SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2008-017

This study uses a questionnaire to investigate the extent of Sinicization among a selection of remote, rural Nisu villages. The questionnaire results indicate that Nisu is not an endangered language in such a context, although 1) Nisu are open to intermarriage with Chinese and Hani, 2) Nisu teach their children Chinese, and 3) the Chinese language is spreading increasingly through the schools and will continue to increase Sinicization in coming generations. Currently, about half of the fourteen rural villages surveyed show an increase in Chinese usage compared to the previous generation.