Language As A Tool For National Integration: The Chinese Example

Sunny Ifeanyi Odinye

Abstract


Language is an ethnic identity. It is an indispensible instrument for human communication and national
integration. It can also be a vehicle for the promotion of national consciousness and unity. This is to say
that people who lose their language have lost their identity. Generally, human activities make use of
language and man is incomplete without language because cultural traditions are preserved through
language. This paper, therefore postulates that language is a veritable tool for national integration using
Chinese language as a case study. The argument is based on Collier and Thomas (1988) Cultural identity
theory which stipulates how individuals use communicative processes to construct and negotiate their
cultural group identities and relationships in particular contexts.
Keywords: Language, Culture, National integration, Cultural identity theory, Chinese language


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