Language Situation in Foreign Countries: 2019
The Serial Reports on Language Situation：2019
SISU Vice President Yang Li introducing the book.
Group photo
The press conferenceThe Serial Reports on Language Situation:2019 started to release on May 31, 2019, this being the second time the institute of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) involved as editor of the series.
Language Situation in Foreign Countries: 2019 (the Yellow Paper) is the third book of the series. SISU’s National Research Center for Foreign Language Planning and Policy (NRC FLPP) was responsible for its editing.
Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and State Language Commission held a press conference in Beijing to announce the release.
At the press conference, SISU Vice President Yang Li introduced the book. Zhu Ye, the vice director of NRC FLPP, Wu Chunye, the subeditor of Language Situation in Foreign Countries and two assistant editors also attended the conference.
The Yellow Paper contains important events and developments about foreign languages from 2015 to 2016. The original intention of editing the book is to reveal the relationship between languages and society, to highlight the value of languages in human society and to explore the best way to govern the language life. It enables people to see languages based on the world and see the world through languages.
Compared with the 2018 edition, the Yellow Paper this year has added two languages and expanded the writing team. Currently, the writing team has over 60 members. The authors are from 17 different language backgrounds and from over 20 domestic and international universities or institutions.
The biggest change of the Yellow Paper this year is that the “Affairs” replaced the “Life”. It covers some important topics involved in languages, including the future of English brought by Brexit, the language and safety problem of online anti-terrorist and the social and language problems caused by international migration. These issues show the connection between language and society.
The Yellow Paper focuses on the policies has great influence on language both of countries like Iran and Russia and organizations like European Commission. It also follows the new situation of language worldwide. For example, it showed how language education functions to help solve the poverty problem. Its appendix collects the latest research articles about the language life worldwide to provide the readers with more perspectives.
The Yellow Paper reflects the team’s years of observation and research of the world language situation. Its deep understanding of the relations between language and society and the comprehensive grasp of the language situation makes it the most comprehensive and international sub-series in the Serial Reports on Language Situation:2019.
