On Datong Native Youngsters' Attitudes Towards Datong Dialect And Mandarin

Researchers concentrating on language attitude in sociolinguistics all over the world pointed out in the early 1960s that people have a clear attitude towards their own language and other languages or dialects. The attitude reflects how people learn and use a standard language in intergroup communication. The research will be conducted in Datong, Shanxi, where natives use Mandarin and Datong dialect. It stands in the center of the triangle of Beijing, Taiyuan and Hohhot in geography. The special location must influence natives'language use and attitude. And Datong has been developing to a tourism city since 2008. Mandarin will be used more and more in the future. As a result, Datong natives'attitudes towards Mandarin and local dialect will be changed step by step, especially native youngsters, who have their own ideas about everything.The research aims to explore Datong native youngsters'attitudes towards Mandarin and Datong dialect, so as to explain the relationship between youngsters' language attitudes and their value, belief, emotion, behavior style and how to make language or dialect selections. The study of youngsters'current language attitude concerns the language development of the whole city in future. To a broader sense, it will contribute to the understanding of social function of language or dialect and necessity of language planning, as well as provide a few novel ideas for foreign language teaching.Based on a review of previous studies on language attitude, the research will carry out a quantitative and qualitative study. And the specific research methods are survey questionnaire, MGT and interview. Questionnaire will suggest subjects'conscious, overt evaluation of Mandarin and Datong dialect. And a few extreme questionnaires will be investigated further through MGT and interview. Both of the methods will indicate their unconscious, covert attitude towards Mandarin and the dialect.Detailed studies lead to four findings. First of all, The result of the research is consistent with that of the scholars in the dimensions of status and solidarity. All the subjects have agreed on that Mandarin is sweet. But it gives listeners a feeling of distance and enables one speaking it to be a higher status than another speaking Datong dialect. While Datong dialect suggests the solidarity of speakers to listeners. It can shorten a distance between people. Secondly, on the respect of sex, the result of the research also supports the theory of the scholars on an influence of sex on the language attitude. Women speaking Mandarin are much more than men. Women have not had a completely equal social status with men yet by now. Mandarin makes one show his/her high quality. Therefore, women make every effort to speak standard Mandarin to enhance their status. Next, the rest of respects involved in the research i.e. age, identity, education and childhood, which are considered to influence on the language attitude towards Mandarin and Datong dialect, as a matter of fact, do not function essentially and absolutely to their opinions on Mandarin and the dialect. Most of subjects, whose language attitudes are affected by one respect, may be influenced by another one, or more. And even if subjects are influenced by the same respect, there still exists some different situations among them. They must hold different opinions on the language attitude. Finally, from the perspective of the development of individuals and Datong city, Mandarin is supposed to be spread further, or learned, while Datong dialect should be sustain as one part of locality culture. Mandarin is of great help to communicate for individuals, for Datong has been developing to a tourism city, and will receive more and more tourists from other places. While Datong dialect, only owned by Datong natives, is heritage of local culture. The developments of Mandarin and Datong dialect are not contradicted.