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1TheSituationandProtectionofChineseMinorityLanguagesXIAWenxi(HongKongPolytechnicUniversity)I.IntroductionLanguage,asakeycodetoparticularhistories,sensibilitiesandidentities,isalogicalfocusofgovernmentswithmodernistambitionsandnationalistideologies.(Hill:2004)1ThewordsofHillindicatedthecloserelationshipbetweencountryandlanguagewhichisacrucialtoanation'shistoryandfuture.Languageformanypeople,andcertainlyforethnicminoritygroupsinChina,isasymbolofidentificationinnatelyrootedintheirbody.Duringitslonghistory,Hannationalityandtheotherminoritygroupsinthelandof“China”havecreatedrichcultureheritage.Minoritylanguagesareanimportantpartoftheheritage.Butaftersteppingintothe20thcentury,sincethemoderncivilizationhasbeendevelopingataninconceivablerate,minoritylanguagesinChina,justlikemostsmalllanguagesintheworld,arefallingintocrisisofshrinkage.Nowprotectingtheexistingminoritylanguagesseemssoimportantataskthatnopreviousgovernmentsandscholarscouldimagine.Languagesintheprogressofdyingareendangeredlanguages.Wurm(2003)distinguishedfivelevelsoflanguageendangerment:potentiallyendangeredifthechildrenofthelanguagegroupstartgivingpreferencetoanotherlanguageandgraduallyforgetstheirown;endangered,iftheyoungestspeakersareyoungadults;seriouslyendangered,iftheyoungestspeakersaremiddle-aged;moribund,ifthereareonlyafewoldspeakersleftanddead,ifthereisnonativespeakersliving.AccordingtoWurm'sclassification,mostrecentlargeminoritylanguagesinChinanowareinpotentialendangermentbecausealmostnominoritygroupcanresisttheprevailingforceofHanculture,policyandeconomy.Whetheralanguagewillmaintainordiedependsonitsrelationshipwithneighborlanguages.Throughouttheresearchinlanguagerelationship,itisnotdifficulttofindthatthefactorsleadingtolanguageendangermentoratrophyingarebasically'non-linguistic'(Swadesh1948:235).Alistofthesefactors,whichcanoftenbecitedassocioeconomicandsociopolitical,canbefoundinCampbell(1994:1963).1AnnMaxwellHill.LanguageMattersinChina:AnAnthropologicalPostscript.M.Zhou(ed.),LanguagePolicyinthePeople'sRepublicofChina:TheoryandPracticesince1949,333-338.2Socioeconomicfactorscanincludelackofeconomicopportunities,rapideconomicsettlement,immigrationandsoon.Andthesociopoliticalfactorsareofficiallanguagepolicies,discrimination,stigmatization,repression,waretc.ThelanguageextinctioninChinaalsoreflectsthesefactors.InmostareasofChina,peopleshifttomandarinChinesemainlyduetosocioeconomicfactorsandHanpeoplemovementtominorityareas.WANGYuanxinstatedinTheStudyofMinorityLanguagesinChina---TheoryandPracticethatChinesefollowsthefollowingprocesstobecomeanareacommonlanguage:(chart1)Inner-CommunityLanguage(族內交際語)Inter-CommunityCommonLanguage(族際通用語)AreaDominantLanguage(區域優勢語)Chart1:Wang'smodelofproductionofareacommonlanguageWANGfirstlystatedthateveryethnicgroupfirstusedtheirownlanguagebeforeadominantlanguagecameintotheirlife.Secondly,asthecommunicationbetweendifferentgroupsgrows,somelanguagesspokenbyricher,moredevelopedbecomeaninter-communitycommonlanguage.Inthelast,thedominantlanguagebecomesthemainlanguageinthearea.WehavetoadmitthattherelationshipbetweenChineseandanyotherethnicminoritylanguagesareunbalanced.InmostareasofChina,mandarinChineseistheabsolutelydominantlanguage.MostpeopleinethnicminorityareascanspeakChinese,butonlyaverylimitedpartofHanpeoplecanspeakanethnicminoritylanguage.What’smore,manyminoritypeoplewholiveinHan-dominantareascannotpickuptheirownethniclanguages.Ifwelookatthevocabularyandgrammaticalaspects,theunbalancealsoexists:althoughChinesesometimesborrowwordsfromotherethniclanguages,thesewordsarebasicallycontentwordsusedintranslatingethnicvocabularyintoChinese,suchas薩琪瑪、“冬不拉”、“喇嘛”、“馬虎”、“措”.Chineseusuallydon'tusethesewordsindescribingobjectsintheirdailylife.Furthermore,thesentencestructuresofChinesearebasicallynotinfluencedbyminoritylanguages.TheinfluenceChineseonethniclanguages,onthecontrary,aresignificant.Historically,“China”hadbeenruledbyMongolianandManinYuanandTsing3Dynasty,butjustasmentionedbefore,theminoritygovernorssucceededinpromotingeverythingoftheirnationalitiesexceptlanguage.Duetotheirnarrowethnocentrism,theminoritygovernorsinYuanandTsingforbadeHanpeopletolearntheminoritylanguagesbuttheminoritypeoplecouldlearnChinese(althoughChinesethenwasconsideredlower-classlanguage).However,thisethnocentrismfinallystrengthenedtheuseofChineseandweakenedtheminoritylanguages.Inthemodernera,especiallythepost-warperiod(orwecanroughlysaytheperiodafter1949whenChinabasicallystoppedinternalwarships),theHaninfluencetominorityareasbecomesmoresignificant.Thisinfluencewillbediscussedinthethirdparts.II.TheStatusofChineseEthnicLanguagesChinahasexperiencedtwoethniccategorizationsthatserveddifferentprojectsofnation-statebuilding.Theethniclandscapeshiftedfromanobscureclassificationofelevenminorities(Zhuangs,Uyghurs,Koreans,Kazakhs,Xibes,Tais,Uzbeks,Kyrgyz,Tatars,Russians)intheRepublicanera(KwongandXiao:1989)toapoliticallylegitimizedrecognitionoffifty-sixnationalitiesaftertheChineseCommunistParty(CCP)tookpowerin1949.(ZHAO:2010)Chinahasthelargestpopulationintheworldandth