| Lolo-Burmese | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | SouthernChina andSoutheast Asia |
| Linguistic classification | Sino-Tibetan
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| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | lolo1265 |
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TheLolo-Burmese languages (alsoBurmic languages) ofBurma andSouthern China form a coherent branch of theSino-Tibetan family.
Until ca. 1950, the endonymLolo was written withderogatory characters in Chinese, and for this reason has sometimes been avoided. Shafer (1966–1974) used the term "Burmic" for the Lolo-Burmese languages. The Chinese term isMian–Yi, after the Chinese name for Burmese and one of several words for Tai, reassigned to replaceLolo by the Chinese government after 1950.[1]
The position ofNaxi (Moso) within the family is unclear, and it is often left as a third branch besides Loloish and Burmish. Lama (2012) considers it to be a branch of Loloish, whileGuillaume Jacques has suggested that it is aQiangic language.
ThePyu language that preceded Burmese in Burma is sometimes linked to the Lolo-Burmese family, but there is no good evidence for any particular classification.
Löffler (1966) and Bradley (1997) consider theMru language to be closely related to or part of Lolo-Burmese,[2][3] whileMatisoff includes Mruic in theNortheast Indianareal group.[4]
ThreeBailang songs were reportedly recorded in Chinese characters in the 1st century, and survive in quotations from the 7th century. The transmission through Chinese makes interpretation difficult, but most authors believe the language to be Lolo-Burmese or a close relative.[5]
Guillaume Jacques & Alexis Michaud (2011)[6] argue for aBurmo-Qiangic branch with two primary subbranches, Na-Qiangic (i.e. Naxi-Qiangic) and Lolo-Burmese. Similarly,David Bradley (2008)[7] also proposes anEastern Tibeto-Burman branch that includes the two subbranches of Burmic (a.k.a. Lolo-Burmese) and Qiangic.
Bradley (1997, quoted in Peiros 1997) gives the following classification for the Lolo-Burmese languages. In later publications, in place ofLoloish, David Bradley instead uses the termNgwi based on a conservativeautonym in theSanie language.[8]
Lama (2012), in a study of 36 languages, finds theMondzish cluster (Mondzi–Maang, Mantsi–Mo'ang) to be divergent. He did not include Mru or Ugong.
Lama (2012) recognizes 9 unambiguous coherent groups of Lolo-Burmese languages, whereas Bradley considers there to be 5 groups (Burmish, Southern Ngwi, Northern Ngwi, Southeastern Ngwi, and Central Ngwi).
Sino-Tibetan branches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WesternHimalayas (Himachal, Uttarakhand,Nepal,Sikkim) |
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| EasternHimalayas (Tibet,Bhutan,Arunachal) | |||||
| Myanmar and Indo- Burmese border |
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| East andSoutheast Asia |
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| Dubious (possible isolates,Arunachal) |
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| Proposed groupings | |||||
| Proto-languages | |||||
Italics indicates single languages that are also considered to be separate branches. | |||||