Lisu language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lisu | ||
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Spoken in: | China, India, Myanmar, Thailand | |
Total speakers: | 723,000 | |
Language family: | Sino-Tibetan Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Burman Lolo-Burmese Loloish Northern Loloish Lisu |
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Writing system: | Fraser Alphabet (Latin Based) | |
Official status | ||
Official language of: | Weixi Lisu Autonomous County, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture (PRC) | |
Regulated by: | no official regulation | |
Language codes | ||
ISO 639-1: | -- | |
ISO 639-2: | -- | |
ISO 639-3: | lis | |
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key. |
Lisu is a Sino-Tibetan tonal language spoken in Yunnan (southwestern China), northern Burma, and Thailand and a small part of India. It is the language of the Lisu minority. Lisu has three dialects: Hua Lisu, Pai Lisu, and Lu Shi Lisu. Although they are mutually intelligible, some have many more loan words from Chinese than others.
The Lisu language is closely related to the Lahu, Akha, and Yi languages.
Contents |
[edit] Orthography
Around 1915, James O. Fraser, a christian missionary with the China Inland Mission developed a Lisu alphabet. Many Lisu Christians have since 1915 used this script so that they could read the Bible in there own language. A new alphabet based on pinyin was created for them 1957. Most Lisu still used there old alphabet though, and in 1992 it was officially recognized by the Chinese government. Since then they have encouraged Lisu people to use it.
[edit] Phonology
[edit] Vowels
[edit] Consonants
Bilabial | Alveolar | Palato-Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
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Voiceless Unaspirated | p | t ʦ | ʧ | ʨ | k | ʔ |
Voiceless Aspirated | pʰ | tʰ ʦʰ | ʧʰ | ʨʰ | kʰ | |
Voiced | b | d ʣ | ʤ | ʥ | g | |
Voiceless fricative | f | s | ʃ | ɕ | x | h |
Voiced fricative | v | z | ʒ | ʑ | ɤ | |
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ɦ | |
Approximant | w | l ɹ | j |