Constructing the Chinese Language: Linguistic Ideology, Culture, and Nation-State Politics

摘要

The purpose of this thesis is to critically examine “the Chinese language” and all of its variant forms as examples of language or linguistic ideologies, a term many linguistic anthropologists have used to describe conceptualizations of language and their perceived social function. More specifically, I adopt Judith Irvine and Susan Gal’s (2000) semiotic approach to language ideology by examining how it is reinforced through what they call iconicity, erasure, and fractal recursivity. Ideologies are articulated from many different sites and are often contested with competing ideologies. I will discuss how these ideologies inform current debates about language and writing system reform as well as efforts to promote a standard national language. Ultimately, this paper challenges the notion of the homogeneity of a Chinese identity and of a Chinese language.