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Earlier today, Mark Liberman discussed the abortive attempt by Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to phase in Tunisian Arabic.

Now, in a report circulated by China Daily / ANN and carried in The Straits Times, we learn: "Dialects to be phased out of China's prime time TV"



CHINA – TV PROGRAMS with local dialects will be gradually phased out of prime time, Huang Sheng, vice governor of East China's Shandong province, said on Thursday at a provincial meeting to promote putonghua, or mandarin – the main spoken language in China – Shandong Commercial Times reported. Ten years ago, China enacted the Law on Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language. Mr Huang said media plays a leading role in promoting Putonghua; TV programs with local dialects need to be moved out of prime time. 'It may take time to finally achieve that goal,' said Mr Huang. But some linguistic experts are worried the rapid development of putonghua will lead to the disappearance of some dialects. Some have suggested setting up dialect TV channels and holding dialect speech competitions among primary and middle school students. 'We should promote a multi-lingual environment for a more harmonious society,' said Li Lunxin, a researcher. 'Promoting putonghua does not mean we have to forbid using dialects. The two can co-exist and co-develop.'

Various dialects in China, mainly from the south, have been on the decline as people become more educated and are communicating more in mandarin, which is based on northern China's dialects. — CHINA DAILY/ANN

Vice Governor Huang Sheng may proclaim the determination of the Chinese government to do away with prime time shows in local languages, but the disappearance of such programming is highly unlikely to be realized. Note that it was ten years ago that China enacted the Law on Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language, and they still have a "problem" with so-called dialects. Mr. Sheng admits that "It may take time to finally achieve that goal" of removing TV programs in local "dialects" from prime time. With this open admission that the government cannot succeed immediately, or even quickly, in phasing out prime time programming in "dialects" other than Mandarin, the article then shifts gears.

Quoting "some linguistic experts" who "are worried the rapid development of putonghua will lead to the disappearance of some dialects," the article goes on to suggest the setting up of "dialect" TV channels and the holding of "dialect" speech competitions for primary and middle school students, which would seem to run exactly counter to the thrust of the first part of the article.

Then, with the obligatory invocation of a "harmonious society" promoted by President Hu Jintao, researcher Li Lunxin extols the peaceful coexistence of "dialects" and the national standard. The article ends on an abysmally sour note when it correlates higher degrees of education with speaking Mandarin. This surely will not please speakers of Cantonese and many other Sinitic topolects, some of whom are very highly educated. Conversely, not all speakers of Mandarin are educated; indeed, many of them are illiterate and unlearned.

[A tip of the hat to June Teufel Dreyer]

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