The Impact of PRC Language Policies on Minority Languages of China

While language is often used as a tool to bring people together and celebrate differences, language can also be weaponized and used to suppress minority groups of people. There are over three hundred unique languages and dialects spoken in Mainland China, with Mandarin Chinese being the most widely spoken of the languages. Mandarin is the official state language of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and it is also the primary language taught in schools across the country. Despite official Chinese policy of teaching Mandarin Chinese alongside local dialects, Mandarin is favored over minority languages. The unequal emphasis on Mandarin is an example of how the PRC uses language as a means to oppress minority groups in China. Previous research has studied the effects of government suppression of language among the Xinjiang Uyghur minority, the Zhuang minority group in the Guangxi Zhuangzu Autonomous Region, Cantonese speakers in Guangzhou, ethnic minority groups in Tibet and Inner Mongolia, and speakers of Miao in southern China. Using a timeline beginning in 1949 with the establishment of the PRC, this work will use a historical approach utilizing case studies and official Chinese government policies to continue to analyze how language policies in the PRC continue to negatively impact speakers of minority languages