China has been striving to protect 40 endangered ethnic languages by publishing 28 academic books on endangered ethnic languages and 20 dictionaries.

All ethnic languages are equal in China and the government tried to create fair conditions for the existence of ethnic languages, such as bilingual teaching in some schools, according to the State Ethnic Affairs Commission.

Meanwhile, the government has allocated special funds to support academic research programs regarding endangered ethnic languages. In 2000, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences launched a project to study endangered ethnic languages in the country.

Linguists have been sent to different areas to study the issue. A phonetic data bank of ethnic languages has been set up by the government.

Source: Xinhua