Linguistic Hierarchies in Yunnan Province: A Case Study of Yi Groups in Heqing
Kua’nsi women chatting while knitting.
With 281 languages from nine language families,[1] China has a high degree of linguistic diversity. The distribution of speakers of these languages is greatly uneven. Of a total population of more than 1.4 billion, 91.11 percent are Han Chinese and speak Putonghua and/or other Sinitic languages;[2] the remaining 8.89 percent of the population, the non-Han Chinese or minority ethnic groups, speak 200 other languages. The south-west shows the greatest linguistic diversity in the nation. Yunnan pro...
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