| Pakanic | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | southern China |
| Linguistic classification | Austroasiatic
|
| Proto-language | Proto-Pakanic |
| Subdivisions | |
| Glottolog | boly1240 |
The Pakanic languages constitute a branch of two Austroasiatic languages, Bolyu and Bugan. They are spoken in Guangxi and Yunnan provinces of southern China. Mang was formerly included, but is now considered by Paul Sidwell to form its own separate branch within Austroasiatic. [1]
Jenny & Sidwell (2015) consider Pakanic to be an independent branch of Austroasiatic. [2]
Various classifications had previously been proposed for individual Pakanic languages. In 1990, Paul K. Benedict argued that Bolyu constitutes a separate Mon-Khmer branch. Edmondson & Gregerson (1996) [3] listed many phonological and lexical similarities shared by Bolyu and Vietic languages. However, Gérard Diffloth later suggested that Pakanic (i.e., Bolyu and Bugan) shares an affinity with Palaungic languages and was part of a wider Northern Mon-Khmer group.
Mangic, a proposed language grouping that includes Mang as a sister to Pakanic within a unified subgroup of Austroasiatic, is recognized by Ilia Peiros (2004) and Sidwell's earlier classifications. Nguyen Van Loi also classified Mang within the Samtau group of Waic with Palaungic, although he later classified Mang as a sister of Waic (Sidwell 2009:133).
Proto-Pakanic, the proto-language ancestral to Bolyu and Bugan but not Mang, was reconstructed by Andrew Hsiu (2016). [4] Hsiu (2017), [5] citing Li Xulian (1999), notes that Pakanic languages were formerly spoken further up north in Guizhou and were in close contact with Gelao. Hsiu (2017) also notes that Pakanic languages display loanword influence from Kra languages, and have also influenced Kra languages.
The Kam–Tai languages, also called Dong–Tai or Zhuang–Dong in China, are a proposed primary branch of the Kra–Dai language family. The Kam–Tai grouping is primarily used in China, including by the linguists Liang & Zhang (1996).
Bugan, Bogan, Pakan, or Bugeng is an Austroasiatic language. The existence of the Bugan language was not known by the rest of world until recently. There are about 3000 speakers, mostly in some villages in southern Guangnan (广南) and northern Xichou (西畴), Yunnan Province, China. Bugan is an analytic language, and word order and auxiliary words have important functions in the grammar.
The Kam–Sui languages are a branch of the Kra–Dai languages spoken by the Kam–Sui peoples. They are spoken mainly in eastern Guizhou, western Hunan, and northern Guangxi in southern China. Small pockets of Kam–Sui speakers are also found in northern Vietnam and Laos.
Bit is an Austroasiatic language spoken by around 2,000 people in Phongsaly Province, northern Laos and in Mengla County, Yunnan, China.
Jiamao is a Kra-Dai language or possible language isolate spoken in southern Hainan, China. Jiamao speakers' autonym is 1.
The Hlai languages are a primary branch of the Kra–Dai language family spoken in the mountains of central and south-central Hainan in China by the Hlai people, not to be confused with the colloquial name for the Leizhou branch of Min Chinese. They include Cun, whose speakers are ethnically distinct. A quarter of Hlai speakers are monolingual. None of the Hlai languages had a writing system until the 1950s, when the Latin script was adopted for Ha.
Man Met, or Kemie, is a poorly classified Austroasiatic language spoken by about 1,000 people in Jinghong County, Xishuangbanna, China. It is classified as an Angkuic language by Paul Sidwell (2010). It may be or Mangic according to Li Yunbing (2005), or Palaungic. Like most other Austroasiatic languages, Kemie has subject–verb–object (SVO) word order.
The U language or P'uman, is spoken by 40,000 people in the Yunnan Province of China and possibly Myanmar. It is classified as an Austroasiatic language in the Palaungic branch. In China, U speakers are classified as ethnic Bulang.
Proto-Austroasiatic is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austroasiatic languages. Proto-Mon–Khmer has been reconstructed in Harry L. Shorto's Mon–Khmer Comparative Dictionary, while a new Proto-Austroasiatic reconstruction is currently being undertaken by Paul Sidwell.
Laha is a Kra language spoken by approximately 1,400 people out of a total population of 5,686 Laha. It is spoken in Lào Cai and Sơn La provinces, Vietnam. Laha dialects had been documented in 1986 by Russian linguists and in 1996 by American linguist Jerold A. Edmondson. Many Laha can also converse in the Khmu language, and Laha-speaking areas also have significant Black Thai, Kháng, Ksongmul, and Hmong populations.
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 are officially classified as Bouyei by the Chinese government.
The Bolyu language is an Austroasiatic language of the Pakanic branch. The Bolyu are among the unrecognized ethnic groups of China.
Li Jinfang is a Chinese linguist at Minzu University in Beijing, China. Li, an ethnic Zhuang, is a leading specialist in the Kra-Dai languages of southern China, especially the Kra (Geyang) branch. Li's doctoral dissertation focused on the Buyang language, and was published as Studies on the Buyang Language in 1999.
Hu, also Angku or Kon Keu, is a Palaungic language of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, China. Its speakers are an unclassified ethnic minority; the Chinese government counts the Angku as members of the Bulang nationality, but the Angku language is not intelligible with Bulang.
Kháng, also known as Mang U’, is an Austroasiatic language of Vietnam. It is closely related to the Bumang language of southern Yunnan, China.
Kuan, is a poorly classified Austroasiatic language spoken by about 1,000 people in Jinghong County, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China. Li (2005) proposes that it is a Mangic language. Other possible affiliations include Palaungic and Khmuic.
Kucong, or Lahlu, is a Loloish language of Yunnan and Vietnam. In Vietnam, the speakers' autonym is, and are also known as the La Hủ Na 'Black Lahu'. It is very closely related to Lahu.
Bumang is a tonal Austroasiatic language of Yunnan, China. It is spoken by about 200 people in Manzhang (曼仗), Mengla District (勐拉地区), Jinping County, Honghe Prefecture. The existence of Bumang was only recently documented by Chinese linguist Dao Jie in the mid-2000s. It is closely related to Kháng.
Laze, rendered in Chinese as Lare (拉热) and Shuitianhua (水田话), is a language of the Naish subbranch of the Naic group of languages, spoken in Muli County, western Sichuan, China.
Jizhao is an unclassified Kra-Dai language spoken in Jizhao Village 吉兆村, Tanba Town 覃巴镇, Wuchuan, Guangdong. It may be most closely related to Be. In Wuchuan, Jizhao is locally referred to as Haihua 海话, which is the term used elsewhere in Leizhou 雷州, Xuwen 徐闻, and Maoming 茂名 to refer to the local Minnan Chinese dialect of Leizhou. The speakers are being subsumed under "Han Chinese" nationality in census.