Asia

Asia

Asia – language

Asia – languages, In Asia, there are three linguists who are also spoken in other parts of the Euro-Afro-Asian continent: Indo-European, Semitic and Uralic languages. Many attempts have been made and are still being made to prove an overarching kinship between these three clans, but while some limited common vocabulary may be probable, it is still an uncertain hypothesis.

In addition, there are Escalut languages ​​(Eskimo and Aleut), which are represented by some Eskimo dialects in NE Siberia.

The Indo-European languages are Armenian in Armenia and neighboring Turkey; Iranian languages ​​in Iran, Afghanistan and in enclaves in northern Tajikistan. This language group also includes Indian languages ​​in Pakistan and northern India, with the exception of the part where Tibeto-Burmese languages ​​are spoken. The Indian languages ​​include Hindi/Urdu, Bengali, Panjabi and Marathi.

The Semitic languages, Arabic, Aramaic and Hebrew, are spoken in Arabia and in the Mediterranean and Iran countries.

The Uralic languages ​​in Asia are Samoan, East Yak, and a few other languages ​​in NW Siberia.

Asian languages

In addition to the above, there are a number of languages ​​closely related or spoken exclusively in this continent: Altaic languages, Chinese (or Sinitic languages), Tibeto-Burmese languages, Thai languages, Austronesian languages ​​(formerly Malay-Polynesian languages), Austro-Asiatic languages languages ​​(formerly Mon-Khmer) and finally Dravidian languages. In addition, there are some languages ​​that do not seem to belong in these groups.

The language of Asia
A number of the world’s most spoken languages ​​are found in Asia Sort
Mandarin 900 million
Hindi/Urdu 350/290 mio.
Bengali 215 million
Japanese 128 million
Wu 90 million
Panjabi 90 million
Vietnamese 80 mio.
Korean 76 million
Javanese 75 million
Telugu 75 million
Yue (Cantonese) 70 million
Tamil 68 million
Marathi 68 million
Min (Fujian) 60 million
Turkish 57 million

Altaic languages are an experimental set of languages ​​that are far from accepted by all linguists. It contains Tongan languages ​​in Eastern Siberia with Manchurian enclaves in northern China, Turkish languages ​​in Asia Minor, Central Asia and North Siberia, and Mongolian languages ​​in Mongolia and Chinese Mongolia. It has been suggested that Korean belongs to the Altaic lineage, and this lineage is desired by some linguists extended to Japanese. See COUNTRYAAH for all countries in Asia listed by population.

Chinese consists of a number of so-called dialects, which are also called Sinitic languages. The main Sinitic language is Mandarin (with Putonghua or modern standard Chinese), spoken by 65% ​​of China’s population. It is thus the world’s most spoken language.

Tibeto-Burmese languages ​​are spoken in Tibet, in Myanmar (Burma), in neighboring areas and in pockets of Western China. The Karen languages ​​in Myanmar and miao-yao (hmong-man) in Guizhou and on the Indochinese peninsula are structurally reminiscent of Tibeto-Burmese languages. However, some linguists attribute miao-yao to austro-tai.

The Thai languages ​​are spoken on the Indochinese Peninsula and in southern China. The main Thai languages ​​outside China are Siamese or Thai in Thailand, Lao or Laotian in Laos and Northeast Thailand, and Shan and Khamti in Myanmar. An intermediate position between the tai and the Austronesian languages ​​occupies the kadais languages ​​compiled by the American Paul Benedict in 1942. It is li or hlai in Hainan and three languages ​​in the border area between China and Vietnam.

Austronesian languages are found in a vast area. They are spoken in South-East Asia and Taiwan, as well as in Madagascar and throughout the Pacific. In Malaysia and Indonesia, respectively. bahasa malaysia and bahasa indonesia, which are basically the same language and are collectively called Malay. Similarities with Austronesian showcase the languages ​​jakun, sakai and semang in Western Malaysia.

Austro-Asian languages on the Southeast Asian mainland consist of the Mon-Khmer, Nicobaric and Munda language families. Mon-Khmer are the languages ​​mon or talaing in Myanmar, Khmer or Cambodian in Cambodia and in the southern part of Vietnam as well as Vietnamese. In addition, there are a large number of mountain languages, of which only kammu in northern Laos and adjacent areas have many speakers. The oral languages ​​are spoken in large pockets in the central Indian provinces south of the Ganges between the Ganges Delta and the Narmada River and include santali and mundari.

Dravidian languages ​​are spoken throughout southern India as well as in enclaves in northern Pakistan and Sri Lanka. These languages ​​include tamil, telugu and malayalam.

Some languages ​​that cannot be genetically determined with certainty are the nearly extinct Ainu in northern Japan and Sakhalin, Guilean on Sakhalin and on the Amur, Luoravetlic languages ​​in the far northeastern corner of Siberia, and Jakakir in a small pocket west of Luoravetlic and ket (Yenisei-Ostjakisk) by Yenisei. A genetically isolated language is burushaski in Hunza.

Hong Kong

In 1842, the island of Xianggang (Hong Kong) was handed over England “forever” when England attacked China during the first opium war. 18 years later, the English acquired the rights to the Kowloon Peninsula opposite the Xianggang itself. In 1898, the English forced the Chinese to assign them the land north of Kowloon on a 99-year lease. This area became known as: “New Territories”

From 1842, Xianggang was used as a trading center – a gateway to China. But after the Communists’ victory in China, England and the United States introduced a trade blockade that severed the connection. From then, Xianggang had to import all supplies by water, and for the same reason had to increase exports. A light industry quickly developed from which textiles, clothing, plastics and electronics were exported. As in Taiwan and South Korea, this development was strongly supported by the Western powers, who, during the Cold War, were interested in promoting these “bastions” to Communist China.

At the same time, the rise in trade and the export industry transformed Xianggang into a center for financial capital, communications and transport. The government’s policy contributed to this development, setting low taxes, low tariffs and anonymity and freedom of capital movements.

In the late 1970s, China opened up to trade and foreign investment, placing Xianggang in a position where it could reap huge profits. It had one of the world’s best natural ports, sophisticated international investment and trade systems as well as large and modern container terminals. 30-50% of China’s total foreign trade went through Xianggang, and from that also originated 90% of investment in the Chinese Kwangtung province.

Almost the entire population of Xianggang is of Chinese descent, which settled in the area following a host of immigration waves, basically all due to the political and social changes in China itself.

In the early 1980s, London and Beijing began negotiations on the future of Xianggang, when the lease for most of the territory would expire in 1997. Xianggang’s population was not represented in any way during these negotiations. Negotiations between the two countries ended in 1984 with the conclusion of an agreement under which China would be given dominion over the entire territory in 1997, but this would have a “high degree of autonomy” as a special administrative region in China.

In September 1991, for the first time in 150 years, the people of Xianggang elected members to a legislative assembly. The candidates from the United Democratic Coalition (UDHK) won most of the seats. It criticized both Xianggang’s colonial government and China, and advocated the strengthening of democracy.

British Governor Chris Patten reformed the electoral system and completely separated the executive and legislative authority. China considered these reforms to be in violation of the 1984 agreement.

In 1994, Patten implemented a plan to increase voter turnout in the 1995 elections. This led to a new polemic with China. In September 1995, the Democratic Party won the election to the Legislative Council. It was against the official Chinese interpretation of the 84 agreement. Qian again made China’s intention to dissolve this council in 1997, when it “did not take into account the interests of all social strata” in Xianggang.

The British governor publicly blamed the Chinese authorities for speaking only to “multimillionaires”. Patten referred to the alliance that was consolidated in 1996 between Xianggang’s key businessmen and the Beijing government.