Editing Inner Mongolia (section)

==Language and culture==
{{See also|Culture of Mongolia|Music of Mongolia|Music of Inner Mongolia|Mongolian language in Inner Mongolia}}

[[File:KFC in Hohhot.jpg|thumb|A [[KFC]] in Hohhot, the capital, with a bilingual street sign in [[Chinese language|Chinese]] and [[Mongolian Language|Mongolian]]]]
[[File:Inner Mongolian rug c. 1870.jpg|thumb|upright|Inner Mongolian carpet c. 1870]]
[[File:C-shaped jade dragon.jpg|thumb|upright|Jade dragon of the [[Hongshan culture]] (4700 BC – 2900 BC) found in [[Ongniud Banner]], [[Chifeng]]]]

The use of Mongolian by Inner Mongolia's 4.1 million ethnic Mongols has sharply declined since the 1980s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tsung|first=Linda|chapter=Maintaining the Mongolian Language in Inner Mongolia|title=Language Power and Hierarchy: Multilingual Education in China|date=27 October 2014|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|page=59}}</ref> Across the whole of China, the language is spoken by roughly half of the country's 5.8 million ethnic Mongols (2005 estimate).<ref name="Mongolian">{{cite book|last1=Janhunen|first1=Juha|title=Mongolian|date=29 November 2012|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|page=11|chapter=1}}</ref> However, the exact number of Mongolian speakers in China is unknown, as there is no data available on the language proficiency of that country's citizens. The use of Mongolian in China, specifically in Inner Mongolia, has witnessed periods of decline and revival over the last few hundred years. The language experienced a decline during the late Qing period, a revival between 1947 and 1965, a second decline between 1966 and 1976, a second revival between 1977 and 1992, and a third decline between 1995 and 2012.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tsung|first1=Linda|title=Language Power and Hierarchy: Multilingual Education in China|date=27 October 2014|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|chapter=3}}</ref> However, in spite of the decline of the Mongolian language in some of Inner Mongolia's urban areas and educational spheres, the ethnic identity of the urbanised Chinese-speaking Mongols is most likely going to survive due to the presence of urban ethnic communities.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Iredale|first1=Robyn|last2=Bilik|first2=Naran|last3=Fei|first3=Guo|title=China's Minorities on the Move: Selected Case Studies|date=2 August 2003|page=84|chapter=4}}</ref> The multilingual situation in Inner Mongolia does not appear to obstruct efforts by ethnic Mongols to preserve their language.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Janhunen|first1=Juha|title=Mongolian|date=29 November 2012|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|page=16|chapter=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Otsuka|first1=Hitomi|title=More Morphologies: Contributions to the Festival of Languages, Bremen, 17 Sep to 7 Oct, 2009|date=30 November 2012|page=99|chapter=6}}</ref> Although an unknown number of Mongols in China, such as the Tumets, may have completely or partially lost the ability to speak their language, they are still registered as ethnic Mongols and continue to identify themselves as ethnic Mongols.<ref name="Mongolian"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Iredale|first1=Robyn|title=China's Minorities on the Move: Selected Case Studies|date=2 August 2003 |publisher=Routledge|pages=56, 64–67|chapter=3}}</ref> The children of inter-ethnic Mongol-Chinese marriages also claim to be and are registered as ethnic Mongols.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Janhunen|first1=Juha|title=Mongolian |date=29 November 2012 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|page=11|chapter=1}}{{cite book|last1=Iredale |first1=Robyn|last2=Bilik|first2=Naran |last3=Fei |first3=Guo|title=China's Minorities on the Move: Selected Case Studies|date=2 August 2003|page=61|chapter=3}}</ref>

By law, all street signs, commercial outlets, and government documents must be bilingual, written in both Mongolian and Chinese. There are three Mongolian TV channels in the Inner Mongolia Satellite TV network. In public transportation, all announcements are to be bilingual.

[[Mongols]] in Inner Mongolia speak [[Mongolian language|Mongolian dialects]] such as [[Chakhar Mongolian|Chakhar]], Xilingol, [[Baarin Mongolian|Baarin]], [[Khorchin Mongolian|Khorchin]] and Kharchin Mongolian and, depending on definition and analysis, further dialects<ref>e.g. Sečenbaγatur, Qasgerel, Tuyaγ-a, B. ǰirannige, U Ying ǰe. 2005. ''Mongγul kelen-ü nutuγ-un ayalγun-u sinǰilel-ün uduridqal''. Kökeqota: ÖMAKQ.</ref> or closely related independent Central [[Mongolic languages]]<ref>e.g. [[Juha Janhunen|Janhunen, Juha]]. 2006. Mongolic languages. In: Brown, K. (ed.): ''The encyclopedia of language & linguistics''. Amsterdam: Elsevier: 231–234.</ref> such as [[Ordos Mongolian|Ordos]], [[Khamnigan Mongol|Khamnigan]], Barghu [[Buryat language|Buryat]] and the arguably [[Oirat language|Oirat]] dialect [[Alasha dialect|Alasha]]. The standard pronunciation of Mongolian in China is based on the Chakhar dialect of the [[Plain Blue Banner, Inner Mongolia|Plain Blue Banner]], located in central Inner Mongolia, while the grammar is based on all [[Mongolian language in Inner Mongolia|Inner Mongolian dialects]].<ref>Sečenbaγatur et al. 2005: 85.</ref> This is different from the Mongolian state, where the standard pronunciation is based on the closely related [[Khalkha Mongolian|Khalkha]] dialect. There are a number of independent languages spoken in [[Hulunbuir]] such as the somewhat more distant Mongolic language [[Daur language|Dagur]] and the [[Tungusic languages|Tungusic language]] [[Evenki language|Evenki]]. Officially, even the Evenki dialect [[Oroqen language|Oroqin]] is considered a language.<ref>Janhunen, Juha. 1997. The languages of Manchuria in today's China. In: Northern Minority languages: Problems of survival. ''Senri ethnological studies'', 44: 123–146. See pages 130–133.</ref>

The [[Han Chinese]] of Inner Mongolia speak a variety of dialects, depending on the region. Those in the eastern parts tend to speak [[Northeastern Mandarin]], which belongs to the [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] group of dialects; those in the central parts, such as the [[Yellow River]] valley, speak varieties of [[Jin Chinese|Jin]], another subdivision of Chinese, due to its proximity to other Jin-speaking areas in China such as the [[Shanxi]] province. Cities such as Hohhot and Baotou both have their unique brand of Jin Chinese such as the [[Zhangjiakou–Hohhot dialect]] which are sometimes incomprehensible with dialects spoken in northeastern regions such as [[Hailar District|Hailar]].

The vast grasslands have long symbolised Inner Mongolia. Mongolian art often depicts the grassland in an uplifting fashion and emphasises Mongolian nomadic traditions. The [[Mongols in China|Mongol]]s of Inner Mongolia still practice their traditional arts. Inner Mongolian cuisine has Mongol roots and consists of [[dairy]]-related products and ''hand-held lamb'' ({{lang|zh|手扒肉}}). In recent years, franchises based on [[hot pot]] have appeared in Inner Mongolia, the best known of which is [[Little Sheep Group|Little Sheep]]. Notable Inner Mongolian commercial brand names include [[Mengniu]] and [[Yili Group|Yili]], both of which began as dairy product and [[ice cream]] producers.

Among the Han Chinese of Inner Mongolia, [[Shanxi opera]] is a popular traditional form of entertainment. See also: [[Shanxi]]. A popular career in Inner Mongolia is circus acrobatics. The internationally known Inner Mongolia Acrobatic Troupe travels and performs with the renowned [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus]].