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
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
provincial government in the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in 2012 to promote the use of
Standard Mandarin Chinese in broadcast and print media at the expense of the local standard
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...
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
Zhu Xiaodan (; born January 1953) is the Chinese politician who served as Governor of Guangdong from 2011 to 2016. A lifelong Communist functionary, Zhu was appointed Vice Governor of Guangdong in February 2010 and became acting Governor in Novemb ...
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 character
Variant Chinese characters (; Kanji: ; Hepburn: ''itaiji''; ; Revised Romanization: ''icheja'') are Chinese characters that are homophones and synonyms. Most variants are allographs in most circumstances, such as casual handwriting. Some context ...
s.
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
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
and
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...
. 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.
See also
*
Chinese unification
*
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...
*
Debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters
The debate on traditional Chinese characters and simplified Chinese characters is an ongoing dispute concerning Chinese orthography among users of Chinese characters. It has stirred up heated responses from supporters of both sides in mainland ...
*
Five Races Under One Union
Five Races Under One Union was one of the major principles upon which the Republic of China was founded in 1911 at the time of the Xinhai Revolution. Its central tenet was the harmonious existence under one nation of what were considered the f ...
*
Han Chinese subgroups
The subgroups of the Han Chinese people are defined based on linguistic, cultural, ethnic, genetic and regional features. The terminology used in Mandarin to describe the groups is: "minxi" (, pronounced ), used in Mainland China or "zuqun" (, pr ...
*
Protection of the Varieties of Chinese
*
Socialist Harmonious Society
The Harmonious Society (; also known as Socialist Harmonious Society) is a socioeconomic concept in China that is recognized as a response to the increasing alleged social injustice and inequality emerging in mainland Chinese society as a result ...
References
{{reflist
Cantonese language
2012 in China
2012 controversies
History of Guangdong