Selecting people to participate in the project is not easy. (Photo : Women of China)
A group of researchers is determined to save China's linguistic diversity and heritage from extinction, according to an article by Women of China. The group is spearheaded by Zhou Jixu, a linguistics professor from the School of Literal Arts of Sichuan Normal University.
China's rich linguistic heritage is in danger thanks to the preference of the younger generation towards Mandarin and English
In the past eight years, the research group has managed to collate and record over 140 dialects native to Sichuan Province in southwest China, including those from the province's remotest regions.
Selecting people to participate in the project is not easy. According to Zhou, his group would head to townships and record local dialects one by one, then analyze the speech and add it to their database.
Certain conditions must be met as well. One of the requirements include being a local of 70 years old and have lived in their hometown for most of their lives.
Local governments, relatives and friends helped in referring speakers for the project. For Zhou, the most difficult part of the process was to ask participants to read a 3,500-character text.
Zhou and his researchers had to persuade speakers most of the time, even offering rewards.
Choosing the right people to work with him is arduous as well. A researcher must receive professional training on phonetics and linguistics, and must have adequate knowledge on Chinese application and dialectology.
Zhou said that researchers from Sichuan Province were preferred as they already have knowledge of their own dialects.
Zhou and his team are not alone in the quest to save linguistic diversity in China. TV host Wang Han recently took up the cause and spent millions of yuan to investigate dialects in Hunan Province.
The government is also making its own efforts. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Education and the State of Language Affairs Commission launched a project to protect Chinese language resources.
