Language choice in urban China: A linguistic capital perspective from large-scale census data

关键词

KEYWORDS Language choice; linguistic capital; language planning; urbanization; Chinese language policy

摘要

The standardization of the national language has been a long-standing policy in China. Although many studies describe this policy, few have examined its significance using large-scale census data. To explore the socio-economic factors associated with this language policy, this study utilizes data from the 2016 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). We investigated the choice of residents between Putonghua and local dialects during interviews in 1,233 cities and examined its association with 10 socio-economic factors. The findings reveal that: (1) language choice correlates with immigrants’ length of residence; (2) Putonghua use is positively associated with higher socio-economic status; and (3) dialect use correlates with greater neighborhood intimacy. These results illuminate the patterns of language use among urban residents and the complex socio-economic factors involved, shedding light on the implications of the decades-long promotion of Putonghua. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the feasibility of using probit regression models with large-scale census data for multifactorial exploration.