How we think national standard languages came to dominate the world depends on how we
conceptualize the way languages are linked to the people that use them. Weberian theory …

Abstract<? Pub Inc> This thesis explores how the standardization of language in China has
been used, historically and contemporarily, as a means to unify the empire and restructure …

The interplay between language and politics has been the subject of increased academic
interest in the last few decades. The idea that language can be used as a device not only for …

This dissertation argues that the concept of" dialect" was fundamental to the formation of
modern Chinese nationalism and identity. I contend that elite and non-elite groups, inspired …

Scholars who study language often see standard or official languages as oppressive,
helping the socially advantaged to entrench themselves as elites. This article questions this …

In 1955, the government of the People's Republic of China launched a campaign to
implement a standard spoken language called putonghua. As part of a broader agenda of …

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, a frequent claim among speakers of local
Chinese languages (called fangyan in Chinese) is that their native languages preserve the …

China provides the unique instance of philosophy of language developed in a language of
uninflected words organized solely by word order and the functions of grammatical particles …

Scholars have generally taken a “diffusionist” view of the rise of national standard languages—
the state pushes for the wider adoption of such languages, and other forces (principally …

In 1956, the Chinese Communist state launched its official language policy, which included
the promulgation of a standard spoken language, called Putonghua. Their justification for …