The Commodification of Chinese in Thailand’s Linguistic Market: A Case Study of How Language Education Promotes Social Sustainability
In recent decades, the commodification of the English language has aroused intensive research interest in the sociolinguistics on a global scale, but studies on the commodification of the Chinese language are relatively rare. Most studies take a critical approach in relation to its adverse impacts o...
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doaj-dd8472e106df4c688f5fe4e8ffedadb92020-11-25T02:58:47ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502020-09-01127344734410.3390/su12187344The Commodification of Chinese in Thailand’s Linguistic Market: A Case Study of How Language Education Promotes Social SustainabilityShujian Guo0Hyunjung Shin1Qi Shen2School of Foreign Languages, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, ChinaDepartment of Curriculum Studies, College of Education, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 0X1, CanadaSchool of Foreign Languages, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, ChinaIn recent decades, the commodification of the English language has aroused intensive research interest in the sociolinguistics on a global scale, but studies on the commodification of the Chinese language are relatively rare. Most studies take a critical approach in relation to its adverse impacts on minority rights and social justice. This study examined the language landscape in Chiangmai, Thailand, and the linguistic beliefs of local Thai Chinese language learners. Based on their feedback, this study investigated the commodification of Chinese language education in the community of Chinese language learners in Chiangmai. We found that from a less critical perspective, the commodification of a second language provides more accessible and affordable educational opportunities for learners, especially those from low-income families, and at the same time language proficiency can broaden learners’ career choices and provide employees with additional value in industries, such as tourism, commerce, and services. This finding implies that language commodification, rather than typically being associated with linguistic imperialism and unbalanced socio-economic status, can be a contributing factor in promoting higher-education availability and social sustainability in certain circumstances. There may be some mediating factors between the commodification of language and changes in the sustainable balance of language, opening up space for future research to explore.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/18/7344language commodificationlanguage instrumentalismmultilingualismChinese education in Thailand |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Shujian Guo Hyunjung Shin Qi Shen |
spellingShingle |
Shujian Guo Hyunjung Shin Qi Shen The Commodification of Chinese in Thailand’s Linguistic Market: A Case Study of How Language Education Promotes Social Sustainability Sustainability language commodification language instrumentalism multilingualism Chinese education in Thailand |
author_facet |
Shujian Guo Hyunjung Shin Qi Shen |
author_sort |
Shujian Guo |
title |
The Commodification of Chinese in Thailand’s Linguistic Market: A Case Study of How Language Education Promotes Social Sustainability |
title_short |
The Commodification of Chinese in Thailand’s Linguistic Market: A Case Study of How Language Education Promotes Social Sustainability |
title_full |
The Commodification of Chinese in Thailand’s Linguistic Market: A Case Study of How Language Education Promotes Social Sustainability |
title_fullStr |
The Commodification of Chinese in Thailand’s Linguistic Market: A Case Study of How Language Education Promotes Social Sustainability |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Commodification of Chinese in Thailand’s Linguistic Market: A Case Study of How Language Education Promotes Social Sustainability |
title_sort |
commodification of chinese in thailand’s linguistic market: a case study of how language education promotes social sustainability |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Sustainability |
issn |
2071-1050 |
publishDate |
2020-09-01 |
description |
In recent decades, the commodification of the English language has aroused intensive research interest in the sociolinguistics on a global scale, but studies on the commodification of the Chinese language are relatively rare. Most studies take a critical approach in relation to its adverse impacts on minority rights and social justice. This study examined the language landscape in Chiangmai, Thailand, and the linguistic beliefs of local Thai Chinese language learners. Based on their feedback, this study investigated the commodification of Chinese language education in the community of Chinese language learners in Chiangmai. We found that from a less critical perspective, the commodification of a second language provides more accessible and affordable educational opportunities for learners, especially those from low-income families, and at the same time language proficiency can broaden learners’ career choices and provide employees with additional value in industries, such as tourism, commerce, and services. This finding implies that language commodification, rather than typically being associated with linguistic imperialism and unbalanced socio-economic status, can be a contributing factor in promoting higher-education availability and social sustainability in certain circumstances. There may be some mediating factors between the commodification of language and changes in the sustainable balance of language, opening up space for future research to explore. |
topic |
language commodification language instrumentalism multilingualism Chinese education in Thailand |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/18/7344 |
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