A study of the language management, language practice and language ideology for two competing codes (English vs. Hanyu Pinyin) on street name signs in China, using Spolsky’s (2004, 2009) tripartite language policy model as analytical framework.
The language use on public signs has always been a salient concern for language planners and policymakers due to its extensive historical, political and cultural affordances. In this paper, the code choice and contestations on street signs in Chinese cities are examined to find out the dynamics of language politics and the language ideological debates. In China, a polity characterized by highly centralized governance, Hanyu Pinyin (Romanized phonetic system of Chinese) and English are constantly competing for visibility on street signs, though the former is the legitimate alphabetic form for street names. Spolsky’s (2004, 2009) tripartite language policy model has been adopted to analyse the management, practice and ideologies regarding the code choice on street signs in China. Data used for analysis include language policies, street name signs in China's major cities, and Chinese citizens’ online comments, which are analyzed at ideological, linguistic, and discursive levels. Preliminary analysis shows that Pinyin has been promulgated as the egocentric 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 cannot work its way out nowadays in the face of the complex language problems arising as a result of economic globalization and English imperialism. Such an exploration can shed light on how the tension between political correctness and economic incentives will shape the language policy and planning.
