Sanie and language loss in China
David Bradley. 2005. Sanie and language loss in China. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 173:159-176.
Severely Endangered
100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~8000
Native Speakers Worldwide
Speaker Number Trends
Speaker Number Trend 4
Less than half of the community speaks the language, and speaker numbers are decreasing at an accelerated pace.
4
Domains of Use
Domain Of Use 5
Used only in a few very specific domains, such as in ceremonies, songs, prayer, proverbs, or certain limited domestic activities.
5
Transmission
Transmission 3
Some adults in the community are speakers, but the language is not spoken by children.
3
Speakers
Native or fluent speakers:
No results found.
Second-language speakers and learners
No results found.
Semi-speakers or rememberers
No results found.
Children:
No results found.
Young adults
No results found.
Older adults
No results found.
Elders
No results found.
Ethnic or community population
~17000
Year information was gathered
No results found.
Comments on speakers
There are no monolingual speakers in Sanie. Sanie is not used even in home domains (grandparents tend to speak Chinese to grandchildren).
Location and Context
Countries
China
Location Description
around the Kunming areas, Yunnan Province
Government Support
No results found.
Institutional Support
No results found.
Speakers' Attitude
No results found.
Other Languages Used By The Community
Chinese
Number of Other Language Speakers:
all
Domains of Other Languages:
all
Writing Systems
Standard orthography:
No results found.
Writing system:
pinyin (roman scripts)
Other writing systems used:
No results text.
Comments on writing systems:
"At the request of local authorities, we have devised a pinyin for Sanie which is intended to help in language maintenance efforts using the Reformed Yunnan Yi Script with the Sanie pronunciations ... The Yunnan Nationalities Commission is in favor of wider use of the Yi characters in school; this will be easier if young non-speakers can also be taught how to pronounce things in their parents' or grandparents' own local speech variety. Sanie teachers in some areas have welcomed this Sanie pinyin, and we hope it will help in their language maintenance efforts." (p.173-174)
Recent Resources
Informative message
No results found.