Hmu language explained

Hmu
Also Known As:Qiandong Miao
Nativename:Black Miao, hveb Hmub
Pronunciation:pronounced as /[m̥ʰū]/
Script:Latin
States:China
Region:mostly Guizhou
Ethnicity:mostly Miao, some Yao
Speakers:2.1 million
Date:1995
Ref:e18
Familycolor:Hmong-Mien
Fam2:Hmongic
Fam3:Core Hmongic
Stand1:Standard Miao
Lc2:hmq
Ld2:Eastern
Lc1:hea
Ld1:Northern
Lc3:hms
Ld3:Southern
Lc4:neo
Ld4:Ná-Meo
Glotto:east2369
Glottorefname:East Hmongic

The Hmu language (hveb Hmub), also known as Qiandong Miao (黔东, Eastern Guizhou Miao), Central Miao (中部苗语), East Hmongic (Ratliff 2010[1]), or (somewhat ambiguously) Black Miao, is a dialect cluster of Hmongic languages of China. The best studied dialect is that of Yǎnghāo (养蒿) village, Taijiang County, Guizhou Province.[1]

Qanu (咯努), a Hmu variety, had 11,450 speakers as of 2000, and is spoken just south of Kaili City, Guizhou.[2] The Qanu are ethnoculturally distinct from the other Hmu.

Names

Autonyms include pronounced as /m̥ʰu33/ in Kaili, pronounced as /mo33/ in Jinping County, pronounced as /mu13/ in Tianzhu County, pronounced as /m̥ə33/ in Huangping County, pronounced as /qa33 nəu13/ in some parts of Qiandongnan (Miaoyu Jianzhi 苗语简志 1985), and pronounced as /ta11 mu11/ in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County, Guangxi.[3] Ná-Meo, spoken by the Mieu people of Cao Minh Commune, Tràng Định District, Lạng Sơn Province, Vietnam, may be closely related.[4]

Subdivisions and distribution

Wang (1985)

Wang Fushi (1985)[5] groups the Qiandong Miao languages as follows.

Wu (2009)

Wu Zhengbiao (2009)[7] divides Hmu into seven different dialects. Past classifications usually included only three or four dialects. For example, Li Jinping & Li Tianyi (2012),[8] based on past classifications, divide Hmu into the three dialects of Northern,[9] Southern,[10] and Eastern.[11] Datapoint locations of representative dialects are from Li Yunbing (2000).[12]

Lalan 拉揽乡 (in Paishaozhai 排烧寨, etc.), Jiaoli 交梨乡, Dujiang 都江镇 townships; Jialan 甲揽, Yangwu 羊吴, Dediao 的刁, Hongguang 红光, and Wuyun 巫匀 villages of Pu'an Township 普安镇

Paidao 排岛 and Paimo 排莫 of Yahui Township 雅灰乡

Hsiu (2018)

Andrew Hsiu (2018) proposes the following classification of the Qiandong Miao languages based on his 2015 computational analysis, classifying Ná-Meo as a Southern Qiandong Miao dialect:[16]

Classification

Hmu has been recognized as a branch of Hmongic since the 1950s. Wang (1985) recognized three varieties. Matisoff (2001) treated these as distinct languages, which is reflected in Ethnologue. Lee (2000) added a fourth variety, Western Hmu (10,000 speakers), among the Yao, and Matisoff (2006) lists seven (Daigong, Kaili [N], Lushan, Taijiang [N], Zhenfeng [N], Phö, Rongjiang [S]).

Writing

Northern Qiandong Miao, also known as Central Miao and as Eastern Guizhou Hmu (黔东方言 Qián-Dōng fāngyán), was chosen as the standard for Hmu-language textbooks in China, based on the pronunciation of Yǎnghāo (养蒿) village.[17] [18]

Phonology

The phonemic inventory and alphabetic transcription are as follows.

! Labial! Alveolar! Palatalized
alveolar! Velar! Uvular! Glottal
Nasalpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Plosivepronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ (pronounced as /ink/)
pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Affricatepronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Central
fricative		pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Lateral
fricative		pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Lateral approximantpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/

pronounced as /link/ is not distinct from a zero initial (that is, if we accept pronounced as //ʔ// as a consonant, there are no vowel-initial words in Hmu), and only occurs with tones 1, 3, 5, 7.

The aspirated nasals and fricatives do not exist in Southern or Eastern Hmu; cognates words use their unaspirated homologues. Further, in Eastern Hmu, di, ti merge into j, q; c merges into x; r (Northern pronounced as //z//) merges into ni; and v is pronounced pronounced as /[w]/. In Southern Hmu, words cognate with hni (and some with ni) are pronounced pronounced as /[nʲʑ]/; those with r are pronounced as /[nz]/; and some words exchange s and x.

! colspan=2
FrontCentralBack
oral nasaloral nasaloral nasal
Closepronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/
Midpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /en/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /oŋ/
Openpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ɑŋ/

Ai pronounced as //ɛ// does not occur after palatalized consonants. pronounced as //en// after palatalized consonants is spelled in.

Diphthongs!! Closing
Close component is frontpronounced as /ej/
Close component is backpronounced as /əw/

Additional diphthongs occur in Chinese loans.

All dialects have eight tones. There is no sandhi. In the chart below, Northern Hmu is represented by Yanghao village (Kaili City), Eastern Hmu by 偶里 village (Jinping County), and Southern Hmu by 振民 (Rongshui County).

Hmu tone
ToneLetterNorthern EasternSouthern
1b pronounced as /˧/ 3 pronounced as /˧/ 3 pronounced as /˧/ 3
3 d pronounced as /˧˥/ 35 pronounced as /˨̤/ 2 pronounced as /˧˥/ 35
5 t pronounced as /˦/ 4 pronounced as /˦˥/ 45 pronounced as /˦/ 4
7 k pronounced as /˥˧/ 53 pronounced as /˨˦/ 24 pronounced as /˨˦/ 24
2 x pronounced as /˥/ 5 ~ pronounced as /˦˥/ 45 pronounced as /˦˨/ 42 pronounced as /˥˧/ 53
4 l pronounced as /˩̤/ 1 pronounced as /˨˩/ 21 pronounced as /˧˩/ 31
6 s pronounced as /˩˧̤/ 13 pronounced as /˥/ 5 pronounced as /˨̤/ 2
8 f pronounced as /˧˩/ 31 pronounced as /˩˨̤/ 12 pronounced as /˨˩˧/ 213
The lowest tones—Northern tones 4 and 6, Eastern tones 3 and 8, and Southern tone 6—are said to make the preceding consonant murmured (breathy voiced), presumably meaning that these are murmured tones as in other Hmongic languages. They are marked with (IPA|◌̤) in the chart.

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Ratliff, Martha . 2010 . Hmong–Mien language history . Canberra, Australia . Pacific Linguistics . 978-0-85883-615-0 . 1885/146760 . free . none .
  2. Web site: Qanu . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160820143312/http://asiaharvest.org/wp-content/uploads/people-groups/China/chinaPeoples/Q/Qanu.pdf . 2016-08-20 . 2021-08-17 . en . Asia Harvest.
  3. Book: Guangxi Minority Languages Orthography Committee . Guǎngxī mínzú yǔyán fāngyīn cíhuì . 2008 . Minzu chubanshe . Beijing . zh . zh:广西民族语言方音词汇 . Vocabularies of Guangxi Ethnic Languages.
  4. Book: Nguyễn Văn Thắng . Ambiguity of Identity: The Mieu in North Vietnam . Silkworm Books . 2007 . Chiang Mai . en.
  5. Book: Miáoyǔ jiǎnzhì . 1985 . Minzu chubanshe . Wang . Fushi 王辅世 . Beijing . zh . zh:苗语简志 . Miao Language Brief History.
  6. Hsiu . Andrew . 2015 . The Classification of Na Meo, a Hmong-Mien Language of Vietnam . Paper presented at SEALS 25, Chiang Mai, Thailand . en . Academia.edu.
  7. Wu . Zhengbiao 吴正彪 . 2009 . Qiándōng fāngyán Miáoyǔ tǔyǔ huàfēn wèntí de zài tàntǎo . zh:黔东方言苗语土语划分问题的再探讨 . A Further Exploration into the Division of Miao Patois in Qiandong Dialect . Jíshǒu dàxué xuébào (shèhuì kēxué bǎn) . zh . 30 . 117–121 . 10.13438/j.cnki.jdxb.2009.06.018 . zh:吉首大学学报（社会科学版） . Journal of Jishou University (Social Science Edition).
  8. Book: Li . Jinping 李锦平 . Miáoyǔ fāngyán bǐjiào yánjiū . Li . Tianyi 李天翼 . 2012 . Xinan jiaotong daxue chubanshe . Chengdu . zh . zh:苗语方言比较研究 . A Comparative Study of Miao Dialects.
  9. Representative dialect: Yanghao, Sankeshu, Kaili City 贵州凯里三棵树养蒿
  10. Representative dialect: Gaolian, Xiajiang, Congjiang County 贵州从江下江高联
  11. Representative dialect: Meihua, Zhulin, Tianzhu County 贵州天柱竹林梅花
  12. Book: Li, Yunbing 李云兵 . Miáoyǔ fāngyán huàfēn yíliú wèntí yánjiū . Zhongyang minzu daxue chubanshe . 2000 . Beijing . zh . zh:苗语方言划分遗留问题研究.
  13. Book: Tu . Guanglu 涂光禄 . Jǐnpíng Xiàn Hàn-Dòng-Miáoyǔ fāngyán zhì . Yang . Jun 杨军 . 2008 . Guizhou daxue chubanshe . 978-7-81126-044-1 . Guiyang . zh . zh:锦屏县汉侗苗语方言志.
  14. The core lexicon of Sanqiao: a Hmongic language of Guizhou . Hsiu . Andrew . 2024 . Taipei . SEALS 33 (33rd Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistic Society).
  15. Book: Chen, Qiguang 陈其光 . Miáo-Yáo yǔwén . 2013 . Zhongyang minzu daxue chubanshe . Beijing . zh . zh:苗瑶语文 . Miao and Yao Language.
  16. Web site: Preliminary classification of Hmongic languages. . 2023-10-28 . East Asian Language Phyla Project . Hsiu . Andrew . https://web.archive.org/web/20231028082801/https://sites.google.com/site/eastasianphyla/hmong-mien/hmongic/ . 2023-10-28 . live . 2018.
  17. Book: Shi, Defu 石德富 . Miáoyǔ jīchǔ jiàochéng (Qiándōng fāngyán) . 2006 . Zhongyang minzu daxue chubanshe . Beijing Shi . zh:苗语基础教程（黔东方言） . Basic Miao Language Course (Qiandong Dialect).
  18. Wang Fushi 王辅世. 1985. Miaoyu jianzhi 苗语简志. Beijing: Minzu chubanshe 民族出版社.

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