Wang Zhifen, a 39-year-old woman of the Yi ethnic minority, does not speak her mother tongue any more. She stopped using it when she left her village in southwest China's Yunnan Province to be educated more than 20 years ago.

"I have no regrets. Mandarin and English are becoming popular in a rapidly changing society and it's natural for people from ethnic minorities to use suitable languages to communicate better," said Wang, a professor at the Wumayao Anthropological Museum in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, home to 25 ethnic groups.

Only a few natives of Wang's hometown of Mile County in Honghe Hani and the Yi Autonomous Prefecture still speak their mother tongue. The exotic Yi dialect and the gorgeous handmade dresses of its women are now only heard and seen during festival activities or religious ceremonies, said Wang, who returned to work in June after receiving her doctor's degree at Beijing-based Minzu University of China, formerly known as the Central University of Nationalities (CUN).

Wang's village has frustrated the Chinese government, which, along with experts, have taken various means to preserve endangered languages, believing that they are an indispensable part of China's diversified ethnic culture.

Perservering efforts, frustrating results

There are approximately 130 different languages of 55 ethnic minority groups in China, but more than 100 are dying out - and 60 are on the verge of extinction, according to statistics from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Across the world, more than 6,000 languages are disappearing at a rapid rate, and 3,000 of these are in an extremely critical state.

"Language is an important transmitter of myths, poems, operas and many other forms of art. It disseminates valuable knowledge and life experiences accumulated over the centuries," said Li Ziran, a professor with Ningxia University in northwest China.

To help preserve the viability and vitality of these languages, the Chinese government has moved to finance academia's efforts to compile books about their linguistics and to collect traditional masterpieces that disappeared from sight shortly after China started economic reforms in the late 1970s.

Contemporary China has benefited in many ways from this indigenous culture, including the discovery and application of ancient medical prescriptions, Li said.

"We have found or reproduced more than 30,000 ancient books of various ethnic minorities in Yunnan over 20 years, only one third of the registered masterpieces," said Pu Xuewang, director with the publishing and planning office of ethnic ancient books in Yunnan.

"The local government has also spent 80 million yuan (US$11.7 million) in editing and translating classics of the Dai, Yi and Naxi ethnic people," he said.

Innovative bilingual courses for children of ethnic background are also having a beneficial effect.

As of May 2007, more than 6 million students have participated in bilingual courses in 10,000 schools across China, learning approximately 30 different ethnic languages as well as Putonghua (standardised Mandarin), according to statistics from the State Working Committee of Languages and Characters.

During the same time, more than 2,500 classes teaching only ethnic minority languages have trained more than 1 million students.