Ersuic languages
Qiangic language cluster of China / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ersuic languages (Chinese: 尔苏, Ersu; also called Duoxu or Erhsu) are a Qiangic language cluster of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Ersu languages are spoken by about 20,000 people in China as reported by Sun (1982).[2] Muya (alternatively Menia or Menya) is reported to be related, but it is not known how it fits in.
Ersu | |
---|---|
Native to | China |
Native speakers | (20,000 cited 1982)[1] |
Ersu Shaba script | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | ers |
Glottolog | ersu1242 |
Ersuic speakers live in the western part of China's Sichuan province (several counties within the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, and the prefecture-level city of Ya'an).[2] Most of them are classified by the Chinese government as members of the Tibetan ethnic group,[1][2] although some also are registered as Han Chinese.[1] Older adults mostly use Ersu, but younger people also use Chinese or Yi.
The Ersu Shaba script of the shābā religious books is a pictographic system of proto-writing. The system, in which the color of the characters has an effect on the meaning, was inspired by Chinese writing and was created in the 11th century.