In an age marked by globalization and informatization, linguistic and cultural diversity are undergoing a serious challenge. This has become an important topic of debate for linguists both in China and abroad. China is a country with multiple ethnic groups and languages. However, more than half of the Chinese ethnic languages are on the road towards disappearance. Some of them have completely lost their communicative function and are only kept alive in the memories of a few old people. In the face of such a serious situation, it is necessary for linguists to adopt measures for the recording, rescuing and preserving of ethnic languages.

Language is a carrier of culture. Culture can be seen as a combination of spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional characteristics possessed by a certain social group, including its lifestyle, value system, traditions and beliefs. UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity points out that in order to defend cultural diversity and respect human dignity, “all persons should therefore be able to express themselves and to create and disseminate their work in the language of their choice, and particularly in their mother tongue”.

In addition to being a carrier of culture, language is also a combination of knowledge and experience accumulated by a certain group over thousands of years. The continuation of an ethnic group and its historical survival depend on its language being passed down from generation to generation, as well as it being recorded and transmitted beyond time and space. In this sense, every ethnic language records a significant part of human knowledge. As a direct reflection of a particular thinking mode and mental activity, language represents the way in which the cognitive system of its user relates to the objective world. The disappearance of linguistic variety will have a negative influence on human cognition. As the symbol of an ethnic group, language becomes an important sign of ethnic distinction, and creates a bond between its speakers. All members of the group have a special feeling towards their own language.

Language is also a tool for maintaining good relations with neighbors and fighting against hostile forces. A great number of minorities dwell in border areas, and some hostile foreign forces have attempted to create conflict as well as distort and attack China’s policies through religion, language and culture. It is therefore the case that preserving and developing ethnic languages is conducive to stabilizing border areas and fighting against hostile forces.

There are various minority languages with a high academic value in China, some of which still preserve the ancient features of the Sino-Tibetan and Altaic languages. It is therefore necessary to spare no effort to record this linguistic material and save it from disappearance.

It is also necessary to establish a long-term mechanism for the protection and inheritance of languages in general. This way the spread and use of Putonghua can be guaranteed, while also ensuring the continuity and development of the ethnic languages. In future a situation should be built up in which all the ethnic languages and Putonghua can co-exist. The Standing Committee of the 12th Yunnan People’s Congress approved The Regulations on Ethnic Languages of Yunnan Province on March 28 of 2013. This action should be commended, because it will promote the development of related academic research.

The author is an Honorary CASS Member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

The Chinese version appeared in Chinese Social Sciences Today, No. 543, 30th December, 2103.

Chinese link: http://www.csstoday.net/xueshuzixun/guoneixinwen/86977.html

　　Translated by Chen Meina

　　Revised by Gabriele Corsetti