A Billion Voices: China's Search for a Common Language: Penguin Specials

(Paperback)

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Mandarin, Guoyu or Putonghua 'Chinese' is a language known by many names, and China is a country home to many languages. Since the turn of the twentieth century linguists and politicians have been on a mission to create a common language for China. From the radical intellectuals of the May Fourth Movement, to leaders such as Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong, all fought linguistic wars to push the boundaries of language reform. Now, Internet users take the Chinese language in new and unpredictable directions. David Moser tells the remarkable story of China's language unification agenda and its controversial relationship with modern politics, challenging our conceptions of what it means to speak and be Chinese.

Reviews

"Moser's love of this language, the product of decades of committee meetings and infighting, shines through in his lively narration of Putonghua's coalescence." --Los Angeles Review of Books
"Mr. Moser presents a history of what is properly called Putonghua . . . with a clear, concise and often amusing introduction to the limits of its spoken and written forms." --Wall Street Journal

Author Bio

David Moser is a scholar of linguistics and currently serves as Academic Director of CET Chinese Studies at Beijing Capital Normal University. He has taught courses in Translation Theory and Psycholinguistics, and is an active commentator on Chinese media, co-hosting the popular Sinica podcast.