The Quest for the 'Best' Language for Modern Xinjiang: Language Ideologies of Practicality and Aesthetics

Autor/in	Kim, Ujin
Titel	The Quest for the 'Best' Language for Modern Xinjiang: Language Ideologies of Practicality and Aesthetics
Quelle	In: Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 43 (2022) 8, S.787-795 (9 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0143-4632
DOI	10.1080/01434632.2020.1778708
Schlagwörter	Language Attitudes; Mandarin Chinese; Official Languages; Turkic Languages; Language Planning; Public Policy; Second Languages; Multilingualism; Written Language; Islam; Muslims; Ethnic Groups; Religious Factors; Self Concept; Literacy; Art; Aesthetics; Poetry; Story Telling; History; Geographic Regions; Foreign Countries; Diachronic Linguistics; China + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Sprachverhalten; Office language; Amtssprache; Turkish; Türkisch; Sprachwechsel; Öffentliche Ordnung; Second language; Zweitsprache; Mehrsprachigkeit; Multilingualismus; Geschriebene Sprache; Muslim; Muslimin; Ethnie; Selbstkonzept; Alphabetisierung; Schreib- und Lesefähigkeit; Arts; Kunst; Ästhetik; Lyrik; Poesie; Geschichte; Geschichtsdarstellung; Ausland; Linguistics; Diachronische Sprachbetrachtung; Historische Linguistik
Abstract	Xinjiang has witnessed constant state attempts to reinforce the status of Mandarin Chinese as 'the Common Language' and to make local Turkic languages -- mainly Uyghur and Kazak -- more 'suitable' to the modern world. Official efforts to transform the linguistic landscape of Xinjiang have engaged in a complex interplay with Turkic speakers' own understandings of speaking, writing, and modernity across China and Central Asia. While tacitly subscribing to the dominant language ideology that Chinese is more useful, practical, and suitable for the modern world, Turkic speakers in Xinjiang also take pride in their languages. Especially since the government-initiated script reform in the early 1980s, the Arabic scripts' indexical association with literacy and Islamic identity has become stronger than ever for people in Xinjiang. Today, the Arabic script is not only an index of ethno-religious identity, but also an artistic expression. Thus, to many Turkic speakers in Xinjiang, Chinese is "merely" a language of mundane concern, whereas Turkic languages are the medium of aesthetic elaboration such as oral poetry and epic stories. This paper demonstrates that attention to such historical particularities helps us better understand how certain language ideologies can remain unchallenged while others are easily contested. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01