Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Xiandaohua, Chintaw, Xiantao, 仙島話
CLASSIFICATION		Sino-Tibetan, Lolo-Burmese
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		acn
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS		"Because of lack of documentation prior to 1980, the Xiandao people were incldued in the unclassified national minority category. Since 1980 they have been classified as a part of the Achang nationality. Xiandao people don't agree with this classification; they believe they are different from Achang and should be an independent group. However, the Xiandao language is genetically very close to the Achang language. ..." (Tsung and Dai 2005:179)

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Information from: “A vanishing language: the case of Xiandao” (177–186) . Tsung, Linda and Qingxia Dai (2005)

Endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
40
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
70 (16 families)
CHILDREN
0
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
40% of the population speak Xiandao as their L1; 30% speak Chinese as their L1 and 30% speak Jingpo as their L1). Note that there is no monolingual in Xiandao. People are usually bilingual or trilingual in other languages such as Jingpo or Chinese.

DATE OF INFO: 2002

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Younger speakers have better competence in Jingpo and/or Chinese. Intermarriage with the Han Chinese or the Jingpo is not uncommon.

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Jinpo; Chinese

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

"Communication in Chinese and Jingpo in the market is necessary. In the family domain both Xiandao and Jingpo are used for communication ... Since 1993 the Xiandao people in Mangmian have started to follow the Christian religion ... The Sunday service is conducted in Jingpo by a Jingpo minister." (p.182-183)

PLACES: China

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Yunnan Province

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Mangmian and Meng'er villages in Jiemao Township, Yingjiang County

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
30
Native speakers worldwide

Severely endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
70
Native speakers worldwide
CHILDREN
0

TRANSMISSION
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: Classified as Achang nationality since 1980, most speak Chinese and Jinghpaw and can understand most of Achang. Those over forty are mainly first-language Chintaw speakers, but there are no monolinguals and no fluent speakers under ten. The language is being replaced by Jinghpaw in Meng’er and by Chinese and Jinghpaw in Mangmian.

PLACES: China

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Yunnan, Yingjiang County

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Seventy people calling themselves (khan31 taw31) (whence the Chinese term Xiantao) forming all thirty of the population in one relocated village, Meng’erzhai (Meng’er) moved in 1958, and 40 of 49 inhabitants in Xiantaozhai (also known as Mangmian) in the other, moved in 1995.

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
100
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 1994

PLACES: China;

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
100
Native speakers worldwide

3rd		2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger				UNESCO Publishing			Paris	http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub		30		10-99							Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)								24.9263,98.2414
		2007	East and Southeast Asia	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	349-424	C. Moseley	London & New York: Routledge					David Bradley	Bradley, David. 2007. "East and Southeast Asia." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 349-424. London & New York: Routledge.	HHOLD		70		10-99					Classified as Achang nationality since 1980, most speak Chinese and Jinghpaw and can understand most of Achang. Those over forty are mainly first-language Chintaw speakers, but there are no monolinguals and no fluent speakers under ten. The language is being replaced by Jinghpaw in Meng’er and by Chinese and Jinghpaw in Mangmian.		Severely Endangered (60 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	13				Seventy people calling themselves (khan31 taw31) (whence the Chinese term Xiantao) forming all thirty of the population in one relocated village, Meng’erzhai (Meng’er) moved in 1958, and 40 of 49 inhabitants in Xiantaozhai (also known as Mangmian) in the other, moved in 1995.	China	Yunnan, Yingjiang County
	173	2005	A vanishing language: the case of Xiandao		177–186			International Journal of the Sociology of Language	2005			Tsung, Linda and Qingxia Dai	Tsung, Linda and Qingxia Dai. 2005. A vanishing language: the case of Xiandao. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 2005(173):177–186.		70 (16 families)	40	2002	10-99	40% of the population speak Xiandao as their L1; 30% speak Chinese as their L1 and 30% speak Jingpo as their L1). Note that there is no monolingual in Xiandao. People are usually bilingual or trilingual in other languages such as Jingpo or Chinese.	some	all	Jinpo; Chinese	"Communication in Chinese and Jingpo in the market is necessary. In the family domain both Xiandao and Jingpo are used for communication ... Since 1993 the Xiandao people in Mangmian have started to follow the Christian religion ... The Sunday service is conducted in Jingpo by a Jingpo minister." (p.182-183)	all	Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	12	Younger speakers have better competence in Jingpo and/or Chinese. Intermarriage with the Han Chinese or the Jingpo is not uncommon.	14	13	Mangmian and Meng'er villages in Jiemao Township, Yingjiang County	China	Yunnan Province
			World Oral Literature Project								http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			100		100-999							Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
16		2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis	SIL International			Dallas, TX	http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub		100	1994	100-999							Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						China;

Xiandao

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

40

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

30

Severely endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

70

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

100

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

100

Discussion

Xiandao

Language metadata

Language information by source

Endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

40

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

30

Severely endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

70

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

100

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

100

Discussion

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