This article inquires into the decline of Chinese dialects in the context of promulgation of Putonghua, and proposes some strategies to preserve the dialects. Two remarkable tendencies can be observed in the declining Chinese dialects: the erosion of dialectal idiosyncracies and attenuation of communicative functions. On the one hand, many dialects are dropping their distinctive phonological, lexical and syntactic features, and assimilating into the Mandarin system. On the other hand, the use of dialects in communication is diminishing even for dialect speakers. It is found that the declining patterns vary among different regional dialects. Those dialects along the Yangtze, such as the Wu, Xiang and Gan dialects show more shifts in structure, while those farther away from the Yangtze, such as the Min, Yue and Gan dialects, feature more decline in functional use. In order to save the dialects from further declining, this paper proposes that the values of Chinese dialects need to be appreciated, and the dialects can be incorporated into the Chinese language teaching materials across the nation. In addition, the mass media, social and cultural sectors as well as families can play their distinctive roles in the preservation and transmission of dialects.
This study is an attempt to explore the impacts of language revival on the mental health of Indigenous Australians through literature review and case study. On the basis of a delineation of how language, a sense of identity and mental health are interrelated, the study, with a focus on Barngarla reclamation, integrates the data from various reports of Australian institutions and the findings about minority groups in the U. S. and Canada, and demonstrates that language revival may enhance the mental health of minority groups like the Barngarla people through improving their self-confi dence, helping them develop resilience, and improving their sense of identity, sense of purpose and wellbeing. However, for a systematic assessment of the benefits of language reclamation to mental health, revivalists need to cooperate with mental health research professionals so as to identify, review, and (when required) adapt existing quantitative methods and tools. In addition, we contend that, in the evaluation of language reclamation activities, the revival process is as important as the revival goals.
This paper introduces eight international endangered-language protection projects being carried out in Europe and America, and explains their objectives, progress and achievements. It is shown that these projects share three common characteristics: goal orientation, scientifi c methods, and a lack of standardization. Among them, goal orientation plays an important role in the management and operation of the international endangered-language protection projects. This strategy serves to clarify the missions of the projects, and eventually makes the implementation more transparent and well-targeted. Scientific methods refer to the documentation, preservation,maintenance and revitalization of endangered languages in scientific ways. However, the lack of standardization results in the inconsistency of language materials and formats in some projects. This paper makes four suggestions for the Project for the Protection of Language Resources of China, including the establishment of language resource website, assessment of the ethnolinguistic vitality of minority languages and dialects in China, activation of collective wisdom, and emphasis on standardization planning.