INNER MONGOLIA'S INNER : PRECIS

The Mongolian language is dying in China, says activists, and not the least of natural causes.

Some years ago the central government told schools in Inner Mongolia to replace the language with Mandarin when teaching some subjects. That sparked protests, but a year later China's legislature went further, annulling regulations that allowed autonomous regions to teach in minority languages.

Today, kindergartens in Inner Mongolia are taught entirely in Mandarin and, according to locals, an increasing number of other classes are, too.

The decline of Mongolian is part of a years-long push by the central government to assimilate ethnic minorities across China.

Officially, such groups are meant to have equal standing with the Han, the ethnic group that makes up over 90% of the mainland's  population.

The World Students Society thanks The Economist.