China’s minority languages face the threat of extinction, a new study has found.
A WordFinder study, based on UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, has found that 25 ethnic minority languages in China are now being pushed to the brink of extinction.
One language, known as Fuyu Kyrgyz, can be traced back to central Siberia three centuries ago, but is now only spoken by 10 elderly residents of Fuyu County, in China’s northernmost Heilongjiang province, the study found.
Li Jinfang, an ethnic minority language researcher from Beijing’s Minzu University of China, believed China’s urbanization and rapidly developing economy had contributed to the decline, with people finding it more
•
Feb 22, 2021