The Guangdong National Language Regulations ( zh, t=廣東省國家通用語言文字規定) is a set of laws enacted by the Guangdong provincial government in the People's Republic of China in 2012 to promote the use of

Standard Mandarin Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standar ...

in broadcast and print media at the expense of the local standard Cantonese and other related dialects. It has also been labelled a "pro-Mandarin, anti-Cantonese" legislation ( zh, t=廢粵推普、推普廢粵, labels=no). The law was signed and came into effect on 1 March 2012.

Ban

The regulations require the entire Guangdong province to broadcast in '' Pǔtōnghuà''

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

. Dialect programs and channels can be broadcast if approved by the national or provincial government. In addition, signs of service stores are to be written in simplified Chinese except when in historical sites, pre-registered logos and other exceptions or as approved by state. Guangdong Governor Zhu Xiaodan signed and set the date of the law to take effect on 1 March 2012. The requirement forces all government workers, teachers, conference holders, broadcasters, and TV staff to use Mandarin only. All state-run items involving brands, seals, documents, websites, signs, and trade names are not to use Traditional Chinese characters or Variant Chinese characters. People who do not follow the law will be punished accordingly, as the new law is mandatory.

Responses

The signing has triggered massive negative responses in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau. There were talks of raising movements. The law is said to have effects equal to the elimination of the autochthonous Cantonese culture. On 24 December, the Guangdong government held a press conference stating that the regulation does not in fact ban Cantonese; one official stating that such a ban will never occur. Currently, the Guangdong province has two channels approved to broadcast mainly in Cantonese, while various other channels and radio stations have dialect programs.

References

{{reflist Cantonese language 2012 in China 2012 controversies History of Guangdong

Ban

Responses

See also

References