Phowa language

Phowa
Phowa
Puwa
Native to	China
Native speakers	Hlepho: 36,000 (2011); Labo: 17,000 (2011); Ani: 10,000 (2011)
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Lolo-Burmese Loloish Southeastern Highland Phula Phowa; ; ; ; ;
Dialects	Ani–Labo; Hlepho–Phukha ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously:; yhl – Hlepho Phowa; ypb – Labo Phowa; ypn – Ani Phowa
Glottolog	phow1235

Last updated January 02, 2026

Phowa is a dialect cluster of Loloish languages spoken by the Phula people of China. There are three principal varieties, Hlepho, Ani, and Labo, which may be considered distinct languages. Hlepho may be closer to Phukha than it is to Labo and Ani. Usage is decreasing, with about two-thirds of Phowa speaking their language.

The representative Hlepho Phowa dialect studied in Pelkey (2011) is that of Feizuke 菲租克, Xinhua Township 新华乡, Pingbian County.

References

1 2 3 Hlepho Phowa at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
Labo Phowa at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
Ani Phowa at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)

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[e25-1] 1 2 3 Hlepho Phowa at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
Labo Phowa at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
Ani Phowa at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)

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