Impact of Chinese Language Policy in Xinjiang on Uyghur Identity Essay

Language serves many diverse roles in different societies. One of the common roles served by language is the unifying role of language which brings together people who share the same dialect and bonds them. Therefore, language is used in many countries as a pillar for national identity as well as fostering unity. Likewise, language has served as an enduring pillar to the Chinese national identity. Mandarin was adopted as the Chinese national language after the establishment of the People's Republic of China. China being a highly multilingual nation with over 200 languages faces issues with the integration and assimilation of the diverse languages into one binding national language, Mandarin (Finley & Zang, 2015). This is based on the resistance on the erosion of identity of some ethnic groups. The need for decentralized and uniform economic development across China, the country chose to adopt a common national language with Mandarin advocated to serve as the national language. The adoption of one national language and outlawing some ethnic languages such as the Uyghur language impacted on resentment and discrimination of specific communities (Finley & Zang, 2015). As much as language is the defining feature of modern China as one ethnic group, Islam has been cited as an exception accounting for other languages.

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The Chinese language policy recognizes the use of Mandarin as the national language and therefore advocates for its use in national fucntions, schools and as an overal public language. Additionally, Mandarin has widely spread across the globe; a stratgy deployed to increase the application of the Chinese language by different countries. Therefore, the efforts to diversify the use of Chinese language across the globe targets at winning over the entire world as well as winning over the local population. However, the Uyghur population has suffered much of the cultural disorientation with the outlawing of the Uyghur language. The Xinjiang inland classes policy adopted in the mid-1980s provide for the transferring of the minority children to inland schools (Finley & Zang, 2015). This is to foster the learning of Mandarin and eliminate the use of minority ethnic groups. the transfer of minority group students encompasses the primary school and high school, graduates. The Xinjiang Ministry of Education notes the enrollment of high school graduates in inland China for Xinjiang classes. The classes target to foster nationalism, love for socialism and safeguarding national unity which on the other hand interferes with the safeguarding of the minority languages (Leibold & Chen, 2014).

Uyghurs, especially from East Turkestan, face the harsh oppression from assimilationist policies adopted by the People's Republic of China. The controversial part is the suppression and marginalization of the Uyghur language from use in educational institutions as an instruction language in East Turkestan schools. However, this is against the PRC's national law on instructional languages in autonomous regions which are allowed to identify instructional languages to be adopted at the local level (Leibold & Chen, 2014). The assimilationist policy imposes the use of Mandarin as the sole instructional language which reflects in uncertainty on the survival of the Uyghur population's sole identity. Uyghur language is a mother tongue to averagely 10.6 million Uyghur residents in East Turkestan as well as an additional 1.5 million people in diaspora. Uyghur has also used a significant population from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Afghanistan. Therefore, by completely assimilating the population in East Turkestan implies greater chances of loss of identity and dissociation from other Uyghur speaking population across the world.

The Uyghur population has been immensely affected by the assimilation process and the outlawing of the Uyghur language. This can be linked to direct erosion of the Uyghur culture, language, and identity. The common link among the minority groups is the use of language. However, the need to work with neighboring countries along with the implementation of the Chinese language policy has agitated the transformation of the Uyghur population through the introduction of the Han. The introduction of the Han along with the restriction of the use of the Uyghur language poses a threat to the Uyghur population. Language is the identifying factor among the Uyghur community. Therefore, the assimilation of the Uyghur with the Han along with the extermination of the Uyghur language in schools and the customary application of the language sends the identity of the Uyghur into question. The use of force to impose the Han Chinese to the Uyghur ignited ethnic tension which points out the state orchestrated migration of the Han into the Xinjiang as strategy deployed to dilute the cultural identity of the Uyghur.

With reference to the 6% Han population in the Uyghur population in 1949, the migration strategy has led to a significant rise in the Han population among the Uyghur with a tremendous rise to 41% of the total population in the region. The region is widely known to be dominated by the Uyghur exhibit high Han population as opposed to the native Uyghur community. in this light, it is definite that the identity of the Uyghur population is fading away. What seemed to be the majority group in the region now lies on the verge of extinction with a distinct decline in the population. The decline in the population can be attributed to the harsh conditions imposed on the minority groups in cementing the Chinese language policy.

The population of Xinjiang has also been influenced by the transformation of the capital through Beijing's funding aimed at improving it into a modern city and foster business. In this case, it is difficult to maintain the ethnic language since to improve local business with other areas requires a common language (Dwyer, 2005). Therefore, it is apparent that the transformation of Xinjiang contributed to the introduction of diverse populations hence need for a uniting language. Since Uyghur language is outlawed as either a customary language and an official language, the true representation of the Uyghur is washed away. However, the transformation of Xinjiang does not entirely diminish the Uyghur identity as the exquisite Islamic architecture of Kashgar city was restored which is the spiritual center for the Uyghur traditional culture.

The focus on the political unity and the stability of the nation puts the minority groups on the greenlight as they suffer from integration issues, left out of administration and economic platforms. Maintaining political stability and unity should put into consideration the respect to social and cultural structures of the minority groups. Language is one key cultural factor that highlights the diversity and identity of each particular group. In that perspective, it is apparent that conflicts over the adoption of a national language over the ethnic language expose the Uyghur community to the threat of community disorientation, assimilation and lack of common bond or link (Dwyer, 2005).

The minorities are the main victims of the assimilation process with the Uyghur activists subjected to false, unfounded detention and imprisonment (Finley & Zang, 2015). Rather than initiating the assimilation process, the government should otherwise consider defining policies that unite the two cultures. The value of the Uyghur culture and identity lies in their binging language and therefore, unifying the population's culture with the advocated culture can realize the peaceful transformation of Xinjiang and improve the economic development of the region and the population at large.

In the assimilationist policy restricts the use of Uyghur in government offices, emergency response areas, television programs and radio shows as well as its use on the naming of archaeological sites and streets. Additionally, the historical and cultural literary works symbolic to Uyghur culture have been destroyed and burned in what is referred to as China's fight of separatism. The education system alleged to be bilingual education system has increased over the years. the bilingual education system mandates children to learn basic Mandarin before being enrolled in primary classes. However, the growth of Mandarin-based schools in Xinjiang accompanied with the government restriction to the use of Uyghur language ignites big debate and doubts on the motive of the adoption of Mandarin (Feng & Sunuodula, 2009). The deceptive bilingual policy has facilitated the adoption of a monolingual education system based on the Mandarin language. Regardless of the promotion of diversity in education platforms, the Mandarin-based education system suffocates the use of minority ethnic languages and therefore subjecting Uyghur language to potential extinction. The dissatisfaction in the erosion of individual identity through the education and bilingual education policy has seen continued anger from the Uyghur population. The detrimental part is the target of the Uyghur population by PRC associating them with terrorism. The government's declaration on the war on terror and separatism is aimed at suppressing the Uyghur dissent (Finley & Zang, 2015). However, the fight against bilingual education system and the suffocation of the Uyghur identity is maintained by vast groups especially Uyghurs residing away from East Turkestan.

Conclusion

Currently, the Uyghur community resorts to desperate means to preserve their identity with the assimilationist policy subjecting them to discrimination, marginalization and oppression. In this light, the cleansing of the Uyghur community seems inevitable. The international community is called upon to aid out in airing the concerns of the Uyghur population. Based on the PRC's laws on the autonomous states, the Uyghur population seems to be subjected to oppression from the Chinese government by forcing the use of Mandarin language as a basic instructional language. This violates the law which grants the autonomous states the power to determine their own instructional language.

References

Dwyer, A. M. (2005). The Xinjiang conflict: Uyghur identity, language policy, and political discourse.

Feng, A., & Sunuodula, M. (2009). Analysing language education policy for China's minority groups in its entirety. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 12(6), 685-704.

Finley, J. S., & Zang, X. (2015). Second/third language learning and Uyghur identity: language in education for Uyghurs in urban Xinjiang. In Language, Education and Uyghur Identity in Urban Xinjiang (pp. 107-125). Routledge.

Finley, J. S., & Zang, X. (Eds.). (2015). Language, Education and Uyghur Identity in Urban Xinjiang. Routledge.

Leibold, J., & Chen, Y. (Eds.). (2014). Minority education in China: Balancing unity and diversity in an era of critical pluralism. Hong Kong University Press.