Response paper: The issue of multilingualism

Response Paper
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Response Paper
The issue of multilingualism has caused debated worldwide, with some individuals support it while others remaining in opposition. Countries that have many languages have been concerned about how they can enhance national unity and become powerful in the global arena. On the one hand, some nations like the European Union (EU) have emphasized the need to ensure that multilingualism thrives. The EU believes that when people speak more than one language, they are in a better position to embrace people from different cultural backgrounds. On the contrary, China has been working towards eliminating multilingualism through the promotion of the use of Mandarin (Putonghua). Such a move by the Chinese government to promote the use of Putonghua has been widely explored by Blum (2005) and Eng (2010). The two articles demonstrate that China has over the years put measures that discourage multilingualism while advocating for the use of Putonghua at the expense of the other regional dialects.
Both Blum and Eng demonstrate that education has contributed towards emphasizing on Putonghua. Blum approaches the issue from the implementation of education policies in the 1950s. The author notes that China’s new Communist regime was facing a variety of challenges including concerns regarding literacy. The leaders had to address this issue with the implementation of policies involving universal, compulsory education as a move towards the modernization of China and elevation to international status (Blum, 2005). While education was to be conducted in Putonghua, the local varieties were not to be stigmatized. Consequently, the unitary ideal will continue to thrive with multilingual reality. When children enter schools where Putonghua is not spoken must be taught it. This implies that teachers must be able to speak Putonghua. Hence, the training of teachers became a foundation to enhance the use of Putonghua in schools.
Similarly, Eng demonstrates how state policy worked towards promoting a commonly spoken language through the education system. In 1956, Mandarin became established as the official language with leaders emphasizing on its promotion for creating a central power and enhancing national unity. However, at this time a majority of the people in the government and schools lacked fluency in Mandarin. During the Deng Xiaoping, however, a new wave of national promotion of Mandarin emerged. The 1982 Constitution expressly demonstrated that the state was mandated to promote the nationwide use of Putonghua. In 1994, the government went ahead and introduced compulsory national Mandarin proficiency exams for people applying for posts in government and broadcasting. The emphasis on schools came through slogans and school speech contests that painted the picture that speaking Mandarin demonstrated civilization. Schools began promoting the “Mandarin 8+8” Campaign where learners from kindergarten through middle schools were required to use Mandarin 8 hours in school and outside every day (Eng, 2010). As the government popularized the use of Mandarin in schools and other public spheres, it indicates that that the use of regional dialects was not prohibited.
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