Na language

Last updated
Na
Narua
Native to China
Region Sichuan
Ethnicity Mosuo
Native speakers
47,000 (2010) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3 nru
Glottolog yong1270

Na (or Narua, Mosuo) is a language of the Naish subbranch of the Naic group of the Sino-Tibetan languages.

Contents

Varieties

Yongning Na, which is spoken in Yongning Township, Ninglang County, Lijiang, Yunnan, China, has been documented by Jacques and Michaud (2011). [2]

Lataddi Narua is notable for having only two tonal levels. [3]

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Retroflex Alveolo-
palatal
Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal m n ( ɳ ) ɲ ( ŋ )
Stop voiceless p t ( ʈ ) k q ( ʔ )
aspirated ( ʈʰ )
voiced b d ( ɖ ) ɡ ɢ
Affricate voiceless t͡s t͡ʂ t͡ɕ
aspirated t͡sʰ t͡ʂʰ t͡ɕʰ
voiced d͡z d͡ʐ d͡ʑ
Fricative voiceless f s ʂ ɕ ( x ) h
voiced ( v ) z ʐ ʑ ɣ ( ʁ )
Lateral fricative ɬ
glide l ( ɭ )
Approximant w j

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i ɯ u
Mid ɛ ə ɤ ɔ
Open æ , æ̃ ɑ
Syllabic

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References

  1. Na at Ethnologue (24th ed., 2021) Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  2. Jacques, Guillaume, and Alexis Michaud. 2011. "Approaching the historical phonology of three highly eroded Sino-Tibetan languages." Diachronica 28:468-498.
  3. Dobbs, Roselle, and La Mingqing. 2016 "The two-level tonal system of Lataddi Narua." Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, Vol. 39:1 (2016), 67–104. doi : 10.1075/ltba.39.1.04dob
  4. Lidz, Liberty A. (2010). A Descriptive Grammar of Yongning Na (Mosuo). University of Texas at Austin.
  5. Zhenhong, Yang (2009). An overview of the Mosuo language. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area 32. pp. 1–43.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)