This is the answer given by China language. This book was published in 2007. It is a big book opened by 16, almost as big as A4 paper. A total of 2638 pages, much thicker than bricks. This book is edited by Sun Hongkai, Hu Zengyi and Huang Xing from the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of China Institute of Sociology. More than 65,438+000 authors and editors participated in the compilation. The investigation lasted for more than 20 years. By the time the book was published, more than 65,438+00 participating experts and scholars had died.

I don't know if I don't investigate It turns out that there are as many as 129 languages in China, which are quite different and have their own characteristics. According to the genetic relationship between languages, the languages in the world are divided into several language families. Language differences between different language families are probably equivalent to the differences in looks between you and your European, Arab or African brothers. There are so many European countries and languages, in fact, they are basically circling in the circle of Indo-European languages.

There are 129 languages in China, belonging to five language families: Sino-Tibetan, Altai, Austronesian, South Asia and Indo-European. There are also five mixed languages and unclassified Korean. Among them, there are 76 Sino-Tibetan languages, 2 1 species in Altai language family, 6 1 species in Austronesian language family, 91species in South Asian language family and Indo-European language family.

Why are there more than twice as many languages as nationalities in China? Because some ethnic groups use multiple languages, for example, Yi people can use Yi language, Buyi language and Moang language. Gaoshan people can speak Ami, Paiwan, Taye and so on.

Here is another cold knowledge that you may not know. Not all Han people speak Chinese. For example, the Han people living in Huaiji and Fengkai, Guangdong, can speak a language called Huabiao. In Dongfang City and Changjiang County in the west of Hainan, there are a group of Han people who call themselves "village people", and their language is called village dialect.

Unfortunately, among the 65,438+029 languages displayed in the book, 65,438+065,438+07 languages are on the verge of extinction. Even the familiar Manchu language. With the gradual death of the elderly whose mother tongue is Manchu, Manchu will become an extinct language, which only exists in literary works.

Extended data:

The Language of China, recently published by the Commercial Press, is edited by Sun Hongkai, Hu Zengyi and Huang Xing from the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of China Institute of Sociology, and co-edited by more than 90 experts in the field of China minority languages. According to the investigation by experts, it is confirmed that there are 129 languages in China, including 76 Sino-Tibetan languages, 2 1 Altai languages, 9 Austronesian languages, 9 South Asian languages, 0/Indo-European languages, 5 mixed languages and 0/Korean languages.

According to experts, among the 129 languages shown in China Language and Characters, more than 40 languages have been published for the first time, and some of them have just been discovered. For example, Yajiang County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan, has a native language of "Daohua" with a population of only 2,685.

Among the 129 languages shown in the book, 1 17 languages are in an endangered or endangered state. Among them, 2 1 species is endangered, 64 species are endangered, 24 species are endangered, and 8 species have no communication function. Among these languages, some are not used by 1000 people, and some are even less. For example, according to the survey, only two elderly people in their 80s can speak the Mulao language. However, Manchu, Hezhe, Su Long and Xiandao are all "endangered languages" with less than 100 speakers.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-China Language