An Analysis on Regional Identity and Language Attitude ofLocal Students in Ningxia University

Liuyan

【Abstract】This paper focuses on analyzing regional identity and language attitude of local students in Ningxia University（NXU）.Through analysis and examples，the author provides that the local students in NXU do have regional identity and hold different attitudes towards dialect，Mandarin and English.The paper aims to give educators in NXU some inspiration and help them improve the quality of intercultural education.

【Key words】regional identity； language attitude； local students in NXU

1.Introduction

Ningxia University lies in the capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Yinchuan，with over twenty thousand students.This paper mainly talks about the local students in NXU，among which the majority come from the southern part of Ningxia.Chinese specific cultural and geographical background develops into different regional cultures.Different provinces，cities，even different villages have their specific cultures.Therefore，people living there will have special feelings on the region，on its religion，customs，language and people，which is known as regional identity.That people always have certain understanding or evaluations on the languages they use is called language attitude.Attitude is a psychological phenomenon，and language attitude is a language psychological phenomenon.It refers to peoples value orientation about languages.And language attitude includes three perspectives，cognition，feeling and intention.

2.The Regional Identity of Local Students in NXU

To illustrate regional identity of local students in NXU，the author thinks the best way is to talk about its reflections from the perspective of dialect and fellow identity.

Dialects are variants of languages in some specific geographic areas，and they are different geographical branches of the universal language.Generally，people will feel strange in an unfamiliar language and lack identity of it.Instead，they will be used to using the first language and it is hard to get rid of it.For local students in NXU， besides Mandarin，they have their own dialects，though tiny differences exist among them.On campus，we can hear everywhere that students are speaking in dialect，either in classrooms or dining halls.Even in the School of Foreign Languages and Cultures（SFLC），where students should practice speaking in foreign languages，they still speak in dialects，which，in fact，reflects their regional identity.One of authors classmates said they feel comfortable and natural to speak in dialect with people from the same place.And the dialect is the language of home.Speaking the dialect can identify who you are and where you are from.

Due to the same geographical area，the people living in the same place are called fellow.Fellow refers to a group，in which people share the same language， customs，thinking pattern and history.According to Zhang Haizhong（2010） “Essentially，fellow identity is the social cultural identity under the impact of regional culture.It is the identity of in-group culture and dominant culture.Meanwhile，it is the exclusion of out-group culture and weak culture”.Fellow identity is often manifested in emotional attribution.Attribution can provide individuals with sense of psychological security for belonging to a certain group and meet some psychological needs，like social emotional support.And the most direct reflection of emotional attribution is the identity to hometown dialects.From this，we can see that the dialect identity and fellow identity are closely related.For local students who come from the south，even the students from the north cannot be their fellows.Once in the dining hall，the author and other two classmates were eating together and happened to meet the other two classmates.They four are all from the south of Ningxia.Suddenly，everything changed.They began to chat happily in dialect and the author became a total outsider.

3.The Language Attitude of Local Students in NXU

Language attitude is formed in the process of language cognition and language use.Language cognitive process includes understanding the language（the languages internal structure，social function and value，etc.） and learning to master the language.Language use，in natural state，like in family or internal dialect area，its mandatory is hard to notice.Sometimes，its mandatory is realized by social function，like social language policy.The reflections of language attitude in behavior are language use and language evaluation.

Today，college students are living in a multilingual environment，which is the reality of contemporary social life and an important prerequisite for the occurrence and development of language attitude research.For local students in NXU，they have more than one choices on languages， dialect，Mandarin，English or even other foreign languages.However，if you pay attention to their talk，you may find dialect is the language they speak most frequently followed by Mandarin and English.In some informal places，like dormitory rooms and dining hall，these students choose to speak in dialect；While speaking to people from other places，they speak in Mandarin；Only in English class， may they speak English.We can say that students choice on one language shows a certain language attitude.

Language evaluation means the language users identity to a language，including its practical applicability，values and future.Evaluation on a language influences the language use directly.The author interviewed several local students in NXU about their evaluations towards dialect，Mandarin and English.Among these three languages，students identity degree to Mandarin and dialect is much higher than that of English.For them， Mandarin is the most promising one.In addition，dialect and Mandarin is a part of life but English is not.So it is easy to notice that English does not get much popularity among local students in NXU.However，English is a carrier of cultural exchange.In this case，our educators should take some measures to attract students attention on English.

Conclusion

NXU is responsible to cultivate talents for the region.And intercultural education（IE） is of great significance.In order to improve the quality of IE，the author offers some suggestions for educators in NXU.

1）Change teaching patterns and make the class more active

2）Enrich the learning content

3）Create more chances for students to communicate with foreigners.