Talking up China: An analysis of China’s rising cultural power and global promotion of the Chinese language

Ding, Sheng; Saunders, Robert A.

doi:10.1007/s12140-006-0021-2

Cited by 114 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Along with Lo Bianco's landmark study on Chinese language policy, which is cited by several researchers in this study, Gao and Smyth's (2011) study on the economic returns for internal migrants within China, as well as Li's (2006) study on Chinese as a lingua franca within greater China afford a solid foundation from which to compare other studies. All three studies and aspects of other research agree that Putonghua has been aggressively promoted by the government of China and has made considerable steps towards being accepted by non-Mandarin speakers throughout China, though to different degrees (Ding & Saunders, 2006;Kirkpatrick, 2011;Zhao & Huang, 2010). …”

Section: Mandarin Chinese As a Lingua Franca In Chinamentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Many other researchers have argued parallel concerns with the direct influence the PRC has with respect to Mandarin language education. One specifically notes the case of Vietnam, which has been wary of the initiatives, citing concerns related to linguistic imperialism due to its recent history with respect to Russian and English (Ding & Saunders, 2006). More recently, Zhang and Adamson (2015) argued that the Confucius institutes have become viewed with a certain amount of consternation in the United States as a result of the PRC government's involvement in their operation.…”

Section: Journal Of Educational Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This means that about one third of the institutes are located in just two countries, which does not allow for a uniform distribution of instruction. For example, Mandarin Chinese instruction in Germany is not widespread and one study found that more than half the people in Germany surveyed had a negative perception of China (Ding & Saunders, 2006;Hartig, 2012). It would be useful to know exactly where Mandarin is growing significantly and where its growth is limited.…”

Section: Suggestions For Further Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Graddol's study was commissioned as a result of the increasing global importance of China, both economically and culturally. Several researchers have argued, to varying degrees, that Mandarin Chinese is growing in influence and is becoming an important international language (Lo Bianco, 2007;Chmelynski, 2006;Ding & Saunders, 2006;Zhang & Li, 2010;Zhao & Huang, 2010;Dretzke & Jordan, 2010;Gil, 2011;Kirkpatrick, 2011;Lu, 2008;Zhang, 2011;Hartig, 2012;Hua & Wei, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the degree to which Mandarin will become a lingua franca is disputed. Many argue that Mandarin will become a lingua franca amongst ethnic Chinese people outside of China or specifically within China (Lo Bianco, 2007); others argue that it could become a lingua franca for all of East Asia (Ding & Saunders, 2006), some argue that Mandarin could replace or at least compete equally with English (Lu, 2008;Smith, 2005;Zhang, 2011;Zhao & Huang, 2010). This paper analyses relevant studies written or translated into English with respect to Mandarin Chinese as a lingua franca within the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the East Asian cultural region, as well as its global use to determine its feasibility as a lingua franca.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On the Possibility of Mandarin Chinese as a Lingua Franca

Plumb

2016

JEI

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Recently there has been an increase in the number of students learning Mandarin Chinese (in mainland China and internationally). This increase has led to speculation that Mandarin Chinese is becoming a mainstream global language to the point of becoming a lingua franca. This paper utilizes research findings from different regions and focal points and argues that Mandarin Chinese could be accepted as a lingua franca within some contexts, but is unlikely to do so in others. It argues that Mandarin Chinese is generally accepted as the lingua franca of China and a possible lingua franca within the East Asian region, while unlikely to become a lingua franca globally. The paper compares a number of different reasons for studying Mandarin Chinese by different stakeholders (i.e. governments, school boards, individual students) as well as comparative numbers of language learners. This paper also examines if Mandarin is the dominant and undisputed form of global Chinese. It concludes by demonstrating that there is a greater need for further research into Mandarin Chinese as a lingua franca.

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