Pa-Hng language

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Pa-Hng
Pateng
Pronunciation[pa31 ŋ̊ŋ35]
Native toChina, Vietnam
Native speakers
(34,000 cited 1995–2009)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3pha
Glottologpahn1237
Pa-Hng is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Pa-Hng (also spelled Pa-Hung; 巴哼语 Bāhēng yǔ) is a divergent Hmongic (Miao) language spoken in Guizhou, Guangxi, and Hunan in southern China as well as northern Vietnam.

Classification

Pa-Hng has long been recognized as divergent. Benedict (1986) argued that one of its dialects constituted a separate branch of the Miao–Yao family. Ratliff found it to be the most divergent Hmongic (Miao) language that she analyzed.[2] This Bahengic branch also includes Younuo (Yuno) and Wunai (Hm Nai).[3]

Names

Pa-Hng speakers are called by the following names:[3]

  • pa31 ŋ̥ŋ35 (巴哼)
  • m̥m35 nai33 (唔奈)
  • Red Yao (红瑶)
  • Flowery Yao (花瑶)
  • Eight Surname Yao (八姓瑶)

In Liping County, Guizhou, the Dong people call the Pa-Hng ka31 jiu33 (嘎优), while the Miao people call them ta55 tia52 ju33 (大达优).[4] In Tongdao County, Hunan, the Pa-Hng (xeŋ33) are also known as the Seven Surname Yao 七姓瑶, since they have the seven surnames of Shen 沈, Lan 兰, Dai 戴, Deng 邓, Ding 丁, Pu 蒲, and Feng 奉.[5]

In China, Pa-Hng speakers are classified as Yao, even though their language is Hmongic rather than Mienic.

Varieties

Mao & Li (1997) splits Pa-Hng into the following subdivisions, and most closely related to Hm Nai:

  • Pa-Hng proper (巴哼 pa31 ŋ̥ŋ35)
    • Northern
    • Southern
  • Hm Nai (唔奈 m̥m35 nai33)

Vocabulary word lists for these three Pa-Hng varieties can be found in Mao & Li (1997). An additional dialect is found in Vietnam.

  • Northern Pa-Hng: Gundong 滚董, Liping County 黎平, Guizhou
  • Southern Pa-Hng: Wenjie 文界,
    Sanjiang County
    三江, Guangxi
  • Hm Nai: Huxingshan 虎形山, Longhui County 隆回, Hunan

The Na-e dialect (also known by the Vietnamese rendition of Pa-Hng, Pà Then [Pateng]), is a geographic outlier. Paul Benedict (1986) argued that it is not actually Pa-Hng, or even Hmongic, but a separate branch of the

Miao–Yao language family.[6] However, Strecker (1987) responded that it does appear to be a Pa-Hng dialect, though it has some peculiarities, and that Pa-Hng as a whole is divergent.[7]

Distribution

China

Pa-Hng speakers are distributed in the following counties in China. Most of the counties have 1,000 - 6,000 Pa-Hng speakers (Mao & Li 1997).

  • Hunan
  • Guizhou
  • Guangxi
    • Rongshui County
      (12,000+ speakers)
      • Northern Pa-Hng: Dalang 大浪乡, Danian 大年乡, Antai 安太乡, Dongtou 洞头乡, Gunbei 滚贝乡, Wangdong 汪洞乡, Gandong 杆洞乡; Huaibao 怀宝镇[9]
      • Southern Pa-Hng: Baiyun 白云乡, Dalang 大浪乡, Anchui 安陲乡, Xiangfen 香粉乡
    • Sanjiang County
      • Northern Pa-Hng: Tongle 同乐乡, Laobao 老堡乡
      • Southern Pa-Hng: Wenjie 文界乡, Liangkou 良口乡
    • Longsheng County
      • Southern Pa-Hng: Sanmen 三门乡, Pingdeng 平等乡
    • Lingui County
    • (13 other counties)

Vietnam

Pa-Hng is also spoken in small pockets of northern Vietnam. In Vietnam, the Pa-Hng are an officially recognized ethnic group numbering around a few thousand people, where they are called Pà Thẻn. Na-e as reported by Bonifacy (1905) is also found in northern Vietnam.

According to Vu,

Thái Nguyên
area. The Pà Thẻn then split off to settle in three main areas.

  • Linh Phú (
    Yên Sơn District
    , Tuyên Quang)
  • Lăng Can (
    Bắc Quang District
    , Hà Giang)
  • From Xuân Minh (
    Bắc Quang District
    , Hà Giang).

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar (Alveolo-)
palatal
Velar Uvular Glottal
plain pal. plain pal. plain lab. plain lab.
Nasal voiced m
n
ȵ
ŋ
voiceless
m̥ʲ
ȵ̊
ŋ̊
breathy mʲʱ ȵʱ ŋʱ
Affricate
voiceless p
t
k q ʔ
aspirated pʲʰ tɕʰ kʷʰ qʷʰ
breathy pʲʱ tɕʱ kʷʱ
prenasal ᵐp ᵐpʲ ⁿt ᶮtɕ ᵑk ᶰq
prn. breathy ᵐpʱ ᵐpʲʱ ⁿtʱ ᶮtɕʱ ᵑkʱ ᶰqʱ
Fricative
f s ɕ x h
Approximant
voiceless
l̥ʲ
voiced
ʋ
l
j w
breathy ʋʱ lʱʲ
  • Alveolar sounds /t, tʰ, n, n̥, nʱ/ are heard as retroflex [ʈ, ʈʰ, ɳ, ɳ̊, ɳʱ] in the Laobao dialect.

Vowels

Front Central Back
oral nasal oral nasal oral nasal
Close i ĩ (ɨ) u ũ
Near-close ɪ ɪ̃
Close-mid e ɤ o õ
Open-mid ɛ ɛ̃ ɔ ɔ̃
Open a ã ɑ ɑ̃
Syllabic ŋ̍

/i/ can also be centralized to [ɨ] or [ʉ] when following initial sounds.[14][10][3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Pa-Hng at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. .
  3. ^ a b c 毛, 宗武 [Máo Zōngwǔ]; 李, 云兵 [Lǐ Yúnbīng] (1997). Bā hēng yǔ yánjiū 巴哼语研究 [A Study of Baheng [Pa-Hng]]. Shanghai: 上海远东出版社/Shànghǎi yuǎndōng chūbǎn shè.
  4. ^ Guizhou Province Gazetteer: Ethnic Gazetteer [贵州省志. 民族志] (2002). Guiyang: Guizhou Ethnic Publishing House [貴州民族出版社].
  5. ^ a b Tongdao Dong Autonomous County Ethnic Gazetteer 通道侗族自治县民族志 (2004).
  6. ^ Benedict, Paul (1986). "Miao–Yao Enigma: The Na-e language". Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 9 (1): 89–90.
  7. ^
  8. ^ a b "Map & Language Descriptions | Borderlands: Lesser Known Indigenous Languages of Northern Vietnam". Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
  9. ^ a b 毛宗武 / Mao Zongwu. 优诺语研究 / Younuo yu yan jiu (A Study of Younuo). Beijing: 民族出版社 / Min zu chu ban she, 2007.
  10. ^ .
  11. ^ Niederer, Barbara (2004). "Pa-hng and the classification of the Hmong-Mien languages". In Tapp, N.; Michaud, J.; Culas, C.; Lee, G. Yai (eds.). Hmong/Miao in Asia. Bangkok: Silkworm Books. pp. 129–146.
  12. ^ a b Edmondson, J. A.; Gregerson, K. J. (2001). Adams, K. L.; Hudak, T. J. (eds.). "Four Languages of the Vietnam-China Borderlands". Papers from the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society. Tempe: Arizona State University, Program for Southeast Asian Studies: 101–133.
  13. ^ Vũ, Quốc Khánh (2013). Người Pà Thẻn ở Việt Nam [The Pa Then in Vietnam]. Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản thông tấn. pp. 12–15.
  14. ^ Edmondson, Jerold A. (1992). "Pa-hng development and diversity". In Ratliff, M.; Schiller, E. (eds.). Papers from the First Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society (PDF). Arizona State University, Program for Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 159–186.

External links