RESEARCH ON THE PRACTICE OF "PROMOTION OF MANDARIN" IN NORTHWEST CHINA

81 RESEARCH ON THE PRACTICE OF “PROMOTION OF MANDARIN” IN NORTHWEST CHINA E Hua-nan（俄华楠), Candidate of Philological Sciences, PhD. School of Chinese Languages and Literatures Lanzhou University [email protected] Abstract As one of the important ways to consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation and help the rural revitalization strategy, “targeted promotion of Mandarin” should play its basic role in language governance of language contact areas in northwest China. Key Words: language contact, “two prefectures and one county”, language governance, targeted promotion of Mandarin, rural revitalization. On February 25, 2021, at the National Poverty Alleviation Summary and Commendation Conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping solemnly declared that China had achieved a complete victory in the battle against poverty, successfully resolving regional poverty and accomplishing the arduous task of eliminating absolute poverty. From the early explorations of poverty reduction in 1949 to the introduction of the concept of “targeted poverty alleviation” in 2013, China has long engaged in extensive theoretical and practical work on eradicating poverty. Particularly since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, poverty alleviation has been prioritized as a crucial task in achieving the centenary goals. Under the Party’s leadership, China has successfully charted a socialist path of poverty reduction suited to its national conditions. At the same time, the General Secretary emphasized that “poverty alleviation is not the end, but the beginning of a new life and a new struggle.” Language contact refers to the phenomenon in which two or more languages or dialects interact, influence, and penetrate each other through prolonged exchange in a specific context. Due to historical factors and geographical constraints, the agricultural foundation of Northwest China remains weak, industrial support is lacking, and economic development lags behind. Even after the decisive victory in poverty alleviation, the region continues to face structural imbalances and weak selfsustaining development capacity. As such, the risk of returning to poverty persists, and consolidating poverty alleviation outcomes remains a long-term task that requires comprehensive support. Recent domestic studies on the relationship between language and economy have explored two main directions: first, the impact of language factors on the economy, focusing on the relationship between language and poverty, and on how linguistic ability affects individual labor income; and second, how economic 82 development influences language use, thereby demonstrating the scientific validity and feasibility of language-based poverty alleviation. Northwest China is characterized by its ethnic diversity and complex linguistic landscape. From an economic perspective, linguistic diversity can increase transaction costs, hinder communication, and affect education and human capital accumulation. In this sense, linguistic diversity exerts a restraining effect on economic development. However, scholars have pointed out that poverty is not caused by linguistic diversity itself, but rather that linguistic diversity can perpetuate poverty and, to some extent, impede poverty-stricken regions from escaping poverty. Moreover, local lingua francas remain confined to their regions, making it difficult to establish positive links with the outside world, thereby limiting further economic development. By contrast, a national lingua franca facilitates communication between ethnic groups, dialect speakers, and across regions. In China, the nationwide promotion of Putonghua enhances communication between ethnic and rural populations and the outside world, thereby promoting mutual exchange and regional economic development. To address the constraints of linguistic diversity on economic progress, China has already made a firm, correct choice at the macro level: enacting the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language and vigorously promoting Putonghua. At present, poverty alleviation efforts in Northwest China focus more on industrial support, economic aid, and vocational skills training, while “targeted Putonghua promotion” has not received adequate attention. As a result, its role in consolidating the achievements of poverty alleviation has not been fully realized. This is largely because, compared to the immediate returns of industrial or policydriven poverty alleviation, the economic transformation effect of language requires a longer cycle to manifest. Consequently, despite its importance as an indicator for rural revitalization, language promotion has not attracted sufficient attention locally. The 2021 Implementation Plan for the National Putonghua Popularization and Enhancement Project and the Program for Assisting Rural Revitalization through Putonghua Promotion set the goal that by 2025, the national popularization rate of Putonghua should reach 85%. In ethnic minority regions with weaker foundations, the rate should increase by 6–10 percentage points, approaching or reaching the 80% target. For Northwest China, this presents a considerable challenge. Nationwide, Putonghua promotion has entered a critical bottleneck stage, requiring, on one hand, the establishment of long-term mechanisms and evaluation systems to consolidate earlier achievements, and on the other, deeper penetration into households and individuals, raising awareness among rural and ethnic communities of the relationship between language and poverty, thereby changing attitudes toward language learning and encouraging proactive acquisition of Putonghua. 1. Leveraging traditional and new media. The advent of the information age has diversified forms of language promotion beyond lectures, radio, and television. To address issues of language attitudes and motivation in Northwest China, modern communication methods should be employed to enrich promotional forms, enhancing individuals’ initiative in learning Putonghua and helping them overcome environmental and economic constraints. 83 o Traditional media should continue to integrate Putonghua-related content. For example, in Gannan Prefecture, Tibetan channels dominate among rural audiences. In such cases, incorporating Putonghua learning content into ethnic-language TV channels and promoting concepts of “language governance” can improve awareness. o New media platforms (e.g., WeChat, Kuaishou, TikTok/Douyin) can deliver engaging, localized Putonghua-learning content tailored to user interests. Cooperation with these platforms can create customized material with interactive features (e.g., quizzes, rewards) to stimulate learning motivation. Local influencers or “internet celebrities” should also be trained in standardized Putonghua to promote it effectively using their influence. 2. Adapting training to local realities. For many minorities in Northwest China, Putonghua is a second or third language, making acquisition psychologically and practically challenging. Training programs should therefore emphasize psychological guidance and foster positive attitudes toward Putonghua. Understanding local language attitudes dynamically and providing targeted, multi-channel training can stimulate enthusiasm and yield greater efficiency in Putonghua learning. 3. Developing local industries to support language promotion. The Northwest is rich in tourism, culture, and natural resources that remain underdeveloped. With rural revitalization, many regional industries are emerging, such as the cultural tourism festival in Lin Xia Hui Autonomous Prefecture centered on the “Hezhou Peony” brand, or Tibetan cultural tourism lines in Gannan. Developing such industries not only generates economic growth but also creates language demands, thereby indirectly promoting Putonghua acquisition. “Targeted Putonghua promotion” plays a vital role in consolidating poverty alleviation achievements and advancing rural revitalization. Guided by the concept of language governance, promotion efforts in Northwest China should pay closer attention to the differentiated needs of communities, households, and individuals, while fully leveraging the “immersive interaction” potential of new media and developing ethnic industries that stimulate linguistic demand. At the same time, while deepening the scope of “targeted Putonghua promotion,” it is also essential to adopt an inclusive approach that utilizes the region’s rich linguistic resources, transforming minority languages into economic capital and shaping a distinctive linguisticeconomic cultural model. In this way, Putonghua promotion can further the rural revitalization strategy, strengthen the sense of a shared Chinese national identity, and contribute to the achievement of common prosperity. 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