The Santa Alphabet

Santa ^[2] is a historical name for Dongxiang (东乡语, ISO 639-3: sce), the Southern Mongolic minority language of the Dongxiang people (东乡族) of Dongxiang Autonomous County, Gansu province, China. The name Santa is derived from the self-designation of the Dongxiang people in their own language; modern Chinese academic usage now prefers "Dongxiang" (东乡). The Endangered Languages Project recognises both names for this language of approximately 373,000 speakers.

Yes — Santa and Dongxiang ^[1] are two names for the same language (ISO 639-3: sce). Santa is the traditional self-designation used by the Dongxiang people for their own language; Dongxiang (东乡) is the modern Chinese name. Northwest Minzu University now uses Dongxiang in its publications, but Santa appears in older Western linguistic literature. Both names describe the same Southern Mongolic language of Gansu province, China.

Santa (Dongxiang) ^[1] belongs to the Southern Mongolic subgroup of the Mongolic branch. Its closest relatives are Bonan (Paoan, peh) and Tu (Monguor, mjg), all spoken in Gansu and Qinghai, China. Despite the Islamic identity of the Dongxiang/Santa community, the language is genetically Mongolic — reflecting a historical conversion to Islam among a Mongolic-speaking community descended from Yuan dynasty populations.

The name Santa ^[2] is the self-designation of the Dongxiang people for their own language and community. The Endangered Languages Project notes that "Santa" derives from the Dongxiang people's own word for themselves, while "Dongxiang" (东乡) is the Chinese place-name for their homeland. Both names are valid; the choice of name in academic literature often reflects the era and tradition of the researcher — older Western publications tend to use Santa, while modern Chinese academic work uses Dongxiang.

Santa (Dongxiang) ^[2] has approximately 373,000 speakers, making it the most widely spoken Southern Mongolic language. However, the Endangered Languages Project documents pressure from Mandarin Chinese in education and official contexts, raising concerns about long-term language maintenance. Children increasingly receive education in Mandarin, and the daily use of Santa/Dongxiang is declining in urban and semi-urban areas of Gansu. ELAR ^[3] preserves documentation of the spoken language.

Santa (Dongxiang) ^[3] has no standardised writing system. The Dongxiang community uses Mandarin Chinese for written purposes, and Arabic for Islamic religious texts. Academic researchers use a Latin romanization with diacritic characters to record the phonology of the spoken language. ELAR archives romanized transcriptions alongside audio recordings of Santa/Dongxiang at SOAS University of London, making the documentation accessible under both the Santa and Dongxiang names for future research and community use.

Santa (Dongxiang) and Bonan ^[1] are the two closest relatives in the Southern Mongolic subgroup, both spoken in Gansu province by Muslim communities with Mongolic-language roots. Dongxiang is spoken in Dongxiang Autonomous County; Bonan in Jishishan County. Northwest Minzu University treats them as distinct languages — not mutually intelligible — despite their shared Mongolic ancestry. Both communities are predominantly Muslim, a historical legacy of the Yuan dynasty era in the Gansu–Qinghai corridor.

Santa (Dongxiang) ^[2] is spoken primarily in Dongxiang Autonomous County in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu province, China. Additional speakers live in Qinghai province and parts of Xinjiang. The Endangered Languages Project documents Dongxiang County as the cultural and linguistic heartland of the Santa/Dongxiang language, where the community has historically lived since the Yuan and Ming dynasty periods.