Minority Languages and Literatures Department

The Department of Minority Languages and Literatures of the Central University for Nationalities is the only teaching and research institution in China studying the country’s minority languages comprehensively. The department is renowned both at home and abroad for its long history, uniqueness of specialities, high-quality faculty, academic achievement and talent cultivation.

The department has a long history. At the beginning of its establishment in 1951, the Central Institute for Nationalities (former name for the Central University for Nationalities) set up the "Language and Literature Department", which was changed into the "Department of Ethnic Languages" later. In 1986, the department was divided into three parts: the First, Second and Third Department of Ethnic Languages respectively. In 1995, the "College of Chinese Minority Languages and Literatures"  was founded, in which the "Department of Linguistics" and "Department of Ethnic Literatures" based on the former Third Department of Ethnic Languages  were set up. In 2000, along with the trend of the consolidation of undergraduate programs, the "Department of Linguistics" and "Department of Ethnic Literatures" merged together and were changed into the "Department of Minority Languages and Literatures".

Programs of the department have unique features and strength. The department is the "National Base of Talent Cultivation and Scientific Research for the Basic Disciplines of Arts" and has the first-class discipline of  "Chinese Language and Literature" . The department has post-doctoral stations. It is one of the first institutions that were authorized to award master and doctoral degrees after the 10-year Cultural Revolution in China. The program of  "Chinese Minority Languages and Literatures" is a national key discipline, containing a number of cultivation directions such as Ethnic Linguistics, Computational Linguistics, Ethnic Literature, Ancient Books & Documents , Zhuang & Thai Language and Culture, Yi & Mian Language and Culture. Besides, the department also includes programs of the “Linguistics & Applied Linguistics” and  "Chinese Classic Bibliography" with the right to grant doctoral degrees.

The department has a highly qualified faculty and teaching team. At present, the department has nearly 40 academic staff members. Among them, there are 10 professors, 14 associated professors and 8 PHD supervisors. Most of the young and middle-aged teachers in the department have master or doctoral degrees. The department has a rational faculty structure, including senior professors with rich teaching experience and great achievement in teaching and research as well as young and middle-aged doctors and associated professors, who have great potential and excellent professional quality. Many teachers have made distinctive contributions in the field of ethnic languages and literatures. Some of them were rewarded by the state and Beijing municipality for their accomplishment in teaching and research. A number of them are vice presidents and standing councilors of national academic societies, or editors of important national and international academic publications. Moreover, from time to time, a number of nationally and internationally well-known scholars, such as Jamres Matisoff and Jerold. A. Admondson, are invited to give lectures as guest professors of the department.

Since the early 1950s, with the efforts of a group of senior scholars, such as the late renowned national linguist Professor Ma Xueliang, the department has experienced great development. The department has made great contributions for the teaching and research of minority languages and literatures as well as for the development of the country. Up to now, the department has educated more than 2000 students. Among them, over 300 got Master's Degrees and over 100 got Doctor's Degrees. In addition, more than 40 students from overseas as well as Hong Kong, Macao and Tai Wan have graduated from the department. The first Marco student who got his Doctor's Degree in Mainland China was supervised by Ma Xueliang and Dai Qingxia of this department. The department has also accepted a lot of visiting students from home and abroad. Many graduates of the department have become the backbone for the teaching and research of ethnic languages and literatures in ethnic regions, occupying important positions. Some others are working on relevant fields in various state government sectors, first-class universities and renowned research institutions. They have gained great reputations for excellent professional quality, personal integrity and diligence in work.

Over the last few years, faced with new challenges, the department has been adjusting its patterns of talent cultivation, paying more attention on students'  skills in the foreign language, computer and writing. Meanwhile, the department emphasizes more on the cultivation of the student’s ability, making them more competitive in meeting requirements and changes of the work and society. Since the 1990s, the department has been awarded such honors as Advanced Unit for the Country's National Unity Advanced Unit for the Country’s Ethnic Education (全国民族教育先进集体) and Prize for National Excellent Teaching Achievement (全国优秀教学成果奖).

At present, all the faculty and students of the Department of Minority Languages and Literatures are making efforts to achievement the university’s goal of building the World’s First-Class University for Nationalities and the department’s goal of building the World’s First-Class Discipline, trying to transform the department into a teaching and research base with unique features for cultivating highly qualified talents in the field of minority languages and literatures.