Mienic languages

"Yao languages" redirects here. For the Yao language of east Africa, see Yao language. For the extinct Yao language of Trinidad, see Yao language (Trinidad).
Mienic
Yao
Ethnicity: some of the Yao peoples
Geographic
distribution:		 China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, United States.
Linguistic classification:

Hmong–Mien

  • Mienic
Glottolog: mien1242[1]

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Mienic languages are in green

The Mienic or Yao languages are spoken by the Yao people of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.

Some of the Yao peoples speak Hmongic languages (Miao); these are called Bunu. A small population of Yao people in Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County (金秀瑶族自治县) in eastern Guangxi speak a Tai-Kadai language called Lakkia.

Classification

Mienic is one of the primary branches of the Hmong–Mien language family, with the other being Hmongic.

Ratliff (2010)

Martha Ratliff (2010:3) proposed the following classification:[2]

Strecker (1987)

Strecker 1987,[3] followed (with the addition of Moxi) by Matisoff 2001, proposed the following, with some of the more divergent varieties as additional languages:

Mao (2004)

Mao Zongwu (2004) classifies the following Mienic languages and dialects of China as such. Data points studied in Mao (2004) are also listed for each dialect.

The comparative vocabulary chart in Mao Zongwu (2004) consists of the following languages.

  1. Guangdian Mien (Jiangdi); autonym: mjen31
  2. Diangui Kim Mun (Liangzi); autonym: kjeːm33 mun33
  3. Dongshan Biao Min; autonym: bjau31 min31
  4. Daping Dzao Min; autonym: dzau53 min53
  5. Xiangnan Mien (Miaoziyuan); autonym: mjəŋ31
  6. Changping Mien ( = Biao Mon); autonym: bjau31 moːn31
  7. Luoxiang Mien; autonym: bjau31 mwan31
  8. Fanghai Kim Mun (Tansan); autonym: kiːm33 mun33
  9. Shikou Biao Min ( = Chao Kong Meng); autonym: mɔu31 jɔu55
  10. Niuweizhai Biao Min ( = Moxi); autonym: mɔ433 ɕi53

Aumann & Sidwell (2004)

Using Mao's (2004) new data, Aumann & Sidwell (2004) propose the following classification of the Mienic languages, based on innovations in rhotic consonants.[6] This classification presents a bipartite division of the Mienic into a subgroup consisting of Iu Mien and Biao Min, and another subgroup consisting of Kim Mun and Dzao Min. Luoxiang is grouped with Kim Mun, while Changping is grouped with Dzao Min.

Aumann & Sidwell (2004) consider the following classification by Wang & Mao to be unlikely, which is based on the voicing of voiceless sonorants, a common areal feature.

Mixed languages

Some languages may be mixed Chinese and Mienic (Yao) languages, such as:

Numerals

Numerals in Mienic Languages[8]
Language One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten
Proto-Hmong-Mien *ʔɨ *ʔu̯i *pjɔu *plei *prja *kruk *dzjuŋH *jat *N-ɟuə *gju̯əp
Iu Mien jet12 i33 pwo33 pjei33 pia33 tɕu55 sje13 ɕet12 dwo31 tsjop12
Ao Biao (Luoxiang) jit43 vi33 pu33 pje33 pla33 kwo43 ȵi11 jat32 du31 ɕep32
Biao Mon (Changping) no35 i33 pu33 plei33 pla33 kju53 ŋi22 jaːt21 du21 sjəp21
Kim Mun a33 i35 ˀpɔ35 pjei35 pja35 kjo35 ȵi42 jet55 du33 ʃap42
Biao Min i33 wəi33 pau33 pləi33 pla33 klɔ53 ni42 hjɛn42 iu31 ȶʰan42
Chao Kong Meng (Shikou) ji35 vi33 bɔu33 pli33 pla53 klɔ35 ŋi13 jæ22 tɕu55 tɕæ22
Moxi (Niuweizhai) i33 wei33 pəu33 pɣɯi33 pɤa33 kɤɔ55 ɕi31 hjɯ53 du53 tɕʰwa53
Dzao Min a44 vi42 bu42 pɛi42 pjɛ42 tɔu44 ȵi22 dzat22 ku53 sjɛp22

References

  1. ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Mienic". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
  2. ↑ Ratliff, Martha. 2010. Hmong–Mien language history. Canberra, Australia: Pacific Linguistics.
  3. ↑ Strecker, David. 1987. "The Hmong-Mien Languages." In Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, 10 , no. 2: 1-11.
  4. ↑ http://www.ynszxc.gov.cn/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=153644
  5. ↑ http://www.ynszxc.gov.cn/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=215068
  6. ↑ http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/aumann2004subgrouping.pdf
  7. ↑ Cited in Chiang (1995) We two know the script, we have become good friends, p. 28, footnote 43.
  8. ↑ http://lingweb.eva.mpg.de/numeral/Miao-Yao.htm

Further reading

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