The law stipulates the scope, norms and standards for the use of the country's common spoken and written language.
Throughout history, China, due to the large amount of different cultures and ethnicities in its borders, has been home to dozens of languages.
[3][clarification needed] This law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution of the People's Republic of China in order to promote the normalization, standardization and healthy development of the national common spoken and written language, to enable the language to play a better role in social life, and to promote economic and cultural exchanges among all ethnic groups and regions.
The law also stipulates that the use of the national common spoken and written language should be conducive to the upholding of state sovereignty and national dignity, to unification of the country and unity among all ethnic groups, and to socialist material progress and ethical progress.
Similar laws have been widely criticised as attempts to force minority groups to assimilate into Chinese culture, though the PRC denies those claims.