More than data in a large-scale language survey: agency, structure, and culture in the Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China

The Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China is a state-led language survey that investigates, archives, and revitalizes linguistic diversity through standardized multimedia documentation. Although national surveys are widely discussed in language planning research, less attention has been paid to how cultural values, institutional structures, and agentive practices interact to implement surveys at scale and produce broader social effects. Adopting a realist framework of culture-structure-agency, this study employs reflexive thematic analysis to examine national policy texts, 50 speeches by the director of the competent department, and semi-structured interviews with 15 stakeholders. Three sets of findings emerge. First, culture both constrains and enables agency as language ideologies promoting Putonghua coexist with commitments to preserving minority languages and local dialects. Second, structure constrains practice by instating standards while enabling implementation through supervision and endorsement. Third, agency emerges through reflexive role-shifting and coordinated collective action. We propose a model to demonstrate the mediation process among culture, structure, and agency, with reflexivity as the driving force. Theoretically, integrating agency into a culture and structure analytical framework clarifies how national language surveys can simultaneously maintain policy stability and promote social change, thereby connecting large-scale surveys to broader language planning practices.