By the Numbers: Endangered Tongues in the People’s Republic

In <四成少数民族语言临危,> Wang Bo at Chinanews.com reports that up to four of ten languages native to minorities in China are threatened with extinction. Here are a few numbers that appear in the report: Non-han languages: 55 officially designated “peoples” (民族) speak an estimated 130 languages Scripts in use: 40, including Mongolian, Tibetan, Uighur, Kazakh, Kirghiz, … Continue reading By the Numbers: Endangered Tongues in the People’s Republic →

Oddly Monolingual Manchu Emperors and “New Qing History”

In The Charms of Qing TV, The Economist takes a closer look at the popular Qing historical dramas that are so popular on China’s video-sharing sites. Is Mark Elliot—author of “The Manchu Way”, one of the first studies to use Manchu sources in the research of Qing history—bothered by Chinese TV’s monolingual Manchus? “I’d say … Continue reading Oddly Monolingual Manchu Emperors and “New Qing History” →

Translation of Century-old French-Buyi Dictionary Dogged by Concerns over Political Correctness

Published in 1908, a rare dictionary of the Buyi language---Essai de dictionnaire dioi-français reproduisant la langue parlée par les tribus Thai de la Haute rivière de l'Ouest (布法辞典)---compiled by two French missionaries (Joseph Esquirol & Gustave Williatte) has long been slated for translation into Chinese. Attempts were made to complete the project in the late 1970s and again in 1989, … Continue reading Translation of Century-old French-Buyi Dictionary Dogged by Concerns over Political Correctness →

Tibetan, Daur, Evenki and Oroqen Databases Appraised by Experts

According to China’s Ministry of Education (数据库), several minority language projects underway during the current 12th Five-year Plan (2011-15) have been appraised and approved by experts. They are: Database of Modern Tibetan Grammar Research (现代藏语语法信息辞典数据库研究) Database of Daur, Evenki and Oroqen Voice Acoustic Parameters (达斡尔、鄂温克和鄂伦春语语音声学参数数据库) Undertaken by the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology under the … Continue reading Tibetan, Daur, Evenki and Oroqen Databases Appraised by Experts →

Seediq Bale, the Novel: Out now in French as “Les Survivants”

One of just 9 films to be shortlisted for this year's Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards in Hollywood, Seediq Bale (《賽德克·巴萊》) is a 4.5-hour epic about one Taiwanese aboriginal tribe’s war of resistance against the Japanese in the 1930s, shot entirely in the Seediq language. As is often the case with contemporary Chinese literature, … Continue reading Seediq Bale, the Novel: Out now in French as “Les Survivants” →

Mongolian Fluency Drops among Minority Students in Hulunbuir

“News 1 + 1,” a CCTV News Channel program, recently broadcast a show devoted to exploring the status of Mongolian fluency among students in Inner Mongolia. I didn't watch it, but you can read the transcript in Chinese here: 如何用母语诉说?. The following piece is based on the transcript, with some of my own thoughts at the … Continue reading Mongolian Fluency Drops among Minority Students in Hulunbuir →

Miao-Han Dictionary to Launch within 2011

Update: As of mid-June 2012, this dictionary has reportedly been published by the Nationalities Publishing House of Yunnan (云南民族出版社) Chinanews.com reports (云南禄劝将出版《苗汉词典》) that a new bilingual reference book, the Miao-Han Dictionary (苗汉辞典), will be published by year-end 2011. Compilation began in 1996 and has been carried out by an editing committee of 45. It will include: … Continue reading Miao-Han Dictionary to Launch within 2011 →

Rejuvenating the Tujia Language No Easy Feat

A journalist’s recent visit with primary school teacher and Tujia scholar Chu Yongming (储永明在课间与孩子们进行土家与对话) highlights a man with a mission—to ensure that the next generation of Tujia have the tools they need to speak the language of their people. Working out of a primary school in Hubei’s Feng county, the 59-year-old has taken part in … Continue reading Rejuvenating the Tujia Language No Easy Feat →

Manchurian: 10 Million Manchus, A Handful of Native Speakers

The language of the last imperial dynasty to rule China, a Tungusic tongue called Manchurian (满洲话), will soon be accessible only in dictionaries. Verna Yu reports for the South China Morning Post from Sanjiazi village, Heilongjiang, in A Language Lost: When Ji Jinlu , 66, was a boy, he was unable to speak Putonghua until he … Continue reading Manchurian: 10 Million Manchus, A Handful of Native Speakers →

Phags-pa Script: Tibetan Links to Kublai Khan’s Unified Script for his Empire

A volume devoted to a Yuan Dynasty script inspired by written Tibetan, Collection of Phags-pa Inscriptions and Annotations (八思巴文碑刻文物集释), will soon be launched. Editor Cai Meibiao (蔡美彪) says the book gathers some 60 years of scholarship. Chinanews.com has published interviews with two scholars who have spent years studying the script. Kublai Khan commissioned the creation … Continue reading Phags-pa Script: Tibetan Links to Kublai Khan’s Unified Script for his Empire →