GB/T 46236.2-2025Specification for the survey on the protection of language resources of China — Part 2: Minority languages (English PDF)

Foreword

This document complies with the provisions of GB/T 1.1-2020 "Standardization Work Guidelines Part 1: Structure and Drafting Rules of Standardization Documents". Drafting.

GB/T 46236 "Specifications for Surveying and Protecting Chinese Language Resources" and GB/T 46235 "Specifications for Work on Protecting Chinese Language Resources" together constitute China's national standard system for large-scale language resource protection.

This document is Part 2 of GB/T 46236, "Specifications for the Survey of Chinese Language Resources Protection". GB/T 46236 has been published as follows. part.

— Part 1: Chinese Dialects;

— Part 2: Minority Languages;

— Part 3: Dialect Culture Please note that some content in this document may involve patents. The issuing organization of this document assumes no responsibility for identifying patents.

This document was proposed by the Ministry of Education (Language).

This document is under the jurisdiction of the National Technical Committee on Standardization of Language and Writing (SAC/TC500).

This document was drafted by: Beijing Language and Culture University, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Minzu University of China.

The main drafters of this document are: Cao Zhiyun, Wang Lining, Liu Xiaohai, Sun Hongkai, Wang Feng, Ding Shiqing, Zhang Dingjing, Zeng Xiaoyu, and Zhao Minlan.

Introduction

China has 56 ethnic groups and is a multi-ethnic, multilingual, multi-dialectal, and multi-script country, boasting the world's richest linguistic resources.

One of the countries. Chinese is the most spoken language in China, and also the most spoken language as a first language in the world. Modern Chinese...

Languages are divided into standard language and dialects. Standard Mandarin is the standard language of modern Chinese. Chinese dialects are generally divided into ten major dialect groups. Mandarin dialect, Jin dialect,...

Wu dialect, Min dialect, Hakka dialect, Yue dialect, Xiang dialect, Gan dialect, Hui dialect, and Pinghua dialect. From a linguistic perspective, China has 56 dialect groups.

The languages spoken by the ethnic groups belong to five major language families. Sino-Tibetan, Altaic, Austronesian, Austroasiatic, and Indo-European.

Language and writing are the fundamental elements and distinctive symbols of culture, and are important cultural, economic, security, and strategic resources of a nation.

Under the premise of vigorously promoting and standardizing the use of the national common language and script, the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission launched the National Language and Culture Revitalization Project in 2015.

The major project, "China's Language Resources Protection Project," surveyed nearly 34 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) across China, including Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.

130 languages and their dialects, which have received a positive response from the public.

GB/T 46236, "Specifications for Surveying and Protecting Chinese Language Resources," is a fundamental and universal standard guiding large-scale language resource protection work in China.

The standard is proposed to consist of three parts.

— Part 1: Chinese Dialects. The aim is to establish a scientific and effective framework for the survey of Chinese dialects in large-scale language resource preservation in China.

The standards are standardized, and a Chinese dialect survey form is also provided.

— Part 2: Minority Languages. The aim is to establish a framework for the survey of minority languages in large-scale language resource preservation in China.

The standards are scientific and effective, and a questionnaire on minority languages is also provided.

— Part 3: Dialect Culture. The aim is to establish a scientific and effective framework for dialect culture surveys in the large-scale preservation of Chinese language resources.

This specification outlines the guidelines and provides a dialect culture survey form. This specification is primarily applicable to surveys of Chinese dialect culture, but can also be used for surveys of minority languages.

The survey on language culture provides insights and references.

The main purpose of this document is to provide a comprehensive understanding of China's linguistic landscape through scientific and unified planning and standardization, and to scientifically protect the rights and interests of all ethnic groups.

We will promote the standardization, normalization, and informatization of the national language and script, inherit and develop the excellent traditional Chinese culture, and enhance the country's cultural soft power.

Strength provides fundamental support for forging a strong sense of community among the Chinese nation.

Standards for the Survey of Chinese Language Resources Protection Part 2: Minority Languages

1 Scope

This document stipulates the requirements for the investigation, collection, and corpus organization of minority languages in the protection of Chinese language resources.

This document applies to the collection and organization of minority languages and corpora in large-scale language resource protection.

Note. The “large-scale language resource protection” in this document refers to the protection of language resources across the entire country or most parts of the country.

2 Normative references

GB/T 46236.1-2025

3 Terms and Definitions

The terms and definitions defined in GB/T 46236.1-2025, as well as the following terms and definitions, apply to this document.

4 Specific requirements for the survey