Yuzhu LG Policy Mongolia

Chinese Education and Society, vol. 41, no.
6, November/December 2008,
pp. 71–93.
© 2009 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All rights reserved.
ISSN 1061–1932 / 2009 $9.50 + 0.00.
DOI 10.2753/CED1061-1932410607
Bao Yuzhu
A Study of Language Contact and Shift

in Harqin of Ningcheng County, Inner
Mongolia
Abstract: The Mongolian language in Ningcheng county is in a state of endanger-

ment. In endangered Mongolian (Harqin dialect) communities, the family is the
mother-tongue source, whereas society is the Han-language source, and under normal
circumstances the actual language use by members of the community approaches the
median of the use of both languages. The usual process of language shift consists of
the development of bilingualism, limited use of Mongolian, and gradually expanded
use of Han. Thereafter Mongolian recedes from public domains of language use,
bilingualism declines, and use of Han steadily rises. Ultimately a complete shift to
Han ensues. The shift from Mongolian to Han takes place faster in urban areas than
rural areas, faster among children than their parents, and faster among cadres than
peasants and students. In communities where Mongolian is endangered, schools are
important defenses for protecting the mother tongue and culture. Distinctions should
be made and caution exercised when minority schools are merged.
Ningcheng county, which corresponds historically to the Harqin Central Banner, is

situated at the juncture of three provinces and regions—Inner Mongolia, Hebei, and
Liaoning. According to 2006 statistics, Ningcheng county has an overall population
Translation © 2009 M.E. Sharpe, Inc., from the Chinese text, “Ningcheng xian Harqin
Mengguyu yuyan jiechu yanjiu,” a simplified version of “Ningcheng xian Harqin Mengguyu
yuyan jiechu yanjiu,” Zhongguo bianjiang minzu yanjiu [Studies of Minorities on China’s
Frontier] 1: 224–44. Translated by Ted Wang.
Bao Yuzhu is with the Linguistic Research Institute, College of Minority Languages and
Literature, Central University for Nationalities.
71
72 chinese education and society
of 595,358 people, of whom Mongolians account for 71,579 (12 percent) of the
overall population. Of the Mongolian population, 9,649 people (13.5 percent) speak
Mongolian. Overall, 18,004 secondary and elementary students study in minority
schools in Ningcheng county, 3,028 (16.8 percent) of whom are Mongolians. Among
the overall number of Mongolian students, 497 (16.4 percent) are taught only in
Mongolian, and 1,972 (65.1 percent) learn Mongolian as a subject.1 These account
for 81.5 percent of the overall number of Mongolian students and 25.6 percent of the
people who speak Mongolian. In other words, about 86.5 percent of the Mongolian
population in Ningcheng county has shifted to Han, and one quarter of those who
use Mongolian are students. The rest are adults of various categories.
Two locations were chosen for the questionnaire surveys used in this study, one of
which was Dachengzi township, which is situated 50 km northwest of the county seat
and served as the Mongolian political center of the Harqin Central Banner for some
200 years, from 1737 to 1945 (Ningcheng County Annals Compilation Committee
1992).2 Within its borders are coalmines, farmers’ produce marketplaces, and small
processing enterprises. Transportation and communications are fairly convenient. The
second locality was Cunjingou township (currently merged into Sanzuodian township).
It is 55 km west of the county seat and is fairly backward in terms of economy and
transportation. According to 2006 statistics, Dachengzi township has a total popula-
tion of 39,193, of which the Mongolian population numbers 6,691 (17 percent). Nine
hundred fifty Mongolians (14 percent) learn and use Mongolian; 365 students account
for 38.4 percent of the Mongolian population that learns and uses Mongolian; 44 of
the students are taught only in Mongolian, and 321 learn the language as a subject.
Sanzuodian township has an overall population of 46,887, of which ethnic Mongolians
number 10,881 (23.2 percent). Some 1,500 people learn and use Mongolian. These
account for 13.8 percent of the Mongolian population and 3.2 percent of the overall
population. There are 352 students who are taught uniquely in Mongolian. These ac-
count for 23.5 percent of the population that learns and uses Mongolian.
Fifty questionnaires were distributed in each location in 2006, and all together
ninety valid questionnaires were retrieved. The questionnaire asked the participants
to identify what languages/dialects they used at home and with whom during their
childhood as well as what languages/dialects they currently used in public domains
(government, markets, school, and workplace), in writing and reading, and for
entertainment. The questionnaires also asked them to identity what languages/
dialects they used most during their preschool and at present. The questionnaires
were given to four categories of people: parents, students, teachers, and cadres.
The great majority of the parents were peasants. The students consisted of junior
middle school and elementary school students and the teachers were junior middle
school and elementary school teachers. The cadres included public functionaries
and enterprise employees. The teachers first guided students in filling out the latter’s
questionnaires in accordance with the surveyors’ requirements. The students then
took their parents’ questionnaires home to be filled out by the parents. Teachers
and cadres filled out their own questionnaires.
november/december 2008 73
Table 1
Sanzuodian Junior Middle School Student Parents’ Home Language Use
and Shift
PH, HD,
Language use PH MD HD & MD & MD PH & MD
Childhood Mother to child 1 6 1 1 1

Father to child 1 6 1 2
Child to mother 2 5 1 1 1
Child to father 1 6 1 1 1
Preschool lang. 2 7 1
Current With grandfather 4 3 3

With grandmother 5 2 3
With father 5 2 1 1
With mother 3 3 2 1
With siblings 5 3 2
Current language 3 4 2 1
Note: PH = putonghua; MD = local Mongolian dialect (Harqin); HD = local Han dialect;
SM = Standard Mongolian; FL = foreign languages.
Family and Sociolinguistic Change Data
Data from the Survey at Sanzuodian Township
1. Ten parents of junior middle school students at Sanzuodian were surveyed

at Sanzuodian—five men and five women. Their average age was forty-one, and
all were peasants. Seven of them had junior middle school educations, two had
elementary school educations, and one had a senior middle school education. All of
them were local Mongolians. Their language use over time is shown in Table 1.
This group’s preschool language was primarily the local Mongolian dialect
(i.e., Harqin), and communication between different generations was basically the
same. During their childhood, putonghua was also used in two families, but less
than half were bilingual Mongolian-Han. As adults, their current language use is
significantly different. Seven of them are Mongolian-Han bilinguals. Mongolian
use at home is slightly decreased whereas bilingual use is increased.
The domains of language use in society consist of the marketplace, school,
and workplace. From the perspective of function, language use may be divided
into reading, writing, and entertainment (including audiovisual materials, such as
music and movies in the standard Mongolian). Language use by this parent group
is shown in Table 2.
In public domains, more than half of this group regularly spoke Han, two spoke
Table 2
Sanzuodian Junior Middle School Student Parents’ Current Language Use
Language use
PH, HD,
Domains of use SM PH HD MD HD & MD & MD PH & MD PH & HD HD & FL
Social intercourse Market 1 6 2 1 1

Government 1 6 1 1 1
Application Workplace 1 4 2 2
Written language Reading 1 2 3 1 4
Writing 1 2 3 1 2 1 1
Entertainment Frequently 1
Sometimes 5
Occasionally 3
Note: PH = putonghua; MD = local Mongolian dialect (Harqin); HD = local Han dialect; SM = Standard Mongolian; FL = foreign languages.
only Mongolian, and two or three practiced bilingualism. In written language use,
half of them read only in Han, and four people read in both Mongolian and Han
while only one person read in Mongolian. All of those surveyed misunderstood
the “Mongolian-language songs, audiovisual products, and movies” referred to in
the questionnaire as songs, audiovisual products, and movies of the Mongolian
people. They rarely came in contact with their own ethnic group’s entertainment
and culture, suggesting that the Mongolian ethnic culture is starting to become
marginalized.
2. Ten parents of elementary school students at Sanzuodian were surveyed—
five males and five females. Nine were local peasants and one was a teacher.
Their average age was thirty-six. One had been to senior middle school, six to
junior middle school, and three to elementary school. Their language use data are
presented in Table 3.
During their childhood, the main language for communication at home was the
local Mongolian. In their preschool speech, two were bilingual and one shifted
to Han. Their current family language was by and large similar to their preschool
speech, but bilingualism appeared at home because half of them were regular bi-
lingual speakers as adults. Their current language use data are found in Table 4.
In the marketplace, four people spoke Han only, and five people spoke both Mon-
golian and Han, while one person spoke only Mongolian. In government, a similar
situation is found; with the exception of one speaker, the other nine either spoke
Han or practiced bilingualism. Fewer of them spoke Han only at work. It appears
that the government and marketplace are the active domains for shift to Han.
In written language use, more reading was done in Han (seven people) than
in Mongolian (three people), indicating a shift toward written Han. In cultural
life, most of this group did not frequently indulge in Mongolian ethnic songs or
audiovisual products.
3. Ten junior middle school teachers at Sanzuodian were surveyed in the
Mongolian secondary school at Sanzuodian—five males and five females. Nine
of them were local Mongolians, and one came from elsewhere. Their average age
was thirty-one. Eight had a college education, and two had graduated from senior
middle school.
Table 5 indicates that this group tended to use Mongolian at home during their
childhood. This pattern has determined the basic setup of preschool and current
language use. This group of teachers still spoke Mongolian regularly at home,
though almost all of them were Mongolian-Han bilinguals. The reason for the
gap between their current family language use and current linguistic ability (nine
bilinguals) may lie in the pattern of language use in their families set during their
childhood. A different picture is found in Table 6.
In public domains, they spoke Han more often. In the marketplace, seven of them
spoke both Mongolian and Han, two used Han, and only one just spoke Mongolian.
In government, half of them took advantage of their bilingual ability while the other
half spoke Han only. In school and work-related places (almost the same for this
Table 3
Sanzuodian Elementary School Student Parents’ Language Use and Shift
PH, HD,
Language use SM HD MD HD & MD & MD PH & MD SM, HD, & MD
Childhood Mother to child 1 7 2

Father to child 1 7 2
Child to mother 1 8 1
Child to father 1 8 1
Preschool lang. 2 1 5 2
Current With grandfather 1 6 1 2
With grandmother 1 6 1 1 1
With father 1 8 1
With mother 1 8 1
With siblings 1 6 1 1 1
Current language 1 1 3 2 2 1
Table 4
Sanzuodian Elementary School Student Parents’ Current Language Use
Language use
HD & PH, HD, PH & PH & SM & SM, HD,

Domains of use SM PH HD MD MD & MD MD HD PH & MD
Social intercourse Market 2 1 1 3 2 1

Government 1 3 2 2 1 1
Workplace 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1
Application
Written language Reading 3 3 3 1
Writing 1 4 2 1 1 1
Sometimes 2
Occasionally 6
Note: PH = putonghua; MD = local Mongolian dialect (Harqin); HD = local Han dialect; SM = Standard Mongolian; FL = foreign languages
Table 5
Sanzuodian Junior Middle School Teachers’ Language Use and Shift
SM, PH,
SM & PH, HD, PH & SM, HD, SM & SM, PH, SM, PH, HD, &
Language use SM MD HD & MD MD & MD MD & MD & HD MD
Childhood Mother to child 10

Father to child 9 1
Child to mother 9 1
Child to father 9 1
Current With grandfather 1 8 1

With father 8 1 1
With mother 9 1
With siblings 6 1 1 1
Table 6
Sanzuodian Junior Middle School Teachers’ Current Language Use
Language use
SM,
PH, SM, SM, PH,
HD & HD, & PH & SM & SM & PH, & PH, & HD, &
Domains of use SM PH HD MD MD MD MD PH MD MD HD MD
Social intercourse Market 1 1 1 1 3 2 1

Government 2 3 1 1 1 1 1
School 1 2 1 1 2 1 2
Work unit 1 2 1 1 1 2 2
Application
Written language Reading 1 2 7
Writing 3 2 5
Sometimes 2
Occasionally 2
Never
group), seven spoke both Mongolian and Han. This is closely related to the schools’
language environment and the nature of the teachers’ profession. This is also seen
in their reading and writing, the majority of which was done in both Mongolian
and Han. The majority of these teachers frequently came in contact with their own
ethnic entertainment and culture, indicating that a certain social atmosphere and
lebensraum exists for Mongolian cultural activities in ethnic secondary schools.
4. Ten junior middle school students at Sanzuodian were surveyed—seven girls
and three boys. All were locally born, and their average age was fifteen. Their fam-
ily language use is shown in Table 7.
During their childhood Mongolian was the dominant family language, though
some parents spoke putonghua to them. Their preschool speech was still overwhelm-
ingly Mongolian. However, a shift took place between their preschool and their
current language uses. Currently the majority identified themselves as Mongolian-
Han bilinguals. The fact is seen in their current family language use where more
than half of them spoke both Mongolian and Han at home. Their linguistic ability
is seen more clearly in public domains, as in Table 8.
In the marketplace, half of the students spoke both Mongolian and Han while
the other half spoke Han only. In school, fortunately, four of them spoke Mongolian
and six spoke both languages. Writing was basically done in Mongolian, but reading
was done equally in Mongolian and Han. The ethnic school appears to have created
a linguistic environment for Mongolian. However, the marketplace is the domain
where the shift to Han actively takes place. The majority of the students had only
occasional contact with Mongolian-language entertainment. This might indicate
that these students shifted away from their own ethnic culture in everyday life.
5. Ten elementary school students at Sanzuodian were surveyed—five boys and
five girls. Their average age was twelve. All were local Mongolians. As Table 9
indicates, during their preschool childhood, the students spoke putonghua frequently
with their parents, suggesting that parents were preparing their children for school.
Currently, after they had been to school, the students spoke more Mongolian at
home, though some of them became Mongolian-Han bilinguals. This change seems
to be related to the language education in elementary schools, as in Table 10.
In school, nine of the ten children spoke Mongolian regularly. They always
read in Mongolian. In the marketplace, however, half of them switched to Han.
Quite obviously, these students were sandwiched between two extreme domains
of language use: the marketplace for Han and school for Mongolian.
Data from the Dachengzhi Township Survey
1. Nine parents of secondary school students were surveyed—six men and three
women. Their average age was forty-six. All were local peasants. Two had been
to senior middle school, three to junior middle school, three to elementary school,
and one had never been to school.
For this parent group, as in Table 11, the local Mongolian dialect still pre-
Table 7
Sanzuodian Junior Middle School Students’ Language Use and Shift
SM,
PH, SM, SM, PH,
HD & SM & HD, & PH & PH & HD, & PH, & HD, &
Language use SM PH HD MD MD PH MD HD MD MD MD MD
Childhood Mother to child 1 6 1 2

Father to child 1 1 5 1 2
Child to mother 1 6 1 2
Child to father 1 6 2 1
Current With grandfather 3 1 1 4 1

With grandmother 3 3 1 2 1
With father 1 3 3 2 1
With mother 1 4 1 2 1 1
With siblings 4 2 1 2 1
Current language 1 3 1 1 2 1 1
Table 8
Sanzuodian Junior Middle School Students’ Current Language Use
Language use
SM, PH,
HD & PH, HD, PH & PH & SM & SM, HD, SM & HD, &
Domains of use SM HD MD MD & MD MD HD MD & FL PH MD

School 4 1 3 1 1
Application
Written language Reading 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Writing 5 1 2 1 1
Sometimes 8
Occasionally
Never
Table 9
Sanzuodian Elementary School Students’ Home Language Use and Shift
PH,
HD, & PH &
Language use SM PH HD MD MD MD

Current With grandfather 3 2 4 1

With father 3 3 3 1
With mother 3 3 2 1
Current language 3 2 1 2 2

dominated in their childhood family language use. However, in their current fam-
ily language use, more spoke Han or both languages to their siblings. Preschool
monolingual Mongolian speakers all became Mongolian-Han bilingual speakers.
This had to do with the specific linguistic environment at Dachengzi Township.
As Table 12 shows, they all spoke Han in government, whereas only over half
of them spoke it in the workplace and marketplace, where some of them used both
Mongolian and Han. All read in Han. Six of them occasionally had entertainment
in Mongolian, but three never did it. These circumstances might be directly related
to the local population ratio (17 percent Mongolian), the urban environment, and
economic development.
2. Nine Dachengzi junior middle school teachers were surveyed—seven women
and two men. Their average age was forty. All were locally born. Eight had a junior
college or more education, and one had a senior middle school education.
The data in Table 13 indicates that most teachers were monolingual Mongolian
speakers during their childhood, though a few parents tried to speak Han to them.
They all had become bilingual speakers and used both languages at home, with
the exception of one who shifted completely to putonghua. It is obvious that these
changes are substantially related to the teachers’ college education and professions,
as in Table 14.
In public domains, these teachers practiced different degrees of bilingualism,
with the least in government, where one did it and one used only Mongolian. It
Table 10
Sanzuodian Elementary School Students’ Current Language Use
Language use
HD & PH, HD, SM &

Domains of use SM PH HD MD MD & MD HD

School 3 1 6
Application
Written language Reading 6 1 2 1
Writing 6 3 1
Sometimes 7
Occasionally 1
Table 11
Dachengzi Junior Middle School Student Parents’ Home Language Use and
Shift
Language use SM PH HD MD HD & MD
Childhood Mother to child 8 1

Current With grandfather 1

With grandmother 1
With father 2 3
With mother 1 3
With siblings 2 4 3
Current language 2 1 6

deserves attention that seven of them spoke putonghua in government while only
two did so in school. School appears to play a significant role in preserving Mon-
golian while government led the shift to Han. Most of these teachers regularly
entertained themselves in Mongolian.
3. Eleven of Dachengzi’s cadres were surveyed—six women and five men. Their
average age was thirty-nine, and all were locals. Nine had been to junior college
or university and two to senior middle school. Changes in their family language
use are shown in Table 15.
During their childhood, Mongolian was the main language at home, and in their
preschool speech five of them spoke only Mongolian, two Han, and four both. At
home, over half of them spoke Han and spoke both Mongolian and Han more than
just Mongolian because they were either bilingual or monolingual Han speakers,
except for one. This is closely related to their linguistic environment. Dachengzi
township had sixty-seven cadres, only ten of whom were ethnic minority. This has
an impact on language use in public domains, as in Table 16.
Only one or two of the eleven cadres practiced bilingualism in public domains
where Han was their main language, while all of them did reading and writing
in Han. They seldom entertained themselves in Mongolian. They appear to have
extensively assimilated into the local Han community.
4. Eleven junior middle school students were surveyed—eight boys and three
girls. Their average age was fifteen, and all were locals. Their family language use
shows a shift to Han and bilingualism, as in Table 17.
Table 12
Dachengzi Junior Middle School Student Parents’ Current Language Use
Language use
HD &
Domains of use SM PH HD MD MD
Social Market 5 4
intercourse Government 9
Workplace 6 3
Application
Written language Reading 7
Writing 7
Entertainment Frequently
Sometimes 6
Occasionally 3

During their childhood, most of the students spoke Han and the rest spoke both
Han and Mongolian. The father spoke Han to them more than the mother. Three
of them learned to speak putonghua during their preschool. Their current family
language use reflects a shift to putonghua as over half of them used it at home. This
shift suggests the impact of education, as further shown in Table 18.
In school, five of them spoke only putonghua, two the Han dialect, and one
both, while only one practiced Mongolian-Han bilingualism. The situation is a
little better in the marketplace where three students practiced bilingualism. With
the exception of one student, all read and wrote in Han. School is where the
shift to Han actively took place. Few of the students had little entertainment in
Mongolian.
Analysis of Changes of Family and Societal Language Use
Changes Between Generations
A comparison of Sanzuodian Junior Middle School students’ and their parents’

language use shows that both groups used Mongolian the most during their child-
hood. Both groups spoke more Han in the marketplace, but the parent group used
Han the most in government while the students spoke Mongolian and practiced
bilingualism the most in school. Both the family and school are the strongholds
for Mongolian whereas the marketplace and government are the active domains
for shift to Han.
Table 13
Dachengzi Junior Middle School Teachers’ Language Use and Shift
SM, SM, SM, SM, PH,

HD & SM & SM HD, & PH & HD, & SM & PH, & HD, &
Language use SM PH HD MD MD HD &PH MD MD MD MD MD MD

Child to mother 3 1 2 2 1
Child to father 3 1 2 2 1
Current With grandfather 1 1 2 1 1 1 1

With grandmother 1 1 2 1 2 1
With father 1 1 2 1 1 2 1
With mother 1 1 2 1 1 2 1
With siblings 1 1 2 2 1 1 1
Table 14
Dachengzi Junior Middle School Teachers’ Current Language Use
Language use
SM, PH, &

Domains of use SM PH MD PH & HD PH, HD, & MD PH & MD SM & PH HD

Government 1 7 1
School 1 2 1 4 1
Work unit 4 1 2 1
Application
Written language Reading 2 6 1
Writing 2 5 2
Sometimes 2
Occasionally 3
Never
Table 15
Dachengzi Cadres’ Home Language Use and Shift
HD &
Language use SM PH HD MD MD

Father to child 5 6
Current With father 6 2 3

With mother 6 3 2
With siblings 6 1 4

When language use by Sanzuodian Elementary School students and parents is

examined, a clear shift is found among and between these two groups. Most of the
parents spoke Mongolian during their childhood and currently at home, but they
used Han and practiced bilingualism more outside homes. Thus, their children
spoke either Mongolian or Han at home while speaking both in the marketplace.
They spoke Mongolian most in school, as the middle school students did.
Comparing Dachengzi Middle School students and parents, we find a significant
shift from Mongolian to Han between the two generations. Most of the parents
spoke Mongolian during their childhood, but most of the students spoke Han during
their childhood. The parents mostly spoke Han and some practiced bilingualism in
public domains, while their children have mostly shifted to Han. Different degrees
of shift are found between the older and younger generations.
Comparison of Changes Among Persons of Different Professions
Different professions have different patterns of language use. Where their Han use
is concerned, the cadres spoke the most Han during their childhood and currently at
home in comparison to the parent and teacher groups, and they spoke even more Han
in public domains. Between the parent group and teacher group, the latter spoke less
Han in public domains, probably because of their profession. Actually the teachers
spoke the most Mongolian at home and in public domains, while the cadres spoke
the least Mongolian in these places. The teachers practiced bilingualism the most
at home and in pubic domains, but the cadres practiced it the least. It appears that
Table 16
Dachengzi Cadres’ Current Language Use
Language use
HD & PH & PH, HD,

Domains of use SM PH HD MD HD & MD
Social Intercourse Market 8 1 1 1

Government 8 2 1
School
Work unit 5 1 5
Application
Written language Reading 11
Writing 11
Sometimes 1
Occasionally 9
Never 1

the teachers hold on to Mongolian firmer than the other two groups. This might be
an intended choice by them as part of their professionalism.
Comparison of Changes Between Urban and Rural Residents
When Han uses by the urban parents (Dachengzi) and rural parents (Sanzuodian)
are compared, there are similarities and differences. Both groups spoke more Han
at home now than during childhood and more in public domains than at home. The
two groups differ in that more and more of the urban parents spoke Han over time
from childhood to the present, while fewer of the rural parents spoke Han over time.
Both groups spoke Mongolian more during childhood than they did it currently,
with the urban group shifting significantly to Han, particularly in public domains.
The two groups’ patterns of bilingualism are similar: More of them practiced
bilingualism over time. Their differences lie in that the urban parents practiced it
more at home and in the marketplace while the rural parents practiced it more at
home than in any public domains.
When Han uses by urban teachers (Dachengzi) and rural teachers (Sanzuo-
dian) are compared, their patterns are similar. Both groups spoke little Han at
home during childhood and at present and spoke it more in the marketplace and
government than at home and in school. These two groups have different patterns
Table 17
Dachengzi Middle School Students’ Home Language Use and Shift
HD & PH & PH & SM &

Language use SM PH HD MD MD HD MD MD

Father to child 8 3
Child to mother 8 3
Child to father 8 3
Current With grandfather 4 2 2 2 1

With grandmother 4 2 2 3
With father 4 2 2 3
With mother 5 2 3 1

of Mongolian use. The urban groups’ use of Mongolian peaked during their pre-
school year, while the rural group peaked during their childhood but maintained
it from their preschool year to the present. With the exception of preschool, more
of the urban teachers practiced bilingualism at home than the rural teachers did.
However, the rural teachers practiced bilingualism more than the urban teachers
in public domains.
The patterns of the students’ language use demonstrate a clear shift to Han
among the urban group (Dachengzi) and to bilingualism among the rural group
(Sanzuodian). More of the urban students spoke Han than the rural students did
over time from childhood to the current time. More of the urban students spoke
Han in the marketplace and school, while the rural students spoke Han the most
in the marketplace and the least in school. The urban students were basically not
Mongolian monolinguals, while the rural students saw the peak of their Mongo-
lian use in preschool and a sharp decline to the current use. For the rural group,
school is where they spoke Mongolian the most currently. With the exception of
preschool, where the urban students were encouraged to practice bilingualism,
more of the rural students practiced bilingualism at home and in public domains
than the urban students. This is because most of the urban students were already
Han speakers whereas the rural students had shifted from Mongolian to Mongolian-
Han bilingualism.
Table 18
Dachengzi Middle School Students’ Current Language Use
Language use
PH & HD & PH &

Domains of use SM PH HD HD MD HD
Social intercourse Market 5 2 3 1

Government
School 5 2 1 3
Work unit
Application
Written language Reading 10 1
Writing 11
Sometimes 2
Occasionally 8
Never 1

Conclusions
In Ningcheng county, only 13.5 percent (9,649 persons) of the Mongolian popula-
tion still speak the local Mongolian dialect, Harqin. It is now endangered.
First, there is a shift from Mongolian to Han and Mongolian-Han bilingual-
ism between generations. In Dachengzi, most of the students have shifted to Han
while their parents have become Han or bilingual speakers. In Sanzuodian, more
of the students speak Han than their parents. Among the same generation, most of
the parents of the students of both schools have shifted from Mongolian to Han
and to Mongolian-Han bilingualism over time from childhood to adulthood. The
students in Sanzuodian have the same pattern as their parents, but the students in
Dachengzi show increased Mongolian and bilingual proficiency, thanks to their
Mongolian classes.
Second, profession affects changes in the pattern of language use. Profession is
closely related to domains of language use. The cadres have mostly shifted to Han
because government is the domain where Han predominates. The teachers have
maintained Mongolian or Mongolian-Han bilingualism because minority schools
are supposed to promote and maintain Mongolian use.
Third, the pace of socioeconomic and educational development affects changes
in the patterns of language use. Both urban parents and students, such as those in
Dachengzi, have shifted from bilingualism to Han monolingualism faster than rural
parents and students, such as those in Sanzuodian. Minority schools help develop
and maintain Mongolian-Han bilingualism among the students in rural Sanzuodian
but fail to do so for students in urban Dachengzi.
Fourth, in the endangered Mongolian language communities, public domains
are active for the shift from Mongolian to Han, while family is the vital domain
for the maintenance of the Mongolian mother tongue. The endangerment seems
to unfold in the following steps. First, Mongolian-Han bilingualism is developed,
the use of Mongolian is inhibited, and the use of Han gradually expands in public
domains. As the second step, Mongolian withdraws from public domains, bilin-
gualism declines, and Han use steadily increases. During the third step there is a
complete shift to Han. The shift takes place in public domains first and then enters
the family domain. It takes place in urban areas before entering rural areas.
Finally, apart from homes in the endangered Mongolian communities, minority
schools are important defenses for protecting the mother tongue and culture. Hence,
when schools are merged, ample consideration should be given to the important
role of minority schools in protecting, using, and developing the mother tongue;
preferential policies should be made, preferential measures applied, and caution
exercised in handling minority and Han schools.
Note
1. These figures were supplied by the Ethnic Affairs Committee of Ningcheng

County.
Reference
Ningcheng County Annals Compilation Committee. 1992. Ningcheng xianzhi (Ningcheng

County Annals). Huhhot: Inner Mongolia People’s Publishing House.
To order reprints, call 1-800-352-2210; outside the United States, call 717-632-3535.

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Yuzhu LG Policy Mongolia

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Chinese Education and Society, vol. 41, no.

A Study of Language Contact and Shift

Abstract: The Mongolian language in Ningcheng county is in a state of endanger-

Ningcheng county, which corresponds historically to the Harqin Central Banner, is

Childhood Mother to child 1 6 1 1 1

Current With grandfather 4 3 3

Family and Sociolinguistic Change Data

Data from the Survey at Sanzuodian Township

1. Ten parents of junior middle school students at Sanzuodian were surveyed

Social intercourse Market 1 6 2 1 1

Written language Reading 1 2 3 1 4

Childhood Mother to child 1 7 2

HD & PH, HD, PH & PH & SM & SM, HD,

Social intercourse Market 2 1 1 3 2 1

Childhood Mother to child 10

Current With grandfather 1 8 1

Social intercourse Market 1 1 1 1 3 2 1

Data from the Dachengzhi Township Survey

Childhood Mother to child 1 6 1 2

Current With grandfather 3 1 1 4 1

Social intercourse Market 3 1 3 1 2

Childhood Mother to child 1 4 2 3

Current With grandfather 3 2 4 1

Note: PH = putonghua; MD = local Mongolian dialect (Harqin); HD = local Han dialect;

HD & PH, HD, SM &

Social intercourse Market 2 1 5 1 1

Language use SM PH HD MD HD & MD

Childhood Mother to child 8 1

Current With grandfather 1

Note: PH = putonghua; MD = local Mongolian dialect (Harqin); HD = local Han dialect;

Note: PH = putonghua; MD = local Mongolian dialect (Harqin); HD = local Han dialect;

Analysis of Changes of Family and Societal Language Use

Changes Between Generations

A comparison of Sanzuodian Junior Middle School students’ and their parents’

SM, SM, SM, SM, PH,

Childhood Mother to child 3 4 2

Current With grandfather 1 1 2 1 1 1 1

SM, PH, &

Social intercourse Market 3 1 1 2 2

Childhood Mother to child 1 7 3

Current With father 6 2 3

Note: PH = putonghua; MD = local Mongolian dialect (Harqin); HD = local Han dialect;

When language use by Sanzuodian Elementary School students and parents is

Comparison of Changes Among Persons of Different Professions

HD & PH & PH, HD,

Social Intercourse Market 8 1 1 1

Note: PH = putonghua; MD = local Mongolian dialect (Harqin); HD = local Han dialect;

Comparison of Changes Between Urban and Rural Residents

HD & PH & PH & SM &

Childhood Mother to child 1 4 5 1

Current With grandfather 4 2 2 2 1

Note: PH = putonghua; MD = local Mongolian dialect (Harqin); HD = local Han dialect;

PH & HD & PH &

Social intercourse Market 5 2 3 1

Note: PH = putonghua; MD = local Mongolian dialect (Harqin); HD = local Han dialect;

1. These figures were supplied by the Ethnic Affairs Committee of Ningcheng

Ningcheng County Annals Compilation Committee. 1992. Ningcheng xianzhi (Ningcheng

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