Family language policy and planning in China: the changing langscape

ABSTRACT

In this editorial introduction, we present what motivated us to organise this collection of studies on family language policy and planning (FLPP) in the Chinese contexts. In order to better understand why ethnic minority languages and fangyans (also known as dialects or regionalects) are challenged by the official Chinese language, Putonghua, the introduction situates this group of studies in the disciplinary context, and proposes the family as a critical site where macro and meso language policies penetrate the private domain and influence the process of family language decisions. By looking at the interactions between families, schools, communities and workplaces, we can also trace the sociolinguistic and political environments in which language shift takes place. In the discussion of these contextual factors in China, we argue for the need to explore family and language changes in Chinese contexts. The introduction concludes with an overview of the studies included in this special issue, highlighting the key claims put forward by the contributors.

KEYWORDS:

• Family language policy and planning
• China
• Putonghua
• Fangyan
• ethnic languages

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Professor Tony Liddicoat for his unswerving support during the process. We also thank colleagues who participated in the process as manuscript reviewers. The co-editor (Gao) would like to thank the School of Foreign Languages, Tongji University (China) for its financial support to his work (RG182848, Internationalization of language studies).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC); Tongji University [grant number RG182848 (UNSW)].

Notes on contributors

Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen

Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen is Professor in Language and Education at the Department of Education, University of Bath, UK. She has published widely in the field of applied linguistics. Her recent books include: Learning Chinese in Diasporic Communities (by John Benjamins); and Language, Ideology and Education: The Politics of Textbooks in Language Education (by Routledge). Her other publications have appeared in Language Policy, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, Language, Culture and Curriculum, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Language and Education, etc.

Xuesong(Andy) Gao

Xuesong(Andy) Gao is an Associate Professor in the School of Education, the University of New South Wales, Australia. His research interests include language learner autonomy, language education policy, and language teacher education.