Ling Dai

I am interested in applying for linguistic anthropology PhD programs. Stupid question maybe, but I wonder whether being proficient in the language of the region of my interest/my research subjects would be a requirement for admission... Another thing I wonder about is whether the ethnic group of interest the POI should be exactly the same as that of mine or it can be just roughly of the same region (for instance, both in East Asia but of different peoples/groups). Thanks!