Naish languages

Naish
Geographic distribution	Yunnan and Sichuan
Linguistic classification	Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman Loloish or Qiangic (?) Naic Naish
Proto-language	Proto-Naish
Subdivisions	Naxi Mosuo (Na) Laze
Language codes
Glottolog	nais1236

The Naish languages are a low-level subgroup of Sino-Tibetan languages that include Naxi, Na (Mosuo), and Laze.

Classification

The Naish languages are:

• Naish
  • Naxi
  • Na (Narua, Mosuo)
  • Laze

In turn, Naish together with Namuyi and Shixing constitutes the Naic subgroup within Sino-Tibetan.

Arguments for relatedness include irregular morphotonology: tone patterns of numeral-plus-classifier phrases that constitute shared structural properties. Since these similarities are phonetically nontransparent, they cannot be due to borrowing. ^[1]

Names

Note that in Mainland China, the term "Naxi" is commonly used for the entire language group, e.g. by the influential linguistic introduction by He and Jiang (2015). ^{[2] [3]} The terms "Naish" and "Naic" are derived from the endonym Na used by speakers of several of the languages. These concepts were initially proposed by Guillaume Jacques & Alexis Michaud (2011). ^[4] Phylogenetic issues are summarized in the entry about the Naic subgroup. For a review of the literature about Naish languages, see Li (2015). ^[5]

Tentative Sino-Tibetan family tree proposed by Jacques & Michaud (2011)

Lexical innovations

Jacques & Michaud (2011) list the following words as Naish lexical innovations.

Gloss	Naxi	Na	Laze	Proto-Naish
to stumble	pe˧	khɯ.piM		*(S)pa
cloud	ki˩	tɕi˧	tɕi˩sɯ˥	*ki
village	hi˧mbe˧	fv̩.biL	ɖɯ˧bie˧	*mba
Bai people	le˧bv̩˧	ɬi.bv̩M		*Sla
noble		sɯ.phiM	sɯ˩phie˩	*si pha
medicine (2nd syllable)	ʈʂhɚ˧ɯ˧	ʈʂhæ.ɯH	tshɯ˧fi˧	*rtshi Swri

Reconstruction

Proto-Naish, the proto-language ancestral to the Naish languages, has been reconstructed by Jacques & Michaud (2011). Another reconstruction of Proto-Naish by Zihe Li is in progress; he has published articles detailing open-syllable rhymes, ^[6] laterals, ^[7] pre-initials, ^[8] and retroflex finals. ^[9]

Phoneme inventory

The Proto-Naish consonant inventory is as follows:

Proto-Naish consonants

Type		Labial	Coronal	Dorsal	Uvular
Nasals		*m	*n	*ŋ
Stops	voiceless	*p	*t	*k	*q
	voiced	*b	*d	*ɡ
	aspirated	*pʰ	*tʰ	*kʰ	*qʰ
Fricatives			*s *z *ɕ *ɕʰ
Affricates			*ts *tsʰ *tɕ *tɕʰ
Liquids and glides		*w	*r *l *l̥	*j

The Proto-Naish vowel inventory is disputed; Jacques and Michaud reconstruct seven vowels /æɑiĩoɔu/ (notated in their paper with ⟨*a *aC₁ *i *iN *o *aC₂ *u⟩ respectively). On the other hand, Li reconstructs a simple five-vowel system /aeiou/.

According to Jacques and Michaud, Proto-Naish syllables are exclusively open syllables, not counting the /ĩ/ rhyme spelled by Jacques and Michaud as *iN. This situation came about due to a total loss of all pre-Naish coda consonants without a trace; pre-Naish vowels in closed syllables have identical outcomes to their open-syllable counterparts. However, Li believes that there are enough traces of the lost consonants to reconstruct a proto-Naish with closed syllables.

Reflexes of vowels

The reflexes of vowels depend heavily on the preceding consonant. Jacques and Michaud employ the following cover symbols:

• K for velar stops
• TS for affricates and sibilants
• R for *r and clusters that result in retroflex consonants in attested Naish
• S for *r or *s

Jacques & Michaud

The vowel reflexes in Naish as charted by Jacques and Michaud are as follows.

Naish reflexes of Proto-Naish vowels (Jacques and Michaud)

Vowel	Preceding consonant(s)	Naxi	Na	Laze
*æ	K	ɑ	ɑ	ɑ
	TS	e	e	e
	*w	ɯ	i	i
	Velar + *w	ɑ	ɤ	ɤ
	R	ɯ	e	ɯ
	Elsewhere	e	i	ie
*ɑ	Everywhere	ɑ	ɑ	ɑ
*ɔ	Everywhere	o	o	u
*i	TS or R	ɯ	ɯ	ɯ
	*m	i	v̩	v̩
	*kr	ɯ	ɯ	i
	Elsewhere	i	i	i
*ĩ	Any cluster with *r; ɕ	ɚ	æ	æ
	TS	ɚ	i	i
*u	TS	ɯ	i	y
	Labial stop + *r	ɚ	v̩	v̩
	Elsewhere	v̩	v̩	v̩
*o	Everywhere	u	u	u

Li

Li, who reconstructs only a five-vowel system /aeiou/, charts the vowel reflexes as follows:

Naish reflexes of Proto-Naish vowels (Li)

Vowel	Preceding consonant(s)	Naxi	Malimasa	Na
*a	K	ɑ	ɑ	ɑ
	TS	e	ɛ	e
	(C)w but not Pw or Kw	ɯ	ɯ	i
	Velar + *w	ɑ	ɑ	ɤ
	Labial + *w	u	ɑ	o
	R	ɯ	ɤ	e
	Preglottalized R	u	ɚ	e
	*mr-	ɯ	e	i
	Elsewhere	e	ɛ	i
*e	TS	i	ie	i
	K	ɯ	ɤ	i
	Cr	ɚ	ɚ	a
	*m	i	o	v̩
*i	nj or Kj	i	i	i
	*Kr	ɯ	i	ɯ
	Elsewhere	ɯ	ɯ	ɯ
*o	Cr	ɚ	o	v̩
	P	v̩	o	v̩
	Elsewhere	u	u	o
*u	TS	ɯ	v̩	i
	*ɕ and *j	y	u	u
	*m	ɯ	v̩	v̩
	Elsewhere	v̩	v̩	v̩

Li also provides reflexes of various closed syllables he reconstructs: ^[10]

Proto-Naish closed syllable reflexes

Rhyme	Context	Naxi	Malimasa	Na
-ak	T-	ɑ	ɑ	ɑ [a]
	Kw- [b]	ɑ	ɑ	ɤ
	P-	u	ɑ	o
	r- [c]	a	a	a
-aɣ	T-	o	u	o
	Cw- [d]	ɚ	o	a
	Kr-, Cj-	ɤ	ɤ	ɤ
	Cr- [e]	wɑ	o	wa
-eɣ [f]	s-	ɚ	i	i
-oɣ	(anywhere)	o	o	o
-at	(anywhere)	ɑ	ɑ	ɑ ~ a
-al	P-	ɤ	ɑ	ɤ
	Ts-	a	wa	wa
	Retroflexes [g]	wɑ	wa	wa
-el	s-	ɯ	ɚ	ɯ
	(elsewhere)	ɤ	ɤ	ɯ
-il	(anywhere)	???	i	o
-ul	Retroflexes	ɚ	o	ɻ̩
	(elsewhere)	ɯ	o	ɯ
-ap	TS [h]	y	y	i
	(elsewhere)	o	u	o
-am	(anywhere)	a	a	a

1. Occasionally [o].
2. Corresponds to Burmese wa after velars.
3. The *r- becomes /l/ in Malimasa but is deleted in Naxi and Na.
4. The *w- was lost in Naxi and Malimasa.
5. Where C is not a velar.
6. Other members of this rhyme group reconstructed by Li have special developments. He also reconstructs this rhyme for Naxi /ʈʂɚ˥/, Malimasa /tsɯ˩˧go˩˧/, and Na /ʈʂa˧˥/ (meaning "ankle"), and for Naxi /tɕɚ˧pɚ˩/, Malimasa /ie˧ʈʂu˧/ and Na /ʁa˧ʈv˥/ (meaning "neck").
7. This reflex also appears in Naxi /wa˧/, Malimasa /wa˧/ and Na /ʁwa˧/ "left side", which Li compares to Tibetan g.yon and Burmese way.
8. Any affricate or fricative.

Reflexes of consonants

Naish features up to five series of stop corresponences: aspirated, voiceless, voiced, prenasalized voiced, and prenasalized voiceless.

Naish reflexes of Proto-Naish consonants

Class	Proto-Naish	Naxi	Na	Laze
Labial stops	pʰ	pʰ	pʰ	pʰ
	p	p	p	p
	b	b	b	b
	mb	mb	b	b
	mp	p	b	b
Coronal stops	tʰ	tʰ	tʰ	tʰ
	t	t	t	t
	d	d	d	d
	nd	nd	d	d
Velar stops	kʰ	kʰ	kʰ (before *u, *o) qʰ (before *a, *ɔ) tɕʰ (before *i)	kʰ (most places) tsʰ (before *i)
	k	k	k q (before *a) tɕ (before *i)	k q (before *a) tɕ (before *i)
	g	g	g	g
	ŋg	ŋg	g	g
	ŋk	k	ʁ	(inconsistent)
Uvular stops	qʰ	kʰ	qʰ	qʰ
	q	?	q	q
	ɴq	k	ʁ	ʁ
Sibilants	s	s	s	s
	z	z	z	z
	ɕ	ʂ	ʂ	ʂ
Affricates	tsʰ	tsʰ	tsʰ	tsʰ
	ts	ts	ts	ts
	dz	dz	dz	dz
	ndz	ndz	dz	dz
	tɕʰ	ʈʂʰ	ʈʂʰ	ʈʂʰ
	tɕ	k	tɕ	tɕ
Sonorants	l	l	l	l
	l̥	h	ɬ	ɬ
	m	m	m	m
	n	n	n	n
	ŋ	ŋ	ŋ	ŋ
	j	(lost)	ʑ	z

Reflexes of consonant clusters

Proto-Naish possessed many syllable-initial consonant clusters that were simplified in the Naish languages.

Jacques and Michaud

In the following chart, the following cover symbols are used:

• S standing for *s or *r;
• C standing for a stop.
• N standing for a nasal consonant.

Reflexes of Proto-Naish consonant clusters

Cluster type	Cluster	Naxi	Na	Laze
C1C2	Cb	b	(lost)	v
	Ck	?	h	h
	Cg	g	(lost)	?
S-initial	Sp	p	p	f
	Sb	b	b	(w)
	Smb	mb	b	v
	St	t	t	ʈ
	sk	k	k	f
	Sŋk	k	ʁ	(w)
	Sl	l	ɬ	ɬ
	SN	h	h	h
	Sw	h	h	f
Preserved Cw clusters	kʰw	kʰw	qʰw	kʰw
	ŋw	?	ŋw	ŋw
Cr clusters	pr	p	p	p
	pʰr	pʰ	pʰ	pʰ
	br	b	b	b
	kr	k	k	ts
	tr	ʈʂ	ʈʂ	ʈʂ
	gr	g	g	?
	Cŋkr	kj	ʁ	ʁ
	Cŋgr	ŋgj	ʁ	ʁ
R-initial	rl	l	ɻ	l
	rt	?	ʈ	?
	rd	nd	ɖ	ɖ
	rts	ʈʂ	ʈʂ	ts
	rtsʰ	ʈʂʰ	ʈʂʰ	tsʰ
	rs	ʂ	ʂ	s
Miscellaneous	Cdz	dz	z	z

Li

Li's own analysis of consonant clusters is as follows. He reconstructs two types of pre-initial: homorganic nasal pre-initials, and a non-homorganic pre-initial *C₁ (C in the below table).

Proto-Naish consonant clusters (Li)

Class	Cluster	Naxi			Malimasa	Na
		Lijiang	Baoshan	Bowan		Ninglang	Yongning
C-initial	Cp	p	p	p	x	χ	p
	Cb	b	b	b	w	ʁ	b
	Cmb	b	b	mb	w	ʁ	b
	Cd	d	d	d	l	(lost)	d
	Cl	x			x		ɬ
	Cdz	dʑ	dʑ	dz	tɕʰ	tɕʰ	dʑ
	Ck	k	k	k	(ɣ)	ʁ	ʁ
	Cg	k	k	g	(lost)	(lost)	ʁ
	Cng	g	ŋg	ŋg	(lost)	ʁ	ʁ
	Cq	k	q	k	ɣ	ʁ	ʁ
NC-	mb	b	mb	mb	(m)b	b	b
	nd	d	nd	nd	(n)d	d	d
	nl̥	l	l	l	x	ɬ	ɬ
	ŋg	g	ŋg	ŋg	(ŋ)g	g	g
	ndz	dz	ndz	ndz	(n)dz	dz	dz
r-medial	pr	p	p	p	p or tʂ	p	p
	pʰr	pʰ	pʰ	pʰ	pʰ or tʂʰ	pʰ or tʂʰ	pʰ
	br	b	b	b	b	b	b
	mbr	b	mb	mb	b	b	b
	tr	t	t	t	tʂ	tʂ	t
	tʰr	tʰ	tʰ	tʰ	ʂ	ʂ	ʈ
	ndr	d	nɖ	nɖ	ɖ	ɖ	dʐ
	nr	n	ɳ	n	ɳ	ɳ	ɳ
	tsr	tʂ	tʂ	tʂ	ts	ts	tʂ
	tsʰr	tʂʰ	tʂʰ	tʂʰ	tsʰ	tsʰ	tʂʰ
	sr	ʂ	ʂ	ʂ	s	s	ʂ
	kr	k or tɕ	k or tɕ	k or c	tɕ or tʂ or k	tɕ or k	k
	kʰr	kʰ	kʰ	kʰ	tɕʰ	tɕʰ	kʰ
	gr	g	g	g	dʐ	dʐ	g
	ŋgr	g	ŋg	ŋg	dʐ	dʐ	g
	xr	x	x	h	ʂ	ʂ	x
Misc.	lj	l			ɭ/ʐ		l/ʐ

See also

• List of Proto-Naish reconstructions (Wiktionary)

References

1. Michaud, Alexis (2011). "The tones of numerals and numeral-plus-classifier phrases: on structural similarities between Naxi, Na and Laze". Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 34: 1–26 – via Hyper Articles en Ligne.
2. He Jiren 和即仁 & Jiang Zhuyi 姜竹仪. 1985. Naxiyu Jianzhi 纳西语简志 (A Brief Description of the Naxi Language). Beijing 北京: Minzu Chubanshe 民族出版社.
3. Michaud, Alexis, He Limin & Zhong Yaoping. 2015. "Naxi / Naish." In Rint Sybesma, Wolfgang Behr, Zev Handel & C.T. James Huang (eds.), Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics. Leiden: Brill.
4. Jacques, Guillaume, and Alexis Michaud. 2011. "Approaching the historical phonology of three highly eroded Sino-Tibetan languages: Naxi, Na and Laze." Diachronica 28:468-498.
5. Li Zihe 李子鹤. 2015. 纳西语言研究回顾——兼论语言在文化研究中的基础地位 (A review of Naxi language studies, with a discussion of the fundamental role of cultural studies for linguistic research). 茶马古道研究期刊 4. 125–131.
6. Li, Zihe (2024). "Probing the Evolution History of Naish Languages with Reference to Tibetan, Burmese and Rgyalrong: The Open-Syllable Rhymes". Journal of Chinese Linguistics. doi:10.1353/jcl.2017.a942140. ISSN   2411-3484.
7. Li, Zihe (2024). "The origin and evolution of laterals in Proto-Naish". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 87 (1): 169–187. doi:10.1017/S0041977X22000775. ISSN   0041-977X.
8. Li, Zihe (2020). "原始納西語前冠音的來源與演變" [The Origin and Evolution of Pre-initials of Proto-Naish](PDF). Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics. 12 (2): 201–228. doi: 10.1163/2405478X-01202003 . ISSN   1933-6985 . Retrieved March 6, 2025.
9. Li, Zihe (2014). "THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF RETROFLEX FINALS IN NAISH LANGUAGES". Journal of Chinese Linguistics. 42 (2): 309–329.
10. Li, Zihe (2022). "A Naish Historical Phonology: The Rhyme System".