Modern written chinese, dialects, and regional identity

This paper analyzes the major linguistic and sociopolitical factors responsible for the underdevelopment of written languages based on non-Mandarin dialects. It also explores the current language planning efforts in Taiwan to standardize a written language based upon the local dominant dialect. It will point out that the movement is mainly triggered by, and contributes to, the political cause built on the base of an increased assertion of regional identity. In spite of the enthusiasm and devotion on the part of some linguists and writers, such efforts have not yet won general acceptance. Drawing upon findings on the correlation between vernacular literacy and regional identity in Europe, it is argued here that the educational, social and political cost of the success of dialect writings may be too high for them ever to be generally accepted and extensively used in Chinese society