A Billion Voices by Benjamin Moser
China's Search for a Common Language
A concise exploration of how a common national language emerged in modern China, tracing the journey from a multitude of regional tongues and Classical Chinese to standardized Mandarin through reformist movements, political campaigns, script simplification, and the adoption of pinyin. It examines the roles of education, media, and technology in promoting uniform speech, the tensions between linguistic unity and local identities, and the cultural and political stakes of reshaping language across the Chinese-speaking world.
- Published
- 2016
- Nationality
- American
- Length
- Very Short
- Pages
- 110-130 pages
- Original Language
- English
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- Alternate Titles
- None
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