语言、通事与近代西南边疆族际交往演进

Language, Tongshi and the Evolution Of Inter-ethnic Communication in the Southwest Frontier of China in Modern Times

民族众多的西南边疆地区,同时也是多种民族语言并存的地区,在民族交往频率低的传统王朝时代,不同民族之间的交往通常要借助通事来实现。近代以来,随着国家的转型,国家统一与民族语言多样似乎成为一对矛盾,语言看似成为了族际交往的最大障碍,然而多整体来看,决定族际关系的根本因素不是语言,而是掌握语言民族群体的行为选择。

Home to many nationalities, the southwest frontier area of China is a place where a va- riety of ethnic languages coexist. In the era of traditional dynasties with low frequency of inter-ethnic communication, communication among different ethnic groups usually depended on Tongshi or inter- preters. However, since modern times, with China being gradually transformed, there has seemed to be a contradiction between the unity of the state and the variety of languages. Language seems to to have become the biggest obstacle to inter-ethnic communication. After analysis, this paper has found that the fundamental factor which determines the inter-ethnic relationship is not language but the behavioral choice of the various ethnic groups that master the language.