Language Power and Hierarchy: Multilingual Education in China

Description

Metaphor and Intercultural Communication examines in detail the dynamics of metaphor in interlingual contact, translation and globalization processes. Its case-studies, which combine methods of cognitive metaphor theory with those of corpus-based and discourse-oriented research, cover contact linguistic and cultural contacts between Chinese, English including Translational English and Aboriginal English, Greek, Kabyle, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, and Spanish. Part I introduces readers to practical and methodological problems of the intercultural transfer of metaphor through empirical (corpus-based and experimental) studies of translators' experiences and strategies in dealing with figurative language in a variety of contexts. Part II explores the universality-relativity dimension of cross- and intercultural metaphor on the basis of empirical data from various European and non-European cultures. Part III investigates the socio-economic and political consequences of figurative language use through case studies of communication between aboriginal and mainstream cultures, in the media, in political discourse and gender-related discourses. Special attention is paid to cases of miscommunication and of deliberate re- and counter-conceptualisation of clichéfrom one culture into another. The results open new perspectives on some of the basic assumptions of the ‘classic' cognitive paradigm, e.g. regarding metaphor understanding, linguistic relativity and concept-construction. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Contents List of Maps List of Figures List of Tables Foreword Preface List of Abbreviations 1 Introduction Model 1: Mother-tongue education – first-language-first Model 2: Mother-tongue enrichment programs Model 3: The transitional bilingual programs in the United States Model 4: The immersion bilingual programs in Canada 2 Multilingualism in China: Linguistic Diversity, Hierarchy and Power The Sino-Tibetan family Tibeto-Burman languages The Altaic language family The Indo-European language family The Austronesian family Language power and hierarchy Language loss, endangerment and revitalization Language conflicts, language status planning and corpus planning New debates Conclusion 3 Maintaining the Mongolian Language in Inner Mongolia IMAR as a pioneer model for autonomous regions Education through the Mongolian language Case studies in Xilinhot Interviews with Chinese teachers Class observations Conclusion 4 Becoming Bilingual and Trilingual in Xinjiang 5 Multilingualism and Multilingual Education in Qinghai 6 Vanishing Multilingualism: Linguistic Vitality and Pilot Bilingual Education Programs in Yunnan Linguistic diversity Lower education outcomes Pilot multilingual education programs A case study of a Bai bilingual pilot program The Naxi experience 7 Rethinking Multilingualism: The New Literacy in Guangxi Diversity of the Zhuang languages Old Zhuang script: the Sawndip New Zhuang literacy: Cyrillic and Latin based The Zhuang new literacy promotion A case study of primary schools in Guangxi Media in the Zhuang language Conclusion 8 Challenges and Barriers for Multilingualism and Multilingual Education Multilingualism as a bridge Multilingualism as a political asset Multilingualism for cultural heritage and learning Chinese monolingual imperialism – the Cultural Revolution Multilingualism as a factor in conflicts What multilingual models are suitable in China? How to raise the value of minority languages The impact of globalization on multilingualism The development of trajectories and future perspectives Bibliography Notes Index