Protection methods for China’s endangered languages have improved amid the development of technology, prompting scholars to propose a museum for endangered languages that stores audio, video and written materials. However, various challenges linked to research and collection methods need to be resolved before such a museum can open.

“Traditional written records can no longer meet the requirements of social development and academic research. Endangered languages studies have evolved through digitization,” said Xu Xianming, a professor from the Research Center for Endangered Languages at Yuxi Normal University in Yunnan Province.
 

“Ten years ago, China’s endangered languages studies mainly focused on written records and linguistic analysis, with many printed publications,” said Fan Junjun, a research fellow from the Chinese Dialects Research Center at Jinan University in Guangzhou. In recent years, more digital techniques have been applied to the studies for text processing and recording. “However, there is still insufficient application of digital techniques,” said Fan.
 

Some research centers, including the Yunnan Endangered Languages Audio Laboratory under Yuxi Normal University, have set up specialized sound labs to preserve languages.

“Collecting and recording endangered languages in the lab will guarantee sound quality. Our university’s lab was built according to international standards for language preservation,” Xu said.
However, Xu noted that the current application of digital techniques is still not in line with international standards, citing problems with collection.
 

Fan’s project to establish a museum for endangered languages was approved last year by the National Social Science Foundation, raising hope that some languages on the brink of extinction could be revived.
 

“Establishing a language museum that collects audio, video and written materials of all dialects in China is an urgent task. The museum can serve as a platform for people to learn languages and collect research materials,” said Fan.
 

But there are several challenges in founding such a museum, including the collection and integration of resources, protection of intellectual property rights and permanent preservation of materials.
 

Xu said that a national database is needed rather than local ones to strengthen cultivation of linguists and step up protection of the ecological environment for endangered languages.
 

Zheng Wei, a professor from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at East China Normal University in Shanghai, said the relationship between traditional linguistic research and modern technology needs to be improved before an endangered languages museum can open. “The digitization of materials should be accurate and meet the requirements of the public,” said Zheng.