當前位置: Language Tips> 新聞播報

    Vanishing languages saved for posterity

    中國日報網 2012-09-28 10:49

     

    Get Flash Player

    Download

    Education authorities are compiling a database of dialects from different regions and ethnic groups across the country, to preserve those languages before they disappear, a senior government official said.

    Given China's rapid economic and social development, standard Mandarin, or Putonghua, has become increasingly popular across the country. It is even replacing some local dialects, particularly in urban and developed areas, said Zhang Haoming, director of the language information management department under the Ministry of Education.

    By 2011, 70 percent of people in China could speak and read standard Mandarin, compared with 51 percent in 2000, according to the government.

    Zhang said the popularity of Putonghua is inevitable because it has become an important tool for daily communication and economic exchanges between people of different regions. "For individuals, they may feel their personal development restricted if they don't speak Putonghua," he said.

    Zhang said that at the same time, some dialects that had existed in certain regions for a long time and carry historical and cultural significance are disappearing.

    "That's why we launched the national project to record the dialects and, ultimately, to complete a database on China's dialects," Zhang said.

    Important parts of the database are language resources and a comprehensive vocal collection, which was initiated in 2008. So far, pilot projects have been carried out in Jiangsu and Liaoning provinces, Shanghai and Beijing, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, according to the ministry.

    A recent example of the project that has attracted a lot of media attention was in Dalian, in Liaoning province, where the government this month chose nine residents as representatives of the Dalian dialect. After training, they will record the pronunciation of 1,000 commonly used characters, 1,200 words and some sentences in the Dalian dialect.

    "This is the first step in protecting the dialects. We plan to finish recording the dialects across the country in five to 10 years, and we will start with some city and provincial level governments, " Zhang said.

    As for developing more uses for the records besides academic materials, Zhang said there is no overall plan yet. "It is hard to give a clear timetable for the whole project because the situation varies from region to region.

    "For example, local dialects are still popular in regions like Sichuan, Chongqing and Shaanxi, so there is no rush to preserve the dialects.

    "However, in some regions, where the local language is dying out, protection is delayed again and again because of insufficient funds," he said.

    China has about 130 different local languages and numerous accents and dialects. There are no official statistics on the number of languages that are disappearing, but Zhang gave some examples.

    One example is the She language, which used to be spoken by 50,000 people of the She ethnic group. However, since the people have scattered in Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jiangxi provinces, the language has been gradually replaced by other dialects that are more widely used, such as Cantonese.

    However, Zhang said promoting Putonghua is still the priority.

    Questions:

    1. What are education authorities compiling?

    2. What is the purpose?

    3. How many dialects are in China?

    Answers:

    1. A database of dialects from different regions and ethnic groups across the country.

    2. To preserve those languages before they disappear.

    3. About 130 different local languages and numerous accents and dialects.

    (中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯)

    Vanishing languages saved for posterity

    About the broadcaster:

    Vanishing languages saved for posterity

    Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.

     
    中國日報網英語點津版權說明:凡注明來源為“中國日報網英語點津:XXX(署名)”的原創作品,除與中國日報網簽署英語點津內容授權協議的網站外,其他任何網站或單位未經允許不得非法盜鏈、轉載和使用,違者必究。如需使用,請與010-84883561聯系;凡本網注明“來源:XXX(非英語點津)”的作品,均轉載自其它媒體,目的在于傳播更多信息,其他媒體如需轉載,請與稿件來源方聯系,如產生任何問題與本網無關;本網所發布的歌曲、電影片段,版權歸原作者所有,僅供學習與研究,如果侵權,請提供版權證明,以便盡快刪除。

    中國日報網雙語新聞

    掃描左側二維碼

    添加Chinadaily_Mobile
    你想看的我們這兒都有!

    中國日報雙語手機報

    點擊左側圖標查看訂閱方式

    中國首份雙語手機報
    學英語看資訊一個都不能少!

    關注和訂閱

    本文相關閱讀
    人氣排行
    熱搜詞
     
     
    精華欄目
     

    閱讀

    詞匯

    視聽

    翻譯

    口語

    合作

     

    關于我們 | 聯系方式 | 招聘信息

    Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版權聲明:本網站所刊登的中國日報網英語點津內容,版權屬中國日報網所有,未經協議授權,禁止下載使用。 歡迎愿意與本網站合作的單位或個人與我們聯系。

    電話:8610-84883645

    傳真:8610-84883500

    Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn

    亚洲人成无码网WWW| 精品人妻系列无码天堂| 播放亚洲男人永久无码天堂 | 免费无码又爽又刺激高潮软件 | 台湾佬中文娱乐中文| 无码中文字幕日韩专区 | 97无码免费人妻超| 亚洲AV无码乱码国产麻豆穿越| 天堂资源8中文最新版| 无码人妻AⅤ一区二区三区水密桃| 无码专区久久综合久中文字幕| 亚洲欧美日韩在线不卡中文| 色综合久久中文字幕无码| 国产成人无码久久久精品一| 亚洲AV日韩AV高潮无码专区| 麻豆AV无码精品一区二区| 最近2019年免费中文字幕高清| 亚洲中文字幕日本无线码 | 影音先锋中文无码一区| 精品人无码一区二区三区| 少妇人妻偷人精品无码视频新浪| 精品无码久久久久国产动漫3d| 中文字幕av日韩精品一区二区| 最近中文字幕免费mv在线视频| 91视频中文字幕| 中文字幕视频免费| 最近免费中文字幕大全高清大全1| 亚洲不卡中文字幕无码| 亚洲中文字幕无码中文字在线| 中文字幕7777| 久久亚洲春色中文字幕久久久| 日韩精品无码一区二区中文字幕 | 中文字幕乱码人妻一区二区三区 | 日本中文字幕一区二区有码在线| 亚洲乱亚洲乱少妇无码| 伊人久久无码精品中文字幕| 亚洲无av在线中文字幕| 色综合久久中文色婷婷| 中文字幕人妻在线视频不卡乱码| 无码国产精品一区二区免费式影视| 日本爆乳j罩杯无码视频|