(In)visibility of Multilingualism in Amdo Tibet

Projektinformationen

IMAT

ID Finanzhilfevereinbarung: 101106116

DOI

10.3030/101106116

Projekt abgeschlossen

EK-Unterschriftsdatum 24 Juli 2023

Startdatum 1 Januar 2024

Enddatum 31 Dezember 2025

Finanziert unter

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Gesamtkosten

Keine Daten

EU-Beitrag

€ 189 687,36

Koordiniert durch

FREIE UNIVERSITAET BERLIN
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - IMAT ((In)visibility of Multilingualism in Amdo Tibet)

Berichtszeitraum: 2024-01-01 bis 2025-12-31

Zusammenfassung vom Kontext und den Gesamtzielen des Projekts

This project investigated how multilingualism and linguistic diversity are materialised in urban space in Amdo Tibet (Qinghai–Gansu area), a culturally diverse region in Northwest China inhabited by Tibetans, Han Chinese, Hui, Salar, and Mongolic-speaking communities.
Against the backdrop of language policies, rapid urbanisation, migration, and socio-economic change, the project analyses language use in the linguistic landscape, focusing on the (in)visibility of multilingualism in public signage.
The project pursued four objectives: (1) document and database public signs; (2) analyse local language policies and regulations; (3) examine the informative and symbolic functions of multilingual signage; and (4) investigate language norms and contact phenomena as indicators of power relations and social hierarchies.
The main research site is Rongwo (Longwu), the county seat of Rebgong (Tongren), where Tibetan and Chinese are co-official languages and where intense infrastructural development is reshaping urban space. In addition to Rongwo, the project has also included Xining, the capital of Qinghai, in order to examine language use in urban space. Particular attention has been paid to the informative and symbolic roles of public signs and to the ways in which visual propaganda is adapted to national and local policies as well as to specific urban characteristics.
Situated at the intersection of sociolinguistics, ethnography, linguistics, and urban studies, the project has examined how state policies, sociolinguistic realities, language ideologies, and language contact shape the representation of ethnolinguistic diversity. Its broader aim is to understand language hierarchies, the impact of national and local language policies, and the agency of minority communities in constructing space through language and other semiotic resources.

Arbeit, die ab Beginn des Projekts bis zum Ende des durch den Bericht erfassten Berichtszeitraums geleistet wurde, und die wichtigsten bis dahin erzielten Ergebnisse

Key outcomes include five conference presentations, 3 peer-reviewed publications (published or submitted), the creation of database of 269 public signs that will be accessible on the FU repository Refubium, and digital humanities outputs such as interactive maps and data visualizations on ArchGIS Storymap.
All main scientific objectives have been achieved or are on schedule: public signs were documented through fieldwork; language policies were examined and verified through research and field investigation; the informative and symbolic roles of signs are being analysed through ethnographic research and joint publications; and language norms and contact phenomena are being investigated, including through an article on translation practices.

Fortschritte, die über den aktuellen Stand der Technik hinausgehen und voraussichtliche potenzielle Auswirkungen (einschließlich der bis dato erzielten sozioökonomischen Auswirkungen und weiter gefassten gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen des Projekts)

Methodologically, the project integrates linguistic landscape analysis with ethnographic approaches in order to capture the complexities of language use in urban space and to better understand the structural and practical limitations affecting minority languages, as well as the perception of Tibetan speakers. This combined approach moves beyond purely descriptive accounts of signage and allows for a more nuanced interpretation of agency, policy implementation, and everyday communicative practices.

In addition, the project places specific emphasis on translation practices in public signage as a lens through which to analyse language hierarchies, inequalities, and forms of linguistic invisibility. While such dynamics have been widely discussed in post-colonial and globalised English-dominant contexts, they have rarely been examined in peripheral areas of China. By addressing this gap, the project contributes new theoretical and empirical insights into the relationship between multilingualism, power, and space in the Chinese context.