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- Volume 26, Issue, 2016
Journal of Asian Pacific Communication - Volume 26, Issue 1, 2016
Volume 26, Issue 1, 2016
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Speech community theory and the language / dialect debate
Author(s): Daming Xupp.: 8–31 (24)More LessMuch research has been done addressing the issue of language and dialect and has attracted much interest in the Sinophone world. In this paper, the issue is approached from the perspective of Speech Community Theory (SCT) with discussion of the identification of Chinese varieties. There are mainly two approaches in previous research: linguistic and sociolinguistic. In the linguistic approach, the classification of languages and dialects is through comparison of linguistic descriptions and intelligibility. In the sociolinguistic approach, actual language use and attitudes of the speakers are investigated and ethnic and political factors are considered. The two approaches tend to result in different classifications. The purely linguistic classification tends to be narrower than the classification invoking attitudinal, cultural and political factors, resulting in a larger number of languages than the sociolinguistic approach. The different approaches are traced to divergent understandings of what a language is. A language is often understood purely as a tool of communication or, alternatively, it is regarded primarily as an identity device. Applying SCT, we analyze the connection between communication and identity formation, taking the example of Cantonese speakers. That case shows a correlation of linguistic contact with linguistic identity among native speakers. Consequently, the relevance of cultural and socio-political factors is explained through their impact on communication rather than directly on a linguistic identity.
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Attitude, maintenance, and use of Beijing dialect and Putonghua among younger generation Beijing-born residents
Author(s): Jing Song and Yingmei Zhupp.: 32–55 (24)More LessIn this study, 269 Beijing born respondents were interviewed and asked questions about their language attitude and language behavior. Research categories, apart from ‘attitude’, were ‘accent maintenance’, ‘accent selection’, and ‘code-switching’, whereas the variables employed were ‘gender’, ‘age group’, ‘origin’ of parents, ‘district’ grown-up, ‘spouse’ background, ‘education’ level, ‘job profile’, and ‘network density’. We found that Beijing dialect in Beijing’s central city districts, coexists with the national language Putonghua, or, Standard Chinese, has high language status among native young people in Beijing and a wide range of uses. The main factors which effect respondents’ language behavior are ‘network density’, ‘place-of-origin’, and ‘occupation’. We also determined a high level of confusion between Beijing dialect accent and Putonghua accent, which we related to the mode of Putonghua teaching and Putonghua promotion. We conclude that Beijing dialect and Putonghua will form two functional varieties, playing different roles in different language environments.
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The Dōngběi varieties of Mandarin
Author(s): Richard VanNess Simmonspp.: 56–80 (25)More LessThe Dōngběi dialects comprise a Mandarin subgroup that is related to, but nevertheless clearly distinct from, the Běijīng dialect. The dialects are an exceedingly young variety formed by a huge wave of emigrants from northern Chinese provinces who moved into the theretofore sparsely populated Manchurian territory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The new immigrants were primarily from Shāndōng and Héběi and they came in numbers that overwhelmed the languages spoken by the previous inhabitants, comingling with each other, then developing into a new set of regional varieties of Mandarin. This paper first examines the history of the population in China’s northeast and its growth from the beginning of the Qīng dynasty in the mid 17th century to its peak in the 20th, paying particular attention to the origins of the large Chinese speaking migration into the region at the end of the dynasty. Following, our study looks at the phonology and lexicon of the new regional varieties — the northeastern Mandarin dialects, investigating their characteristics and classification to show that historical and geographic factors have resulted in discernable differences between the Dōngběi and Běijīng dialects, differences that are sufficient to warrant separate classification.
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Urbanization, education, and language behavior
Author(s): Xiaoguang Li, Zhan Ju and Marinus van den Bergpp.: 81–111 (31)More LessThis paper reports the language behavior of a sample of Jilin University students. The data were collected in 2008, and a total of 2682 questionnaires were processed. The sample was detailed as to place-of-origin, year of study, college, and gender, and addressed language behavior and language attitude. Students originated from three areas: the Northeast, the Mandarin dialect area, and Southeastern China. Most students came from township environments and grew up there. The NE is relatively more urbanized as the result of early industrialization, but the Southeast, as regards family income, was the richer area. The study relates the reported language behavior to urban status, education and income level of parents, as well as to level of PTH pronunciation. It also addressed students’ attitude toward Putonghua dominance, and code-switching. Code-switching with English words also was studied. Generally, proportionally more students with backgrounds in major urban centers (provincial cities and municipalities) claim Putonghua as first and best language than students originating from townships. Larger numbers of students with the latter background, however, show increased proficiency in Putonghua. Language use data, finally, make clear that in all three areas, the local and regional dialects are the majority means of communication, whereas the use of Putonghua increases across generations from grandparents to same generation kin.
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Modernization and the restructuring of the Shanghai speech community
Author(s): Marinus van den Bergpp.: 112–142 (31)More LessThis paper reports the results of direct observations of language use in two shopping areas in Shanghai, Nanjing East Road and Xujiahui. The data reported in this paper were collected in 2007. In Nanjing East Road, four traditional stores provided a base line for the use of Shanghainese. That base line (60 percent) was compared to a hierarchy of department stores in Xujiahui. The results showed that the store that best matched the base-line data attracted customers representing upper-working class / lower middle class customers. The remaining two stores attracted middle class and upper class customers. In the latter setting, it was found that a certain segment of the customers switched from Shanghainese to Putonghua for the business transaction, an effect we associated with the presence of young urban professionals of all backgrounds. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of speech community theory, and network density, which allows predictions of changes taking place within the dominant language of the Shanghainese speech community.
Volumes & issues
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Volume 34 (2024)
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Volume 33 (2023)
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Volume 32 (2022)
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Volume 31 (2021)
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Volume 30 (2020)
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Volume 29 (2019)
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Volume 28 (2018)
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Volume 27 (2017)
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Volume 26 (2016)
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Volume 25 (2015)
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Volume 24 (2014)
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Volume 23 (2013)
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Volume 22 (2012)
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Volume 21 (2011)
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Volume 20 (2010)
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Volume 19 (2009)
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Volume 18 (2008)
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Volume 17 (2007)
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Volume 16 (2006)
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Volume 15 (2005)
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Volume 14 (2004)
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Volume 13 (2003)
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Volume 12 (2002)
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Volume 11 (2001)
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Volume 10 (2000)
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