Languages of ethnic minorities protected in Xinjiang: report

Multiple spoken and written languages in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region are widely used in various fields such as administration and education, according to an official report released on Thursday.

Titled "Historical Witness to Ethnic Equality, Unity and Development in Xinjiang" and released by the State Council Information Office, the report noted all ethnic groups are guaranteed the right to use and develop their own spoken and written languages, and Xinjiang is a region of multiple spoken and written languages, of which there are ten principal ones.

According to the report, a regulation on the region's work concerning spoken and written languages provides a legal basis for the extensive use of the spoken and written languages of ethnic minorities in a wide range of fields from justice, education, publishing, the Internet to daily life.

"Seven languages are used as teaching languages in primary and secondary schools in the region, five languages are used in broadcasting and television programs, and six languages are used in publishing books, audio-visual products and electronic publications," it said.

Also, government organs in handling public affairs and various other organizations in recruitment and promotion tests all use the languages of the ethnic groups exercising autonomy in a given area.

In addition, the autonomous region encourages ethnic minorities to study the standard spoken and written Chinese known as Putonghua, a common speech with pronunciation based on the Beijing dialect, and study one another's languages so as to enhance mutual understanding and communication, it said. Endi