U language
| U | |
|---|---|
| Pouma | |
| Pronunciation | [ʔu˥] |
| Region | China |
Native speakers | (40,000 cited 2000)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | uuu |
| Glottolog | uuuu1243 |
| ELP | U |
 U is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
The U language (autonym: [ʔu˥] 'human being'), or P'uman (Chinese: 濮满), 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.
U speakers have no ethnonym and refer to themselves as ʔú ʔè ('our people').[2]
Locations
[edit]U is spoken in Shuangjiang County of Yunnan and other nearby counties.[3]
- 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,[4] Yongge Township 永革乡, Shuangjiang County.
- Yan & Zhou (2012) cover U of Gantang 甘塘,[5][6] 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.[7]
There are 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),[8] Manghuai Township (芒怀乡), Yun County (云县), Yunnan, China.[9][10]
Phonology
[edit]U has four tones, high, low, rising, falling, which developed from vowel length and the nature of final consonants.
| Labial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Laryngeal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | plain | p | t | c | k | q | ʔ |
| aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | cʰ | kʰ | qʰ | ||
| Affricate | plain | ts | |||||
| aspirated | tsʰ | ||||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | χ | h | ||
| voiced | v | ʕ | |||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||
| Lateral | l | ||||||
| Approximant | w | j | |||||
- /ʕ/ only occurs in coda position. It may be heard as, first, similar to [ʕ] in Cairo Arabic. Eg. [suʕ˥] "hair". In the second case, it is pronounced as an [ɑ]-like offglide accompanied by a [h]-like sound. Eg. [suɑ̯h˥] "ibid".[12]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | ɨ | u |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| Low | ɛ | a | ɔ |
Typology
[edit]The Angkuic languages sit on the typological extreme end of the Mainland Southeast Asia linguistic area. As a result, U is morphologically isolating, with head-first syntactic structure and subject–verb–object word order in clausal structure.[14]
ʔò
I
ŋê
kill
líʕ
pig
'I killed a pig.'
tsɨ̀
name
ʔò
I
mə̀
COP
ʔaj
Ay
tìt
Tit
'My name is Ay Tit.'
Lexicon
[edit]Pronouns
[edit]| singular | dual | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | ʔò | ʔǎj | ʔè |
| 2nd person | mî | pʰâj | pʰé |
| 3rd person | ʔə̀t | kǎj | ké |
Numerals
[edit]Comparison of U (Pɑ᷉ χɛ̀p (邦协) and Gantang (甘塘) dialects) numerals with Proto-Palaungic reconstructions by Sidwell (2015).
| Gloss | Pɑ᷉ χɛ̀p U | Gantang U | proto-Palaungic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | mò | mu³³ | *moːh |
| 2 | ʔá | ʔa⁵¹ | *ləʔaːr |
| 3 | wáj | ʔoi⁵¹ | *ləʔɔːj |
| 4 | pʰón | pʰon⁵¹ | *poːn |
| 5 | sàt | sat⁵⁵ | *pəsan |
| 6 | ntʰò | tʰo³¹ | *tɔːl |
| 7 | mpʰùn | pʰun³¹ | *təpuːl |
| 8 | tʰà | tʰa⁵⁵ | *taːʔ |
| 9 | tʰìp | tʰip⁵⁵ | *tiːm |
| 10 | tsʰò | tʂʰo⁵¹ | *kɤːl |
| 100 | m̀.tsʰâ | pʰia³³ | *prjah |
| 1000 | – | tɕʰen³ | *sreːŋ |
Body parts
[edit]| Gloss | U | proto-Palaungic |
|---|---|---|
| arm, hand | tʰí | *tiːʔ |
| belly | tû | *kəɗɤl |
| bone | saʔáɑ̃ | *cəʔaːŋ |
| breast | pú | *ɓuːʔ |
| ear | sǔʕ | *ʰjoːk |
| eye | ŋâj | *ˀŋaːj |
| foot | kíɑ̃ | *ɟɤːŋ |
| hair | súʕ | *suk |
| liver | tsʰɔm | *kətɔːm |
| nose | tì | *kəɗɤːʔ |
| tongue | ntʰǎʕ | *-taːk |
Fauna
[edit]| Gloss | U | proto-Palaungic |
|---|---|---|
| buffalo | qhǎʕ | *traːk |
| bear | χí | *kreːs |
| bird | pacʰìp | *ciːm |
| cat | mɛ̂m | *miɛw |
| crab | tʰám | *kətaːm |
| dog | sò | *cɔːʔ |
| fowl | jɛ́ | *ʔiɛr |
| goat | pè | *bɛʔ |
| horse | ŋqʰàʕ | *mraŋ |
| louse | ncʰí | *ciːʔ |
| pig | líʕ | *-leːk |
| sambar deer | jǎʕ | *tjaːk |
| termite | ŋqʰùt | *ŋruːɲ |
| tiger | ʔavâj | *rəʋaːj |
Flora & nature
[edit]| Gloss | U | proto-Palaungic |
|---|---|---|
| black | làʕ | *laŋ |
| bamboo | χɨ̀ʕ | *ʰrɤŋ |
| conifer | sì kí | *-geʔ |
| earth | tʰè | *kəteːʔ |
| flower | χâɑ̃ | *raːŋ |
| fruit | ŋχí | *pleeʔ |
| green | saŋɛ̂n | *cəŋaːl |
| leaf | là sì | *hlaʔ |
| millet | kʰoi⁵⁵ | *skɔɔj |
| rain | salè | *cleːʔ |
| red | saŋ³³ | *rooŋ |
| rice grain | ŋkʰù | *rəŋkoːʔ |
| salt | qʰìʕ | pleːŋ |
| sky | qú | bluːʔ |
| yellow | lɨ́ɑ̃ | *rmiit |
Tools and concepts
[edit]| Gloss | U | proto-Palaungic |
|---|---|---|
| axe | mmè | *ˀmɤːj |
| bow, crossbow | ʔǎʕ | *ʔaːk |
| bran, chaff, husk | ŋkʰám | *səkaːm |
| bridge (<ladder, stair) | tʰúʕ | *tɔ(ː)ŋ |
| charcoal | sé | *kətsas |
| clothes | sapè | *-ɓeʔ |
| comb | sanà | *cənaːs |
| drum | satʰùʕ | *cətuŋ |
| grave | mút | *-muːc |
| house | káɑ̃ | *gaaŋ |
| human being, person | ʔú | *ʔuːʔ |
| iron | ʔaŋàʕ | *rəŋɔ/aŋ |
| left side | fè | *-ʋeʔ |
| mortar | pʰaw | *pal |
| pestle | ŋqhì | *-reʔ |
| wall | ntʰìʕ | *ti(ː)ŋ |
| war | nàn | *naːɲ |
| weave | tʰán | *taːɲ |
References
[edit]- ↑ U at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ↑ Svantesson 1988, p. 66.
- ↑ Svantesson (1988)
- ↑ "Shuāngjiāng Lāhùzú Wǎzú Bùlǎngzú Dǎizú Zìzhìxiàn Dàwén Xiāng Dàliángzi Cūnwěihuì Pàngpǐn Zìráncūn" 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]. ynszxc.gov.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
- ↑ "Yǒngdé Xiàn Měngbǎn Xiāng Hùyā Cūnwěihuì Gāntáng Zìráncūn" 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]. ynszxc.gov.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-01-31.
- ↑ "Yǒngdé Xiàn Měngbǎn Xiāng Líshù Cūnwěihuì Gāntáng Zìráncūn" 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]. ynszxc.gov.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-01-30.
- ↑ "Shuāngjiāng Lāhùzú Wǎzú Bùlǎngzú Dǎizú Zìzhìxiàn Shāhé Xiāng Bāngxié Cūnmín Wěiyuánhuì Bāngxié Zìráncūn" 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] (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
- ↑ "Yúnxiàn Mánghuái Yízú Bùlǎngzú Xiāng Bāngliù Cūnwěihuì" 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] (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
- ↑ Hsiu, Andrew (2017), "The Angkuic Languages: A Preliminary Survey", Presented at the 6th International Conference on Austroasiatic Linguistics (ICAAL 6), Siem Reap, Cambodia (Handout), Zenodo, doi:10.5281/zenodo.1127808, archived from the original on 2020-05-16
- ↑ Hsiu, Andrew (2017), "Avala Audio Word List", Zenodo, doi:10.5281/zenodo.1123297, archived from the original on 2020-10-09
- ↑ Svantesson 1988, p. 69.
- ↑ Svantesson 1988, p. 72.
- ↑ Svantesson 1988, p. 70.
- ↑ Svantesson 1988, p. 101.
Further reading
[edit]- Simao Xingshu Minzu Shiwu Weiyuanhui Bian 思茂行署民族事务委员会编 (1991). Bùlǎngzú yánjiū 布朗族研究 [A Study of the Bulang People] (in Chinese). Kunming: Yunnan renmin chubanshe. ISBN 7-222-00803-9.
- Svantesson, Jan-Olof (1988). "U" (PDF). Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 11 (1): 64–133. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- Tao, Chengmei 陶成美 (2016). "Bùlǎngyǔ Lāwǎhuà de zhǐchēng dàicí i55" 布朗语拉瓦话的指称代词i55. Minzu Fanyi 民族翻译. doi:10.13742/j.cnki.cn11-5684/h.2016.01.010.
- Tao, Chengmei 陶成美 (2016). Bùlǎngyǔ duōxiàng dìngyǔ jí qí yǔxù yánjiū 布朗语多项定语及其语序研究 (M.A. thesis) (in Chinese). Zhongyang Minzu Daxue.
- Tao, Yuming 陶玉明 (2012). Zhōngguó Bùlǎngzú 中国布朗族 [The Bulang People of China] (in Chinese). Yinchuan: Ningxia renmin chubanshe.
- Wang, Xingzhong 王兴中; Zhao, Weihua 赵卫华 (2013). Líncāng dìlǐ yǔ shuāngyǔ shǐyòng 临沧地理与双语使用 [Geography and Multilingualism in Lincang] (in Chinese). Kunming: Yunnan renmin chubanshe. ISBN 978-7-222-08581-7.
- Yan, Qixiang 颜其香; Zhou, Zhizhi 周植志 (2012). Zhōngguó Mèng-Gāomián yǔzú yǔyán yǔ Nányǎ yǔxì 中国孟高棉语族语言与南亚语系 [Mon-Khmer Languages of China and the Austroasiatic Family] (in Chinese). Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe.
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
[edit]- 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