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Language family of China and Southeast Asia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mienic or Yao languages are spoken by the Yao people of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.
| Mienic | |
|---|---|
| Yao | |
| Geographic distribution | China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, United States |
| Ethnicity | some of the Yao peoples |
| Linguistic classification | Hmong–Mien
|
| Proto-language | Proto-Mienic |
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | mien1242 |
Mienic languages:
Iu Mien & Kim Mun
Biao Min
Dzao Min
Not shown: Biao Mon | |
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. Other Yao peoples speak various Sinitic (Chinese) language varieties.
Mienic is one of the primary branches of the Hmong–Mien language family, with the other being Hmongic.
Martha Ratliff (2010:3) proposed the following classification:[1]
Strecker 1987,[2] followed (with the addition of Moxi) by Matisoff 2001, proposed the following, with some of the more divergent varieties as additional languages:
Luang-Thongkum (1993:170)[3] proposes the following classification for Mjuenic, a proposed branch consisting of the Mien, Mun, and Muen (Biao Mon) languages. The classifications of Biao Min and Dzao Min are not addressed.
Mao Zongwu (2004) classifies the Mienic languages varieties of China as follows. Data points studied in Mao (2004) are also listed for each dialect.
A Mienic lect called bjau2 mwan2 ("Biao Man 标曼"), related to Mien of Changping and Luoxiang, is spoken in Liuchong 六冲, Qiaoting Township 桥亭乡, Pingle County 平乐县, Guangxi (Tang 1994); another "Biao Man 标曼" dialect is spoken in Dongpingdong 东坪洞 (Tang 1994).[7] There are about 10,000 speakers in Mengshan, Lipu, Pingle, and Zhaoping counties.
The comparative vocabulary chart in Mao Zongwu (2004) consists of the following languages.
Using Mao's (2004) new data, Aumann & Sidwell (2004) propose the following classification of the Mienic languages, based on innovations in rhotic consonants.[8] 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.
Yoshihisa Taguchi's (2012) computational phylogenetic study classifies the Mienic languages as follows.[9]
Hsiu's (2018)[10] computational phylogenetic study classifies the Mienic languages as follows.
Hsiu (2018) considers Changping Mien to have been influenced by Kim Mun lects due to geographical proximity, although it retains many unique forms that indicate it should belong in its own branch.
Hsiu (2023) announced the discovery of the previously undocumented Yangchun Pai Yao, likely a sister branch to Dzao Min, or possibly belonging to its own branch outright.[11]
Some languages may be mixed Chinese and Mienic (Yao) languages, such as:
| 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 |
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