中亚东干语的演变及其方言岛成因探究

Abstract

This paper focuses on the diachronic evolution of the Dungan language in Central Asia and the underlying causes behind the formation of its unique cross-border speech islands resulting from migration. The Dungans are a distinctive ethnic group that traces its roots to late Qing-era Hui Muslims from China’s northwestern provinces, who migrated to regions such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan due to ethnic conflict and political upheaval. Over more than a century, they have evolved into a community that embodies both the cultural imprint of northwestern China and the regional characteristics of Central Asia. Dungan, a Sinitic language of the Sino-Tibetan family, developed from northwestern Chinese dialects. Through the efforts of Dungan scholars, it adopted a unique writing system based on Cyrillic script, which has been preserved and passed down through literary works and cultural practice. Further analyzes the formation of the Dungan speech island from a language contact perspective. As the Dungan people migrated across borders, their native dialects became geographically and culturally detached from the Chinese linguistic core. Isolation, coupled with endogamous traditions and limited contact with surrounding Russian and Turkic languages, resulted in the emergence of a linguistically enclosed "island"—a dialect enclave evolving in relative independence. Finally, the paper outlines potential trajectories for the Dungan language, proposing that this case offers valuable insights for the preservation and study of diasporic languages in cross-cultural and multilingual contexts.