The sociolinguistics of globalizing China

Abstract

The sociolinguistics of globalization has emerged as an important research paradigm in response to the challenges of global social change. As a country undergoing some of the most drastic changes during the past few decades, China provides a rich site for exploring the issue of language and globalization empirically and theoretically. This article seeks to map out the new socio-cultural values being produced or re-conceptualized in the process of China's transformation, with a view to understand the materiality of language use under the current conditions of global economy and geopolitics. It reviews recent research mainly from four perspectives: identity, social stratification and consumerism; English and neoliberal globalization; diversity, ethnicity and race; state and nationalism, and concludes with suggestions for future research.