U language explained

U
Nativename:	Pouma
Region:	China
Speakers:	40,000
Date:	2000
Ref:	e18
Familycolor:	Austro-Asiatic
Fam2:	Khasi–Palaungic
Fam3:	Palaungic
Fam4:	Angkuic
Iso3:	uuu
Glotto:	uuuu1243
Glottorefname:	U
Map2:	Lang Status 60-DE.svg

The U language or P'uman, is spoken by 40,000 people in the Yunnan Province of China and possibly Myanmar. It is classified as an Austroasiatic language in the Palaungic branch. In China, U speakers are classified as ethnic Bulang.

Locations

U is spoken in Shuangjiang County of Yunnan and other nearby counties.

• Wang & Chen (1981) covers the dialect of Pengpan 碰拚, Dafengshan Township 大凤山乡, Shuangjiang County.
• Zhou & Yan (1983) covers the dialect of Pangpin 胖品,^[1] Yongge Township 永革乡, Shuangjiang County.
• Yan & Zhou (2012) cover U of Gantang 甘塘,^{[2] [3]} Yongde County as well as U of Pangpin 胖品.
• Svantesson (1991:67) documents the U dialect of Pã Xɛp (Bangxie, 邦协), Shahe Township 沙河乡, Shuangjiang County.^[4]

There two main dialects of U in Shuangjiang County: one spoken in Gongnong (公弄, now part of Mengku Town, 勐库镇) and one spoken in Bangbing (邦丙) and Dawen Mangga (大文乡忙嘎); the Dawen dialect is reportedly mutually intelligible with that of Shidian County (Shuangjiang County Ethnic Gazetteer 1995:160).

Avala (autonym: a21 va21 la21) is spoken in Bangliu (邦六),^[5] Manghuai Township (芒怀乡), Yun County (云县), Yunnan, China.

Phonology

U has four tones, high, low, rising, falling, which developed from vowel length and the nature of final consonants.

! Labial! Dental! Palatal! Velar! Uvular! Glottal

Plosive	plain	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
	aspirated	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
Affricate	plain		pronounced as /ink/
	aspirated		pronounced as /ink/
Fricative	voiceless	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/			pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
	voiced	pronounced as /ink/
Nasal		pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
Lateral			pronounced as /ink/
Approximant		pronounced as /ink/		pronounced as /ink/

Vowels!! Front! Central! Back

High	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
Mid	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/
Low	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/	pronounced as /ink/

Further reading

• Book: Simao Xingshu Minzu Shiwu Weiyuanhui Bian . Bùlǎngzú yánjiū . 1991 . Yunnan renmin chubanshe . 7-222-00803-9 . Kunming . zh . zh:布朗族研究 . A Study of the Bulang People . Simao Xingshu Minzu Shiwu Weiyuanhui Bian 思茂行署民族事务委员会编.
• Svantesson . Jan-Olof . 1988 . U . live . Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area . en . 11 . 1 . 64–133 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140223005131/http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/svantesson1988u.pdf . 2014-02-23 . 2012-06-02.
• Tao . Chengmei 陶成美 . 2016 . Bùlǎngyǔ Lāwǎhuà de zhǐchēng dàicí i55 . zh:布朗语拉瓦话的指称代词i55 . Minzu Fanyi 民族翻译 . 10.13742/j.cnki.cn11-5684/h.2016.01.010.
• Tao . Chengmei 陶成美 . Bùlǎngyǔ duōxiàng dìngyǔ jí qí yǔxù yánjiū . 2016 . M.A. . . zh . zh:布朗语多项定语及其语序研究.
• Book: Tao, Yuming 陶玉明 . Zhōngguó Bùlǎngzú . 2012 . Ningxia renmin chubanshe . Yinchuan . zh . zh:中国布朗族 . The Bulang People of China.
• Book: Wang, Xingzhong 王兴中 . Líncāng dìlǐ yǔ shuāngyǔ shǐyòng . Zhao . Weihua 赵卫华 . 2013 . Yunnan renmin chubanshe . 978-7-222-08581-7 . Kunming . zh . zh:临沧地理与双语使用 . Geography and Multilingualism in Lincang.
• Book: Yan, Qixiang 颜其香 . Zhōngguó Mèng-Gāomián yǔzú yǔyán yǔ Nányǎ yǔxì . Zhou . Zhizhi 周植志 . 2012 . Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe . Beijing . zh . zh:中国孟高棉语族语言与南亚语系 . Mon-Khmer Languages of China and the Austroasiatic Family.

Gazetteers and other Chinese government sources with lexical data

• 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.
• 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].

External links

• RWAAI | Projects RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage)
• http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-67B4-3@view U in RWAAI Digital Archive

Notes and References

1. Web site: Shuāngjiāng Lāhùzú Wǎzú Bùlǎngzú Dǎizú Zìzhìxiàn Dàwén Xiāng Dàliángzi Cūnwěihuì Pàngpǐn Zìráncūn . zh:双江拉祜族佤族布朗族傣族自治县大文乡大梁子村委会胖品自然村 . Pangpin Natural Village; Daliangzi Village Committee; Dawen Township; Shuangjiang Lahu, Va, Blang and Dai Autonomous County . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140407102955/http://www.ynszxc.gov.cn/villagePage/vindex.aspx?departmentid=100393 . 2014-04-07 . 2014-03-14 . ynszxc.gov.cn . zh.
2. Web site: Yǒngdé Xiàn Měngbǎn Xiāng Hùyā Cūnwěihuì Gāntáng Zìráncūn . zh:永德县勐板乡户丫村委会甘塘自然村 . Gantang Natural Village, Huya Village Committee, Mengban Township, Yongde County . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305042722/http://www.ynszxc.gov.cn/villagePage/vindex.aspx?departmentid=124591 . 2016-03-05 . 2015-01-31 . ynszxc.gov.cn . zh.
3. Web site: Yǒngdé Xiàn Měngbǎn Xiāng Líshù Cūnwěihuì Gāntáng Zìráncūn . zh:永德县勐板乡梨树村委会甘塘自然村 . Gantang Natural Village, Lishu Village Committee, Mengban Township, Yongde County . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305172214/http://www.ynszxc.gov.cn/villagePage/vindex.aspx?departmentid=124563 . 2016-03-05 . 2015-01-30 . ynszxc.gov.cn . zh.
4. Web site: Shuāngjiāng Lāhùzú Wǎzú Bùlǎngzú Dǎizú Zìzhìxiàn Shāhé Xiāng Bāngxié Cūnmín Wěiyuánhuì Bāngxié Zìráncūn . zh:双江拉祜族佤族布朗族傣族自治县沙河乡邦协村民委员会邦协自然村 . Bangxie Natural Village; Bangxie Village Committee; Shahe Township; Shuangjiang Lahu, Va, Blang and Dai Autonomous County . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140222172616/http://www.ynszxc.gov.cn/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=178409 . 2014-02-22 . 2014-04-04 . zh.
5. Web site: Yúnxiàn Mánghuái Yízú Bùlǎngzú Xiāng Bāngliù Cūnwěihuì . zh:云县忙怀彝族布朗族乡邦六村委会 . Bangliu Village Committee, Manghuai Yi and Bulang Ethnic Township, Yunxian . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180817193355/http://www.ynszxc.gov.cn/villagePage/vIndex.aspx?departmentid=34085 . 2018-08-17 . 2021-02-22 . zh.