Ebook: Linguistic nationalism: the case of Southern Min

Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, Department of East Asian languages and civilizations. (Sino-Platonic Papers, 25, August, 1991). — 44 p.In this paper, I will explore aspects of the social value of Southern Min. I draw on data collected in three Southern Min-speaking communities in which I have done participant-observation fieldwork: Penang, Malaysia; Tainan, Taiwan, and Xiamen (Amoy), the People's Republic of China, focusing in particular on the political importance of Southern Min in Tainan. I take as one goal that of drawing attention to the importance of regional identities and differences in Chinese society, differences all too often disregarded by those who seek to relfy 'Chinese culture' as a monolithic entity.