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Preserving a dying language

Melonie MagruderAugust 10, 2013

How do you save a dying language? Particularly one that has only survived orally. The lu Mien language is a tonal monosyllabic language used by just under a million native speakers worldwide.

https://p.dw.com/p/19N8d

What makes things even more difficult is that the lu Mien culture is scattered across the globe, although it originated in China centuries ago. Today, people from this ancient culture can be found all across south east Asia, although many have now assimilated to local cultures, meaning that their own language and tradition has been in danger of extinction. As Melonie Magruder reports, Herbert Purnell, a professor emeritus at Biola University in La Mirada, California, thinks he has the answer about how to save the lu Mien language.