Speech Practice Community: A New Perspective on the Study of Ethnic Corridors

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1674-9391.2024.10.013

Abstract： The proposal and development of the concept of ethnic corridors" emphasize the migration， interaction， and integration between ethnic groups and cultures，" along with the natural geographical flow within these “corridors”. These" land belts not only serve as places for the historical flow of surrounding ethnic minorities， but also channels for the interaction and integration between Han and other ethnic groups. Their most important significance lies in connection and integration.

The ethnic corridors" represent regions" where Chinese dialects and ethnic minority languages coexist harmoniously， making them a resource-rich “language corridor”. Previous research" has predominantly remained at the stage of describing scattered phonological systems，" rarely" involving" the interactive" communicative practices between languages in the region and" failing to sort out manifestations of community consciousness within language interaction. What’s more， the ethnic corridors seem to be" ethnic" admixture zones composed of" waterways， valleys， and mountains. The topographical and geomorphological features possess both obstructive and connective implications for" the formation， distribution，" and evolution of dialect distribution patterns." Anthropogeographical factors such as administrative evolution and population mobility are also" significant determinants of" the language distribution pattern， yet research in this regard remains scant. This article believes that the language interaction in the ethnic corridors has spontaneous characteristics， and language diffusion displays typical characteristics. The languages within ethnic corridors constitute" important resources for linguistics， ethnology， and anthropology. It is of great value and significance to sort out the practices of communication， interaction， and integration among various ethnic groups based on language factors.

This paper centers on the speech practice community and constructs a new analytical framework for the study of ethnic corridors， which mainly consists of four sections： Speech" community， social network community， speech practice community， and the discourse of Chinese national community consciousness. The speech community examines the regular covariance between language structure and social structure from a combined dynamic and static group perspective. The social network community takes individual speech characteristics as the starting point to analyze its social network characteristics， while the practice community highlights the" individual’s subjective agency in speech practice. The ultimate objective" is to construct the discourse of Chinese national community consciousness.

In closing， in" the new era， language and writing research needs to take into account the following situations： On the one hand， examining the language usage patterns in specific areas （such as ethnic corridors） and clarifying" the relationship between dialects， ethnic minority languages， and Putonghua can enhance the promotion of the standard spoken and written Chines language. At the same time， it manifests a certain degree of" respect for the sensitivities of users of dialects and ethnic languages" thus preventing or mitigating negative sentiments. On the other hand， dialects and ethnic languages are both the spiritual symbols and cultural essence of Chinese civilization， harboring" the genes of the Chinese national community. To explore the embodiment of the Chinese national community consciousness from the practice of language interaction and communication， due attention must be accorded to" the instrumentality of language symbols and the agency of language users. It is considered" crucial to give full play to the identification， interactive practice，" and construction functions of language symbols in a multi-dimensional and targeted manner for the construction of the discourse of the Chinese nation’s community consciousness.

Key Words： speech practice community; ethnic corridor; language interaction