Lolopo language explained
Lolopo language should not be confused with Lipo language.
| Lolopo |
| Also Known As: | Central Yi |
| Nativename: | Loxrlavu |
| States: | China |
| Ethnicity: | Yi |
| Speakers: | 570,000 |
| Date: | 2002–2007 |
| Ref: | e25 |
| Familycolor: | Sino-Tibetan |
| Fam2: | Tibeto-Burman |
| Fam3: | Lolo–Burmese |
| Fam4: | Loloish |
| Fam5: | Lisoish |
| Fam6: | Lipo–Lolopo |
| Script: | Yi script |
| Iso3: | ycl |
| Lc1: | ysp |
| Ld1: | Southern Lolopo |
| Glotto: | lolo1259 |
| Glottorefname: | Lolopo |
Lolopo (autonyms: pronounced as /lɔ21 lo33 pʰɔ21/, pronounced as /lo31 lo31 pʰo31/; ; Central Yi) is a Loloish language spoken by half a million Yi people of China. Chinese speakers call it Central Yi, as the name Lolopo does not exist in Chinese. It is one of the six Yi languages recognized by the government of China.
Distribution
The Lolo language is mainly spoken in central Yunnan. It is also spoken on different sides of the China-Myanmar–Laos border.
In Laos, Lolo is spoken in three villages of Phongsaly Province, where the language is usually referred to as Lolopho.
In Myanmar, Lolo is spoken in Shan State. The language is usually referred to as Eastern Gaisu, and they are classified as the Gaisu subgroup of the Lisu people.
Names
Lolo speakers are referred to by a variety of exonyms. Below is a list of exonyms followed by their respective autonyms and demographics.[1]
pronounced as /lo21 lo33 pʰo21/ (spoken by about 12,000 people in Jingdong County). Also called Alie.
- Enipu 厄尼蒲 (pronounced as /ɣɯ55 ni21 pa̠21/ 'water buffalo people', an offensive exonym used by Lalo speakers): pronounced as /lo21 lo33 pʰo21/ (spoken in Nanjian County). Spoken by nearly 20,000 people in Weishan County (Qinghua Township) and Nanjian County (in Wuliang, Xiaowandong, and Langcang townships)
- Tu 土 (Tuzu 土族): pronounced as /lo21 lo33 pʰo21/ (spoken by nearly 10,000 people in southern Xiangyun County)
- Qiangyi 羌夷: pronounced as /lɔ̠21 lɔ33 sɨ55/ (spoken by nearly 15,000 people in northern and central Xiangyun County)
- Eastern Lalu: pronounced as /lo̠21 lo̠33/ (spoken by nearly 20,000 people in Xinping County and Zhenyuan County). The Xinping dialect is documented in Wang (2020). In Xinping County, there are about 3,000 ethnic "Lalu" (腊鲁; i.e., Lolopo) in Malutang 马鹿塘 and Mowei 磨味 villages, located in Jianxing Township 建兴乡.[2]
- Lolo (of northeastern Binchuan County): pronounced as /lo̠21 lo33 pʰo21/
- Xiangtang 香堂 (spoken in Zhenkang County). Widespread distribution in Jinggu, Zhenyuan, Pu'er, Jiangcheng, Mengla, Jinghong, and Zhenkang counties, with perhaps under 80,000 speakers.
- Lolo (of Nanhua County): pronounced as /lo̠21 lo̠33 pʰo21/
- Lolo (of Yao'an County): pronounced as /lo21 la33 pʰo21/
- Wotizo: pronounced as /wɔ21 ti33 zɔ21/ (Yang 2010:7)[3]
Classification
Yang (2011) proposes this tentative internal classification of Lolo.
- Southern Lolo (?)[4]
- Western Lolo (Southern Lolopo in Ethnologue)
- Xiangtang
- Jingdong Lolo (Mili)
- Southern Dali Lolo (Enipu)
- Nanhua Lolo
- Binchuan Lolo (?)
- Yao'an Lolo (Qiangyi) (?)
The Chuxiong Prefecture Ethnic Gazetteer (2013:364)[5] lists the following cognacy percentages between Lolopo 罗罗濮 and other Yi languages in Chuxiong Prefecture.
- Ache 阿车: 74.86% (211/282)
- Chesu 车苏: 55% (155/282)
- Luowu 罗武: 75.89% (214/282)
- Shansu 山苏: 78.4% (221/282)
- Lipo 里濮: 93.36% (253/271)
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
|---|
Plosive/
Affricate | voiceless | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ |
|---|
| aspirated | pronounced as /pʰ/ | pronounced as /tʰ/ | pronounced as /tsʰ/ | pronounced as /tʃʰ/ | pronounced as /kʰ/ |
|---|
| voiced | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ |
|---|
| Fricative | voiceless | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |
|---|
| voiced | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | |
|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /ink/ | | pronounced as /ink/ | |
|---|
| Lateral | | pronounced as /ink/~pronounced as /ink/ | | | |
|---|
| Semivowel | | | | pronounced as /ink/ | | |
|---|
- pronounced as //m, n, ŋ// before stops and fricatives are heard as syllabic sounds pronounced as /[m̩, ɱ̍]/, pronounced as /[n̩]/, and pronounced as /[ŋ̍]/.
- pronounced as //l// is also heard in free variation as a voiced lateral fricative pronounced as /[ɮ]/.
Vowels
There is distinction between tight-throat vowels and lax-throat (plain) vowels.
| Front | Back |
|---|
| lax | tight | lax | tight |
|---|
| Close | pronounced as /i/ | pronounced as /i/ | pronounced as /ɯ/ | pronounced as /ɯ/ |
|---|
| Near-close | | | pronounced as /ʊ/ | pronounced as /ʊ/ |
|---|
| Mid | pronounced as /e/ | pronounced as /e/ | pronounced as /o/ | pronounced as /o/ |
|---|
| Near-open | pronounced as /æ/ | pronounced as /æ/ | | |
|---|
| Open | pronounced as /a/ | pronounced as /a/ | | | |
|---|
Front!Back| Mid | | pronounced as /ʲo/, pronounced as /ʲo/ |
|---|
| Open | pronounced as /ʲɛ/, pronounced as /ʲæ/ | pronounced as /ʲa/, pronounced as /ʲa/ | | |
|---|
- Sounds pronounced as //ʊ, ʊ// are pronounced as syllabic consonants pronounced as /[z̩ʷ, <u>z̩ʷ</u>]/ when following alveolar sibilants, and as pronounced as /[v̩, <u>v̩</u>]/ when following pronounced as //d// in a low pronounced as /[˨]/ tone syllable.
- Sounds pronounced as //i, i// are heard as syllabic consonants pronounced as /[z̩, <u>z̩</u>]/ when following alveolar sibilants.
- Sounds pronounced as //ɯ, ɯ// are heard as central sounds pronounced as /[ə, <u>ə</u>]/ when following alveolar consonants.
- pronounced as //æ// is heard as open-mid pronounced as /[ɛ]/ following alveolar plosives pronounced as //t, d, ts, dz//, a palatal fricative pronounced as //ʝ//, and within palatalized diphthongs pronounced as //ʲ//.[6]
Tones
| Name | Pitch | Symbol |
|---|
| Low | 21 | pronounced as /˨/ |
| Mid | 33 | pronounced as /˧/ |
| High | 55 | pronounced as /˦/ | |
External links
- An audio recording of a word list in Lolopo is archived with Kaipuleohone
Notes and References
- Yang, Cathryn. 2011. Assessment of the Lolo languages: Current understanding and recommended next steps. m.s.
- Book: Wang, Guoxu 王国旭 . 2020 . Xinping Yiyu Laluhua yanjiu 新平彝语腊鲁话研究 . Kunming . Yunnan People's Press 云南人民出版社 . 1248644107.
- Yang, Cathryn. 2010. Lalo regional varieties: Phylogeny, dialectometry, and sociolinguistics. Melbourne: La Trobe University PhD dissertation. http://arrow.latrobe.edu.au:8080/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.9/153015.
- Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices
- 楚雄彝族自治州民族事务委员会编. 2013. 楚雄彝族自治州民族志. 云南民族出版社.
- Book: Merrifield, W. Scott. Yáo'ān Central Yi Phonology. SIL. 2012.
