Xibe language

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Xibe [ɕivə]^[1]
Spoken in:	China
Region:	Xinjiang
Total speakers:	30,000
Language family:	Altaic^[2] (disputed) Tungusic Southern Southwestern Xibe
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	none
ISO 639-2:	`sjo`
ISO 639-3:	`sjo`
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key.

The Xibe language (also Sibo language, Xibo language) is a language of the Tungusic family spoken by members of the Xibe ethnic group in Xinjiang. It is intercomprehensible with the closely-related Manchu language;^[3] however, unlike Manchu, Xibe language is reported to have eight vowel distinctions as opposed to the six found in Manchu, differences in morphology, and a more complex system of vowel harmony. The general vocabulary and structure of Xibe has not been affected as much by the influence of Chinese as Manchu has been. However, there are a number of Chinese loanwords, and a large body of sociological terminology, such as gəming (revolution) and gungshə (commune), have been borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the everyday vocabulary of the language. They use the Xibe script, a slightly revised version of the Manchu script.^[4]

Xibe is taught as a second language by the Yili Teachers' College in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of northern Xinjiang.^[5]

1 Notes
2 References
3 Further reading
4 External links

[edit] Notes

^ Li 1986: 1
^ Gordon, 2005 (Altaic)
^ Gordon 2005: Xibe
^ Ramsey 1989: 215-216
^ YLTC 2006: [1]

[edit] References

Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
Li, Shulan (1984). 锡伯语口语研究 (Research into Xibo oral language). Beijing, China: Nationalities Publishing House.
Li, Shulan (1986). 锡伯语简志 (Outline of the Xibo language). Beijing, China: Nationalities Publishing House.
Ramsey, S. Robert (1989). The Languages of China. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
伊犁师范学院中语系. Yili Teachers' College Department of Chinese Languages (2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-26.

[edit] Further reading

Kida Akiyoshi (2000). "A typological and Comparative study of Altaic languages with emphasis on XIBO Language: The part of XIBO Grammar".
Jin, Ning (1994). "Phonological correspondences between literary Manchu and spoken Sibe".
Tong Zhongming (2005). "俄国著名学者B·B·拉德洛夫用锡伯语复述记录的民间故事 (The Folktales Retold and Recorded in Xibo Language by the Famous Russian Scholar B.B. Radloff)". Studies of Ethnic Literature (3): 60-63.

[edit] External links

SibeCulture.com: Xibe-English-Chinese phrases

v • d • e

Altaic languages

Turkic languages • Mongolic languages • Tungusic languages • Buyeo languages*
Notes: *A hypothetic language family that includes Korean and the Japonic languages.