Akha language
Akha | |
---|---|
A˯ka˯daw˯ | |
Native to | Myanmar, China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam |
Ethnicity | Akha |
Native speakers | 620,000 (2007–2015)[1] |
Sino-Tibetan
| |
Dialects |
|
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | ahk |
Glottolog | akha1245 |
Akha is the language spoken by the
Western scholars group Akha, Hani and Honi into the Hani languages, treating all three as separate mutually unintelligible, but closely related, languages. The Hani languages are, in turn, classified in the Southern Loloish subgroup of Loloish. Loloish and the Mru languages are closely related and are grouped within Tibeto-Burman as the Lolo-Burmese languages.
In accordance with China's official classification of ethnic groups, which groups all speakers of Hani languages into one ethnicity, Chinese linguists consider all Hani languages, including Akha, to be dialects of a single language.
Speakers of Akha live in remote mountainous areas where it has developed into a wide-ranging dialect continuum. Dialects from villages separated by as little as ten kilometers may show marked differences. The isolated nature of Akha communities has also resulted in several villages with divergent dialects. Dialects from extreme ends of the continuum and the more divergent dialects are mutually unintelligible.[2]
Phonology
The Akha language, along with the dialect spoken in Alu village, 55 kilometers northwest of
Standard Akha has 25 or 26 consonants, and the Alu dialect has 23 or 24 consonants depending on how the syllabic nasal is analyzed. The /m̩/, realized variously as [ˀm] or [m̥], can be analyzed as a separate single consonant or as sequences of /ʔm/ and /hm/. Katsura chose the latter but listed the /m/ component of the syllabic consonant with the vowels.[2]
Labial | Alveolar | Alveolo- palatal |
Velar | Glottal | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
plain | pal. | plain | pal. | |||||
Nasal | m | mʲ | n
|
nʲ | ŋ | |||
Stop
|
tenuis | p | pʲ | t
|
k | ʔ[a] | ||
voiced | b | bʲ | d
|
ɡ | ||||
Affricate
|
tenuis | ts | tɕ | |||||
voiced | dz | dʑ | ||||||
Fricative | tenuis | s | ɕ | x | h | |||
voiced | z | ʑ | ɣ | |||||
Approximant | l
|
- ^ /ʔ/ is only heard initially within the absence of a consonant before a vowel
Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n
|
ɲ | ŋ | ||
Stop
|
tenuis | p | t
|
c | k | ʔ[a] |
aspirate | pʰ | tʰ | cʰ | kʰ | ||
voiced | b | d
|
ɟ | ɡ | ||
Fricative | tenuis | s | x | h | ||
voiced | ɣ | |||||
Approximant | l
|
j |
- ^ Akha /ʔ/ is often described as glottal "tension" rather than a true stop
Any consonant may begin a syllable, but native Akha syllables which don't end in a vowel may only end in either -m or -ɔŋ. A few loan words have been noted that end in -aŋ or -aj. In the case of a nasal coda, some vowels become nasalized. Alu Akha distinguishes ten vowel qualities, contrasting rounded and unrounded back vowels at three heights while only the mid front vowels contrast roundness.
Front | Central | Back | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
unrounded | rounded | unrounded | rounded | ||
Close | i | y | ɯ | u | |
Mid | e | ø | ə | o | |
Open | ɛ | a | ɑ | ɔ |
Front | Back | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
unrounded | rounded | unrounded | rounded | |
Close | i | ɯ | u | |
Mid | e | ø | ə | o |
Open | ɛ | a | ɔ |
Three vowels, /u/, /ɔ/ and /ɯ/, show marked nasalization when followed by a nasal consonant becoming /ũ/, /ɔ̃/ and /ɯ̃/, respectively.
High |
Mid |
Low |
There are three tones: high, mid and low. Laryngealized vowels[clarification needed] commonly occur with mid and low tone, but only rarely with high tone (mostly in loan words and personal names). There are no contour tones. Syllabic [m̩] occurs with all three plain tones and laryngealized with the two common tones.[4]
Grammar
Like many other Tibeto-Burman languages, the basic word order of Akha is agent-object-verb (SOV).[5] It is a topic-prominent language where the marking of agents are not obligatory and the noun phrase is often topicalized.[5] Also, serial verb constructions and sentence-final particles are frequently used in the sentences.[5]
The noun phrase
The basic order of the Akha noun phrase is noun-adjective-
Evidentiality and Egophoricity
Some of the Akha sentence-final particles mark evidentiality and/or egophoricity.[7][8] For instance, the particle ŋá expresses inference from what the speaker saw.[9]
In interrogative sentences, má or mɛ́ is used for confirmation; the same particles in the answer express information that the speaker knows for sure.[9]
àkhà
má
ló?
"Are you an Akha?"
àkhà
má.
"Yes, I am."
àkhà
mɛ́
ló?
"Is he an Akha?"
àkhà
mɛ́.
"Yes, he is."
Note that má appears in the second-person question and the first-person declarative while mɛ́ is used otherwise.
Varieties
Laos
The table below lists the Akha varieties surveyed in Kingsada (1999),
Dialect | Autonym | Locations | Source |
---|---|---|---|
Ko-Pala | pa˧la˧ tsʰɔ˥ja˩ | Sen Kham village, Phongsaly Province
|
Kingsada (1999) |
Ko-Oma | kɔ˧ ɔ˥ma˩ | Nana village, Phongsaly Province
|
Kingsada (1999) |
Ko-Phuso | kɔ˧ pʰɯ˥sɔ˧ | Phapung Kao village, Phongsaly Province
|
Kingsada (1999) |
Ko-Puli | a˩kʰa˩ pu˧li˩ | Culaosaen Kao village, Phongsaly Province
|
Kingsada (1999) |
Ko-Chipia | a˩kʰa˩ cɛ˩pja˩ | Sano Kao village, Phongsaly Province
|
Kingsada (1999) |
Ko-Eupa | ɯ˨˩pa˨˩ | Cabe village, Phongsaly Province
|
Shintani (2001) |
Ko-Nyaü | a˩kʰa˩ ɲa˩ɯ˥ | Huayphot village, Phongsaly Province
|
Shintani (2001) |
Ko-Luma | lu˨˩ma˨˩ | Lasamay village, Phongsaly Province
|
Shintani (2001) |
Akha Nukui | a˨˩kʰa˨˩, nu˨˩ɣø˨˩ a˨˩kʰa˨˩[clarification needed] | Kungci village, Phongsaly Province
|
Kato (2008) |
Akha Chicho | - | Ban Pasang village, Muang Sing district, Luang Namtha Province
|
Hayashi (2018)[10] |
Akha Chicho, spoken in Ban Pasang village, Muang Sing district,
Gloss | Akha Kopien/Botche |
---|---|
sun | nɤŋ˥ma˧ |
moon | ba˧la˧ |
water | u˥tɕṵ˨˩ |
fire | mi˨˩dza˨˩ |
tiger | xa˨˩la˨˩ |
buffalo | a˨˩ȵo˨˩ |
road | ga˥ko˥ |
light (adj.) | jɔ˧pʰja˧ |
crow | o̰˨˩a̰˨˩ |
duck | dʑi˧dʑi˧ |
bird | tɕḭ˧ja̰˧ |
tamarind | ma˧xa˥a˥bḛ˧ |
hot | a˨˩lo˥ |
new | a˨˩ɕḭ˨˩ |
rain | o̰˨˩ta̰˨˩ |
now | ȵa˨˩ŋ̩˥ |
what | a˨˩pa˨˩ |
one | tɤ̰˧ |
two | n̩˧ |
three | se˥ |
four | li˧ |
five | ŋa˧ |
six | ko̰˧ |
seven | ɕḭ˧ |
eight | jḛ˧ |
nine | dʑø˨˩ |
ten | tsɤ˥ |
There are 15 Akha subgroups in Phongsaly Province, with autonyms given in parentheses.[12]
- Chicho (Akha)
- Chipia (Akha)
- Eupa (Akha)
- Nukui (Akha)
- Nyaeu (Akha)
- Oma (Akha)
- Puli (Akha)
- Kofe (Boche)
- Luma (Luma, Loma)
- Muteun (Moteu)
- Kongsat (Suma)
- Muchi (Wanyeu)
- Phusang (Paza)
- Pana
- Khir
China
In Jinghong City and Menghai County, the two major Hani subgroups are Jiuwei 鸠为 and Jizuo 吉坐.[13] The Jizuo 吉坐 are the largest Hani ethnic subgroup in Jinghong.
The Jiuwei claim to have migrated from
- Mengbozhai 勐波寨, Menghan Town 勐罕寨, Jinghong City
- Agupu 阿古普 (also called Manwoke 曼窝科) in Leiwu 类吴, Mengsong Township 勐宋, Jinghong City
- Napazhai 那帕寨 in Damenglong 大勐笼, Jinghong City
- Baiya village 拜牙村 in Menghun 勐混, Menghai County (The Ake 阿克 subgroup lives in Lougu 楼固村, located in Menghun 勐混 as well.)
- Babingzhai 坝丙寨, Xidingshan 西定山, Menghai County
There are also ethnic Hani that are locally called Aini 爱尼 living in 7 villages on Nanlin Mountain 南林山 of southwestern Jinghong, namely Manbage 曼八阁, Manjinglong 曼景龙, Manjingnan 曼景囡, Mangudu 曼固独, Manbaqi 曼把奇, Manbasan 曼巴伞, and Manjingmai 曼景卖.[14]
See also
- Akha comparative vocabulary list (Wiktionary)
References
- ^ Akha at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
- ^ a b c d Katsura, M. (1973). "Phonemes of the Alu Dialect of Akha". Papers in Southeast Asian Linguistics No.3. 3 (3). Pacific Linguistics, the Australian National University: 35–54.
- ^ JSTOR 30029167.
- ^ JSTOR 30029534.
- ^ a b c d Hansson, Inga-Lill (2003). "Akha". In Graham Thurgood and Randy J. LaPolla (ed.). The Sino-Tibetan Languages. London &New York: Routledge. p. 241.
- ^ Hansson, Inga-Lill (2003). "Akha". In Graham Thurgood and Randy J. LaPolla (ed.). The Sino-Tibetan Languages. London &New York: Routledge. p. 242.
- .
- ISSN 0167-7373.
- ^ a b Hansson, Inga-Lill (2003). "Akha". In Graham Thurgood and Randy J. LaPolla (ed.). The Sino-Tibetan Languages. London &New York: Routledge. p. 248.
- ^ a b Hayashi, Norihiko. 2018. A Phonological Sketch of Akha Chicho: A Lolo-Burmese language of Luang Namtha, Laos. Proceedings of the 51st International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics (2018). Kyoto: Kyoto University.
- ^ Hayashi, Norihiko (2023). A Phonological Sketch of Akha Kopien. 56th International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, 10-12 October 2023. Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.
- ^ Kato, Takashi (2023). Linguistic varieties of Khir in Laos. 56th International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, 10-12 October 2023. Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.
- ISBN 9787105087754
- ISBN 9787105087754
Further reading
- Lewis, Paul (1968). "Akha phonology". Anthropological Linguistics. 10 (2): 8–18. JSTOR 30029167.
- Lewis, Paul (1973). "Tone in the Akha language". Anthropological Linguistics. 15 (4): 183–188. JSTOR 30029534.
- Nishida Tatsuo 西田 龍雄 (1966). アカ語の音素体系: タイ国北部における山地民アカ族の言語の記述的研究 [A Preliminary Report on the Akha Language ―A Language of a Hill Tribe in Northern Thailand]. 音声科学研究 Studia phonologica (in Japanese). 4 (1): 1–36. hdl:2433/52611.
- Word lists for language varieties of Laos
- Kingsadā, Thō̜ngphet, and Tadahiko Shintani. 1999. Basic Vocabularies of the Languages Spoken in Phongxaly, Lao P.D.R. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA).
- Shintani, Tadahiko, Ryuichi Kosaka, and Takashi Kato. 2001. Linguistic Survey of Phongxaly, Lao P.D.R. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA).
- Kato, Takashi. 2008. Linguistic Survey of Tibeto-Burman languages in Lao P.D.R. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA).
- Hayashi, Norihiko. 2016. A Phonological Sketch of Akha Buli: A Lolo-Burmese language of Muang Sing, Laos. 神戸市外国語大学外国学研究 [Kobe University of Foreign Studies, Foreign Language Studies] 92: 67–98.
- Hayashi, Norihiko. 2018. A Phonological Sketch of Akha Chicho: A Lolo-Burmese language of Luang Namtha, Laos. Proceedings of the 51st International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics (2018). Kyoto: Kyoto University.
External links
- ELAR archive of Archaic Akha language documentation materials
- Computational Resource for South Asian Languages (CoRSAL) archive collection of Akha photos, audio, and texts Akha Language Resource