<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This paper aims to investigate lexical borrowings from ethnic languages to standard Mandarin. Data are collected through daily observation after years of living in Xinjiang, China. The data suggest that phonetic loans and hybrid loans are the major approaches in lexical borrowings from Uyghur, Russian, and Persian. Two motivations behind Uyghur borrowings into Mandarin are discussed: cultural borrowings and core borrowings. Cultural borrowings are new objects, concepts of ethnic origins, which are new to Han Chinese communities. Core borrowings are Mandarin words which have been replaced by Uyghur. However, core borrowings are not associated with the prestige of the donor language in this case; instead, frequency, marker, friendliness, and religious consideration are the major reasons. In addition, this paper analyses the strategies of lexical borrowings from ethnic languages in Mandarin. It further discusses the cultural backgrounds behind lexical borrowings. The lexical borrowings from ethnic languages into Mandarin suggest the openness and inclusiveness of Chinese language and culture.</p></abstract>

This paper aims to investigate lexical borrowings from ethnic languages to standard Mandarin. Data are collected through daily observation after years of living in Xinjiang, China. The data suggest that phonetic loans and hybrid loans are the major approaches in lexical borrowings from Uyghur, Russian, and Persian. Two motivations behind Uyghur borrowings into Mandarin are discussed: cultural borrowings and core borrowings. Cultural borrowings are new objects, concepts of ethnic origins, which are new to Han Chinese communities. Core borrowings are Mandarin words which have been replaced by Uyghur. However, core borrowings are not associated with the prestige of the donor language in this case; instead, frequency, marker, friendliness, and religious consideration are the major reasons. In addition, this paper analyses the strategies of lexical borrowings from ethnic languages in Mandarin. It further discusses the cultural backgrounds behind lexical borrowings. The lexical borrowings from ethnic languages into Mandarin suggest the openness and inclusiveness of Chinese language and culture.

An Analysis of Ethnic Influence on Language: Mandarin or Xinjiang Mandarin?

Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"An Analysis of Ethnic Influence on Language: Mandarin or Xinjiang Mandarin?"}

This paper aims to investigate lexical borrowings from ethnic languages to standard Mandarin. Data are collected through daily observation after years of...

An Analysis of Ethnic Influence on Language: Mandarin or Xinjiang Mandarin?

Published Online: Feb 25, 2019

Page range: 99 - 107

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ausp-2018-0016

Keywords
lexical borrowing, cultural borrowing, ethnic language, multiculturalism, Mandarin

© 2018 Maomao Gao, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

An Analysis of Ethnic Influence on Language: Mandarin or Xinjiang Mandarin?

Published Online: Feb 25, 2019

Page range: 99 - 107

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ausp-2018-0016

Keywordslexical borrowing, cultural borrowing, ethnic language, multiculturalism, Mandarin

© 2018 Maomao Gao, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
lexical borrowing, cultural borrowing, ethnic language, multiculturalism, Mandarin