Urban Language Survey
What is it about?
This paper presents the results of a large scale questionnaire research assessing language behavior of students at Jilin University, one of the top level universities in China. It shows that language acquisition, proficiency and use are directly related to place-of-origin, urbanization level, income level and profession of parents as well as interaction setting. Putonghua levels increase in relation with level of urban environment, increasing from county level to urbanized city, to provincial capital and finally metropolis. Putonghua in accordance with level of urbanization.
Why is it important?
The study compares language behavior of students in China's Northeast with that of their counterparts in Northern China and Southeastern China, which gives a unique insight into changing patterns of language behavior and the forces that support the use of Putonghua.