A Possible Explanation for the Diminish of Local Tongue in China
Notes:
This is my article for the AP Seminar Individual Written Report.
The reason for uploading this text is that, as a Shanghai Bendiren(local) myself, I believe that our dialect should be protected, and the current situation is that the use of the Shanghai dialect(Shanghai Hua) is gradually decreasing. I consider this dialect as a very very important aspect of my culture. Without the dialect, the culture and the history of Shanghai cannot be preserved and comprehended with its full beauty. This applies to every dialect in China.
The Causes of the Diminish of Local Dialects in the Contemporary Chinese Metropolitan Environment from a Language Planning and Policy Perspective: A Case Study of Shanghai Dialect
Introduction
Shanghai is now perceived as the most developed and prosperous city in China. Indeed, Shanghai play’s an essential role in the development of modern China, acting as a trading center and international hub for talent. However, the flourishing status quo of the metropolis comes at a price. With policies stimulating huge amounts of population influx from the hinterland and the rapid progress of modernization, the Haipai culture as well as the local topolect was diluted by cultures of internal migrants. Survey shows that there has been a general decline in the usage of the Shanghai dialect. It also predicted that one- or two-decades later Shanghai born teenagers won’t be able to speak the local tongue anymore. (Gui & Zhou, 2021; Shen, 2016) Some even say that the dialect is endangered. (Xu, 2021, p. 208) There’s a necessity to analyze the factors causing this decline. When explaining this trend from a bird’s eye view, Political measures must be taken into account. Thus, the question arises: How can language planning deter the society’s tendency towards a dialect? Which, in this case, is a study on the Shanghai dialect, Shanghaihua.
Language Planning in China
The term language planning is not a new concept, it is a process that every country must undergo in order to maintain social stability and to convey common prospects. (Chen, 2005) The incentive of these policies was to facilitate unity, same for language planning. Most of the governments have incorporated language planning into their measures of ruling by the late twentieth century, whether by their own incentive or unintentionally. First there must be official language. (Kaplan & Baldauf, 1997) A dialect that has “Beijing speech as its standard pronunciation, the northern Chinese dialect as its base dialect, and modern Chinese literacy classics written in vernacular Chinese as its grammatical norm.”– Putonghua, the common speech, is chosen as the official language. (China, 1996, p. 12) The choice of selection is not form out of thin air, in fact, at that time, approximately 70% of the ethnic Chinese populace inhabiting a vast expanse covering two-thirds of China’s land area communicate in a variant of Northern Chinese as their indigenous tongue. (Fishman, 2011, p. 462) Nevertheless, in other language planning instances, numerical dominance is not always what counts. Political power is the crucial factor.
As to the implementation of the preferred dialect, the widespread promotion of Putonghua, commenced in the late 1920s and was officially recognized as a component of language planning in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by 1955. (Fishman, 2011, p. 457; Lehmann, 1975, p. 36) The following paragraph will examine how the language is implemented from top-down using two technics – status planning and corpus planning. It is at this point of the procedures of language planning that dialects and minor languages are left forgotten and abolished. (Chen, 2005)
On the Road to Unification
Status Planning
The significant consequence of the overall decline of the Shanghai dialect stems from the impact of decisions made in status planning, those aimed at altering the linguistic environment in which a language is utilized. (Kaplan & Baldauf, 1997, p. 30) Prevalent methods adopting and disseminating the chosen and standardized form of language. This typically occurs through the educational framework and through various laws or regulations that promote or mandate the use of the standard language while possibly discouraging the use of other languages or dialects. (Kaplan & Baldauf, 1997, p. 36) Many polices had been issued. The issuance of “The Directives of the State Council Regarding the Promotion of the Common Language” and “The Directives of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China Regarding the Promotion of the Common Language in Elementary, Middle, and Normal Schools” are the most important guidance of the implementation of Putonghua. The two documents covered almost every single segment of Chinese society, asking bureaus and organizations to create specific plans as incorporation of Putonghua usage as a proportion of their normal activity. (Cobarrubias & Fishman, 1983, p. 295) While deviating from the exclusive use of Putonghua might be disapproved of, severe punitive actions have not been implemented. Ultimately, the central government’s language policy seeks to encourage dialect speakers to comprehend and adopt the functional distinction between there dialect’s informal or intimate function and the orthodoxia function of the national tongue. This involves progressively broadening the formal domains where Putonghua is utilized while gradually restricting dialects to local, informal communication. (Li, 2006) This, consequently, led to a decrease in the usage of regional topolects, especially in metropolitans like Shanghai, where there is an excessive amount of intercommunication between the central government and local executives.
Corpus Planning
On corpus planning, the concept can be described as the linguistic facets of language planning, focusing on elements that are primarily internal to the language itself. There are two categories “Standardization” and “Elaboration”. Methods including “(1) orthographic innovation, including design, harmonization, change of script and spelling reform; (2) pronunciation; (3) changes in language structure; (4) vocabulary expansion; (5) simplification of registers; (6) style; and (7) the preparation of language material” are incorporated. (Bamgbose, 1989) Although the theory may sound harmonious, the actual choice of dialect in China made the language unification of language in southern China with great difficulty. The lingua franca has deleted some of the “er” sounds and other pronunciations as an effort to blend in with the linguistic features of southern part of China. With the joint force of rigid policies that wrap every single sector of Chinese society, the promotion of Putonghua seems to have achieved tremendous progress, slowly penetrating the linguistic environment of the southern dialect regions. (Li, 2006) Nevertheless, the when the people of Shanghai want to return to the Shanghai dialect language environment, the newly formed, incompatible dialect that had already reshaped the linguistic space of Shanghai will be an insurmountable force blocking the return of the old one.
Language-in-education planning
The education sector is often chosen as the focal point for language planning activities for a clear reason. This sector deals with standardized versions of languages, shaped by history and accepted as communal solutions to language issues. These standards, symbols of national unity, aren’t innate but acquired through education and reinforced by literature and media. However, in most linguistic communities, everyday communication embraces a wide spectrum of linguistic variations, including slang, jargon, non-standard forms, specialized codes, and even multiple languages. Consequently, the idea of a standard language represents a purely ideological concept. This construct might create the illusion of linguistic unity, whereas the actuality reflects a diverse linguistic landscape. The notion that a ‘standard’ variety pervades a community implies a societal norm of linguistic unity, potentially suggesting a socioeconomic and sociopolitical cohesion that contradicts the reality of linguistic diversity. Hence, it’s not surprising that the education sector, being the conveyor and perpetuator of culture, becomes the chosen ground for language planning. (Kaplan & Baldauf, 1997, p. 123) As to the implementation, usually, young individuals in Shanghai commence learning to speak Putonghua upon entering kindergarten. (Xiao-Quan, 2001) It often takes, for a country like China with mass population and tremendous inequalities in resources allocation, decades to educate an entire generation, which has the feature of population from different linguistic background; immigrants from different educational systems; individuals who have different preparations. (Kaplan & Baldauf, 1997, p. 8) Nevertheless, the language planning in the education sector has made significant progress. A survey by Sun(2013) shows that Putonghua has become the primary language among students in Shanghai. Students prefer to use Putonghua while attending lectures and classes. Hence, they became used to Putonghua, and spoke it with certain degree of proficiency.
Natural Selection and Social Exclusion
Jumping out from status planning and corpus planning, the eradication of non-Mandarin dialects has never been an expressed aim in language planning. Instead, the central government repeatedly uses mass media to reassure dialect speakers about the linguacultural identity of local vernacular’s significance in upholding unity and identity within communities, counties, villages, clans, and extended families. (Zhongguo she hui ke xue yuan & Guo jia yu yan wen zi gong zuo wei yuan hui (China), 2003) Putonghua itself is a dialect that Shanghai Locals chose as a part of the natural selection process. Which meant that languages incapable of conveying modern ideologies and prevalent thoughts were to be eliminated by the society. Guo(2004) states that language planning decisions are deterred by social concerns, not the language planning process itself. Language policy serves to formalize and put into action societal issues, regardless of their rationality, ethics, or morality. Alterations or adaptations in language policy mirror evolving social priorities.
Conclusion
Over the course of development of modern China, Shanghai has undergone tremendous changes. Together with the façade of Shanghai wither away the culture which once flourished among those alleyways are now lost in the labyrinth of bygone whispers. Within, the role of both status planning and corpus planning play a significant role in changing the stature of the Shanghai dialect. Governments impose certain policies to shrink the use of Shanghai dialect and alter Putonghua’s certain linguistic features to help reduce the friction in the promotion of Putonghua. Another aspect of this can be examined from a natural selection standpoint. The Shanghai dialect is unable to accommodate lexicon of contemporary society. In the end, the space of spoken language will not, and never will, return to its original condition. Just like sensor tag found in department stores, with the absent of the unlocking magnet, the tag will stay on the good forever.
The prospect for the return of the Shanghai dialect is low with the current language policies suppressing the already shrinking linguistic space of the dialects from either the language the environment surrounding the language or the language itself. Although there have been signs of attempts to revive the dying tongue, the immutable trend of dimmish will intertwine with the dialect until it is forgotten on the long run of irreversible history.
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