Language Atlas of the China Project – A ReportS.A. Wurm

ASIEN – Nr. 14 (1985) pp. 80–87

A large number of various types of atlases of China have been produced, but no up-to-date detailed major atlas showing the distribution of the languages and dialects of China is in existence. Extensive research has been carried out on the language and dialect distribution in China in recent years, both by Chinese scholars and institutions, and also by scholars outside China. In addition to the many dialects of Chinese, a large number of languages and dialects are spoken in China which belong to a number of different language groups. As a result of the research carried out to date, the complex language and dialect situation of China has become clearer, and work to solve the problems of the distribution and classifications of languages and dialects in not yet fully studied areas, has continued vigorously.