文献类型：期刊文献

英文题名：From symbolic recognition to symbolic institutionalization: multi-level dynamics in Chinese sign language policy

作者：Zhang, Chen[1];Huang, Yan[2];Fu, Min[3]

机构：[1]Ningbo Univ Technol, Sch Foreign Languages, Ningbo, Peoples R China;[2]East China Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Foreign Languages, 130 Meilong Rd, Shanghai 200237, Peoples R China;[3]Zhejiang Vocat Coll Special Educ, Dept Special Educ, Hangzhou, Peoples R China

年份：2026

外文期刊名：CURRENT ISSUES IN LANGUAGE PLANNING

收录：;Scopus(收录号：2-s2.0-105047741825);WOS:【SSCI(收录号:WOS:001851604800001)，A&HCI(收录号:WOS:001851604800001)】；

基金：This work was supported by the Humanities and Social Science Youth Foundation of Ministry of Education in China [24YJC740027, 20YJA740010], the '2023 Word Language and Culture Research project' project [China Center for Language Planning and Policy Studies] [WYZL2023SH0001], and the National Social Science Foundation of China [25CYY080, 23BYY171].

语种：英文

外文关键词：Sign language policy; symbolic recognition; systemic commitment; symbolic institutionalization; multi-level governance

摘要：While sign languages have gained increasing legal and social recognition worldwide, the gap between symbolic recognition and systemic commitment remains unresolved. Drawing on 543 policy documents from Mainland China (1978-2024) and a supplementary corpus from Zhejiang Province (updated to 2025), this study adopts a Macro-Meso-Micro Interactive Framework to examine how central, provincial, and local governments co-construct Chinese Sign Language (CSL) policy. A corpus-assisted discourse analysis reveals three interrelated dynamics: (1) at the macro level, CSL policy is framed through accessibility, standardization, and a broader discourse of harmony; (2) at the meso level, provincial governments mediate and recontextualize central directives into regionally practices; and (3) at the micro level, the Zhejiang case illustrates how symbolic recognition is translated into administrative procedures, technological infrastructures, and everyday implementation. The findings indicate a stratified pattern: macro-level policy remains predominantly symbolic, whereas meso- and micro-level practices display partial or emerging systemic commitment. Rather than treating symbolic recognition and systemic commitment as mutually exclusive, the study argues that symbolic recognition may become embedded in administrative routines, service infrastructures, and localized practices under hierarchical governance. We describe this pathway as symbolic institutionalization, through which sign language policy acquires institutional force.