A Survey of Language Use Among the Mosuo of Lugu Lake After Tourism Development: A Case Study of Luoshui and Lige Villages
This study investigates language use among the Mosuo people of the Lugu Lake area (Yunnan/Sichuan border) following tourism development, focusing on Luoshui and Ligi villages through interviews, participant observation, and literature review. Findings show clear patterns of diglossia: Mosuo people speak the Mosuo language (an eastern Naxi dialect without its own script) among themselves, use the Yunnan Chinese dialect when communicating with other local ethnic groups (notably the dominant Yi population), and speak Standard Mandarin with outside tourists and visitors. Nearly all Mosuo are functional bilinguals in Mosuo and Chinese, while Tibetan—used in religious chanting due to widespread Tibetan Buddhist practice—remains understood only by lamas. Although tourism development since 1992 has not caused endangerment of the Mosuo language, its vitality has noticeably declined, and its long-term prospects appear uncertain.
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