Speaking Mandarin or Dialect: A Socio-Cultural Account of Child Language Use in Mainland China

Abstract Summary

Abstract :

This study examines children’s language use and its determinants both at home and in schools in current mainland China. Family and schools as important institutions play a critical role in the construction of the complexity of Mother Tongue. Drawing on the father-mother-child triad level data from a nationally representative survey—the Chinese Family Panel Studies in 2010, this study provides the first quantitative analysis of children with the ages of 6-15 in contemporary China on their Mandarin and dialect use pattern both at home and in schools.















Descriptive analyses show that the majority of children speak both dialect at home and in schools. 82% of survey respondents in mainland China speak dialect at home and 62% speak dialect in schools. This also varies across rural and urban areas. For family language use, only 11% speak Mandarin in rural areas, but 43% speak Mandarin in urban areas. For school language use, 29% speak Mandarin in rural areas and 68% speak Mandarin in urban areas.















Further logistic regression analyses show that speaking Mandarin is associated with parental attitudes toward different languages and their families’ socioeconomic backgrounds as well as macro social, economic and cultural environments. Children's Mandarin use is also positively associated with their parental socioeconomic status, such as income, education, and political status. Children from families from high income, better education, and CCP members are more likely to speak Mandarin instead of dialect both at home and in schools. In addition, this study also finds that children from urban and economic developed areas are more likely to speak Mandarin. This study will conclude by discussing its implications to the complexity of Mother Tongue language construction in China.