| Bisu | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Thailand,China |
| Ethnicity | 700 in Thailand (2007)[1] |
Native speakers | 240 in China (2005)[1] |
| Thai script,Latin script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bzi |
| Glottolog | bisu1244 |
| ELP | Bisu |
Bisu (Chinese:毕苏语) is aLoloish language ofThailand, with a couple thousand speakers in China. Varieties are Bisu proper (Mbisu) andLaomian (Guba), considered by Pelkey to be distinct languages.
The Laomian are classified within theLahu ethnic group; the Lahu proper call them the "Lawmeh".[2]
According toBisuyu Yanjiu 毕苏语研究 (2002), there are over 5,000 Bisu speakers inYunnan, China, and a total of nearly 10,000 Bisu speakers in all countries combined. Within Yunnan, it is spoken mostly inPu'er Prefecture, as well as neighboring parts ofXishuangbanna.
In Thailand, two dialects of Bisu are spoken in the following villages ofPhan District,Chiang Rai Province (Bisuyu Yanjiu 2002:152).
Another variety of Bisu differing from the Phayao variety is spoken in Takɔ (Ban Thako),Mae Suai District,Chiang Rai Province.
InLaos, Bisu (pi33su44; also called Lao-Phai) is spoken in Phudokcham village,Phongxaly District.[5]InMyanmar, Bisu is spoken in three or two villages ofShan State, and Bisu speakers live alongsidePyen speakers
In Thailand, the Bisu language is written with theThai script.
| Labial | Coronal | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | sibilant | ||||||
| Plosive/ Affricate | unaspirated | p⟨p, ป⟩ | t⟨t, ต⟩ | ts⟨c, จฺ⟩ | t͡ɕ~t͡ʃ⟨č, จ⟩ | k⟨k, ก⟩ | ʔ⟨-, อ⟩ |
| aspirated | pʰ⟨ph, พ⟩ | tʰ⟨th, ท⟩ | tsʰ⟨ch, ชฺ⟩ | t͡ɕʰ~t͡ʃʰ⟨čh, ช⟩ | kʰ⟨kh, ค⟩ | ||
| voiced | b⟨b, บ⟩ | d⟨d, ด⟩ | g⟨g, กง⟩ | ||||
| Fricative | f⟨f, ฟ⟩ | s⟨s, ซ⟩ | ʃ⟨š, ซฺ⟩ | h⟨h, ฮ⟩ | |||
| Nasal | plain | m⟨m, ม⟩ | n⟨n, น⟩ | ɲ⟨ñ, ญ⟩ | ŋ⟨ŋ, ง⟩ | ||
| preaspirated | m̥⟨hm, ฮม⟩ | n̥⟨hn, ฮน⟩ | ɲ̊⟨hñ, ฮญ⟩ | ŋ̊⟨hŋ, ฮง⟩ | |||
| Approximant | plain | w⟨w, ว⟩ | l⟨l, ล⟩ | j⟨y, ย⟩ | |||
| preaspirated | l̥⟨hl, ฮล⟩ | j̊⟨hy, ฮย⟩ | |||||
There is no different meaning between long and short vowels. However, check syllables may sound shorter than non-checked ones when speaking. Thai standard uses only long vowels.
Sino-Tibetan branches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WesternHimalayas (Himachal, Uttarakhand,Nepal,Sikkim) |
|  | |||
| EasternHimalayas (Tibet,Bhutan,Arunachal) | |||||
| Myanmar and Indo- Burmese border |
| ||||
| East andSoutheast Asia |
| ||||
| Dubious (possible isolates,Arunachal) |
| ||||
| Proposed groupings | |||||
| Proto-languages | |||||
Italics indicates single languages that are also considered to be separate branches. | |||||