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Papers by Don Snow

Global Chinese, Sep 1, 2018

The recent publication of the novel Magnificent Flowers (Fan Hua 繁花) has attracted attention not ... more The recent publication of the novel Magnificent Flowers (Fan Hua 繁花) has attracted attention not only because of critical acclaim and market success, but also because of its use of Shanghainese. While Magnificent Flowers is the most notable recent book to make substantial use of Shanghainese, it is not alone, and the recent increase in the number of books that are written partially or even entirely in Shanghainese raises the question of whether written Shanghainese may develop a role in Chinese print culture, especially that of Shanghai and the surrounding region, similar to that attained by written Cantonese in and around Hong Kong. This study examines the history of written Shanghainese in print culture. Growing out of the older written Suzhounese tradition, during the early decades of the twentieth century a distinctly Shanghainese form of written Wu emerged in the print culture of Shanghai, and Shanghainese continued to play a role in Shanghai's print culture through the twentieth century, albeit quite a modest one. In the first decade of the twenty-first century Shanghainese began to receive increased public attention and to play a greater role in Shanghai media, and since 2009 there has been an increase in the number of books and other kinds of texts that use Shanghainese and also the degree to which they use it. This study argues that in important ways this phenomenon does parallel the growing role played by written Cantonese in Hong Kong, but that it also differs in several critical regards. The most important difference is that, to date, written Shanghainese appears almost exclusively in texts that look back to "old Shanghai" and/or to traditional alley life in Shanghai, and that a role of the type written Cantonese has in Hong Kong is not likely to be attained unless or until Shanghainese texts that are associated with modern urban Shanghai life, especially youth culture, begin to appear.

Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, Jul 31, 2008

“Standard language” status is a relative construct defined by a variety of attributes rather than... more “Standard language” status is a relative construct defined by a variety of attributes rather than by any single criteria. This paper uses the taxonomy of standard language attributes presented in Downes 1998 as a framework for examining the degree to which written Cantonese, particularly in Hong Kong, has developed attributes of a standard language. In particular, it is argued that written Cantonese has gained a degree of autonomy from Standard Written Chinese, that the Cantonese speech community has clear usage norms regarding how spoken Cantonese words should be represented in writing, that written Cantonese is functionally elaborated in the sense that users have little difficulty with lack of vocabulary for technical or academic concepts, that written Cantonese plays a growing social role in Hong Kong, and that its level of prestige is increasing. The paper concludes that while written Cantonese does not have all the attributes associated with standard languages, it has developed a significant number of these attributes to a significant degree, and that the growing role of written Cantonese is an important indicator of the degree to which Cantonese is taking on a regional standard role in China.

International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2010

This article examines the history of diglossia in Hong Kong, and goes on to argue that Hong Kong ... more This article examines the history of diglossia in Hong Kong, and goes on to argue that Hong Kong is similar to German-speaking Switzerland in that it is a rare example of diglossia in a highly modernized society. These two cases differ from most traditional defining cases of diglossia in the nature of their societies, the nature of their high (H) variety, the degree of stability in their diglossic patterns, the historical path through which their diglossic patterns evolved, and the forces that sustain their diglossia, especially the role played by identity issues. It is argued that these two cases should be viewed as a small but distinct subcategory of diglossia that I will call modern diglossia.

Multilingual education, 2018

When intercultural communication skills are taught in foreign language courses, three high priori... more When intercultural communication skills are taught in foreign language courses, three high priority factors to address are (1) ethnocentrism, (2) stereotyping, and (3) ingroup bias. These factors are important to understand not only because they can bias interpretations, but also because they can potentially short-circuit the interpretation process through a mechanism known as “attribute substitution.”

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Feb 1, 2013

Global Chinese, Mar 26, 2018

In two articles published in the 1920s, Hu Shi argued that China's vernacular literature movement... more In two articles published in the 1920s, Hu Shi argued that China's vernacular literature movement should encompass not only literature written in Mandarin but also other regional languages in China, and suggested that Wu, particularly Suzhounese, was the regional language most likely to achieve what he described as "independence" (独立) as a literary language. Beginning in the late Ming dynasty with Feng Menglong's Mountain Songs collection, this study traces the literary journey of Suzhounese as used in various types of written texts such as Kun opera scripts, tanci novels, fiction, and Wu song texts into the early 20th century. This study argues that while written Suzhounese never achieved full independence as a literary language, and could now be said to have gone into decline, its more than 300-year history deserves more attention than it normally receives in histories of the Chinese literary tradition. This is not only because of the scale of its use and its degree of social influence, but also because the memory of this substantial literary tradition lives on and gives greater legitimacy to use of written Wuparticularly Shanghainesein contemporary print culture in China.

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Oct 1, 2013

Abstract This paper examines the history of four Chinese vernaculars which have developed written... more Abstract This paper examines the history of four Chinese vernaculars which have developed written forms, and argues that five of the patterns Hanan identifies in the early development of Bai Hua can also be found in the early development of written Wu, Cantonese, and Minnan. In each of the cases studied, there is a clear pattern of early use of the vernacular being sanctioned by the following factors: (1) a tie to oral literature; (2) use in texts written for less literate audiences; (3) a tie to low prestige domains; (4) association with groups that have little fealty to the dominant culture; and (5) use in new genres, where conventions are not already set. The strength of these patterns, found in cases that differ in both social and historical setting, suggests that they are rooted in inherent attributes of L varieties in diglossic situations, and that similar patterns may well be found in other cases where L varieties begin developing written forms.

This paper was originally presented in March 2017 at the plenary session of the Christians in Eng... more This paper was originally presented in March 2017 at the plenary session of the Christians in English Language Teaching (CELT) conference at Seattle Pacific University. Dr. Snow reflects on the importance of academic research at different stages of his career as a TESOL educator. He encourages all Christians in TESOL to reflect and consider their own calling and the place of academic research.

Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, Jan 14, 2010

This article examines the most extensive case of diglossia in history, that of diglossia in East ... more This article examines the most extensive case of diglossia in history, that of diglossia in East Asia. In pre-modern times, Classical Chinese functioned as the high (H) language variety in not only China, but also Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, and this entire region can arguably be viewed as a single instance of diglossia in the sense that the rise and eventual decline of diglossia in these societies followed similar patterns, and changes in one society often affected the others. Examination of diglossia in East Asia shows that even during long centuries of apparent stability, gradual changes were always underway, hence supporting Hudson’s (2002) view that stability in diglossic patterns is at best relative. The East Asian case also supports Coulmas’ (2002) view that writing is pivotal to any theory of diglossia, in that the division of roles between H and L in East Asia was essentially one of written/spoken language. Finally, the case of East Asia suggests that there are two essentially different kinds of diglossia, a traditional kind which is common in pre-modern societies and in which H is what Anderson (2006) calls a “sacred language,” and a less common modern kind in which H is a modern standard language.

Language and Intercultural Communication, Jan 14, 2015

Critical incident exercises (CIEs) are increasingly used in English courses, and there seems litt... more Critical incident exercises (CIEs) are increasingly used in English courses, and there seems little doubt that in addition to providing English practice opportunities CIEs also help learners build intercultural competence. The question is: What precise aspects of intercultural competence do CIEs help learners build? This article introduces an open-ended variety of CIE called an ‘encounter exercise,’ and explores the aspects of intercultural competence regular use of such exercises helps learners build. Drawing on recent literature about dual-process views of thinking, this article argues that encounter exercises are valuable for helping learners build the following habits of thought: (1) being consciously aware of the interpretation process in intercultural communication situations, (2) consciously considering multiple interpretations of puzzling or problematic intercultural encounters, (3) paying conscious attention to factors that may affect how one interprets problematic intercultural encounters, especially factors that affect feelings or interpretation rules, and (4) paying conscious attention to the ‘benefit-of-the-doubt’ question.

*Wong, M. S., & Canagarajah, S. (Eds.). (2009). Christian and critical English language e... more *Wong, M. S., & Canagarajah, S. (Eds.). (2009). Christian and critical English language educators in dialogue: Pedagogical and ethical dilenunas. New York: Routledge. Xiao, X., & Chen, G.-M. (2009). Communication competence and moral competence:

Global Chinese

In the pre-modern era, women in the Chaoshan region of southeastern China had a tradition of lear... more In the pre-modern era, women in the Chaoshan region of southeastern China had a tradition of learning and performing long narrative songs. From the mid-1800s into the mid-1900s these songs were widely produced by local publishing houses in inexpensive woodblock print books called Teochew songbooks (Chaozhou gece 潮州歌册). These song texts made considerable use of the Teochew language. This paper discusses the history of Teochew songs and songbook publishing, and then examines the language used in one typical songbook, The Case of Haimen (Haimen An 海门案). The paper suggests that the use of different language varieties in the songbook texts is best viewed as a translanguaging phenomenon, as the songbook authors fluidly drew on different linguistic resources and integrated them into a creative genre with its own style, rather than keeping varieties separate for different functions (unlike some other pre-modern texts that use regional Chinese languages). The paper also argues that while the...

Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 2017

While the English language curriculum in China encourages teachers and students to give attention... more While the English language curriculum in China encourages teachers and students to give attention to oral English skills, required high-stakes English examinations in China generally do not test speaking skills, and the washback effect of this is that oral skills are not often practiced in middle school and university English courses in China. Despite this, some Chinese students learn to speak English quite well, leading to the question—how?

Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 2006

Intercultural Communication in Asia: Education, Language and Values, 2018