Putonghua and the Languages of the Minorities in China’s Language Space. A Review of some Official Documents on China’s LPP and LEP (1999–2022)

Over the past two decades, after the enactment of the Language Law in 2001, China’s language planning has been implemented mainly by means of administrative acts. In particular, several acts published during the first decade of the 21st century, although devoted to education, were critical for China’s LPP too, because they include specific clauses pertaining to language. The Outline of National Medium- and Long-Term Language Reform and Development Programme (2012-2020), published in 2012, proposed a more articulated system of goals for language and language education, as well as revealing their ideological foundations. More recently, a further display of the objectives of language planning and language education planning was provided by the Opinions on the Complete Strengthening of Language Work in the New Era (2020). The aim of this contribution is to assess the status of the Unified Textbook of Language and Literature as a major milestone not only for China’s language education policies but also for the entire area of language policies. In order to reach this aim, I examined key official documents issued between 1999 and 2022 by the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission, related to education and language, and highlighted their ideological underpinnings.