Uyghur Language and Culture Under Threat in Xinjiang

The Uyghur language has been the main language of instruction in many schools in Xinjiang alongside Chinese which has increasingly become predominant. Uyghur and Chinese are not related in any way and Uyghurs have to learn Chinese as a foreign language. In the region's main university, Xinjiang University, Uyghur and Chinese were both used as languages of instruction until a government decision in May 2002 decreed that the vast majority of courses would be taught only in Chinese.