In the city of Sanjiazi, located in northeast China, the language of Manchu only has about 70 native speakers left. The language initially gained very high prestige during the Qing dynasty. It was used as the primary language of the Qing Imperial court. However, the Manchu ethnic group either gradually lost influence in government or shifted to Mandarin Chinese. After the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, no new documents were recorded in the Manchu language and all existing documents were kept in archives.During the formation of the People's Republic of China, many more ethnic Manchus gave up their language for Mandarin Chinese. Currently, there are about 10 million ethnic Manchus who do not know their native language.
Many aspects of the Manchu culture will disappear if the language dies. Even now, cities which have been inhabited by ethnic Manchus have torn down the old Manchu architecture, replacing it with Chinese style brick buildings. Many other traditions of the culture have already been lost. The remaining speakers are making a conscious effort to pass the language to their children, but they realize their hopes of preserving the language for a long period of time are very thin.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/16/world/asia/16iht-manchu.4935046.html
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This is a well researched post. I think the most alarming part of this commentary is your description of how the Manderin language has, essentially, killed the Manchu. As this LWC squashes Manchu, it is inevitable that many cultural traditions and knowledge stores will be lost. You mention that the Manch language will die, however, as a language that was once spoken in the imperal court, has it not, atleast, been documented? Is it possible that, in the future, it could someday be restored?
ReplyDeletegreat research and incorporation of information.
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