Editorial: Convergence or Divergence? Indigenous Peoples on the Borderlands of Southwest China
Author(s):
Mckinnon, John
Format:
Journal article
Citation:
Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Volume 38, Issue 2 (1997-08). pp. 101-105.
Language:
English
Abstract:
Several essays investigating the ethnolinguistic diversity of peoples in southwestern People's Republic of China & southeastern Asia are introduced. Four language maps that demonstrate the distribution of speakers of the Sino-Tibetan, Austro-Thai, & Austro-Asiatic languages in Southwestern China & Southeastern Asia are presented. It is noted that essay contributors were asked to contemplate how the current language situation affects the convergence or divergence of indigenous language groups; responses to the current language situation examine Lisu & Lahu writing systems, the effects of the Hmong migration, Akha oral literature, & lack of intermarriage between Dai, Sani, & Jinuo groups in Xishuangbanna, China. Contemporary research projects carried out in the region are described. 4 Figures, 2 References. Adapted from the source document