MSG is lucky enough to receive regular updates from Bruce Humes, author of the blog Altaic Storytelling. He recently sent us a few items of note.
First, there is good news about the preservation of Sibe language.
[box] The China Xibe Language and Culture Research Center in Ili, Xinjiang, has announced that it will soon begin systematically recording speakers of this Tungusic tongue (锡伯语言数字化). This is part of the national “Chinese Language Audio Database Project” (中国语言资源有声数据库工程) inaugurated in 2008 by the State Language Commission, and the center aims to complete the Xibe portion by August 2015.[/box]
He has also brought a recent volume to our attention.
[box] A conference on the unique contribution of Manchu novelists was held in Beijing on June 6, 2014, to celebrate the publication of 满族小说与中华文化 (Manchu novels and Chinese culture). The book is the result of a project sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Fund (社科基金项目).[/box]