China, with the world's largest population, numerous ethnic groups and vast geographical space, is also rich in languages. Since 2006, China's State Language Commission has been publishing annual reports on what is called "language life" in China. These reports cover language policy and planning invitatives at the national, provincial and local levels, new trends in language use in a variety of social domains, and major events concerning languages in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Now for the first time, these reports are available in English for anyone interested in Chinese languge and linguistics, China's languge, education and social policies, as well as everyday language use among the ordinary people in China. The invaluable data contained in these reports provide an essential reference to researchers, professionals, policy makers, and China watchers.
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Yes, you can access 2012–2013 by Li Yuming, Li Wei, Li Yuming, Li Wei in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Languages & Linguistics & Linguistics. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 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 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 k...
Table of contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Scientific protection of ethnic languages
Part I Language work
Part II Special research
Part III Language focuses
Appendix
Contents (Chinese version 2012):Language Situation in China:2011
Contents (Chinese version 2013):Language Situation in China:2012
