Language Reform in Modern China
1. What have been the major issues in language reform in modern China? How have these related to wider political and social changes such as the rise of nationalism, the communist revolution, etc.? Give concrete examples to justify your opinion ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Introduction
The Chinese language has changed significantly since the Qing Dynasty. Language is closely linked to social aspects of a society, and China is not an exception. During the last three hundred years China has gotten rid of its dynasty and changed to a communist state. These political changes led to major reforms in the Chinese language, and the three most important ones have been reforms towards a new modern written- and spoken language, and changes to the script in order to make it more convenient in use. This essay is built around these three aspects of language reform, and links these with social and political changes both pre- and post the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Language reform before 1949
A version of the Chinese state has been around for five thousand years, but it was not before the increasing contact with western countries in the nineteenth century that the idea of a Chinese nation-state became a common thought (Zhou, 1986). Ideas that this nationalistic movement represented, influenced language reform, and started changes in the Chinese language, still visible today. When the first protestant missionaries arrived in China in the nineteenth century, they arrived in a country in desperate need for reform. China had lost three major wars within sixty years , and the need for China to reform had become clear (Zhou, 1986). Europe was already changing in drastic ways, and China was falling behind in all areas of society, ranging from politics to technology. China understood that in order too keep up with the west they had to change, and language reform soon became an important topic for Chinese scholars(Zhou, 1986). After the
Introduction
The Chinese language has changed significantly since the Qing Dynasty. Language is closely linked to social aspects of a society, and China is not an exception. During the last three hundred years China has gotten rid of its dynasty and changed to a communist state. These political changes led to major reforms in the Chinese language, and the three most important ones have been reforms towards a new modern written- and spoken language, and changes to the script in order to make it more convenient in use. This essay is built around these three aspects of language reform, and links these with social and political changes both pre- and post the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Language reform before 1949
A version of the Chinese state has been around for five thousand years, but it was not before the increasing contact with western countries in the nineteenth century that the idea of a Chinese nation-state became a common thought (Zhou, 1986). Ideas that this nationalistic movement represented, influenced language reform, and started changes in the Chinese language, still visible today. When the first protestant missionaries arrived in China in the nineteenth century, they arrived in a country in desperate need for reform. China had lost three major wars within sixty years , and the need for China to reform had become clear (Zhou, 1986). Europe was already changing in drastic ways, and China was falling behind in all areas of society, ranging from politics to technology. China understood that in order too keep up with the west they had to change, and language reform soon became an important topic for Chinese scholars(Zhou, 1986). After the
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