A unique language disappearing in modern China

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The nomadic Oroqen people are among 56 ethnic groups officially recognised by the People's Republic of China.
Originally from the Khingan mountain range, many were resettled in China’s northeastern province of Heilongjiang, where the government provided modern dwellings.
Many were encouraged to give up their traditional way of life, including the Oroqen focus on hunting which authorities consider to be at odds with environmental-preservation efforts.
And after decades of assimilation, the unique Oroqen language is also on the verge of extinction.
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[@axl2531]

Fyi 2/3 of this video is in mandarin with an accent.

[@Gryfder]

Then, it's another dialect of Han again"

[@matthewjay660]

Thank-you/Sheh sheh nee.

[@k_cola]

半个东北老乡

[@rexwinfield2109]

因为就是在说汉语233，为了给解释、讲故事，记者并不会这个语言，但是你看有时他们完全说不同的语言

[@huiskisheija4484]

Well there is something like 200 different dialect in china,thats the reason to teach mandarin for all,dialects disappear little by little in every country,not only in china.

[@OAS15]

mother: can you understand what they're talking about? son: only a tiny bit mother: your english classes are wasted 😂

[@acupoftea8635]

the best lines

[@haranchaa]

Every Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, Japanese parent criticizes their kids this way 😂

[@summerrain1476]

I'm Qiang people who can't speak Qiang language.Actually, only a few old people can speak.There're so many languages and Chiese dialects need to be protected.

[@yinweiwang8677]

羌族？羌族不是四川的吗？

[@k_cola]

别提了我同学还侗族的……

[@zoukai0000]

这个需要你们传承的啊.不过这也是没有办法的事情

[@freethinker810]

我家乡的方言和隔壁县交流都有一点困难，出了我们这个地区就没人能听懂。传承？不存在的。。。

[@SS-qo3nt]

so do something about it.

[@Ancel7]

The languages became less authentic as time went by. Now, people can't spell words properly, because slang is taking over.

[@nasyrhorace6489]

Languages in general or asian ones?

[@mng8680]

Spelling wont be an issue for Chinese though cause it doesnt exist in that language. Some slang in Chinese cant even be written and only spoken, due to the fact it has no alphabet like English. For this reason, written Chinese is actually more formal than spoken Chinese even in slang heavy dialects such as Cantonese. So this helps Chinese writing less affected by slang than English. Rather Chinese is more affected by simplified Chinese writing than slang, which removes symbolic meanings present in traditional Chinese writing. Although I wont dismiss the possibility traditional Chinese writing will become dominant again now that literacy rate in China is high. Also languages always changes as time passes, Id disagree newer words including slang are any less authentic than old ones, you can only say it has less history and recognition by people. For example the word "meme" is technically slang invented by younger people but there isnt any other equivalent word for it, so I definitely see that recognized as authentic English or proper vocabulary many years in the future.

[@bigbruh4399]

Slang is just the natural evolution of language. There is a reason nobody speaks Sanskrit/Old Chinese/Old English anymore.

[@sonofthedragon2112]

@@mng8680 In the era of tablets and smartphones where most people input using pinyin, it doesn't matter whether it is traditional or simplified Chinese that is displayed. The two scripts can coexist. But having grown up in HK myself using the traditional script, I have to admit simplified Chinese makes much more sense if one was writing with pen and paper. It is just far more efficient. When someone wants to write down an idea, they should be able to do it quickly and easily. It is illogical to have a writing system more complicated than is necessary. The traditional character set was deliberately made difficult by the literati in ancient times to stop too many people from learning how to read and write, as this would challenge the privilege of the elite. It was in the elites' interest to keep literacy rate low. It is only in modern times that the national interest reversed. Simplified characters made literacy far more accessible to rural peasants where the majority had lived, at least in the early days of the P.R.C. Traditional characters are more aesthetically pleasing, and is better suited for art and calligraphy, where the purpose is to show off. But as I said, if people now input in Pinyin, it makes no difference.

[@KaerKing]

A language without one proper written form is hard to teach the next generation, especially if it is not widely used and cannot cover much of the terms of modern society.

[@wolffish1211]

This video is so weird because I speak mandarin and when I listen to this I can only understand half of what they say

[@KinLee919]

yep, very thick north-east accent.

[@speedstriker]

Lol, southerner detected. As a northeasterner I can understand more than 95%.

[@zoukai0000]

我怎么莫名其妙听出了晋西北的口音

[@suryadixl9410]

I understand 99.9%

[@jashon9]

just like how english speaking ppl hard to comprehend northern british sccent

[@wenxiqu8010]

In many areas of China, people in neighboring villages speak different dialects but can understand each other. A province away people can speak primarily different languages. Many languages cannot be written. That's why we have mandarin, a language for everyone to speak and write. In such places the parents teach the child dialect and schools teach the child mandarin. Local cultural scholars are investigating in this topic and trying to find a way to write and record such languages in their own regions. Things can be lost as the wheel of time rolls forward, but people never stop recording them.

[@GyacoYu]

Well, it's not the case in Oroqen. There's barely a mountain in the Khingan Range so no geographical barrier can lead to such case.

[@flighted2513]

Mandarin is not a written language.

[@k_cola]

It listens close to Manchu. Not many people can speak Manchu either. I am a half Manchu half Han and I can only speak Mandarin. But most Korean minorities can speak Korean.

[@xXxSkyViperxXx]

their tungusic language sounds generally like how korean generally sounds like. very northern

[@reddhong6665]

han Chinese need to learn the minority languages urgently... why so many ppl learn foreign languages? we need to learn Tibetan, Uygur, Mongolian languages...

[@alteredsphere1961]

Well it can't be helped A minor language in this modern age are on the verge of extinction

[@globalwarming5050]

videos like this is very important

[@chinigirlX3]

Keeping the languages alive is very important. It’s such a pity that only richer regions pride themselves in speaking their native tones/ dialects/ languages like Shanghai. Being able to speak a certain tongue means belonging to a circle, it means connecting with people, bonding with them. Everybody should feel the pride of their language and giving the language to their children and so forth!

[@xwah5016]

Valenchina u make no sense.. u k that Shanghainese is also a dialect like this one in the vid right?

[@FuZhixiang]

That's why I will teach my children speak dialect first. At home, speak dialect rather than Standardized accent. Nonetheless, language can be saved as much as possible by using language dictionary as long as someone endeavors to to that.

[@coryplum5375]

As a minority ethnic people in China, I am so certain about that my children ( if I have in future) will not speak our own language anymore. Thus our ethnic group has 2 millions people and most can speak our language. It's very difficult to let next generations keep native language skills if I marry with other ethnic girl and live in big cities away my hometown. This thing goes everywhere all around the world, minority languages are vanished with modernization and globalization.

[@raybenedictcabanes1173]

What's your ethnicity?

[@kazshin7639]

Subtitles are twisted to fit an agenda. In 11:01, she said "don't forget state affairs and culture, knowledge", apparently she thinks it's important to blend to modern Chinese society. Instead the subtitle reads "don't forget history". She freaking didn't say that!

[@VelocityZap]

Yeah like yours, anything can. Is just a matter of interpretation.

[@talkingkangaroo4934]

She actually said in mandarin "Do not neglect/miss out on developments in the country, (as well as) knowledge and culture." It is obviously elaboration on the importance of learning mandarin, not oroqen. The subtitles completely distorted the meaning. 'guo jia' 国家 means country/state, in this case China. 'min zu' refers to the ethnic group. She was talking specifically of 'guo jia'. 不要忘了国家的大事，知识、文化。' Indeed the full quote was about the need to learn mandarin. The translation of this last sentence is therefore misleading. It is either incompetent or disingenuous.

[@kazshin7639]

@@talkingkangaroo4934 古语云 不是蠢就是坏

[@r.a.8618]

The Ainu language has already extincted in Japan. The Ryukyu language is on the edge too. In the meantime, the young generation in Singapore no longer speaks Hokkien, Teochew or Cantonese. I wonder if the descendants of the indigenous people in America and Australia still speak their ancient language. How many languages in the world had disappeared throughout thousand years of history? You cannot stop history from moving forward!

[@hui-an-xin]

These are excellent short films/documentaries. I hope to see more!

[@sayhellotopigeon3083]

I speak a Chinese dialect who else

[@littleninjavangchhia9099]

There are only 100 people who speak my tribe dialect 😭 I dont speak my tribe dialect but I speak another dialect with around 1 million+ speakers due to assimilation after loosing our chief , the dialect is kinda similar and could be understood ,so yeah 💛.

[@ookinaga5820]

Majority over Minority, As time and society progresses, overtime will these small and minor languages be extinct, not an efficient amount of people to carry them on generation after generation, nothing can help.

[@cb250nighthawk3]

Don't let it die!

[@zchataabba6490]

" .... If the language is lost can we still call ourselves Oroquen?" " Don't forget history."

[@deka2139]

the accent is like Korean

[@yiliang9085]

it does!!

[@KaerKing]

And Mangolian, they all have very similar consonants

[@wheresmyeyebrow1608]

"If you learn Mandarin you can go anywhere in the world and be understood, right?" *laughs in Anglo*

[@peekaboopeekaboo1165]

There are the Chinese diaspora!

[@mtksbctk]

Someday... *Sinitic laughter*

[@abcdfsriz]

people can only understand languages through text now no longer through speech

[@lobsangchomphel3799]

It is said that you can’s speak your own language then it is shame but you can speak other’s language that is your ability.....So you people has a full responsibility to teach your next generation to speak your own tongue.....

[@xuchunmiao1041]

平均每个中国人会讲2到3种语言

[@bensonfang1868]

6:45 when they don't care that a dog is biting the other

[@MrSifaperdire]

Really interesting,my best wishes to that community

[@strawberry_ke]

I want to learn what my grandma says to, I understand a bit but all I know is Mandarin.

[@flighted2513]

I can tell there is a layer of mandarin under this dialect, but it's like some of the dialects for Cantonese, if you know them it seems like common sense, but it might be mutually unintelligible between the dialects.

[@ligerdave]

This is sad!

[@kikibhappy4129]

why u don’t report Inner Mongolia? Bi-lingual, their language is protected by government.

[@kawalangdalawahan]

The language sounds Korean! They kind of look Korean too! Could they be sister ethnicities??

[@meetriced]

群体在封闭和割裂的环境下产生方言或语言...在沟通中语言会越来越趋于一致...这是现代社会的趋势...几乎所有人生活的当下正在或已经放弃了母语或口音...是遗憾也是不可扭转的现实.有能力的就做一些保存的工作.这也现代博物馆的作用之一.

[@fortyseventen]

Jovian spirit may have a few solutions, to preserve all these rare ethnic Chinese languages.

[@shinobi650]

6.34🤣 on a diverse society one needs a common language to communicate but this should in no way undermine the culture/dialect of the minorities.

[@linling1240]

too small of a population, no written form, the relevance of the language in the socio-ecosystem, assimilation of han culture all contribute to the dying of the language.

[@Nafets-C]

the world is moving forward, so as its people. Old ways is not applicable to our modern world. Riding horse, hunting wild animals, and so on wikl be a remnant in our past.

[@dutchmilk]

Shocking to see the amount of people who do not know Mandarin was started by the Manchu.............To think Chinese people know their own history, apparently NOT!

[@jerrymiao7605]

that's because it's not true en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_Chinese

[@aciteh5427]

A bit like Japanese. Many syllables.

[@Joshuaxiong2]

It’s okay, odd when I heard that there are many dialects and odd to have province dialects instead of Mandarin only.

[@androidone4808]

whats odd? 7 or 8 main dialects and lots of derivative. Cantonese was nearly chosen to became the national dialect at one point.

[@sandralin3680]

Why not? People can speak dialects on top of Mandarin

Kind of sounds like Arabic and Chinese mixed together.

[@kewlbeans2463]

hi

[@vimoo9783]

Hello

[@gold9425]

@@vimoo9783 Goodbye

[@XianWangTheo]

this is what I didn't like from modern china I mean the schools are kinda forcing students to use mandarin without any kind of subjects to preserve your own traditional culture, dialects, language, etc it's only matter of time that even the dialects that still used by many people (like: hokkienesse, cantonese, shanghainese, etc) being forgoten by younger and younger generation it this are still keep going

[@xwah5016]

XianWangTheo u k that it’s a dialect w no form Of writing. It’s a spoken dialect language that needs to be taught at home

[@NightcorEDM]

Mandarin is the most unique language

[@lalchimiste6947]

Because you know only popular languages

[@bravequeen77]

How many languages Chinese have?

[@anjiexox2711]

Languages spoken in China by population goes Mandarin Wu Jin Cantonese Hakka Min There probably are over 70 major language and a lot more if you include dialects

[@anjiexox2711]

@UCV8N2TrM4h3U-ZYqhD__e5A Cantonese is only the fourth most spoken language in China

[@中国工业党-o5s]

Only in my hometown HuNan province just have over 1000+ language...

[@bravequeen77]

@@中国工业党-o5s you are jo+king 😜

[@historymoney7641]

Indonesia have the most language

[@tt6457]

满族？

[@铁牛铁牛-f7d]

鄂伦春

[@utavinzo9481]

和满语同属阿尔泰语系的古斯通语族

[@benjaminislesesq.9551]

That teepee style is very similar as what can see with Native Americans from North America

[@mariamsalprazolamkian4648]

动态网自由门天安门天安门法轮功李洪志Free Tibet 六四天安门事件The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 天安门大屠杀The Tiananmen Square Massacre 反右派斗争The Anti-Rightist Struggle 大跃进政策The Great Leap Forward 文化大革命The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution 人权Human Rights 民运Democratization 自由Freedom 独立Independence 多党制Multi-party system 台湾台湾Taiwan Formosa 中华民国Republic of China 西藏土伯特唐古特Tibet 达赖喇嘛Dalai Lama 法轮功Falun Dafa 新疆维吾尔自治区The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 诺贝尔和平奖Nobel Peace Prize 刘暁波Liu Xiaobo 民主言论思想反共反革命抗议运动骚乱暴乱骚扰扰乱抗暴平反维权示威游行李洪志法轮大法大法弟子强制断种强制堕胎民族净化人体实验肃清胡耀邦赵紫阳魏京生王丹还政于民和平演变激流中国北京之春大纪元时报评论共产党 独裁 专制 压制 统一 监视 镇压 迫害 侵略 掠夺 破坏 拷问 屠杀 活摘器官 诱拐 买卖人口 游进 走私 毒品 卖淫 春画 赌博 六合彩 天安门 天安门 法轮功 李洪志 Winnie the Pooh 刘晓波动态网自由门

[@Dennis-nd9xu]

A really unique language 👍👌

[@Cantocourse]

When I saw the headline, I thought the programme would be about Cantonese

[@MyYuwono]

Even Manchu going extinct not to mentioned smaller ethnic group.

[@zzero9438]

The translation inaccurate, perhaps selectively so.

[@ចៅហួរម៉េង]

Thier language similar to Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Tajikistan Kazakhstan central Asia.......!!!!!!

[@jiguo773]

Sok Visal all people around that area are a little related. Korea, the rooster part of China, Mongolia, Siberia, and the countries you mentioned. Back then All those nomadic tribes moved around.

[@marvinrobot962]

Wow I don't understand a word

[@veekwok5611]

Comes 2047, HongKongers will be speaking Mandarin and not Cantonese.

[@chuckcheng89]

well they better start learning asap

[@爸爸-k3y]

before British take HongKong，HongKong speak 客家and 围头language。native hongkongnese is not the Cantonese speaker who pretend to be native people

[@santiagorappy71]

Hahah that would be awesome

[@jiguo773]

Cantonese isn’t even native to Hong Kong . Plus why would you not learn mandarin if you’re part of China. That’s like if you’re in the United States and you refuse to learn English.

[@androidone4808]

Cantonese has only been one of the official dialect of HK since the 70s. native dialect of hk before the British was either wai tau or hak ka

[@brokenchopstickz]

Everyone commenting can't or has lost their original tongue. Does anyone see the bigger picture, what is this world evolving into? Everyone WILL speak and write English