the renaming. IFeng asked people to vote on “Do you support the change of the abbreviation of Hubei from E to Chu?” and attracted 151,954 participants. There were 58,533 supporters (38.5%) who believed that the word “鄂” (E), being a homophone of the word “恶” (E, evil), sounds unpleasant. A total of 93,420 participants (61.5%) were against the change, arguing that the renaming is an unnecessary and costly hassle. (IFeng 2012b) On People, the poll titled “Hubei’s Research on Renaming the Province as Chu, What Do You Think?” had 18,729 participants. There was a total of 8,655 2 The views held by Southern Metropolis Daily, The Economic Observer, People’s Daily, Beijing Times, and Xinmin net, please refer to China Education Daily (中国教育报), 2011 May 29, p.2 “Medium Views”.

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voters (47%) in support of the renaming and 10,074 voters (53%) against it. (People.com 2012b) The above results demonstrate that the majority of netizens disapproved of changing Hubei’s abbreviation from “E” to “Chu”. Starting with specific commentary, the following sections will summerize the arguments made by the two sides regarding the renaming.

3.1 Supporters’ views Liu Yutang (刘玉堂), Vice President of Hubei Academy of Social Sciences, Director of Chu Culture Research Institute, and Head of the Academic Committee of the Hubei Association of Jing, said: “In ancient times, the words “鄂” and “噩” were interchangeable. In modern days, “鄂” is a homophone of “恶” and is, indeed, unpleasant to hear.” Liu was one of the first scholars that proposed to change the abbreviation from “E” to “Chu”. (Li 2011) Most of the renaming supporters formed their arguments from the perspective of culture and brand. Hubei is rich in culture and history. Chu culture has been more influential compared to E culture. Therefore, the abbreviation should be changed to Chu. The renaming can add charm to the province and enhance its image. For instance, on People.com, netizens argued that “I support the renaming. Hubei province has always been the core of the State of Chu (楚国). A history of thousands of years cannot be broken.” “Building and promoting the province’s brand is the top priority. We should not wait any longer. We support the renaming!” “Chu is the foundation of Hubei. Only the State of Chu could cultivate so many talented people! Therefore, the name Chu is more meaningful.” Dongfang Songmei (东方松梅), a netizen, said on Sina: “If you look at the abbreviation of Hubei from a historical point of view, the name Chu is the most representative and persuasive.” Sina user Fangcao Aiai (芳草艾艾) believe that “Chu is the better name as Hubei is the birthplace of Chu culture. Shandong (山东) is called ‘Qilu Dadi’ (齐鲁大地, ‘the vast land of Qilu’); Hubei is called ‘Jingchu Dadi’ (荆楚大地, ‘the vast land of Jingchu’). Therefore, Hubei’s abbreviation should be changed to Chu as the name better reflects the province’s cultural heritage.”

3.2 Opponents’ views The opposing argument was that the ancient Chu State not only included Hubei and Hunan (湖南); at its peak time, it even incorporated parts of Henan (河南), Jiangxi (江西), Anhui (安徽), Zhejiang (浙江), and Jiangsū (江苏) provinces.

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Therefore, Hubei cannot represent the entire Chu culture. If the abbreviation of Hubei is changed to Chu, it may cause disputes with other provinces. Many netizens believed that “The name is only a symbol. Cultural heritage cannot be changed simply by renaming.” For example, netizens on People.com commented: “Simply changing the abbreviation does not increase the charm of Hubei nor improve its image, the officials and citizens should step up their efforts instead.” “A real culture cannot be changed by simply renaming the place.” “Is the abbreviation really that important?” On IFeng, the Internet users also stated: “The popularity of renaming shows how confused our nation is regarding cultural development.” Some netizens believed that the renaming of Hubei is an unnecessary and costly hassle. This was because the renaming involves the change of license plates and the revision of textbooks. According to a calculation made online, Hubei had nearly 10 million licensed vehicles. Assuming changing a license plate costs 100 yuan, the cost would be close to 1 billion yuan. (Li 2011)

4 Review of place renaming 4.1 Brief introduction After the founding of the People’ Republic China, the renaming of places has never ceased. According to different characteristics, place renaming can be divided into the following four stages. The first stage is the beginning of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The government wished to change geographical names that were discriminatory or insulting to ethnic minorities. On 16 May 1951, the State Council issued the Directives on the handling of the titles, names of places, tablets and signboards which are discriminative and insulting to ethnic minorities and directives on changing place names, which reflected the party’s ethnic policies and promoted the unity of the ethnic groups in the country. During the period, Guisui (归绥) was changed to Hohhot; Dihua (迪化) was changed to Urumqi; Jinghua (靖化) was changed to Jinchuan (金川). The second stage was from 1956 to 1959, the period after the implementation of the standard simplified Chinese. Several place names were changed with their pronunciations remaining the same. For instance, Fengdu (酆都) county,  the “ghost city” of Chongqing (重庆), was renamed Fengdu (丰都); Hetian (和阗) county in Xinjiang was changed to Hetian (和田); Zhouzhi (盩厔) county in Shaanxi (陕西) was changed to Zhouzhi (周至).

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The third stage is the time during the ‘Great Leap Forward’ and the ‘Cultural Revolution’. In this period, the eradication of the “four olds” and various political reasons were used as excuses to change place names irrationally and hastily. “Hints of red” were added to various geographical names in China. The homophones of “gémìng” (革命, ‘revolution’), “zhàndòu” (战斗, ‘fighting’), and “mièzī” (灭资, ‘destroy capitalism’) were popular place names, even resulting in difficulties in letter delivery. (Shi 2007) During the cultural revolution, Qinzhou (秦州) district in Tianshui (天水) city, Gansu (甘肃) Province had 70 streets and lanes renamed. For instance, Jianchang lane (箭场里, ‘arrow lane’) was changed to Qianjin alley (前进巷, ‘advance alley’); Yanfang Beihou (砚房背后, ‘behind study room’) was renamed as Wenge alley (文革巷, ‘Cultural Revolution alley’); Shífangtang (十方堂, ‘room for worldwide guests’) was changed to Fanxiu alley (反修巷, ‘anti-revisionism alley’); Wanyuelou alley (玩月楼巷, ‘moon appreciation hut alley’) was given the name Jiefang road (解放路, ‘liberation road’). Most of the new names were political. (Zhang Hua 2011) Other examples are the renaming of Xuanwu district (玄武区) in Nanjing to Yaowu district (要武区, ‘Seek Militancy district’, with “Yaowu” being a name given to a leading Red Guard by Mao Zedong) and the change from Xiaguan district (下关区, ‘Lower Gate district’) to Dongfanghong district (东方红区, ‘Oriental Red district’). The fourth stage is the renaming that aimed to boost regional economic development since the 1980s. In order to attract investment and increase exposure, various places have changed their names. The impactful renaming events include: (1) Anhui Province abolished Huizhou (徽州) region in 1987 and established Huangshan (黄山, ‘Yellow Mountain’), a prefecture-level city; (2) in 1998, Puqi (蒲圻) city in Hubei was given the name Chibi (赤壁, ‘Red Cliff’); (3) Nanping (南坪) county in Sichuan (四川) was renamed Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟, ‘Nine Village Valley’); (4) in 2001, Zhongdian (中甸) county in Yunnan was renamed Shangri-La. The attempts had only one purpose: to attract the world’s attention and facilitate regional economic development. (Wang Hongbo 2010)

4.2 Analysis of place renaming since the 1980s The impactful renaming events since the 1980s are summarised in Table 22.1 in a chronological order. Since the 1980s, many places have changed their name; however, very few were successful. Dayong (大庸) city in Hunan was renamed Zhangjiajie (张家界) and has been considered a successful example of renaming. Dayong was originally a little-known and enclosed town in Wuling Mountain (武陵山) in Xiangxi (湘西), Hunan, with the famous Zhangjiajie tourist spot within its jurisdiction. In

1987 1988 1988 1989 1994 1994

Sanya (三亚) city Mount Emei (峨眉山) city Dūjiangyan (都江堰) city Mount Wuyi (武夷山) city Zhangjiajie (张家界) city Huludao (葫芦岛) city

Shunping (顺平) county

Jingzhou (荆州) city Chibi (赤壁) city Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟) county

Wan (完) county

Jingsha (荆沙) city Puqi (蒲圻) city Nanping (南坪) county

Zhongdian (中甸) county Huaiyin (淮阴) city Tiefǎ (铁法) city Anxi (安西) county Simao (思茅) city Xishan (西山) town in Sūzhou (苏州) city Gaoyang (高阳) town in Hubei (湖北) Xiangfan (襄樊) city Luxi (潞西) city

Tongshen (通什) city

Lunan (路南) Yi Autonomous Region

Original Name

Xiangyang (襄阳) city Mang (芒) city

Zhaojun (昭君) town

Xianggelila (香格里拉) county Huai’an (淮安) city Diaobingshan (调兵山) city Guazhou (瓜州) county Pu’er (普洱) city Jinting (金庭) town

Wuzhishan (五指山) city

Shilin (石林)Yi Autonomous Region

Current Name

Sources: Chai Haiyan (2000), Wang Xuke and Zhao Liming (2007), Lü Lianqin and Zhang Dongyue (2010), etc.

1996 1998 1998

1993

1987

Huangshan (黄山) city

Tunxi (屯溪) county, Huizhou (徽州) district Ya (崖) county Emei (峨眉) county Guan (灌) county Chongan (崇安) county Dayong (大庸) city Jinxi (锦西) city

1984

Year of Renaming

Jinggangshan (井冈山) city

Current Name

Ninggang (宁冈) county

Original Name

Table 22.1: Place renaming since the 1980s.

2010 2010

2009

2001 2001 2002 2006 2007 2007

2001

1998

Year of Renaming

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April 1994, after being renamed, the city’s popularity skyrocketed. According to the media reports, in 1993, Dayong was still a backward city with no decent roads; however, it has become one of the top tourist cities nation-wide. The renaming had led to a year-on-year growth of the number of travellers and revenue. From 1995 to 2009, the number of tourists in Zhangjiajie had increased from 16 million to 18.7414 million and the income increased from 256.8 million yuan to 100.2 billion yuan. (Lü and Zhang 2010) The cases of failed renaming are not rare either. In October 1994, Jingzhou (荆州) district, Sha (沙) city, and Jiangling (江陵) county in northern Hubei were replaced by Jingsha (荆沙) city. Jingzhou, a name that had been used for thousands of years, was scrapped, leading to many controversies. Two years after the renaming, China restored the original name Jingzhou. Renaming could sometimes be controversial, as shown in the following cases. (1) In 1987, the Huizhou region was renamed Huangshan city; whereas Taiping (太平) county was renamed Huangshan district. The name “Huangshan” was used twice in the same administrative region, resulting in confusion and inconveniences to tourists. In addition, the original name of Huangshan city is Tunxi (屯溪), which represents Huizhou culture. The new name was unable to reflect the rich culture of Huizhou. “The peculiar peaks and rocks of Huangshan are nothing compared to the ancient Huizhou.” (Gao 2010) (2) The former name of Dujiangyan (都江堰) and Mount Qingcheng (青城山) city is the Guan (灌) county of Sichuan. The renaming was executed in 1988. There are two well-known tourist spots in the area, including Dujiangyan and Mount Qingcheng. The former is a famous water conservancy construction and the latter is a famous Taoist shrine. To many people, the change from Guan county to Dujiangyan city is unfavourable to the tourism of Mount Qingcheng. (3) Tiefa 铁法 city in Liaoning (辽宁) province was renamed Diaobingshan (调兵 山, troops relocation mountain) for the development of tourism. The choice of the new name was because, legend has it that in the Jin Dynasty, Jin Wushu (金兀术), a reputable general, used to arrange and relocate troops on a mountain in the city. The renaming was treated as a joke. (4) The Huaiyin (淮阴) city of Jiangsu (江苏) province was given the new name Huai’an (淮安). The local residents constantly need to explain to outsiders whether their city is the “big Huai’an” or the “small Huai’an”. Huai’an used to be a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Huaiyin, a prefecture-level city located in the southeast part of Huaiyin. The original, county-level Huai’an was the core area of Huaiyin, a city rich in culture and history. Huai’an, before renaming, had the former residence of Zhou Enlai (周恩来), as well as the ruins of Xiacaowan (下草湾) culture and Qingliangang (青莲岗) culture.

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After renaming, the two places now belong to different cities, causing confusion among visitors. Some tourists failed to find the former residence of Zhou Enlai in the new Huai’an due to the mismatch of the names and the places. (Shen 2007) (5) In 2007, Xishan (西山) town in Wuzhong (吴中) district, Suzhou (苏州) was renamed Jinting (金庭). One of the reasons for the renaming was that the word “Xishan” is related to the Chinese phrase “sunset in the west hill”, which may be heard as meaning death and deterioration. In addition, “Xi” (西) in Suzhou dialect has a similar pronunciation with the word “death”. In order to attract investment and develop tourism, the government decided to change the town’s name. Some people considered the name change merely as an act driven by superstition. (Shen 2007) Instead of alleging that the renaming is superstitious, some people accused the local government of “abolishing” the culture in the name of economic development. (Dong 2007) (6) Zhongdian county (中甸) is called “Gyalthang” in Tibetan and considered “the place where the chief lives” by the Naxi people. For the Naxi, the place is also the “mainland”. “Zhongdian” is the Chinese translation of the “mainland” in Naxi. The name Xianggelila (香格里拉), however, is a foreign name, having no meaning in Chinese, Naxi, and Tibetan. “Xianggelila” is a Chinese translation of the English word “Shangri-La”. Judging from the name and the story of Shangri-La, it is, undoubtedly foreign to Chinese ears. Shangri-La is a concept created by westerners and it also embodies some Western mythical value. It seems rather inappropriate to adopt Shangri-La as the name for the home of dozens of ethnic groups, including the Tibetan, Han Chinese, the Naxi people, the Yi people, and the Bai people. (Wang Hongbo 2010) Nevertheless, after Zhongdian was renamed as Shangri-La, the county’s popularity has increased and the number of tourists continues to grow. Renaming is indeed conducive to the local economy in this case. (7) The Wan (完) county of Hebei was named after the Wan state of the Jin Dynasty. The name “Wan” was inspired by the phrase “beautiful and solid mountains and rivers” (山川完美、坚固). However, in 1993, the county was renamed Shunping (顺平) because “Wan” was reminiscent of “be done for” (完蛋) by businessmen.

5 Conclusions The renaming of places involves a wide range of issues, in particular, it affects the interests and feelings of ordinary citizens. The controversy over place renaming shows that administrative decisions must take into consideration public opinions

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and scientific arguments. Urban planning ought to be people-oriented and realistic. It is unwise to focus one-sidedly on either culture or economy when considering changing place names. In fact, the economic development of a city is not necessarily related to the change of its name. Similarly, the promotion of a city’s history and culture is not directly associated with the use of its ancient name. Moreover, the well-being of citizens does not rely on the renaming of a city. (Jiang 2011) Zhou Zhenhe (周振鹤), Professor at Fudan University, pointed out that geographical names should be treated with caution and properly maintained; they should not be changed unless they affect the dignity of the nation or disrupt the sociopolitical environment. (Zhang Hongwei 2011) Renaming of places should be decided and implemented cautiously. The following aspects should be highlighted when changing place names in the future.

5.1 Mechanism that encourages the participation of the government, experts, and ordinary citizens The management of geographical names is complicated, involving political, social, economic, cultural, geographical, ethnic, linguistic, historical and many other aspects of society. Therefore, a new system that meets the needs of modern place name management should be established. In addition, the China Committee on Geographical Names and Expert Advisory Committee on Geographical Names coordinated by multiple departments should be restored. (Wang Jianfu 2010) The committees should invite experts from different fields, such as linguists, to join. For instance, the expert group for place names of the State of Victoria in Australia stipulated that the group should have as many people with the knowledge or experience in related fields as possible, including charting, geography, planning, local government administration, indigenous cultures and languages, heritage, history, orthography, and linguistics. (Zhang 2006) Place names are common symbols used in society. The use of geographical names should be relatively coherent. Hasty change to place names will certainly lead to confusion at high costs. Place renaming often involves the public interests of the area concerned. Therefore, it is crucial to have a legal, transparent, and diplomatic procedure. The change of a city’s name will affect all aspects of the citizens’ lives. Hence, the government should consult the general public regarding any suggested renaming of places. (Liang 2011) The Geographical Name Management Regulations of Wuxi City will be put into effect on 1 June 2010. After its implementation, public hearings must be held before any suggested place renaming could proceed. In the process, opinions of relevant departments and experts should be taken into consideration.

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When consulting the public, it is also necessary to follow the standard requirements. According to other countries’ practice, the consent of a certain proportion of the general public is required before the government could proceed with any place renaming. The proportion should be set according to the actual situation of the nation. For example, in South Korea, the agreement of 80% or more citizens is required for any name change to be approved. (Fu 2007)

5.2 Strengthening of the protection of intangible cultural heritage By reviewing the changes in place name that occurred in the past half century, it is observed that during the founding stage of the P.R. of China, the motives for the renaming were mostly political. Since the reform and opening up, the changes were mainly due to economic factors. In future, the reasons for the renaming may be culture-oriented,3 which is a very positive trend. As stated in Resolution No. 6 of the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, “Geographical names are national cultural heritage.” Resolution No. 9 of the Sixth Conference further stated that: “Geographical names have important cultural and historical significance. Any change in geographical names will result in the loss of inherited culture and historical traditions.” (Liu 2006) Once place names are changed, the intangible cultural heritage they carry, such as historical development, cultural evolution, spirit, and folk customs, will also disappear. Place names reflect social development. Due to a lack of awareness to protect cultures, geographical names were often changed irrationally and chaotically. The changes might seem reasonable at the time, however, from a long-term perspective, many of them are nonsensical and harmful to cultural resources. (Chen 2007) The old name of a city is the “living fossil” and the “roots” of the city. A city requires development to move towards a brighter future; it also needs the support of solid roots to grow. Having understood the significance of geographical names, Wuxi (无锡) has set up an expert group in recent years to manage more than 700 old geographical names. Moreover, 100 old place names that can best represent Wuxi will be selected and included in the list of protected historical place names. The names included in the list will not be changed if they are in use; whereas the unused ones will be re-used in due course. (Wei 2011) Beijing, Nanjing, Hangzhou

3 The view was formed with the assistance of the editor-in-chief and proof-readers of the The Language Situation in China and their help is greatly appreciated.

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(杭州), Shanghai (上海), Chengdu (成都), Zhengzhou (郑州) and many other cities have started to protect old place names. The Geographical Name Management Regulations of Hebei Province also came into effect on 1 January 2011. The regulations stipulate that it is necessary to make geographical names coherent and to preserve meaningful names.

5.3 Standardisation and informatisation of geographical names The Chinese government attaches great importance to geographical names and has successively formulated and issued a series of laws and documents concerning place names. The goal is to standardised place names in China. “A place name should be pronounced and written in accordance with the standard written and spoken national language and have healthy meanings. The naming of a place is subject to the legal approval procedure” (Wang 2000). In China, experts on geographical names and linguists, through long-term cooperation and concerted effort, have made significant achievements in scientific research on geographical names through surveys, compilation, documentation, management, and standard setting. The fruitful results have laid a solid foundation for China’s standardisation of geographical names. (Li 2002) In the future, the cooperation of various departments should continue to be strengthened so as to further standardise the nation’s place names (based on national standards in accordance with international standards). Moreover, the government needs to utilise the latest information technologies, such as cloud computing, to propel the informatisation of geographical names and to provide community services.

5.4 Improvement in laws and regulations for place renaming On 23 January 1986, the State Council issued and implemented the Regulation on Geographical Names of the People’s Republic of China, the first administrative regulation that specifically regulates geographical names in P. R. of China. The promulgation and implementation of the regulation provides the legal basis for the management of place names in China and has played a significant role in governing the naming, change, and use of geographical names. However, the regulation is outdated and needs to be revised. Therefore, some scholars called for the formulation of new laws regarding geographical names. The new laws will help standardise the naming and renaming procedures, as well as establish a sound and scientific legal mechanism for regulating geographical names.

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The strengthening of place name management will facilitate and maintain the standardisation of geographical names according to international standards. By doing so, the management of geographical names can meet the needs of China’s current economic conditions and social development, as well as lay the foundation for international exchanges. (Liu and Xu 2010) In recent years, new methods for place name management have been implemented throughout the nation, serving as a basis for China to unify the laws regarding geographical names. For instance, the Geographical Name Management Regulation of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has been put into practice since 1 October 2011. The regulation stipulates that “public security, housing, urban and rural construction, transportation, industry and commerce, language, culture, press and publication, as well as other relevant departments shall be responsible for managing of geographical names within the scope of their respective portfolios and duties.” (The People’s Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region 2011) The writings of the geographical names of the autonomous regions should be consistent with the standard written and spoken ethnic minority languages recognised by the local laws.

References Chai, Hongyan (柴海燕). 2000. Analysis of the Renaming of Tourist Spots (风景旅游城市地名变 更现象透析). Areal Research and Development (地域研究与开发), 2. Chen, Liping (陈丽平). 2007, April 9. Renaming of cities is expecting a governing mechanism (城市更名改姓期待机制把关). Legal Daily (法制日报), p.8. Chen, Lirong (陈礼荣). 2010. Why bother using new voice to sing old songs (何劳新声唱老调). YNET. Retrieved from http://bjyouth.ynet.com/article.jsp?oid=74804355&pageno=2 (2 December 2010). Dong, Hai (东海). 2007, July 10. Renaming: Economy over culture? (更改地名: 经济 “打劫” 文化?). Business Daily (中国商报), p.6. Fu, Shenhong (付深红). 2007. Reflections on the renaming of cities in China at the present dtage (现阶段我国城市更名的若干思考). Master Thesis from Jilin University. Gao, Daofei (高道飞) and Zhang Yongjun (张勇军). 2010. Renaming Xiangfan to Xiangyang: Highlighting the culture and history of the city (襄樊更名为襄阳 凸显历史文化底蕴). Retrieved from http://news.xinhuanet.com/2010-12/03/c_12843231.htm (3 December 2010). Gao, Yanjing (高延晶). 2010, December 4. Renaming Test (改名考). Guangzhou Daily (广州日 报), p.A5. IFeng. 2012a. Retrieved from http://survey.news.ifeng.com/result.php?surveyId=12274 (25 April 2012). IFeng. 2012b. Retrieved from http://survey.news.ifeng.com/result.php?surveyId=9492 (25 April 2012).

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Jiang, Qi (蒋琦). 2011. Xiangfan to Xiangyang said to cost hundreds of millions (湖北 襄樊更名为襄阳 传将耗费上亿行政成本). Tensent. Retrieved from http://news. qq.com/a/20110109/000720.htm (9 January 2011). Li, Hui (李辉). 2001, October 9. Why Xiangfan not Xiangyang (襄樊何不称襄阳). People’s Daily, p. 12. Li, Siying (李思颖) and Wang Dongmei (王冬梅). 2011, May 26. How university students view the Jeanswest building (大学生怎么看真维斯楼). Legal Evening News (法制晚报), p. A23. Li, Yunfu (李运富). 2002. On the principle of the linguistic standard of the standardisation of geographical names (试论地名标准化 “语文标准” 的原则问题). Applied Linguistics (语言 文字应用), 2. Li, Zhenghao (李正豪). 2011. From E businessmen to Chu businessmen: Hubei’s controversial renaming (鄂商已成楚商 湖北简称鄂或改楚引发民间争议). IFeng. Retrieved from http://finance.ifeng.com/news/region/20111030/4956194.shtml (30 October 2011). Liang, Changjie (梁昌杰). 2011, January 24. Avoid short-sighted place renaming decisions (改地 名切莫急功近利). People’s Daily, P.11. Liu, Baoquan (刘保全). 2006. Strengthening the research and protection of geographical names is imperative (加强地名文化遗产研究与保护势在必行). China Place Names (中国地名), 4. Liu, Dehong (刘德鸿). 2010. Also Talk About Xiangfan and Huizhou (也说襄樊与徽州). YNET. Retrieved from http://bjyouth.ynet.com/article.jsp?oid=74804355&pageno=4 (2 December 2010). Liu, Lili (刘丽丽) and Xu Rui (徐蕊). 2010. Analysis on the Renaming of Administrative Districts at and above the County Level in China Since Reform and Opening-up and Its Problems (改 革开放以来中国县级以上政区名称变更及其问题探讨). Human Geography (人文地理), 4. Lü, Lianqin (吕连琴) and Zhang Dongyue (张东月). 2010. Renaming of tourist spots and its principles (旅游地更名现象及原则探讨). Journal of Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics (郑州航空工业管理学院学报), 6. People.com. 2012a. Retrieved from http://bbs1.people.com.cn/postDetail. do?view=2&treView=2&id=109636579&boardId=1&pageNo=2 (25 April 2012). People.com. 2012b. Retrieved from http://bianlun.people.com.cn/public/index. php?channelid=1&did=994 (25 April 2012). Shen, Haixiong (慎海雄). 2007, July 3. Renaming for luck should be prohibited (改地名讨吉利的 现代迷信必须制止). China Community Newspapers (中国社会报), p.6. Shi, Chaoyi (石超艺). 2007. Research on the culture protection and place name management of Shanghai (上海市地名文化保护与地名管理研究). Postdoctoral Research Report of East China Normal University. Tencent·Dachu. 2012. Retrieved from http://hb.qq.com/a/20101202/002235.htm (25 April 2012). The People’s Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (7 September 2011). Geographical Name Management Regulation of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (新疆维吾尔自治区地名管理办法). Xinjiang Daily, p.3. Tianya Club. 2012. Retrieved from http://www.tianya.cn/publicforum/content/fre/1/2171772. shtml (25 April 2012). Wang, Hongbo (汪虹波). 2010. Place names are a double-edged sword and should be changed with cautious (地名是把双刃剑,应谨慎更改). China Place Name (中国地名), 2. Wang, Jianfu (王建富). 2010. Review and prospect of the geographic names of New China (新中 国地名事业的回顾与展望). China Place Names (中国地名), 2. Wang, Jitong (王际桐). 2000. Chinese script and pronunciation of geographical names in China (中国地名汉字书写及读音). Language Planning (语文建设), 11.

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Wang, Xuke (王旭科) and Zhao Liming (赵黎明) .2007. Services and City Tourism: City Renaming and its Methods (服务于城市旅游的城市更名及方法). Urban Problems (城市问题), 10. Wei, Xue (未雪). 2011, May 15. The revival of Wuxi’s old names (被“复活”的无锡老地名). Wuxi Daily (无锡日报), p.W01. Xinhua net (the Development Forum). 2012a. Retrieved from http://forum.home.news.cn/ detail/80479682/3.html (25 April 2012). Xinhua net. 2012b. Retrieved from http://forum.home.news.cn/detail/84925982/8.html (25 April 2012). Yang, Wenping (杨文平). 2011, October 9. Is the abbreviation of Hubei E or Chu? (湖北简称“鄂” “楚”?). Changjiang River Daily (长江日报), p. 9. Yiyezhiqiu (一页知秋). 2010. Classic quotes from netizens: The renaming of Xiangfan to Xiangyang (襄樊改名襄阳之网友经典语录). Mop.com. Retrieved from http://tt.mop.com/ read_5295176_1_0.html(3 December 2010). Zhang, Hongwei (张宏伟). 2011, January 8. Xiangfan to Xiangyang: A multi-million dollar a word (襄樊更名襄阳 一 “字”之改成本过亿). Hua Shan Daily (华商报), p. A11. Zhang, Hua (张华). 2011. China’s old city names vanishes in a lightning speed yet still exists in people’s memories (中国城市老地名正在惊人消失 而却在世人的美好记忆中挥之不去). China Place Name (中国地名), 5. Zhang, Weixing (张卫星). 2006. Geographical names in Victoria, Australia: Principles, policies, and procedures for the standardisation of geographical names (澳大利亚维多利亚州的地 名工作—地名标准化管理原则、政策与程序). China Place Names (中国地名), 11.

Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Chan Shui-duen (陈瑞端)

23 Changes and usage of languages in different societal domains in Hong Kong Shortly after the handover of Hong Kong, Tung Chee Hwa (董建华), Former Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, started reiterating the concept of “bi-literacy and tri-lingualism” in his policy addresses. Since then, the concept has been continuously promoted and expanded by the government and different communities in various ways. Nowadays, the concept is often perceived as the language policy of Hong Kong, reflecting the region’s language environment. While a paper in Language Situation in China: 2012 has briefly described the implementation of “bi-literacy and tri-lingualism” in language education in Hong Kong, this report examines the application of the concept in different societal domains in Hong Kong society.

1 Changes of languages commonly used by citizens According to the 2011 Hong Kong Population Census, as many as 89.5% of the population aged 5 or over speak Cantonese regularly in their daily lives. The figure is similar to that of 2001 but witnesses a dip of 1.3% compared with 2006. 1.4% of the population employed Putonghua as their ‘usual language’, an increase of 0.5% compared with 0.9% in 2001 and 2006. The number of people who consider English as their ‘usual’ language (3.5%) had increased by 0.7% and 0.3% compared with that in 2006 (2.8%) and 2001 (3.2%) respectively. However, speakers of other Chinese dialects had declined in numbers. Please refer to Table 23.1. It is noteworthy that the number of people who consider Cantonese and English as ‘another language/dialect’ rather than ‘usual language’ had only slightly increased compared with that in 2006. However, the number of people who consider Putonghua as ‘another language/dialect’ had increased by 7.3% (590,000 people) and 13.2% (1,050,000 people) respectively compared to that of 5 years and 10 years ago. Adding together the figures of the ‘usual language’ and ‘another language/dialect’, it can be observed that the overwhelming majority of Hong Kong citizens are still accustomed to speaking Cantonese. Meanwhile, nearly half of the population can speak Putonghua and English. That is, the majority of the citizens have become bi-literate and tri-lingual. In the past 10 years, the number of people who can speak English has consistently exceeded the number of people who use https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-023

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 Chan Shui-duen (陈瑞端)

Table 23.1: Proportion of population aged 5 and over able to speak selected languages/ dialects, 2001, 2006 and 2011 (A111). Language / Dialect

Proportion of Population(1) Aged 5 and Over (%) As Usual Language

As Another Languaga / Dialect

Total

2001

2006

2011

2001

2006

2011

2001

2006

2011

Cantonese 89.2 Putonghua 0.9 English 3.2 Hakka 1.3 Chiu Chau 1.0 Fukien 1.7 Indonesian 0.2 (Bahasa Indonesia) Filipion (Tagalog) 0.2 Japanese 0.2 Shanghainese 0.4

90.8 0.9 2.8 1.1 0.8 1.2 0.1

89.5 1.4 3.5 0.9 0.7 1.1 0.3

6.8 33.3 39.8 3.8 3.8 2.3 1.2

5.7 39.2 41.9 3.6 3.2 2.1 1.5

6.3 46.5 42.6 3.8 3.1 2.3 2.2

96.1 34.1 43.0 5.1 4.8 3.9 1.3

96.5 40.2 44.7 4.7 3.9 3.4 1.7

95.8 47.8 46.1 4.7 3.8 3.5 2.4

0.1 0.2 0.3

0.2 0.2 0.3

1.7 1.2 1.1

1.3 1.1 0.9

1.4 1.4 0.9

1.9 1.4 1.5

1.4 1.2 1.2

1.7 1.5 1.1

Source: 2011 Population Census Office Census and Statistics Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Putonghua, whereas in 2011, for the first time, the number of people who can speak Putonghua exceeded those who can speak English. The changes in the use of language is more or less related to the demographic composition of Hong Kong and the change in the citizens’ education level. Over the past 10 years, the number of Chinese in Hong Kong has slightly decreased while the number of immigrants has slightly increased. (Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR Government 2011a) In addition, the education level of Hong Kong people in 2011 is higher compared with the figure 10 years earlier. It is evident that more and more people have received tertiary education. (Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR Government 2011b) In the Hong Kong context, Putonghua and English are mainly acquired through classroom learning. The raise in education levels, to a certain extent, can explain the reason for the increase in the number of people who consider Putonghua or English as their secondary (or other) language compared with the figure 5 or 10 years earlier. In addition, the Hong Kong government introduced the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP) in July 2003. The scheme was designed to attract qualified Mainland talents and professionals to work in Hong Kong in order to meet the region’s employment needs and enhance the region’s

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competitiveness globally. By the end of 2012, more than 60,000 Mainland Chinese, who mainly speak Putonghua, had come to work in Hong Kong through ASMTP, which helps account for the increase in Putonghua speakers in the region. According to the census statistics, Putonghua has been gradually popularized while English has maintained its dominance. By contrast, the number of people who speak Cantonese regularly has shown a slight dip. It seems that Cantonese is slowly losing ground to the two strong competitors. However, one would soon discover that the records do not faithfully represent the language situation in Hong Kong once we take a closer look of the language use in different social settings and domains.

2 Changes in the legal language Prior to Hong Kong’s handover, Cantonese was mainly spoken in families and on social occasions. On formal occasions, such as in government or business organizations, Cantonese was used less frequently compared with English. However, after the handover, Chinese became the first official language and Cantonese has been playing a more comprehensive role since then. Due to the lack of Putonghua skills among the government officials, civil servants, and the majority of professionals, Cantonese has quickly become the formal language on many political and business occasions. The records of the Hong Kong Legislative Council indicate that the Fourth Legislative Council (October 2008 to July 2012) held 147 meetings in total. Except occasional situations in which foreign officials representing the Hong Kong government or the managing staff in public bodies responded to the queries raised by the legislators in English, the rest of the meetings were conducted exclusively in Cantonese. The language used in the courts and courtrooms varies according to the level of the court and the nationalities and educational backgrounds of the judicial officers. The Court of Final Appeal tries all cases in English. Cases are tried in either Chinese or English by other levels of the courts. In 2012, some 274 cases were heard using Chinese (mainly Cantonese) and the verdicts were penned in Chinese and read out in Cantonese, whereas a total of 363 cases were tried in English and English verdicts were delivered. The District Court, Family Court and Lands Tribunal used Chinese more frequently than English when trying cases (see Table 23.2). In 2011, only the Lands Tribunal produced more Chinese verdicts than the English counterparts.1 By 2012, the difference had widened, as shown in Table 23.2. 1 The website of the Judiciary of the HKSAR, the People’s Republic of China. Retrieved from http://www.judiciary.hk/en/legal_ref/judgments.htm.

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 Chan Shui-duen (陈瑞端)

Table 23.2: Language of verdicts delivered by each level of the court. Level of the court Court of Final Appeal Court of Appeal High Court District Court Family Court Land Tribunal Total

English verdicts

Chinese verdicts

51 74 183 46 0 9 363

0 29 131 60 2 52 274

Source: The figures are calculated by the author based on the records of the different levels of the courts as listed on the legal reference system. Retrieved from http://legalref.judiciary.gov.hk/lrs/common/ju/judgment.jsp.

Chinese verdicts have become more and more common in the lower-level courts. Together with the frequent use of Cantonese in the Legislative Council meetings, one can safely conclude that the functions of Cantonese have expanded and become more comprehensive after the handover. Some scholars believe that the scope of the use of Cantonese has been extended from ordinary households to formal occasions. Some pointed out that it is unprecedented for Cantonese, as a Chinese dialect, to transform into a full-fledged language or a high variety in a diglossic society.2

3 Changes in the media language Hong Kong media is equally enthusiastic about using both Chinese and English. According to the Hong Kong Fact Sheets 2012 (HKSAR Government 2012) published by the government, Hong Kong is one of the Asian regions with the highest number of newspaper readers. The region is also one of the biggest Chinese publication centres in the world. By the end of February 2012, there were 24 Chinese daily newspapers, 13 English daily newspapers, 8 Chinese-English bilingual daily newspapers, and 5 Japanese newspapers registered in Hong Kong. Besides, there were 648 magazines, covering various topics from public policies, politics, technical knowledge, to art and literature, health and wellness, as well as leisure and entertainment. Hong Kong also serves as the business hub or regional base of several Asia-Pacific media outlets, international news agencies, and media organisations. For example, the international edition of Yomiuri Shimbun, various

2 Retrieved from http://web.ntnu.edu.tw/~edwiny/pdf/02-hk-langu-policy.pdf.

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business magazines, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal Asia, the international edition of USA Today, International Herald Tribune, and The Nikkei are all printed and published in Hong Kong. It is also noteworthy that Hong Kong publishes 8 free newspapers that mainly distributed in metro stations, train stations, pedestrian bridges, and large residential areas. In 2011, there were more than 1 million copies of free newspapers circulated daily. The number was comparable to the figures of more than 30 kinds of paid newspapers adding together. By the end of 2012, the daily circulation of the free newspaper was 3.3 million copies; whereas the figure of the paid newspapers was 1.2 million.3 The free and paid newspapers undergo an intense competition daily to attract the 7.1 million potential readers in Hong Kong. Therefore, even newspapers targeting intellectuals had to shift their focus somewhat, from adhering to neutrality, objectivity, and formal language, to featuring sensationalism, hyperbole, and colloquial language in the hope of boosting sales by attracting the general public’s eyeballs.4 The paid and free newspapers represent the fodder of written language fed to local reader day-in-day-out. Therefore, the newspapers have a much stronger influence on the use of language than that of other printed media. The increasing use of colloquial language in the newspapers has extended the application of “Hong-Kong style Chinese” and consolidated the status of spoken and written Cantonese in Hong Kong. In addition, Hong Kong’s broadcasting industry is flourishing. There are currently 1 public radio and 4 commercial radio stations, offering 13 Chinese and English broadcasting channels conducted in Cantonese, English, and Putonghua. The weekly programming air-time is over 2,000 hours. According to the Budget in the financial year 2012–2013 (Radio Television Hong Kong 2012), Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) offers 7 channels in total, including 3 Cantonese channels (Radio 1, 2 and 5) and 2 English channels (Radio 3 and 6), 1 Putonghua channel (Radio 7), and 1 bilingual channel (Radio 4). The Cantonese programmes are the most popular. In terms of the number of programmes and audience, the English and Putonghua programmes lag behind the Cantonese programmes by a huge gap. The production time and audience of each channel in 2011–2012 are listed in Table 23.3. (Radio Television Hong Kong 2012)

3 The figures are taken from the audited reports published by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Retrieved from http://www.hkabc.com.hk/en/index.htm. 4 Retrieved from http://media.people.com.cn/BIG5/22114/88454/116907/6924369.html.

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Table 23.3: The production time and audience of RTHK radio channels in 2011–2012. Channel

Production time

Number of audience by week (Million)

Radio 1, 2, and 5 (Cantonese)

23,058

59 (3.94%)

Radio 3 and 6 (English)

17,568

6 (0.34%)

Radio 7 (Putonghua)

6,954

4 (0.26%)

Radio 4 (Bilingual)

6,588

4 (0.26%)

Apart from traditional radio broadcasting, the Hong Kong government issued broadcasting licenses to three companies in March 2011. The three companies and RTHK together launched a total of 18 24-hour digital radio channels in September 2012, offering a diverse range of programmes. Through digital radio broadcasting, the audience are able to listen to the Putonghua, Cantonese, and English programmes presented by the three radio stations. The audience can also enjoy programmes produced by the BBC World Channel live and the “Voice of Hong Kong” channel, the latter being produced specifically for the region by the China National Radio. (Radio Television Hong Kong 2012) In Hong Kong, there are 2 free local television programme service licensees, 3 paid local television programme service licensees, and 17 non-local television programme service licensees. There are nearly 700 terrestrial and satellite television channels that offer multilingual programmes produced locally or overseas. Among all the TV programmes, those produced by RTHK, Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), and Asia Television Limited (ATV) have the largest audience base. Excluding news, finance reports, and weather forecasts, there have been around 198 programmes produced by the three companies since 2012, most of which being broadcast in Cantonese. The outsourced programmes were mainly broadcast in English. In Hong Kong, only Hong Kong Satellite Television and the paid cable television networks (Cable TV) provide Putonghua programmes. The audience can also enjoy Mainland Chinese or Taiwanese TV programmes that use Putonghua/Mandarin. Since 1998, the Public Opinion Programme of the University of Hong Kong has conducted opinion surveys for the three licensees and the later-joined Cable TV networks. The TV Programme Appreciation Index Survey conducted in 2012 (The University of Hong Kong 2013) showed that the most appreciated and the best-known television programmes were the local Cantonese programmes. It is safe to assume that Hong Kong citizens prefer watching Cantonese TV programmes the most.

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4 Influence of tourism on the language environment Unaffected by the global economic downturn, the tourism industry in Hong Kong has achieved excellent results in the past two years. According to the statistics of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), there were 42 million visitors in 2011, an increase of 16.4% compared with 2010. There were 48.62 million visitors in 2012, an increase of 16% compared with 2011. The Mainland Chinese tourists, the largest group, account for 67% of all the visitors. In 2011, 28.1 million Mainland Chinese visited the region. In 2012, the number of Mainland Chinese visitors has reached 34.71 million, accounting for 71.8% of all the visitors that year and an increase of 24.2% compared with 2011. (Hong Kong Tourism Board 2012) The rapid growth of the number of Mainland Chinese visitors is due to the popularity of the Individual Visit Scheme implemented by the Mainland authority. The scheme allows Mainland residents in the 49 designated cities to visit Hong Kong independently. In addition, the Hong Kong government allow residents from approximately 170 countries and places to travel to the region without a visa. The visa-free scheme has attracted more and more tourists from East Asia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Russia. In order to enhance the visitors’ understanding of Hong Kong, the website of HKTB has 20 versions and is in 14 different languages, providing the latest travel information for around 4.5 million web browsers per month. The growth in the number of visitors has propelled the region’s economic development. Subsequently, Hong Kong’s service industry is expected to be of higher quality. In particular, the language requirement of service staff has been stricter. Since 2006, the government has sponsored a series of specialised courses for those who work in the tourism industry. By the first half of 2012, nearly 5,000 people who work in the tourism industry have attended the courses. Moreover, since 2009, HKTB has launched a programme called “Hong Kong Pals Program”. The volunteers, the “old pals”, will provide assistance to tourists at the tourist centres, specifically targeting Mainland visitors. Therefore, the volunteers must have basic Putonghua skills. People who have direct contact with tourists also include those who work in the retail and sales sector. A common impression is that Putonghua is rapidly gaining popularity in tourism-related industries, such as retail, restaurants, hotels and transportation, due to the remarkable growth of Mainland Chinese tourists and changes in the language situation in Hong Kong. The Putonghua proficiency of those who work in the service industry has also improved significantly in the past

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two to three years. However, there is no accurate data that allow us to have a more in-depth and objective understanding of the use of Putonghua in Hong Kong society. At the end of 2011, the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) commissioned the University of Hong Kong to investigate the language proficiency of people from key industries in Hong Kong and the result has yet to be announced.

5 Market demands of professionals’ language proficiency Since the 1980s, Hong Kong’s economy has gradually shifted towards becoming more and more service-industry oriented. In the past three to four years, the value of the service industry has increased at an average rate of 4% annually, reaching 200 billion US dollars, and amounting to 90% of Hong Kong’s GDP. The Mainland’s open-door policy and economic reform have not only provided an enormous production base and market outlet for Hong Kong’s manufacturers but also created abundant business opportunities for the service industry. Hong Kong, while upholding the economy strategy of “big market, small government” and striving to become an international financial centre, has been trying to strengthen its role as the regional headquarters and the hub of trade, logistics, aviation and tourism. According to the Report on the Survey of Competitiveness of Cities in China completed by the specialists and authorities of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, Hong Kong still ranked first for overall competitiveness. Since the handover, although Hong Kong has been affected by several external economic disturbances, its global competitiveness continues to increase and remains the top in China. Hong Kong still enjoys an edge on the high-end industries, including infrastructure, ecology, institutional and social environment. According to the report, Hong Kong’s ever-rising competitiveness is due to the economic force, the size and education level of its labour force, the quality of the environment, social stability, transportation and telecommunications infrastructure. Most importantly, talents are the core of the region’s competitiveness. Regarding the labour force, the percentage of people with tertiary education has increased from 24% in 2000 to 31% in 2010. Although the figure lags behind the world’s top cities, such as London, and may be surpassed by cities in Mainland China, such as Beijing (北京) and Shanghai (上海), every sector in Hong Kong continues to seek ways to upgrade the quality of its labour force. “Bi-literacy and tri-lingualism” has, thus, become a requirement for the region’s professionals. On

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all the recruitment posts, especially in the fields of accounting, financial services, hotel, media, tourism, administration, management, education, and public relations, the typical entry requirements are “good proficiency in Chinese and English”, “good written Chinese and English”, and “proficiency in Putonghua is an advantage”. The language requirements for civil servants vary according to the levels of job positions on offer. In general, government posts that are exclusive to people with high school education or above to apply requires the applicant to reach level 2 or higher in Chinese and English in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE). Government jobs exclusive to people with a university degree or professional qualification require the applicants to pass the English and Chinese tests specially designed by the government. In addition, the Civil Service Training and Development Institute, specialising in providing on-the-job training for civil servants, organised 250 training and human resource management consulting projects for various government departments in 2012, attracting more than 50,000 participants. According to the Service Directory of the Civil Service Training and Development Institute of the Civil Service Bureau (2012) (Civil Service Bureau 2012), the training courses include: (1) “Senior Leadership Training Courses” for directorate civil servants; (2) national service seminars for civil servants; (3) Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Basic Law training courses; (4) management and information technology courses; and (5) written and spoken Chinese and English training courses. There are 22 types of English training, 18 kinds of Chinese writing training, and 13 kinds of Putonghua training. The different types of training benefit civil servants of different ranks and levels. According to a survey on the opinions of employers on university students’ language ability published by the Education Bureau in 2010 (Oracle Added Value 2010), university students’ performance in written Chinese and English remained roughly the same throughout the years, but they showed salient improvement in their Putonghua proficiency. Such a result is consistent with the findings of a survey conducted by the City University of Hong Kong regarding the bi-literate and tri-lingual ability of Hong Kong university students. These surveys showed that the number of people who believe their Putonghua proficiency has reached a reasonable level has increased steadily in the past few years and is growing faster than that of English. The change in the Putonghua ability of the Hong Kong workforce can also be confirmed by some other indirect data. In May 2011, the Institute of Applied Linguistics of the Ministry of Education, the Putonghua Training and Tests Centre of the State Language Commission, and the Putonghua Tests Centres of multiple tertiary institutes in Hong Kong jointly organised the Forum on Commemorating the 15th Anniversary of the implementation of Putonghua Proficiency Test in Hong Kong. According to

242 

 Chan Shui-duen (陈瑞端)

figures presented during the forum, over a period of 15 years since 1996, the State Language Commission and the universities in Hong Kong have together carried out the national Putonghua Proficiency Test, catering for more than 70,000 test-takers. By 2011, the number of candidates has increased 65 times compared with the period when the test was first conducted in Hong Kong in 1996. Although the candidates are mainly primary and secondary school teachers, the test has facilitated the Putonghua training of Hong Kong teachers, thereby nurturing Putonghua teaching personnel in the region. The improvement in Putonghua proficiency of the education sector is the most prominent compared with that of other industries.

References Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR Government. 2011a. Population by-census reports – main tables A105. Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR Government. 2011b. Population by-census reports. Retrieved from http://www.census2011.gov.hk/tc/main-table/B101.html. Civil Service Bureau. 2012. The Service Directory of the Civil Service Training and Development Institute of the Civil Service Bureau. Retrieved from https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr12-13/ english/panels/ps/papers/ps0218cb4-395-3-e.pdf. HKSAR Government. 2012. Hong Kong Fact Sheet 2012. Hong Kong Tourism Board. 2012. Hong Kong Fact Sheet (2012). Retrieved at http://partnernet. hktb.com/filemanager/intranet/ViS_Stat/ViS_Stat_C/ViS_C_2013/dec_2012_c1_0.htm. Oracle Added Value. 2010. Survey on ppinions of employers on major aspects of performance of publicly-funded first degree graduates in year 2006-executive summary. Retrieved from http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/about-edb/publications-stat/major-reports/ executive_summary%20_fd_eng__april_2010.pdf. Radio Television Hong Kong. 2012. RTHK programme advisory panel: Panel meeting 2012. Retrieved at http://rthk9.rthk.hk/special/advisorypanel2012/. The University of Hong Kong. 2013. Public opinion programme. Retrieved at http://hkupop.hku. hk/chinese/tvai/index12.html.

Translated by CHAN Wing Yan The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Su Jinzhi (苏金智)

24 Survey on the use of Putonghua in Macau The survey covers the departments and institutions that require the use of Putonghua in the Macau peninsula, Taipa, and Coloane. The survey respondents consisted mainly of students with formal education (excluding vocational education and special education), employees in the service industry, and ordinary citizens. The survey methods included questionnaires, recordings, interviews, and observations. For the questionnaire survey, random sampling was used. The questionnaires were distributed to two groups. The first group consisted of students in universities, secondary and primary schools. The staff in the Language and Culture Research Centre of Macau acted as the liaison person. The staff in the schools organised the students to fill in the questionnaires. The project team was responsible for sample allocation, sampling, as well as the distribution and collection of the questionnaires. The general public was the second group. The questionnaires were distributed in the public areas by the project team. According to the data collected, the number of primary and secondary school students who participated in the survey was 595; the number of the university students was 684; the total number of student participants was 1,279. Whereas the number of participants found in public areas was 675 and the number of people being observed was 469. The total number of participants was 2,616.

1 Analysis of student participants 1.1 Use of language on different occasions The survey examined the respondents’ use of language at homes, schools, shopping malls, banks, post offices, and government departments (see Table 24.1). In general, the majority of the respondents prefer to use Cantonese on all the occasions. Although Putonghua is used less frequently than English, the difference is not significant. Generally speaking, Portuguese had the lowest usage rate. However, in the government, Portuguese is the second most used language. At home, the primary school, secondary school, and university students share similar patterns in their use of language. Cantonese is the first choice for the students, followed by Putonghua, English, and Portuguese. Putonghua is the second most used language at home for the students. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-024

Homes Schools Shopping malls and restaurants Bank and post offices Governmental departments

Occasions

35.6 64.7 11.9 2.5 2.9

Putonghua 73.4 72.6 39.0 29.2 26.9

Cantonese 21.5 65.2 15.6 7.9 5.0

English 12.1 24.4 2.9 2.5 15.8

Portuguese

Primary and secondary school students

24.9 65.5 18.9 7.5 7.5

Putonghua 71.9 40.9 40.8 29.8 28.5

Cantonese 7.3 58.5 19.9 4.5 5.8

English

University students

4.4 24.7 1.0 1.8 11.3

Portuguese

Table 24.1: The use of languages (including dialects) of primary school, secondary school, and university students on different occasions (%).

244   Su Jinzhi (苏金智)

24 Survey on the use of Putonghua in Macau 

 245

In schools, the language preference of the primary and secondary school students is as follows: Cantonese (72.6%), English (65.2%), Putonghua (64.7%), and Portuguese (24.4%), with Putonghua ranking third. As for the university students, their choice of language is as follows: Putonghua (65.6%), English (58.5%), Cantonese (40.9%) and Portuguese (24.7%), with Putonghua topping the list. In public places such as shopping malls, banks, and post offices, the primary school, secondary school, and university students share the same language preference. Cantonese is the most used language (78.9%), followed by English (12.4%), Putonghua (10%), and Portuguese (4.3%). Putonghua ranks third. In the governmental departments, for the primary and secondary school students, the language rankings are: Cantonese (26.9%), Portuguese (15.8%), English (5.0%), and Putonghua (2.9%), with Putonghua taking the fourth place. Whereas, the language preference of the university students are: Cantonese (28.5%), Portuguese (11.3%), Putonghua (7.5%), and English (5.8%), with Putonghua ranking third. Portuguese, as an official language, is the second most used language in the governmental departments in Macau.

1.2 Language skills 1.2.1 Bilingual or multilingual capabilities The results suggest that most of the secondary school and university students in Macau can use 2 to 4 languages or dialects, of whom a few can speak 5 languages or dialects. 50% of the university students can speak 3 languages; 15% of whom can speak 4 languages or dialects. 38% of the secondary school students are able to speak 2 languages or dialects; approximately 30% of whom speak 3 languages or dialects. The common languages or dialects spoken in the daily lives of Macau students are Cantonese, Putonghua, English, and Portuguese. Some students can also speak Min dialects (闽语) (including the Teochew dialect), Hakka dialects, and other dialects, while others can speak Filipino, Japanese, Spanish, and other foreign languages.

1.2.2 Language fluency Table 24.2 shows that the majority of the students believe that the language (including dialect) they can speak most fluently is Cantonese, followed by Putonghua, English, and Portuguese. However, students from Mainland China are most fluent in Putonghua.

n

Putonghua Cantonese English Portuguese Pilipino Mǐn Hakka Teochew Other foreign languages Other dialects

Languages

0.4

0.3 562

0.6

0.5

594

1.4 0.2

76.2 7.3 12.8 1.2

2nd tier fluency level

6.7 89.1 1.0 0.5 1.2 0.3 0.3

1st tier fluency level

510

0.6

1.2

11.6 3.3 73.5 7.5 0.2 1.8 0.4

3rd tier fluency level

Primary and secondary students (n=595)

247

1.2

5.3 5.3 22.3 44.5 1.2 4.0 2.4 0.8 12.9

4th tier fluency level

Table 24.2: Respondents’ proficiency of different languages (including dialects).

681

1.2

0.1

1.3 0.1

20.0 76.5 0.4

1st tier fluency level

651

2.0

0.2

0.9

65.6 7.4 23.5 0.8

2nd tier fluency level

596

0.3

2.9 0.2 0.3 1.8

14.3 6.2 68.3 5.9

3rd tier fluency level

University students (n=684)

299

0.3

8.9

3.7 1.0

4.7 10.4 17.1 53.8

4th tier fluency level

246   Su Jinzhi (苏金智)

24 Survey on the use of Putonghua in Macau 

 247

In terms of language fluency, most of the university students and secondary school students are fluent in Cantonese and Putonghua. 76.5% of the university students self-reported that they are most fluent in Cantonese; 7.4% of them believe that they could reach the 2nd tier level in term of Cantonese fluency; the two groups take up 83.9% of the university students. For secondary school students, 89.1% of them believe that they could attain 1st tier fluency in speaking Cantonese; whereas 7.3% of them rank themselves second tier in terms of their Cantonese fluency; the two groups take up 96.4% of the secondary school students. The percentage of the university students who reported that they have 1st tier fluency in Putonghua is 20.0%; 65.6% of the university students consider their Putonghua fluency to be 2nd tier; the two groups account for 85.6% of the university students. There are 6.7% of the primary and secondary school students reported that they are most fluent in Putonghua; 76.2% of them rank themselves 2nd tier; the two groups form 82.9% of the primary and secondary school students. The self-reporting statistics of the fluency of English and Portuguese are much lower than that of Cantonese and Putonghua. More than 94% of the primary school, secondary school, and university students have studied Putonghua (see Table 24.3). In addition, 20% of the university students have reached the top fluency level, more than half of whom were born outside of Macau. Less than 10% of the university students born in Macau have achieved the first fluency level. Only 6.7% of the primary and secondary school students have the top Putonghua fluency. On the whole, it is safe to say that Putonghua skills possessed by the students in Macau still has room for improvement.

1.3 Putonghua 1.3.1 Putonghua acquisition The findings suggest that more than 94% of the primary and secondary school students have learnt Putonghua. Age and home regions have little effect on the students’ Putonghua learning experience. The following table provides more details:

1.3.2 Places of acquisition The Table 24.4 shows that schools are the main place for the students to acquire Putonghua. Table 24.4 shows that Macau-born and non-Macau-born students share certain similarities and differences in the acquisition of Putonghua. Both groups

94.7 5.3

94

n

Primary schools

Have learned Putonghua Have not learned Putonghua

Putonghua learning experience

173

97.1 2.9

Junior secondary schools

186

94.6 5.4

Senior secondary schools

Macau born

Table 24. 3: Respondents’ Putonghua learning experience.

424

93.6 6.4

University

877

94.6 5.4

Total

43

93.0 7.0

Primary schools

47

97.9 2.1

Junior secondary schools

48

97.9 2.1

Senior secondary schools

Non-Macau born

243

93.0 7.0

University

381

94.2 5.8

Total

248   Su Jinzhi (苏金智)

10.2 19.3 70.5

88

n

Primary schools

Homes Kindergartens Primary schools Secondary schools Universities Other

Places

158

8.9 13.9 75.9 1.3

Junior secondary schools

Table 24.4: Places of learning Putonghua.

167

7.8 10.2 80.2 1.8

Senior secondary schools

Macau born

382

2.3 2.3 74.6 16.8 3.2 0.8

Universities

795

5.7 8.2 75.6 8.7 1.5 0.4

Total

3.9

25.6 43.6 30.8

Primary schools

46

23.9 37.0 32.6 6.5

Junior secondary schools

46

2.2

8.7 43.5 43.5 2.2

Senior secondary schools

Non-Macau born

217

28.1 32.3 32.3 5.1 0.9 1.4

University

348

24.7 35.6 33.6 4.3 0.6 1.1

Total

24 Survey on the use of Putonghua in Macau   249

250 

 Su Jinzhi (苏金智)

learned Putonghua at schools. However, the Macau-born students usually learned Putonghua in primary schools, of whom a few acquired Putonghua in kindergartens and at homes. Whereas, the non-Macau-born students mainly learned Putonghua in primary schools and kindergartens, with a certain proportion of them learning Putonghua at homes. For Macau, Putonghua teaching in primary schools is crucial to the improvement of the residents’ Putonghua ability.

1.3.3 Attitude towards Putonghua The results of the survey on the students’ “willingness to learn Putonghua” indicated that the students’ enthusiasm for learning Putonghua is high. 69.7% of the students expressed that they are willing or very willing to learn Putonghua. 26.6% of the students are neutral about Putonghua learning. Only 3.7% of the respondents indicated that they are unwilling or very unwilling to learn Putonghua. Judging from the languages used in schools and the students’ willingness to learn Putonghua, Putonghua occupies a relatively important position among the students in Macau, which is an important foundation for the improvement of Putonghua proficiency. The students’ perceptions of Putonghua examinations and their willingness to take the exams also reflect their attitude towards Putonghua. When asked about the intention to take the Putonghua Proficiency Test, the majority of the primary school, secondary school, and university students chose “have not considered” and “wait and see”. The slight difference is that the proportion of the university students who have chosen “have not considered” is 30.57%; whereas the percentage of the primary and secondary school students who have chosen “wait and see” is 36.93%. The combined ratio of “have not considered” and “wait and see” exceeds 50%, with 60.24% of the university students and 65.76% of the primary and secondary school students choosing the two items. The results are consistent with the findings of the research on “Macau Students’ Perceptions of the Macau Putonghua Proficiency Test”. Therefore, it can be concluded that most of the students are unfamiliar and unconcerned about the Putonghua Proficiency Test; thus, their willingness to take the test is weak.

2 Analysis of the general public In the public areas in Macau, a total of 13 occupations were selected for the survey, including security guards, drivers, clerks, employees, technicians, civil servants, general managers, teachers, managers, police officers, vendors, people who work

24 Survey on the use of Putonghua in Macau 

 251

in the business and service industry, and social workers. The majority of the participants are people from the business and service industry, clerks, technicians, civil servants, and vendors. The selected professionals are the ones who have the most frequent use of languages when facing the public.

2.1 The use of languages on various occasions Table 24.5 demonstrates that Cantonese is the most frequently used on all six occasions. Putonghua ranks second; English ranks third; Chinese dialects (excluding Cantonese) rank fifth; Portuguese is the least frequently used language on all of the occasions.

2.2 Language skills The survey results suggest that the respondents who work in public areas in Macau have stronger bilingual or multilingual abilities. There are 124 monolingual professionals, accounting for 18.4% of the participants who work in the public areas. Whereas, there are 551 bilingual and multilingual professionals, taking up 81.6% of the respondents. In other words, more than 80% of the people who work in public places in Macau can speak at least two languages or dialects to communicate with others, of whom two people speak five languages (including dialects). Within the four groups of people that can speak 2 to 5 languages (including dialects), Putonghua is the most spoken. In this survey, as many as 99.4% of the respondents are able to use Cantonese to communicate. 77.6% of the participants can speak Putonghua. Whereas the percentages of English speakers and Portuguese speakers are 36.3% and 3.4%.

2.3 Putonghua proficiency One of the main objectives of this survey is to understand the residents’ Putonghua proficiency in Macau. Information regarding Putonghua proficiency contains both self-reported data and the research team’s observations. According to the respondents’ self-reports, Putonghua proficiency possessed by Macau’s professionals who work in public places can be described as “fluent with somewhat inaccurate pronunciation” (30.7%), “highly fluent with accurate usage” (24.9%), and “able to conduct basic conversations but not very skilled” (22.7%). However, according to the researchers’ observations, the respondents’ Putonghua abilities should be categorised as “fluent with strong accent” (37.6%) and “able to conduct

Putonghua Portuguese Cantonese English Mǐn Hakka Teochew Other foreign languages Other dialects None

102 5 608 20 22 7 1 4 7 0

No. of people

%

15.1 0.7 90.1 3.0 3.3 1.0 0.1 0.6 1.0 0.0

Homes

75 4 650 10 2 0 0 1 1 0

No. of people

% 11.1 0.6 96.3 1.5 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0

Shopping malls

71 4 644 25 1 0 0 2 0 3

No. of people 10.5 0.6 95.4 3.7 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 3.0

%

Restaurants

Table 24.5: Use of languages (including dialects) on different occasions (n=675).

59 3 642 10 0 0 0 0 0 3

No. of people

% 8.7 0.4 95.1 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4

Banks

53 9 643 8 0 0 0 0 0 6

No. of people 7.9 1.3 95.3 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.9

%

Governmental departments

234 6 646 81 1 0 0 2 0 1

No. of people 34.7 0.9 95.7 12.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.1

%

Workplaces

594 31 3833 154 26 7 1 9 8 13

No. of people

Total

14.7 0.8 94.6 3.8 0.6 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.3

%

252   Su Jinzhi (苏金智)

24 Survey on the use of Putonghua in Macau 

 253

basic conversations but not very skilled” (24.4%). In general, regarding the self-reporting data, people who chose the first four proficiency levels takes up 87.9% of the total respondents. The observed data suggest that the respondents who fall into the first four categories takes up 85.1% of the total participants. There exists a gap of only 2.8% between the two sets of data. Table 24.6 is a detailed comparison of the data obtained by the two methods. Table 24.6: Self-reporting and observed Putonghua proficiency. Self-reports

Observations

Sample size (n) Percentage Sample size (n) Percentage highly fluent with accurate usage fluent with somewhat inaccurate pronunciation fluent with strong accent able to conduct basic conversations but not very skilled Understand but unskilled at speaking Understand a little but unable to speak Does not understand and unable to speak Total

168 207

24.9 30.7

48 74

10.2 15.7

46 153

6.8 22.7

177 115

37.6 24.4

66 30

9.8 4.4

41 15

8.7 3.2

5

0.7

1

0.2

675

100.0

471

100.0

2.4 Attitude towards Putonghua Attitude plays a significant role in the learning and use of Putonghua. Tables 24.7 shows that 52.9% of the respondents like Putonghua and only 7.5% dislike it or somewhat dislike it. Table 24.7: Attitudes toward Putonghua. Really like Sample size (n) Percentage (%)

91 13.5

Like 265 39.4

Neutral Somewhat dislike Dislike Indifferent Total 264 39.2

28 4.2

22 3.3

3 673 0.4 100.0

Tables 24.8 and 24.9 demonstrate that 61.3% of the respondents hope that Putonghua can become one of the mediums of instruction in primary schools. Moreover, 62.8% of the participants believe that Putonghua should be one of the languages used by teachers in secondary schools.

254 

 Su Jinzhi (苏金智)

Table 24.8: Choices of medium of instruction in the primary schools in Macau. Putonghua Portuguese Cantonese English Sample size (n) Monolingual Number of people Percentage (%) Multilingual Number of people Percentage (%) Total Number of people Percentage (%)

53 20.0 357 88.4 410 61.3

1 0.4 51 12.6 52 7.8

171 64.5 369 91.3 540 80.7

40 15.1 314 77.7 354 52.9

265 404 669

Table 24.9: Choices of medium of instruction in the secondary schools in Macau. Putonghua Portuguese Cantonese English Sample size (n) Monolingual Number of people Percentage (%) Multilingual Number of people Percentage (%) Total Number of people Percentage (%)

42 17.2 379 89.2 421 62.8

1 0.4 62 14.6 63 9.4

151 61.6 364 85.6 515 76.9

51 20.8 358 84.2 409 61.0

245 425 670

In terms of the importance of Putonghua, the respondents believe that Putonghua is second only to Cantonese in their social lives. 72.5% of the respondents consider Cantonese the most important language for social interaction in Macau. Those who consider Putonghua and English the most important take up 16.1% and 11.2% of the respondents respectively. The percentage of the people who believe Portuguese is the most important language in Macau accounts for only 0.3%.

3 Conclusions Through the above analysis, the following conclusions can be made:

3.1 Macau has relatively strong bilingual or multilingual capabilities The results of the survey show that the majority of the primary school, secondary school and university students, as well as the general public in Macau can speak 2 to 4 languages or dialects, a few people can even speak 5 languages or dialects.

24 Survey on the use of Putonghua in Macau 

 255

3.2 Putonghua is widely used in Macau and its usage percentage is sizable on all occasions (1) At home: 35.6% of the primary and secondary school students speak Putonghua; 24.9% of the university students speak Putonghua; and 15.1% of the general public speak Putonghua. (2) In schools: 64.7% of the primary and secondary school students speak Putonghua; 65.5% of the university students speak Putonghua. (3) At shopping malls and restaurants: 11.9% of the primary and secondary school students speak Putonghua; 18.9% of the university students speak Putonghua (4) For the general public, the Putonghua usage rate is 11.1% at shopping malls, and 10.5% at restaurants. (5) In the governmental departments, 2.9% of the primary and secondary school students speak Putonghua; 7.5% of the university students speak Putonghua; and 7.9% of the general public speak Putonghua. There is still much room for improvement in the use of Putonghua in the governmental institutions.

3.3 The majority of the respondents believe that their fluency in Putonghua needs to be improved Most of the respondents have studied Putonghua (more than 94% of the primary school, secondary school, and university students) and they are enthusiastic learners. However, only a handful of the participants believed that they are fluent in Putonghua. Therefore, it can be concluded that Macau residents’ Putonghua fluency still needs to be improved. The major way to acquire Putonghua is to learn from school teaching, followed by radio and television programmes. Thus, the teaching of Putonghua in schools should be highly valued, especially at the primary school level, as it plays an important role in improving Macau’s overall Putonghua proficiency. Creating a favourable environment for the learning and application of Putonghua through radio and television programmes is also an indispensable part of Putonghua promotion. Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Yu Guilin (余桂林)

25 Language situation in China Taiwan Taiwan’s language situation in 2011 has the following highlights.

1 Simplified and traditional Chinese characters 1.1 Background From July 2008, Mainland Chinese citizens are allowed to travel to Taiwan. Since then, the number of Mainland Chinese tourists in Taiwan has increased year by year. At the end of June 2011, Mainland Chinese started visiting Taiwan on independent basis. Under such circumstances, in order to attract Mainland tourists and expand business opportunities, Taiwanese businesses have gradually adopted simplified Chinese characters in their signs, logos, product brochures, and restaurant menus. Some organisations’ websites have also started to use the simplified characters. Even cities such as Taipei and Kaohsiung are preparing to publish simplified Chinese tour guides. The use of the simplified characters led to a heated debate in Taiwan.

1.2 Practice of businesses and tourism units Kaohsiung is a popular city for tourists in the south of Taiwan. Questions written in simplified Chinese can often been seen on the city’s tourism website, asking for detailed information about Kaohsiung’s attractions. The local tourism authorities have sensed the business opportunities and have started compiling a simplified Chinese version of the tourist information brochure for the convenience of Mainland Chinese visitors. Meanwhile, many shops and stores in Taiwan have begun to convert traditional to simplified Chinese characters, including the printing of product descriptions and menus. The signs on each floor of Taipei 101 contain both simplified and traditional Chinese characters. The online services and online catalogues, however, are only in simplified Chinese. In order to attract Mainland Chinese tourists, some local vendors have changed the names of Taiwanese dishes to names that are more familiar to Mainland Chinese. For instance, “kézǎijiān” (蚵仔煎, oyster omelette) was renamed “Jīdàn hǎilì bǐng” (鸡蛋海蛎饼). https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-025

258 

 Yu Guilin (余桂林)

1.3 Authorities’ reactions On 14 June 2011, Taiwan’s administrative authorities issued a press release, stating that one of the purposes of the Mainland Chinese visiting Taiwan is to experience the different cultures and customs on the other side of the Taiwan strait, which include the beautiful, practical, meaningful, and irreplaceable traditional Chinese. (Lü Xuehui 2011) On 15 June, Ma Ying-Jeou (马英九), Leader of Taiwan, stated that all the official documents and official websites of the Taiwan authorities should be written in traditional Chinese characters (the “standard characters” in Taiwan). Therefore, the simplified versions should be removed immediately. Only simplified-traditional parallel Chinese charts can be provided when necessary. On 16 June, the tourism departments of Taiwan held a press conference, stating that language-related documents would soon be re-issued to all counties and cities and relevant non-governmental tourism units. The authorities hoped that the instructions in tourist attractions and business signs should be written in traditional Chinese. However, on menus and the descriptions of other personal services, simplified Chinese is allowed alongside traditional Chinese. For travel agencies, simplified characters can only be used when they are engaged in promotional activities in Mainland China or Southeast Asia; the Taiwanese websites should be in traditional Chinese. (Xiao 2011) The Taiwan authorities also believe that the traditional Chinese characters represent an indispensable part of Chinese culture that is so characteristic of Taiwan. Using traditional characters strengthens the recognition of Chinese culture on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

1.4 Doubts and responses Tsao Erh-Chung (曹尔忠) and Chiang Nai-Shin (蒋乃辛), elected Kuomintang Representatives, accused the administrative departments for being unnecessarily strict. The two believed that the use of simplified Chinese is organic. Therefore, there is nothing wrong for customer-oriented businesses to show respect to their guests and improve the service quality by using simplified Chinese. “Using simplified Chinese characters is no big deal. Many businesses write their signs in English and Japanese. Why can’t they write simplified Chinese characters? What has it got to do with the government?” said Tsao and Chiang. (Wang Mingzhou 2011) Benefiting from the use of simplified Chinese, the tourism industry and the related businesses were indifferent towards the government policies. Simplified

25 Language situation in China Taiwan 

 259

Chinese instructions and restaurant menus are still being produced. Some companies even secretly instruct their staff to practice the daily language familiar to Mainland Chinese in the hope of attracting more tourists.

2 Minnan (闽南) dialect and “Taiwanese” (所谓的“台语”) 2.1 Background At the end of 2010, the National Institute for Compilation and Translation in Taiwan examined all the teaching materials on Taiwanese dialect in the primary language education area submitted by various publishers. According to the curriculum standards designed by the education department, the publishers were required to use the phrase “Minnan dialect” instead of “Taiwanese” in the teaching materials, including the covers and titles. At the beginning of 2011, Minnan dialect examinations were conducted throughout Taiwan. The phrase “Minnan dialect” was used in the examinations rather than “Taiwanese”.

2.2 Reactions On 23 May, dozens of organisations that study “Taiwanese” and the legislative institutions held a press conference, campaigning for the eradication of the name “Minnan dialect”. The campaigners urge Taiwan’s education authorities to replace the discriminatory term “Minnan dialect” with the word “Taiwanese”. The anti-Minnan advocates believed that “Mǐn” (闽), according to Shuōwén Jiězì (说文解字), means “snake tribe” and “barbarians”. Therefore, using the word sounds offensive, as if we were referring to the aboriginal people as “fān” (番). The term “Taiwanese” has not been used in Taiwan for a long time and should be brought back. In addition, the Minnan dialect is not only spoken in southern Fujian (福建) but also in Guangdong (广东) and Southeast Asia. Taiwanese has already evolved and is now different from the Minnan dialect used in Mainland China. Using the term “Taiwanese” is to pay respect to Taiwanese culture. (Lü Shuheng 2011) On 24 May, the Democratic Progress Party spokesman Chen Chi-Mai (陈其迈) stated that Taiwanese has undergone four hundred years of evolution; its pronunciation, tone, and vocabulary are significantly different from the Minnan dialect

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 Yu Guilin (余桂林)

spoken in Fujian. The reason behind the name “Taiwanese” is to separate the dialect from the Minnan dialect. Based on different social and cultural contexts, Taiwanese and the Minnan dialect should not be mixed up. More importantly, language policies and names are related to national identity and should not be treated lightly by the government. (Wang Dingjun 2011)

2.3 Government’s response On 24 May, Taiwan’s education authorities responded to the reactions and queries arising from the policies regarding the Taiwanese vernacular. The term “Minnan dialect” was used when the Ministry made the first attempt to incorporate mother tongue education into the outline of the provisional syllabus in 2000. The official outline issued in 2003 and revised outline announced in 2008 both used “Minnan dialect”. The term has never been changed. Moreover, the Ministry of Education of Taiwan stated that although most people in Taiwan are used to the terms “Taiwanese language” (台湾话) or “Taiwanese” (台语) and that heritage ought to be respected, the government should be more cautious about the official name. Hakka and aboriginal groups’ rights and the equality of languages should be taken into consideration. Therefore, it is more appropriate to use neutral terms such as “Minnan dialect”, “Hakka dialects”, and “indigenous languages”. In the administrative rules, resources, and publications that have already been published, if the term “Minnan dialect” is not used, revision is not required. However, updated versions should use the term in order to standardise the usage. (Tang 2011)

3 Establishing overseas “Taiwan Academies” 3.1 Background In 2008, Ma Ying-Jeou proposed to set up the Taiwan Academy during his presidential election campaign. Ma wished that Taiwan Academies were able to compete with the Confucius Institutes in Mainland China. In early 2010, after Sheng Chih-Jen (盛治仁) was appointed as the head of Taiwan’s administrative department for cultural construction, the establishment of the Taiwan Academy officially commenced. In 2010, the Council for Cultural Affairs of Taiwan decided to set up the Taiwan Academy at the Culture Centre of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in

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Los Angeles and Houston, planning to install the nameplates on 18 December of the same year. However, the founding ceremony of the Academy had been repeatedly postponed. The Taiwan government said the delay was because the “details have not yet been finalised.” On 5 April 2011, Taiwanese media reported that the establishment of the Taiwan Academy in the U.S. had to be aborted because the United States has not given its permission. The U.S. gave the following explanations to justify their disapproval: (1) organised and well-structured language teaching is not regarded as “cultural activities” by the U.S.; and (2) Chinese language teaching cannot be handled directly by the representatives in the U.S.; it cannot be conducted at venues and facilities belonging to the representative office; moreover, it should be free of charge. (Han 2011)

3.2 Latest progress On 4 August, Taiwan’s Council for Cultural Affairs reported that the government intended to promote the Taiwan Academy in the names of “promoting Chinese language teaching and standard Chinese characters”, “facilitating research on Taiwan and sinology” and “exporting Taiwan’s diverse culture.” The government confirmed that, in October, the Taiwan Academy would set up its branches in New York, Los Angeles and Houston in the U.S. After the announcement, Sheng Chih-Jen, Minister of the Council for Cultural Affairs, said that in future, digital resources will be used to bolster the development of the Taiwan Academy, including establishing a digital platform for the Academy, promoting Chinese language teaching and traditional Chinese characters, integrating the results of research on Taiwan and sinology, setting up Taiwan Academy scholarships, and encouraging foreigners to learn Taiwanese languages and Chinese culture. (Huang 2011) On 15 October, the branches of the Taiwan Academy were officially established in New York, Los Angeles, and Houston. Taiwanese representatives, including Chow Mei-Ching (周美青) and Sheng Chih-Jen, attended the opening ceremony. On the same day, through a video, Ma Ying-Jeou stated that in future, the Taiwan Academy will become a platform for facilitating cultural exchange as well as a bridge to connect the region and the world, thereby allowing amateurs of Chinese culture to share a long-standing and mellow Chinese culture with Taiwan characteristics. In his address, Sheng Chih-Jen said in his speech that in future, the Taiwan Academy will focus on three main areas: Taiwan and sinology research, Taiwan’s diverse cultural experience, and Chinese language teaching services.

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 Yu Guilin (余桂林)

Sheng believed that the Academy, by focusing on the goals, will help foreigners understand Chinese culture and life in Taiwan and, in so doing, making the local culture more accessible to people around the world. (Wang Pengjie 2011) At the beginning stage, a four-year Taiwan Academy construction plan was drafted, with a total funding of 3.6 billion New Taiwanese Dollars, of which about 3 billion New Taiwanese Dollars will be contributed by different administrative units. At present, the operation of the Academy relies on the Council for Cultural Affairs, with the help of the existing resources provided by 14 agencies, including foreign affairs agencies, the education departments, and the departments for overseas Chinese affairs. (Lin 2012)

3.3 Taiwanese scholars’ views In terms of future development, many Taiwanese scholars have urged the Academy to cooperate with the Confucius Institute in Mainland China. Professor Yang Jing-Yao (杨景尧) of the Graduate Institute of China Studies at Tamkang University in Taiwan stated that the Taiwan Academy and Confucius Institute are different in substance. The Academy should aim to export Taiwan’s soft power rather than competing with the Institute or becoming a cultural battle ground for both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Chang Yia-Chung (张亚中), a professor at National Taiwan University, believed that the two parties should make a joint effort to promote Chinese culture overseas. Chang said that Taiwan inherits the 5000-year Chinese culture and got in contact with Western ideas relatively earlier. The unique background results in the diversity and richness of Taiwanese culture. Taiwanese culture has become an integral part of Chinese culture. Mainland China has relatively stronger economic strengths and more diplomatic advantages. If the two parties work together, they will surely create a win-win situation. In terms of the mode of cooperation, Chiang believed that the two parties can share teaching resources and teaching personnel. Taiwan and Mainland China can organise activities together when necessary. The Confucius Institute can now be seen all over the world. Mainland China can invite Taiwan to join in the resource allocation of the Institute. Taiwan should seek cooperation instead of competition regarding the promotion of Chinese culture. If the two sides are both cooperative, the potentials of the Taiwan Academy are abundant. The Academy can not only advertise Chinese culture but also create an environment that is beneficial to both sides. (Lin 2012)

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4 Standard pronunciation, language network, and anti-illiteracy textbooks 4.1 Suggestions on the Table of Guoyu (国语) polyphonic characters (first draft) From 12 December 2012 to 11 June 2014, the Ministry of Education of Taiwan had been seeking opinions from different sectors on the first draft of the Table of Guoyu polyphonic characters (the Table). After collecting all the suggestions, a final review will be conducted to finalise the Table. Polyphonic characters are very common in Chinese. Although certain words are pronounced differently, they cause no difficulty in everyday communication. However, in teaching or on certain occasions, the polyphonic Chinese characters may lead to confusion. The Taiwanese has been following the 1999 Table of Guoyu polyphonic characters. No change has been made regarding the Table for 13 years to maintain stability regarding the standard pronunciation. However, language, a communication tool, is highly sensitive to social and cultural exchanges. To keep up with the linguistic trends, the Ministry of Education of Taiwan conducted a review of the polyphonic characters for current teaching and general needs. When reviewing the standard pronunciation, the Ministry focused on the combination of the forms, meanings, and sounds of words, as well as the learning and practice of the general public. The character selection was made based on the Table of the standard form of common Guoyu characters published by the Ministry, the annual survey on words and phrases conducted by the Ministry, and the Chinese language textbooks used in high schools (or below) in the year 99 (according to the Republic of China calendar, i.e., 2010). The Ministry revised a total of 5,266 characters. After the review, there remain 580 polyphonic characters. Compared with the 1999 version, 22 characters were revised regarding their pronunciations.1

1 First draft of Table of Guoyu polyphonic characters seeking for suggestions (《国语一字多 音审订表》初稿公告,征求各界意见). Retrieved from http://www.edu.tw/news1/detail.aspx?Node=1088&Page=16035&Index=1&WID=c5ad5187-55ef-4811-8219-e946fe04f725.

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 Yu Guilin (余桂林)

4.2 Establishment of the teaching website of Minnan romanisation In order to promote the “Minnan romanisation scheme”, the Ministry of Education of Taiwan constructed a website devoted to the teaching and romanisation of the Minnan dialect in December 2012. The website was launched on the 8th day of the same month (see Figure 25.1). The website has 7 sections, including “Introduction to initials”, “Introduction to vowels”, “Introduction to tones”, “Singing and dancing”, “Transliteration tests”, “Tone sandhi rules”, and “Related links”. The “Transliteration tests” section is designed with the intention that the beginners can familiarise themselves with the romanization rules before learning the vocabulary so as to be able to speak a few everyday sentences. The tests are also designed to make the learning process interesting and boost the learners’ confidence. Therefore, the tests are divided into three different types targeting different learning stages. The Ministry of Education expects that increasing the dialect’s popularity and use as well as the learners’ confidence in their Minnan proficiency could help to preserve the dialect and the Minnan culture.2

4.3 Compilation and publication of Basic literacy in Chinese characters: A textbook for adults On 26 March 2012, the Ministry of Education in Taiwan held a press conference regarding the compilation of Basic literacy in Chinese characters: A textbook for adults. The participants of the conference included the new immigrants in Taiwan. According to the Ministry, there are 361,785 illiterate people and foreign spouses studying and living in Taiwan. Therefore, the education authorities intended to enhance illiterate adults’ basic literacy through education and strived to reduce the illiteracy rate. The purpose of the compilation of Basic literacy in Chinese characters: A textbook for adults is to equip adults – those deprived of proper education and those married to a foreign spouse – with the ability to listen, speak, read, write, and calculate so as to improve their standard of living. The textbook also enables foreign spouses to quickly integrate into Taiwan’s society and culture.

2 Ministry of Education launch Minnan romanisation website for you to join! (“教育部”推出 台罗拼音有声入门教学网,邀你一起来学闽南语!). Retrieved from http://www.edu.tw/news1/detail.aspx?Node=1088&Page=15900&Index=1&WID=c5ad5187-55ef-4811-8219-e946fe04f725.

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Figure 25.1: Teaching website of Minnan romanisation. Sources: http://tailo.moe.edu.tw/.

The newly edited Basic literacy in Chinese characters: A textbook for adults has a total of 6 volumes and contains a total of 1,680 characters. The content covers interpersonal relationships, festivals, understanding of Taiwan, employment, finance, health care, social welfare, democracy, law, and technology. The textbook can be used in basic literacy courses for adults; it can also be used by foreign spouses or people who have not received standard education to study at home. The textbook facilitates the study of the Chinese language systematically. Since 1991, the Ministry of Education of Taiwan has been increasing the adult literacy rate through education. The Ministry has been subsidising counties and municipalities to provide more than 1,000 courses for adults, thereby reducing the illiteracy rate from 4.21% in 2001 to 1.83% in 2011. The illiteracy rate of Taiwan has dropped below 2%, which approximates the goal set by the United Nations for developed countries and regions. (Wang 2012)

References Han, Duoduo (韩朵朵). 2011. US disallows Taiwan Academy (“台湾书院”在美受阻).CRI Online (国际在线). Retrieved from http://gb.cri.cn/27824/2011/04/12/5311s3215187.htm (12 April 2011).

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 Yu Guilin (余桂林)

Huang, Zhengjia (黄政嘉). 2011, August 4. Opening of US Taiwan Academy in October for Chinese culture promotion (推广特色华文在美台湾书院10月开张). Awakening News Networks (台湾醒报). Lin, Chongsheng (林崇胜). 2012, November 1. How should Taiwan Academy enter the world (台湾书院如何走向世界). International Herald Leader (国际先驱导报). Lü, Shuheng (吕淑姮). 2011, May 24. Taiwanese to Minnan: Scholars protest against Ministry of Education (“台语”改闽南语学者抗议“教育部”). Lihpao (台湾立报). Lü, Xuehui (吕雪彗). 2011, June 15. Results of independent visits – Executive Yuan: No simplified Chinese on menus needed (自由行效应“政院”:菜单无须印简体).Commercial Times (工商时报). Tang, Chengwei (唐澄暐). 2011, May 24.Avoid doubts: Ministry of Education sticks with “Minnan” (避免疑虑“教部”:“闽南语”名称不变). Lihpao (台湾立报). Wang, Dingjun (王鼎钧). 2011, May 24. DPP criticized changing Taiwanese to Minnan as de-taiwanisation (教科书拟将“台语”改称闽南语 民进党批:去台湾化). Nownews (今日新闻). Wang, Mingzhou(王名舟). 2011b. Good job! Taiwan businesses adopt simplified Chinese (简 体字登台台湾商家做得好!). China Review News (中国评论新闻网). Retrieved from http:// www.chinareviewnews.com (23 June 2011). Wang, Pengjie(王鹏捷). 2011. Chow Mei-Ching unveils Taiwan Academy in New York (台湾书 院成立周美青纽约揭幕). Online Central Daily News (“中央日报”网络版). Retrieved from http://www.cdnews.com.tw (15 October 2011). Wang, Pengjie (王鹏捷). 2012, March 26. New textbook for foreign spouses to learn Chinese 《 ( 新编基本教材教外配学中文》). Online Central Daily News (Taiwan) (台湾中央日报, 电 子版). Xiao, Boshu(萧博树). 2011, June 17. Support traditional Chinese: Central and local government instruct businesses (支持正体字“中央”地方联手导正业者). United Daily News (联合报).

Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Dai Hongliang (戴红亮) and Yang Shujun (杨书俊)

26 Analysis of the use of language through the eighth population census of China Taiwan * 1 Language situation in Taiwan Judging from the numbers of speakers, there are two large languages, two small languages, and several declining languages in Taiwan. The two major languages are Guoyu (国语, Taiwanese Mandarin) and Minnan (闽南语). The two small languages include Hakka dialects and the indigenous languages. The declining languages are the various Chinese dialects brought from the Mainland China when the Kuomintang moved to Taiwan. The language environment in Taiwan is shaped by mass immigrations and the vigorous promotion of Guoyu since 1945. Guoyu in Taiwan is by and large equivalent to Putonghua spoken in the Mainland China. The standard pronunciation of Guoyu is, in theory, based on the Beijing (北京) pronunciation. However, Guoyu is heavily influenced by Japanese and Minnan. Moreover, due to the relocation of the Kuomintang, many people from Jiangsu (江苏) and Zhejiang (浙江) migrated to Taiwan, affecting the pronunciation of Guoyu. Therefore, there exist differences between Guoyu and Putonghua, which can be observed in the following aspects: Firstly, Guoyu abandoned retroflex consonants and turned them into dental consonants. Secondly, in Guoyu, the voiced pronunciation of “日” (day) is “zi”. The particular word alone is often pronounced as “i”, which sounds pretentious. Thirdly, in Guoyu, the compound finals “in” and “ing” are both pronounced as “ing”, reflecting the influence of the Zhejiang accent. Fourthly, Guoyu simplifies the neutral tone and abandons its variations. The neutral tone in Guoyu is heavily pronounced, with a glottal stop at the end, which is similar to the Yin checked tones in the Minnan dialect.

Note: Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, R. O. C (Taiwan). 2011, November. Analysis of the Population and Housing Censuses of the 99th Year of the Republic (99年人口及住宅普查初步统计结果提要分析). Retrieved from http://www.dgbas. gov.tw/public/Atachment/111171361171.pdf. The data concerning the eighth population census and the use of languages in Taiwan is extracted from this analysis. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-026

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 Dai Hongliang (戴红亮) and Yang Shujun (杨书俊)

Fifthly, Guoyu, as an artificial language, has no cultural foundation. Therefore, Guoyu lacks daily vocabulary. However, Guoyu is undergoing localisation; new terms are constantly generated to describe the concepts in daily lives. Sixthly, the Taiwanese make use of different materials to create new phrases and terms. For instance, “飙车 (drag race)” and “霹雳小姐 (Miss Pili)” were inspired by the ancient Chinese language. The creations of “黑白讲 (telling lies)”, “QQQ”, “衰 (bad luck)”, “爽 (awesome)”, “赞 (great)”, and “手扒鸡 (rotisserie chicken)” were based on the Minnan dialect. There are also loan words from English in Guoyu, such as “OK” and “MTV”. The Taiwanese also borrowed new terms from Cantonese, including “老公 (husband)” and “T恤 (T-shirt)”. The Japanese influence can be seen in words such as “甜不辣 (tempura)”. (Hong 1992:100–101) The Min dialect in Taiwan includes the Minnan dialect (闽方言) that has the largest number of speakers. There is only a small portion of the Taiwanese who speak the Mindong (闽东) and Puxian (莆仙) dialects. Minnan can further be subdivided into four subdialects according to the accents, as shown in Table 26.1. Table 26.1: Min dialects in Taiwan. Min dialects

Accents

Note

Mindong subdialects

Fuzhou (福州) accent Zhangzhou (漳州) accent

Commonly spoken in Matsu islands (马祖)

Minnan subdialects

Quanzhou (泉州) accent Lugang (鹿港) accent

Puxian dialect

Haikou (海口) accent Xinghua (兴化) accent

Commonly spoken in Wuqiu (乌坵)

Source: ChinaTaiwan: Language distribution in Taiwan. Retrieved from http://www.chinataiwan.org/twzlk/twgk/yywz/200803/t20080312_604527.htm

Hakka dialects have four different accents that are named after their origins, including the Sixian (四县), Hailu (海陆), Dapu (大埔), Raoping (饶平), and Zhaoan (诏安) accents. The Sixian accent originates from Xingning (兴宁) city, Wuhua (五华) county, Pingyuan (平远) county, and Jiaoling (蕉岭) county in Meizhou (梅州), Guangdong (广东) and is now spoken mainly in Taoyuan (桃园), Hsinchu (新竹), Miaoli (苗栗), Pingtung (屏东), and Taitung (台东) in Taiwan. The Sixian accent has the largest number of speakers compared to that of other Hakka dialects in Taiwan. The Hailu accent of the Hakka dialect spoken in Taiwan originates from Lufeng (陆丰) and Haifeng (海丰) cities in Shanwei (汕尾), Guangdong and is mainly used in Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Hualien (花莲) in Taiwan. The home

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of the Zhaoan accent is Zhaoan, Nanjing (南靖), Pinghe (平和), and Yunxiao (云霄) counties in Zhangzhou (漳州), Fujian (福建); in Taiwan, it is mainly spoken in Yunlin (云林) county. The Dapu accent comes from Dapu county in Meizhou, Guangdong and is mainly spoken in Taichung(台中) county in Taiwan. Several counties and cities in the ancient Chaozhou (潮州府) (now Chaozhou and Jieyang [揭阳] counties) produced the Raoping accent, which, in Taiwan, is mainly spoken in Miaoli, Changhua (彰化), and Hsinchu. (Ma 2002:42–45) The aboriginal ethnic groups in Taiwan are called the Gaoshan people (高山族, ‘high-mountain people’) by the Mainland Chinese and referred to as the indigenous people in Taiwan. Taiwan has approximately 490,000 indigenous inhabitants, accounting for around 2.1% of the total Taiwanese population. There are 14 aboriginal ethnic groups recognised by the Taiwanese government, including Amis, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Puyuma, Rukai, Tsou, Saisiyat, Yami, Thao, Kavalan, Taroko, Sakizaya, and Seediq, of which the Ami, Atayal, and Paiwan communities account for 70% of the total population of the aborigines. The number of the recognised indigenous languages (dialects) has reached 42 and is increasing. The languages spoken by the aborigines include Central Amis, Northern Pinayuanan, Northern Amis, Kanakanabu, Takibakha Bunun, Saaroa, Takitudu Bunun, Sakizaya, Eastern Pinayuanan, Eastern Drekay, Kasavakan-Katipul, Pinaski-Ulivelivek, Thaw a lalawa, Nanwang Pinuyumayan, Southern Pinayuanan, Plngawan Atayal, Ci’uli Atayal, Squliq Atayal, Isbukun Bunun, Tuuda, Seediq Tgdaya, Truku, Kaxabu a ahan, Kbalan, SaySiyat, and Takbanuaz Bunun.1 The latest data shows that there are only 1.4 out of 100 residents above the age of 6 in Taiwan who speak their respective indigenous languages at home. Several dialects were brought from different provinces in Mainland China to Taiwan during the Kuomintang relocation. The dialects are also known as the provincial (wàishěng, 外省) dialects, of which many originate from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. No exact statistics regarding the provincial dialects in Taiwan can be found. At present, it is safe to assume that most of the provincial dialects are spoken by the older Taiwanese who immigrated from the external provinces (wàishěng rén, 外省人) and their children. The provincial dialects are almost never spoken by the younger generations.

1  Official website of Council of Indigenous Peoples. Retrieved from http://www.apc.gov.tw/portal/docList.html?CID=6726E5B80C8822F9.

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 Dai Hongliang (戴红亮) and Yang Shujun (杨书俊)

2 Eighth population census From 26 December 2010 to 22 January 2011, the Taiwanese government conducted the eighth population census2 using “registration” supplemented by “sampling survey”. A total of 16% of the sample areas were selected for full-scale inspection. Military personnel, students, and detainees fell into special categories and required the relevant authorities to conduct full-scale inspection. The survey, similar to the previous census, included the total number of permanent residents, male-female ratios, age-specific ratios, education ratios, population density, household registration, marital status, and housing status. However, five new items were added, including “the use of language”, “industries”, “occupations”, as well as “the current number of children and the children’s current places of residence”. According to the data collected, by the end of 2010, the number of permanent residents in Taiwan was 23.123866 million, of which 562,000 people were foreign nationals. There were 11.489 million males, accounting for 49.7% of the total population. The number of females was 11.635 million, taking up 50.3% of the total population. People with university degrees accounted for 20.7% of the permanent residents above 15 years of age, whereas the percentage of the people with postgraduate degrees was 4.3%. People with university degrees and above took up 25% of the permanent residents above 15 years of age. The total population of Taipei, Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Tainan and Taichung municipalities was 16.4 million, accounting for 60.8% of the total Taiwanese population.3 Table 26.2 demonstrates the population of each county. The use of languages was added to the eighth census to investigate the use of Guoyu, Minnan, Hakka dialects, the indigenous languages, and other languages by the permanent residents over the age of 6. The survey items contained 4 indexes, including general situation, place of residency, age, and education.

3 Analysis of the use of languages The census focused on the use of Guoyu, Minnan, Hakka dialects, the indigenous languages, and other languages. The following paragraphs are the separate analyses of the survey items.

2  Since 1945, Taiwan has conducted a total of eight population census in 1956, 1966, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010 respectively. 3  Office Website of Council of Indigenous Peoples. Retrieved from http://www.apc.gov.tw/portal/docList.html?CID=6726E5B80C8822F9.

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Table 26.2: Population of each county and city in Taiwan. Number County or City 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Taipei city New Taipei city Keelung city Hsinchu city Yilan county Taoyuan county Hsinchu county Taichung city Miaoli county Changhua county Nantou county Yunlin county Tainan city Kaohsiung city Chiayi city Chiayi county Pingtung county Penghu county Taitung county Hualien county Kinmen county Lienchiang county

Population Percentage 2655570 4054091 381891 476237 426713 2190054 522141 2731628 530332 1226664 460840 618443 1840232 2778158 267636 492926 800909 87053 200900 309629 57214 14605

11.5 17.5 1.7 2.1 1.8 9.5 2.3 11.8 2.3 5.3 2.0 2.7 8.0 12.0 1.2 2.1 3.5 0.4 0.9 1.3 0.2 0.1

3.1 Overall situation of the use of languages at home Table 26.3 shows that: (1) Guoyu had become the dominant language in Taiwanese households. The usage rate of Minnan (81.9%) in the home domain was roughly the same as that of Guoyu (83.6%). Therefore, Minnan could be seen as the most important dialect used in Taiwan at home, whereas Hakka dialects and the indigenous languages were spoken by fewer people. The small numbers of speakers were the reasons for the Taiwanese authorities to vigorously support language policies regarding Hakka dialects and the indigenous languages since the 1990s. (2) Taiwan was basically a bilingual and dual-dialectal society. The majority of the Taiwanese could speak Guoyu and one (or more than one) dialect (or indigenous language). (3) 2 out of 100 Taiwanese could speak other dialects, such as Mindong and Puxian dialects, as well as dialects from Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

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 Dai Hongliang (戴红亮) and Yang Shujun (杨书俊)

Table 26.3: Use of languages (dialects) at home in Taiwan. Language or dialect Number of speakers out of every 100 people

Guoyu

Minnan

83.6

81.9

Hakka dialects Indigenous languages Others 6.6

1.4

2.0

Note: Each respondent may speak more than one language or dialect. The statistics represent the number of speakers of each language (or dialect) relative to the population of permanent residents. The data in the table below is the same.

3.2 Use of languages according to place of residency Table 26.4 suggests that: (1) In the 14 counties and 8 cities in Taiwan, there were 7 counties with 90 or more people out of 100who spoke Guoyu; 4 counties and cities have more than 80 (closer to 90) Guoyu speakers out of 100; the numbers of the counties and cities accounted for half of the total number of Taiwan’s counties and cities. In Lienchiang county, 96.6 out of 100 people were Guoyu speakers, which was the highest percentage in Taiwan. Chiayi (嘉义) and Yunlin counties had the smallest populations of Guoyu speakers, with 61 and 60 Guoyu speakers out of 100 people respectively. The popularity of Guoyu in northern and eastern Taiwan was higher than that of southern and western Taiwan. (2) In Taiwan, there were 10 counties and cities that had more than 90 Minnan speakers out of 100. In addition, there were 2 counties and cities with more than 80 Minnan speakers out of 100. Yunlin and Changhua counties enjoyed the largest numbers of Minnan speakers, with 98.2 and 98.1 Minnan speakers out of 100 residents respectively. Hsinchu county had the smallest group of Minnan speakers, with only 27.7 speakers out of 100. In addition, Lienchiang and Miaoli counties had relatively small proportions of Minnan speakers, with 44.7 and 45.8 Minnan speakers out of 100 respectively. Due to the geographical distribution of the dialect, the usage patterns of Minnan witnessed apparent differences in Taiwan. (3) Hakka dialects were mainly spoken in Hsinchu and Miaoli counties, with 56.0 and 52.4 Hakka speakers out of 100 residents respectively. Taoyuan county, Hsinchu city, Pingtung county, and Hualien county also had relatively larger Hakka-speaking communities, with 17.1, 11.1, 12.0, and 10.8 Hakka speakers out of 100 residents respectively. (4) The indigenous languages were mainly spoken in Taitung and Hualien counties, with 21.3 and 16.9 speakers out of every 100 residents respectively. However, other places in Taiwan had no more than 5 indigenous speakers out of 100. (5) Regarding “others”, there were as many as 24.1 speakers per 100 people in Lienchiang. This was mainly because some residents in Lienchiang immigrated from the Fuzhou (福州) area in Fujian and, therefore, speak Mindong with a Fuzhou accent.

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Table 26.4: Use of languages at home according to place of residency. County or City

New Taipei city Taipei city Keelung city Hsinchu city Yilan county Taoyuan county Hsinchu county Taichung city Miaoli county Changhua county Nantou county Yunlin county Tainan city Kaohsiung city Chiayi city Chiayi county Pingtung county Penghu county Taitung county Hualien county Kinmen county Lienchiang county

Number of permanent residents above the age of 6 3779113 2475542 359021 427744 392793 1982446 464201 2522527 482251 1123730 426622 572861 1719872 2597307 250816 458178 750113 80244 187624 287547 52619 14064

Number of speakers of each language (dialect) per 100 permanent residents Guoyu

Minnan dialect

92.0 93.2 87.2 92.1 78.2 93.4 90.6 87.1 79.4 69.5 75.3 60.0 71.7 78.6 76.5 61.0 66.2 75.0 89.9 90.8 85.4 96.6

82.9 73.5 91.2 70.7 94.9 58.2 27.7 89.9 45.8 98.1 92.1 98.2 95.8 90.9 94.7 97.5 82.3 93.6 65.9 60.9 92.9 44.7

Hakka Indigenous dialects languages 2.4 3.5 0.9 11.1 0.6 17.1 56.0 3.4 52.4 0.3 3.2 1.6 0.5 3.0 0.4 0.8 12.0 0.5 5.4 10.8 1.1 3.9

0.9 0.5 1.8 0.8 1.8 1.3 2.0 1.6 1.0 0.2 4.3 0.1 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.8 4.7 0.3 21.3 16.9 0.5 1.6

Others 2.4 3.2 1.8 1.6 1.0 1.3 1.1 0.4 0.5 0.9 1.2 1.4 2.7 2.4 1.0 3.6 0.5 2.4 5.5 1.6 0.8 24.1

3.3 Use of languages according to age groups Table 26.5 suggests that: (1) More than 90 out of 100 people under the age of 45 speak Guoyu at home. For those over 65, only 45.3 out of 100 use Guoyu at home. The number of people using Guoyu was inversely related to age. The older Taiwanese tend to speak less Guoyu. (2) At home, more than 80 out of 100 above the age of 25 speak the Minnan dialect. The 45–64 age group had the largest proportion of Minnan speakers, with 86.3 out of 100 speaking the dialect. The differences between different age groups were not significant, with each group sharing similar proportions of Minnan speakers. The lowest proportion was still close to 70 Minnan speakers out of 100. There existed a positive correlation between the use of Minnan and age. That is, the older Taiwanese had a higher

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 Dai Hongliang (戴红亮) and Yang Shujun (杨书俊)

Table 26.5: Use of languages at home according to age groups. Age groups

Number of permanent residents above the age of 6

6–14 15–24 25–34 35–44 45–64 Above 65

2418610 3146521 3799930 3531622 6068715 2441837

Number of speakers of each language (dialect) per 100 permanent residents Guoyu

Minnan dialect

Hakka dialects

Indigenous languages

Others

96.0 94.9 91.9 90.4 78.9 45.3

69.7 78.6 83.2 84.1 86.3 81.7

3.8 4.8 5.6 6.4 8.1 10.1

1.0 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.5 1.3

0.8 1.0 1.8 2.3 2.6 3.1

chance to speak the dialect. (3) Speakers of Hakka dialects and the indigenous languages were relatively few and had a positive correlation with age. In other words, the older age groups had a higher number of people who speak Hakka or the aboriginal languages. It is worth noting that, regarding the category of “others”, the older age groups also tended to have a higher number of speakers. In the group of 6- to 14-year-old people, only 0.8 out of 100 people speak “other dialects”, indicating their decline. Other dialects were mainly used by the Taiwanese over 35 years of age.

3.4 Use of languages according to education Table 26.6 demonstrates that: (1) For every 100 people who had lower secondary school or above education, there were more than 80 Guoyu speakers. People with Table 26.6: Use of languages at home according to education. Education level

Primary school and under Lower secondary school Upper secondary (vocational) school College and above

Number of permanent residents above the age of 6

Number of speakers of each language (dialect) per 100 permanent residents Guoyu

Minnan

Hakka dialects

Indigenous languages

Others

4879642 3513923 6036246

61.6 80.8 89.4

81.6 83.7 83.6

6.9 6.6 7.3

1.9 2.0 1.5

2.0 1.9 1.7

6977424

95.2

79.7

5.9

0.6

2.4

26 Analysis of the use of language through the eighth population census of China Taiwan 

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only primary school education had the smallest proportion of Guoyu speakers, having only 61.6 speakers out of 100. People with college diplomas and above had the highest proportion of Guoyu speakers, reaching 95.2 speakers out of 100. The figures suggest that education was the most important means of popularising Guoyu. It is also evident that there existed a positive correlation between education and the use of Guoyu. That is, the groups with higher education had more Guoyu speakers. (2) For every 100 people, each of the group had around 80 people who speak the Minnan dialect. Moreover, the statistics formed a reverse U shape. That is, groups with lower or upper secondary school education had higher proportions of Minnan speakers. Whereas groups with primary school education, as well as college diplomas and above had relatively low percentages of Minnan speakers, the difference between the highest and the lowest figures was a mere 4 people. (3) For every 100 people, each group had 6 to 7 Hakka speakers. The proportions of Hakka speakers among Taiwanese with primary and upper secondary education were relatively high. Residents with college diplomas or above had the lowest percentage of Hakka speakers. (4) In terms of other languages (dialects), contrary to Minnan, the statistics represented a U shape. For people with primary education, the decline of other dialects was due to them being exclusively spoken at home and taught only by grandparents or parents. For other dialects, the relatively high percentage of speakers among the Taiwanese with college diplomas or above was because they occupy a wider age range. Many older Taiwanese who came from the Mainland China during the Kuomintang relocation and their children had achieved higher levels of education.

4 Conclusions Since the founding of People’s Republic of China, China has carried out several large-scale language surveys, such as the Survey of Ethnic Languages in the 1950s and the Survey of the National Language Situation conducted at the end of the last century. Moreover, in 2010, the State Language Commission conducted sampling surveys in Hebei (河北), Jiangsu, and Guangxi (广西), obtaining the latest data regarding the popularisation of Putonghua. Many scholars have also conducted surveys related to the use of languages. However, data concerning the languages used in Taiwan was nowhere to be found. The eighth population census of Taiwan was the first attempt to include information about languages in population and housing surveys. Therefore, the census is valuable and crucial for people to have a comprehensive understanding of China’s language situation. The above data regarding the use of languages suggests that:

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1)

Major achievements have been made in the promotion of Guoyu. Guoyu is not only the lingual franca in public places, but also the most used language at home in Taiwan. 2) The Taiwanese society has become a bilingual and dual-dialectal society. The vast majority of the Taiwanese can speak both Guoyu and Minnan or some other language(s). Since 1993, Minnan, Hakka dialects, and the indigenous languages have been incorporated into the education system. The policy has played an important role in sustaining the bilingual society. It is safe to assume that Taiwan will remain as a bilingual society for a long time to come. 3) Since 1945, the Taiwanese government has been vigorously popularising Guoyu, leading to the decline of Hakka dialects and the indigenous languages. Therefore, conflicts have emerged between Guoyu and Taiwan’s “local languages”, leading to the “local language movements” in the late 1980s. Mainland China should study and learn from the Taiwanese experience in order to scientifically inform the Putonghua promotion policy. 4) The Taiwanese authorities have attached great importance to the use of languages and, for the first time, included a language survey into the population sampling survey and population census. As society gradually opens up, language exchange among different groups will increase, resulting in tension and conflicts. A thorough understanding of the basic language situation of China will help resolve various language problems.

References Hong, Weiren (洪惟仁). 1992. Journeys through Taiwanese dialects (台湾方言之旅). Taipei: Avantgarde. Ma, Chongqi (马重奇). 2002. Origin and evolution of the dialects in Fujian and Taiwan (闽台方 言的源流与嬗变). Fujian: Fujian People’s Publishing House.

Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Wang Lei (王磊), Yang Erhong (杨尔弘), and Wang Jia (王佳) et al.

27 Popular words and phrases

2011 top ten popular words and phrases in the general category and their usage frequency curves Written by Wang Lei (王磊), Yang Erhong (杨尔弘) and Wang Jia (王佳); data processed by Li Yanjiao (李艳娇), Yu Dongqing (于东卿), Wang Wenyuan (王文媛), Li Tingting (李婷婷), and Zeng Xiaobing (曾小兵) et al.; print media language data provided by Liu Dongming (刘冬明); broadcast media language data provided by Hou Min (侯敏) et al.; internet media language data provided by He Tingting (何婷婷) and Zhang Yong (张勇). The popular words and phrases used by the Chinese media in 2011 are extracted from the National Language Resources Monitoring Corpus that dates from 1 January to 10 December 2011. The content covers 15 newspaper corpora of the print media language subcentre, 19 TV stations and 7 audio corpora of 7 radio stations of the audio media language subcentre, and the online news of the 2 portals of the online media language subcentre, accounting for a total of 1,161,201 texts and 1,020,047,051 characters.1 The top ten popular words and phrases in the general category are: “the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party” (中国共产党建党90周年), “the opening of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan” (“十二五” 开局), “culturally powerful nation” (文化强国), “food safety” (食品安全), “rendezvous and docking” (交会对接), “Japan’s massive earthquake” (日本大地震), “European debt crisis” (欧债危机), “Libya situation” (利比亚局势), “Jobs” (乔布 斯), and “Durban Climate Change Conference” (德班气候大会). The usage frequency curves of the terms are as follows:

1 15 newspapers (in alphabetical order): Beijing Daily, Beijing Evening News, Beijing Youth Daily, China Youth Daily, Guangming Daily, Guangzhou Daily, Huaxi City Daily, Legal Daily, People’s Daily, Qianjiang Evening News, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, Southern Weekly, Tonight News Paper, Xinmin Evening News, Yangcheng Evening News. 723,832 texts with 506,081,074 words in total were used. 19 TV stations include (in alphabetical order): China Beijing TV Station, China Central Television, Southeast Television and so on. 7 radio stations include (in alphabetical order): Beijing People’s Broadcasting Station, China National Radio and so on. 129 programmes were transcribed into 14,698 texts with 95,245,790 words in total. News from 2 web portals (in alphabetical order): Tencent and Sina. 422,671 texts and 418,720,187 characters in total were used. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-027

278  1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

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Usage frequency

1/10

4/10

7/10 10/10 1/11

4/11

7/11 10/11

Chart 4–1: Usage of “the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Partv from 2010 to 2011.

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/10

4/10

7/10 10/10 1/11

4/11

7/11 10/11

Chart 4–2: Usage of “the opening of the Twelfth Five-year Plan” from 2010 to 2011.

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/10

4/10

7/10 10/10 1/11

4/11

7/11 10/11

Chart 4–3: Usage of “culturally powerful nation” from 2010 to 2011.

27 Popular words and phrases  1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/10

4/10

7/10 10/10 1/11

4/11

7/11 10/11

Chart 4–4: Usage of “food safty” from 2010 to 2011.

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/10

4/10

7/10 10/10 1/11

4/11

7/11 10/11

Chart 4–5: Usage of “rendezvous and docking” from 2010–2011.

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/10

4/10

7/10 10/10 1/11

4/11

7/11 10/11

Chart 4–6: Usage of “Japan’s massive earthquake” from 2010–2011.

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280  1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

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Usage frequency

1/10

4/10

7/10 10/10 1/11

4/11

7/11 10/11

Chart 4–7: Usage of “European debt crisis” from 2010–2011.

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/10

4/10

7/10 10/10 1/11

4/11

7/11 10/11

Chart 4–8: Usage of “Libya situation” from 2010–2011.

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/10

4/10

7/10 10/10 1/11

4/11

Chart 4–9: Usage of “Job” from 2010–2011.

7/11 10/11

27 Popular words and phrases 

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

 281

Usage frequency

1/10

4/10

7/10 10/10 1/11

4/11

7/11 10/11

Chart 4–10: Usage of “Durbon climate change conference” from 2010–2011.

2012 top ten popular words and phrases in the general category and their usage frequency curves. Written by Wang Lei (王磊), Yang Erhong (杨尔弘) and Wang Jia (王佳); print media language data provided by Liu Dongming (刘冬明); broadcast media language data provided by Hou Min (侯敏), Teng Yonglin (滕永林), He Wei (何伟), Zou Yu (邹煜) et al.; internet media language data provided by He Tingting (何婷婷) and Zhang Yong (张勇). The popular words and phrases used by the Chinese media in 2012 are extracted from the National Language Resources Monitoring Corpus dating from 1 January to 15 December 2012. The content covers 17 mainstream newspaper corpora of the print media language subcentre, 24 radio and TV stations of the audio media language subcentre, and the online news of the 2 portals of the online media language subcentre, accounting for a total of 1,289,050 texts and 1,104,445,552 characters.2 The top ten words and phrases are divided into 9 categories, including general, domestic affairs and politics, international affairs and politics, economy, science and technology, society and life, culture, sports and entertainment, as well as people’s 2 17 mainstream newspapers (in alphabetical order): Beijing Daily, Beijing Evening News, Beijing Youth Daily, China Youth Daily, Guangming Daily, Guangzhou Daily, Huaxi City Daily, Legal Daily, People’s Daily, Qianjiang Evening News, Qilu Evening News, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, Southern Weekly, The Beijing News, Tonight News Paper, Xinmin Evening News, Yangcheng Evening News. 886,367 texts with 624,530,313 words in total were used. 16 television channels include (in alphabetical order): China Beijing TV Station, China Central Television, Southeast Television and so on. 8 radio stations include (in alphabetical order): Beijing People’s Broadcasting Station, China National Radio and so on. 104 programmes were transcribed into 16,387 texts with 90,503,979 characters in total. News from 2 web portals (in alphabetical order): Tencent and Sina. 386,296 texts and 389,411,260 characters in total were used.

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 Wang Lei (王磊), Yang Erhong (杨尔弘), and Wang Jia (王佳) et al.

livelihood. Each category records the widely-discussed topics and the public’s attitudes in different fields. Popular words and phrases are a group of lively Chinese terms; they represent different communities, voices, trendy news, mentalities, and positive energies. The terms originate from different sectors of society and different regions; however, they together form the trends of society, portraying China and the world’s magic and charms. The general category of the top ten popular words and phrases include: “the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China” (十八大), “Diaoyu Islands” (钓鱼岛), “beautiful China” (美丽中国), “London Olympics” (伦敦奥运), “learning from Lei Feng” (学雷锋), “Shenzhou 9” (神九), “real economy” (实体经济), “election year” (大选年), “Syria crisis” (叙利亚危机), and “positive energy” (正能量). The usage frequency curves of the terms are as follows: 1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/11

4/11

7/11

10/11

1/12

4/12

7/12

10/12

Chart 4–11: Usage of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China” from 2011 to 2012.

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/11

4/11

7/11

10/11

1/12

4/12

7/12

10/12

Chart 4–12: Usage of “Diaoyu Islands” from 2011 to 2012.

27 Popular words and phrases  1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/11

4/11

7/11

10/11

1/12

4/12

7/12

10/12

Chart 4–13: Usage of “beautiful China” from 2011 to 2012.

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/11

4/11

7/11

10/11

1/12

4/12

7/12

10/12

Chart 4–14: Usage of “london Olympics” from 2011 to 2012.

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/11

4/11

7/11

10/11

1/12

4/12

7/12

10/12

Chart 4–15: Usage of “learning from Lei Feng” from 2011 to 2012.

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284 

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

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Usage frequency

1/11

4/11

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10/11

1/12

4/12

7/12

10/12

Chart 4–16: Usage of “Shenzhou 9” from 2011 to 2012. 1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/11

4/11

7/11

10/11

1/12

4/12

7/12

10/12

Chart 4–17: Usage of “real economy” from 2011 to 2012. 1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/11

4/11

7/11

10/11

1/12

4/12

7/12

10/12

Chart 4–18: Usage of “election year” from 2011 to 2012.

27 Popular words and phrases  1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

 285

Usage frequency

1/11

4/11

7/11

10/11

1/12

4/12

7/12

10/12

Chart 4–19: Usage of “Syria crsis “ from 2011 to 2012.

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Usage frequency

1/11

4/11

7/11

10/11

1/12

4/12

7/12

10/12

Chart 4–20: Usage of “postive energy “ from 2011 to 2012.

Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Hou Min (侯敏), Zou Yu (邹煜), and Teng Yonglin (滕永林)

28 New words and phrases in 2011–2012, and a comprehensive survey of new words and phrases in 2006–2010 Written by Hou Min (侯敏), Zou Yu (邹煜), Teng Yonglin (滕永林), He Wei (何伟), and Liang Lin Linlin (梁琳琳); word lists developed by Yang Erhong (杨尔弘), Wang Lei (王磊), Yu Dongqing (于东卿), Wang Wenyuan (王文媛), Wang Jia (王 佳), Chen Xiaodan (陈晓丹), Li Yanjiao (李艳娇), Chen Xue (陈雪), Zou Hongjian (邹红建), Chen Yuqi (陈毓麒), Li Xueyan (李雪燕), Ma Yuehong (马月红), Zhang Jinling (张金玲), Cheng Nanchang (程南昌), Li Weina (李伟娜), Liang Linlin (梁 琳琳), He Yuyin (何宇茵), Hou Mingwu (侯明午), Cheng Jia (程佳), Wang Feiran (王斐然), Zheng Shuangmei (郑双美), Zhou Hongzhao (周红照), Cui Le (崔乐), Zhang Ying (张瑛), Zhang Jinling (张金玲), Cao Xinwei (曹新尉), Gao Cheng (高 程), Yan Pengli (颜彭莉), Zhang Jing (张晶), and Zhang Yeqing (张叶青).

1 Expressions of the year 2012 Due to social change and a shift in people’s focus and concern, popular expressions such as “~tribe” (~族), “brother~” (~哥), “~gate” (~门), and the extension of the passive marker “bei~ (被~)” had lost their momentum in 2012. It is worth noting that, in 2012, only 11 new phrases are derived from the expression ‘~tribe’, which is a significant decrease in comparison with 47 phrases in 2009, 39 in 2010, and 30 in 2011. Expressions that are still popular in 2012 include “~style” (~体) and “micro~” (微~). In 2010, “~style”, an expression that refers to a certain kind of popular discourse, emerged, giving birth to phrases such as “vancl style” (凡客体) and “bullet style” (子弹体). The expression still made a strong appearance in 2011, with 42 phrases derived in the annual list of new words and phrases, including “roaring style” (咆哮体), “Taobao style” (淘宝体), and “Smurfs style” (蓝精灵 体). In 2012, “~style” remains Chinese netizens’ favourite expression, where 35 derived phrases are included in the annual list. The sayings generated from the entertainment field, such as “Yuanfang, what do you think?” (元芳, 你怎么看), “I believe there is nothing better” (私以为这再好不过了)”, “A bite of China” (舌 尖上的中国), and “This is life” (这才叫生活) later became a national sensation. Thanks to the media, the general public became familiar with certain expressions, such as “Yuanfang style” (元芳体), “Zhenhuan style” (甄嬛体), “a-bite-of-China https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-028

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style” (舌尖体), and “such-is-life style” (生活体). Due to the increased popularity and importance of microblogging, “micro~” (微~) has also become a popular expression. In 2010, the first year since the introduction of microblogs to China, the annual list included 26 phrases derived from “micro~”. The expression made the most appearances in 2011, with 61 derived phrases included in the annual list of new words and phrases, compared with 25 in 2012. The expressions that most reflect people’s livelihood in 2012 are “the most beautiful~” (最美~), “Chinese-style~” (中国式~), “house~” (房~), and “doomsday~” (末日~). The year 2012 saw the appearance of many courageous, professional, altruistic, and compassionate people, such as Zhang Lili (张丽莉), Wu Bin (吴斌), He Yao (何瑶), Zhou Jiangjiang (周江疆), Li Boya (李博亚), and Li Chenghuan (李成 环). They were just ordinary citizens. But after their good deeds were broadcast by the media, they became everybody’s role models. “Most beautiful~” was used to describe such ordinary heroes and to further promote ethics and positive energy in society. The annual list selected 13 phrases that belong to the “most beautiful~” category, including “the most beautiful teacher” (最美教师), “the most beautiful driver” (最美司机), “the most beautiful nurse” (最美护士), “the most beautiful, tall, wealthy, and handsome man” (最美高富帅), “the most beautiful railway police” (最美铁警), “the most beautiful pedestrian” (最美路人), and “the most beautiful bride” (最美新娘). Each nation has its distinctive ideologies, customs, and cultural heritage. Things that have Chinese characteristics should, therefore, be described as “Chinese-style” (中国式). The earliest use of the expression can be found in Chinese-style Divorce, a novel written by Wang Hailing (王海鸰). However, the derived phrases of “Chinese-style” generated in 2012 contained a different connotation. For instance, “Chinese-style road crossing” (中国式过马路), “Chinese-style forced marriage” (中国式逼婚), “Chinese-style traffic” (中国式交通), “Chinese-style pick-up” (中国式接送), and “Chinese-style property-buying” (中 国式买房) are used in a more or less derogatory way to describe problems that exist in the Chinese society. When people use the term “Chinese-style” to mock the long-existing unreasonable traditions or practices, they are, in fact, reflecting upon Chinese society and the national character. The expression demonstrates that economic growth will encourage people to self-reflect and observe the society and culture they are in. Since the second half of 2012, among the listed new words, the “landlord” series – the terms “landlord brother” (房哥), “landlord sister-in-law”, “landlord elder sister” (房姐), “landlord younger sister” (房妹), “landlord uncle” (房叔), “landlord auntie” (房婶), “landlord daughter-in-law” (房媳), “landlord grandpa” (房爷), and even “landlord ancestors” (房祖宗) stood out. The rise of the phrases

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 289

was due to the strong online anti-corruption movement. The investigation of a corruption case usually unfolds along the following process: (1) online exposure (2) the intervention of the Commission for Discipline Inspection (3) verification and revelation. Real estate has also become solid evidence of corruption for online and public investigations. The expression “doomsday ~ (末日~)” is most likely unique to the year 2012. The expression had made no appearances in any written records prior to 2012; and it is likely to disappear in the future. The seemingly ridiculous term io,,, such as “doomsday style” (末日体), “doomsday products” (末日商品), “doomsday business opportunity” (末日商机), “doomsday evacuation package” (末日避 难包), “doomsday refuge village” (末日避难村), and “doomsday severance pay” (末日遣散费), showed people’s mentality and behaviours in light of the advent of the rumoured “doomsday”. Some people were suspicious; others made fun of it, while still others took advantage of it and made a fortune. In 2012, also worthy of attention is a series of tri-syllabic, 3-character idiomatic phrases: “pale, rich, and beautiful” (白富美), “pale, rich, and handsome” (白富帅), “tanned, rich, and handsome” (黑富帅), “tall, filial, and handsome” (高孝帅), “tall, rich, and beautiful” (高富美), “short, poor, and awkward” (矮穷挫), “tacky, fat, and round” (土肥圆), “sweet, elegant, and innocent” (甜素纯), and the like. Each of the phrases consists of three adjectives and can be used to describe a certain group of people. Among the phrases, only “short, poor, and awkward” and “tacky, fat, and round” are derogatory and often used for self-mockery; the rest are all complimentary. It is worth pondering that, in addition to “filial” and “innocent”, the adjectives used in the phrases, such as tall, handsome, rich, beautiful, sweet, elegant, short, poor, fat, and tacky, concern only external qualities. Such an excessive concern for external attributes may not be a good thing.

2 Comprehensive survey of the new words and phrases since the period 2006–2010 The first comprehensive survey on the new words and phrases took place from 2006 to 2010. During that five-year period, a total of 2,976 new words and phrases were recorded (Table 28.1).1 1 The number is calculated based on the statistics presented in New Chinese Words and Phrases of 2006 (2006 汉语新词语) edited by Zhou Jian (周荐) and published by The Commercial Press; New Chinese Words and Phrases of 2007 (2007 汉语新词语), New Chinese Words and Phrases of 2008 (2008 汉语新词语), New Chinese Words and Phrases of 2009 (2009 汉语新词语), and New

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Table 28.1: Distribution of annual new words and phrases from 2006 to 2010. Year Number of new words and phrases in the main texts Number of new words and phrases in the appendixes Total

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total 172 251 423

420 157 577

444 72 516

573 107 680

623 2232 157 744 780 2976

2.1 Use of the new words and phrases in 2011 Table 28.2 illustrates the use of some of the 2,976 new words and phrases in 2011. In 2011, the overall distribution of the 2,976 new words is similar to the distribution in 2009. In general, 40% of the annual new words would continue to be used, with a usage frequency of more than or equal to 10 times a year. One-fourth of the words were seldom used, with a usage frequency of under 10 times a year or less. A third of the new words would phase out, apparently disappearing from the Chinese language.

2.2 Changes of the new words within five years Upon a comprehensive examination of the use of the 2,976 new words in each year,2 the growth, development, and phasing out of the words can be observed. Based on each year’s variation curve, the new words and phrases can be divided into six categories: high stability, low stability, ascending, descending, fluctuating, and occasional occurrence. Words and phrases with high stability refer to the ones that have been used frequently, with hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of appearances. Highly-stable words are also likely to maintain a high usage frequency. Such words are often closely related to people’s lives; however, they lose their novelty fairly quickly. Phrases that demonstrate high stability include “microblogging” (微博), “compulsory traffic insurance” (交强险), “blogpost” (博文), “A/H1N1 influenza” Chinese Words and Phrases of 2010 (2010 汉语新词语) edited by Hou Min (侯敏) and Zhou Jian (周荐), and published by The Commercial Press. 2  Please refer to National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Centre (Ed.). (2010). The Language Situation in China for 2009 (中国语言生活状况报告(2009)), part 2, p.323, The Commercial Press; and Language Information Management Division of Ministry of Education (Ed.). (2011). The Language Situation in China for 2011 (中国语言生活状况报告(2011)), p.234, The Commercial Press.

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Table 28.2: Frequency distribution of the 2976 new words and phrases in 2011. Frequency Number range of words

Ratio (%)

Examples

≥ 1000

170

5.71

Microblogging (微博), bullet train (动车), affordable housing (保障房), google (谷歌), people born in the 1980s (80后), awesome (给力), drunk driving (醉驾), multi-unit train (动车组), struggle (纠结), people born in the 1990s (90后)

999 – 300

165

5.54

School district housing (学区房), property slave (房奴), Microblogging addict (微博控), financial tsunami (金融海啸), awkward/orz (囧), barrier lake (堰塞湖), cyber manhunt (人肉搜索), EMBA

299 – 100

205

6.89

Sixth National Population Census of the People’s Republic of China (六普), Witkey (威客), total resignation (裸辞), clan who live from paycheque to paycheque (月光族), CHB (核高基), fake-donation gate (诈捐门), unprepared for exams (裸考), smart power (巧实力), phoenix male (凤凰男)

99 – 10

686

23.04 child’s slave (孩奴), Wefans (微粉), calm sister (淡定姐), toilet time (尿点), Li Gang gate (李刚门), roaring brother (咆哮哥), Wefriends (脖友), peacock woman (孔雀女), road rage (路怒症)

9–3

414

13.90

Sharer (晒友), lever woman (杠杆女), Hong Kong wanderer (港漂), charismatic beggar (潮丐), slave of invoice (发票奴), order-within-seconds tribe (秒杀族), local-food tribe (土食族), property without certificate (村证房)

2–1

335

11.25

Fake hygiene (创伪), SCI worship (SCI崇拜), funds dummy (基盲), academic superwoman (学术超女), mild corruption (温和腐败), E-conferences (E两会), high-salary blue collar (高薪蓝领), annoying words (雷词)

0

1002

33.43

E-parents (E爸妈), marriage-anxious man (愁婚男), paying pal (拼友团), peak-traffic clashing (撞峰), injustice exposure bunch (晒黑团), job-having tribe (有碗族), cracking house (楼断断), package-less cigarettes (裸烟), jewellery-oriented corruption (俗贿)

Total

2977

100.00

(甲流), “moral model” (道德模范), “subprime mortgage” (次贷), “subprime mortgage crisis” (次贷危机), “China Railway High-speed” (和谐号), “superboys” (快男), “thunderman” (雷人), “street shopping” (街购), and “netbook” (上网本). Words and phrases with low stability are used infrequently, appearing only several or dozens of times a year. Nevertheless, such words have been used continuously throughout recent years. Unstable words and phrases are often used only in

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 Hou Min (侯敏), Zou Yu (邹煜), and Teng Yonglin (滕永林)

certain regions or communities and are generally perceived as ad hoc innovations. Phrases such as “stand in” (文替), “blog tussle” (博斗), “Lihua style” (梨花体), “Shanghai pension scandal” (上海社保基金案), “denuclearization” (去核化), “marry-upon-graduation” (毕婚族), “cultural and environmental protection projects” (文 化环保工程), “China wanderer” (华漂), “sharer” (晒友), “global peace index” (全 球和平指数), “indoor children” (室内儿童), “triamine” (三胺), “shocking culture” (雷文化), and “total retirement” (裸退) are some examples of low-stability terms. Figure 28.1 shows the usage curves of the high-stability phrase “compulsory traffic insurance” and the low-stability phrase “blog tussle” in the period from 2006 to 2011. Frequency 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 500 300 100 50 40 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

2006

Blog Compulsory Traffic Insurance Tussle

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Time

Figure 28.1: Usage curves of the high-stability phrase “compulsory traffic insurance” and the low-stability phrase “blog tussle”.

Ascending words, in their first year after appearance, have low frequency. However, their frequency may increase sharply or gradually following social change and development, typically in regard to people’s views, which is why they tend to enjoy strong vitality. Examples of such phrases include “small holiday” (小长假), “affordable housing” (保障房), “bullet train” (动车), “sleeping car” (动卧), “people born in the 1980s” (80后), “drunk driving” (醉驾), “order within seconds” (秒杀), “just passing by” (打酱油), “totally unprepared for exams” (裸考), “no frills marriage” (裸婚), and “struggle” (纠结). Figure 22.2 illustrates the usage curve of the ascending new word “small holiday” (小长假). Descending words either just emerged or have witnessed a high usage frequency shortly after their first appearance. Such words might be used hundreds

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Frequency 9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0

2007

2007

2009

2010

2011 Time

Figure 28.2: Usage curve of the new ascending phrase “small holiday” from 2007–2011.

or thousands of times, yet their usage becomes less frequent year by year. Eventually, some of the words will fully disappear. Many of the descending words are used to describe emergency situations or specific events, such as “smiling Beijing” (微笑北京), “smile wristband” (微笑圈), “Xiángyún hut” (祥云小屋), “Olympic T-shirt” (奥衫), “toppling-Chen” (倒扁), “copycat CCSTV New Year’s Gala” (山寨春晚), “copycat culture” (山寨文化), “nuclear disablement” (去功能 化), “South China tiger incident” (华南虎事件), “illegal black kiln affair” (黑砖 窑事件), “pollution-restricted drainage basin” (流域限批), “illegal drawings” (恶 意取款), “magnesium silicate” (滤油粉), “academic superwoman” (学术超女), and “Runrun Fan” (范跑跑). Some of the terms have gradually died out due to competition with other phrases. For instance, several terms related to the financial crisis like “subprime mortgage crisis” (次级债危机), “subprime mortgage” (次级贷), and “subprime home loan” (次级房贷), were later superseded by their shorter counterparts “次贷” and “次贷危机”. Some descending phrases, such as “off-season promotion” (寒促), are no longer used by the media due to its loss of people’s attention; however, they still make appearances in daily lives. Figure 28.3 shows the usage curve of the descending new word “nuclear disablement”. In recent years, the usage frequency of fluctuating words is unstable, increasing or decreasing according to societal changes. Phrases such as “plastic limit order” (限塑令), “D-line” (D字头), “EMBA”, “medical disturbance” (医闹), “blood slave” (血奴), “partaker” (拼客), “exchanger” (换客), and “property hoarding” (捂盘惜售) fall into the category of “fluctuating terms”. Figure 28.4 demonstrates the usage curve of the fluctuating word “medical disturbance”.

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 Hou Min (侯敏), Zou Yu (邹煜), and Teng Yonglin (滕永林)

Frequency 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011 Time

Figure 28.3: Usage curve of the new descending phrase “nuclear disablement” from 2007–2011.

Frequency 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011 Time

Figure 28.4: Usage curve of the new fluctuating phrase “medical disturbance” from 2006–2011.

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Words making occasional occurrences are often only used in the same year as they are created, and later completely disappear from the media. The purposes of such words are usually to record scientific and technical achievements, new things, and some social phenomenon unique to the year. “Drug monitoring robot” (药监机器人), “digital water building” (数字水建筑), “acoustic furnace” (声波炉), “machine caterpillar” (机器毛虫), “drones with camera” (直升相机), “image detector” (影像探测器), “pig nursery” (托猪所), “fire therapy clinic” (火疗店), “customized delivery” (定日递), “colored silver version” (彩银版), “origami classroom” (纸教室), “vehicle history report” (汽车病历), “airpink” (粉 色航空), “name-card mouse” (名片鼠), “electro-rejection tribe” (拒电族), “zeroprofit meat” (零利肉), “black kiln children” (黑窑儿童), “hired queuer”(代排族), “funds-sharing bunch” (炒基团), “irradiation gate” (辐照门), “flash player” (闪 玩族), “cultural crosswalk” (文化斑马线), “bird’s nest diplomacy” (鸟巢外交), “age-and-seniority retirement scheme” (年阶退休制), “Pingjiang tiger incident” (平江虎事件), “phone-crashing SMS” (死机短信). Figure 28.5 shows the usage curve of the occasionally-occurred phrase “zero-profit meat”. The six categories are just a general classification based on the development of new words and phrases. New words and phrases, in fact, form a complex system, with each word having its distinctive characteristic(s). Therefore, further studies and investigations are needed. Highly-stable and ascending words are a significant part of everyday language, deserving the utmost attention; less-stable Frequency 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Time

Figure 28.5: Usage curve of the new occasionally-occurred phrase “zero-profit meat” from 2007–2011.

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and descending words, or words that appear only occasionally are equally worth exploring. It is safe to assume that such words might be even more in need of investigation since they may disappear permanently. The phrase “zero-profit meat” vividly describes the rise of China’s pork prices in 2007; it also reflects that the governmental efforts to curb the price might not be in line with free market principles. The value of the survey lies in the fact that to record new words and phrases is to record history specific to a period.

Appendix New words and phrases of the media in 2011 (Top 10). The corpus originates from the print media, audio media, and online media (news) categories of the National Language Resources Monitoring Corpus, with a total of 1,916,316 texts and 1,445,202,304 words. Number

New words and phrases

1

清网 In 2011, police in China carried out a 7-month project, using the ‘online manhunt’ Internet to track down criminals of all types. The project covered the whole nation and the entire police force was involved

2

伤不起 ‘cannot bear to be hurt’

A popular Internet lingo that means one is too delicate to be hurt emotionally.

3

政务微博 ‘governmental microblogs’

Official Microblogs established by governmental departments to interact with netizens and seek public opinions

4

免费午餐 ‘free lunch’

A charitable initiative launched on 2 April 2011 by more than 500 journalists, including Deng Fei (邓飞), and dozens of media outlets, in collaboration with China Social Welfare Education Foundation. The initiative encouraged people to donate 3 yuan every day to offer free lunch to students in poor regions.

5

云电视 ‘Cloud TV’

A smart television that uses cloud computing and cloud storage. Cloud TV is the combination of cable television, communication tools, and the Internet. The users can get access to the desired resources or information once they connect the TV to the Internet.

6

微电影 ‘micro-film’

A full-story short film that is planned and produced professionally, with a usual duration of less than 300 seconds. Micro-film is different from films shot by grass-root teams; it has higher standards for creativity and production, with the former being the focus.

Definition or explanation

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 297

(continued) Number

New words and phrases

Definition or explanation

7

北京精神 ‘Beijing spirit’

On 2 November 2011, Beijing announced that “patriotic, innovative, inclusive, and virtuous” are the spirits of the city.

8

微访谈 ‘micro-interview’

An interview that relies on netizens to raise questions, which will be answered by the interviewee through Microblogging.

9

虎妈 ‘tiger mother’

The term originally refers to Cai Meier (蔡美儿), a professor of Chinese descent at Yale University. Cai caused a sensation in the United States for her book Battle hymn of the tiger mother, which introduces her strict parenting. The term now also refers to mothers who curse, threat, bribe, or use other coercive means to educate their children.

10

限娱令 ‘entertainment cutback’

The term is the common name for “Suggestions on the further strengthening of the integrated management of TV channels” promulgated by the State Administration of Radio Film and Television on October 25 2011. The suggestions contain regulations that control the number of broadcast entertainment programmes.

New words and phrases of the media in 2012 (Top 10). The corpus originates from the print media, audio media, and online media (news) categories of the National Language Resources Monitoring Corpus, with a total of 1.2 million texts and 1 billion words. Number

New words and phrases

Definition or explanation

1

正能量 ‘positive energy’

The forces that encourage and give hope to people.

2

美丽中国 ‘beautiful China’

The goal put forward by the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The National Congress wished to turn China into a country with ecological civilization, creating harmony between man and nature and among people.

3

毒胶囊 ‘toxic capsule’

The term refers to the capsules made from industrial gelatine that comes from leather waste. Chrome tanning agents are used when processing leather, therefore, toxic capsules often contain excessive chromium, which is harmful to human body.

4

吃货 ‘foodie’

In China, the term was originally used derogatorily, referring to people who only consume without working. The term is now neutral, referring to those who love to eat and know how to eat well.

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(continued) Number

New words and phrases

Definition or explanation

5

骑马舞 ‘horse-riding dance’

The term refers to Korean singer Park Yong-seok’s dance in his “Gangnam Style” music video. The dance moves simulate the movements of riding on a horse; it is also known as “the horse dance”.

6

表哥 ‘brother watch’

The nickname given to Yang Dacai (杨达才), the head of State Administration of Work Safety of Shaanxi Province, due to his possession of multiple luxury watches. The term now refers to officials who illegally own many high-end watches; they are also known as “uncle watch”.

7

房叔 ‘landlord uncle’

Male officials who use their power to illegally own multiple properties.

8

最美司机 The accolade for Wu Bin (吴斌), a bus driver in Hangzhou (杭州). ‘the most beautiful While driving, Wu was hit by an iron block, which caused a rupture driver’ in her liver. Though severely injured, Wu securely stopped the car, saving the lives of 24 passengers on board. Wu died eventually. The term now refers to drivers who have done good deeds.

9

失独家庭 ‘loss-of-singlechild family’

Families that have lost their only child.

10

中国式过马路 ‘Chinese-style road-crossing’

Chinese people rush through red lights collectively. The term depicts Chinese pedestrians who ignore traffic lights and cross the streets whenever there are enough people doing the same thing.

Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Appendix

Mao Liqun (毛力群) and Mao Xiaojing (毛筱静)

Memorabilia of language work in 2011 Introduction The memorabilia only record the major events regarding language situations in China in 2011 and do not include research on language ontology. The materials in the memorabilia are mainly extracted from Language Information, Language Weekly, Applied Linguistics, Studies of the Chinese Language, Chinese Science and Technology Terms Journal, Minority Languages of China, Chinese Language Learning, Chinese Linguistics, Language Teaching and Studies, Chinese Teaching in the World, Contemporary Linguistics, Research in Ancient Chinese Language, Linguistic Sciences, Lexicographical Studies, Journal of Chinese Information Processing, the Chinese Language website, and the official website of Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters.

January On January 17, the national finals of the “Chinese Reading: Chinese Classics Reading Contest” jointly organised by the Ministry of Education, State Language Commission (SLC), and Central Commission for Guiding Cultural and Ethical Progress (Cultural and Ethical Progress Commission) was held in Beijing (北京). On January 18, the Commercial Press held the “2011 Young and Middle-aged Linguistics Scholars Salon” with the theme “Virtual Language Environment”. On January 20, the National People’s Congress Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee, Ministry of Education, SLC, and Legislative Affairs Office jointly held a symposium to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the National Law of Standard Spoken and Written Language (the Law). The purpose of the symposium was to summarise the achievements and experiences gained from the implementation of the Law in the past 10 years. The symposium also blueprinted the construction of legal systems for the languages in China and promoted the medium- and long-term scientific development of language work. Liu Yandong (刘延东), Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) cum State Councilor, and Lu Yongxiang (路甬祥), Vice Chairman of the 11th Standing Committee of the

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-029

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 Mao Liqun (毛力群) and Mao Xiaojing (毛筱静)

National People’s Congress, attended the meeting and delivered important speeches. On January 20–21, SLC held the 2011 National Conference on Language Work in Beijing. Li Weihong (李卫红), Deputy Minister of Education and Director of SLC, attended the conference and emphasised that, in 2011, efforts should be made to promulgate and implement the Outline of the Development Plan of Spoken and Written Languages.

February On February 2–5, Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters sent out its delegation for the seventh time since 2005. The delegate showcased nearly 1,000 Chinese language textbooks of more than 100 kinds, along with various products with multiple languages at the 29th Language Expo held in Paris. On 14 February, SLC held the 2011 Plenary Meeting. Li Weihong, Deputy Minister of Education and Director of SLC, and 18 members of the ministries and commissions of SLC attended the meeting. On 14 February, the Department of Language Information Administration of the Ministry of Education (Department of Language Information) organised an expert seminar on the international standards of Chinese Romanisation in Beijing. On 18 February, the 11th meeting of the SLC Advisory Committee was held in Beijing. Xu Jialu (许嘉璐), Director of the SLC Advisory Committee, Li Weihong, Deputy Minister of Education and Director of SLC, and other members of the Advisory Committee attended the meeting. On 22 February, the State Language Commission for Terms in Sciences and Technologies (State Committee for Terms) held its 2011 Standing Committee Meeting. Lu Yongxiang, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and Director of the State Committee for Terms attended the meeting.

March On March 1, the first Confucius Classroom in Wales was established in Llandovery College. Charles, Prince of Wales, and Liu Xiaoming (刘晓明), the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom, unveiled the nameplate of the Confucius Classroom and participated in the celebration.

Memorabilia of language work in 2011 

 303

On March 3–4, SLC held a seminar on language standardisation in Beijing. Li Weihong, Deputy Minister of Education and Director of SLC, attended the seminar and delivered a speech. On March 5–6, the Mathematical Terms Committee held the first review of Mathematical Terms (Second Edition) in Beijing. On 10 March, the Department of Language Information mobilised relevant departments and experts to conduct research on the formulation of the national standards for foreign language translation in public services in Xi’an (西安) in Shaanxi province (陕西). On 22 March, Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters and the Moutai Group signed the Strategic Cooperation in Cultural Promotion Agreement in Beijing. The two parties will jointly establish a special fund for the Confucius Institutes, rewarding outstanding Chinese language learners and sponsoring Chinese language promotion activities around the world. On 24 March, the establishment of the audio database for Chinese language resources in Shanghai (上海) commenced.

April On April 7, a summary meeting for the construction of audio databases for Chinese language resources was held in Nanjing (南京). In addition, the “Chinese Language Resources Audio Databases (Jiangsu [江苏] database) Display Website” was launched. On April 8, the State Committee for Terms held a press conference in Beijing for the promotion of science and technology terms. On April 8–9, the National Security Policy Committee of Chinese Policy Science Research Association and SLC jointly organised the “Yangzhou Forum: Language and National Security and Development” in Yangzhou (扬州), Jiangsu. On April 9, the Confucius Institute at Griffith University, the world’s first Confucius Institute for Tourism, was established in Brisbane, Australia. Jia Qinglin (贾庆林), Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. On April 11, SLC published the Notice of Issuing the Twelfth Five-Year Scientific Research Plan of the State Language Commission, Twelfth Five-Year Plan Scientific Research Projects of 2011, and Management of the State Language Commission Scientific Research Projects (2011 edition) (issued by SLC [2011] No. 7), formally launching its twelfth five-year research and development projects.

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 Mao Liqun (毛力群) and Mao Xiaojing (毛筱静)

On April 11–16, Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters was invited to attend the Fourth National Chinese Language Conference in San Francisco, the United States. State Councilor Liu Yandong attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. On April 15, 19, and 26, in Beijing, the Botanical Terms Committee of the State Committee for Terms successively held the first review of terms concerning moss, plant cells, plant genetics, and fungi.

May On May 12, the Ministry of Education and SLC released Language Situation in China: 2010. The report is the sixth attempt made by the Ministry and SLC to make the language situation public. On May 13, the 12th International Mother Tongue Day was held by the China Education International Exchange Association, National Commission of the People’s Republic of China for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), UNESCO Office in China, and SLC in Kunming (昆明). The theme of the event was “Diverse Cultures, Harmonious China”. On May 26, the Seminar on the Standard Pronunciation of Putonghua in the New Century sponsored by the Department of Language Information was held in Beijing. On May 27, the establishment of the audio database for Chinese language resources in Beijing commenced.

June On June 8, the Commemoration Forum on the 15th Anniversary of the National Putonghua Proficiency Test in Hong Kong was held at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

July On July 4, the 15th Member Meeting of the Panel for Mongolian Language Affairs was held in Xining (西宁). The meeting put forward the 2011–2015 Programme for the Mongolian Language Development in the Eight Provinces.

Memorabilia of language work in 2011 

 305

On July 4, the Notice of the 2011 Standard Chinese Characters Writing Contest for Global and Domestic Students was issued, indicating the commencement of the two major Chinese reading competitions in 2011. On July 5, the opening forum of the 11th edition of Xinhua Dictionary was held in the Great Hall of the People. On July 29, the General Rules for Numerical Writing in Public Texts was approved by the National Standardization Management Committee of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China.

August On August 2–10, the “National Training Program (2011) – Training for the National-level Teachers of Chinese Classics Reading in Primary and Secondary Schools” was held at Xuzhou (徐州) Normal University. It was organised by the Department of Normal Education of Ministry of Education and led by Department of Language Application Management. On August 29, the establishment ceremony and symposium on the Expert Committee on the Guidelines for the Use of English in Public Service Areas were held in Beijing. The “Website Governing the Use of English in Public Service Areas” was launched at the same time.

September On September 6, the press conference for the 14th National Publicity Week for Putonghua (普通话) Promotion was held at the Ministry of Education. On September 11, the opening ceremony of the 14th National Publicity Week for Putonghua Promotion was held in Ejin Holo Banner in the Ordos city of Inner Mongolia. On 17 September, the closing ceremony was held in Lhasa. On September 16, Lhasa held a summary meeting of the evaluation of national language and writing.

October On October 28, the founding ceremony of the Putonghua Standard Pronunciation Committee was held in Beijing.

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 Mao Liqun (毛力群) and Mao Xiaojing (毛筱静)

On October 31, The Chinese Phonetic Alphabet Spelling Rules for Chinese Names was approved and issued by the National Standardization Management Committee of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China.

November On November 8, SLC and the China Disabled Persons’ Federation held the opening ceremony of the major scientific research project in 2011 at the China Braille Library in Beijing. The research projects included “Development of National Standard Braille and Sign Language” and “Revision of the National Standard Braille”. On November 9, the closing ceremony for the 50th Training Course of the National-Level Examiners of Putonghua Proficiency Test was held in Beijing. On November 10–11, SLC held the Symposium on the Twelfth Five-Year Scientific Research Projects of the State Language Commission at Shanghai International Studies University. Li Weihong, Deputy Minister of Education and Director of SLC, attended the symposium and delivered a speech. On November 15, the launch meeting of the “Survey on Cross-Border Language Situation in China”, one of the major projects of the SLC’s twelfth five-year scientific research projects, was held at the Central University for Nationalities. On November 23, the meeting for the deployment of the pilot tests of Hanyu Nengli Ceshi (汉语能力测试, Chinese Language Proficiency Test) was held in Beijing. Li Weihong, Deputy Minister of Education and Director of SLC, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. On November 23–24, the seminar on the experience of the “Chinese Reading: Chinese Classics Reading Contest” was held in Beijing. Li Weihong, Deputy Minister of Education and Director of SLC, attended the seminar and delivered a speech. On November 25, the launch meeting of the “Research on the Relations between Chinese Classics Reading Education, Language Proficiency, Language Education, and the Promotion of Outstanding Chinese Culture”, one of the major projects of the SLC’s twelfth five-year scientific research projects, was held in Guangzhou (广州) University. On November 28, the Department of Language Application Management of the Ministry of Education issued the “Notice on the Pilot Tests for Hanyu Nengli Ceshi (汉语能力测试, Chinese Proficiency Test)” to remind the pilot provinces to make good preparation.

Memorabilia of language work in 2011 

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On November 29, UNESCO agreed that the International Society for Chinese Language Teaching can conduct activities in the name of “NGO in operational relations with UNESCO” (a non-governmental organisation that establishes a business relationship with UNESCO). On November 29, based on the English name formally established by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) for element 112 in February 2010, after collecting the opinions from relevant experts, the State Committee for Terms proposed the Chinese name of the element (draft).

December On December 1, the Ministry of Education and SLC issued the Notice on the Recognition of the Third Batch of the National-Level Model Schools for Language Standardization. The 506 schools of Fangcaodi International School in the Chaoyang District (朝阳区) of Beijing passed the review and won the title of National-Level Model School. On December 7–8, in Shanghai, the Department of Language Information of the Ministry of Education organised a working conference on the Guidelines for the Use of English in Public Service Areas (General Rules). On December 9–11, the Annual Conference of Overseas Confucius Institutes/ Classrooms was held at Beijing Foreign Studies University. The theme of the Conference was “The Next Decade of the Confucius Institutes”. On December 12, the Fourth Plenary Session of the Eighth Standing Committee of the International Society for Chinese Language Teaching and the Fourth Plenary Session of the Eighth Council were held in Beijing. Xu Jialu, President of the International Society for Chinese Language Teaching, attended the session and delivered a speech. On December 12–14, the Sixth Confucius Institutes Conference was held in Beijing. Li Changchun (李长春), Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of CPC, attended the opening ceremony and presented awards to the winners of the Advanced Individual and Outstanding Contribution Award of the Confucius Institutes around the world. Liu Yandong, Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of CPC, State Councilor, and Chairman of Council of Confucius Institute Headquarters, also attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. Yuan Guiren (袁贵仁), Minister of Education and Vice Chairman of Council of Confucius Institute Headquarters, made a summary report. The theme of the Conference was “Sustainable Development of the Confucius Institutes”. A total of 1,400 university presidents and Confucius

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 Mao Liqun (毛力群) and Mao Xiaojing (毛筱静)

Institute representatives from 96 countries and regions attended the Conference. On December 20, the construction of the audio database for Chinese language resources in Liaoning officially commenced. On December 22, the appraisal meeting for the “Research on the Modern Tibetan Grammar Dictionary Databases”, a project concerning language standardisation and informatisation and launched by the Ministry of Education and SLC, was held in Beijing. The project passed the expert review. On December 24, Vice President Xi jinping (习近平) visited the Confucius Institute in Chulalongkorn University in Thailand and witnessed the teaching results yielded by the Confucius Institutes in Thailand. Xi learned about the Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms in Thailand in terms of their education, teaching, teacher training, activities, and exchanges. On December 24, the pilot tests of Hanyu Nengli Ceshi were conducted in Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Yunnan, and Nankai University. On December 30, the General Rules for Punctuation was approved and issued by the National Standardization Management Committee of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China. Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Bai Juan (白 娟) and Li Qiao (李 俏)

Memorabilia of language work in 2012 Introduction The memorabilia only record the major events regarding languages in China in 2012. The materials in the memorabilia are mainly extracted from Journal of Chinese Information Processing, Chinese Science and Technology Terms Journal, Studies of the Chinese Language, Chinese Teaching in the World, Research in Ancient Chinese Language, Chinese Language Learning, Minority Languages in China, Contemporary Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Linguistic Sciences, Language Teaching and Studies, and Lexicographical Studies.

January On January 7–8, supervised by the State Language Commission (SLC), the Institute of Applied Linguistics of the Ministry of Education, The China Center for Linguistic and Strategic Research of Nanjing (南京) University, and Guangzhou (广州) University co-organised the Language Services Research Forum.

February On February 1, the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet Spelling Rules for Chinese Names were formally implemented. On February 1–4, Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters participated in the 30th Language Expo held in Paris. On February 16–17, the Ministry of Education and SLC held the 2012 National Conference on Language Work in Beijing (北京). On February 18, an expert seminar on the demonstration of the “Retrieval Database for Chinese Fonts” hosted by the China Art, Science and Technology Institute was held in Beijing. On February 24, the Symposium on Language Issues and Countermeasures in Radio and TV Programmes hosted by the Radio and Television Language Research Center of the Applied Linguistics of the Ministry of Education was held in Beijing. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-030

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 Bai Juan (白 娟) and Li Qiao (李 俏)

March On March 2, the 2012 SLC Plenary Meeting was held in Beijing.

April On April 1, the 2012 National Composition Contest for Primary and Secondary School students officially commenced. On April 17, Liu Yandong (刘延东), Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China (CPC), unveiled the nameplate of the Confucius Institute at the University of Ulster, the United Kingdom. On April 18, Li Changchun, Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of CPC, attended the 5th Anniversary of the London Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine in the United Kingdom. On April 19, Li Changchun, Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of CPC, unveiled the nameplate of the Confucius Institute at Carleton University in Canada. On April 19, Liu Yandong (刘延东), Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of CPC and State Councilor, unveiled the nameplate of the Confucius Institute at the University of West Flanders in Belgium.

May On May 11, the Chinese Assessment Center for Overseas Chinese was launched at the Tianjin (天津) Language Training and Testing Center. On May 18–19, the launch ceremony and consultation meeting of the Xinjiang Ethnic Minority Bilingual Education Research Center were held in Urumqi. On May 19, Wu Bangguo (吴邦国), Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of CPC cum Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, unveiled the nameplate of the Confucius Institute at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. On May 24, the commencement ceremony of the establishment of Guangxi (广西) audio database for Chinese language resources was held in Nanning (南宁). On May 28, the 12th meeting of the Advisory Committee of SLC was held in Beijing. On May 29, the Ministry of Education and SLC released Language Situation in China: 2011.

Memorabilia of language work in 2012 

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On May 30, the 8th Meeting of the Liaison Group of the People’s Congress of Miao (苗) Autonomous County passed the Resolution on Promoting the Use of the Miao Language. On May 31, the first Chinese Character Festival began in Zhengzhou (郑州), Henan (河南) province. In May, the Department of Language Information Administration of the Ministry of Education (Department of Language Information) sent personnel to Berlin to attend the 39th Meeting of the 46 Technical Committee of the International Organisation of Standardisation (ISO/ TC46) and participated in the revision of “Documentation –Romanization of Chinese” (ISO 7098).

June On June 1, the General Rules for Punctuation (GB/T15834-2011) and General Rules for Writing Numerical in Public Texts (GB/T15835-2011) were formally implemented. On June 7, the launch ceremony of the Chinese Language Proficiency Test Research and Development Center was held at the Tianjin Language Training and Testing Center. On June 8, the symposium on the standardisation of words with erhua (儿化, r-retroflex) and toneless words in Putonghua was held in Beijing. On June 16, the signing and nameplate-unveiling ceremony of the Confucius Institute at the Royal Danish Academy of Music (the Chinese partner being the Central Conservatory of Music) established by the Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters and the Danish Royal Academy of Music was held in Denmark. The Institute is the first Confucius Institute in the world devoted to music. On June 20, with the approval of the State Council, the Inter-Ministerial Joint Meeting System for the Chinese Translation of Foreign Languages was officially established. The launch ceremony of the Expert Committee of the Inter-Ministerial Joint Meeting was held in Beijing. On June 29, the National Standardization Management Committee of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China approved and released the new edition of the Basic Rules of the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet Orthography, which was then formally implemented on 1 October. On June 30, the first Zhuang language (壮语) proficiency test was held in Nanning, Guangxi.

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 Bai Juan (白 娟) and Li Qiao (李 俏)

July On July 9, the nameplate-unveiling ceremony of the Language Application Training Base of the State Language Commission of the Communication University of China was held at the University’s School of Broadcasting and Anchoring. On July 15, the Symposium on the Publication of Modern Chinese Dictionary (6th edition) jointly organised by the Institute of Linguistics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Commercial Press was held in Beijing. On July 25, the 11th “Chinese Bridge: World University Students Chinese Competition Final” hosted by Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters and the government of Hunan (湖南) ended in Changsha (长沙). On July 29, the Seminar on the Construction of Scientific Research Bases of the State Language Commission was held in Beijing.

August On August 1, the 3rd High-Level Forum on Chinese Lexicography was held in Yantai (烟台), Shandong (山东). On August 3, the nameplate-unveiling ceremony of the Language Application Training Base of the State Language Commission of Northeast University at Qinhuangdao (秦皇岛) was held at the university’s campus. On August 4, the 4th China Terminology Construction & Standardization Seminar was held at Tianjin Foreign Studies University. On August 26, the closing ceremony of the 9th Chinese Bridge International Chinese Language Contest was held in Bangkok, Thailand. On August 31, the 5th Chinese Bridge: Chinese Competition Final for Foreign Students in China hosted by the China Central Television and Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters was held in Beijing. Liu Yandong, Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of CPC cum State Councilor, attended the event.

Memorabilia of language work in 2012 

 313

September On September 3, the International Symposium on Comparative Studies on Language Policy and Planning between China and France was held at Beijing Language and Culture University. Li Weihong (李卫红), Deputy Minister of Education and Director of SLC, and Sylvie Bermann, French Ambassador to China, attended and delivered speeches. On September 6, the publication and gifting ceremony of the Mainland version of the Cross-Strait Common Vocabulary Dictionary was held in Beijing. On September 15, the 15th National Publicity Week for Putonghua Promotion began. Yuan Guiren (袁贵仁), Minister of Education and Head of the Leading Group for National Publicity Week for Putonghua Promotion, and Cheng Hong (程红), Deputy Mayor of Beijing, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. On September 16, Shiyong Hanyu Nengli Ceshi (实用汉语能力测试, Practical Chinese Proficiency Test) officially opened, attracting more than 50 foreigners to participate in the first test.

October On October 1, the Basic Rules of the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet Orthography (GB/ T16159-2012) was formally implemented. On October 10, the Ministry of Education issued the Confucius Institutes Development Plan (2012–2020). On October 30, the General Administration of Press and Publication released the National Twelfth Five-Year Plan for Minority Language Publications. In October, China’s first authoritative reference book review and learning digital platform “Commercial Press • Quality Reference Book Database” was officially made available on the market.

November On November 25, the 5th Chinese Bridge: World Secondary-School Students Chinese Competition ended in Kunming (昆明), Yunnan (云南).

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 Bai Juan (白 娟) and Li Qiao (李 俏)

December On December 1, the first China Language Industry Forum was held in Beijing. On December 1, the 2012 China-EU Language Cooperation Symposium hosted and organised by the Ministry of Education of China, the European Union (EU) Committee, and Beijing Foreign Studies University was held in Beijing. On December 4, the Ministry of Education and SLC issued the Outline of the National Long-term Reform and Development Plan of Spoken and Written Languages (2012–2020). On December 6, the Translators Association of China and China Translation Industry Development Strategy Research Institute jointly issued the China Language Service Industry Development Report 2012. On December 11, the review of the Guidelines for the Use of English in Public Service Areas was conducted in Beijing. On December 12, the establishment ceremony of the China Language Standardization Research Center was held at Beijing Language and Culture University. Li Weihong, Deputy Minister of Education and Director of SLC, attended the ceremony and unveiled the nameplate with Li Yuming (李宇明), Secretary of the Party Committee of Beijing Language and Culture University and Head of the Research Center. On December 14, the signing ceremony for the renewal of parts of the SLC’s Joint Scientific Research Center was held in Beijing. On December 15–16, the academic symposium on China Language Situation: 2013 was held in Beijing. On December 16, Liu Yandong, Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of CPC and State Councilor, visited the Confucius Institute at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. On December 16–18, the 7th Global Confucius Institutes Conference was held in Beijing. Liu Yandong, Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of CPC cum State Councilor, attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. Hao Ping (郝平), Vice Minister of Education, made a concluding speech. On December 18–20, Li Weihong, Deputy Minister of Education and Director of SLC, gave instructions regarding the language assessment in Haikou (海口). The approval of the language work in Haikou marked the completion of the assessment of the language work in 36 cities in China. On December 20, “Chinese Language Inventory 2012” co-sponsored by the State Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center, the Commercial Press, and China Network Television officially began in Beijing. “梦” (meng, ‘dream’), “钓鱼岛” (Diaoyudao, ‘Diaoyu Islands’), “衡” (heng, ‘balance’), and “选举” (xuanju, ‘election’) were chosen as the top annual national word, annual national phrase, annual international word, and annual international phrase respectively. Meanwhile, the “2012 China’s Top 10 Popular Words and

Memorabilia of language work in 2012 

 315

Phrases in the Media”, “2012 China’s Top Ten New Words in the Media”, and “2012 China’s Top Ten Internet Slang Expressions in the Media” were released. On December 20, the review on the Jiangsu (江苏) audio database for Chinese language resources was held in Nanjing (南京). On December 24, the Leading Groups of the National Chinese Language and Characters Learning Platform and Chinese Character Database were established. In addition, the construction of the platform commenced. Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

The People’s Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Notice on further regulating the use of ethnic minority languages and Chinese (issued by The People’s Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region [2011] No. 57) Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, the People’s Governments of provinces, cities, and counties (cities), administrative offices, as well as the departments and direct institutions of the People’s Government of the autonomous regions: Our region is multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural. The thorough implementation of the language policies carried out by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the state, as well as the correct use of ethnic minority languages and Chinese are of great significance for promoting national unity and maintaining social stability. With the continuous development of the economy and society, the unregulated use of spoken and written languages in some areas and units, including the inappropriate and disproportionate use of ethnic minority languages and Chinese, inaccurate translations, and the non-standard arrangements of scripts, has caused negative social impacts. In order to strengthen the language work in our region and promote the standardised and accurate use of the spoken and written languages of various ethnic groups, the relevant provisions in the National law of standard spoken and written language and the Regulations for work concerning spoken and written languages in the autonomous regions should be reiterated as follows: 1.

The nation promotes Putonghua and the standardised Chinese characters. All ethnic groups have the freedom to use and develop their own spoken and written languages. The use of ethnic minority languages is based on the provisions of the Constitution, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on ethnic minorities in autonomous regions, and other laws. Putonghua and the standardised Chinese characters are the working language used by the state sectors unless stated otherwise by the law.

2.

The state agencies of the autonomous regions should use both Uygur and Chinese when fulfilling their duties; if necessary, the agencies are allowed to use the spoken and written languages of other ethnic groups. The state agencies of the autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties, apart from

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-031

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 The People’s Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

using Uygur and Chinese, are allowed to use the common languages spoken in the regions when performing their duties; the agencies can also use other ethnic minority languages commonly spoken in the regions where necessary. The state agencies that use several languages to perform their duties can prioritise the use of the ethnic minority languages spoken by the dominant ethnic groups in the regions. 3.

National and regional conferences held by institutions, organisations, and enterprises should use one or more languages according to the participants’ needs. In particular, the documents issued for the conference must be written in both Chinese and the local ethnic minority languages. The signs and logos of important conferences should be written in both Chinese and the local ethnic minority languages.

4. Unless stated otherwise by the national and regional governments, students and workers should simultaneously or separately use the local ethnic minority languages and Chinese. The same applies to activities pertaining to staff recruitment, technical assessment, job title evaluation, and promotion in institutions, organisations, and enterprises. 5.

The Chinese characters and ethnic minority scripts should be used as society’s language at the same time and in a standardised manner. When used, the Chinese and ethnic language scripts should be arranged proportionately, designed beautifully, and translated accurately. Society’s language refers to: (1) official seals used by institutions, organisations, and enterprises; (2) doorplates; (3) certificates; (4) envelopes and official documents bearing the names of the organisations; (5) official documents, letters, learning materials, and promotional materials (can be written in one or more languages commonly used in the local area when required) issued in the autonomous regions; (6) nameplates, public-interest advertisements, border signs, road signs, traffic signs, organization names printed on vehicles, safety slogans presented in public places and printed on public facilities; and (7) the names and specifications of products that are produced and sold in the region. Public places are places where business or service providers that target the general public operate. Public places include public buildings, areas, and facilities where people work, study, socialise, rest, travel or conduct activities in relation to the economy, culture, entertainment, sports, travel, medical and health care, and fulfil parts of their basic needs. Public places include public transportation, transportation waiting areas, transportation ticket offices, hospital waiting areas, clinics, hospital wards, movie theatres, ballrooms,

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broadcasting rooms, recreation halls, sports venues and stadiums, tourist attractions, schools, libraries, reading rooms, museums, exhibition halls, science and technology museums, art galleries, archives, youth palaces, squares, parks, shopping malls, supermarkets, motels, hotels, restaurants, business offices, and places for religious activities. 6. Regulations and standards for doorplates and seals 6.1 Font colours and standards: According to common practice, the doorplates for the committees and institutions at all levels of the CCP are printed in red. The doorplates for the people’s congresses at all levels, the government, the political consultative conference, the judiciary, and public institutions are printed in black. The ethnic minority languages are presented in the standard printed font (正文印刷体) and the Chinese characters are presented in the Song typeface (宋体). The words on the doorplates should be consistent with those of the seals. The size and material of a doorplate can be determined according to the actual conditions of the building. 6.2 Text arrangement: Texts arranged from top to bottom: texts written in the ethnic minority languages are placed above, the Chinese text is placed below, and the foreign language texts, if any, are placed under the Chinese text. For horizontally written texts, the Uyghur, Kazakh, Kirghiz texts are on the right, the Chinese text is on the left, and any texts in foreign language are on the left of the Chinese text. Texts written in Mongolian and the Xibe language are placed on the left, the Chinese text is placed on the right, and texts written in foreign languages are on the right side of the Chinese text. For round seals, texts written in the ethnic minority languages are placed on the left and the Chinese text is placed on the right. 6.3 Text translation and review: The translations of official seals, doorplates, certificates, envelopes, public letters of organisations and public institutions, as well as translations used in public places, shared facilities, and public services may rely on local language authorities to ensure its accuracy and compliance with the regulations. To create a sound language environment for the development and long-term stability in Xinjiang (新疆), all areas and departments must attach great importance to the standardisation of the use of the ethnic minority languages and Chinese, strengthen their leadership, organise the education and publicity of the standardisation, establish sound rules and regulations, conduct regular inspections on the use of spoken and written languages by the local departments (units), and rectify any inappropriate language usage timely.

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The People’s Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region 3 May 2011 Translated by Gina C.C. Tang The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

Contents (Chinese version 2013) Language Situation in China:2012 Part I Special Reports The Mid- to Long- Term Agenda of the Development of Chinese Language and Characters (2012–2020) Pushing Forward the Cause of Chinese Language and Characters in a Scientific Way through Implementation of the Agenda 2012–2020 A Milestone for the Development of Chinese Language and Characters – The Interpretation of the Agenda 2012–2020 Improving the Styles of Writing

Part II Language Work The Content Relevant to Chinese Language and Characters in the Official Documents of the CPC Central Committee, the State Council, and the Supreme Peoples’ Court The Language Work of the State Language Commission The Language Work on Ethnic Language Work of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission The Contents Relevant to Chinese Language and Characters in the Laws and Regulations Promulgated in 2012 The Contents Relevant to Chinese Language and Characters in the Official Documents of other Governmental Ministries, Departments and Committees The Language Work of the Local Authorities The Newly Promulgated Four National Standards (e.g., The Usage of Punctations) The Exchange and Collaboration on Language and Script between China and Europe

Part III Special Focuses Improvement of Legal Language through the Perspective of the New Version of the Criminal Procedure Law The Putonghua Proficiency of Rural Immigrants in Cities – Its Impact on Their Social Life and Identity https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-033

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 Contents (Chinese version 2013)

Intellectual Property Right Protection of the Digital Font Bank of Chinese Character The Decline and Protection of the Mother Tongues of Smaller Ethnic Minorities in Northern China The Issues Concerning the Use of the New and Old Languages of the Lisu Ethnic Group The Language Situation of the Pluricentric Languages among Ethnic Minority Groups The Survey of the Use of Braille Languages Ten Most Common Language Errors in 2012 The Publication of the 6th Edition of The Contemporary Chinese Dictionary The Global Spread of the Chinese Language Chinese Language Day in the United Nations

Part IV Data Analysis A Survey on the Usage of Chinese Language and Characters Used in the Media 2012 A Survey on the Usage of New Words and Expressions in the Media 2012 A Survey on the Usage of Popular Words and Phrases in the Media 2012 A Survey on Blog Language 2012 A Comparison of the Textual Resources in the Primary and Secondary Schools across the Straits A Survey on the Language of the Kazakh Textbooks in Secondary Schools

Part V Hot Topics Hot Debates on Alphabetic Words Hot Debates on the Protection of Dialects Popular Phrases and Expressions in 2012 A Succinct Scan of the Naming and Name Change The Debate on the Choice of Pinyin or English on Traffic Signs and Train Tickets

Part VI Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan The Latest Development of Language Use in Hong Kong Society A Survey of the Situation of the Putonghua Promotion in Macau The Current Language Situation in Taiwan (2012) New Expressions in Taiwan Campuses (2012)

Contents (Chinese version 2013) 

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Part VII International Experience A Review of the Language Events in the World (2012) The Promotion and International Spread of the National Language of Russia The Ukraine’s Basic Law of Language Policy and the Implications of its Implementation New Organizations, Concepts, and Measures of the Spread of the French Language in France A Glimpse of Language Policies in Brazil

Appendices Confucius Institute Development Plan (2012–2020) (General Office of the State Council [2012] No. 52) A Chronology of Language Events 2012

List of Tables and Figures Index of Terms Content of CD Glossary of the Words Used in the Media 2012 Glossary of High Frequency Words and Phrases Used in the Media 2012 Glossary of Proverbs and Idioms Used in the Media 2012 Glossary of New Words and Phrases Used in the Media 2012 Glossary of Most Used 1 000 Words in Kazakh Textbooks in Lower Secondary Schools Glossary of Most Used 1 000 Stem Words in Kazakh Textbooks in Lower Secondary Schools Glossary of Most Used 1 000 Words in Kazakh Textbooks in Upper Secondary Schools Glossary of Most Used 1 000 Stem Words in Kazakh Textbooks in Upper Secondary Schools Terminology of the Language Resource Monitor

Postscript

Contents (Chinese version 2012) Language Situation in China:2011 The 10th Anniversary of Issuing Law of the National Common Language of the People’s Republic of China

Part I Language Work The Content of Language Work in the Documents Issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Council, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate The Language Work of the State Language Commission The Ethnic Language Work of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission The Content of Language Work in the Documents of the Related Ministries and Commissions under the State Council The Local Language Work The 12th “Five-year Plan” of Scientific Research of the State Language Commission

Part II Special Research The Situation of the Global Spread of the Chinese Language The Status of National Foreign Language Ability The Concept of Language Services and the Status of Language Services Industry A Survey of Economic Value in the Language Services Industry The Situation of the Language Training Industry in Beijing The Situation of the Community-oriented Language Test The Survey of Chinese Skills for the Foreign Staffs of Multinational Company in Jiangsu Province The Language Use of the Foreign Residents in Xiaobeilu in Guangzhou The Investigation of Vocabulary Used in Camp The 60th Anniversary of Grammatical and Rhetoric Speech The Publication of Xinhua Zidian (Xinhua Dictionary) of the 11th Edition

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-032

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 Contents (Chinese version 2012)

Part III Language Focuses The Hot Issues of Language Focused on the Network Hot Characters, Hot Words, and Hot Styles The Craze of the Place Names being Renamed The Micro-blog and Its Language The Micro-blog Style and the Network Style

Part IV Data Analysis A Survey of the Chinese Language and Characters Used in the Media 2011 A Survey of the New Words Used in the Media 2011 A Survey of Popular Words and Phrases in the Media 2011 A Survey of Blog Language 2011 A Survey on the Words Used in Tibetan Newspapers and Networks (news) 2010 A Survey on the Words and Characters Used in Mathematics, Physic, and Chemical Textbooks of the Fundamental Education A Survey on the Words Used in the Language Textbooks of Uygur Senior High Schools A Survey on the Words Used in the Language Textbooks of Kazakh Primary Schools Attached Survey on the Words and Phrases Used in the Chinese Textbooks Chinese Language of Malaysia Chinese Primary Schools

Part V Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan The Change of “Two Written Languages and Three Spoken Languages” in the Field of Education in Hong Kong The Current Language Situation in Taiwan The Data Analysis of Language Use in the Eighth Census of Taiwan

Part VI References A Chronology of the Language Life in Global 2011 The Language Situation in Africa

Contents (Chinese version 2012) 

 327

Overview on the Report of French Use 2010 Profile of the National Language Test in Japan The Language Policy in Iran Overview on Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger of Disappearing (2009)

Appendices The Opinion on the Developing Calligraphy Education in Middle and Primary Schools by the Ministry of Education The Notice on Further Standardizing Ethnic-Chinese Languages The List of the Language Situation Series A Chronology of Language Events 2011

Index of Figures and Tables Index of Terms Content of CD Glossary of Chinese Characters Used in the Media 2011 Glossary of High Frequent Words Used in the Media 2011 Glossary of Idioms Used in the Media 2011 Glossary of New Words Used in the Media 2011 Glossary of High Frequent Words Used in the Tibetan Newspapers and Network (news) 2010 Glossary of High Frequent Words Used in the Tibetan Newspapers 2010 Glossary of High Frequent Words Used in the Tibetan Network (news) 2010 Glossary of Top 3000 Exclusive Stem Words Used in the Language Textbooks of Uygur Senior High Schools Glossary of High Frequent Words Used in the Language Textbooks of Kazakh Primary Schools Glossary of High Frequent Stem Words Used in the Language Textbooks of Kazakh Primary Schools Terminology on Language Resource Monitoring (2012Edition)

Postscript

Editorial Teams of the English Edition Editor

Li Yuming (李宇明) Beijing Language and Culture University [email protected]

English Editor

Li Wei (李嵬) University College 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

David C.S. Li (李楚成) The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected] Chan Shui Duen (陈瑞端) The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [email protected]

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-034

Index Africans 166, 167–172 appellations 175–180, 185 Audio Databases of Chinese Language Resources 38–39 audio media language 283, 287

General Rules for Punctuation 37–38 geographical names 221, 228–229, 233, 234–236 Guangzhou 165–172 Guóyǔ 273–274, 276–282

bilingual education 43, 46–47 bilingual society 282 bi-literacy 239, 246 blind 153–163 Braille 153–163

Hakka dialect 273–274, 276–282 Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) 66, 70–71 hearing-impaired 153, 154 Hong Kong 239–248

Cantonese 249–253, 257–258, 260 Chinese culture 84, 85, 87 Chinese education 68, 69–70, 71–78 Chinese Language Day 83–87 Chinese Language Proficiency Test 29 Chinese Proficiency Test 109, 110, 111 Chinese teaching 23, 24, 25, 26 Confucius Classroom(s) 21, 23, 24, 65, 68, 70 Confucius Institute(s) 21–34, 65, 66, 68, 69–70, 71 daily language 185 deaf 153, 154–155 decay of functions 134 dialect 51, 52, 53, 54 dictionary 45–46, 47, 48, 201, 202, 204–205 digital Chinese fonts 117–126 economic value 101–108 endangered language databases 47 endangered languages vi, vii English 169–170, 171, 249–253, 257–258, 260 ethnic languages v–ix ethnic minority 43–48 ethnic minority languages 137–152 exhibitions 84, 86, 87 expression 293–295, 319 Foreign language capacity 89, 90, 95, 98, 99 foreign language resources 89–99 foreign language(s) 59, 58, 60, 172 frequency 296–301 https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511592-035

indigenous languages 273–282 information 17, 18, 19–20, 57, 58, 59, 60 intellectual property rights 117–126 international Chinese language education 65–78 IP infringement 123 language abilities 103, 104, 108 language awareness 57–61 language behaviours 61 language equality v language map 95 language planning 57–58, 59, 61 language policy 17–20 language protection and maintenance 127, 134–135 language resources 7, 10, 15, 18, 19–20 language service 101, 104–107, 108 language situation 49, 50, 51, 52, 56 language strategy 18 language survey 281 language talents 90–91, 93, 95, 97–98, 99 language tests 109–116 large languages 137, 141–145 Law of Standard Spoken and Written Language 49–56 lecture on Chinese culture 84, 85, 87 legal language 241–242 lettered expressions 201–210 linguistic purism 209 literacy 269–271 loyalty and attitude towards language 134–135

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 Index

Macau 249–261 media language 242–244 microblogging styles 213, 214–215, 217–219 military camps 175–180, 182, 184, 185 military terms 180–184 Minnan dialect 265–266, 270, 273–274, 278–280, 281 mother tongues 127–135 multilingual capabilities 251, 260 national common language 4–6, 9, 14, 16, 50, 51, 52–53, 55, 56 national language situation 11 National Law of Standard Spoken and Written Language 4 new words and phrase 293–306 normalisation 17, 18, 20 online language 214, 219 place names 221, 229, 233, 234, 235 popular words and phrases 283–291 Portuguese 249–253, 257–258, 260 preservation vii print media language 283, 287 Proficiency Test on Chinese Character Usage 109 protection v–ix, 234–235 protection of dialects 189–198 Putonghua 239–241, 243–248, 249–261 Putonghua Proficiency Test 30, 109 Putonghua promotion 31–32 regional culture 197 renaming 221–236 Report on the Language Situation in China 39 roadmap 97

service industry 101–108 sign languages 153–155 simplified Chinese characters 263, 264 small languages 137, 145, 148–152 standard 49–56 standardisation 17, 18 standardisation of Putonghua pronunciation 36–37 standardised Chinese Writing 30–31 standardised test 111 standard Romanization of Chinese Language 37 stops announcement 189, 190 Taiwan 263–271, 273–282 Taiwan Academies 266 Taiwanese 263, 264, 265–269 Taobao style 215–219 teaching dialects 189, 192–194 3-character idiomatic phrases 295 traditional Chinese characters 263–265, 267 training 102–104, 107, 108 translation 206, 207–208 translation of minority languages 44–46 tri-lingualism 239, 246 Twelfth Five-Year Scientific Research Projects 38 typesetting system 117–118 uncommon languages 90, 92, 93, 99 United Nations 83–87 usage frequency 283–291 usual language 239–240 visually-impaired 153, 154 volunteer 25, 26 Xiaobei Road 165–172