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The Platform for Linguistic and Epistemic Justice (PLEJ) aims to place socio-cultural linguistic research at the centre among the interdisciplinary areas of enquiry with social impact at SSEES, UCL, and beyond. Among the questions that stand at the heart of PLEJ’s explorations are: How are forms of domination and resistance conveyed through discourse and multi-modal forms of interaction? How can we address the impact of uneven local and global power dynamics? In the PLEJ Podcast series, Student Associate Hayley Anderson speaks to UCL’s students and early career researchers who strive to address these questions across disciplines, geographical and educational spaces, and time.
Hayley: Hello and welcome to the podcast of the Platform for Linguistic and Epistemic Justice or PLEJ for short. My name is Hayley Anderson and I'm the Student Associate here at PLEJ. I'll give a little background on the Centre shortly, but first, I would like to give the warmest of welcomes to our guest, Andrea An Thank you so much for joining us today.
Luyilin: Thank you so much for having me on this podcast.
Hayley: So, before we jump into our conversation about how you've engaged with issues surrounding language in your research or everyday experiences, I'll provide a brief introduction to PLEJ and the Centre's aims and purposes. PLEJ was established in 2024 by three principal investigators at SSEES, Dr. Riitta Valijarvi, Dr. Jelena Calic, and Dr. Eszter Tarsoly. The platform engages with sociolinguistic research and themes relating to languages in practice, including minoritization, linguistic diversity and endangerment, and marginalization in social and linguistic forms. If you've ever wondered why some languages and forms of expertise gain precedence over others, and how we can best highlight the languages and their speakers who are often overshadowed, PLEJ is interested in exploring these questions. So, as we move into our conversation, Andrea, would you be able to introduce yourself and your research interests or maybe give us a bit of an insight into what led you onto this topic?
Luyilin: Hello everyone, my name is Andrea and in Chinese my name is Luyilin An and now I'm currently I'm a student of Russian and East European literature and culture in SSEES. And today I am really excited
to share a small project I did about a local term of address in my hometown, Jinan in northern part of China.
Hayley: Amazing. So, as we get started into this conversation, among other topics, PLEJ engages with the way in which language is being used as a tool of oppression to perpetuate systems of domination, but also how language has the potential to enhance the social and democratic participation of oppressed and marginalised groups. Why did these things matter to you and how have you been able to explore these themes in your in your research project?
Luyilin: For me, linguistic justice is not only about access, inclusion,
the power dynamics, but it's also about the emotional connection.
Actually, now I'm currently preparing my PhD proposal which focuses
on post-colonial diasporic literature and the effect theory. So actually I've been thinking a lot about how language and emotions intersect. Especially for displaced or marginalised communities. And actually, last week I actually attended the PLEJ lecture on language in diasporic literature and it's really resonated with me and helped me to deepen in my thoughts. For me, my previous project about this about this term of address, I think it closely related to the local emotions, in even cities. So that's my aim.
Hayley: Fantastic. And yeah, that was a really good presentation and
I think it really highlights how this link between language and identity
materialises in the realm of literature, based on that book launch last week at SSEES. For your local project and terms of address, would you mind kind of outlining this a bit further and showing how it is explored through the genre of literature?
Luyilin: Actually, about this research, my interests lie at the intersection of social linguistics, local dialogue, preservation, and the
cultural memory of our city. You know, as I mentioned before, it focuses on the unique form of address in my hometown Jinan and in
my hometown, locals there often call strangers, in Chinese it's pronounced 老师(lǎoshī),literally in English meaning “Teacher”, but in practise it’s a polite and friendly term, not necessarily linked
to the profession, to someone's profession. Yeah. Actually, I was
inspired to study this because of little conversation I had with my
boyfriend, who is from a completely different and far province. He
once told me a story that when his teacher had visited Jinan and was confused when the bus driver greeted him as lǎoshī ‘teacher’. He thought that the driver somehow guessed he was a teacher. That moment made me realise how a similarly simple word can carry vastly different meanings, connotations, depending on the context, geography and the familiarities between people. And it made me curious about how this term is used and understood today, especially among different age groups, educational levels, like this. And also during my undergraduate studies, one of my professors mentioned that social linguistics in China is still dominantly qualitative and we lack enough quantitative work, so I designed this project using both. Firstly, I created a questionnaire and collected over 100 responses which I analysed using SPSS, an analysis tool, and also conducted in depth interviews with twelve individuals.
Hayley: That's so brilliant. And what was that experience like? I assume that this was something that you had known about by living in your hometown, but what was the experience like of being able to research it and conduct a study on this thing that is quite natural to you?
Luyilin: Well, actually, it was a little bit weird. Because yeah you need to get into every corner of the city and ask people to do the questionnaires and find appropriate people to do the interviews. But you know, as an early researcher, you'll need to complete it naturally. But yeah, luckily the results were really, really interesting. I found that the use of this term is strongly age-related. For example, specifically among people over 50 years old, more than 80% said that they still use it regularly in the everyday, especially in the occasions like the buses, I mentioned, and the markets, supermarkets, the little restaurants, like this. And they often use it when they greet strangers in public spaces. But among younger speakers, especially those under 30 or 25, fewer than 20% reported using it. And many said that they had never heard it among their peers. And what surprised me even more was the role of education. People with university degrees were more likely to say this word sounds are too local. Yeah. Or not formal enough. Like this. So it seems that the forms of education maybe internalises how the language hierarchies can shape how people perceive dialect terms. But on the other hand, I interviewed a taxi driver in Jinan who said I always say this term of address, and it makes people feel warm or not like some cold machine and especially for the tourists or, you know that the taxi drivers, they tend to communicate and chat with tourists, and when they taxi driver race to the tourists using this word, the tourists they might be very curious or a little bit confused about this word like my boyfriend’s teacher did. Yeah, so it can be a kind of a topic to break the ice and I think
it's very interesting.
Hayley: That's really fascinating and especially that there is
such a divide between generations or education levels or between what's considered local and non-local. Is never risked that this term could eventually die out? And if it does become sort of extinct, what is lost with the term?
Luyilin: According to my research, the results in my research, it might disappear in the future. It will be because you know, as they exist in generations past and the next generations come.
Hayley: Is there a certain cultural memory that is represented within the term? So something that represents the history, the culture, the non- standard forms of dialect in Jinan? That is, I guess maybe exemplified in in the term? And is there a risk that those same cultural attributes will also evolve and change?
Luyilin: Overall, my study suggests that this term is slowly disappearing among younger and more educated groups, obviously, and I think it risks being understood or even lost unless we pay sufficient attention to
It. Because I think this term, even though it might seem like just a very casual local term, actually carries a lot of emotional and cultural weight in in the city. Firstly, on the emotional level, as I mentioned, many older Jinan residents told me that using this world feels warm and respectful. It's a way of addressing strangers that immediately softens their interaction, their communication. And further, it brings a sense of
closeness, kindness, shows that they are friendly to the others, especially in everyday encounters. Especially like, taking the bus or buying food. So I say it as a kind of emotional shorthand for
hospitality or human warmth. And secondly, I think this term reflects a kind of local philosophy of interpersonal relations. In Jinan, and perhaps in many cities in northern part of China, being open hearted and being friendly towards others is very important, it’s a part of the social fabric and people here very, very generous. So, I think this term becomes more than a word, it’s part of the shared way of relating to the others. And yeah, finally, as you mentioned, there's something deeply urban, local, historical about it. Actually, I haven't found about the origin of this term because maybe it is too old, it has passed among many generations. So, although this term is fading, is disappearing of among younger generations, partly due to the urban migration, the
flow of digital communication, the social media and education driven language, like the standardisation, the form of Mandarin. But for long term residents in Jinan, this world is tied to their memories of this city of communities, neighbourhoods, markets, buses. So yeah, for example, there is an interest in that when I collected data in buses, the data tended to be more positive, but when I collected data from the subways, it tended towards more negative data. I think that's because they subways are a kind of new transportation in Jinan. So, I think preserving this word is not just about language, but also about remembering a kind of slower, warmer and more communal way of life, in in the local city.
Hayley: Wow, it's so interesting that even within the city, depending on whether a form of transport is modern or perhaps more representative of a time when the word would have been used more regularly, you have these distinctions and it sounds so beautiful. It sounds like something that really should be maintained because it is this representation of community values, of a togetherness, about being open. I mean, I think that's really beautiful. My next question maybe branches more into the realm of research ethics, but in your experience of conducting research, what is the best way of researching and collaborating with maybe more vulnerable groups in a way which is sensitive, but also continuously beneficial to the individuals in question. How can we best protect those languages and the individuals who speak the language and use these non-standard forms of address?
Luyilin: During this research, it included a lot of, you know, similarly vulnerable groups of people. Such as, I interviewed a lot of the
elderly people and, you know, because my research was also related to their professions. Like, which kind of professions people who tended to use this term and the level of education. I think the ethics, it's a very, very important question, especially for the researchers who relate to people. And that's something I was very mindful and started during my project. Firstly, I saw that I need to make sure that all the participation was completely voluntary and that everyone gave the informed consent. And actually I have to admit that during the work, I was rejected for a lot of times. For many times, yeah.
Hayley: I guess that's a part of it.
Luyilin: Yeah, because, you know, I needed to collect data in every public spaces in Jinan. And, a lot of people, maybe they were in hurry and maybe they didn't trust me. And, you know, in today's society, they, they thought it's kind of fraud like this. Yeah, it makes sense. So firstly, I, at that time, I thought that I needed to be enough patient about this project, and didn't get afraid of being rejected. And I think that's a kind of necessary ability of early researcher. And secondly, I tried my best to create a space of trust and comfort. Most of the interviews took place in their familiar environments, like their local park. Yeah, I think they local park was a very appropriate space to communicate with them because it's not it was not closed and they had their friends, old friends, and just among there. And. Becauses the majority of my interviewees they hadn't had this kind of experience, so making them comfortable is very important for them to tell their true occasions of their true thoughts. Finally, I tried to approach every communication with humility and care. I told them a lot of times that I didn't aim to tell them something or carry something from them, but to listen. Listen to them, just listen to them and learn something. Learn about their thoughts, learn about their internal ideas, their true thoughts above this term or this language. And actually there was a very moving thing during my collecting. It was that I asked a street cleaner to help me to complete the questionnaire and at that time he was very friendly and he talked a lot with me and give a lot of knowledge for me that I didn't expect. Uh, and finally, he said that it's rare in today's society that someone, especially maybe student on the researcher, to listen to him and communicate with him for such a long time. So, I think that one of the meanings of my research is to tell this kind of people that they are listened to. And another thing was that because I asked for completing the questionnaire from a lot of old people. Sometimes they couldn't read, they couldn't write. So, I needed to read all the questions for them in order to collect the data. But I think it was not exhausting because during the communication with them, I read about the questions and got the answer from them ,and during this process we could have more communications just than giving them the questionnaire. It's much better.
Hayley: Yeah. You mentioned some really important and interesting things that this idea of creating an atmosphere of trust and comfort that maybe these people hadn't been interviewed before about their language, but you kind of formulate it in an environment that feels as organic to them as possible. And also it's really interesting how your research centres on these terms of address that are representative of this openness, and I think also how you mirror that openness in your own research, that you aim for it to be as open as possible. You're asking people that usually don't have their forms of language or experiences addressed and spotlighted and I think that that's a really beautiful thing.
Luyilin: Thank you very much!
Hayley: Of course, it's super interesting! Maybe if you feel comfortable in sharing this, why do the themes of the platform for linguistic and epistemic justice matter to you?
Luyilin: Actually I heard about this platform at the end of last
year. I searched this platform online on the website of SSEES and
actually your aim of research moved me a lot. Because it focuses on the justice of language, especially the social linguistics. It's very interesting and important for me. For example, I used to teach in the rural spaces in China and during the teaching, I found that a lot of students, the children from the rural spaces or from, say the poor backgrounds. They had very different thoughts from the children and students from cities or good backgrounds. And I think kind of type, it reflects the injustice of language because you know, the students or the children who receive justice it influences their cognition, or their thoughts, their views about the world and the limitation of language might let them think their world is just that that small and I think it's it's very important. And in addition, as I mentioned before, now I am preparing my PhD proposal and it focuses on the post-colonial diasporic literature. So, actually in this project I advocate kind of stance calling reparative reading rather than focusing only on pain or loss in literature, which are of course important, I try to also highlight the positive emotions like their resilience, care, intimacy, like this. And I believe that language can be a powerful medium for that. Just like literature, language connects people, not only cognitively, but emotionally. And I think it creates moments of mutual understanding, mutual recognition, the shared experience, shared resistance, even the shared growth so, that's why I think the aim of this platform is very, very important and meaningful.
Hayley: For sure, and you touched on this a bit already, but what do you think the impact of your research, both presently but also your
future PhD research can be, and what gaps can it feel in your research area?
Luyilin: Actually, about my previous research about the term of address, I think this research offers a very small but meaningful contribution to both linguistics and local cultural preservation. Although it's too
small and even it's a little bit niche, but I think it's also important.
Firstly, it introduces a hybrid methodology into Chinese dialogue research, combining quantitative and qualitative tools, which is still relatively rare in Chinese linguistic practise, because I mentioned
that now is also dominantly qualitative. And secondly, it offers insight into how local expressions, even the small ones like this term of address serve as emotional and social anchors. They carry unspoken values, emotional habits, and they even collective memories, because they collective memories are related to every individual's memories. So yeah, I think it is important, and I think losing such terms isn't just a linguistic shift. Transformation is also a cultural and even ethical loss. And finally, I think it contributes to the broader discussions around the linguistic justice, because I think it's not only about the large-scale global languages between countries. But also, very macro level linguistic hierarchies, of this kind, of disappearing transformation within even a single urban context.
Hayley: Definitely. It's really interesting how even the most micro and seemingly niche of examples can anchor a dialect, or a way of being, a culture. And it's super interesting how you've explored that. As we kind of draw their podcast to a close, you've mentioned already a PhD potentially in the future, but more generally, what is next for you in regards to future research or engagement with languages?
Luyilin: For me, although I'm very interested in the social linguistics, but according to my background, it's more about literature, so I might further study where this direction. And as I mentioned before I am preparing for a PhD degree focusing on the postcolonial diasporic literature and now my focus is about the comparative study between the East European diasporic literature and Chinese diasporic literature, and especially focusing on the female writing, I am currently interested in the intersection between space and emotions, the effect theory. And I tried to build this kind of framework to pay more attention to the novels, the literature, from the kind of more invisible groups. Especially about the topics of the relationships, especially the mother -daughter relationships, within the family or within the larger diasporic context.
Hayley: That sounds so brilliant. And I'm, really looking forward to seeing what you are able to produce from these topics. I think that there is so much potential in them. And on that note, thank you so much Andrea for joining us today and for giving us an insight into not only really fascinating research, but research that has such a real impact as well. If you're listening and interested in learning more about the platform for linguistic and epidemic justice. You can find us on the SSEES website with the links provided in the description. And stay tuned for more
episodes of the podcast coming soon. Thank you so much for listening and thank you again, Andrea.
Luyilin: Thank you. Thank you so much.