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RESEARCH ON THE PRACTICE OF “PROMOTION OF MANDARIN” IN
NORTHWEST CHINA
E Hua-nan（俄华楠),
Candida e o Philological Sciences, PhD.
School o Chinese Languages and Li e a u es
Lanzhou Uni e si y
[email protected]
Abs ac
As one o he impo an ways o consolida e he achie emen s o po e y
alle ia ion and help he u al e i aliza ion s a egy, “ a ge ed p omo ion o
Manda in” should play i s basic ole in language go e nance o language con ac
a eas in no hwes China.
Key Wo ds: language con ac , “ wo p e ec u es and one coun y”, language
go e nance, a ge ed p omo ion o Manda in, u al e i aliza ion.
On Feb ua y 25, 2021, a he Na ional Po e y Alle ia ion Summa y and
Commenda ion Con e ence, Gene al Sec e a y Xi Jinping solemnly decla ed ha
China had achie ed a comple e ic o y in he ba le agains po e y, success ully
esol ing egional po e y and accomplishing he a duous ask o elimina ing
absolu e po e y. F om he ea ly explo a ions o po e y educ ion in 1949 o he
in oduc ion o he concep o “ a ge ed po e y alle ia ion” in 2013, China has long
engaged in ex ensi e heo e ical and p ac ical wo k on e adica ing po e y.
Pa icula ly since he 18 h Na ional Cong ess o he Communis Pa y o China,
po e y alle ia ion has been p io i ized as a c ucial ask in achie ing he cen ena y
goals. Unde he Pa y’s leade ship, China has success ully cha ed a socialis pa h o
po e y educ ion sui ed o i s na ional condi ions. A he same ime, he Gene al
Sec e a y emphasized ha “po e y alle ia ion is no he end, bu he beginning o a
new li e and a new s uggle.”
Language con ac e e s o he phenomenon in which wo o mo e languages o
dialec s in e ac , in luence, and pene a e each o he h ough p olonged exchange in a
speci ic con ex . Due o his o ical ac o s and geog aphical cons ain s, he
ag icul u al ounda ion o No hwes China emains weak, indus ial suppo is
lacking, and economic de elopmen lags behind. E en a e he decisi e ic o y in
po e y alle ia ion, he egion con inues o ace s uc u al imbalances and weak sel -
sus aining de elopmen capaci y. As such, he isk o e u ning o po e y pe sis s,
and consolida ing po e y alle ia ion ou comes emains a long- e m ask ha equi es
comp ehensi e suppo .
Recen domes ic s udies on he ela ionship be ween language and economy
ha e explo ed wo main di ec ions: i s , he impac o language ac o s on he
economy, ocusing on he ela ionship be ween language and po e y, and on how
linguis ic abili y a ec s indi idual labo income; and second, how economic
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de elopmen in luences language use, he eby demons a ing he scien i ic alidi y
and easibili y o language-based po e y alle ia ion.
No hwes China is cha ac e ized by i s e hnic di e si y and complex linguis ic
landscape. F om an economic pe spec i e, linguis ic di e si y can inc ease
ansac ion cos s, hinde communica ion, and a ec educa ion and human capi al
accumula ion. In his sense, linguis ic di e si y exe s a es aining e ec on
economic de elopmen . Howe e , schola s ha e poin ed ou ha po e y is no
caused by linguis ic di e si y i sel , bu a he ha linguis ic di e si y can pe pe ua e
po e y and, o some ex en , impede po e y-s icken egions om escaping po e y.
Mo eo e , local lingua ancas emain con ined o hei egions, making i di icul o
es ablish posi i e links wi h he ou side wo ld, he eby limi ing u he economic
de elopmen . By con as , a na ional lingua anca acili a es communica ion be ween
e hnic g oups, dialec speake s, and ac oss egions. In China, he na ionwide
p omo ion o Pu onghua enhances communica ion be ween e hnic and u al
popula ions and he ou side wo ld, he eby p omo ing mu ual exchange and egional
economic de elopmen . To add ess he cons ain s o linguis ic di e si y on economic
p og ess, China has al eady made a i m, co ec choice a he mac o le el: enac ing
he Law o he People’s Republic o China on he S anda d Spoken and W i en
Chinese Language and igo ously p omo ing Pu onghua.
A p esen , po e y alle ia ion e o s in No hwes China ocus mo e on
indus ial suppo , economic aid, and oca ional skills aining, while “ a ge ed
Pu onghua p omo ion” has no ecei ed adequa e a en ion. As a esul , i s ole in
consolida ing he achie emen s o po e y alle ia ion has no been ully ealized.
This is la gely because, compa ed o he immedia e e u ns o indus ial o policy-
d i en po e y alle ia ion, he economic ans o ma ion e ec o language equi es a
longe cycle o mani es . Consequen ly, despi e i s impo ance as an indica o o
u al e i aliza ion, language p omo ion has no a ac ed su icien a en ion locally.
The 2021 Implemen a ion Plan o he Na ional Pu onghua Popula iza ion and
Enhancemen P ojec and he P og am o Assis ing Ru al Re i aliza ion h ough
Pu onghua P omo ion se he goal ha by 2025, he na ional popula iza ion a e o
Pu onghua should each 85%. In e hnic mino i y egions wi h weake ounda ions,
he a e should inc ease by 6–10 pe cen age poin s, app oaching o eaching he 80%
a ge . Fo No hwes China, his p esen s a conside able challenge. Na ionwide,
Pu onghua p omo ion has en e ed a c i ical bo leneck s age, equi ing, on one hand,
he es ablishmen o long- e m mechanisms and e alua ion sys ems o consolida e
ea lie achie emen s, and on he o he , deepe pene a ion in o households and
indi iduals, aising awa eness among u al and e hnic communi ies o he
ela ionship be ween language and po e y, he eby changing a i udes owa d
language lea ning and encou aging p oac i e acquisi ion o Pu onghua.
1. Le e aging adi ional and new media. The ad en o he in o ma ion age has
di e si ied o ms o language p omo ion beyond lec u es, adio, and ele ision. To
add ess issues o language a i udes and mo i a ion in No hwes China, mode n
communica ion me hods should be employed o en ich p omo ional o ms, enhancing
indi iduals’ ini ia i e in lea ning Pu onghua and helping hem o e come
en i onmen al and economic cons ain s.
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o T adi ional media should con inue o in eg a e Pu onghua- ela ed con en . Fo
example, in Gannan P e ec u e, Tibe an channels domina e among u al audiences. In
such cases, inco po a ing Pu onghua lea ning con en in o e hnic-language TV
channels and p omo ing concep s o “language go e nance” can imp o e awa eness.
o New media pla o ms (e.g., WeCha , Kuaishou, TikTok/Douyin) can deli e
engaging, localized Pu onghua-lea ning con en ailo ed o use in e es s. Coope a ion
wi h hese pla o ms can c ea e cus omized ma e ial wi h in e ac i e ea u es (e.g.,
quizzes, ewa ds) o s imula e lea ning mo i a ion. Local in luence s o “in e ne
celeb i ies” should also be ained in s anda dized Pu onghua o p omo e i e ec i ely
using hei in luence.
2. Adap ing aining o local eali ies. Fo many mino i ies in No hwes China,
Pu onghua is a second o hi d language, making acquisi ion psychologically and
p ac ically challenging. T aining p og ams should he e o e emphasize psychological
guidance and os e posi i e a i udes owa d Pu onghua. Unde s anding local
language a i udes dynamically and p o iding a ge ed, mul i-channel aining can
s imula e en husiasm and yield g ea e e iciency in Pu onghua lea ning.
3. De eloping local indus ies o suppo language p omo ion. The No hwes is
ich in ou ism, cul u e, and na u al esou ces ha emain unde de eloped. Wi h u al
e i aliza ion, many egional indus ies a e eme ging, such as he cul u al ou ism
es i al in Lin Xia Hui Au onomous P e ec u e cen e ed on he “Hezhou Peony”
b and, o Tibe an cul u al ou ism lines in Gannan. De eloping such indus ies no
only gene a es economic g ow h bu also c ea es language demands, he eby
indi ec ly p omo ing Pu onghua acquisi ion.
“Ta ge ed Pu onghua p omo ion” plays a i al ole in consolida ing po e y
alle ia ion achie emen s and ad ancing u al e i aliza ion. Guided by he concep o
language go e nance, p omo ion e o s in No hwes China should pay close
a en ion o he di e en ia ed needs o communi ies, households, and indi iduals,
while ully le e aging he “imme si e in e ac ion” po en ial o new media and
de eloping e hnic indus ies ha s imula e linguis ic demand. A he same ime, while
deepening he scope o “ a ge ed Pu onghua p omo ion,” i is also essen ial o adop
an inclusi e app oach ha u ilizes he egion’s ich linguis ic esou ces, ans o ming
mino i y languages in o economic capi al and shaping a dis inc i e linguis ic-
economic cul u al model. In his way, Pu onghua p omo ion can u he he u al
e i aliza ion s a egy, s eng hen he sense o a sha ed Chinese na ional iden i y, and
con ibu e o he achie emen o common p ospe i y.
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