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Language and Identity Politics: Perspectives from Québec, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

Language and Identity Politics: Perspectives from Québec, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Jean-François DUPRÉ PhD Candidate Department of Politics and Public Administration The University of Hong Kong jfdupre@hku.hk. Overview. Background Qu ébec Hong Kong Taiwan Discussion.

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Language and Identity Politics: Perspectives from Québec, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

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  1. Language and Identity Politics: Perspectives from Québec, Hong Kong, and Taiwan Jean-François DUPRÉPhD CandidateDepartment of Politics and Public AdministrationThe University of Hong Kongjfdupre@hku.hk

  2. Overview • Background • Québec • Hong Kong • Taiwan • Discussion

  3. Language Rationalization (David Laitin) • Sociological concept • Nation-State formation and Political Modernity • “Territorial specification of a common language for purposes of efficient administration and rule” • State • Civil Service • Education • Military • Attempt to influence and alter population’s language repertoires • Nation building • Language Planning

  4. Québec:Language and secessionist nationalism

  5. Language and Identity in Québec:three phases • Ethnic Nationalism and Exclusion • Mid-19th century to 1950s • French-Canadian “race” • Rural life • Catholicism • French language (keeper of the faith)

  6. Civic Nationalism and InterculturalismQuiet Revolution (1960s) to 1995 Referendum • Civic Nationalism and Integration • “De-confessionalisation” • Attachment to the “Québec state” • French as an agent of integration • Recognition of diversity • 1969: Canada Official Languages Act • English and French as Canada’s official languages • 1974: Quebec Official Language Act • French becomes Québec’s sole official language

  7. Civic Nationalism and Assimilation1995-present • Return to Cultural Nationalism • French as a public language • Conformity to “Québec culture” • Secularisation • Gender equality

  8. Language Rationalization in Greater China:

  9. Historical Background • Written Chinese evolved over millennia, no phonetic system • Oral Court Mandarin (官話) promoted under the Qing dynasty • Mandarin Chinese （國語）chosen as National Language under the ROC (1912) • vernacularization of written language (白話) • Putonghua （普通話）created under PRC, character simplification • Standard Mandarin rationalized in Taiwan

  10. Chinese Language Groups and Dialects

  11. Language Outcomes in the PRC • Putonghua Rationalization with high degree of hegemony • 中華人民共和國國家通用語言文字法 (2001) • Paradoxical policies: • Revival of ethnic minorities' languages • Ban on the official use of Han dialects • Ex: Cantonese in Guangdong • Hakka and Hoklo considered dialect groups rather than ethnic groups (contrast to Taiwan) • 3±1 societal outcome (societal multilingualism and diglossia)

  12. Language inHong Kong: Cantonese as Chinese?

  13. Language in Hong Kong • Shielded from PRC and Putonghua influence • Cantonese in Hong Kong has attained a very special status amongst minority Chinese dialects • Only Chinese society where a non-Mandarin dialect is hegemonic in high domains • Language of government and education • Developed both written Cantonese and romanization system (jyutping) • English is co-official language

  14. 1974: Officialization of Chinese • Initially, only English is official • Following protests, Chinese becomes co-official with English in 1974 • Dialect not mentioned, but Cantonese by default • Cantonese becomes more prominent in the 80s and 90s at government level

  15. 1997: Handover • Revert to “mother-tongue” instruction • Limited success • Debates on: • Cantonese as dialect or mother tongue • Putonghua as second-language or mother tongue • English as English and societal language • Policy of “Trilingualism and Biliteracy” （兩文三語） • Aims and targets ill-defined • 15 years onward, Putonghua has made little advance

  16. Languages in Taiwan:

  17. Language in Taiwan • Chinese influence grows during the Qing, while Formosan officials use Standard written Chinese with Hakka and Hoklo pronunciations. • Under Japanese colonial rule, Japanese is used as language of administration, education • After 1949, Mandarin is used by KMD as language of state and education • Home language: • 45-65% Holo • 6% Hakka • 25-45% Mandarin

  18. Democratization and Taiwanization • Democratization becomes associated with self-determination for ethnic minorities • A Taiwanization movement aims at reasserting the status of Taiwanese societal culture • Hoklo being referred to as Taiwanese • Multilingualism is used as a tool to create a multicultural Taiwanese identity • However, this is wholly symbolic, and Mandarin remains an a hegemonous public language • Attempts to revive mother-tongues are largely ineffective • Status of Mandarin difficult to displace • Strategically difficult • Opposition from different groups

  19. Discussion Questions • What languages do you speak in different domains? • Should mother-tongues be taught in schools? • Should mother-tongues be standardized? • How important is it to have mother-tongues become National or Official Languages • What is the future of Taiwanese Mother-Tongues?

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