Wrestling between English and Pinyin: Language politics and ideologies of coding street names in China

This paper examines the code choice and contestations on street name signs in China to find out the dynamics of language politics and the language ideological debates. In China, Hanyu Pinyin and English compete for visibility on street signs, though only Pinyin is the legally-endorsed alphabetic form for place names. Spolsky’s (2004, 2009) tripartite language policy model is adopted to analyse the management, practice and ideologies regarding the code choice on street name signs in China. It shows that Pinyin has been promulgated as domestic standard fused with national interests in the official discourse, while English win the favour of the general public and some international-oriented cities due to its pragmatic value and the symbolic capital associated with it. The resilient approach taken by the top authority suggests that the traditional model of language management relying on political authority and ideological hegemony is hard to work its way out nowadays.acceptedVersio

Multilingualism in the linguistic landscape of Eastern China: City residents' perceptions and attitudes

Linguistic landscape (LL) is a thriving strand of inquiry in sociolinguistics to interpret the multilingual representations in public space. Taking city residents as LL readers, this paper examines their opinions about the urban multilingualism visible in Eastern China’s big cities in order to find out how the language displays are perceived and evaluated by the public. LL-related language policies and the LL practices in three representative cities are sketched out as the backdrop for the language attitude exploration. A questionnaire survey was administered among 1302 participants from Eastern China to investigate their perception of and attitudes towards the urban multilingualism in their lived space. It is found that most participants are aware of the multilingual practices in the written environment, and they respond positively to the Chinese-dominant, English-rich multilingual practices in the LL. The inscriptions of English and other foreign languages are generally conceived of as instrumental in the construction of an international-oriented city image. Moreover, the non-standard language variations (e.g. Chinglish) in the LL tend to be seen as a problem, though traditional Chinese characters are not turned down. The findings in the study can help us gain an understanding of the bottom-up language ideologies in China and contribute to the ‘experiential’ dimension of LL studies

The Subjectivity of Adjectives in Spoken Mandarin

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

A Norwegian Soul in a Chinese Body? Ethnic Identity and Chinese Adoptees in Norway

The ethnic identity of international adoptees has been a transdisciplinary field of inquiry over the past decades. Taking China-born adopted Norwegian citizens as research subjects, this study uses a mixed-method approach to explore how they perceive their ethnic identity and origin in the host society of Norway. We find that Chinese adoptees mainly identify as racially Chinese but culturally Norwegian, and their Chineseness lies primarily in their appearance. They generally feel secure about their ethnic background despite the challenges and paradoxes caused by their Chinese looks. Most adoptees have no attachment to their birth country, and their interests in China and Chinese culture are usually instrumental and individual-based. Three main socio-cultural factors shape the ethnic identity of China-born adopted children: (1) the negligible impact of their pre-adoptive history upon them, (2) a supportive family environment acknowledging their differences, and (3) an inclusive socio-cultural environment that respects ethnic diversities. No clear tendency towards constructing or enacting double identities among the adoptees was found. Finally, our respondents reported fewer racist experiences than suggested by recent literature on migrants and international adoptees in current literature. This aspect needs further research, also in reference to other cohorts of adoptees.publishedVersio

Practicing and Managing Foreign Toponyms in China: Cultural Politics and Ideologies

This study examines the vogue of adopting foreign-origin place names in Chinese cities and the Chinese governments’ endeavors to regulate the toponymic landscape. The place naming practices, management, and public attitudes concerning foreign toponyms are analyzed to reveal the cultural politics and ideologies of place naming in China’s context. It is found that the foreign toponyms emplaced in urban space mostly have Western origins or roots, and their profusion is largely attributed to their associated symbolic capital, and the clientele’s taste and class identity. In the rectification process, Chinese governments at different levels constructed themselves as protectors of traditional Chinese culture and guards against xenophilia, thus enhancing their symbolic power and governing legitimacy. The general public has resisted top-down toponymic planning via acts of citizenship to reclaim the rights of naming and owning public space. Our findings suggest that nowadays, even in highly regulated societies like China, it would be hard to achieve the expected planning goals when governments simply resort to hegemonic power to implement the place (re)naming policies

Wrestling between English and Pinyin: Language politics and ideologies of coding street names in China

This paper examines the code choice and contestations on street name signs in China to find out the dynamics of language politics and the language ideological debates. In China, Hanyu Pinyin and English compete for visibility on street signs, though only Pinyin is the legally-endorsed alphabetic form for place names. Spolsky’s (2004, 2009) tripartite language policy model is adopted to analyse the management, practice and ideologies regarding the code choice on street name signs in China. It shows that Pinyin has been promulgated as domestic standard fused with national interests in the official discourse, while English win the favour of the general public and some international-oriented cities due to its pragmatic value and the symbolic capital associated with it. The resilient approach taken by the top authority suggests that the traditional model of language management relying on political authority and ideological hegemony is hard to work its way out nowadays

A Norwegian Soul in a Chinese Body? Ethnic Identity and Chinese Adoptees in Norway

The ethnic identity of international adoptees has been a transdisciplinary field of inquiry over the past decades. Taking China-born adopted Norwegian citizens as research subjects, this study uses a mixed-method approach to explore how they perceive their ethnic identity and origin in the host society of Norway. We find that Chinese adoptees mainly identify as racially Chinese but culturally Norwegian, and their Chineseness lies primarily in their appearance. They generally feel secure about their ethnic background despite the challenges and paradoxes caused by their Chinese looks. Most adoptees have no attachment to their birth country, and their interests in China and Chinese culture are usually instrumental and individual-based. Three main socio-cultural factors shape the ethnic identity of China-born adopted children: (1) the negligible impact of their pre-adoptive history upon them, (2) a supportive family environment acknowledging their differences, and (3) an inclusive socio-cultural environment that respects ethnic diversities. No clear tendency towards constructing or enacting double identities among the adoptees was found. Finally, our respondents reported fewer racist experiences than suggested by recent literature on migrants and international adoptees in current literature. This aspect needs further research, also in reference to other cohorts of adoptees

Self-assembly of metal-organic coordination networks using on-surface synthesized ligands

Supramolecular assembly and on-surface synthesis are two widely-used methods for constructing low-dimensional molecular nanostructures on surfaces. Here we describe an approach that combines both methods to create two-dimensional metal-organic networks with exceptionally large pores

Cadmium sulfide nanoparticles-assisted intimate coupling of microbial and photoelectrochemical processes: Mechanisms and environmental applications.

Intimate coupling of microbial extracellular electron transfer (EET) and photoelectrochemical processes is an emerging research area with great potential to circumvent many disadvantages associated with traditional techniques that depend on independent microbial or photocatalysis treatment. Microbial EET processes involve microorganism oxidation of extracellular electron donors for respiration and synchronous reduction of extracellular electron acceptors to form an integrated respiratory chain. Coupled microbial EET-photoelectrochemical technologies greatly improve energy conversion efficiency providing both economic and environmental benefits. Among substitutes for semiconductor photocatalysts, cadmium sulfide nanoparticles (CdS NPs) possess several attractive properties. Specifically, CdS NPs have suitable electrical conductivity, large specific surface area, visible light-driven photocatalysis capability and robust biocompatibility, enabling them to promote hybrid microbial-photoelectrochemical processes. This review highlights recent advances in intimately coupled CdS NPs-microbial extracellular electron transfer systems and examines the mechanistic pathways involved in photoelectrochemical transformations. Finally, the prospects for emerging applications utilizing hybrid CdS NPs-based microbial-photoelectrochemical technologies are assessed. As such, this review provides a rigorous fundamental analysis of electron transport dynamics for hybrid CdS NPs-microbial photoelectrochemical processes and explores the applicability of engineered CdS NPs-biohybrids for future applications, such as in environmental remediation and clean-energy production