The Miao is an ethnic group belonging to South China, and is recognized by the government of China as one of the 55 official minority groups. Miao is a Chinese term and does not reflect the self-designations of the component groups of people, which include Hmong, Hmub, Xong (Qo-Xiong), and A-Hmao.
The Hmu language, also known as Qiandong Miao, Central Miao, 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, China.
Southwestern Mandarin, also known as Upper Yangtze Mandarin, is a primary branch of Mandarin Chinese spoken in much of central and southwestern China, including in Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guizhou, most parts of Hubei, the northwestern part of Hunan, the northern part of Guangxi, and some southern parts of Shaanxi and Gansu. Some forms of Southwest Mandarin are not entirely mutually intelligible with Standard Chinese or other forms of Mandarin.
The Hmongic also known as Miao languages include the various languages spoken by the Miao people, Pa-Hng, and the "Bunu" languages used by non-Mien-speaking Yao people.
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 羊/阳风乡, 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.
Bu-Nao, or Bunu proper, is a Hmongic (Miao) dialect cluster spoken in Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou in China. Its speakers are among the Bunu : ethnic Yao (Mien) speakers of Miao languages.
The Mienic or Yao languages are spoken by the Yao people of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.
Nasu, or Nasu proper, is a Loloish language spoken by a quarter million Yi people of China. Nasu proper and Wusa Nasu are two of six Yi languages recognized by the government of China. Unlike most written Yi languages, Nasu proper uses the Pollard (Miao) script. A distinct form of the Yi script was traditionally used for Wusa, though few can still read it.
Standard Zhuang is the official standardized form of the Zhuang languages, which are a branch of the Northern Tai languages. Its pronunciation is based on that of the Yongbei Zhuang dialect of Shuangqiao, Guangxi in Wuming District, Guangxi with some influence from Fuliang, also in Wuming District, while its vocabulary is based mainly on northern dialects. The official standard covers both spoken and written Zhuang. It is the national standard of the Zhuang languages, though in Yunnan a local standard is used.
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 重安江苗语, is a Miao 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, is the major branch of the Hmongic languages of China and Southeast Asia.
Guiyang Miao, also known as Guiyang Hmong, is a Miao language of China. It is named after Guiyang County, Guizhou, though not all varieties are spoken there. The endonym is Hmong, a name it shares with the Hmong language.
Mang, or Mashan Miao also known as Mashan Hmong, is a Miao language of 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.
Raojia is a Hmongic language spoken by about 5,000 people in 3 villages of Heba Township 河坝乡, Majiang County, Guizhou.
Nuoxi Yao, or Nuoxihua 那溪话, is a Kam–Sui language of Nuoxi Township 那溪瑶族乡, Dongkou County, Hunan Province, China. Even though they are classified as ethnic Yao people by the Chinese government, the Nuoxi Yao speak a Kam–Sui language closely related to Dong. Shi (2015:132) considers Nuoxi Yao to have split off from Dong about 600 years.
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.
