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Chinese language

Hu Xin and He Yan Xin as seen in the film "Hidden Letters"

These women are trying to preserve an ancient Chinese language invented as a secret code

Language

Hundreds of years ago, women in China weren’t allowed an education and spent their days locked in rooms, embroidering and making crafts. They came up with a new language that men couldn’t understand — Nüshu — and wrote it onto handmade fans to communicate with each other. A filmmaker is now trying to raise awareness to preserve it before it is lost.

A group of Chinese students walking.

The US may face obstacles in the global race for Chinese students

Global Nation Education
Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner walks on the carpet before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing February 5, 2015.

Argentine president in China to negotiate deals on ‘lice and petloleum’

Culture
A Haitian child who will be placed for adoption sleeps in his crib at an orphanage outside of Port-au-Prince.

There may be languages lurking in your unconscious mind

Science
A job seeker looks at recruitment advertisements at a labor market in Guangdong province, where most people speak Cantonese.

Beijing has a message for China’s Cantonese speakers — stick to Mandarin!

Culture
The children of migrant workers are taught Mandarin at a school in Shanghai. Many speak a regional dialect at home, and some don't speak Mandarin at all when they arrive for the first day of class.

China’s linguistic landscape is changing as rapidly as its cities and lifestyles

Development & Education

Beijing has long wanted the world’s most populous country to be unified under a single language. Now, it may actually happen, thanks to increased mobility and migration.

Digital culture morphing Chinese language, one pun at a time

Digital technologies in China have changed more than the way people communicate. They’ve also helped shape a new digital language that has jumped from text messages and chat rooms into everyday life.

The World

How Technology is Changing Chinese, One Pun at a Time

Development & Education

Technology is rapidly accelerating the creation of new punning slang, to the point of fundamentally changing the Chinese language.

Chinese Learning American English With ‘OMG! Meiyu’

Business, Economics and Jobs

Lisa Mullins talks to Jessica Beinecke, who hosts “OMG! Meiyu,” a video show produced by Voice of America that helps Chinese speakers learn American English.

Wheat Can Be Kindness and Other Political Candidates

Arts, Culture & Media

Some California candidates have chosen to use auspicious Chinese names to attract votes.