Acceso usuarios
Tunzhi Sonam Lhundrop
The purpose of the paper is twofold. First, I describe the vitality of rTa'u – one of the languages of the Ethnic Corridor region of Western Sichuan Province. Using UNESCO’s nine-factor model of language vitality, the analysis finds rTa'u to be endangered and in urgent need of documentation. Secondly, this article argues that linguists have a role to play in supporting this endangered language, by using glottonyms that are salient to the community and coherent with their professed ethnic identity. After analyzing the two most commonly used names for the language used in the literature – Ergong and Horpa – I suggest that linguists should from now on use the preferred glottonym rTa'u.
