Keywords: Constitution/Putonghua/Promotion/Dialect/Constitutional norms
Abstract: It is necessary to analyze the cultural phenomenon of dialect schools from the perspective of constitutional law. From the perspective of the constitution, it is necessary to clarify the meaning of the clause "the state promotes common Putonghua throughout the country" in the constitution. The words "Putonghua" and "promotion" in this clause have their own meanings and functions. Dialect has certain functions, but its limitations are also quite obvious. Judging from the theoretical "language right", Putonghua has priority and dominant position in China's language system. The validity and supremacy of constitutional norms is the cornerstone of a country ruled by law. The unity of constitutional norms and social reality in conflict is the essence of constitutional value.
First of all, the question: From the constitutional point of view, the phenomenon of "dialect schools"
At present, China is a multicultural era, and various cultural forms have appeared in front of people. The author recently noticed such a cultural phenomenon, which is the emergence of dialect schools. In June, 2006, 165438+ 10, a news article was published on China News Online, which read: "Wu dialect has entered the dialect class in the post-popularization era for the citizens to learn for free". The article points out that as early as 2003, Suzhou set off an upsurge of learning Suzhou dialect in the whole city. For a time, various training courses for teaching Suzhou dialect have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, with more than 10 people and 50 or 60 people participating in the training, which is quite prosperous. Suzhou Taohuawu Staff Amateur School, located in Taohuawu Street, Suzhou City, was one of the earliest schools to offer a training course on "Speaking Suzhou Dialect". In the past few years, more than 300 citizens have signed up for the training. Students spend more than 300 yuan and can basically understand and speak Suzhou dialect after two months of training two days a week. According to reports, all the people who signed up for the training course at that time were young people from other places who came to work in Suzhou, mostly white-collar workers in the park and the new district. They are eager to integrate into Suzhou as soon as possible and even hope to take root in this land. There are also some service workers who have this demand. Since 2003, Suzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government has vigorously advocated and popularized Suzhou dialect among the new citizens, and set off a craze for speaking Suzhou dialect. Some scholars attribute this phenomenon to the "post-popular era" when Suzhou dialect is spoken. At the time of popularization, Suzhou held two Suzhou dialect customs contests in 2003 and 2005, and all radio and television programs were broadcast in Suzhou dialect. Some people have compiled the national standard textbook "Learning Suzhou Dialect", and the texts of learning Suzhou Dialect can be seen everywhere on the Internet ... Now, these works are still going on normally, and citizens can get ways to learn Suzhou Dialect anytime and anywhere. Coincidentally, in Wuxi, not far from Suzhou, a school named Jinxing Middle School has incorporated Wuxi dialect into its curriculum. Moreover, the principal told reporters that as long as there are foreign students in the school, the course will always exist, and they have invited relevant experts to write special dialect textbooks. [1] There is another message related to it. In the classroom of Zheng Xin Primary School in Dingshu Town, Yixing City, Jiangsu Province, there are always bursts of reciting sounds of learning Yixing dialect every Friday. Starting this year, this primary school for children of migrant workers will offer a dialect class every week in grades one to six, helping more than 700 children of migrant workers to eliminate language barriers as soon as possible and integrate into the local society. It is understood that there are more than 760 children of migrant workers from Anhui, Henan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Hunan in primary schools in Zheng Xin. [2]
The author thinks that in view of the cultural event of dialect schools, it is necessary to make a normative analysis from the perspective of constitutional law. First, the emergence of dialect schools is related to the constitutional provisions. Paragraph 5 of Article 19 of China's current Constitution clearly stipulates that the state promotes Putonghua, which is commonly used throughout the country. Dialect does not belong to Putonghua, so it is necessary to analyze whether the emergence of dialect schools is constitutional. Secondly, it is necessary to clarify several concepts related to Putonghua. The Constitution stipulates two concepts, Putonghua and the national common language, but there are also concepts related to Putonghua, such as foreign languages and dialects. It is necessary to analyze the relationship between these concepts from the perspective of the constitution, which is also conducive to a correct understanding of the provisions of the constitution. Third, the constitution and even legal norms are needed to regulate social phenomena. In a country ruled by law, the behavior of the government and citizens and all social phenomena must be bound by constitutional norms, which is the basic principle of the rule of law. The premise of the emergence of dialect schools must also be allowed by the constitutional norms and legal norms or have a clear basis.
The second is the analysis of the clause of "the state promotes common Putonghua throughout the country" in the constitution involved in the dialect school incident.
As mentioned earlier, dialect schools are related to the Putonghua clause in the Constitution. From the perspective of the constitution, it is necessary to clarify the meaning of the clause "the state promotes common Putonghua throughout the country" in the constitution.
(A) "Putonghua" in the Constitution
1. The origin of Putonghua
The word "Putonghua" in the current constitution appeared for the first time in China's constitutional text. However, before it was written into the Constitution, this word appeared in China and was used in many places. Some scholars have studied the origin of Putonghua. The name "Putonghua" was put forward by Zhu, an activist of "Qiezi Movement" in the late Qing Dynasty. 1906, he wrote a book called Jiangsu New Letters, which divided Chinese into three categories, one of which was "Putonghua". He also explained that Mandarin is "the common language of all provinces". At first, this kind of words was only used in officialdom, so it was called "Mandarin". Since the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Beijing has been the political, economic and cultural center of the country. Many people go to Beijing to take exams, be officials and do business. They have studied Beijing dialect for a long time, but their Beijing dialect has a local accent. People call it "Lan Qing Mandarin" (the metaphor of "Lan Qing" is not pure). In the early years of the Republic of China, more and more people spoke Mandarin, which was called "Mandarin". [3]93 1, Qu Qiubai opposed the word "Mandarin" and made a scientific explanation of "Mandarin". He pointed out in "War beyond the Gate of Hell": "Mandarin is not necessarily the complete Beijing Mandarin, … of course it is not Beijing dialect. As a result of the development of general social life, the so-called five-party miscellaneous place is the' cultural, political and economic center', which can influence local dialects and naturally tell everyone to avoid the special expressions and accents in their own dialects and gradually form Mandarin. " Then he wrote several articles, all of which discussed the problem of "what words to write" in popular literature and art.1In March, 932, he wrote an article "The Problem of Popular Literature and Art" under the pseudonym of Song Yang. He believes that in the metropolis and modern factories, "actually, a kind of Putonghua has been produced in China", and he advocates that "everything written should be readable and must be spoken by the living", that is, Putonghua. 1On February 6th, 956, the State Council issued "Instructions on Popularizing Putonghua", which is a complete expression of "Putonghua with Beijing accent as the standard pronunciation, northern dialect as the basic dialect and model modern vernacular as the grammatical norm". [4]
2. The meaning of Putonghua
Since 1949, our government has always attached great importance to the promotion of Putonghua. Since 1955, this work has been included in the government's agenda. From 65438 to 0958, Premier Zhou Enlai made a report on "The Task of Current Chinese Character Reform". In his report, he pointed out that the differences in Chinese dialects have adversely affected the political, economic and cultural life of our people. Therefore, it is an important political task to popularize Putonghua with Beijing as the standard pronunciation among Han people in China. 1975 During his illness, he also specifically mentioned the promotion of Putonghua.
The author believes that the current constitution stipulates that the state promotes Putonghua because it has practical functions in China.
First, the political function. Geographically, demographically and ethnically, China is a big country. In such a big country, China's national structure is unitary. Objectively speaking, the unitary system has some disadvantages in China, but from the perspective of nationality, history and reality, the unitary system is the least bad choice in China. Under the background of incorporating some new elements, it is an important political and legal issue to adhere to the unitary system. The author thinks that language plays an irreplaceable role in the implementation of unitary system. The popularization of Putonghua, which is widely used in China, is undoubtedly the best language choice. Therefore, the promotion of Putonghua in China has a great political function in the constitutional sense.
Second, the cultural function. Language is the concentration and transmission of a national culture. We often judge civilization through the medium of language. As far as Putonghua in China is concerned, it is the result of thousands of years of cultural accumulation of the Chinese nation. In the history of Chinese civilization for thousands of years, the relatively stable imperial dynasties were basically centered on the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. Therefore, the languages used by the central government are all based on the Central Plains dialect. Since ancient times, Chinese pronunciation has changed greatly, but the Chinese characters used to record the language are quite stable. In addition to historical materials such as Historical Records, literary works written in northern dialects in the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties are still very popular and easy to read. Therefore, the elegant words in the pre-Qin period, the telephone conversation in the Han Dynasty, the Mandarin in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Mandarin in the Republic of China and even the Mandarin today are all based on the Central Plains and northern dialects, which record the glory and suffering of the Chinese nation and are the most basic carriers of our Chinese civilization.
Third, the economic function. There are some obstacles in implementing market economy in a big country like China, among which the disunity of language is an important factor. China has a vast territory, and there are many dialects in China due to the differences in history and culture. The obstacles to language communication caused by the existence of various dialects will directly increase the cost of language use, thus increasing the cost of the whole economic transaction. Some scholars believe that human's choice of language is a rational choice process. It depends on the expected benefits and costs brought by language use. [5] In the process of in-depth development of market economy, cross-regional and inter-provincial economic conferences are becoming more and more frequent, and Putonghua is undoubtedly the language with the lowest cost and the greatest benefit that all parties can use. Therefore, the economic function of promoting Putonghua stipulated in the Constitution is obvious, and with the comprehensive effect of economic integration brought about by the improvement of China's economic development level and the improvement of Chinese international status, this function will become more and more prominent. As for some strong dialects, such as Cantonese and Wu dialect, due to the high learning cost and obvious regional characteristics, the author thinks that their economic functions will become weaker and weaker. Hong Kong people have learned a lot of Putonghua, and Putonghua has become an advanced style in Shanghai and Shanghai dialect has become a low style, which can strongly prove this point. [6]
(B) the meaning of "promotion"
1. Promotion theme
Judging from the provisions of the Constitution, the main body of promoting Putonghua is the state. State is actually an abstract concept. Specifically, in a new country, the concept of state is materialized into state organs, namely, legislative organs, administrative organs and judicial organs. As far as the legislature is concerned, the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee, the highest legislature in China, have enacted relevant laws to promote Putonghua. As stipulated in Article 12 of the Education Law of the People's Republic of China, schools and other educational institutions use Chinese as the basic teaching language. ... schools and other educational institutions should promote the use of putonghua and standardized characters commonly used throughout the country in teaching. Article 6 of the Compulsory Education Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates that schools should promote the use of Putonghua, which is commonly used throughout the country. Article 37 of the Law on Regional National Autonomy in People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates that schools (classes) and other educational institutions that mainly recruit minority students should start offering Chinese courses from the lower or upper grades of primary schools according to the situation, so as to popularize Putonghua and standardized Chinese characters commonly used throughout the country. At the same time, Article 49 of the Law stipulates that ethnic minority cadres should learn Putonghua and standard Chinese while studying and using their own spoken and written languages. As far as administrative organs are concerned, it refers to the central government and local governments in China. Relevant laws also stipulate the responsibilities of administrative organs to promote Putonghua. For example, as stipulated in Article 4 of the Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) on Common Language and Characters, local people's governments at all levels and their relevant departments should take measures to popularize Putonghua and standardize Chinese characters. At the same time, from the perspective of constitutional law, judicial organs should also be the main body of Putonghua promotion in China.
Although the constitutional provisions clearly stipulate that the main body of promoting Putonghua is the state, promoting Putonghua is a systematic project that requires multi-participation, so citizens and social organizations should also cooperate to promote Putonghua.
2. Promotion and related concepts
In order to further understand the meaning of "promotion", it is necessary to compare several concepts related to promotion.
First, promote implementation. The Modern Chinese Dictionary explains promotion as: expanding the scope or function of things. The explanation of realization is: universal realization. [7] Judging from the literal scrutiny of these two words and the use of Putonghua, it is unrealistic to say that it is necessary to "promote" Putonghua in China with a large number of nationalities, dialects and underdeveloped economy and culture. Promotion only expands the scope, to some extent, it does not exclude the use of other languages, but at best restricts the use, which is in line with the actual situation and the development trend of Putonghua. At the 23rd meeting of the 5th the NPC Standing Committee, Peng Zhen, deputy director of the Constitutional Amendment Committee, used the words "the state promotes the common Putonghua in the whole country" in his explanation of the "Draft Amendment to the Constitution of People's Republic of China (PRC)". [8] and the current constitution uses the word "promote", which is more accurate.
Second, promotion and publicity. Modern Chinese Dictionary explains advocacy by pointing out the advantages of things and encouraging everyone to use or practice them. [9] Advocacy mainly emphasizes encouragement, not coercion. Promote more colors under the national initiative. In China, the situation is very complicated, and many people use dialects instead of Putonghua, so the development of economic and cultural level is limited. If the Constitution only stipulates the promotion of Putonghua, its effect and promotion are totally different.
Third, promotion and protection. "Modern Chinese Dictionary" explains protection as follows: Try your best to take care of it so that it will not be damaged. [10] Protection applies to weak languages and non-mainstream languages. In China, Putonghua has been the mainstream and powerful language since 1950s, so it is inappropriate to "protect" Putonghua according to the Constitution. On the contrary, national languages can use the word "protection".
3. Does promotion mean that it is accompanied by prohibition?
As mentioned above, promoting use does not exclude other uses. As can be seen from the relevant laws in China, the promotion of Putonghua does not exclude the use of other languages. For example, as stipulated in Article 37 of the Law on Regional National Autonomy in People's Republic of China (PRC), schools that mainly recruit minority students should use textbooks in minority languages, and if conditions permit, they should teach in minority languages. Therefore, promoting Putonghua does not mean prohibiting the use of other languages, and the Constitution stipulates that there is room for the use of dialects.
Promotion will restrict the use of other languages to some extent. The result of popularizing Putonghua is to expand the scope of use, and the space of other languages will undoubtedly shrink. Although there is cross-use, the mainstream position of Putonghua will be strengthened day by day. The use of dialects should be understood as inactive and non-mainstream, which is in line with the original intention of the Constitution.
Third, the relationship between dialects in dialect schools and "Putonghua" in the Constitution, and the relationship between Putonghua and national languages and foreign languages.
The relationship between dialects in dialect schools and "Putonghua" in the Constitution is a key point to analyze the events in dialect schools from the perspective of constitutional norms. At the same time, clarifying the relationship between "Putonghua" and national languages and foreign languages in the Constitution will also help to fully understand the meaning of "Putonghua" in the Constitution and analyze the incidents in dialect schools.
Mandarin and dialects
Our country's constitution does not stipulate dialects. Dialect is the language reflection of a regional culture, which has certain value and function. Some scholars have pointed out that dialects have always been an important nutrient for ancient and modern Chinese (Ya Yan, Mandarin, Mandarin). Modern Putonghua is based on northern dialect, and its pronunciation is based on Beijing dialect. Dialect is one of the important components or carriers of splendid local culture. In special occasions, such as military communications, sports competitions and commercial competitions, the use of dialects can also play a role in keeping secrets from the outside world. [ 1 1]
There is no denying the value and function of dialects, but in modern society, the limitations of dialects are increasingly obvious. First, the regional characteristics of dialects are too obvious. If we subdivide dialects, there may be hundreds or thousands of dialects in China, and the region is too narrow, especially in southern dialects. Too much emphasis on dialects will affect cross-regional economic and cultural exchanges, which also does not meet the cultural requirements of China's unitary state structure. Secondly, dialects are too colloquial, which is not conducive to formal communication. Thirdly, overemphasizing and using dialects may lead to regional superiority and regional discrimination. There is no difference in the value of dialects, but the degree of economic and cultural development in different parts of China is very different. Some places have developed economy and culture, so their dialects have become strong dialects. If these strong dialects are not properly regulated and guided, too much emphasis will make people and places who use strong dialects feel superior, and at the same time, they will exclude or even discriminate against people and places who use other dialects. In the constitution, everyone is equal, and no one's dignity can be violated in the slightest, so the constitution does not allow regional superiority and regional discrimination.
At present, a noteworthy phenomenon is the emergence of the so-called strong dialect. At present, Guangdong dialect and Wu dialect are recognized as strong dialects. The examples cited at the beginning of this paper, namely Suzhou dialect training class and Wuxi dialect training class, are the reflection of the strength of dialects. The author believes that, first of all, the strong dialect itself violates the constitutional provisions on language equality. Secondly, if foreign language learning is a supplement to the use of Putonghua, and national language protection is a special treatment to promote Putonghua, neither of them goes against the function of Putonghua, then over-emphasis and improper use of strong dialects will directly conflict with the function of Putonghua, so this is suspected to be unconstitutional. Thirdly, the so-called strong dialect and weak dialect are also relative. In the long river of history, these so-called strong sound areas are backward in economy and culture and belong to places outside the Central Plains. Since Putonghua has undergone a long-term double test of history and culture, and it is clearly stipulated in the Constitution, there is no need to mention the so-called strong dialect, or even promote it.
Specific to the example of the so-and-so training class at the beginning of this article, some practices are worth discussing and reflecting. First, it is illegal for local governments to promote certain words. Our constitution stipulates that the government has the responsibility to promote Putonghua instead of dialects. At the same time, Article 4 of the People's Republic of China (PRC) Common Language Law stipulates that local people's governments at all levels and their relevant departments shall take measures to promote Putonghua and standardize Chinese characters. Secondly, whether you can speak the local dialect as a criterion for integration into the local area itself reflects the mentality of the local people and the government. The Constitution clearly stipulates that Mandarin is widely used throughout the country. No matter how developed a place is, it belongs to the territory of China. Therefore, communicating and using Mandarin is the most appropriate way.
Therefore, compared with dialects, we should adhere to the superior legal status of Putonghua. In fact, the promotion effect of Putonghua in China is becoming more and more obvious. It is in Shanghai, one of the so-called strong dialect areas, that Mandarin has evolved into an advanced style, while Shanghai dialect has increasingly become a low-level style. According to statistics, in 2006, the population in Shanghai who could communicate in Putonghua accounted for 70.47% of the total population, which was higher than the national 53.06% 17%. [ 12]
Of course, I am not saying that I am opposed to any use of dialects, but we must pay attention to the way and scale when using dialects.
Mandarin and national languages
Although the term "national spoken and written languages" does not appear directly in our Constitution, Article 4 of the current Constitution clearly stipulates that all ethnic groups have the freedom to use and develop their own spoken and written languages. Therefore, national languages have a clear constitutional status in China. China is a multi-ethnic country, and the relationship between Putonghua and national languages exists in reality and needs to be handled correctly. The author believes that, first of all, national languages should be protected. National language is the reflection and record of national civilization. Within a country, there can be national common language or non-common language, but the value of language itself is not high or low and primary. This is the basic requirement for upholding ethnic equality and maintaining ethnic diversity. Some scholars believe that according to the Constitution, the principle of language equality of all ethnic groups should be adhered to. [13] Second, ethnic areas or areas where ethnic minorities live in compact communities should use ethnic languages. For example, as stipulated in Article 37 of the Law on Regional National Autonomy in People's Republic of China (PRC), schools (classes) and other educational institutions that mainly recruit minority students should use teaching materials in minority languages, and if conditions permit, they should teach in minority languages. Third, even in areas where the Han people live in concentrated communities, if there are minority citizens who can't speak Mandarin, they should provide writers or translators in their own languages. Fourth, promote Putonghua in ethnic minority areas where conditions permit. Since Putonghua has been recognized as the national common language, it should be the common language of the whole country. Ethnic minorities are also members of the Chinese nation and should also learn Mandarin. Relevant laws have already stipulated this. For example, as stipulated in Article 37 of the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy in People's Republic of China (PRC), schools (classes) and other educational institutions that mainly recruit ethnic minority students should start offering Chinese courses from the lower or upper grades of primary schools according to the situation, and popularize common Putonghua and standardized Chinese characters throughout the country. Article 49 of the Law stipulates that ethnic minority cadres should learn Mandarin and standard Chinese while studying and using their own spoken and written languages.
Mandarin and foreign languages
Undeniably, with China's increasingly outward-oriented economy and the opening of the whole society, the study and application of foreign languages will become more and more important. But foreign languages belong to foreign languages after all, and can only be in a secondary position compared with domestic languages. Language is one of the main symbols and elements of a country, and most constitutions in the world stipulate its national language or official language. China's constitution clearly stipulates that the state should promote Putonghua, which is common throughout the country. The Constitution has clearly defined the legal status of Putonghua and foreign languages. Therefore, some phenomena that foreign languages are more important than Putonghua and spoken English is better than Putonghua in the present society need to be seriously considered from the perspective of the Constitution.
Four, the Constitution "Putonghua" and the language rights involved in dialect schools.
The Putonghua clause in the Constitution concerning dialect schools has risen to the level of rights, involving a newly proposed right.
-The right to language.
(A) the meaning of "language right"
Studying "language right" as an important part of human rights has attracted the attention of the international community. To this end, many international seminars on language rights have been held. According to the World Charter of Basic Language Rights drafted by the International Association of Language Teachers, "language rights" mainly includes nine contents: (1) Everyone has the right to learn his mother tongue; (2) Everyone has the right to learn the official language stipulated by the state as the official education language; (3) In order to eliminate illiteracy or overcome language disability, everyone has the right to receive special assistance; (4) Everyone has the right to learn the language of his choice; (5) Everyone has the right to express himself freely in any language; (6) All young people have the right to learn the language that is most easily understood by themselves or their family members; (7) Everyone has the right to learn the official language of the host country: (8) In order to improve the social, cultural, educational and knowledge level and promote mutual understanding between different countries and cultures, everyone has the right to learn at least one foreign language; (9) The right to use a language or the right to contact a language cannot be intentionally suppressed or prohibited. [ 14]
From the constitutional point of view, "language right" has the dual attributes of freedom and social rights. On the surface, language right is mainly freedom, while from a deeper perspective, language right is essentially more of a social right. In modern society, without the participation of the state, the learning, selection, use and dissemination of citizens' personal language cannot be truly realized. Judging from the existing constitutional rights in the world, the content of "language right" actually involves many rights such as citizens' right to education and freedom of speech.
(B) from the perspective of China's Constitution to see the "language rights" related issues.
From the perspective of China's constitution, the following aspects should be considered when dealing with language rights: First, is it mature to put language rights as a right alone? Can the World Charter of Basic Language Rights drafted by the International Association of Language Teachers be used as the basis for this right to be put forward separately? The author believes that this charter is more theoretical and needs further discussion. Secondly, if the language right is generally accepted and recognized by the international community as a right, can it have legal effect in our constitution? This involves the validity of the Constitution and international documents. In China's traditional constitutional theory, the entry into force of international documents depends on the recognition of the Constitution, not the direct entry into force. Thirdly, do the nine contents of the General Charter of Basic Language Rights drafted by the International Association of Language Teachers have practical effect in China? For example, what is the mother tongue in the first content, and does dialect count as mother tongue? The author believes that at least among different nationalities, there is a theory of mother tongue, and in our country, different dialects which are both Han languages are not regarded as mother tongues. In the fourth and fifth items, everyone has the right to learn the language of his choice and the right to express himself freely in any language, which is unrealistic in China. If the language here includes dialects, and there are hundreds of dialects in our country, if everyone can choose and express freely, then the unitary system in our constitution and the unity of culture can not be realized at all. In the sixth item, all young people have the right to learn the language that they or their family members can understand most easily. If it can be used as a living language in China, it can't be used as an official or official language. For the same reason. Similarly, the "language" in item 9 cannot be understood as including dialects. These understandings actually come from the theory of dual attributes of language rights, freedom and social rights.
The author tends to regard "language right" as a theoretical right. From this perspective, language rights can be derived from the constitutional provisions of our country. Article 4 of the current Constitution stipulates that all ethnic groups have the freedom to use and develop their own spoken and written languages. Article 19 stipulates: the state promotes putonghua commonly used throughout the country. Article 35 stipulates that the people and citizens of China have freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, procession and demonstration. Article 134 stipulates that citizens of all ethnic groups have the right to use their own spoken and written languages in litigation. Therefore, the author is cautious about whether the language right can be put forward as a new right and written into the constitution.
(3) From the perspective of "language rights", Putonghua has a priority and a leading position in China's language system.
Of the nine contents of language rights, the second and seventh are related to the official language. In China, the official language should be Mandarin. In fact, Putonghua is also the mother tongue of the Han population, which accounts for the vast majority of our population. In the content of language rights, mother tongue and official language occupy the main position. Moreover, among the nine contents of language rights, these contents can also have practical effects. Therefore, from the perspective of language rights, Mandarin, the official language of our country, has a priority and a leading position in our language system.
Fifth, the constitutional norms and principles of constitutional values involved in the "dialect school" incident.
From a deeper constitutional theory, the dialect school incident involves constitutional norms and principles and constitutional values. As a law, the constitution is naturally normative and plays a role in a normative form. The normative nature of the constitution is an important embodiment of adjusting social life and embodies the essential function of the constitution. Recognizing and maintaining the normative nature of the Constitution is an important achievement in the development of modern constitutional theory and the main symbol of the transformation from positivism to materialism. The supremacy of constitutional norms is an inevitable reflection of constitutional characteristics and constitutes the basis of constitutional value system. The supremacy mentioned in the constitutional norms refers to the superiority, appropriateness (gul—tigkeit) and effectiveness (wirksam keit) relative to other things in time and space, which restricts the activities of all state organs, social organizations and citizens. The principle of supremacy of constitutional norms is a rational principle sought by human beings in long-term practical experience and a direct embodiment of the spirit of democratic constitutionalism. Therefore, the supremacy of constitutional norms in a country ruled by law is an inevitable requirement and expression of the essence of modern constitution. A sound society ruled by law is a society based on the supremacy of constitutional norms, which constitute the basis for the unity and coordination of social life. 15 199 19 On March 5, the current constitution was revised, and the goal of building a country ruled by law was defined. Therefore, as the cornerstone of a country ruled by law, the normative and normative supremacy of the Constitution has a clear basis in China's constitutional text.
However, constitutional norms are a highly generalized and flexible normative system. As a highly concentrated social life, it is difficult for the constitution to be completely consistent with the rich and diverse social life. Because a highly generalized constitutional norm cannot stipulate all areas of social life when adjusting social life, the normative structure itself leaves a certain space for social life. Therefore, there is a contradiction between unregulated areas and the adjustment of constitutional norms. [16] Especially in China, the society is in a period of rapid transition, and the conflict between constitutional norms and social reality is more common. Of course, conflicts can also be divided into normal conflicts and abnormal conflicts. Normal conflicts can be resolved in a reasonable way, which is allowed by the supremacy of constitutional norms.
In order to solve the conflict between norms and reality, scholars generally attach importance to seeking effective methods through constitutional interpretation, so that the conflict can be solved reasonably within the framework allowed by norms. In fact, amending the constitution and other ways are outside the framework of constitutional norms, lacking reasonable basis and clear standards. Interpretation mode is the basic form to solve the conflict between norms and reality in China in the future, and will play an important role in the operation of the Constitution. [17] First of all, through constitutional interpretation, principled constitutional norms can be concretized. Secondly, through constitutional interpretation, it can be clear which clauses in constitutional norms can have realistic legal effect, not just that constitutional norms are usually regarded as declarative.
Therefore, the effectiveness and supremacy of constitutional norms is the cornerstone of a country ruled by law. Constitutional norms should also be able to provide normative explanations for social phenomena and produce binding force. In fact, the value of constitution does not emphasize the supremacy of constitutional norms in isolation, but the unity of constitutional norms and social reality in conflict is the essence of constitutional value.