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Article published In:
Language Problems and Language Planning
Vol. 43:3 (2019) ► pp.241–261

A study of Macao tertiary students’ attitudes to issues in postcolonial Macao’s language policy and planning

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This study focuses on Macao, a former Portuguese colony and a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China after 1999. A questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2012 and 2013 respectively among freshmen of the University of Macau to investigate their attitudes to issues in Macao’s language policy and planning (LPP). Findings of this study reflect their practical attitudes, as reflected in their attitudes towards the choice of English or Portuguese as the first foreign language in Macao public schools. At the same time, their attitudes also reflect their strong local allegiances and resistance to Mainland China’s cultural practices, as reflected in their views on the issue of the official status of Putonghua in the Macao SAR, the choice of Putonghua or Cantonese as the medium of instruction, and the maintenance of traditional Chinese characters, written Cantonese, and Cantonese Romanization System in Macao.
Keywords: Macao, language attitudes, language policy and planning (LPP)
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Research design
    • Subjects and instruments
    • The formal questionnaire survey
    • Semi-structured interviews
  • Questionnaire survey results
  • Interview results
    • Students’ strong local allegiances
    • Students’ practical attitudes
  • Discussion
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 3 December 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.00033.yan
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Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

Moody, Andrew J.
2021. Historical Contexts of Multilingualism: Non-Chinese Languages of Macau (1500–1999). In Macau’s Languages in Society and Education [Multilingual Education, 39], ► pp. 59 ff. DOI logo

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