1 Introduction

China is undergoing a transformation from agriculture to industry and then to a smart country, with rural population accounting for 36.11% of the total population. The modernization transformation in rural areas is reflected in the tremendous changes in the relationship between the state and farmers, social structure, and farmers' values. The national policy emphasizes solving the "three rural issues" and promoting rural revitalization. Linguistic research focuses on rural dialects, language life, Mandarin promotion, place name naming, language proficiency, language poverty alleviation, rural revitalization, and other aspects. Language governance is an integral part of rural modernization, involving the guidance and regulation of language affairs. This article aims to explore the history, current situation, and future interaction between language governance and rural modernization in China.

The interaction between the two in history

From the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century, the interaction between rural modernization and language governance in China went through two stages before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Before the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the rural construction movement and the practice of liberated areas promoted the literacy movement and language reform, which improved the level of education. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, language governance played an important role in eradicating illiteracy, promoting Mandarin, and building a bilingual society. The illiteracy rate has significantly decreased, the popularity of Mandarin has significantly increased, and rural society is gradually transforming into a bilingual society. At the same time, the language status of special groups such as migrant workers, left behind children, and elderly people in urban areas has also received attention. The language ability, usage, and attitude of migrant workers are related to social variables. There are problems with the language development and usage of left behind children, and the language status and governance of elderly people in urban areas urgently need to be strengthened. These studies indicate that language governance has played an important role in the modernization process of rural China, but still faces some challenges and issues.

The current interactive scene between the two

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the interaction between language governance and rural modernization has mainly been reflected in language poverty alleviation, language assisted rural revitalization, and language assisted common prosperity. Language poverty alleviation promotes poverty alleviation and development by enhancing language and writing abilities, especially in promoting the national common language and writing system in ethnic areas. Language promotes rural revitalization by promoting the national common language and script, unleashing the potential of rural areas, enhancing human capital efficiency, and advancing social civilization. The language and writing landscape of rural areas helps to change society's bias towards rural areas and narrow the distance between urban and rural areas. Language assistance for common prosperity is reflected in safeguarding language rights, enhancing language proficiency, protecting and developing language resources, and promoting urban-rural integration and international trade. These measures help to improve the efficiency of grassroots governance, accumulate human capital, enhance cultural confidence, build rural brands, and achieve the participation of farmers as decision-makers and beneficiaries.

4. Prospects for future interaction between the two

In the context of the new era, the prospects for the interaction between rural modernization and language governance in China include enhancing the rural language governance system and capacity, maintaining linguistic and cultural diversity, and inheriting and innovating rural language civilization. Field investigations have shown that there is a trend of marginalization in language governance, and the virtual language living space of the new generation of farmers poses challenges to language governance. The rural revitalization strategy and the intelligent era have brought about language governance issues for new groups. Language diversity is crucial for rural development, but modernization and urbanization may lead to the decline of dialects or languages, cultural homogenization, and knowledge loss. The Language Conservation Project aims to investigate, preserve, display, and develop language resources, but the impact of rural modernization on language diversity is not yet clear. The inheritance and innovation of rural language civilization is an important aspect of rural revitalization, which requires endowing new era connotations in the protection, inheritance, development and utilization, and exploring new forms and systems of China's rural new civilization.

5 Conclusion

The modernization of rural areas in China is the key to comprehensively building a socialist modernized country. In the process of modernization, the urban-rural relationship has undergone profound changes, and the changes in rural areas are reflected in multiple aspects. Language governance plays an important role in rural modernization, influencing interpersonal communication and rural development. Language barriers may limit rural residents' access to basic services such as education and healthcare, while language diversity provides rich knowledge and information for local development. The cohesion and shared values of rural society are closely related to language, which serves as a medium for the inheritance of cultural traditions and beliefs. Modern society requires a universal language, and mastering language is the key for social groups to keep up with the pace of modernization. Rural modernization and language governance have a mutual influence. Modernization brings changes to language systems and life, while language governance promotes rural modernization. Future directions for Chinese style rural modernization and language governance need to be explored.