One State, One People, One Language: A Comparison of Chinese and Soviet Langauge Policy in the 20th Century

Author

Rachel Faith, College of William and MaryFollow

Date Thesis Awarded

4-2014

Access Type

Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only

Degree Name

Bachelors of Arts (BA)

Department

Global Studies

Advisor

Alexander Prokhorov

Committee Members

Elena Prokhorova

Frederick Corney

Abstract

In line with Michael Gorham’s argument in his monograph Speaking in Soviet Tongues that recent trends in the sociology of language have come to link language with issues of power and authority, this thesis argues that the cultural administrators in the Soviet Union and the PRC approached language culture and development with the intention of using it as a means of state building. A case study of the Mongolian language and its interaction with Soviet and Chinese policy shows this process in detail.

Recommended Citation

Faith, Rachel, "One State, One People, One Language: A Comparison of Chinese and Soviet Langauge Policy in the 20th Century" (2014). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 85.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/85

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