echo of GR

[Doug Millison]

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>					08 January 2001
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>THE GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE UPDATE
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>       * Designed to Unite, Language Law Divides China
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>Designed to Unite, Language Law Divides China
>08 January 2001
>
>Summary 
>
>A new language law banning broadcasters from using anything other
>than standard Beijing-style Mandarin Chinese went into effect
>Jan. 1 in China. The law primarily targets Chinese speakers in the
>southeastern provinces, where Cantonese, Hakkan and Min dialects
>are common. While Beijing enacted the law to minimize regional and
>foreign influences in China, an unintended consequence may be the
>emergence of dissidents based on linguistic and cultural identity
>among the majority Han Chinese.
>
>Analysis 
>
>A new Law on the National Common Language, which promotes the
>standard Beijing form of Mandarin Chinese, went into effect Jan. 1
>in China. The law bans television and radio announcers from using
>dialects, accents or other forms of non-standard Mandarin, and
>makes grammatical errors in billboards a criminal offense. 
>
>Passed last October, the law was established in part to bring
>unity to the more than 50 ethnic groups in China, which speak more
>than 75 languages. The law emphasizes Beijing's concern for regional
>identities and foreign influences that detract from centralized
>control. In attempting to assert Beijing as the center of Chinese
>identity, the Chinese government may instead be creating a culture
>of dissidents based on linguistic heritage, particularly in the
>prosperous southeast, where Cantonese and other southern dialects
>are common. 
>
>China has long sought to standardize its language system, both as a
>means of unifying its diverse population and aiding centralized
>control. While Han Chinese has been considered a standard for
>centuries, even its eight dialects - including Mandarin and
>Cantonese - are so different they are often considered separate
>languages, each with their own local dialects. 
>
>
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