Guiyang Miao language

Last updated
Guiyang Miao
Hmong
Native to China
Region Guizhou
Native speakers
(190,000 cited 1995) [1]
Dialects
Language codes
ISO 639-3 Variously:
huj   Northern
hmy   Southern
hmg   Southwestern
Glottolog guiy1235

Guiyang Miao, also known as Guiyang Hmong, is a Miao language of China. It is named after Guiyang, Guizhou, though not all varieties are spoken there. The endonym is Hmong, a name it shares with the Hmong language.

Contents

Classification

Guiyang was given as a subgroup of Western Hmongic in Wang (1985). [2] Matisoff (2001) separated the three varieties as distinct Miao languages, not forming a group. Wang (1994) adds another two minor, previously unclassified varieties. [3]

Mo Piu, spoken in northern Vietnam, may be a divergent variety of Guiyang Miao. [4]

Representative dialects of Guiyang Miao include: [5]

Demographics

Below is a list of Miao dialects and their respective speaker populations and distributions from Li (2018), [6] along with representative datapoints from Wang (1985). [7]

DialectSpeakersCountiesRepresentative datapoint (Wang 1985)
North70,000Guiyang (in Huaxi, Xiaohe, Baiyun, Wudang districts), Qingzhen, Kaiyang, Xifeng, Xiuwen, Anshun, Pingba, Zhenning, Qianxi, Jinsha, Zhijin, Longli, Guiding Baituo 摆托寨, Qingyan Township 青岩乡, Huaxi District 花溪区, Guiyang City
South20,000+ Anshun, Zhenning Wangjiashan 汪家山, Huayan Township 华严乡, Anshun City
Southwest60,000 Guiyang (in Huaxi, Wudang, Baiyun districts), Qingzhen, Anshun, Pingba, Ziyun, Changshun Kaisa Village 凯洒村, Machang Township 马场乡, Pingba County
Northwest6,000 Qingzhen, Qianxi, Longlin Tieshi Township 铁石苗族彝族乡, Qianxi County
South-Central6,000 Ziyun, Zhenning Hongyanzhai 红岩寨, Baiyun Township 白云乡, Ziyun County

According to Sun (2017), the northern dialect of Guiyang Miao is spoken in the following locations by a total of approximately 60,000 speakers. [8]

Related Research Articles

The Hmu language, also known as Qiandong Miao, Central Miao (中部苗语), East Hmongic, or Black Miao, is a dialect cluster of Hmongic languages of China. The best studied dialect is that of Yǎnghāo (养蒿) village, Taijiang County, Guizhou Province.

The She language, autonym Ho Le or Ho Ne, or Ho Nte, is a critically endangered Hmong–Mien language spoken by the She people. Most of the over 709,000 She people today speak She Chinese. Those who speak Sheyu—approximately 1,200 individuals in Guangdong Province—call themselves Ho Ne, "mountain people".

Gha-Mu, often translated as Small Flowery Miao, is a Miao language of China spoken by the Gha-Mu people. It is closely related to the Hmong dialects of China and Laos; both Gha-Mu and Hmong are members of the Chuanqiandian cluster of West Hmongic languages. It is spoken in Nayong, Shuicheng, Zhenning, Guanling, and Hezhang counties of western Guizhou, China.

The Mak language is a Kam–Sui language spoken in Libo County, Qiannan Prefecture, Guizhou, China. It is spoken mainly in the four townships of Yangfeng, Fangcun (方村), Jialiang (甲良), and Diwo (地莪) in Jialiang District (甲良), Libo County. Mak speakers can also be found in Dushan County. Mak is spoken alongside Ai-Cham and Bouyei. The Mak, also called Mojia (莫家) in Chinese, are officially classified as Bouyei by the Chinese government.

Proto-Hmong–Mien (PHM), also known as Proto-Miao–Yao, is the reconstructed ancestor of the Hmong–Mien languages. Lower-level reconstructions include Proto-Hmongic and Proto-Mienic.

Kiong Nai is a divergent Hmongic (Miao) language spoken in Jinxiu County, Guangxi, China. The speakers' autonym is pronounced or ; means 'mountain', while means 'people'. Mao & Li (2002) believe it to be most closely related to She.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Younuo language</span> Hmongic language spoken in Guangxi, China

Younuo is a divergent Hmongic language spoken in Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County, Guangxi, China. Mao (2007:129) reports a total of approximately 4,000 speakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mienic languages</span> Language family of China and Southeast Asia

The Mienic or Yao languages are spoken by the Yao people of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.

The Xong language is the northernmost Hmongic language, spoken in south-central China by around 0.9 million people. It is called Xiangxi Miaoyu in Chinese, as well as Eastern Miao (东部苗语). In Western sources, it has been called Meo, Red Miao, and North Hmongic. An official alphabet was adopted in 1956.

The A-Hmao language, also known as Large Flowery Miao or Northeast Yunnan Miao, is a Hmongic language spoken in China. It is the language the Pollard script was designed for, and displays extensive tone sandhi. There is a high degree of literacy in Pollard among the older generation.

The Ge or Gejia language, also known as Chong'anjiang Miao, is a West Hmongic language of Huangping County, Guizhou, China. The endonym is spelled Mhong, though it shares this with Huishui Miao; it is pronounced, as in the Hmong language. When speaking Chinese, they call themselves Gédōu.

The West Hmongic languages, also known as Chuanqiandian Miao and Western Miao, are a major branch of the Hmongic languages of China and Southeast Asia.

Hm Nai is a Hmong-Mien language spoken in western Hunan province, China. There are approximately 5800 people speaking this language, and the number is decreasing. Mao & Li (1997) determined it to be closely related to the Pa-Hng language.

Luobohe Miao, also known as Hmjo or A-Hmyo, is a Miao language of China.

Huishui Miao, a.k.a. Huishui Hmong, is a Miao language of China. It is named after Huishui County, Guizhou, though not all varieties are spoken there. The endonym is Mhong, though it shares this with Gejia and it is simply a variant spelling of Hmong.

Mang, or Mashan Miao also known as Mashan Hmong, is a Miao language of China, spoken primarily in Ziyun Miao and Buyei Autonomous County, southwestern Guizhou province, southwest China. The endonym is Mang, similar to other West Hmongic languages such as Mong.

Pingtang Miao, named after Pingtang County in which it is spoken, is a group of Miao language varieties of China.

Bunu is a Hmongic language of southern China. Bunu speakers are classified as Yao by the People's Republic of China.

Xixiu Miao is a small Miao language of China that is closely related to Hmong: Hmong, Small Flowery Miao, and Xixiu are listed as the three local dialects of the Chuanqiandian Cluster of the West Hmongic languages. There are only 300 speakers, in the Xixiu District of Anshun Prefecture, Guizhou Province.

Raojia is a Hmongic language spoken by about 5,000 people in 3 villages of Heba Township 河坝乡, Majiang County, Guizhou.

References

  1. Northern at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Southern at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Southwestern at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Wang, Fushi 王辅世, ed. (1985). Miáoyǔ jiǎnzhì苗语简志 (in Chinese). Beijing: Minzu chubanshe.
  3. Li, Yunbing 李云兵 (2000). Miáoyǔ fāngyán huàfēn yíliú wèntí yánjiū苗语方言划分遗留问题研究 (in Chinese). Beijing Shi: Zhongyang minzu daxue chubanshe.
  4. Ly Van Tu, Jean-Cyrille; Vittrant, Alice (2014). Place of Mơ Piu in the Hmong Group: A Proposal. Presented at SEALS 24, Yangon, Myanmar via Academia.edu.
  5. Mortensen, David (2004). "The Development of Tone Sandhi in Western Hmongic: A New Hypothesis" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-24 via pitt.edu.
  6. Li, Yunbing 李云兵 (2018). Miao Yao yu bijiao yanjiu 苗瑶语比较研究 (A comparative study of Hmong-Mien languages). Beijing: The Commercial Press. ISBN   9787100165068. OCLC   1112270585.
  7. Wang Fushi 王辅世. 1985. Miaoyu jianzhi 苗语简志. Beijing: Minzu chubanshe 民族出版社.
  8. Sun, Hongkai 孙宏开; Ting, Pang-hsin 丁邦新, eds. (2017). Hanzangyu yuyin he cihui 汉藏语语音和词汇. Beijing: Minzu chubanshe 民族出版社. p. 40. ISBN   9787105142385.