Sociolinguistic Categories of Languages in the PRC: a Structural Model of Everyday Representations and Its Visualization

The article analyzes the social perceptions of Chinese youth regarding the most significant sociolinguistic categories (native, common, national, and other languages) within the Chinese-speaking space. The objective of this study was to construct a structural model of the cognitive field associated with these nominations, approached not from logical-rational or conceptual perspectives but through the lens of everyday meanings attributed to them. The primary research method employed was a comprehensive methodology for constructing a Model of the Structure of Representations (MSR), which encompassed several stages: developing a specialized questionnaire, conducting surveys, analyzing the results in accordance with MSR evaluation indices - namely evaluation, agreement, and distance - constructing and visualizing the representation structure model as a graph; followed by interpreting the findings. The survey involved 95 Chinese students majoring in non-humanities disciplines at Russian universities. As an outcome of this investigation, a mental map illustrating the structure of representations for the studied categories was developed. Analysis revealed that the structure of everyday representations of sociolinguistic categories is well-organized, which indicates its significance within young Chinese individuals' linguistic and cognitive worldviews. This structure is characterized by a governing core of representations comprising nominations such as putonghua, mu yu (native language), and hua yu (Chinese language). In contrast, non-standardized language varieties like dialects occupy peripheral positions. The central area of this structure - the sedimentation zone - facilitates flexibility, continuity, and potential appropriation by speakers. Furthermore, an uncertainty zone is linked to nomination fang yan (dialect), reflecting its ambiguous perception along with inherent instability and high likelihood for functional dynamics.