Minority Languages in Dehong, China: Policy and Reality

Xiao, Hong

doi:10.1080/01434639808666354

Cited by 15 publications

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“…In this sense it is the product of a specific situation and it can be considered as an additional source of information about the sociolinguistic context along with censuses, surveys or interviews. The majority language of a language community is more likely to be used more often in place names or commercial signs while the minority language or languages will not be as common (see for example Ramamoorthy, 2002;Xiao, 1998). On the other hand, the linguistic landscape contributes to the construction of the sociolinguistic context because people process the visual information that comes to them, and the language in which signs are written can certainly influence their perception of the status of the different languages and even affect their own linguistic behaviour.…”

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confidence: 99%

Linguistic Landscape and Minority Languages

Cenoz

Gorter

2006

International Journal of Multilingualism

409

170

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This paper focuses on the linguistic landscape of two streets in two multilingual cities in Friesland (Netherlands) and the Basque Country (Spain) where a minority language is spoken, Basque or Frisian. The paper analyses the use of the minority language (Basque or Frisian), the state language (Spanish or Dutch) and English as an international language on language signs. It compares the use of these languages as related to the differences in language policy regarding the minority language in these two settings and to the spread of English in Europe. The data include over 975 pictures of language signs that were analysed so as to determine the number of languages used, the languages on the signs and the characteristics of bilingual and multilingual signs. The findings indicate that the linguistic landscape is related to the official language policy regarding minority languages and that there are important differences between the two settings.Keywords: minority languages, linguistic landscape, English, Frisian, Basque Introduction: The Study of the Linguistic LandscapeMultilingualism is a common phenomenon, which can be studied from different perspectives including the use of languages in the sociolinguistic context. One of the possibilities is to analyse languages in context by focusing on the written information that is available on language signs in a specific area. This perspective is known as the study of the linguistic landscape, which has been defined as follows:The language of public road signs, advertising billboards, street names, place names, commercial shop signs, and public signs on government buildings combines to form the linguistic landscape of a given territory, region, or urban agglomeration. The linguistic landscape of a territory can serve two basic functions: an informational function and a symbolic function. (Landry & Bourhis, 1997: 25) This paper focuses on the relationship between linguistic landscape and the sociolinguistic context. This relationship is bidirectional. On the one hand, the linguistic landscape reflects the relative power and status of the different languages in a specific sociolinguistic context. In this sense it is the product of a specific situation and it can be considered as an additional source of information about the sociolinguistic context along with censuses, surveys or interviews. The majority language of a language community is more likely to 67 be used more often in place names or commercial signs while the minority language or languages will not be as common (see for example Ramamoorthy, 2002;Xiao, 1998). On the other hand, the linguistic landscape contributes to the construction of the sociolinguistic context because people process the visual information that comes to them, and the language in which signs are written can certainly influence their perception of the status of the different languages and even affect their own linguistic behaviour. The linguistic landscape or parts of the linguistic landscape can have an influence on language use. The study of ...

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confidence: 99%

Linguistic Landscape and Minority Languages

Cenoz

Gorter

2006

International Journal of Multilingualism

409

170

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“…Some minorities have had success in becoming literate in their own language and Putonghua whereas others have not ("Our language is still alive," 2002; Zhou, 2000). Even where there are bilingual schools, many parents have been reluctant to send their children to these schools since they believe that knowledge of Putonghua is more critical for their children's future (Hong, 1998).…”

Section: Those Left Behindmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Steps to Literacy in Chinese Classrooms

Ingulsrud¹,

Allen²

2003

CICE

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“…However, in China there is always a gap between a constitutionally guaranteed right and the right that people actually have, and this gap fully reflects the tilt toward accommodationism or assimilationism in language policy implementation (cf. Lin 1997, Xiao 1998.…”

Section: The Impact Of Minorities Policy On Language Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Language policy and reforms of writing systems for minority languages in China

Zhou

2001

WL&L

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This paper examines how China's language policy, dictated by its ethnic minorities policy, has influenced reforms of writing systems for minority languages since 1949. Measured by the landmark publication of the Plan for the Phonetic Spelling of Chinese in 1957, reforms of minority writing systems can be divided into three stages. The pre-Plan stage featured efforts to match written and oral languages, and Russian influence including introduction of the Cyrillic script. During the Plan-oriented stage, romanization ruled not only the creation of new writing systems for oral languages, but also the reform of existing non-roman systems. The relatively Plan-independent stage, ushered in by standardization of the Yi writing system in a Siniform script, has opened the door, though only narrowly, to "native" writing systems. Examined from an international perspective, China's language policy has undergone the same waxing and waning of assimilation and accommodation as those of industrialized and developing countries; but the Chinese experience demonstrates both the advantages and disadvantages of direct government involvement in minority language maintenance and development.

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Minority Languages in Dehong, China: Policy and Reality

Cited by 15 publications

References 0 publications

Linguistic Landscape and Minority Languages

Linguistic Landscape and Minority Languages

First Steps to Literacy in Chinese Classrooms

Language policy and reforms of writing systems for minority languages in China

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