The community that I choose to research is the community of northeast China (or Dongbei in Chinese). People in this community speak Northeastern Mandarin, which is a dialect that is related to but obviously different from standard Mandarin. The research article examines language attitudes towards Northeastern Mandarin and Standard Mandarin. The article also discusses the implications of such attitudes and possible reasons behind language attitudes.
In the introduction part, the author reviewed some important research on language attitudes, explaining how people 's attitudes towards language varieties imply their perception of the speakers. Listeners tend to make judgment about speakers based on their accent. People’s language attitudes may not constant; the change of attitudes can result from socio-economical and cultural factors (Garrett 2010). The introduction part also introduces Chinese language families: Putonghua (term …show more content…
Participants in Shanghai viewed the standard Mandarin speaker higher in all aspects except for “personal qualities”. However, Shenyang participants rated Northeastern Mandarin speaker higher than the standard Mandarin speaker in “personal qualities” and “prof-personal qualities”, but viewed NEM speaker lower in “professional qualities” and “social-personal qualities”. According to the findings, the author stated that this research “confirmed the lower status of the northeastern variety of Mandarin compared to Standard Mandarin” (p. 225). The findings on Shenyang respondents’ attitudes implied that Northeastern Mandarin speakers are aware of the stereotypes of their dialect, and meanwhile they have empathy and solidarity of their own language varieties speakers. The researcher believed that the findings revealed that language attitude is associated with socio-economic
In the introduction part, the author reviewed some important research on language attitudes, explaining how people 's attitudes towards language varieties imply their perception of the speakers. Listeners tend to make judgment about speakers based on their accent. People’s language attitudes may not constant; the change of attitudes can result from socio-economical and cultural factors (Garrett 2010). The introduction part also introduces Chinese language families: Putonghua (term …show more content…
Participants in Shanghai viewed the standard Mandarin speaker higher in all aspects except for “personal qualities”. However, Shenyang participants rated Northeastern Mandarin speaker higher than the standard Mandarin speaker in “personal qualities” and “prof-personal qualities”, but viewed NEM speaker lower in “professional qualities” and “social-personal qualities”. According to the findings, the author stated that this research “confirmed the lower status of the northeastern variety of Mandarin compared to Standard Mandarin” (p. 225). The findings on Shenyang respondents’ attitudes implied that Northeastern Mandarin speakers are aware of the stereotypes of their dialect, and meanwhile they have empathy and solidarity of their own language varieties speakers. The researcher believed that the findings revealed that language attitude is associated with socio-economic