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Article published In:
Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 19:4 (2020) ► pp.624–645

Wrestling between English and Pinyin

Language politics and ideologies of coding street names in China

ORCID logo | Universitetet i Bergen
This paper examines the code choice and contestations on street name signs in China to find out the dynamics of language politics and the language ideological debates. In China, Hanyu Pinyin and English compete for visibility on street signs, though only Pinyin is the legally-endorsed alphabetic form for place names. Spolsky’s (2004, 2009) tripartite language policy model is adopted to analyse the management, practice and ideologies regarding the code choice on street name signs in Chinese cities. It shows that Pinyin has been promulgated as domestic standard fused with national interests in the official discourse, while English win the favour of the general public and some international-oriented cities due to its pragmatic value and the symbolic capital associated with it. The resilient approach taken by the top authority suggests that the traditional model of language management relying on political authority and ideological hegemony is hard to work its way out nowadays.
Keywords: street names, public signs, language ideology, language politics, Pinyin, English
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Pinyin and English in China’s language repertoire
  • 3.The tripartite framework of language policy
  • 4.Analysis
    • 4.1Management of alphabetic writing on street signs
    • 4.2Coding practice on street signs in China
      • 4.2.1Code preference on street signs
      • 4.2.2Issues with alphabetic codes on street signs
    • 4.3Language beliefs on street name signs
      • 4.3.1Attitudes from Chinese scholars
      • 4.3.2Public attitudes as projected in social media
      • 4.3.3Public attitudes emerged in a survey
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1The crux of Pinyin-English contestations on street name signs
      • 5.1.1Alphabetic code: Translation or phonetic annotation
      • 5.1.2Mandatory or recommendatory policies
      • 5.1.3The functional domains of English on public signs
    • 5.2The ideological debates regarding the code choice
    • 5.3Resilience approach in language management
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 15 January 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.19072.sha
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