Ethnic minority language policies and practices in China: revisiting Ruiz’s language orientation theory through a critical biliteracy lens

ABSTRACT

In order to distinguish between language-related ideologies, Ruiz (1984) proposed three language orientations, namely ‘language-as-problem’, ‘language-as-right’ and ‘language-as-resource’. Although this typology has been applied to various countries and regions around the globe, relevant research in China, a multi-ethnolinguistic country, remains limited. Through a review of China’s minority language policies and relevant literature, this paper explores the application of Ruiz’s theory to the context of China and proposes two possible directions which can complement this theory. Firstly, the study found that there are different layers, complexities, and even contradictions under a broad/unified language orientation, and that minority languages can be simultaneously positioned as a ‘right’, a ‘resource’ and a ‘problem’. Secondly, by investigating a particular ethnic minority language (the Nuosu Yi language), the study found that the written (literacy) and spoken (oracy) skills of the language can be positioned differently in language-in-education policies and practices. We therefore propose that a critical ‘biliteracy continua’ lens (Hornberger 2004) can provide further analytical nuance to the language orientations put forward by Ruiz (1984).

KEYWORDS:

• Language policy
• language orientation
• ethnic minority language
• China
• Yi ethnic group

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1 The Great Leap Forward (Second Five-Year Plan) was an economic and social campaign from 1958 to 1962.

2 The Cultural Revolution, formally the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a socio-political movement in China between 1966 and 1976.

3 Xinjiang is located on the north-western border of China and is the main settlement of Uyghur ethnic group.

4 English tests in China’s formal education are written based.

5 Wenhai is the main settlement of the Naxi ethnic group in Yunnan Province.

6 Students in Model One education still need to learn Chinese (as a subject) and take the Chinese language test. The Chinese language test also remains the most important test (i.e., accounting for the highest scores) in High School and College Entrance Examinations.