Chinese Village Struggles to Save Dying Language
 

[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/world/asia/18manchu.htm[/url]

[quote][b]Chinese Village Struggles to Save Dying Language[/b]
[i]
By DAVID LAGUE
Published: March 18, 2007
[/i]
SANJIAZI, China — Seated cross-legged in her farmhouse on the kang, a brick sleeping platform warmed by a fire below, Meng Shujing lifted her chin and sang a lullaby in Manchu, softly but clearly.

Meng Shujing, 82, left, her grandson, Shi Junguang, 30, and his son, Shi Yaobin, 5, try to keep the Manchu language alive in northeastern China.

After several verses, Ms. Meng, a 82-year-old widow, stopped, her eyes shining.

“Baby, please fall asleep quickly,” she said, translating a few lines of the song into Chinese. “Once you fall asleep, Mama can go to work. I need to set the fire, cook and feed the pigs.”

“If you sing like this, a baby gets sleepy right away,” she said.

She also knows that most experts believe the day is approaching when no child will doze off to the sound of the song’s comforting words.

Ms. Meng is one of 18 residents of this isolated village in northeastern China, all over 80 years old, who, according to Chinese linguists and historians, are the last native speakers of Manchu.

Descendants of seminomadic tribesmen who conquered China in the 17th century, they are the last living link to a language that for more than two and a half centuries was the official voice of the Qing dynasty, the final imperial house to rule from Beijing and one of the richest and most powerful empires the world has known.

With the passing of these villagers, Manchu will also die, experts say. All that will be left will be millions of documents and files — about 60 tons of Manchu-language documents are in the provincial archive in Harbin alone — along with inscriptions on monuments and important buildings in China, unintelligible to all but a handful of specialists.

“I think it is inevitable,” said Zhao Jinchun, an ethnic Manchu born in Sanjiazi who taught at the village primary school for more than two decades before becoming a government official in Qiqihar, a city about 30 miles to the south. “It is just a matter of time. The Manchu language will face the same fate as some other ethnic minority languages in China and be overwhelmed by the Chinese language and culture.”

(While most experts agree that Manchu is doomed, Xibo, a closely related language, is likely to survive a little longer. Xibo is spoken by about 30,000 descendants of members of an ethnic group allied to the Manchus who in the 1700s were sent to the newly conquered western region of Xinjiang. But it, too, is under relentless pressure from Chinese.)
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The disappearance of Manchu will be part of a mass extinction of languages that some experts forecast will lead to the loss of half of the world’s 6,800 languages by the end of the century. Few of these threatened languages have declined so rapidly, from such prominence, as Manchu.

Within decades of establishing their dynasty in 1644, the Qing rulers brought all of what was then Chinese territory under control and then embarked on a campaign of expansion that roughly doubled the size of their empire to include Xinjiang, Tibet, Mongolia and Taiwan.

However, the dynasty’s fall in 1911 meant that the Manchus were relegated to the ranks of the more than 50 other ethnic minorities in China, their numbers dwarfed by the dominant Han, who account for 93 percent of the country’s 1.3 billion people, according to official statistics.

Indistinguishable by appearance, the Manchus have since melded into the general population. About 10 million Chinese citizens now describe themselves as ethnic Manchus. Most live in what are now the northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang, although substantial numbers also live in Beijing and other northern cities.

For generations, the vast majority have spoken Chinese as their first language. Manchu survived only in small, isolated pockets like Sanjiazi, where, until a few decades ago, nearly all the residents were ethnic Manchus. Most are descended from the three main families that made up a military garrison established here in 1683 on the orders of the Qing emperor Kangxi to deter Russian territorial ambitions, Mr. Zhao said.

The traditional Manchu-style wood and adobe farmhouses have largely been replaced by Chinese-style brick homes, local residents say. The village now looks like any other settlement in this region as a biting wind whips snow across the bare ground between the houses and piles of dried corn stalks, stacked high to feed cattle and pigs through the winter.

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Traditional shamanistic rites with ethnic dress and customs have also been mostly abandoned, although some wedding and funeral ceremonies retain elements of Manchu rituals, Mr. Zhao said. Villagers still observe one Manchu taboo that sets them apart from others in China’s far northeast.

“We don’t eat dog meat,” Mr. Zhao said. “And we would never wear a hat made from dog fur.” The prohibition, tradition has it, honors a dog credited with having saved the life of Nurhachi (1559-1626), the founder of the Manchu state.

Even now, about three-quarters of Sanjiazi’s 1,054 residents are ethnic Manchus but the use of Chinese has spread sharply in recent decades as roads and modern communications have increasingly exposed them to the outside world. Only villagers of Ms. Meng’s generation prefer to speak Manchu.

“We are still speaking it, we are still using it,” said Ms. Meng, a cheerful woman with thick gray hair pulled back in a neat bun. “If the other person can’t speak Manchu, then I’ll speak Chinese.”

But she disputes the findings of visiting linguists that 18 villagers are left who can still speak fluently. By her standards, only five or six of her neighbors fit that description.

Mr. Zhao, 53, estimates that 50 people in the village have a working grasp of the language.

“My generation can still communicate in Manchu,” he said, although he acknowledged that most villagers now speak Chinese almost all the time at home.

Ms. Meng’s 30-year-old grandson, Shi Junguang, has studied hard to improve his Manchu and teaches speaking and writing to the 76 pupils, aged 7 to 12, at the village school.

This is the only primary school in China that offers classes in Manchu, officials from the local ethnic affairs office said. These lessons, shared with one other teacher, take only a small proportion of classroom time, but are popular with students, say school staff members and other village residents.

“Because they are Manchus, they are interested in these classes,” Mr. Shi said.

He is also teaching basic conversation phrases to his 5-year-old son, Shi Yaobin, and encourages him to speak with his great-grandmother.

“It would be a great blow for us if we lose our language,” he said.

But most experts agree that attempts to preserve Manchu are futile with so few people left to speak it.

“The spoken Manchu language is now a living fossil,” said Zhao Aping, an ethnic Manchu and an expert on Manchu language and history at Heilongjiang University in the provincial capital, Harbin.

“Although we are expending a lot of energy on preserving the language and culture, it is very difficult. The environment is not right,” he added.

Despite the predictions that it is now only a matter of time before Manchu falls silent, in Sanjiazi, Ms. Meng clings to hope.

“I don’t have much time,” she said. “I don’t even know if I have tomorrow, but I will use the time to teach my grandchildren.

“It is our language; how can we let it die? We are Manchu people.”[/quote]

[QUOTE=ewmayer;101633][url]http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/world/asia/18manchu.htm[/url]

<snip>.......

For generations, the vast majority have spoken Chinese as their first language


[/QUOTE]

Excuse my ignorance.

Does "Chinese" = Mandarin? or "Chinese" = Cantonese??? Or something else?

This article reminds me of an article published in the Harvard Crimson
when I was an undergrad. The article was discussing Chinese studies
and referred to Chinese people as "chinks". [apparently, in a gross display
of ignorance, the author was unaware that the term is offensive].

There was quite an uproar about this verbiage, [allegedly] made out of
ignorance.

One letter to the editor exhibited a great deal of irony. It said the
entire matter could have been avoided just by referring to them as "wogs".
I am not sure if this letter was intended as facetious, sarcastic, or just
reflected ignorance on the part of its writer.........Of course, additional
politically correct uproar followed.

[QUOTE=R.D. Silverman;101641]Does "Chinese" = Mandarin? or "Chinese" = Cantonese??? Or something else?[/QUOTE]

The article refers to populational-% and cultural domination of the Han majority, so it seems likely by "Chinese" it refers collectively to the "big three" dialects (Mandarin, Wu and Cantonese). According to the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_language]Wikipage[/url] on the Chinese Language(s), whether there is *a* "Chinese Language", i.e. whether the above 3 can properly be considered as dialects of a common core language is still controversial among linguists. But knowing the Chinese Government's penchant for emphasizing/enforcing cultural unity (often more imagined than real) for the entire country, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Government itself glosses over these dialectical differences in the same way, even though the Beijing dialect of Mandarin is the official "standard" language of the country.

These might help, in some cases.
[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phraselator"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phraselator[/URL]
[URL="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/03/05/phrasalator/"]http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/03/05/phrasalator/[/URL]

Iceland has been fighting with M$ to keep an Icelandic version of Windows. All Icelanders can understand English and M$ doesn't want to expend the effort to port the language files.

slang !
 

[QUOTE=R.D. Silverman;101641]Excuse my ignorance.
~ ~
One letter to the editor exhibited a great deal of irony. It said the
entire matter could have been avoided just by referring to them as "wogs".
I am not sure if this letter was intended as facetious, sarcastic, or just
reflected ignorance on the part of its writer.........Of course, additional
politically correct uproar followed.[/QUOTE]

Chinks is a derogatory term for the Chinese no doubt!

The slang 'wog' means 'western oriental gentleman' and was usually applied to any non white person from swarthy to black

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wog - 32k

Mally :coffee:

[QUOTE=mfgoode;101896]Chinks is a derogatory term for the Chinese no doubt!

The slang 'wog' means 'western oriental gentleman' and was usually applied to any non white person from swarthy to black

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wog - 32k

Mally :coffee:[/QUOTE]The true etymology of "wog" is unknown. That supposed acronym has been proposed and discredited. A somehat more plausible suggestion is "worker on government service" (so the original word was "wogs", since converted to a singular) and was supposedly printed on work clothes.

An old British phrase is "Wogs begin at Calais" . Every culture demonstrates such xenophobia for sound evolutionary reasons --- the tribe is composed of relatives and protecting tribal unity is a good way to ensure that your genes (not necessarily in you!) are propagated. Note that many non-human tribes show exactly the same behaviour for exactly the same reasons. Ever seen cats beating up an intruder on their territory, or ants killing ants from neighbouring colonies?


Paul

[QUOTE=xilman;101974]The true etymology of "wog" is unknown. That supposed acronym has been proposed and discredited.

Paul[/QUOTE]


I had heard that it stood for "Wise Oriental Gentleman"...

WOG!
 

:smile:
That's a great consolation ! I have on occasions been called one and now I can correct it from 'Western Oriental Gentleman' and still maintain my birth right and culture at the same time.

Thank You,

Mally :coffee:

[QUOTE=xilman;101974]The true etymology of "wog" is unknown.[/QUOTE]

It's well-known that the Brits like to refer to the French as "Frogs." Apparently a couple hundred years ago (I believe it was in the late 1700s or early 1800s, a few years before the struggle against Napoleon became a full-time obsession of the British government and military), once British naval might had expanded to the point to allow them to extend their Xenophobia to more than just their immediate cross-channel neighbors, it was decided (at the recommendation of the then-Lord of the Admiralty, [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Keith_Elphinstone%2C_1st_Viscount_Keith]Lord Keith[/url]) that a more general Xeno-acronym was needed. Accordingly, the Franco-specific "Fr" was replaced by "W", standing for "Whomever."

(Or perhaps it was "Whoever" sans the "m" - I can never keep that straight...)

Etymology
 

[QUOTE=xilman;101974]The true etymology of "wog" is unknown. That supposed acronym has been proposed and discredited. A somehat more plausible suggestion is "worker on government service" (so the original word was "wogs", since converted to a singular) and was supposedly printed on work clothes.

An old British phrase is "Wogs begin at Calais" . Every culture demonstrates such xenophobia for sound evolutionary reasons --- the tribe is composed of relatives and protecting tribal unity is a good way to ensure that your genes (not necessarily in you!) are propagated. Note that many non-human tribes show exactly the same behaviour for exactly the same reasons. Ever seen cats beating up an intruder on their territory, or ants killing ants from neighbouring colonies?


Paul[/QUOTE]

I do not agree with your etymologizing the word wog. It is clearly singular and used as such. Wogs is plural any day

The word ' Wog' was often used in the former British colonies by people of mixed descent like the Anglo Indians,, Anglo Burmese, and generally by Euro-Asians.

This word distinguished them from the actual natives, the sons of the soil so to speak. The British respected this mixture and gave them well placed mid management positions as they had an added loyalty to the British, more than the natives

At the same time due to their natural instincts of emulating the English they were very fond of singing, dancing, and dressing up and sports, etc. Hence they were kept educated to the basic level and given good jobs as soon as they attained the age of 18 leaving them no option of studying further.

Cambridge University (overseas) also had a lower high school level called (now defunct) Junior Cambridge which is equivalent to today's 7th standard.

Those who were promising candidates were sent straight to England for practical training or higher education.

The mixed community derogatorily called 'half castes' enjoyed favour during the British Raj.

With all the privileges offered them they stood apart from the actual native and between themselves it was necessary to distinguish themselves from the suns of the soil, especially those who inherited the Indian features and colour.

So when in doubt the word wog became necessary to differentiate the two.

As these mixed communities migrated to the places like Canada and Australia and new Zealand it was even more necessary to be labelled one way or the other.

For those interested, I would recommend the movie "Bhowani Junction" starring Ava Gardner as an Anglo Indian girl and the way she led her life in British India.

Regards Xenophobia I agree and understand the fear but there are limits and moral conduct to be observed in discrimination.

As an acid test get on a high Street in London and call the English skinheads or other rich juvenile hooligans "wog" to see how they react. I can assure you
that you will not only have the difference shoved down the throat but also a couple of teeth !

Mally :coffee:

[QUOTE=mfgoode;102273]I do not agree with your etymologizing the word wog. It is clearly singular and used as such. Wogs is plural any day[/QUOTE]Whether you agree with it or not is beside the point. For a start it is not "my" etymology, merely one of many that have been suggested. Please try not to shoot the messenger.

As stated, according to this (dubious) etymology the word was originally "wogs" which was then converted to "wog" because the former looks like a plural. The same transformation occurs elsewhere in English. An example is given by "pea". The original was "pease", later converted to a singular form "pea" which then had a plural "peas" formed from it.

As I stated in my post, the true etymology of wog is unknown. There are many suggested etymologies, some more plausible than others. [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wog[/url] gives a very good summary of present knowledge. It lists many of the implausible etymologies and, as should be expected, the ones currently regarded as being least-implausible: that it is derived from the word "gollywog" or "pollywog" (either of which may also be spelled with an i or a y).

Paul