Culture | Macau included in China’s dialect preservation project

The latest project from China’s Ministry of Education (MOE), which aims to preserve the diversity of languages and dialects existing among China’s ethnic minorities, includes one fieldwork site in Macau, Xinhua reported.
In order for the project to be in place in all 34 provinces of China (Taiwan included), a total of 935 fieldwork sites have been planned, 319 of which are due to have their work completed this year.
Macau and Hong Kong will each have one site, both of which are meant to document “the use of the corresponding local dialect,” the state agency reported.
However, these two sites are not scheduled to start operations this year, with no further details disclosed as to the launch date. Likewise, the three sites planned by the MOE to open in Taiwan won’t be operational until yet another undisclosed date.
Guangdong, a neighboring province to Macau and Hong Kong, will see a total of 70 fieldwork sites spread across its territory due to its densely populated area.
The province that has been assigned the most operations, however, is Hunan, where work at 80 fieldwork sites will be finished before the beginning of 2019.
The MOE launched the project in May 2015, an initiative that saw its inception in places where local dialects and ethnic minority languages are in dire need of conservation. Moreover, the ministry is urging local communities to build their own regional museums of language and culture. Staff reporter