A Survey of Language Use and Attitudes in Changshui Village, Huangshan Town, Yulong County
Xu Yuan (Yunnan Minzu University, 2015) reports a five-day field survey of 26 Naxi residents (ages 15-69) in Changshui Village, Huangshan Town, Yulong County, examining language acquisition, ability, and attitudes via questionnaires and interviews. Findings: 25 of 26 respondents named Naxi as their first language and it remains the language taught first to children; 100% converse fluently in Naxi versus notable gaps in spoken Standard Mandarin among older, home-based women. Naxi dominates communication with fellow villagers across nearly all settings (greetings, farm work, meetings, school), while Chinese is used with other ethnic groups and strangers, especially by younger respondents. Despite valuing Standard Mandarin most for practical reasons, most respondents (16 of 26) said they would not want Naxi speakers to become Chinese-monolingual, though this protective attitude weakens sharply among 15-24-year-olds, indicating generational erosion of language loyalty despite currently stable, village-wide Naxi use.
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