Northern Va language

Northern Va
Pronunciation[vaʔ˥˩]
Native toChina
RegionJingxing Township, Mojiang Hani Autonomous County, Yunnan
Native speakers
<2,000[1] (2014)
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
GlottologNone

Northern Va (Va pronunciation: [tou˥˩wo˨˩vaʔ˥˩] "Va language") is an Austroasiatic language spoken in Yunnan, China. It is classified as an Angkuic language, belongs to the Palaungic branch by Hsiu (2017).[1] No ISO code has been designated for Va.[2]

The relationship between two Va varieties is unclear, as Northern Va informant stated that they cannot understand Southern Va very well, but the Southern Va informant can understand Northern Va perfectly. Southern Va is more conservative compared to Northern Va in sesquisyllabic word structure.[1]

This language was first researched by Simao Prefecture Ethnic Minority Affairs Bureau in 1990.[3]

Sociolinguistics

Northern Va is spoken in a remote pocket deep inside Yunnan, with no other Austroasiatic languages are in sight within a 100 kilometers radius. Its speakers are officially recognized as ethnic Blangs, despite they speak an Angkuic language. The language is used in daily life by all generations, including children.[1]

Northern Va is spoken in about eight villages of Taihe Village 太和村, Jingxing Township 景星乡, Mojiang County, Yunnan.

  • Wamo 挖墨[4] (currently with vigorous language use[5])
  • Xinzhai 新寨 (Upper 上 and Lower 下 hamlets)
  • Jiuzhai 旧寨
  • Dazhai 大寨 (Upper 上 and Lower 下 hamlets)
  • Xiaozhai 小寨 (Upper 上 and Lower 下 hamlets)

Va speakers are surrounded by mostly Kaduo speakers, a Southern Loloish language. However, trace of Tai superstrate is significant, evident in most of Va numbers other than 1-3 have been replaced by Tai loans, even though Tai speakers are a minority in the region.[1]

Phonology

Word structure

Northern Va is less archaic in comparison to Southern Va in term of preserving the canonical Austroasiatic word shape C(C)VC. Monosyllables tend to dominate the lexicon, though presyllabic clusters /kl-, kʰl-, pl-, pʰl-, pʰj-/ may appears in some lexemes. The maximal structure in Northern Va is C1(C2)V(V)(N/Cf)T.[6]

Suprasegmentals (tones)

There are four tones in Va. Note that when high-falling tone /51/ is followed by a mid-level /33/ or low-falling tone /21/, there is a contour transition during the phonetic coarticulation which may result as [452] or [451].[6]

Pitch value Contour Example
21 low-falling tsa² "cook"
33 mid-level ʂɨ³³ "rope, string"
35 mid-rising fai⁵¹veiʔ³⁵ "left side"
51 high-falling dʑɯa⁵¹ "know"

Consonants

No phonemes listed below have been found to exist only as allophones in all environments.[7] /ɲ̥/ is apparently rare, as there is only one example: ɲ̥a⁵¹ 'to laugh'.[8]

Onsets

Northern Va initial consonants[9]
Labial Alveolar Retroflex (Alveolo-)
Palatal
Velar Glottal
central sibilant
Plosive plain p t t͡s t͡ɕ k ʔ
aspirated t͡sʰ t͡ɕʰ
voiced d͡ʑ
Fricative voiceless f ɬ s ʂ ɕ x h
voiced v ʑ ɣ
Nasal voiceless ȵ̥ ŋ̥
voiced m n ȵ ŋ
Approximant w l

Codas

Northern Va codas[9]
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive p t k ʔ
Nasal m n ŋ
Glide

Vowels

Northern Va monophthongs[10]
  Front Central Back
High i ĩ ɨ ɨ̃ ɯ ɯ̃ u ũ
Mid-high e ɤ ɤ̃ o õ
Low a ã
  • /a/ has an allophone of [ɑ].
  • /ɤ/ has an allophone of [ə]. [ɤ] may have a front quality.
  • Six diphthongs /ɯa ui ei ɤi ie ou/ all can be nasalized.[6]

Lexicon

Pronouns

singular plural
1st person ʔo³³ ʔei³³
2nd person mi³³ pʰei³³
3rd person tʰa³³ kei⁵¹

Numerals

Note: loan words are not displayed.

Gloss Northern Va Proto-Eastern Angkuic proto-Palaungic
1 tiʔ³³ (hand) *moːh
2 kɑ⁵¹ *ləʔaːr
3 kui⁵¹ **kuej *ləʔɔːj
4 (Tai loan) *poːn
5 *pəsan
6 *tɔːl
7 *təpuːl
8 *taːʔ
9 *tiːm
10 *kɤːl
100 tiʔ³³pɑk⁵¹ *prjah
1000 tiʔ³³ɕin⁵¹ *sreːŋ

Flora & colors

Gloss Northern Va proto-Palaungic
black laŋ⁵¹ploŋ⁵¹ *jam, *laŋ
bamboo ŋum³³xɤŋ⁵¹ *hrəŋ
flower ɣaŋ⁵¹ *raːŋ
fruit pʰli²¹vei³³ *pleeʔ
green/blue vei²¹ŋ̥ia³³ **sŋaal; *ɲ(ɛ/iə)r
leaf ɬa²¹siʔ³³ *hlaʔ
red ve³³ŋam⁵¹ *rooŋ
rice tree ŋ̥ou³³ *sŋɔːʔ
millet sɨ²¹sɨ³³ *skɔɔj
yellow ve²¹ɬɯ̃⁵¹ *rmiit

Fauna

Gloss Northern Va proto-Palaungic
buffalo kʰɯaʔ⁵¹ *traːk
bear kʰɯa⁵¹ *kreːs
bee sie⁵¹ *psiər
bird sɨm³³ *ciːm
dog so³³ *cɔːʔ
goose haŋ⁵¹ *haan
fowl ʔie⁵¹ *ʔiɛr
horse pɯaŋ⁵¹ *mraŋ
louse tɕʰiŋ²¹ʂɨ³³ *ciːʔ
pig lik⁵¹ *-leːk
tiger vai²¹ *rwaaj

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Hsiu 2017a, p. 3.
  2. ^ Hsiu 2017a, p. 1.
  3. ^ Sidwell 2015, p. 9.
  4. ^ "Mòjiāng Hānízú Zìzhìxiàn Jǐngxīng Xiāng Tàihé Cūnwěihuì Wāmò Zìráncūn" 墨江哈尼族自治县景星乡太和村委会挖墨自然村 [Wamo Natural Village, Taihe Village Committee, Jingxing Township, Mojiang Hani Autonomous County]. ynszxc.net (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  5. ^ Guo, Shihai; Li, Yongqiu. "云南挖么布朗语完好保存的原因及可持续保护探析 Good Preservation Reasons and Sustainable Development Suggestions for the Blang Language in Wamo Village, Yun Province". Journal of Chongqing College of Electronic Engineering (in Chinese) (2): 78–81. Retrieved 2023-03-21.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ a b c Hsiu 2015, p. 8.
  7. ^ Hsiu 2015, p. 5.
  8. ^ Hsiu 2015, p. 6.
  9. ^ a b Hsiu 2015.
  10. ^ Hsiu 2015, p. 7.
  • Hsiu, Andrew (2015). "A preliminary phonological sketch of Va, an Angkuic language". doi:10.5281/zenodo.1249184.
  • Hsiu, Andrew (2017a). "The Angkuic languages: a preliminary survey [Dataset]. Zenodo. 6th International Conference on Austroasiatic Linguistics (ICAAL 6), Siem Reap, Cambodia". Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society. University of Hawai'i Press. doi:10.5281/zenodo.1127808.
  • Sidwell, Paul (2015). The Palaungic Languages: Classification, Reconstruction and Comparative Lexicon. München: Lincom Europa.
  • Nanjian County Gazetteer Commission [南涧县志编纂委员会编] (ed). 1993. Nanjian County Gazetteer [南涧彝族自治县志]. Chengdu: Sichuan Reference Press [四川辞书出版社].
  • Na Ruzhen [納汝珍], et al. (eds). 1994. Zhenkang County Ethnic Gazetteer [镇康县民族志]. Kunming: Yunnan People's Press [云南民族出版社].
  • Simao Prefecture Ethnic Minority Affairs Bureau [思茅行暑民族事务委员会] (ed). 1990. A study of the Bulang people [布朗族研究]. m.s.
  • Simao Prefecture Ethnic Minority Affairs Bureau [思茅行暑民族事务委员会] (ed). 1991. A study of the Bulang people [布朗族研究]. Kunming: Yunnan People's Press [云南人民出版社]. ISBN 7222008039
  • Xiao Dehua [萧德虎], et al. (eds). 1992. Zhenkang County Gazetteer [镇康县志]. 1992. Chengdu: Sichuan People's Press [四川民族出版社].
  • Yunnan Gazetteer Commission [云南省地方志编纂委员会] (ed). 1998. Yunnan Provincial Gazetteer, Vol. 59: Minority Languages Orthographies Gazetteer [云南省志. 卷五十九, 少数民族语言文字志]. Kunming: Yunnan People's Press [云南人民出版社].
  • Tao Yuming [陶玉明]. 2012. The Bulang people of China [中国布朗族]. Yinchuan: Ningxia People's Press [宁夏人民出版社].

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