Spatial Reconstruction and Linguistic Adaptation:An Investigation into Language Dynamics in Newly-Established Ethnic Rural Communities Following Poverty Alleviation Relocation
This paper premises that the Gan-hajuemo relocation site—i.e.the largest central-ized resettlement community for impoverished households in Xide County,Liangshan Prefecture,Sichuan Province—serves as both a landmark pro-ject in poverty alleviation and a model project for rural revitalization.In addition,it arguably holds dual value for sociological and linguistic research.For that reason this study undertakes a quantitative analysis of the language dynamics of this newly es-tablished ethnic rural community,including lan-guage usage in communal spaces,evaluation of members'language proficiency and awareness a-mong community members,as well as their educa-tional needs pertaining to both spoken and written Standard Chinese.This article furthermore argues that the pre-dominant linguistic feature within its community spaces is bilingualism,characterized by the coexis-tence of local tongues and Standard Chinese.This bilingual landscape not only fosters a dual emotion-al identity but also provides a foundation for the Chinese national community consciousness and eth-nic cultural inheritance in the community.The bi-lingual administrative fluency of community lead-ers,particularly their proficiency in spoken stand-ard Chinese,has been positioning them at the fore-front of developing and effectively implementing various grassroots initiatives in ethnic communi-ties.Findings show this has facilitated vital organi-zational revitalization and catalyzed transformative changes in the community's linguistic environment.However,despite the administrative bilingualism,daily communication among community members predominantly occurs in their own ethnic langua-ges,thereby maintaining a linguistically homogene-ous environment.Evaluations of language profi-ciency and cognition reveal uneven development in members'command of Standard Chinese,with many exhibiting limited proficiency in speaking and listening skills.Outcomes further suggest that there are differences in the adoption,proficiency,and efficiency of oral and written Standard Chinese a-mong community members.Nevertheless,many lo-cals appear to believe that possessing the ability of the standard language can improve communication and job prospects,conceivably demonstrating the language's power as a communication tool for eth-nic communities undergoing resettlement and revi-talization measures.In fact,research data seems to show a positive correlation between standard lan-guage proficiency and community members'eco-nomic income.Language barriers indeed frequently impede economic advancement,thereby stalling development prospects.The revitalization policies of rural areas have triggered the"capital"effect of Standard Chinese,significantly augmenting individuals'take-home pay.This"language cap-ital"effect thus has spurred a psychological and fi-nancial need to learn the standard language,resul-ting in a decreasing percentage of those unwilling to learn,albeit at varying levels.Based on empirical analysis,this article be-lieves in an interdependent relationship between standard language proficiency and rural revitaliza-tion,forming an inseparable whole:Rural revital-ization can effectively stimulate the"information tool"function and capital effect of the standard language,enabling individuals to overcome com-munication barriers and actively participate in cou-ntryside construction,contributing to rural revital-ization.As a result,this paper proposes prioritiz-ing language issues by enhancing linguistic capital,fostering multilingual communication in ethnic rural communities,strengthening education and literacy initiatives for grassroots workers and young-to-mid-dle-aged ethnic populations,rectifying biases re-garding the efficacy of Standard Chinese,and fa-cilitating accessible pathways to Standard Chinese Language acquisition within these communities.These measures are deemed crucial and fundamen-tal for future revitalization of ethnic villages.
ethnic areasrelocationrural revitalizationthe standard spoken and written Chi-nese languagelanguage survey
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
