Social:Nisu language

From HandWiki
Short description: Loloish language cluster spoken in China
Nisu
Southern Yi
Native toChina
EthnicityYi
Native speakers
300,000 apart from Northern (2004–2007)[2]
160,000 Northern (no date)[3]
Sino-Tibetan
  • Lolo-Burmese
    • Loloish
      • Nisoish
        • Northern Loloish? Southeastern Loloish?
          • Nisu
Yi logograms
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
nsd – Southern
yiv – Northern
nos – Eastern
nsv – Southwestern (duplicate or spurious code)[1]
nsf – Northwestern
Glottolognisu1237  Nisu–Nyisu[4]

Nisu (Southern Yi) is a language cluster spoken by half a million Yi people of China . It is one of six Yi languages recognized by the government of China. The Yi script was traditionally used, though few can still read it.[2] According to Lama (2012),[5] Nisu (Nishu) autonyms include ne̠33 su55, ne̠33 su55 pʰo21, and ɲe̠33 ʂu55.

The position of Nisu within Nisoish is debated. Nisu is classified as Southeastern Loloish by Pelkey (2011),[6] but is traditionally classified as a Northern Loloish language, including by Lama (2012).[5]

Internal classification

Chen et al. (1985)

Chen et al. (1985:114)[7] recognizes three major varieties of Southern Yi (i.e., Nisu) spoken in Yunnan province: Shijian (石建; Shiping-Jianshui), Yuanjin (元金; Yuanjiang-Jinping), and Exin (峨新; Eshan-Xinping). Autonyms include na̠33 su55 and na̠33 su55 pho21 (alternatively ne̠33 su55 pho21). Chen (1985) reported a speaker population of nearly 1.6 million.

  • Shijian 石建土语: spoken in Shiping, Jianshui, Tonghai, Gejiu, Kaiyuan, Mengzi, and Hekou counties
  • Yuanjin 元金土语: spoken in Yuanyang, Jinping, Mojiang, Yuanjiang, Pu'er, Jiangcheng, and Honghe counties
  • Exin 峨新土语: spoken in Eshan, Xinping, Jiangchuan, Yuxi, Yimen, and Kunming counties

Yang (2009)

Yang (2009)[8] classifies the Nisu dialects as follows.

  • Northern Nisu
    • North-central (Shijian 石建): spoken in Shiping, Xinping, Jiangcheng, Mojiang, and Lüchun counties
    • Northwestern (Exin 峨新): spoken in Eshan and Jinning counties
  • Southern Nisu (Yuanjin 元金): spoken in Honghe, Yuanyang, Jinping, Yuanjiang, Shiping, and perhaps also Jianshui counties
  • Far Northwestern Nisu: spoken in Beidou Township (北斗彝族乡), Yongping County (descendants of Nisu soldiers who migrated to Yongping during the early Ming Dynasty; most divergent Nisu variety)[9]

The Jiangcheng, Mojiang, and Lüchun varieties were grouped by Chen (1985) to be southern varieties, but Yang (2009)[8] found that they actually belonged to the Northern Nisu group.

Other varieties

Other Nisu or Southern Yi groups with similar autonyms or language varieties are:

  • Ache 阿车: Autonym in Xinping County (population 100+ as of 1955) is nei˧su˧ pʰɯ˨˩.[10]
  • Luowu 罗武 (300+ people in Xinping County (1955); 100 households in Shuangbai County; also in Zhenyuan County): ni33 su33 pʰo33[10]
  • Achang 阿常 of Niukong 牛孔, Lüchun County[11]
  • Pulian 普连 of Qimaba 骑马坝, Daxing 大兴, and Gekui 戈奎, Lüchun County[11]
  • Alu 阿鲁 of Dashuigou 大水沟, Lüchun County[11]

A variety of Southern Nisu (autonym: ɲe33 su55 pʰo21) spoken in Aka Luoduo (阿卡洛多) village (also called Taiping village; 太平村),[12] Tianfang Village (田房村), Jiangcheng County is covered in Lu Yan (2008).[13]

In Tonghai County, Southern Yi (Nisu) is spoken by all generations only in Xiangping (象平), Bajiao (芭蕉), Sizhai (四寨), Shikan (石坎), Pingba (平坝), Shangzhuangke (上庄科), and Xiazhuangke (下庄科) villages.[14]

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar (Alveolo-)
palatal
Retroflex Velar Glottal
plain sibilant
Nasal m n ȵ ŋ
Stop/
Affricate
voiceless p t t͡s t͡ɕ t͡ʂ k ʔ
aspirated t͡sʰ t͡ɕʰ t͡ʂʰ
voiced b d d͡z d͡ʑ d͡ʐ ɡ
Fricative voiceless f s ɕ ʂ x
voiced v z ʑ ʐ ɣ
lateral ɬ
Lateral l

Vowels

Front Central Back
unrd. rnd.
Close i, ɯ, ɯ̠ u,
Mid e, (ə˞, ə˞̠) ɤ, ɤ̠ o,
Open-mid (ɛ, ɛ̠)
Open a,
  • Diphthongs /iɛ, i̠ɛ̠/ occur with alveolo-palatal consonants /t͡ɕ, t͡ɕʰ, d͡ʑ, ɕ, ʑ/ in complementary distribution, in the Laochang dialect.
  • Open-mid sounds /ɛ, ɛ̠/ only occur in the Shaochong dialect.
  • Rhotic vowels /ə˞, ə˞̠/ occur mainly in the Northwestern dialects.[15]
  • Sounds /i, i̠/ are heard as syllabic consonants [z̩, z̠̩] when following alveolar sibilants or affricates, and as syllabic retroflex [ʐ̩, ʐ̠̩] when following retroflex ones.[8]

Tones

3 tones occur as follows:

Name Pitch Symbol
Low (falling) 21 ˨˩
Mid 33 ˧
High 55 ˦

Notes

References

  • Blackburn, P. L.; Blackburn, Laura (2007), Yongping Nisu Wordlist, Dali: SIL East Asia Group 
  • Chen, Shilin 陈士林; Bian, Shiming 边仕明; Li, Xiuqing 李秀清 (1985) (in zh). Yíyǔ jiǎnzhì. Beijing: Minzu chubanshe. 
  • Lama, Ziwo Qiu-Fuyuan (2012). Subgrouping of Nisoic (Yi) Languages (Ph.D. thesis). University of Texas at Arlington. hdl:10106/11161.
  • Li, Shengfu (1996) (in zh). Yíyǔ nánbù fāngyán yánjiū. Beijing: Minzu chubanshe. 
  • Lu, Yan 陆燕 (2008). "Jiāngchéng Tiánfáng Yíyǔ jiégòu zhùcí yánjiū" (in zh). Yúnnán Mínzú Dàxué xuébào (Zhéxué shèhuì kēxué bǎn) 25 (4). 
  • Yunnan sheng Lüchun xianzhi bianzuan weiyuanhui (1992) (in zh). Lǜchūn xiànzhì. Kunming: Yunnan renmin chubanshe. 
  • Pelkey, Jamin R. (2011). Dialectology as Dialectic: Interpreting Phula Variation. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. 
  • Yang, Cathryn (2009). Nisu Dialect Geography. SIL Electronic Survey Report 2009-007. SIL International. https://www.sil.org/resources/archives/9112. 
  • Yunnan sheng minzu shiwu weiyuanhui yanjiushi (1955) (in zh). Yúnnán mínzú shìbié cānkǎo zīliào. [Kunming]: Yunnan sheng minzu shiwu weiyuanhui yanjiushi. http://www.doc88.com/p-97281176367.html. 
  • Yunnan sheng Tonghai xian shizhi gongzuo weiyuanhui (1992) (in zh). Tōnghǎi xiànzhì. Kunming: Yunnan renmin chubanshe. 
  • 雲南彝語方言詞彙彙編3