Changing Process and Causes of Manchu Language in Heihe District

Abstract

Heihe District used to be an important area where most Manchu people live and thus the fluent use of Manchu language. However, as the time passes, Manchu language is on the process of decline. This paper explores the changing and causes of Manchu language declination by summarizing fieldwork materials and authors observation. Manchu language used to be widely used especially in villages such as Dawujiazi, Xiamachang and Siji of Sunwu of Heihe District where Manchu was preserved fairly completely before mid-1960s, and at that time Manchu was a live language used for communication among the Manchu people. However, between mid-1960s and mid-1980s, the Manchu language was in the state of declining, and from mid-1980s till today, the Manchu language is in the state of extinction. The authors of the paper believe that though there are many causes contributing to the declining of the language, the most important ones are the following three aspects: the political pressure, the immigration of the nonManchu language speakers and the dispersed Manchu resident situation.