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The book
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Prof. Zhao Ronghui at the press conference
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anguage Situation in Foreign Countries: 2020, a yellow-covered report edited chiefly by professor Zhao Ronghui from Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) , was issued by the Ministry of Education on June 2. SISU’s Research of Foreign Language Strategies Center (RFLSC) was in charge of the publication for the third year.
The book reflected the world language situation in 2017 and 2018, focusing on three topics including the construction of the foreign language service system, legislative support for the language unprivileged, and worldwide development of the multilingual ability.
The book written by 48 authors from 19 universities and research institutions, covered 16 languages including sign language. A language host and a column host were set for the first time during this year’s compilation. The former reported subject choices and reviewed original materials, while the latter guided writing.
As the core force of the writing team, SISU’s teachers and students assisted in editing the book, ensuring the quality of the articles. "I have participated in this project for three years. This year I was the column host, responsible for topic planning, training writers and directing writing. The book is not academic papers, but in-depth reports in nature, which requires new writers to familiarize themselves with the writing style," said Zhao Yao, a graduate student of SISU.
The book of 2020 consisted of six parts: policies, dynamics, events, reports, words and appendix. It aimed to reveal the relationship between language and society with a global perspective, highlighting the value of languages and exploring the best way to govern language life.
The book was a window into the global language situation, according to Zhao. “We conducted researches with our professional knowledge, hoping that readers would be enlightened through simplified language.” He added that the book would benefit politics by eliminating problems caused by cultural misunderstandings in foreign exchanges.
As one of the core works of SISU’s National Research Center for Foreign Language Planning and Policy, Language Situation in Foreign Countries, has become the most international sub-series of all books on language life over the years.
