The Development of Scripts of Ethnic Minority Groups in China’s Border Regions

Huang Xing

Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning ›› 2025, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (3) : 30-38.

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Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning ›› 2025, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (3) : 30-38. DOI: 10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20250303

The Development of Scripts of Ethnic Minority Groups in China’s Border Regions

  • Huang Xing
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Abstract

The scripts of ethnic minority groups in China’s border regions exhibit both genealogical diversity and civilizational plurality. These scripts include Aramaic-based alphabetic systems such as Brahmi, Sogdian and Arabic scripts; Greek-based alphabetic script such as Latin; and indigenous scripts based on Chinese characters. Since the 1950s, ethnic groups without scripts or with underdeveloped scripts have created, reformed, or refined Latin-based writing systems under the assistance of the Chinese government. In the 1980s, modernization efforts for the languages and scripts of ethnic minority groups were launched, and the initiatives include the Romanization of traditional scripts to facilitate information processing and the exchange of non-universal characters. National standards have since been developed for character sets, keyboards, and fonts across various ethnic scripts, with Tibetan and Mongolian script standards being officially recognized as international standards by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Unlike neighboring countries that share similar scripts, China independently designs and develops information technology standards for the scripts of its ethnic minority groups. This has resulted in asymmetry in script attributes and functionalities, creating discrepancies that may lead to challenges in border governance and security related to language and script policies. These issues underscore the importance of national language policy planning and governance strategies.

Key words

scripts of ethnic minority groups / civilization inheritance / international universality / information processing / linguistic communication and identity

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Huang Xing. The Development of Scripts of Ethnic Minority Groups in China’s Border Regions[J]. Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2025, 10(3): 30-38 https://doi.org/10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20250303

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