Ethnic Minority Languages Research Articles

The relationship between multilingual ability and poverty in Southwest China

Abstract Language plays a pivotal role in poverty alleviation. This article aims to explore the relationship between multilingual ability and poverty in Southwest China. By adopting a mixed design, this article studies the multilingual ability, occasions for language use, and attitudes towards the importance of language of the participants, as well as the correlations between the participants’ multilingual ability and the cause of poverty in relation to monthly household income. The sample comes from the mainstream Han ethnic group and 13 ethnic minority groups in 34 border poverty counties in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Tibet. The investigation concludes that Mandarin Chinese ability and local dialect ability quantitatively influence the income of the documented households, while ethnic minority language ability and English language ability qualitatively influence their household income to some degree. It is hoped that this study will provide both theoretical and practical implications for rural language strategies in the post-poverty alleviation period and rural revitalization in China.

Research on Achievement Evaluation in the Training of Bilingual Normal Students between Chinese and Chinese from the Perspective of Teacher Education Certiἀcation—A Case of Chinese Ethnic Minority Languages and Literature at Xichang University as an Example

Research on Achievement Evaluation in the Training of Bilingual Normal Students between Chinese and Chinese from the Perspective of Teacher Education Certiἀcation—A Case of Chinese Ethnic Minority Languages and Literature at Xichang University as an Example

A Study of the Three Dimensions of Linguistic Landscape——A Case Study of Five Star Commercial Pedestrian Street in Liuzhou, China

As a multi-national city with an international view, Liuzhou city reflects its social culture and development on the linguistic landscape. Based on the three-dimension space theory of linguistic landscape by Trumper-Hecht, this paper analyzes 178 pieces of the linguistic landscape of the Five Star Commercial Pedestrian Street in Liuzhou, Guangxi, China by methods of both quantity and quality to explore whether the linguistic landscape accords with the multi-nationality and internationality of Liuzhou. The results show that, in physical space, Liuzhou's preference code is Chinese, followed by a combination of Chinese and English. But there is no ethnic minority language found. In living space, people' attitude towards the linguistic landscape proves that there are some problems with improper translation, rare minority language, and a sense of disorder. And in conceived space, this study indicates three pieces of advice about policy management of linguistic landscape on translation, Zhuang language, and multimodality. To better highlight the international and ethnic characteristics, Liuzhou needs to improve its linguistic landscape.

Networked Language Communities: From Constructed Languages to Natural Languages

Activities for the preservation and development of ethnic minority languages are considered as the most important part of the actions to preserve the cultural heritage of the peoples inhabiting the Russian Federation. The obligatory nature of such activities is enshrined in our country constitutionally. For the ethnic intelligentsia, any attempts to infringe on the linguistic rights of their peoples turn out to be very painful. This problem in domestic science is most often considered in the tradition of linguistic relativism. This approach comes from the Humboldtian tradition in linguistics and in modern practice is associated with the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. With all the advantages of this approach, it is not without a number of disadvantages. The theory of a unique linguistic world view leads to the sacralization of the language, conserving and ritualizing it, depriving it of vitality. The situation with the functioning of regional languages will change either with the revitalization of old language communities, or with the formation of new language communities in which the language can function as a real means of communication and will gain a new lease on life. Accepting the fact that it is hardly possible to return to traditional economic systems in which the languages of ethnic minorities were rooted, it seems interesting to study the experience of the functioning of communities of modern artifi cial languages. The network forms of organization of such communities are interesting, because in the context of globalization, the emergence and functioning of local linguistic communities based on a geographical principle becomes diffi cult. This turn makes us take a different look at the problems of the functioning of natural and artifi cial languages: it is not its internal structure, semantics and syntactics that comes to the fore but the conditions for its use and the reasons that make people turn to it, that is, pragmatics. In other words, the problem of the viability of a language is not so much a question of its morphology and syntax, and not even a question of its expressive possibilities and means, but a question of the motives of people’s linguistic behavior.

Grammatical encoding of double-object alternations in Zhuang: Evidence for the one-stage model.

Production research has yielded mixed findings regarding whether grammatical encoding specifies grammatical functions and linear word order simultaneously or separately, supporting either one-stage or two-stage models. Here, we focused on the double object (DO) and shifted double object (SDO) constructions in Zhuang, an ethnic minority language in China because they differ only in linear ordering of the two nouns whose grammatical functions are direct object and indirect object, assuming the roles of Theme and Recipient, respectively. Using two structural priming experiments, we found that both DO and SDO constructions induced within-structure priming effects, but they did not prime each other. Such structural priming effects persisted, regardless of whether semantic features (i.e., animacy of the Theme) were repeated across primes and targets. Taken together, these priming patterns support the one-stage model of grammatical encoding, where a conceptual representation is converted into a structure specifying both grammatical functions and linear word order.

Representation of Languages in the Linguistic Landscape of the City of Yakutsk, Republic of Sakha

Abstract This article aims to determine the way languages are represented in the linguistic landscape of the city of Yakutsk, in particular, the representation of Sakha and ethnic (minority) languages: Even, Evenki, Yukaghir, Chukchi, and Dolgan. To meet this aim, the following objectives were completed: a systematic compilation of texts from outdoor signs available on two main streets of Yakutsk; field research on the linguistic landscape of the city; formation of a linguistic corpus of urban texts; and a comprehensive analysis of the linguistic landscape. This analysis solves two research questions: 1) What languages are represented in the linguistic landscape of Yakutsk and what is their share? 2) What are some of the characteristics of bilingual/multilingual signs?

Language attitudes: construct, measurement, and associations with language achievements

ABSTRACT The article reports on the development and validation of a new scale for assessing attitudes towards multiple languages among multilingual students from Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, China. The Language Attitudes Scale-Student Form (LASS) was developed based on relevant theory and literature as well as interview data from four students and four language teachers. The LASS consists of 40 items, with ten measuring students’ attitudes towards their dialect, ethnic (minority) language, Putonghua, and English, respectively. The LASS was validated among 5,237 students of seven schools from the elementary level to the tertiary level. The participants were mainly from Han (n 1 = 1,827) and two ethnic minority groups of Tujia (n 2 = 2,242) and Miao (n 3 = 886). The traditional triadic (cognition-affect-behaviour) model of language attitudes was generally supported across ethnic groups, languages, and educational levels. A series of validity tests and reliability tests were conducted, showing that the LASS was psychometrically sound. In addition, the predictive effects of language attitudes in self-perceived language proficiency and real language achievement were also confirmed to a large extent, highlighting the need to include language attitude as an important individual difference factor for language learning.

LANGUAGE RELATIONSHIP IN VIETNAM - SITUATION AND RAISED ISSUES

In the social life of a country, the mentioned relationship are associated with and reflect the enforcement of human rights, the right to protect language and culture of the indigenous population, and at the same time relate to the issue of ethnic identification, cultural rights including the right to use language (and writing) in all aspects of social life (in social communication, in education, in media, etc.).In Vietnam, types of relationships between languages: (i) relationship between Vietnamese and languages of ethnic minorities; (ii) relationship between the language of one ethnic group and the language of another ethnic minority; (iii) relation between languages and dialects within each ethnic group; (iv) relationship between languages across borders.The most important principle when dealing with ethnic relations in general and language relationship in particular of our country presently is: ensuring the common interests and national unity; ensure the cultural rights, language rights, diversity and distinctiveness of peoples in a multi-ethnic and multilingual country.

Between Authenticity and Commodification: Valorization of Ethnic Bai Language and Culture in China

In an era of globalization, language and culture are discursively constructed as technical skills in exchange for marketable values. This is particularly true with ethnic minority languages and cultures which are gaining increasing importance and emerging as commodities for promoting tourism and the local economy. Adopting the concepts of “cultural capital” (Bourdieu, 1986) and “commodification of language and authenticity” (Heller, 2003, 2010), this study examines how ethnic Bai-related language and cultural practices are capitalized as a commodity to enhance the local economy and empower Bai people’s identification with their heritage maintenance. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and online observations via WeChat and TikTok. Findings demonstrate that the convertibility of Bai language and cultural capital into economic capital is largely mediated by the promotion of heritage tourism, marketing strategies, and the use of social media. Despite the increasing status of Bai language and culture, this study also demonstrates the tensions between authentication and commodification of Bai heritage language and cultural practices. The study argues that in the socio-economic process of discursive shift, Bai language and culture as “semiotic resources” (Kress, 2010) are not merely seen as symbols of ethnic identity but also regarded as marketable products to cater to market demand. The study can shed light on the empowerment of ethnic minority languages and their heritage maintenance in modern China.

From Fluidity to Discretization… and Fractal Recursivity? Opportunities and Challenges Underpinning the Introduction of Minority Languages in Kachin State’s government schools (2011-2020)

In Myanmar, the 2011-2020 period—before the February 2021 military coup—has witnessed limited but steadily increasing momentum in terms of introducing ethnic minority languages (as subjects and oral media of instruction) in government schools, a shift liable to bring significant educational and political benefits, while contributing to the preservation of cultural and linguistic diversity. Focusing on Kachin State, this article deals with the underlying challenges and inherent tradeoffs of producing a list of languages (as opposed to mere dialects) to be introduced in formal education. We argue that this educational shift, despite its genuine and multiple potential benefits, also contributes to an ethnolinguistic discretization process, reinforcing the conditions for the mobilization of labels within labels, in fractal patterns, through recursive ideological layers of common languages on the one hand, and the affirmation of ethnolinguistic distinctiveness, on the other. While the political and educational landscape described in this paper has been deeply shaken and transformed by the 2021 military coup (with arguably a strengthening sense of belonging to the Kachin ethnic identity, and a greater attractiveness of the Jinghpaw language) these language politics and decentralization challenges should nonetheless be taken into account, when envisioning the future of education in a federal state.

County-Level Social Vulnerability and Emergency Department Visits for Firearm Injuries - 10 U.S. Jurisdictions, January 1, 2018-December 31, 2021.

At least 100,000 persons in the United States experience a fatal or nonfatal firearm injury each year.* CDC examined rates of firearm injury emergency department (ED) visits by community social vulnerability using data from CDC's Firearm Injury Surveillance Through Emergency Rooms (FASTER) program.† ED visit data, shared with CDC's National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP)§ during 2018-2021, were analyzed for 647 counties in 10 FASTER-funded jurisdictions.¶ County-level social vulnerability data were obtained from the 2018 Social Vulnerability Index (SVI).** Rates of ED visits for firearm injuries (number of firearm injury ED visits per 100,000 ED visits) were calculated across tertile levels of social vulnerability. Negative binomial regression models were used to estimate rate ratios (RRs) and associated 95% CIs comparing rates of ED visits across social vulnerability levels. During 2018-2021, compared with rates in counties with low overall social vulnerability, the firearm injury ED visit rate was 1.34 times as high in counties with medium social vulnerability and 1.80 times as high in counties with high social vulnerability. Similar patterns were observed for the SVI themes of socioeconomic status and housing type and transportation, but not for the themes of household composition and disability status or racial and ethnic minority status and language proficiency. More timely data†† on firearm injury ED visits by social vulnerability can help identify communities disproportionately experiencing elevated firearm injury rates. States and communities can use the best available evidence to implement comprehensive prevention strategies that address inequities in the social and structural conditions that contribute to risk for violence, including creating protective community environments, strengthening economic supports, and intervening to reduce harms and prevent future risk (e.g., with hospital-based violence intervention programs) (1,2).

Ethnic Minority Language and Sinophone Minority Literature in China

Minority authors in China are generally conceived of as having two choices: they can make an attempt at becoming “major”, by repeating the major literature’s ideological praxis (successful examples may be minority authors who become literary “masters” such as Tibetan author Alai 阿来 and Miao-Tujia author Shen Congwen 沈从文); or conversely they can attempt to become (more) “minor”, reproducing regionalist and minority representations. This is perhaps best encapsulated by the turn of phrase used by Abram de Swaan: “there is a choice for authors between being a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond”. What I attempt to show in this article is the possibility of a third way, a refusal to play by the rules of the game, so to speak, by changing the fundamental framework of the literary territory itself. In the writing of Naxi author Sha Li 沙蠡 we see usage of ethnic language as a form of resistance not against the Sinicizing centre, but against the very notion of being peripheral (to refuse to recognize the existence of two separate “ponds”). Sha Li does this by deterritorializing Chinese in a way that moves the language away from its traditional centre. Sinophone minority literature thus becomes a way of reorienting the centre, a place where the centre is the periphery, and it is in these spaces that the reader can find an “authentic” China.

TỪ TIẾNG THÁI TRONG THƠ CẦM BIÊU

Research on ethnic minority languages in general and poetic languages of ethnic minorities, in particular, is a matter of interest to many researchers. Based on the study of some literary materials (Cam Bieu poetries), the article investigates the number of Thai words indicating local places, objects, and phenomena featured in Cam Bieu's poetries. At the same time, the author analyzes the form value (including the ability to create the rhyming syllables of Thai words, the ability to create repeating structures in the verse rhythm) and the ability to express the meanings of Thai words in Cam Bieu’s poetries (including the meaning of describing the living environment, customs and habits typical of the Thai ethnic group, and the ability to combine with Thai folk songs and idioms to express the intuitive and emotional thinking of the Thai ethnic group).

Vietnam's Language Policy for Ethnic Minority Languages from 1975 to Now

Vietnam's Language Policy for Ethnic Minority Languages from 1975 to Now

ЯЗЫКИ НАЦИОНАЛЬНЫХ И ЭТНИЧЕСКИХ МЕНЬШИНСТВ УКРАИНЫ: ПРОБЛЕМЫ И СФЕРЫ ПРИМЕНЕНИЯ (ЧАСТЬ 2)

Statement of the problem. The timeliness and relevance of this article is dictated by the fact that since the independence of Ukraine, systematic and purposeful displacement of minority languages has been carried out. In recent years, laws have been adopted that seriously infringe on the linguistic rights of national minorities, which have caused protests and indignation among minorities. The timeliness and relevance of this article is dictated by the fact that in recent years the level of proficiency in the language of minorities by the native speakers has been declining. Questions arise: What is the reason? What measures are needed? Which body is responsible for the preservation and development of minority languages? This scientific article is devoted to the following languages of national and ethnic minorities of Ukraine: Gagauz language, Crimean Tatar language, and German language. The purpose of the article is to study the extent to which minority languages are used in various fields; identify problems that exist in the areas of use of the above languages, for example, in education and in mass media; study the measures taken by Ukraine to protect the Gagauz language, the Crimean Tatar language, and the German language. This article demonstrates the role of public organizations in the preservation and protection of the Gagauz, Crimean Tatar and German languages. The research methodology (materials and methods) is based on private (descriptive) and statistical methods of linguistics. The material for writing this article was the reports of Ukraine (third and fourth) on the fulfillment of obligations arising from the European Charter of Regional or Minority Languages of 1992, normative legal acts of Ukraine, special reports of the United Nations, scientific articles by domestic and foreign authors, and static data of public authorities. The results of the study. The analysis of the study of the state of the languages of national and ethnic minorities and their spheres of application showed that in the future, the process of preserving the languages of national minorities will depend on the importance that states, public organizations and native speakers themselves attach to their native language. It goes without saying, Ukraine, its state bodies, public organizations are taking measures to preserve and develop minority languages, however, today the main problem of minority languages in Ukraine, in addition to insufficient funding, is uneven use in education and the media. Conclusion. The minority language, being the most important tool for the preservation and development of identity in society, a factor of social cohesion and stability, occupies a central position in human activity in Ukraine. Issues related to the linguistic rights of national and ethnic minorities on the territory of states are of paramount importance. The state authorities of Ukraine fulfill their international obligations under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ​​of 1992, cooperate with other states on the preservation and development of minority languages.

Celebrating culture and neglecting language: representation of ethnic minorities in Chinese primary school textbooks (1976–2021)

ABSTRACT This study draws on data collected from Chinese language textbooks to investigate the ways in which ethnic minority cultures and languages are represented in primary school textbooks in China. Drawing on the methods of thematic and comparative analysis, we specifically analyse how the representation of ethnic minorities in Chinese textbooks has changed across different periods in history. The analysis reveals that the representation of ethnic minority cultures and languages is largely limited to the contributions approach and additive approach to multicultural curriculum development. The findings show a largely selective, traditional, and stereotypical representation of ethnic minority cultures and languages in school textbooks, which focus primarily on cultures from representative ethnic groups. Although an accurate and equitable representation of ethnic minorities is still mostly lacking in Chinese language textbooks, a multicultural approach to ethnic diversity has been gaining ground over the past four decades. Interestingly, increasing interest in a multicultural approach has been accompanied by decreasing tolerance towards ethnic multilingualism in textbooks over the past four decades. Such observable trends towards monolingualism and multiculturalism in the representation of ethnic and linguistic diversity in textbooks echo the continuous changes in national education policy.

Ethnic minority language policies and practices in China: revisiting Ruiz’s language orientation theory through a critical biliteracy lens

ABSTRACT In order to distinguish between language-related ideologies, Ruiz (1984) proposed three language orientations, namely ‘language-as-problem’, ‘language-as-right’ and ‘language-as-resource’. Although this typology has been applied to various countries and regions around the globe, relevant research in China, a multi-ethnolinguistic country, remains limited. Through a review of China’s minority language policies and relevant literature, this paper explores the application of Ruiz’s theory to the context of China and proposes two possible directions which can complement this theory. Firstly, the study found that there are different layers, complexities, and even contradictions under a broad/unified language orientation, and that minority languages can be simultaneously positioned as a ‘right’, a ‘resource’ and a ‘problem’. Secondly, by investigating a particular ethnic minority language (the Nuosu Yi language), the study found that the written (literacy) and spoken (oracy) skills of the language can be positioned differently in language-in-education policies and practices. We therefore propose that a critical ‘biliteracy continua’ lens (Hornberger 2004) can provide further analytical nuance to the language orientations put forward by Ruiz (1984).

Implementation of multilingual mother tongue education in Cambodian public schools for indigenous ethnic minority students

Abstract In this qualitative interpretive policy analysis case study, we examine the Cambodian government’s adoption and expansion of a Multilingual Education (MLE) program for speakers of different indigenous ethnic minority languages across five Northeastern provinces. Data include MLE policy documents and curriculum, observations in MLE schools, and interviews and focus groups with NGO staff, government officials, MLE Core Trainers, local MLE teachers, and school board members. We also analyze the nature of Khmer and indigenous language use and the nature of teaching and learning in the MLE schools and classrooms. Findings reveal significant success in establishing new schools and programs, expanding access to nearly 5,000 indigenous students, but also identify a number of challenges related to the governments’ capacity to further develop and expand MLE, with continual reliance on NGOs for technical and other support. Analyses of classroom observation data provide evidence of fidelity to the MLE model and curriculum, effective teaching and learning, and highly engaged teachers and students.

Bilingual or “Bye-Lingual”? An Analysis and Discussion of Bilingual Education Mode in China and the US

This article compares bilingual education mode in two countries: China and the US. For China, the bilingual education been analysed includes mandarin and ethnic minority languages, Chinese and English. Extant research on bilingual education tends to focus on one country whilst there is a paucity of papers comparing various kinds of bilingual education. In this paper, by using the systematic review method, the differences and similarities of bilingual education mode in these two countries are been discussed and the tensions, as well as opportunities of bilingual education behind these two countries is explored. This paper ends a call for non-English native speaking EFL/ESL teachers to see their first language as an asset for developing bilingual education worldwide.

Study on the Negative Adverb “xə̃<sup>44</sup>” in Lingling Dialect and Its Origin: A Case of Language Horizontal Transmission

There is a special negative adverb “xə̃⁴⁴” in Lingling dialect. Although there are some similarities between the “xə̃⁴⁴” and bu in grammatical function and syntactic distribution, the use of bu has less restrictions. Here the writer shows that the phenomenon of superposition of language elements from different origins appears not only in pronunciation, vocabulary system, but also in grammar system. The writer apply fieldwork, document comparison and other methods to analysis the phonetic and syntactic distribution and function of the “xə̃⁴⁴”. Comparing with those dialects and ethnic minority languages around Lingling and considering the history and relative phenomena of languages, It is suggested that the negative adverb “xə̃⁴⁴” evolves from the negative word [ņ] in Mian Language. This case shows that the negative adverb “xə̃⁴⁴” in Lingling dialect is due to the result of “horizontal transmission”. It tells people, when explaining Chinese dialect phenomenon, it should not be restricted to the dialect itself, better answers may be found in the dialects and languages of those surrounding places.