China's Assimilationist Language Policy

China's Assimilationist Language Policy

by Gulbahar H. Beckett, Gerard A. Postiglione
Released June 2013
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781136638077

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Book description


China has huge ethnic minorities – over 40 different groups with a total population of over 100 million.  Over time China’s policies towards minority languages have varied, changing from policies which have accommodated minority languages to policies which have encouraged integration.  At present integrationist policies predominate, notably in the education system, where instruction in minority languages is being edged out in favour of instruction in Mandarin Chinese.  This book assesses the current state of indigenous and minority language policy in China.  It considers especially language policy in the education system, including in higher education, and provides detailed case studies of how particular ethnic minorities are being affected by the integrationist, or assimilationist, approach. 

Table of contents

  1. Front Cover
  2. China’s AssimilationistLanguage Policy
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. List of illustrations
  7. Notes on contributors
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. PART I Background and historical review
    1. 1 China’s language policy for indigenous and minority education
    2. 2 Historical review of the PRC’s minority/indigenous language policy and practice: nation-state building and identity construction
  10. PART II Empirical research studies
    1. 3 The development of minority education and the practice of bilingual education in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
    2. 4 A brief report on bilingual education for the Dongxiangs: a new initiative
    3. 5 China’s minorities without written scripts: the case of education access among the Dongxiang
    4. 6 Bilingual education in China: the case of Yunnan
    5. 7 Language hegemony in its relation to Chinese marriage migrants’ mothers’ adaptations to and educational involvements in Taiwan
    6. 8 The influence of cultural and linguistic backgrounds on the social and academic adjustment of students at an ethnic minority university in China
    7. 9 Language issues in Chinese higher education: the case of Korean and Mongol minority groups
  11. PART III Theoretical, ideological, and legal issues
    1. 10 Chinese–English bilingual education in the PRC: implications for language education for autochthonous ethnic minorities
    2. 11 From neo-liberal ideology to critical sustainability theory for language policy studies in the PRC
    3. 12 Minority language rights and education in China: the relevance of human rights law and substantive equality
  12. Index

Product information

  • Title: China's Assimilationist Language Policy
  • Author(s): Gulbahar H. Beckett, Gerard A. Postiglione
  • Release date: June 2013
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136638077